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US To Standardize Car App/communication Device Components
coondoggie writes "The U.S. Department of Transportation has high hopes of standardizing the way autos talk to each other and with other intelligent roadway systems of the future. The department recently issued a call for public and private researchers and experts to help it build what the DOT called 'a hypothetical four layer approach to connected vehicle devices and applications certification.'"
The UN creates a completely different standard, based on Russian Car Cams.
What about makeing the EZ-pass system work for all us toll roads as well?
I've been told I have a big head. But I don't think my tinfoil hat will fit on the car.
This is probably not needed for their drivers though. The use of middle fingers and "FUCK YOU!" appears to have caught on just fine as an industry standard.
You can hold down the "B" button for continuous firing.
The U.S. National Securty Agency has high hopes of standardizing the way autos talk to each other and with other intelligent roadway systems of the future
This is just another step in the scheme of controlling the population. Can you imagine if the NSA forced all the developers to insert a backdoor which would allow law enforcement to shut down your car with the click of a button? /tin-foil-hat
I for one welcome our automobile overlords.
Microsoft will just come along and break standard anyway.
Sometimes the best solution is to stop wasting time looking for an easy solution.
In the short run, the real question for me will not be how the cars communicate with each other, but how they handle the cars that do not communicate at all. Nobody wants to swap engine oil at 75MPH with the VW Bus going 55 just because the bus wasn't communicating. Just like how nobody wants to meet the driver of that car that had to stop short to avoid a hazard.
I think for me, the biggest feature I'd like to see is a HUD that gives me a relative speed on the cars around me along with warning indicators communicated from cars ahead when debris is noted on the road. Hate that last-minute slight swerve to dodge a thrown tyre-tread that I couldn't see until the swerve.
In SOVIET RUSSIA... erm...NSA AMERICA, the Internet logs onto YOU!
> What about makeing the EZ-pass system work for all us toll roads as well?
But if they do, the big, politically-connected corporation that pretends it's 50 different companies & charges extortionate extra fees to "out of state" drivers when they drive on some toll road in another state won't make as much money. Won't somebody please think of THEIR needs? They're people too!
I think we've all suffered enough at this point...
Standardized toll pass would allow cash-strapped counties to collect tolls from out of county residents. Just like "speeding" tickets, only there is no such thing as driving slowly to get around it.
Seriously, this is annoying as heck. Either because they're going under the speed limit, or they're going at the exact-speed as the guy in the next lane and blocking traffic. And the highways by me are plastered with "Left lane pass only" or "keep to right except to pass"
Under the speed limit is obvious...
But the same-speed thing bothers me. NOT when it's rush hour... there's nothing to be done about that.
But it's mid-day and some idiot decides to cruise on the left-lane at the EXACT speed as the guy in the next lane. Nobody in front of either of them as far as the eye can see. So traffic is building up and up behind them and causing congestion because nobody can pass these 2-or-3 cars in front of them.
If you want to be going as the same speed as the guy in the middle or right lane, then GET IN the middle or right lane!
ADDENDUM... especially when the left-lane idiot is going the same speed as the dump-truck next to him. So everyone is getting pelted with small pebbles and things and are unable to pass.
... is standardized internal electronic interfaces.
Nothing like having a great car come with a totally shitty, non upgradable onboard computer (i.e. nav system, media center, etc.).
Sure, you can get really expensive custom shit or bolt on/tape upgrades, but for fuck's sake, it's 2013 not 1980.
While they are at it, they can either make voice recognition work, or just fucking cut bait and move on. Seriously, I have a completely plain jane, standard midwestern accent with no lisp, slur or other impediment, and every car I've ever been in has been completely unable to understand what I am saying.
Me: "Radio, FM 100.3"
Car: "Did you mean: Max AC on?"
me: "cancel"
*restart voice act*
Me: "Radio, FM 100.3 (said very deliberately)"
car: "Did you mean: Find a fuel station?"
me: "NO, FUCK YOU IDIOT COMPUTER!"
car: "Did you mean: new destination?"
me: *road rage mode enabled*
maybe you shouldn't go 35MPH over the limit.
Seriously... some people only want to SLIGHTLY break the law and pass the guy going 55 (legally) in the left lane.
In other words, STFU.
No problem. Just see what the EU and the rest of the world comes up with. Then do something else.
Just like ATSC.
Have gnu, will travel.
