What's bugging you? (2016)

[BrewersSuperCollector]

How about when you are driving in the right lane where the person is going exactly 70 on the freeway. Then when you go to the left to pass they speed up to 75 or 76. I don't want to go more than 75 or 76, but these people only drive faster when someone is near them.

[logan82]

People that vary speeds are really frustrating. It's worse off the interstates where they slow way down on every hill and gentle turn but speed up in the passing zones.

 

 

I admit I don't understand or like roundabouts. They are relatively new and unless you go to a larger city you may never encounter one. I usually drive really slow and read the signs carefully which is somewhat dangerous. You have to know where you intend to exit and that isn't always easy to figure out.

[reillymcshane]

I have to say, I love roundabouts. I think they keep things moving so much smoothly and more efficiently.

 

I also have to say that they can be confusing, and it's easy to get messed up, especially for one you've never gone through before.

[DHonks]

My complaint with driving speeds is when on the interstates in rural areas, people don't use their cruise control. I use mine every day even in suburban driving. Some people get to 70+ on highways and constantly fluctuate speed.

 

Additionally, I get really annoyed when people driving modern cars will hold their phones in their hands while driving when I know it's a model that has bluetooth. Especially annoying is when they are holding it up to their mouths on speakerphone. Seriously, I can handle talking on the phone and driving, but please have two hands on the wheel and your eyes ahead of you.

[logan82]

I have to say, I love roundabouts. I think they keep things moving so much smoothly and more efficiently.

Maybe. In some cases. They would be brutal to deal with in many places though. They would be horrible in many of the main roads in Madison. I would much rather have timed traffic lights.

[1992casey]

In that situation, in my opinion, the general rule is to just keep up with the car in front of you.

 

I think I'd be more concerned about the cars behind me. If they're creeping up on me, I'd have to choose between bumping up my speed or moving over. Moving over could involve slowing down before making the lane change, though, and may not be a good immediate option.

 

 

One of the cars in the line decides it want to skip places in the line of cars and zooms up the middle lane in order to get ahead a whole 3 or 4 cars (basically weaving).

 

The bottom line is that the weaver doesn't gain anything. When traffic is heavier, it gets slower. It's best to accept that.

 

 

I don't really agree with the 2nd statement. If traffic is lighter and a car wants to go 90, get out of their way. What annoys me on the open free-way with light traffic is when cars don't maintain a constant speed. Cruise control is a pretty standard option now on most cars, yet some people seem to have no idea when or how to use it.

 

I was picturing a heavier traffic scenario. In lighter traffic, there'd be options available. It's generally not a problem to move over for the speed-demon — if he gives me a chance to signal and do it. Otherwise, if he blows by me on the right before I have a chance to react and move over, I can accept that.

 

 

People that vary speeds are really frustrating.

 

Yep. It’s annoying to move past a car, have it move past me a few minutes later, then rinse and repeat — all while my cruise control is operating at a consistent speed. Additionally, constantly changing speeds wastes gas.

 

 

I admit I don't understand or like roundabouts. They are relatively new and unless you go to a larger city you may never encounter one. I usually drive really slow and read the signs carefully which is somewhat dangerous. You have to know where you intend to exit and that isn't always easy to figure out.

 

Go to Mount Horeb to find roundabouts in a smaller city. There are about eight of them (give or take) between the US-18/151 ramp and the point where you the center of town.

 

As reilly says, the intent is to keep traffic moving, and most of the time, they accomplish that goal. Now that they’re a way of life, I see intersections that scream for them. Most of the time, these intersections have four-way stop signs. I’ve also seen a handful of cases where it probably would have been better to stick with well-programmed traffic signals.

 

 

I would much rather have timed traffic lights.

 

Taking this in a different direction, I hate traffic signals that force people to wait at an intersection where there’s no cross-traffic. On the other hand, I love it when a traffic signal has sensors that recognize this and changes according to the situation.

[Patrick425]

In that situation, in my opinion, the general rule is to just keep up with the car in front of you.

 

I think I'd be more concerned about the cars behind me. If they're creeping up on me, I'd have to choose between bumping up my speed or moving over. Moving over could involve slowing down before making the lane change, though, and may not be a good immediate option.

 

Again, I'm talking about rush hour type traffic. If you are in the left lane and keeping up with the car in front of you, why do you need to be concerned about the car in back of you (since you can't go any faster than you are already going)? Now that they are re-constructing the freeways and interchanges with no left hand exits, there is really no need to be in the left lane during heavy traffic unless you plan on keeping up with the pace of the other traffic traveling in that lane.

