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spog
Aug 7, 2004

It's your own bloody fault.
I've just ordered one from ebay, based on some of the things here, plus my own experiences.

I'll possibly get one to face backwards, given the number of people who think it is okay to sit 3" from my rear bumper at 75mph.

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Kia Soul Enthusias
May 9, 2004

zoom-zoom
Toilet Rascal
I want a rearward facing one too but I would need to figure out how to get power back there without making too much of a mess.

Queen_Combat
Jan 15, 2011

CharlesM posted:

I want a rearward facing one too but I would need to figure out how to get power back there without making too much of a mess.

License plate light circuit.

Beach Bum
Jan 13, 2010

Geirskogul posted:

License plate light circuit.

Some of those are not constant on.

th vwls hv scpd
Jul 12, 2006

Developing Smarter Mechanics.
Since 1989.

Beach Bum posted:

Some of those are not constant on.

Edit: wrong thread.

Snowdens Secret
Dec 29, 2008
Someone got you a obnoxiously racist av.

Smoke posted:

Sobriety tests are standard fare here in case of accidents that require police on-scene(I had to take one too) Dash cam purchase is planned for sometime in the near future so I can share the true horror that is driving in Belgium on a daily basis, along with the wonderful quality of the roads.

Are y'all to the point of the French where you have to carry your own sobriety test kits?

PainterofCrap
Oct 17, 2002

hey bebe


Smoke posted:

Sobriety tests are standard fare here in case of accidents that require police on-scene(I had to take one too) Dash cam purchase is planned for sometime in the near future so I can share the true horror that is driving in Belgium on a daily basis, along with the wonderful quality of the roads.

Is that still true? Nearly 40-years ago when my family lived in Switzerland, we'd go on holiday somewhere and my father had nothing good to say about Belgian drivers. Especially through the alpine passes.

8ender
Sep 24, 2003

clown is watching you sleep

FogHelmut posted:

I mean like this



This is the most ridiculous thing to do to gain like 500 metres of headway on gridlock traffic.

xzzy
Mar 5, 2009

8ender posted:

This is the most ridiculous thing to do to gain like 500 metres of headway on gridlock traffic.

Especially if getting off a highway then back on is seriously saving anyone any time. In that case, avoiding the highway entirely is probably a better choice even after factoring all the extra stoplights.

Smoke
Mar 12, 2005

I am NOT a red Bumblebee for god's sake!

PainterofCrap posted:

Is that still true? Nearly 40-years ago when my family lived in Switzerland, we'd go on holiday somewhere and my father had nothing good to say about Belgian drivers. Especially through the alpine passes.

Yep. The main problem is that turn signals seem to be optional for a large amount of drivers, there's the rampant speeding because that extra half minute is important, yellow lights mean step on the gas because it's not red yet(Had people honk at me for stopping for yellow), and fog lights seen as fun ways to add illumination to your car. I've seen quite a few drivers with their rear fogs on just because it's dark or slightly rainy outside, or the front fogs because it looks cool, or even driving without lights because it's not THAT dark yet. It's very slowly getting better, but the main detriment is that a lot of new drivers get taught to drive by their parents/relatives rather than going to a driving school, and their terrible habits are passed on to the next generation.

Along with that, there's still a slight drinking culture going on, people see having a few beers as not a problem when you still have to drive and almost all gas stations sell beer and booze.

And then there's the terrible parking habits, where lines seem to be just vague indicators of where to put your car. Have to walk an extra ten meters? Why not just park outside of the lines because there's plenty of room for other cars to pass!

For the record: I'm Dutch, got my license there, and only moved to Belgium a few years ago.

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

I had someone sitting so close today that I couldn't even see their hood. A small chunk of their windshield was also invisible.

Because tailgating me is really going to make the person in front of me going under the speed limit go faster, right? Especially when every other lane is going much slower than the lane I'm already in.

They didn't take any hints when I downshifted several times, just crawled further up my muffler. They finally took a hint after 3 brake checks - then zoomed around me only to get caught behind someone going even slower. It was amusing watching them zig zag between lanes trying to pass me, except they fell further and further back every time they changed lanes. I was in the left lane, but it was still the fastest moving lane (at 55 in a 60), so... :smuggo:

Most people out here treat the speed limit as the absolute top speed, unlike every other place in the US where it's treated as the minimum. El Paso actually posts minimum speed signs on I-10 (45 mph), and I still see several cars going way under the minimum every time I hit the highway. I found myself behind a pickup doing less than 30 in the middle lane of I-10 tonight... :sigh: The upside is my MPG should be much higher while I'm out here, since there's no way I'll ever break 65.

