Typical Night Out for Dinner

[Finnegan]

Hit the Sutter Street Steakhouse in Folsom for what some consider the best steak around. Great dinner and great company, just a lot of fun out for the next. Then there was the 30 mile drive back home from suburbia to the rural Sierra Foothills.

During that drive achievements included:

• On a 3 lane highway, preventing the car in front of me in the far left lane from from crashing into the car in the adjacent middle lane (via my alertness, my horn). How you can move out from behind the car in the middle land and be driving next to them for 2 min and have no idea the car is there is beyond me, but whatever, no harm done.
  
• On a two lane road, avoiding one jack rabbit on a suicide mission
  
• On a two lane road, avoiding one possum also on a suicide mission
  
• Avoiding one (probably drunk) jackass in a jacked up truck who was excessively speeding and crossed the center line 100% into my lane in a corner
  
• Expected to need to avoid a deer or owl, or a group of adults, children, and dogs try to cross the road from behind a blind 55 MPH corner (threshold braking, reaction time, and sticky tires are wonderful things) but that didn't happen this week, that was last week.

So a typical night out and yet another time I credit HPDE increasing my track awareness, skill levels. and car control levels that let me reel bad situations back in most of the time. I will say the glass of wine I skipped at dinner was well enjoyed upon reaching home safely!

[StickMon]

It takes supreme skill to miss a jack rabbit.
Their natural avoidance strategy is to zig-zag, because they can't out run a coyote in a straight line, but they can change direction faster.
They run off the side of the road and you think, "OK he's outta here", then back right in front of you, then off again, then back.

I think my record is 70% misses and 30% hits on dark 2-lane roads out in the Mojave.
So far I haven't hit a Burro, but its been really close.

[Huz-Z]

The general lack of even basic driver skill or common sense these days is scary. You do not need a drive home like that after a great night at a great restaurant - thankfully you made it home safe and sound! Its tough to control the local wildlife ( and here we have huge moose to deal with where the intelligence of the animal is inversely proportional to their size) but people - well they are supposed to be a bit smarter and should know better.

Speeding, aggressive and/or distracted driving is rampant here (and likely across the continent) and the string of recent local highway fatalities is tragic testament to it. I've driven in the US in Orlando (hey - I'm Canadian and winter sucks - go figure!) and for the most part, folks there seem like decent drivers (shout out to the Orlando forum members!). But I think that the drivers here are particularly bad. Go through the intersection by the school at close to twice the posted limit in broad daylight just to beat the red light? Happens all the time. Text and drive - why not? Commonplace. Just a week or so ago I was stopped at a traffic light in the X5 and I looked over to see a guy about 30 years old in a Fiat 500, busily texting while waiting for the light to change. His infant child was in the car seat in the back. Like seriously? I tooted the horn - he looked up and I pointed at his phone and at the back seat and shook my head. Buddy turned as a red as the stop light he was waiting at.

It simply amazes me.

[Finnegan]

Originally Posted by StickMon

It takes supreme skill to miss a jack rabbit.
Their natural avoidance strategy is to zig-zag, because they can't out run a coyote in a straight line, but they can change direction faster.
They run off the side of the road and you think, "OK he's outta here", then back right in front of you, then off again, then back.

I think my record is 70% misses and 30% hits on dark 2-lane roads out in the Mojave.
So far I haven't hit a Burro, but its been really close.

That’s exactly what the JR did. Planned for it, so I’d seriously slowed to a practical stop for the second and third crossing attempts. (I joked that the JR must’ve been driving the car I’d seen trying to change lanes into the car next to it!)

Burro?! Yikes. I had a deer hit me a couple years back (speeded up to get him to t-bone the pick-up bed not the hood I could see in my mirror he ran away) but never a burro! That would be really really bad.

I don’t have anyway near the same success rate with squirrels. Those seem determined to die no matter what.

