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The most dangerous driver I saw recently was a a driver who passed me on the shoulder of a divided 4 lane freeway with a 20+ mph speed differential because they

by shkkmo 5y ago

The most dangerous driver I saw recently was a a driver who passed me on the shoulder of a divided 4 lane freeway with a 20+ mph speed differential because they couldn't be bothered to wait for a semi in the left lane to finish passing. This is exactly the sort of antics I would expect from a significant portion of drivers who are trying to set time records in crossing the country. Especially since these racers use spotters and other tech specifically to know when they can get away with driving recklessly. > I also generally see much more of this than of non-police speeding, Ummm... This is a laughably false claim that leads me doubt all your other observations. I have driven all over the USA and in every single place there are more non-cop speeders than cop speeders, simply because there are far more non-cops than cops. While I do agree that there are significant problems with police corruption, that in no way excuses these cannonball racers from engaging in this activity with reckless disregard for the safety of other road users. You seem quite happy to excuse this behavior based on nothing more than your assumptions about how cautions people trying to set competive records are without any evidence to back up those assumptions.

mindslight 5y ago
> driver who passed me on the shoulder ... with a 20+ mph speed differential ... is exactly the sort of antics I would expect from a significant portion of drivers who are trying to set time records in crossing the country Your guess is as a good as mine. I would expect that for a 2800 mile journey, the priority is avoiding interruptions - eg crashes or getting pulled over because you've attracted determined police attention from other motorists calling you in. Reading about it, the whole thing seems like a game of coordinated logistics rather than extreme piloting. > every single place there are more non-cop speeders than cop speeders, simply because there are far more non-cops than cops. I'm sure we're defining speeding differently. On a road with average traffic of 75mph, I would only consider significantly over 80mph to be speeding in its own right. I see very few non-cops doing these speeds, whereas every moving state cop I see is cruising at 110mph+ or tailgating waiting to pass. You can tell based on how quickly they close distance from way behind you to passing you. > You seem quite happy to excuse this behavior It's literally the only way to have an interesting conversation about it. If cannonball run attempts become common enough where they create a statistical danger, then I'll be concerned about it. Until then, I'll stay concerned with the mundane-and-bad rather than getting worked up about the exceptional.

by shkkmo 5y ago

mindslight 5y ago

> driver who passed me on the shoulder ... with a 20+ mph speed differential ... is exactly the sort of antics I would expect from a significant portion of drivers who are trying to set time records in crossing the country Your guess is as a good as mine. I would expect that for a 2800 mile journey, the priority is avoiding interruptions - eg crashes or getting pulled over because you've attracted determined police attention from other motorists calling you in. Reading about it, the whole thing seems like a game of coordinated logistics rather than extreme piloting. > every single place there are more non-cop speeders than cop speeders, simply because there are far more non-cops than cops. I'm sure we're defining speeding differently. On a road with average traffic of 75mph, I would only consider significantly over 80mph to be speeding in its own right. I see very few non-cops doing these speeds, whereas every moving state cop I see is cruising at 110mph+ or tailgating waiting to pass. You can tell based on how quickly they close distance from way behind you to passing you. > You seem quite happy to excuse this behavior It's literally the only way to have an interesting conversation about it. If cannonball run attempts become common enough where they create a statistical danger, then I'll be concerned about it. Until then, I'll stay concerned with the mundane-and-bad rather than getting worked up about the exceptional.