Kia Soul Enthusias
May 9, 2004

zoom-zoom
Toilet Rascal
Here in Seattle the speed limit really seems to be the speed limit too. In California it's the minimum speed instead. I'd be happy if I could just set my cruise control at the speed limit without having to pass a bunch of people on the right or whatever.

spog
Aug 7, 2004

It's your own bloody fault.

Geirskogul posted:

License plate light circuit.

Would the electric lock switch or the rear wiper have an ingition-on power feed?

some texas redneck posted:

I had someone sitting so close today that I couldn't even see their hood. A small chunk of their windshield was also invisible.

Because tailgating me is really going to make the person in front of me going under the speed limit go faster, right? Especially when every other lane is going much slower than the lane I'm already in.

I've started to just take my foot off the pedals when that happens.

Llyd
Oct 9, 2012

Smoke posted:

Driving in Belgium

Yep, Belgium has the perfect recipe for bad driving:
- Abysmal road quality
- Constant road works that take forever*
- Transportation planners gone mad
- Being the center of Europe means drivers from all over the continent (and their respective bad habits)
- Mediocre driver licence system
- No cop presence on the roads (sobriety test ? what's that ?)

All that leads to what Smoke said, an then some : "Safety distance is when my hood hides the guy in front's licence plate right ?"
And god forbid you have to drive through a two-lane roundabout during rush hour, 'cause all hell will break lose.

*Belgian joke:
A road worker goes to see his boss: "Boss, my shovel's handle just broke."
"Well, lean against the truck then."

Smoke posted:

For the record: I'm Dutch, got my license there, and only moved to Belgium a few years ago.

At least you guys keep the bad driving for when you're abroad :v:.
For the record: I'm French, got my license there, and only moved to Belgium a few years ago.

FogHelmut
Dec 18, 2003

People who leave their car in front of the gas pump while they go inside the Wawa to get coffee and sandwiches are the worst.

kastein
Aug 31, 2011

Moderator at http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/and soon to be mod of AI. MAKE AI GREAT AGAIN. Motronic for VP.

Llyd posted:

*Belgian joke:
A road worker goes to see his boss: "Boss, my shovel's handle just broke."
"Well, lean against the truck then."

We've got a few like that too...

They changed the signs from "men working" to "men in road." More accurate, you see.

What's big, orange, and sleeps six? A MassDOT truck.

kastein fucked around with this message at 14:43 on Nov 21, 2013

Kill-9
Aug 2, 2004

You've got the cutest little baby face...

FogHelmut posted:

I mean like this



Now that's just stupid. In Texas we have these:



You can string them together to keep moving faster than traffic and never hit a light. The onramp doesn't force a merge in most places because the onramp turns into another offramp. You merge from there over into traffic if you need to. Sitting through a light to get past a couple hundred yards of traffic is insanity.

DesperateDan
Dec 10, 2005

Where's my cow?

Is that my cow?

No it isn't, but it still tramples my bloody lavender.
This roundabout is a pet hate of mine. Coming from the west, the lane markers make it seem like the only way to turn left (to the north) is the left hand lane, and the other two will let you go straight ahead or round the roundabout. Rather than provide a nice slip road to let the left lane merge into the rapidly moving (it's a 50mph zone) traffic coming off the roundabout, you are obliged to stop at the red X, and crane your neck around to try and spot yourself a gap in traffic, and launch from a standstill into it.



It's utterly pointless (once you have done it a few times you learn to use the middle lane to get to the roundabout proper and head north from there), and leads to either a massive tailback as someone gets caught there too timid to move, people getting fed up and barging out into traffic anyway, or even better, people just sailing right in, ignoring that it's a junction and they have to give way.

DesperateDan fucked around with this message at 17:04 on Nov 21, 2013

xzzy
Mar 5, 2009

gently caress parking at schools stuffed to the brim with young drivers. :argh:



Of course the nimrod that did it left no note or stuck around.

So I guess I don't actually know if it was a kid that did it, but the probability is pretty high.

Michael Scott
Jan 3, 2010

by zen death robot

xzzy posted:

gently caress parking at schools stuffed to the brim with young drivers. :argh:



Of course the nimrod that did it left no note or stuck around.

So I guess I don't actually know if it was a kid that did it, but the probability is pretty high.

Yeah someone lopped off my driver's side mirror and it was hanging by the electrical wire the other day. I came back to it in the parking lot that way. No note or anything. :(

Are you going to leave it, pay for it, or submit it to insurance? You gonna file a police report?

Also see if your school has security cameras pointed at the lot. There were none in my case.

VVVVV I'm not going to make a joke about that being a women's only college, okay?