[Finnegan]

Originally Posted by Huz-Z

The general lack of even basic driver skill or common sense these days is scary. You do not need a drive home like that after a great night at a great restaurant - thankfully you made it home safe and sound! Its tough to control the local wildlife ( and here we have huge moose to deal with where the intelligence of the animal is inversely proportional to their size) but people - well they are supposed to be a bit smarter and should know better.

Speeding, aggressive and/or distracted driving is rampant here (and likely across the continent) and the string of recent local highway fatalities is tragic testament to it. I've driven in the US in Orlando (hey - I'm Canadian and winter sucks - go figure!) and for the most part, folks there seem like decent drivers (shout out to the Orlando forum members!). But I think that the drivers here are particularly bad. Go through the intersection by the school at close to twice the posted limit in broad daylight just to beat the red light? Happens all the time. Text and drive - why not? Commonplace. Just a week or so ago I was stopped at a traffic light in the X5 and I looked over to see a guy about 30 years old in a Fiat 500, busily texting while waiting for the light to change. His infant child was in the car seat in the back. Like seriously? I tooted the horn - he looked up and I pointed at his phone and at the back seat and shook my head. Buddy turned as a red as the stop light he was waiting at.

It simply amazes me.

Yeah it amazes me too. And yet not. Folks have grown up and been conditioned through millions of repetitions to pick up theirs phone when a text goes off or pick up to text when a thought crosses their mind. Same as the prior generations with a telephone ringer. You just pick it up. There’s really no thought involved with conditioned responses and dopamine hits (something app developers count on for profit). Hence I like the IOS11 text off while moving feature. It accounts for the habituation problem that laws and common sense can’t avoid—not “the” answer but at least an acknowledgment of the problem, just got sorted in the right direction. Not that it would probably account for your stop light guy / scenario ! Tech / law really needs to account for human nature in safety terms not really so much on “should” IMO.

Now speeding and blasting red lights? That’s general stupidity and lack of consideration of consequences. More the later. So much more of that on a day to day basis than I saw in the road 20-25 years ago. Might be car/driver volume though. There are 4x as many drivers now on those roads as then so the percent doing this may be the same, just a larger base number. Either way it’s more than a bit concerning!

[gas-can]

Well you gotta work off those steaks, right?

Glad you guys are OK though. I can sympathize - I nearly got run over by a jacked up Jeep this morning

Maybe we need train horns as a standard option.

-gc

[SaltyNC]

It seems like half the kids at my son's high school have jacked up trucks. I don't know where they are getting their money. These are $60K+ trucks new and then they're putting $10K+ in suspension mods, wheels, and tires on these things.

I think pretty soon we're going to need signal flares and shoot them across their "bow." It's insane. I had a guy next to me almost turn directly into me. Luckily, the passenger window was down and I yelled up at them to look down. I could have driven under his truck with my top down.

Salty

[Finnegan]

Originally Posted by gas-can

Well you gotta work off those steaks, right?

Glad you guys are OK though. I can sympathize - I nearly got run over by a jacked up Jeep this morning

Maybe we need train horns as a standard option.

-gc

Originally Posted by SaltyNC

It seems like half the kids at my son's high school have jacked up trucks. I don't know where they are getting their money. These are $60K+ trucks new and then they're putting $10K+ in suspension mods, wheels, and tires on these things.

I think pretty soon we're going to need signal flares and shoot them across their "bow." It's insane. I had a guy next to me almost turn directly into me. Luckily, the passenger window was down and I yelled up at them to look down. I could have driven under his truck with my top down.

Salty

Wow guys! Close calls! StickMon needs to finish that force-field generator for us. I am painfully aware of just how small/low we are compared to the current crop of even non-monster trucks - crossovers, Scoobs, whatever, they're all super tall. I really empathize with my friends to navigate the death trap of public roads.

[StickMon]

I did, but it weighs 800 lbs and doesn't fit in the trunk.

[wdb]

Originally Posted by SaltyNC

I think pretty soon we're going to need signal flares and shoot them across their "bow."

Incendiary rockets. Blow them out of the way. I've wanted a button in my car for that since my first Mini (real not BMW-ized).