First thing this proposal needs is a way to update the firmware of any such technology in a direct, physical, and only-by-the-driver fashion. Because if there's one thing I've learned about government-sponsored "standards" in technology... it's that they will fuck it up.
The best approach will probably be creating some kind of virtual stack with an API interface to applications; Keep it flexible so that as security vulnerabilities are discovered (they WILL be discovered), the network stack itself can be upgraded. It should also be mandatory that manufacturers support any device/vehicle for at least twenty years. None of this crap like we have with cell phones where only a few patches or upgrades are released and then "ha ha, that's it ... upgrade to our newer model now!" As well, every device should be required to be updated at least once a year; That all firmware has an expiration date, and newer versions of the protocol are intentionally only backwards compatible for one or two revisions prior.
This will ensure that (eventually) any vulnerable device or exploit is eventually totally removed from the road. Any such communication tech should also fail safe -- that is, if it isn't upgraded, or whatever... it just disables itself allowing for manual control. The operator should also have the option of immediately discontinuing connections to earlier versions of the protocol or disabling the device entirely (manual mode), and such options should be easily-accessible without any tools or special knowledge.
Lastly, all vehicles should have a prominent fail-safe button readily accessible by the driver without needing to take his/her eyes off the road, and should be tactile (not these capacitive buttons, but a real pushable button), which immediately disables all automation and computer control and resets all inputs to a "fail-safe" manual level to allow for immediate operation of the vehicle -- specifically to bring it to a stop as quickly and safely as possible. This button (ideally) will be located on the steering wheel or column and can be hit without taking hands off the wheel. Basically... and emergency kill switch that engages mechanical and direct linkage to critical vehicle inputs like steering, braking, and throttle.
#fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
Standardized toll pass would allow cash-strapped counties to collect tolls from out of county residents. Just like "speeding" tickets, only there is no such thing as driving slowly to get around it.
The Massachusetts Turnpike already does that without the EZ pass. Say you're an out-of-state driver who has never heard of the Mass Pike, so you turn onto a clearly-labeled interstate, follow a one-way road for a little bit, and BAM! Hit by a surprise toll. Better hope you've got cash, sucker, 'cause there's nowhere else to go!
As soon as your car is communicating with other close cars and highway devices, it means your car will be telling the police your location and exactly how fast you are going. How long would it be until we have the equivalent of red light cameras mailing out speeding tickets to half the cars on the road?
The nice thing about standards...
Truck speed limits are usually quite a bit slower than car speed limits, so it's a safe bet that if you're passing a truck and only going slightly faster than the truck, you're going 5–10 MPH under the posted car speed limit.
Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.
You should just do what I do: get really close, swerve side to side, and lay on the horn. They move real quick.
I wish the DOT would just pick some already working open standards and improve where needed instead of re-inventing something by committee.
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These people are the same as internet trolls. They do it to piss you off. Guess what, you just feed them.
When you're waiting at crosswalks, do you hold your arms out so no one can jaywalk past you? What does it say about you as a person when you hide behind the law as your excuse for limiting everyone who wants to surpass you?
ADDENDUM... especially when the left-lane idiot is going the same speed as the dump-truck next to him. So everyone is getting pelted with small pebbles and things and are unable to pass.
I don't need a new government standard to fix this. I already put a pair of pneumatically-driven TRAIN HORNS connected to a deep cycle marine battery and isolated with a big honking 1 farad capacitor and an industrial-grade current limiter under the hood. It's good for about 20 seconds of SWEET MOTHER OF GOD sound before it spends the next half hour recharging off the alternator.
Believe me... people get out of the way when their car is literally shaking from the noise behind them. And yes, I did dynamat the entire passenger compartment, even the firewall... which makes for whisper-quiet drives until HORN OF DEATH is activated. I have four sets of industrial-grade ear protection and a pack of disposable ear plugs in the glove box, because I measured the SPL at over 120dB even with all the sound-dampening. Unfortunately, the windshield itself transmits a significant amount of vibration through it and there's no practical way to fix that problem...
I've only had to use this weapons-grade horn a couple of times, but let me say, the effects were immediate. Make sure you have plenty of distance between the vehicle in front of you when you hit the button... people have a funny habit of standing on the brakes when their world turns a vibrating shade of red.
I personally guarantee you though... you'll be able to pass anyone after pushing the big blue button.
#fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
Lots of states have laws that state you can't hold up traffic behind you in the left lane, no matter what speed you are going at.
