Savinien Posted September 13, 2006 Report Share Posted September 13, 2006 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER I put the bop in bop-she-bop-shebop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted September 13, 2006 Report Share Posted September 13, 2006 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER . . . Bop-a-she . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zornwil Posted September 13, 2006 Report Share Posted September 13, 2006 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER Heh. So true! ^ v ^ And that's why I admire you for your brains, Zorn. But seriously, I'm a Massachusetts driver. I'm used to Massachusetts driving behaviors, and I adjust my driving accordingly. Which is why Asheville driving quirks drive me batty: because I have a harder time adjusting my driving style to suit theirs. That and there's very little one can do to MAKE the car behind you stop riding your tail. You can turn on your hazards to make them NOTICE you're annoyed about how close they're following, but that doesn't make them pass you or back off unless they're so inclined. I don't drive, but my wife's observation, which has been echoed and from being a pedestrian in Boston waching out for cars, is that while Boston drivers are semi-maniacal and aggressive, they're predictable, mostly, in those mannerisms. So that makes navigation easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Ofeelya Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER Nope. You have to drive in Napoli to see really crazy drivers. One of my cousins told me, after I queried why they bother having traffic signals, was that they made good year-round Christmas decorations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zornwil Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER Oh, I've heard that, and I understand. Mass. drivers are not "crazy" as crazy denotes irrationality, and as I mentioned they are highly rational, just aggressive and seemingly high risk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER That and there's very little one can do to MAKE the car behind you stop riding your tail. You can turn on your hazards to make them NOTICE you're annoyed about how close they're following, but that doesn't make them pass you or back off unless they're so inclined. I had a bumper sticker that read "If you can read this, I can hit my brakes and sue you." Never did have anyone tailgate me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER That and there's very little one can do to MAKE the car behind you stop riding your tail. That's what the flaming oil jet is for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Anomaly Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER Mass. drivers are not "crazy"... Y'know, being the SF buff that I am, when I first read that (ignoring the period in the abbreviation, of course) I thought something else entirely... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
death tribble Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER That and there's very little one can do to MAKE the car behind you stop riding your tail. QUOTE] I never had a problem. Well not since they televised the incidents where I leaned out of the car and shot the driver in the car behind; had a friend pop out of the sun roof and use a LAWS rocket; used an AK47 from a flatbed pickup; and tossed lit sticks of dynamite out the window. Course the FBI wanted a word but it was a price well worth paying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER That's what the flaming oil jet is for. My father told me that at one time he put an extra spark plug into the end of his exhaust pipe (with the wiring etc. to support it) with a switch on his dashboard. This was in the late 1940's, before any fantasies of catalytic converters. Apparently it made for a nice jet of flame (when seen at night ... in bright day it wasn't very noticeable) emerging from the back of the car, burning all the partially-burned hydrocarbons in the exhaust. He was in his late teens, so it was more of an offensive prank than a back-off warning, of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliceTheOwl Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER I had a bumper sticker that read "If you can read this' date=' I can hit my brakes and sue you." Never did have anyone tailgate me...[/quote'] I WANT that bumper sticker! I don't drive' date=' but my wife's observation, which has been echoed and from being a pedestrian in Boston waching out for cars, is that while Boston drivers are semi-maniacal and aggressive, they're predictable, mostly, in those mannerisms. So that makes navigation easier.[/quote'] Yep. Exactly. You see a car change lanes toward you three lanes over from you? Better speed up or slow down, just don't be next to him. And, lo and behold, he swings over into your lane without even pausing. And people don't run red lights in MA, because too many people are already easing over the stop line as the light is thinking about changing to green. Run a red? You'll get hit, every time, and the driver will be VERY irate with you for being so stupid. (Around here, I've seen people run a red light after the light has turned green for the cross traffic and it's started to go forward. Eeep! I now look both ways after the light turns green.) And you can ALWAYS count on Massachusetts drivers to ride too closely in rainy weather. In a way, though, this makes sense. Your tires get a better grip on the road if you ride in the tracks of the car in front of you. Which do YOU prefer: danger of rear-ending someone at lower speeds (because they also drop their speed by 5 - 10 mph below the limit), or danger of hydroplaning, where who knows where you'll end up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPMiller Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER I think exhaust is too clean these days to pull that one off at least on the new cars. Personally I prefer dropping the caltrops from behind the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliceTheOwl Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER *writes some of these suggestions down* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER The rains resumed here for the season in Seattle, for the first time since July. Needless to say, there were traffic snarls this morning. People seem to forget most of their adverse driving skills during the summers here, to a far greater extent than other places I've lived. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliceTheOwl Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER Nah, they always forget how to drive in snow in Maine every November, too. Considering there's snow almost half the year up there, I found this puzzling and bizarre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER You guys don't have regulations about winter tyres? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliceTheOwl Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER No. Some people put chains on their tires for the winter, but some counties forbid chains or snow tires because of the extra strain it puts on the road. Maine roads are bad enough! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER . . . They outlaw snow tires? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliceTheOwl Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER Yep. Instead, they tell people to stay inside if it's snowing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER . . . Gotta be tough for paramedics, police, fire brigades and whatnot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER Snow doesn't fall often in Seattle (and when it does there's usually very little of it), so traction tires aren't an issue. When we do get a lot of snow -- once every three-four years -- the place is paralyzed, though. We just tend to go two months without rain (from mid-July to mid-September), and that two months is enough for road oil to accumulate and people to get into bad habits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER . . . They outlaw snow tires? Studded tires are seasonally allowed. Outside of snow, they really tear up the roads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliceTheOwl Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER . . . Gotta be tough for paramedics' date=' police, fire brigades and whatnot.[/quote'] Oh, they're allowed to have snow tires, but are supposed to take them off if there isn't any snow on the road. I'm pretty sure school buses MUST have snow tires, because I saw school in session in the middle of blizzards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER Studded tires are seasonally allowed. Outside of snow' date=' they really tear up the roads.[/quote'] Ah . . . Same here. Makes more sense than "Studded tires?! Those are a no-no!" "But I need them to drive safely!" "App app app, no difference! County regulations!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliceTheOwl Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER Ah . . . Same here. Makes more sense than "Studded tires?! Those are a no-no!" "But I need them to drive safely!" "App app app' date=' no difference! County regulations!"[/quote'] Heh. No, local Maine government isn't that ridiculous. Mainers are nothing if not practical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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