Michael Scott fucked around with this message at 17:27 on Nov 21, 2013

Terrible Robot
Jul 2, 2010

FRIED CHICKEN
Slippery Tilde
Speaking of idiot students and parking lots, this happened last week.



PT Cruiser convertible decided that things like "checking mirrors" or "looking behind you when you reverse" was just too much trouble.

E: I cropped the school out of this photo before uploading from the phone, what the gently caress imgur. Oh well, it wasn't hard to figure out where I work anyway.

Terrible Robot fucked around with this message at 17:26 on Nov 21, 2013

The Midniter
Jul 9, 2001



These are the people you share a parking lot with.

xzzy
Mar 5, 2009

Michael Scott posted:

Are you going to leave it, pay for it, or submit it to insurance? You gonna file a police report?

It's the wife's car, and all I really have for information is the picture and the fact she's mad about it.

We'll talk about it tonight, depending on whether she has any luck with school security finding the person that did it. The car has significant paint peeling on the front bumper because of Toyota being lovely so it's not a great looking car by any measure. If we decide to not make a claim I might just find a way to punch the dimple back out so at least the lines of the car are intact.

Penguissimo
Apr 7, 2007



Yes, this is on a two-lane, one-way street (with a semi-blind curve right before the pictured section). I have no idea how people think this is any safer than backing out of the space would be, given the contortions they would have had to go through to get there. Sadly, this isn't the only time I've seen this on this road. Goddamnit, Michigan.

xzzy
Mar 5, 2009

I like how everyone completely forgets how to park cars as soon as there's a faint dusting of snow concealing the lines.

"gently caress me, no lines? That makes it impossible to properly keep a reasonable gap between me and the other car! :qq:"

briefcasefullof
Sep 25, 2004
[This Space for Rent]
Google Maps hasn't taken a recent picture, so I can't post it to truly explain how terrible this is. There's a section of construction on the interstate where instead of being able to merge normally, TDOT made the onramp into a yield intersection. Basically, if there's traffic, you have to stop... because that's what yield means. Past the yield sign, there is no merging lane.

So, instead of onramp + merging lane -> get onto interstate, you have onramp -> interstate or hitting concrete barricades. If you can't merge, you have to stop, otherwise oncoming traffic will hit you or you'll hit a barricade.

Sometimes, traffic is clear enough that you can just keep going and not stop. Sometimes, you have to stop. Interstate traffic is supposed to be going 45mph to make things a little safer. Thing is, traffic regularly goes 60+mph and there's lots of 18 wheelers, too.

Oh, and there's two of these in a row.

What happens? People love to ride your rear end and honk at you for stopping so you don't get killed. Honestly, I'm surprised no one has run out into traffic and gotten into a pretty serious wreck yet.

I know there's some Nashville people here - it's the Briley/I65S junction.

Solar Coaster
Sep 2, 2009
On the subject of bad parking; I present this from a few days ago:




So this guy pulled into our parking lot around 9:30am. The parking lot in and around was full. Never mind going to the giant parking garage that has free spaces in it (you can even see some on top in the back); nope, I'll just leave the car in the middle of the road.

So he did just that and me and some coworkers spent the next few hours laughing as people tried to squeeze around his van or had to back up and go all the way around.

Security came by and tried to track down the driver but couldn't be found until about 2pm that day. Basically he left his car like that for several hours.

Cage
Jul 17, 2003
www.revivethedrive.org
Why bother finding the guy? Call the police and get it towed.

Kill-9
Aug 2, 2004

You've got the cutest little baby face...

Penguissimo posted:



Yes, this is on a two-lane, one-way street (with a semi-blind curve right before the pictured section). I have no idea how people think this is any safer than backing out of the space would be, given the contortions they would have had to go through to get there. Sadly, this isn't the only time I've seen this on this road. Goddamnit, Michigan.

I started to say "There's areas around here where you're required to back in to on-street parking". Then I realized it's a one way street you posted and was :wtf:. You'd have to turn around facing oncoming traffic to pull that poo poo off. Takes a special kind of special.

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

Parking lot fails, you say?



Judging by the oil stains, this dry cleaner's drive through is blocked pretty regularly. :cripes:

FogHelmut
Dec 18, 2003

Pickup trucks in parking lots are like fat people on airplanes.

IOwnCalculus
Apr 2, 2003





some texas redneck posted:

Parking lot fails, you say?