[gds52]

Originally Posted by Finnegan

Hit the Sutter Street Steakhouse in Folsom for what some consider the best steak around. Great dinner and great company, just a lot of fun out for the next. Then there was the 30 mile drive back home from suburbia to the rural Sierra Foothills.

During that drive achievements included:

• On a 3 lane highway, preventing the car in front of me in the far left lane from from crashing into the car in the adjacent middle lane (via my alertness, my horn). How you can move out from behind the car in the middle land and be driving next to them for 2 min and have no idea the car is there is beyond me, but whatever, no harm done.
  
• On a two lane road, avoiding one jack rabbit on a suicide mission
  
• On a two lane road, avoiding one possum also on a suicide mission
  
• Avoiding one (probably drunk) jackass in a jacked up truck who was excessively speeding and crossed the center line 100% into my lane in a corner
  
• Expected to need to avoid a deer or owl, or a group of adults, children, and dogs try to cross the road from behind a blind 55 MPH corner (threshold braking, reaction time, and sticky tires are wonderful things) but that didn't happen this week, that was last week.

So a typical night out and yet another time I credit HPDE increasing my track awareness, skill levels. and car control levels that let me reel bad situations back in most of the time. I will say the glass of wine I skipped at dinner was well enjoyed upon reaching home safely!

A dashcam footage compilation would be fun to watch

[AmmarYasirA]

I've been telling people for YEARS that they should make the driving test a LOT harder, and require a renewal test every 5 years. Mandatory class on highway etiquette, too.

Sure, itd be a hassle, more tax money spent, etc.

BUT. IMAGINE HOW FCKING AWESOME IT WOULD BE IF PEOPLE DIDNT HOG THE LEFT LANE ON THE HIGHWAY!!!

Not to mention we'd probably have less accidents amongst new drivers and we'd have to deal with less morons on the road (because lord knows they'd probably fail their renewal tests).

[dre99gsx]

I am a NJ licensed driving instructor, and we only teach the minimum necessary to pass the exam. What I learned at HPDE and defensive driving, both which should be essential for driving period, is not even mentioned during 16-17 year olds instruction.

If we were to include the next level of instruction for students to receive their license, 80% of them would never get a license. I know this since young adults learning to drive generally are not able to coordinate motor skills nor have good reflexes. It isn't their fault, but human nature.

It's true that you MUST drive as if someone is out to get you (defensively) everytime you get behind the wheel. To do so with distractions (texting, Navigation ,even holding conversations) is a death sentence.

[gas-can]

Originally Posted by AmmarYasirA

BUT. IMAGINE HOW FCKING AWESOME IT WOULD BE IF PEOPLE DIDNT HOG THE LEFT LANE ON THE HIGHWAY!!!

You should go to Denmark/Sweden. It's amazing how well they drive. People actually get on the passing lanes to pass. No passing on right. I want to drive off a bridge everytime I come back to the States

I think advanced car control lessons are a necessity over there to get a license. Downside is it's expensive to get a license (I think).
-gc

[SaltyNC]

There is a nice teen program that does training at the Charlotte Motor Speedway and other areas around the country called BRAKES. It's affordable, too. I'd recommend it after the teen driver has enough experience behind the wheel to feel comfortable.

https://putonthebrakes.org

Salty

[Vanne]

Originally Posted by StickMon

I did, but it weighs 800 lbs and doesn't fit in the trunk.

Attachment 1704007

Lol you guys should come and drive here.. you'd laugh, or probably cry more so.

Worst thing here? Phone/texting while driving.. that's DRIVING, not pulled up at the lights. Frequency I hear you ask? At least 1 in every 4 cars.

It's crazy.. and Ron, I hear exactly what your saying about conditioning mate, Ive found myself at numerous times trying to look/looking at the phone when the SMS/WhatsApp thing goes off. It's instinctive mate, exactly as you said. (Insert self dumbass emioti here)

Solution? I now have my phone always on silent.. and it comes with the added bonus that I can't hear the company calling when they ring.

Perfect solution for me.

