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Re: BURN THAT COP? (was Re: Cops: Can't Live With Them, Can't Live , Without Them)





On 1 May 1995, Mark Freedman wrote:

> In article <Pine.Sola.3.91.950427100912.18510C-100000@ux4.cso.uiuc.edu>,
> copland timothy j  <copland@ux4.cso.uiuc.edu> wrote:
> >
> >
> >P.S.  I only do this late at night, and when I'm alone.  I don't promote 
> >unsafe driving.  Driving at over 100 should be done with great care and 
> >at a time of day where there is less traffic, less younger people and ...
> >:) less cops.
> >
> >Don't jeopordize the life of someone you love.
> >
> >Tim
> 
>    Curiosity question - do states / countries which allow high speeds on
> selected highways take special care to ensure safety ?
> 
>    Specifically,
> 
> 1.  Driver examination. I certainly don't have the training or reflexes to
> drive at 160kph. Some days, I barely manage to parallel park without
> totalling my car :-)/2   (I "ground" myself if I'm feeling REALLY ill. It
> just isn't worth the risk).
> 
> 2.  Vehicle condition. Many vehicles aren't designed for high speeds even
> when new and in perfect repair. I needn't bore you with the condition of
> many vehicles still being driven  (brakes ? nawww .... I just stick my foot
> through the hole in the floor and drag it until the car stops).
> 
>   I used up my lifetime allocation of luck when the camchain on my Honda 350
> motorcycle snapped. I had just passed a truck and was preparing to change
> back to the righthand lane. There was a station wagon tailgating me. (I
> clutched, swung onto the dotted line separating the two lanes, and was
> passed on the right and left by the truck and the station wagon,
> respectively).  
> 
> 
> 3.  Road condition. Higway 401 (major artery across Southern Ontario) is
> littered with debris - remnants of truck tires, mufflers, assorted rubbish.
> That's in addition to small squished animals and large half-repaired road
> faults. 
> 
>    My close calls / falls involved that Honda 350 (I was young and foolish -
> I'm older now :-)). Sand/oil in corners, railway tracks ALMOST parallel to
> the road (about 5 degrees off), that sort of thing.
> 
>    I'm also curious about safety in the following scenario.
> 
>    I'm travelling at 110kph. I approach a truck travelling at 100 kph. To
> maintain forward visibility and reduce the sandblasting, I like to pass
> trucks. I check the mirror, accelerate to 120kph (used to pass at 140kph
> before photo-radar, now everyone passes at 110kph, extending the time in the
> "danger zone" and getting sandblasted), check the mirror, pull into the
> passing lane. Halfway past the truck, some yahoo appears on my rear bumper
> braking from 160kph+ and rather annoyed. 
> 
>   I have checked for traffic approaching at reasonable (i.e. close to
> average) speed and moved out when the road within my range of vision was
> clear. I cannot effectively anticipate someone approaching well above the
> speed limit (possibily out of view because of curves or hills), nor can I
> effectively judge the speed  when it's well above average. IMO It is the
> responsibility of "Sterling Moss" to be aware of these facts and anticipate
> slower vehicles passing trucks.
> 
>    How are these problems addressed in Germany or Nevada (I believe Nevada
> is the state with no speed limits ?).
> 
> 
>    
> -- 
>    mdfreed@io.org   Mark Freedman (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
> 
> 
Mark:

You sound like you have good judgment and know your limits.

I feel that I also have these qualities and I am very confident when I 
drive at high speeds.

As for the cars...I disagree with you.

As for the laws and precautions of other countries...I'm stumped.

Sorry I can't answer your query.

Tim



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