 

In regards to having to slow down to move over, many times I see people doing this when really they should just accelerate a little bit to move over. Also, are you saying that you are worried than when you "slow down" the person behind you will hit you? You don't need to put on your breaks to slow down and even if for some reason you do, the person behind you would have to be a really really inept driver to hit you because you slowed down to change lanes.

[Baldkin]

People who drive 5 to 10 MPH under the speed limit until there is a mile-long stretch of two lanes for passing -- basically when they add that 3rd lane on a 2-lane highway. Then they proceed to speed up to 70, making it very difficult to pass them.

[Storm]

That drives me nuts. We travel on Hwy 14 near Spring Green regularly and in never fails that is what happens. As soon as the passing lane ends they go back to 50 miles per hour or less.

[1992casey]

In that situation, in my opinion, the general rule is to just keep up with the car in front of you.

 

I think I'd be more concerned about the cars behind me. If they're creeping up on me, I'd have to choose between bumping up my speed or moving over. Moving over could involve slowing down before making the lane change, though, and may not be a good immediate option.

 

Again, I'm talking about rush hour type traffic. If you are in the left lane and keeping up with the car in front of you, why do you need to be concerned about the car in back of you (since you can't go any faster than you are already going)? Now that they are re-constructing the freeways and interchanges with no left hand exits, there is really no need to be in the left lane during heavy traffic unless you plan on keeping up with the pace of the other traffic traveling in that lane.

 

In regards to having to slow down to move over, many times I see people doing this when really they should just accelerate a little bit to move over. Also, are you saying that you are worried than when you "slow down" the person behind you will hit you? You don't need to put on your breaks to slow down and even if for some reason you do, the person behind you would have to be a really really inept driver to hit you because you slowed down to change lanes.

OK, I see why we're thinking differently. I wasn't necessarily thinking about rush hour. I was thinking more in terms of when there's enough traffic to populate all the lanes while the pace is at or above the speed limit. Examples would be on weekends between Milwaukee and Madison or every day between Milwaukee and Chicago. In those cases, the issues are slow vehicles in the left lanes or individual drivers who feel that the 85th percentile speed (which is generally above the posted speed) isn't good enough.

 

In rush hour, you're generally below the posted speed limit. You want to go as fast as you can while respecting things like following distance, general safety, and the needs of other drivers. If your objective is to hopefully move to a faster lane, there should be no need to slow down to do it.

 

If you feel compelled to move to a slower lane (even though you'd rather not), you might have to decide to slow down to pull off the lane change. This happens on weekend drives to Madison when the left lane is rolling along at 75[space][/space]mph, the right lane is moving at 60–65, and suddenly, someone barrels up from behind wanting to go 80-plus.

[madbad2000]

I always liked roundabouts and thought I understood them until I drove in Scotland and Ireland this year. Roundabouts with stop lights? Seems to defeat the purpose. I understand why when you have heavy traffic, but still it can be a bit much.

[AKCheesehead]

How about when you are driving in the right lane where the person is going exactly 70 on the freeway. Then when you go to the left to pass they speed up to 75 or 76. I don't want to go more than 75 or 76, but these people only drive faster when someone is near them.

 

Let me guess. Minnesota plates?

[LouisEly]

I have to say, I love roundabouts. I think they keep things moving so much smoothly and more efficiently.

Maybe. In some cases. They would be brutal to deal with in many places though. They would be horrible in many of the main roads in Madison. I would much rather have timed traffic lights.

Studies have shown that even in busy traffic areas (shopping centers, etc.) roundabouts that replaced stop signs and/or traffic signals found that vehicle delays were reduced 13–89 percent and the proportion of vehicles that stopped was reduced 14–56 percent:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roundabout

 

But the major benefit, and why you find them in more rural areas (drive from Appleton south down the east side of Lake Winnebago), is that they significantly reduce injuries and deaths at 4-way intersections. 75% reduction in injury collisions, 90% reduction in death collisions, and 40% reduction in pedestrian collisions.

 

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Safety/roundabouts/benefits.htm

 

My grandfather was involved in one of those types of collisions; a couple of teens missed a stop sign and my grandfather t-boned them doing about 45-50 mph. My grandfather survived, but one of the teenagers did not.

[homer]

I mean somebody has to post this:

 

[RobDeer 45]

Homer!!!! Great work! I think about that every time I go through a multiple lane roundabout.