How long before your car spies on you and auto-reports traffic violations to the local authority?
No, I think most don't realize they are a) in the so-called fast lane, b) don't realize that they are only supposed to be there to pass, c) don't realize that you can break (b) if you don't go fast enough (including over the speed limit) and c) don't realize or utilize their rear view mirrors.
So you can speed as much as you like, as long as someone stays on your tail? Sweet.
Just do what I do to the mini-van left-lane hoggers. I start swerving back and forther between the two lanes in 3rd gear so my engine is screaming. People behind me start freaking out and give me tons of space. Then as soon as I get more than 1 inch of space, I go for it. Scares the shit out of the other drivers. And I don't give a fuck.
I disagree with the "stay in the right lane except to pass" laws on safety grounds. Changing lanes is one of the most dangerous things you can do on a roadway (especially when there are 3 or more lanes!).
If I'm generally keeping pace with those in the left lane (typically 5-10mph over the limit on average), I'm easily passing everyone in the right lane (which is typically going 5-10mph under the speed limit because of various low speed vehicles).
If you're one of the maniacs who think that 5-10mph over the limit isn't "enough", that's tough shit for you.
You do realize that he's complaining about people engaging in illegal practices, right? Where I live, cops regularly enforce the "Left lane for passing only" signs that were posted within the last year on our main freeway. If you're in the left lane and not passing the guy next to you, you'll earn yourself a citation pretty quickly because what you're doing is not only illegal, it also endangers everyone else on the road by causing cars to pile up behind you, thus increasing the likelihood of an accident significantly.
Your chief calling while driving is not to abide by the law, but to drive safely. Following the law is the best way to drive safely in about 99% of situations, but the laws are inadequate at times, and it is not your responsibility to try and enforce them against others, since your doing so will more often than not result in a more dangerous situation than if you had left the other driver alone. Every cop I know will tell you that it's okay to speed up beyond the limit in order to pass someone if doing so will result in a safer driving situation for the people involved. And at least where I live, failing to do so means that you need to drop back and get out of the left lane if you want to be law-abiding. Either way, it's safer for everyone involved.
Good for you. You just went from me accidentally slowing you down while I'm passing traffic in the right lane to me purposefully slowing you down.
As long as I'm going faster than the car in front of me in the right lane, I'm passing them. If my going the speed limit, or slightly above the speed limit at most to do that passing isn't good enough, tough titty.
Passing does not mean driving like a maniac as fast as my engine will take me pretending I'm Al unser. It also does not mean there is no speed limit. Even when passing, speed limits are in force.
Once things are standardized, we can commence the march towards autonomous cars. Nothing would make traffic move smoother than cars driving themselves that can communicate with each other.
If you're not passing traffic to your right, you ARE the safety hazard as well as a traffic obstruction because you are CREATING the traffic congestion that makes lane changes more dangerous. That's why these roadway rules are in place--if traffic is flowing properly, there will be ample safe windows for passing when necessary. You must and should be in the rightmost lane that is sustaining your speed. If there is no one in front of you and someone behind you and you're not in the right lane, you're in the wrong lane. Period.
If you're keeping pace with traffic in your lane, you will by legal obligation be passing traffic to your right, and if you are not, you should not be in that lane. Period. If you disagree, that's tough shit for you. Declaring that 5-10 over the limit is "enough" in a post that openly disregards traffic laws is comically hypocritical.
I would like them to implement the ability a given vehicle to receive warning messages from nearby drivers. Things I have in mind include:
- Your $CORNER tire is dangerously low
- Your $BRAKELIGHT is burned out
- If vehicle is a generation III Jetta: The adhesive tape that secures the body moulding to your $CORNER door has failed.
Other more personal messages might be:
- your dress is hanging out of your door, and soaking up all the grime for the last 20 miles
- there hasn't been a turn or lane change in the last $DISTANCE, and yet your turn indicator persists in blinking
- don't brake hard; your $ITEM is still on your roof
CAPTCHA: "orgasm"
I agree, your chief responsibility when driving is to drive safely, like not changing lanes every 15 seconds to 'keep right except to pass'.
Some serious pent up aggression. Find an outlet besides getting angry at drivers - it'll add potentially unwanted years to your life.
It'll be nice to just get my tickets in the mail instead of having to spend the time waiting for an officer to run my plates, validate my insurance, have breakfast and then return with my license and registration.
