> On 5/13/05, Duane Boudreau <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> 2. Assholes who mistake the yield signs on on-ramps for >> speed up and cut as >> many cars off as possible signs.
> So true... but also true: > 3. Overly timid scaredy-cat drivers who mistake merge > signs for "slow > down till someone let you in" rather than "match the > merging traffic's > speed and freaking merge!". Merge doesn't always mean > slow down, > sometimes it means speed the hell up! There's an area in downtown Dallas known as "the mix master" -- their not-so-cute name for a place where several interstates cross with a maze of interchanges between them so that, in theory, you can get anywhere in the city by taking the freeway through downtown. One entrance ramp in particular from central-expressway (I-75) going north and getting onto I-30 (R. L. Thornton I think) going east has a big problem with this. People are already travelling at freeway speeds, 60 is by the time they slow down a bit from I-75 (rather than launch themselves 50 ft into the air over I-30 because they couldn't control the turn), but invariably everyone insists that this place between two freeways where the speed limit is 55mph and traffic is invariably 70mph on _both_ freeways is either the perfect place for sight-seeing or a mandatory full-stop. Why? Because there's a relatively short distance (I think it's about 80-100ft) between where you can see the traffic you're merging with and where the entry lane ends. So apparently, the best solution to having a short distance in which got get up to speed and merge with this torrent of traffic barrelling down your left side is to come to a complete stop so that you can increase the amount of time needed to get up to speed. And you can't even slow down _behind_ the idiot/asshole stopped in front of you so that when they finally do get their head out of their ass and move you've got more stretch to speed up, because the instant you do that, the person behind you jumps the shoulder so they can mash the gas and then mash the breaks to come to a SCREETCHING halt behind the car you're waiting for. The end result is that the only way to handle the interchange in that direction is to maintain your speed until you can see the car that's stopped, SLAM the breaks, grind to a complete halt, wait for the asshole to remove his head from his sphincter and then do exactly as they did, wait for an opening, floor the gas and pray to god(s). There is a rare occasion on which you can actually pass sanely between them when nobody's stopped there, but not often -- less than 50% of the times I drove it. s. isaac dealey 954.522.6080 new epoch : isn't it time for a change? add features without fixtures with the onTap open source framework http://www.fusiontap.com http://coldfusion.sys-con.com/author/4806Dealey.htm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Flash for programmers - Flash MX Pro http://www.houseoffusion.com/banners/view.cfm?bannerid=56 Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:157592 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
