Ah, Washington drivers! Paying no attention at all until someone nears their space, then all of a sudden VERY attentive and territorial yet unwilling to be actually aggressive, so instead just kind of interfering.
Highway driving at its finest.
How does this make you feel?
>>Ah, Washington drivers! Paying no attention at all until someone nears their space, then all of a sudden VERY attentive and territorial yet unwilling to be actually aggressive, so instead just kind of interfering.
>>Highway driving at its finest.
>>> Every single place you have lived has the worst drivers. Except for you.
>>> How does this make you feel?
It's the darndest thing: anyone who drives faster than me is a maniac and anyone who drives slower than me is a moron. Curiouser and curiouser.
And I want the people who drive slower than me to be as far behind me as possible. That way when their terrible driving causes them to crash in a fiery explosion, I'm not anywhere near them.
But I've never had much trouble getting the people who want to drive faster than me to go in front of me by just... letting them pass. Whereas the people who drive slower than me, now those are the assholes.
In DFW, when a gentle rain starts the calming sound of raindrops is followed by police and fire truck sirens as everyone loses their mind and starts crashing into each other on the roads for no reason.
I can't think of a road or situation here in South Australia where anyone would need to be worried about either of those things to that heightened level. Yeah, take it easier when wet or foggy, or when tired, and drunk drivers exist, but not to the point of seriously warning people on a particular route.
When I lived near Santa Cruz for a year and had to commute to Silicon Valley, I got very good at driving that stretch, knowing when I could do the curves fast, and when I needed to be cautious.
But if you're not a 'regular' on that road? Your advice was well-warranted.
The thing people don't realize is that speed limit advisory signs (on turns or downhills usually) are essentially mandatory for high CG vehicles - to avoid rollover risk.
To help you understand some reasons to refuse a pullout, here are the conditions that I think must be true for an RV or heavy truck to safely and practically use a pullout: (Maybe I'm missing something)
1) Vehicle is slower than the speed limit or lower than the safety speed advisory by more than 10 mph. (Yes, this is annoying for people that want to exceed the speed limit, but they can use passing lanes.)
2) Pullout must be visibly paved and clear for entry in advance of safe braking distance. (This is often a problem.)
3) The pullout must have good visibility behind it so the vehicle can safely get back up to speed from 0 after stopping. (Sometimes a problem.)
4) Traffic must be light enough such that rejoining the travel lane is feasible in less than a couple minutes. (This is often a problem.)
5) The pullout must have a safe path to return to the travel lane. (I have had to balk pullout attempts after nearing the pullout because this is not always immediately clear at a distance.)
6) Most importantly, the vehicle must not be followed either at an unsafe distance or by someone driving erratically. (I am not going to risk damage to my vehicle by braking for someone following too closely.)
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