The guy going 55 in the left lane isn't doing so legally if he can be doing 55 in a lane to his right without holding anyone up. The two are not mutually exclusive, and speed limits are not set as or intended to be enforced as absolutes. Driving conditions determine the safe speed, and regulating the flow of traffic is not the purview of a crotchety jackass who thinks that anyone who wants to get around him is doing so just to "go 35MPH over the limit".
just the thing needed to make it easier to restrict freedom of movement and assembly
Fantastic, then the NSA can monitor where we go, where we stop, and if we change the oil on schedule. If we are "suspected of being a terrorist" the CIA can direct our car over a cliff, into a fireworks stand, or into a farming combine to make it look like an accident.
I was set to purchase a set of semi truck air horns and the rig to run them when my wife asked, "What is that?" I told her, and that was the end of that project. Should have waited until she left for work. . .
"Think about how stupid the average person is. Now, realise that half of them are dumber than that." - George Carlin
If you're changing lanes every 15 seconds, then either you're traveling too fast yourself or you're not completing your pass, which means you're not going fast enough. Don't be an idiot.
If you're going to fast to stay in the right lane, then you are fine in the left lane provided there's no pileup of cars behind you. If you're the front of a stack of cars, then you are obligated to move into the right lane for a while and allow traffic to resume its normal speed because you're impeding the safe flow of vehicles on the road.
If you're traveling at the right speed for your lane, your clue is that there are vehicles a safe distance ahead of you, the cars (if any) to your right are going slower than you, and you're not being passed at every opportunity by cars behind you (if any). The only time it's okay to have a vast open expanse ahead of you is when there is also a vast open expanse behind you. It's not that hard.
One of the most "non-standard" standards. The government will be involved. Corporations will be involved each trying to make their product unique while still meeting the "Standard" making communication difficult. It will be like the medical electronic records. Everything meeting the HL7 and DICOM standards and still not communicating with other systems that meet the same "Standard". If this has any chance of success, they will have to follow the Banking model. Banks communicate well with other (or at least that has been my experience). Besides, you can mess with people's health, life, and safety, but you do NOT mess with their money!
I would have a sig but I am too busy updating programs and restarting my computer
How do they know it's four layers?
I mean, after deducting for politics and religion there's only two layers left.
Can that really be enough?
Anyone else notice how terrible an acronym US is? Specifically when people are too lazy to capitalize it.
http://xkcd.com/927/
"If you're not passing traffic to your right, you ARE the safety hazard as well as a traffic obstruction because you are CREATING the traffic congestion that makes lane changes more dangerous."
Did you not read this part:
"I'm easily passing everyone in the right lane"
5-10mph is just the typical in my area.
"That's why these roadway rules are in place--if traffic is flowing properly, there will be ample safe windows for passing when necessary. You must and should be in the rightmost lane that is sustaining your speed. If there is no one in front of you and someone behind you and you're not in the right lane, you're in the wrong lane. Period.
If you're keeping pace with traffic in your lane, you will by legal obligation be passing traffic to your right, and if you are not, you should not be in that lane. Period. If you disagree, that's tough shit for you. Declaring that 5-10 over the limit is "enough" in a post that openly disregards traffic laws is comically hypocritical.
"
Nice set of contradictory bullshit. Just because someone is not in front of me does not mean I am not passing someone on my right. IT IS NOT LEGAL TO SPEED WHILE PASSING. If you don't like that I am passing legally without speeding (or not speeding as much as you want me to), that's tough shit for you.
And also, the biggest danger on the road, hands down, is speed differentials. The safest traffic is the traffic that is moving as a constant speed. Manaics doing 20+ over in the left lane while I'm trying to change lanes to pass a semi doing 20 under the limit is what causes a dangerous passing situation.
It's a trap! The prism folks want a standard interface to your cars, so their tenterhooks into your car can not only monitor your activity but also manipulate your car.
They want to get out in front of any standards so they can design in any API that the NSA needs. Those things are notoriously hard to get right after the fact.
You're not the NASCAR pace car. You are not entitled to the authority of policing the speeds of other drivers. Blocking the left lane for faster traffic is a misdemeanor moving violation in nearly all US municipalities regardless to the oncoming driver's speed.
tl;dr; You don't get to police the roads unless you've legally got blue strobe lights on your car.
