Re: Advice to Drivers of Small Pointless Japanese Cars

XOZ <garoadwarrior76@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> in news:b1dc0f0c-d4d2-4178-8864-
616ab0e5752c@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Well not to mention "sloth coasters" contribute GREATLY to traffic
> congestion by creating long queues at red lights and slow down traffic
> in general meaning greater gas usage and more people having to brake
> and accelerate not only to deal with them but also to attempt to pass
> them.  This problem seems to be the worst in yuppie areas...go
> figure.  I typically have to wait for two cycles of a red light
> because of these thoughtless ****s that conveniently crawl through the
> light 

instead of ramming the car in front of them?

>when its green when the light usually lasts not only a short
> time but is usually at least 3-5 minutes before it's green again.

actually, the "coasters" cross intersections faster (shorter time
duration), because 
they're travelling at a speed greater than zero as they enter the
intersection. the 
mindless rip n brake drivers need to rip out from 0 mph. only in larger
intersections will 
the ripout vehicle exit before the coaster. 

modern commute routes use sensors at many locations, not only at
intersections, 
and encourage smooth steady driving (and vehicles gaps that are shorter
than "safe", 
btw). the algorithm adjusts for actual traffic. 
controls make it easier for all drivers to avoid "accordioning" if they
drive smoothly, 
thereby increasing the rate of vehicles per distance.



on average, the "crazed" (aka pcp, aka drugdealer, aka republican) driver
has to 
squirm and scratch through half a group to catch up to the next group.
this is easier in 
a time and segment where more cars are exiting than entering the route.



crazed rip n brake rarely makes sense. time a trip by both methods and
you'll notice 
that there's little difference in elapsed times for a city commute drive
of 30+minutes. 

otoh for short drives, if you're clearing one intersection and have been
observing the 
next for op****tunity, stomping up to 50mph in a 25mph zone will get you
thru the next 
light and to the 7-11 sooner (assuming you're also watching for
copcycles). 

but if everyone drove crazed, the roads would be filling faster than the
tow trucks could 
clear them (and bodyshops could fix cars), and soon the roads would be
closed.



the cellphone, lipstick, cdplayers, conversationalists, and fastfood
drivers are the 
worst. 
the silver lining benefit of crazed drivers is that they sometimes break
open clots of 
inattentive drivers. and any type of attentive driving is good for at
least for being 
attentive. 

-------------
beginning in the next few decades, personal trans****t may be controlled by
central 
systems during dense commutes (when and where kludges like metering lights
are 
currently used). the controller will "hijack" all vehicles, turning them
into coasters, 
increasing vehicle flow rates. 
http://www.google.com/search?q=toll+%7C+tollway+RFID+%7C+sensor+%7C+%7Et
ransponder+cities%7C++links+commute+%7C+lanes+caltrans+%7C+inurl%3A.gov+
%7C+inurl%3A.edu
------------

btw, i drive as coaster and non coaster. i choose the better driving
strategy for 
existing conditions. it's easier to coast properly when you know the light
timing, which 
most commuters should. 

on average, the crazed "churning" driver stays abreast of me, because
he/she doesn't 
know which lane is faster in whichever segments of the route, or lacks the
tactical 
patience to avoid becoming trapped in an upcoming slow segment. in more
extreme 
situations, they fall back so far i lose sight of them in my rear view
mirrors. 


i'm also one of the queuebreaker "enablers". i can't reliably determine
whether the 
queuebreaker is a selfcentered yuppie republican, or whether the driver is
a desperate 
tourist, or someone suffering a heart attack, or will continue into
subsequent lanes. 
and letting one or two cars in front of me makes little difference to me. 
since often the expedient road design forces "rude" vs "polite" conflict, 
there's no 
point in going dittohead about "the other guy".