[DHonks]

People who drive 5 to 10 MPH under the speed limit until there is a mile-long stretch of two lanes for passing -- basically when they add that 3rd lane on a 2-lane highway. Then they proceed to speed up to 70, making it very difficult to pass them.

 

That's how I got my 2nd (and last) ticket. I was driving from Scottsdale to Las Vegas about 4 years ago. We were in the stretch where it was 1-lane each way, 65mph past Wickenberg. We were varying from 55-60mph for quite a long ways, I was the 6th car. We got the passing lane (3rd lane), and instantly cars 3 and 4 gunned it and flew out of sight past the 2 slow pokes. The car infront and I sped up to pass, but so did the slow-pokes, as they hit 70+ for the first time. Running out of room before the lane ended, I opted to follow the 5th car and whiz by. Immediately upon passing I took my foot off the petal to get back to 5-7mph over. Sure enough, Highway Patrol was several hundred yards ahead driving at me, and my radar detector went crazy. By the time we were passing each other, I was only about 7-8 over. He then flipped a u-turn in a busy highway, passed several cars in stretch with 1-lane each way, forced his way between me and the car behind me (barely a car length), then flashed his lights on to pull me over in a stretch with no shoulder. He gave me a ticket for 15 over. I tried politely justifying my case that I was just trying to get around some cars that were a safety hazard on the road, but it basically came down to "were you speeding?" He seemed shocked when I'd never heard of driver school (to get a ticket removed from a record), so I think he was guessing I was a frequent violator. Great way to start a trip to Vegas, down $250.

[MrTPlush]

I tried politely justifying my case that I was just trying to get around some cars that were a safety hazard on the road

 

For future reference you are more likely to get a warning if you accept what you did. Excuses are just wasting their time and it is probably something they have heard a million times before. Of course he might have made up his mind before getting out of his car, but there is always hope.

[logan82]

Wireless charging for cell phones. Why is it such a big deal? You are still tethered to a cord.

 

Metal or any backing on cell phones that adds to the price. Who cares it's going in a case anyway.

[jerichoholicninja]

This is always a depressing time of year for me. Summer is winding down so it's getting dark earlier and a little cooler. Baseball season is almost over. I hate fall - watching everything die and winter is right behind it. Ugh, September is just the worst for me.

[DHonks]

I tried politely justifying my case that I was just trying to get around some cars that were a safety hazard on the road

 

For future reference you are more likely to get a warning if you accept what you did. Excuses are just wasting their time and it is probably something they have heard a million times before. Of course he might have made up his mind before getting out of his car, but there is always hope.

 

Not for me. With this--and my other ticket (when I was 16)--I was honest and admitted. I openly admitted to speeding, and stated that I felt unsafe traveling 10mph in heavy traffic, and was just utilizing the passing zone to get around the bad drivers. But MrTPlush, I was fully honest. The only time I ever got a warning was in Ripon when I truly was ignorant that the 25 zone hadn't yet bumped to a 35, despite the sign being just a little infront of me. When I spoke with the SRO at my school, he complained how he'd gotten pulled over in similar fashion on that drive. It's just a speed trap on the way to Vegas.

[Funketown]

Metal or any backing on cell phones that adds to the price. Who cares it's going in a case anyway.

 

and/or prevents me from swapping out my battery and adding removable storage.

[Invader3K]

Pretty sure I just had my least enjoyable Brewers game ever. We left Fort Atkinson at 10am, finally got to Miller Park at 1230pm. Got into the stadium during the bottom of the 4th inning... Finally got to our seats at the top of the 6th.

 

Great seats, lousy game. Our son was super cranky, and made a scene while we left during the 8th inning. Nothing really redeeming about this trip.

[1992casey]

I've found that Cubs games aren't much fun. But two and a half hours to drive in from Fort? Wow. I suppose it was the holiday weekend traffic.

[Invader3K]

I've found that Cubs games aren't much fun. But two and a half hours to drive in from Fort? Wow. I suppose it was the holiday weekend traffic.

Yeah. It took literally an hour and a half to get from the fairgrounds to Miller Park. Just an unbelievable crawl on I94.

[1992casey]

I thought that maybe the backup would be further west. I drove back from Madison on a Sunday recently, and there were backups off and on between Johnson Creek and the lakefront.

 

I always leave the freeway before getting anywhere near Miller Park. I feel like I have better control of my trip that way.