A similar technique is quite effective for tailgaters. If you want to go faster than me I'm happy to let you pass, but sometimes that can't happen because it's one lane, it's icy, or I just have to get past the even slower guys to my right. You don't need to kiss my car in these situations -- I know you're there!
So in high school I rigged a dashboard switch to the brake lights. If an annoying tailgater decided to touch the back of my car I simply held down the switch...which never failed to open up some space!
Surely illegal (your horns probably aren't), but the statute of limitations must have expired by now.
Just don't forget that there are situations where this idea is turned completely upside down.
In urban and city areas you will see "Through traffic use left lane" because there will be a lot of merging and exit traffic on the right. If you're trying to blow through at full speed in the right lane you're just creating a lot of backup and hazard for slower traffic that is trying to exit or merge.
Don't get your panties in a wad if left lane through traffic is only going 5mph over the limit. Wait it out like an adult.
The DOT and several standardization bodies have worked for many years in defining the Dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) set of standards.
In Europe this is being standardized by ETSI, but this is basically a international standard with some regional differences (mostly frequency allocation) that can be addressed with basic software changes.
This call is for actually creating a certification process for these DSRC devices, so that they can actually be installed in vehicles. Currently there already some DSRC devices but these are only installed as 3r-party devices and do not provide safety related applications.
The goal is to actually create something link this overtaking assistance system: video
Well, don't stop there, champ. Please, tell us more about the badass things you do on the Imagination Freeway.
Actually you have hit on an important point. The EZ-pass systems can easily be implemented in a privacy-protecting fashion (allowing you to buy them anonymously and pay cash) but somehow never are. Hmm.
I think we can be pretty sure that however these protocols are designed, privacy and security will not be taken into account.
Did you not read this part:
"I'm easily passing everyone in the right lane"
Then what are you bitching about? You're not engaging in the behavior of the post you're responding to under that circumstance.
Nice set of contradictory bullshit. Just because someone is not in front of me does not mean I am not passing someone on my right.
It's not contradictory. The only time it's okay to have a vast open expanse in front of you is when there is a vast open expanse behind you. If you're passing but there's a huge pileup behind you, you are obligated to get in the right lane and allow traffic to resume its normal speed.
And also, the biggest danger on the road, hands down, is speed differentials. The safest traffic is the traffic that is moving as a constant speed.
No, it's not constant speed, but consistent flow. When road conditions and geometry are constant, then the speed in each lane will also be roughly constant, but the speed across lanes should NEVER be constant. The dangerous speed differential is created by someone like you going 20 under, getting tired of it, and moving into a lane in front of cars moving at or near the speed limit before accelerating to match the 20mph faster pace in the left lane. That's the unsafe scenario. "Maniacs going 20 over in the left lane" are by definition the exception, not the rule, and it's your responsibility to choose a time to pass that does not create unnecessary risk for you or others. If the entire line of cars is going at a particular speed, then that's the speed you need to go if you want to be in that lane. If you're not comfortable doing so, stay out.
Just because you're tailgating the slow truck in front of you so you don't have to accelerate and match the speed of the next lane does not give you the right to pull out in front traffic and force them to brake or pile up behind you.
At a crosswalk I once held out my arm in front of a jaywalker. He had his head down in his phone with his earbuds in, he was following the tail of a crowd across a normally not-busy street, he didn't realize the light had completely changed, and he apparently didn't notice there was traffic approaching rapidly from his left. Did I interfere with his right to jaywalk? Yes, intentionally. What would it say about me as a person if I hadn't limited that guy from passing me, and let him step into that street?
Is the guy in the left lane simply inattentive, or is he just a jerk who likes angering drivers that are behind him? Could he be actively driving that way to block people from speeding? Maybe or his radar detector is going off because there's a state trooper in the car ahead of him. Maybe he sees an emergency vehicle on the shoulder ahead, and is avoiding them per state law?
Not everybody's motives are clear, especially when they're driving and you can't ask them why they're going slow in the left lane. But usually, it's because they're inattentive jackasses.
John
"If you're changing lanes every 15 seconds, then either you're traveling too fast yourself or you're not completing your pass, which means you're not going fast enough. Don't be an idiot."
You seem confused. I don't disagree with the principal. I disagree with many people interpretation and the letter of the law. That's why I'm talking about changing lanes every 15 seconds. If I followed the letter of the law, that's what I'd be doing. If I continue to act sanely and rationally (including NOT impeding traffic, even the maniacs), then technically I am breaking the law.
