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How Nice It Was to Drive In the USA
speedfighter23
post Thu, 27 Feb 2020 - 15:32
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Just wanted to say how refreshing it felt driving in the USA.

No speed cameras!

I had a rental that could reach 130 MPH, so did a drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco and back at a good speed, there is Californian Highway Patrol obviously that can stop you and pull you over for speeding by using radars to see your speed, but since the road is quite flat you can see them from quite far out so drive accordingly.

You guys should try it, it feels so refreshing not having to look at your speedo every 5 seconds! You don't necessarily need to speed, but at least you are more comfortable that you won't get caught by a camera.

Anyway back to staring at my speedo in the UK.

This post has been edited by speedfighter23: Thu, 27 Feb 2020 - 15:56


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post Thu, 27 Feb 2020 - 15:32
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Fredd
post Thu, 27 Feb 2020 - 15:55
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QUOTE (speedfighter23 @ Thu, 27 Feb 2020 - 15:32) *
Just wanted to say how refreshing it felt driving in the USA.

No speed cameras!

Depends where you are; that doesn't apply in every State.

Didn't those "speed enforced by aircraft" signs worry you at all? See any lines painted across the road? At 130mph, you'd really stand out. biggrin.gif

Anyway, they use laser devices just like we have here, not radar, and on those nice straight, flat roads they could get you at 1000m long before you saw the cop lurking behind a billboard.


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speedfighter23
post Thu, 27 Feb 2020 - 15:57
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QUOTE (Fredd @ Thu, 27 Feb 2020 - 15:55) *
QUOTE (speedfighter23 @ Thu, 27 Feb 2020 - 15:32) *
Just wanted to say how refreshing it felt driving in the USA.

No speed cameras!

Depends where you are; that doesn't apply in every State.


California has only red light cameras.


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Fredd
post Thu, 27 Feb 2020 - 16:08
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I know; but you just said "in the US".



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mike5100
post Thu, 27 Feb 2020 - 16:18
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I thought this was going to be about how nice it is to be able to overtake on either side of slower moving vehicles without creating a firestorm of wrath.
After driving for many years (in the UK) looking at my 'speedo every 5 seconds', and also checking backwards up every slip road, I decided that speeding was just too exhausting, and now drive at about the speed limits. My satnav also beeps at me if I inadvertently travel at more than 10% above the advertised speed limit. Mind you these days I am not a rep who had to make meeting times biggrin.gif
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speedfighter23
post Thu, 27 Feb 2020 - 17:26
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QUOTE (mike5100 @ Thu, 27 Feb 2020 - 16:18) *
I thought this was going to be about how nice it is to be able to overtake on either side of slower moving vehicles without creating a firestorm of wrath.
After driving for many years (in the UK) looking at my 'speedo every 5 seconds', and also checking backwards up every slip road, I decided that speeding was just too exhausting, and now drive at about the speed limits. My satnav also beeps at me if I inadvertently travel at more than 10% above the advertised speed limit. Mind you these days I am not a rep who had to make meeting times biggrin.gif
Mike


Actually I found it annoying that people are driving on the outside lane at 60 without a care in the world! Lane discipline! Yes, you need to zigzag a lot, and as you say, no one seems to mind!


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The Slithy Tove
post Thu, 27 Feb 2020 - 17:35
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QUOTE (speedfighter23 @ Thu, 27 Feb 2020 - 15:32) *
You guys should try it, it feels so refreshing not having to look at your speedo every 5 seconds! You don't necessarily need to speed, but at least you are more comfortable that you won't get caught by a camera.

As someone else said, depends where you are. California has always been more, er, relaxed about speed limits, and when I was in the LA area for some weeks many years ago, I just kept up with the traffic doing 20+ over the limit.

Subsequently I spent 3+ years living in Washington State, where they are much stricter. I just got used to sticking to within a couple of mph of the limit, as the police patrols were quite hot on speeders. And that was before universal cameras and the like. In fact, it got me into the habit of sticking to the limit (more or less), which helped me when I returned to the UK. In fact, when everyone obeys the limit, it makes it much less of a free-for-all rat race on the freeways.

This post has been edited by The Slithy Tove: Thu, 27 Feb 2020 - 17:36
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whitewing
post Thu, 27 Feb 2020 - 20:47
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Just don't be driving around with any significant amount of cash, as the cops can (and routinely do) legally steal it without any criminal charge.
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trubster
post Thu, 27 Feb 2020 - 20:55
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Having just returned from the USA, I love the whole "turn right on red" rule. It could work over here but would never happen.