[Finnegan]

I need a new dashcam, the old one packed it in. Before it did I captured a lot of stuff. Here's a sampling. The date stamps are well off (battery was kaput), but here's a few that stick out:

Edit : Fixed

Red Light runner I avoided getting t-boned by

Another red light runner--no danger to me, but, still!

Another squirrel, this one I missed (that's Krissi screaming)

Lanes? Lines? Whatever! That's my 94 year old dad commenting--3 million miles driven, 2 accidents (others at fault) in his lifetime.

[dc_wright]

Originally Posted by Huz-Z

I've driven in the US in Orlando (hey - I'm Canadian and winter sucks - go figure!) and for the most part, folks there seem like decent drivers (shout out to the Orlando forum members!).

The natives here are mostly good drivers. The northeast transplants are a bit of a wildcard when they first move here until they figure out they don't have to drive like they did in Boston or NYC. The tourists on the other hand.......

The population of the metro Orlando area is about 1 million people. The rental car pool size in this area is approximately 150,000. That means roughly 1 in every 7 drivers here in Orlando is clueless as to where they're headed.

Also spent considerable time driving at night in the southwest. Frickin' jack rabbits are HUGE. Hard to believe they get that big given how relatively barren the land is. Haven't hit a wild burro yet but have had to dodge a couple. Also if you're driving in Southwest New Mexico you have to be on the lookout for herds of Oryx.

[wdb]

Originally Posted by Finnegan

I need a new dashcam, the old one packed it in. Before it did I captured a lot of stuff. Here's a sampling. The date stamps are well off (battery was kaput), but here's a few that stick out:

2015 Red Light runner I could see coming (and avoided getting t-boned by).

2014 Another red light runner--no danger to me, but, still!

2015 Another squirrel, this one I missed (that's Krissi screaming)

2016 Lanes? Lines? Whatever! (That's my 94 year old dad commenting--3 million miles driven, 2 other person fault accidents in his lifetime.)

Links no workee. "URL signature expired".

[Finnegan]

Originally Posted by wdb

Links no workee. "URL signature expired".

Fixed. I really need another camera. Coming back from the SF Bay Area last night a Home Depot bucket and 2 stereo speakers bounced out of white Tacoma in front of me. This created a bit of a "threshold braking + slalom challenge" on highway 24 near Benecia. Car and me are ok.

Originally Posted by Vanne

Worst thing here? Phone/texting while driving.. that's DRIVING, not pulled up at the lights. Frequency I hear you ask? At least 1 in every 4 cars.

It's crazy.. and Ron, I hear exactly what your saying about conditioning mate, Ive found myself at numerous times trying to look/looking at the phone when the SMS/WhatsApp thing goes off. It's instinctive mate, exactly as you said. (Insert self dumbass emioti here)

Solution? I now have my phone always on silent.. and it comes with the added bonus that I can't hear the company calling when they ring.

Perfect solution for me.

All of this is by design, tapping directly into the rewards pathway of the brain. It affects driving, and although that's the most deadly direct danger it's probably not the biggest danger out there. Of course the solution for the distraction in cars is autonomous cars, where folks can be 100% distracted and drawn to advertising dollars in new more invasive ways in an "immersive experience" (e.g. Casino).

[mainsoda]

QUOTE=Finnegan
I need a new dashcam, the old one packed it in. Before it did I captured a lot of stuff. Here's a sampling. The date stamps are well off (battery was kaput), but here's a few that stick out:

It is fun to look back on the crazy people. This wasn't in my Z4, but in my Toyota. Watch this guy almost buy the farm from a semi truck running the red light.

https://youtu.be/3Mpd9i1I1uw

[Finnegan]

Originally Posted by mainsoda

QUOTE=Finnegan
I need a new dashcam, the old one packed it in. Before it did I captured a lot of stuff. Here's a sampling. The date stamps are well off (battery was kaput), but here's a few that stick out:

It is fun to look back on the crazy people. This wasn't in my Z4, but in my Toyota. Watch this guy almost buy the farm from a semi truck running the red light.

https://youtu.be/3Mpd9i1I1uw

Damn! Too close!