Sometimes, that acting sanely and rationally means I might be in your way for a few seconds while I finish legally passing one last car to find an open spot in the right lane. Instead of speeding by 20MPH, you'll be "held up" to only about 8mph over, for a few seconds.
If you're not a complete maniac, you have the patience to allow me to get our of your way safely. If you are a maniac, you cut through the spare 2 inches between me and the person I'm about to merge in front of on the right to get out of your way.
No one said you had to dodge back into the right lane immediately after every single car. Once you pass a car, if you're going faster than the next car in the right lane then you're still in the process of passing, so you'd be perfectly fine in staying in the right lane, and even you must have enough common sense to recognize that. You're doing a disservice to yourself by playing the fool.
You do realize that he's complaining about people engaging in illegal practices, right? Where I live, cops regularly enforce the "Left lane for passing only" signs that were posted within the last year on our main freeway.
Can you send me some of your cops? One of the states that borders where I live (Missouri) I think they teach them in drivers ed that they are supposed to hang in the left lane. It's illegal where I live but I've never seen it enforced.
I browse on +1 so AC's need not respond, I won't see it.
So in high school I rigged a dashboard switch to the brake lights. If an annoying tailgater decided to touch the back of my car I simply held down the switch...which never failed to open up some space!
You don't really need to do that. Most vehicle brakes light before any significant pressure is applied -- you can usually trip it with just a light touch (not enough to affect speed). Unless your car is very new or the brakes were just replaced, there's usually enough play to get the light to come on.
#fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
You... are my hero.
I browse on +1 so AC's need not respond, I won't see it.
Sorry, meant to say that "you'd be perfectly fine staying in the left lane".
You do realize that he's complaining about people engaging in illegal practices, right? Where I live, cops regularly enforce the "Left lane for passing only" signs that were posted within the last year on our main freeway. If you're in the left lane and not passing the guy next to you, you'll earn yourself a citation pretty quickly because what you're doing is not only illegal, it also endangers everyone else on the road by causing cars to pile up behind you, thus increasing the likelihood of an accident significantly.
Your chief calling while driving is not to abide by the law, but to drive safely. Following the law is the best way to drive safely in about 99% of situations, but the laws are inadequate at times, and it is not your responsibility to try and enforce them against others, since your doing so will more often than not result in a more dangerous situation than if you had left the other driver alone. Every cop I know will tell you that it's okay to speed up beyond the limit in order to pass someone if doing so will result in a safer driving situation for the people involved. And at least where I live, failing to do so means that you need to drop back and get out of the left lane if you want to be law-abiding. Either way, it's safer for everyone involved.
incorrect. the best way to drive safely in about 99% of situations on a normal highway: 1. get in the leftmost lane (on 2+ lane highway). note this may be illegal but is statistically proven to be the safest lane of travel. (I don't have the statistic handy, sorry) 2. do 85th percentile speed, anything else is dangerous. note this may be illegal as well if everyone is driving over/under the speed limit 3. allow enough braking distance to not hit the car in front. this may be found by using the "3 second rule" but varies by your vehicles inertia, stopping distance, reaction time, and how well the tires and brakes are working at that moment in time 4. and stay alert. (no other point has proven to be more important than that.)
It will be better to purchase from an owner who is a good farmer and a good builder.
Thank you. I spent way too long trying to figure out WTF he was trying to say.
I disagree with many people interpretation and the letter of the law. That's why I'm talking about changing lanes every 15 seconds.
You don't seem to. Changing lanes every 15 seconds is not consistent with the law or safe driving practice.
Sometimes, that acting sanely and rationally means I might be in your way for a few seconds while I finish legally passing one last car to find an open spot in the right lane. Instead of speeding by 20MPH, you'll be "held up" to only about 8mph over, for a few seconds.
No, you shouldn't pull out in front of someone to change lanes if you're not traveling at the same speed, because it's your responsibility to ensure you have the time and space to complete your pass safely. No one needs to be "held up for a few seconds" at all. No one should have to apply their brakes to give you room to complete a maneuver because you're unwilling to accelerate to the prevailing lane speed.
The point is the folks that think that they own the left lane, no matter the circumstance, and then engage in aggressive driving maneuvers behind me when I fail to get out of their way fast enough (e.g. cutting between me and the car on my right that I'm about to merge in front of), even though I'm already going significantly above the speed limit and easily passing multiple cars on the right.