The one thing about that (where I came a cropper), is where the right lane is indicated ahead or right turn, then you stop at red and end up with a few rather impatient drivers behind you 🤣🙈


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Fredd
post Thu, 27 Feb 2020 - 21:03
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QUOTE (trubster @ Thu, 27 Feb 2020 - 20:55) *
I love the whole "turn right on red" rule. It could work over here but would never happen.

I don't think it would work here because there'd be so many morons who had the attitude that "I'm allowed to turn right here, so I have the absolute right to do so whatever". Rather like the rather civilised 4-way stop, which I suspect would be interpreted as "fortune favours the quickest off the line" here.


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The Slithy Tove
post Fri, 28 Feb 2020 - 07:27
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QUOTE (trubster @ Thu, 27 Feb 2020 - 20:55) *
Having just returned from the USA, I love the whole "turn right on red" rule. It could work over here but would never happen.

Quite apart from the driver education issue, our streets and corners are often far tighter than in the US, so visibility round the corner (to the left, presumably) is often too restricted to allow it.

QUOTE (Fredd @ Thu, 27 Feb 2020 - 21:03) *
Rather like the rather civilised 4-way stop, which I suspect would be interpreted as "fortune favours the quickest off the line" here.

We have mini-roundabouts instead. But given the way that many treat mini-roundabouts, and those who think the rule is "whoever enters the roundabout has priority" (disregarding "give way to the right"), I think you're right. Mini-roundabouts are better in that when there's no/little traffic, you don't have to come to an unnecessary halt.

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mike5100
post Fri, 28 Feb 2020 - 07:36
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QUOTE (The Slithy Tove @ Fri, 28 Feb 2020 - 07:27) *
QUOTE (trubster @ Thu, 27 Feb 2020 - 20:55) *
Having just returned from the USA, I love the whole "turn right on red" rule. It could work over here but would never happen.

Quite apart from the driver education issue, our streets and corners are often far tighter than in the US, so visibility round the corner (to the left, presumably) is often too restricted to allow it.

QUOTE (Fredd @ Thu, 27 Feb 2020 - 21:03) *
Rather like the rather civilised 4-way stop, which I suspect would be interpreted as "fortune favours the quickest off the line" here.

We have mini-roundabouts instead. But given the way that many treat mini-roundabouts, and those who think the rule is "whoever enters the roundabout has priority" (disregarding "give way to the right"), I think you're right.

Yesterday when arriving at a mini roundabout at exactly the same time as 2 other cars coming from other directions I was struck by how similar the situation was to the game Scissors, Paper, Stone. Anyone else noticed that?
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The Slithy Tove
post Fri, 28 Feb 2020 - 08:58
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QUOTE (mike5100 @ Fri, 28 Feb 2020 - 07:36) *
Yesterday when arriving at a mini roundabout at exactly the same time as 2 other cars coming from other directions I was struck by how similar the situation was to the game Scissors, Paper, Stone. Anyone else noticed that?

Fortunately in most cases, all three drivers will hesitate rather than all piling in together. Then it's a case of who blinks first.
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essexdriver
post Tue, 3 Mar 2020 - 12:23
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Well I've just returned from 12 days travel to India (it was meant to be a holiday but holidays are relaxing so my wife and I decided this must be "travel" instead). Our first experience of their roads was on leaving Delhi airport. A dual carriageway with I think four lanes marked. I say I think because there seemed to be 7 lanes of vehicles all trying to get to the front, weaving in and out through traffic moving at a snails pace.

In the countryside dual carriageways had traffic over and undertaking with everything being approached, being it person, bike, motorbike, car or lorry being warned by endless use of the car horn. All the time. The joke all our drivers used was: in India every driver needs three things; good horn, good brakes and good luck. I can see why there seems to be little concept of self drive car hire over there..............

The amazing thing was that since there were no rules it just seemed to work. You had to be ruthless to get anywhere but people did give in eventually then they turned to do the same to someone less agressive and so it went on. Astonishing to experience.
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speedfighter23
post Tue, 3 Mar 2020 - 14:27
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QUOTE (The Slithy Tove @ Fri, 28 Feb 2020 - 08:58) *
QUOTE (mike5100 @ Fri, 28 Feb 2020 - 07:36) *
Yesterday when arriving at a mini roundabout at exactly the same time as 2 other cars coming from other directions I was struck by how similar the situation was to the game Scissors, Paper, Stone. Anyone else noticed that?