Judging by the oil stains, this dry cleaner's drive through is blocked pretty regularly. :cripes:

I'd wager then it might be the owner or an employee and they just don't use the drive-through?

trouser chili
Mar 27, 2002

Unnngggggghhhhh

FogHelmut posted:

I mean like this



I have to admit I've been doing that quite a bit here:



I get on the highway at the Olive and 270 interchange just north of this one (Ladue and 270) every evening for my commute home. The entrance lane from Olive continues all the way to Ladue where it becomes the exit lane, this is a distance of about 1.5 miles. On a typical day all the highway lanes are packed solid crawling less than 5mph except this entrance/exit lane. In order to get into the travel lanes, I have to stop somewhere in the middle of the entrance/exit lane and wait for traffic to crawl forward and someone nice enough to not completely block me from getting in. Meanwhile cars back up behind you and honk because you are blocking a completely wide open lane. So I gave up and just started getting off at the Ladue exit and getting back on. I mean if I get the opportunity I'll take a travel lane, but it doesn't regularly work out that way. Getting off at Ladue and jumping back on also works out pretty nice because the entrance lane from Ladue onto 270 southbound is also the exit lane for I-64/40 Eastbound just a little further South, which is my exit from the hell that is I-270 in St. Louis during evening rush-hour.

MrChips
Jun 10, 2005

FLIGHT SAFETY TIP: Fatties out first

some texas redneck posted:


They didn't take any hints when I downshifted several times, just crawled further up my muffler. They finally took a hint after 3 brake checks - then zoomed around me only to get caught behind someone going even slower. It was amusing watching them zig zag between lanes trying to pass me, except they fell further and further back every time they changed lanes. I was in the left lane, but it was still the fastest moving lane (at 55 in a 60), so... :smuggo:


Sorry dude, but while I agree that tailgaters are assholes, brake-checking someone makes you an even bigger rear end in a top hat. Passive-aggressive bullshit like that has no place on the road, no matter how good it makes you feel.

Cage
Jul 17, 2003
www.revivethedrive.org

MrChips posted:

Sorry dude, but while I agree that tailgaters are assholes, brake-checking someone makes you an even bigger rear end in a top hat. Passive-aggressive bullshit like that has no place on the road, no matter how good it makes you feel.
No, the tailgater is still the bigger rear end in a top hat. They're the ones that cause 90% of the accidents that slow down my drive to work. Stop following so closely!

InitialDave
Jun 14, 2007

I Want To Believe.
Sometimes with tailgaters, I just go sailing into roundabouts with a little more enthusiasm, and keep an eye on the mirror to see if my companion is both paying attention and has some idea of what they're doing.

Jonny 290
May 5, 2005



[ASK] me about OS/2 Warp

InitialDave posted:

Sometimes with tailgaters, I just go sailing into roundabouts with a little more enthusiasm, and keep an eye on the mirror to see if my companion is both paying attention and has some idea of what they're doing.

This is my tailgater trap. I go in around 40-45, no brakes, chilling in third. It's a decent enough curve but trickily decreases in radius right at the end, and the banking switches quickly. Hard to tell but it's a downhill, too. Is it baiting if you're just in a good car that can handle it and they take your lack of brake lights as security? I don't know. But it works every single time, doubly well on fullsize trucks.

Queen_Combat
Jan 15, 2011
Sorry for the potato-quality picture, but this was what I saw while working at Home Depot today. Yes, that's 30 PVC pipes taped together with packing tape. Yes, they're almost dragging the road. Yes, the only thing holding them down is one budget ratchet strap in the front.


The worst part about all of it? He said he was driving to Glendale with that contraption. He's going to hit a bump, the pipes are going to fly upwards, then swing sideways in a turn and take out a pedestrian or oncoming traffic. I told him that he should fix it before he leaves because it is unsafe, but all he did was yell at me that he only had one ratchet strap and he was going anyway.


This was about 30 minutes ago, so PhoenixGoons, stay off of 51 northbound for awhile.


(they're not taped down to the bed in the back, just wrapped)

IOwnCalculus
Apr 2, 2003





Yech. You're reminding me of the time (a few years ago now) when I was cruising on I10 east between the tunnel and the ministack just before rush hour - you know, that special time when the freeway is jam packed but still flowing at 70-80MPH.

In one of the dead-center lanes was one '80s Toyota truck flat-towing another, doing maybe 35-40. That was one hell of an oh-poo poo for a lot of people right then.

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jammyozzy
Dec 7, 2006

Is that a challenge?
Coventry's ring road has many traps, this is probably the best one. You come popping over a crest and down to this which looks far tighter than it is thanks to that tree on the inside, and you can't really see that it's actually on-camber either. Every single person brakes for it but you can happily zoom around at 40-45, you even get some fun compression because the bottom of the dip is right on the apex.

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