I'm a relatively cautious driver, and I will not, under and circumstances, engage in an illegal and/or unsafe lane change or excessive speeding just because you are too impatient to allow me to safely get out of your way. You can just fucking wait.
If I can safely get our of your way and don't. I'm in the wrong. If I can't and you do anything other than patiently wait, you are in the wrong.
From firsthand experience, I agree with you about that being the safest tactic to use on an individual basis (and it's what I practice most of the time, since it means only having to watch one side rather than two, which allows me to maintain a better awareness). That said, like many other systems, it breaks down if everyone is doing it, thus leading to reduced overall safety. Hence the laws, which are there to promote safety for as many people as possible (at least in theory...obviously there are politics and other nonsense at play sometimes).
But I definitely do follow that practice with most of my freeway driving. Get in the left lane, go fast enough to ensure that I'm passing everyone to my right, but not so fast that I'm being dangerous or am likely to get pulled over, and then stay there for as long as possible. I'll briefly exit the lane to allow cars that are intent on going dangerously fast to pass me, since their riding my bumper is not doing either of us any favors. At this point, I've been driving for about 15 years and have yet to get in an accident, get pulled over, or get ticketed, though I understand that drivers have accidents every 17.9 years on average, so I haven't quite made it into "above average" territory yet.
for my new car to tell the state police exactly how fast it was going, no radar needed.
It will be better to purchase from an owner who is a good farmer and a good builder.
Ha, yeah, it was a rather pleasant surprise (at least for me and only in this one regard) when I heard about some of my friends getting pulled over for not using the lane to pass. That said, we still have our share of people who think those signs are suggestions and that the 75mph speed limit must be a typo that was intended to say 65mph. They're thankfully just a bit less frequent than they used to be.
I'd fully agree. "Left lane for passing only" laws are not a license to engage in dangerous behavior. Like you, if a car is coming up fast behind me and I'm in the left lane, I'll do what I can to get out of their way in a safe manner, but my inability to do so does not give them an excuse to do whatever they feel like doing. If someone is dodging in and out of traffic, they're making things more dangerous for everyone, and we can both agree on that.
But drivers like you and I were not the ones I was discussing with my previous posts. I was describing the drivers who are in the left lane and aren't using it to pass. They're not getting out of the way when they should be, which is making things more dangerous.
TL;DR: your last paragraph sums up my thoughts perfectly.
Absolute silence. Of course I wouldn't put it past the government to hack up a few thousand pages that standardize "silence".
For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
The #1 contribution to all highway accidents is speed differential. Despite all their arguments to the contrary, the most dangerous people on the road are those going significant above or below the prevailing speed.
This means if you're in the left lane, and riding the ass of someone doing that 85th percentile speed, YOU ARE THE PROBLEM, not the other person.
If you are in the left lane and going in the 15th percentile, you are also the problem, but that does not negate the former.
+1 Yeah! It's not like he's describing highways with signs that say "Left lane pass only" or "keep to right except to pass"!
1) That's not an acronym.
2) If it were, it would be a great one, because we know the universe revolves around the United States. So whether you say us or U.S., you're talking about the same place.
(That's (intended) as a JOKE, folks.)
Equip cars with an array of tail lights like "welcome wagon" helos from ID4. Nerby vechicles could use CCDs to capture signals and convert them into usable instructions.
Find an outlet besides getting angry at drivers
He did: bitching about it online.
Another fun trick if they're tailgaiting but not quite touching your bumper is to match RPMs (so there's no telltale shudder for the guy to notice) with the next gear or two lower (depending on speed) and then downshift. The idea is to use engine braking to slow suddenly without tipping off the offending tailgater until it's nearly too late. It usually shakes them up enough that they'll back off a bit. Keep your eye on the mirror and be ready to nail the gas again to avoid being rear-ended, just in case they're too close for their reflexes.
Actually US *is* an acronym.
No, it's not. You don't pronounce U.S. as "us". An acronym is when you pronounce it as a word.
acronym
noun
an abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as a word (e.g., ASCII, NASA).
U.S. is an initialism.
initialism
noun
an abbreviation consisting of initial letters pronounced separately (e.g., CPU).
But then I'd have to take my foot off the accelerator....
Although I hear some American driving schools are teaching the kids to use their left foot for the brake, which sounds like educational malpractice to me.