Fortunately in most cases, all three drivers will hesitate rather than all piling in together. Then it's a case of who blinks first.


Officially it is who stopped first must move first! But my defacto approach is if everyone is stopped and no one seems to move with all the hesitation, I just gun it out of there. Quite fun when all 4 stop points are occupied.

QUOTE (essexdriver @ Tue, 3 Mar 2020 - 12:23) *
Well I've just returned from 12 days travel to India (it was meant to be a holiday but holidays are relaxing so my wife and I decided this must be "travel" instead). Our first experience of their roads was on leaving Delhi airport. A dual carriageway with I think four lanes marked. I say I think because there seemed to be 7 lanes of vehicles all trying to get to the front, weaving in and out through traffic moving at a snails pace.

In the countryside dual carriageways had traffic over and undertaking with everything being approached, being it person, bike, motorbike, car or lorry being warned by endless use of the car horn. All the time. The joke all our drivers used was: in India every driver needs three things; good horn, good brakes and good luck. I can see why there seems to be little concept of self drive car hire over there..............

The amazing thing was that since there were no rules it just seemed to work. You had to be ruthless to get anywhere but people did give in eventually then they turned to do the same to someone less agressive and so it went on. Astonishing to experience.


Yes, you have to adjust straight away when you come back to the UK, otherwise everyone will be submitting dashcam footage of you that the police wouldn't be able to ignore!

I believe Thames Valley Police said if they get 3 complaints of bad driving for the same person, they will open an investigation, so I am on my best behavior in my local quite village, as driving in London requires aggressive driving that won't be tolerated in a leafy quiet village!


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Fredd
post Tue, 3 Mar 2020 - 14:37
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QUOTE (essexdriver @ Tue, 3 Mar 2020 - 12:23) *
The amazing thing was that since there were no rules it just seemed to work.

Depends what you mean by "works", eg:

Selected road fatality numbers






Country Road fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants per yearRoad fatalities per 100,000 motor vehicles
World 18.2
UK 3.1 5.7
Greece 9.2 12.8
India 22.6 130.1


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speedfighter23
post Tue, 3 Mar 2020 - 15:21
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QUOTE (Fredd @ Tue, 3 Mar 2020 - 14:37) *
QUOTE (essexdriver @ Tue, 3 Mar 2020 - 12:23) *
The amazing thing was that since there were no rules it just seemed to work.

Depends what you mean by "works", eg:

Selected road fatality numbers






Country Road fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants per yearRoad fatalities per 100,000 motor vehicles
World 18.2
UK 3.1 5.7
Greece 9.2 12.8
India 22.6 130.1



Road quality plays a big role though. In Greece roads are terribly built, add that to aggressive drivers and everyone drinking and driving make it no surprise that deaths are 3x higher than UK, and good luck with India I have never driven there so cannot comment.


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The Rookie
post Tue, 3 Mar 2020 - 15:52
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In India (I have right of residency there through my Visa) traffic is indeed a nightmare, worst still the unwritten rules for each region are different, they used to have a Highway Code (based very much on ours) but no more.

Of the 500 people who die on the roads each day (who’s worried about Covid19 on that basis!), 35 are as a direct result of accidents caused at speed breakers (speed humps), hitting one at speed (often on the edges of villages with no lighting and the white paint worn off) is ‘exciting’ what it’s like on a ‘two wheeler’ (motorbike) I dread to imagine.

I use the Pune Mumbai expressway which is one of the most dangerous roads (circa 140 deaths a year on a 90km stretch) and often see the remains of fatal accidents, just today there was a wrecked (fatal for sure) car buried in the cab (not the front, the drivers cab, also almost certainly fatal). On some stretched thee is Armco damage (it’s been up less than two years) about every 75m on each carriageway.


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essexdriver
post Tue, 3 Mar 2020 - 18:09
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When I said it seemed to work I was referring to the towns where the sppeds are much less due to the sheer numbers of all sorts of vehicles as well as cows sharing the streets.

I can well believe the death toll though on the roads between towns. The speeds are higher and there are more heavy lorries, the roads are also in places appalling. They are renewing (?) one main road we travelled on. The concrete infrastructure had been built (probably some years ago looking at it), the bridges, culverts, flyovers etc. but not all the flat bits between. That's just being done in parts so you have a mile or so of new tarmac and then literally rough track for another mile or so running alongside the bit they're working on being graded and prepared. Well not being done as there was no sign of anything being done at all in most places. And this went on for about 120 miles or so.

And I thought the "smart motorway" works on the M4 were a pain!
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