No they'll still give you a speeding ticket. They'll just also give you a ticket if you're not speeding. http://message.snopes.com/showthread.php?t=85108
Is 1563649 a prime number?
What about makeing the EZ-pass system work for all us toll roads as well?
How about getting rid of toll roads all together?
You paid for them from your taxes. Do you get anything back when someone pays a toll?
Thought not.
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
You do realize that he's complaining about people engaging in illegal practices, right? Where I live, cops regularly enforce the "Left lane for passing only" signs that were posted within the last year
I live in California where it has been illegal to clog the passing lane for years and I see cops come up behind people in the left lane and then just go around them all the damned time.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
This new "standard" will include:
1) Several patented technologies that require royalty payments to the patent holders, which will no doubt be big contributors to Presidential and Congressional election campaigns
2) Companies who fought for open technologies during the development of the standard will be effectively locked out of any opportunity to profit from these technologies
3) Consumers will be screwed, as always, by the coalition between government and big corporations
That's some of the dumbest advice I've ever read on the internet. Let's cause and accident at highway speeds!
I think I speak for all of us when I say please swerve into a pylon next time you try it so the guy behind you doesn't have to.
viruses and malware for cars. definitely going to happen
That only works until you get someone like me behind you that is more than willing to hit you and NOT hit the brake because you are being a DB.
And you would have to consider yourself lucky because there are always those out there that are carrying and do not have any issue with shooting at you.
Word to the wise, speed up a little bit and get over. It is better for your health.
i travel around some parts of the usa w/o any cash at all every now and then. what would they do in such a case ?
also, aren't un-labeled toll roads illegal or something ? in florida, toll roads have several very great warnings before, some even saying "last exit before toll" - even i notice them :)
Rich
I love you.
if i can make a device that tells the car(s) in front of me "get out of the lane because you are about to get hit" it will all have been worth the effort.
this seems all too easy to manipulate.
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
..!..
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
I can understand the left-lane being safer. With the right-lane you have people jumping in to take that exit they're about to miss and perhaps sideswiping you, people parked on the shoulder, people merging with traffic, etc. I've never seen hard-data but I wouldn't doubt that it's true. I could see the middle-lane being the in-between-safety.
But then, as you say, try to stay in a high-percentile of the speed. Don't drive insane-speeds, but at least keep up with the flow of traffic.
Personally I don't like to scoot around lane-to-lane and I don't mind if it takes me another couple of minutes to get where I'm going.
However it drives me nuts when I see the open highway in front of these 2-3 cars (nothing ahead for miles) and I look in my rear-view mirror and see traffic or congestion because nobody can pass them. It's an accident waiting to happen BECAUSE when the people in the congestion want to get over to the right for their inevitable exit's hard to get over because everyone is so clumped together. Which shouldn't be the case because in front of those 2-3 cars is just empty highway.
LOL, I see that too. Here in NJ the speed limit is (usually) 65MpH on the major highways. But I see out-of-staters and such riding at 55MpH even though they've passed like their 3rd speed-limit-sign. So either they're not paying enough attention (and are dangerous) or are stupid and think the state posted the wrong sign umpteen times.
One guy I was speaking to while travelling said the national speed limit was 55MpH and there was no such thing as a USA highway (interstate or otherwise) with a 65 or 75 limit; and anyone who said otherwise was lying to get out of a ticket. I chuckled and thought he was kidding or trying to be ironic, but it turns out he actually believed that.
Actually most of them dispute that it is a "fast lane" and are convinced that they don't need to move aside if they are driving the speed limit. In particular, old people choose to drive in that lane regardless, because they see it as "safer" with cars only on the right side instead of both there is less traffic to negotiate.
The DMV driving handbook used to mention how you need to move aside and let faster traffic pass, but they removed that ten years ago on the unfounded assumption that it promotes speeding (and they were big on cracking down on speed racers back then).
Must learn enough about cars to disable all this stuff when I buy a new one.
So, no more need for traffic cameras. Your are will just tattle on you about your speed and driving habits. "REMOTE SHUTDOWN DUE TO DETECTED ROAD RAGE"
I would like the concept of dialing the license plate number of a car, telling the driver what an idiot he is.
That's understood, but some laws require that you move over if cars are behind you, regardless of how fast you are going.
That's some of the dumbest advice I've ever read on the internet.
Intentionally so. Apparently sarcasm isn't one of your strong points.
Aren't you forgetting something?
http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=52729&cid=5221950