Advice to Explorer Drivers

No, we don't.

For all we know, he made the whole thng up.

Reply to
Scott in SoCal
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Continue to be dense about this if you want.

Reply to
Alan Baker

Jack wrote in news:M5-dnYx6AIkGRsDVnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:

Yes. You're clearly painted yourself as an idiot.

Well done.

Reply to
Larrybud

Naw, I don't wanna be like you.

Reply to
Scott in SoCal

Thank you - I'm here all week! :)

Maybe now with Carlin gone I can finally break through...

Reply to
Scott in SoCal

"Scott in SoCal" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

Well, according to your definition I *may* be a Sloth Coaster. As for brakes, it puts a lot more wear on the brakes to make a hard stop. Us sloths don't do many brake jobs because we don't use them very much. My old Toyota pickup with the manual transmission went 150,000 miles before it needed brakes. It takes more gas to accelerate quickly than moderately. I do not speed up so slowly as to impede anyone else but I have to pay for my own gas so I try not to waste it. If it is at all possible I will make every effort to allow a Jackrabbit to pass me or situate myself in the lanes so that Jackrabbit can get past me easily. If I am on a single-lane country road where no safe passing is possible I will go the speed limit if someone with an axiety problem is behind me. On one particular stretch I have had people pass me countless times only to end up right behind them (or is some cases ahead of them) at the stop light several miles down the road. I have no doubt that I used less fuel to get there. I don't know where you live in SoCal but at least *some* towns have the lights timed so that if you accelerate gradually and drive the posted limit you will make the lights. If I am driving on public roads I consider my car to be transportation, not a sport. As for getting there 2 minutes sooner, so what? Unless you are late for work or an appointment who cares? I see many people risking their lives and the lives of those around them because they want to get home 2 minutes sooner. What for? Their favorite TV show probably doesn't even start for over an hour after they get home. The beer isn't going to get warm in the refrigerator.

Another thing that doesn't ever seem to get mentioned is that by repeatedly changing lanes on the freeway and cutting in front of other cars people are actually slowing down traffic. Every time someone cuts in front of someone else that person has to either take their foot off the gas or apply the brakes. Gradually this becomes what we call a "traffic jam." The irony is that the Jackrabbit that is in such a big hurry was slowed down and is stuck in a jam because of others just like him.

I like my old Explorer. It has 210,000 miles on it. I expect to get another 200,000 out of it.

This is a conradiction--how could they be sanctimonious if it didn't work for them?

This is what I was talking about. So they got there a couple of minutes sooner. For what? They simply want to "win."

Reply to
Ulysses

If you have to ask, you probably are. :)

And that is the most important thing in the universe, right?

How much does a brake job cost these days? Compare the value of that one brake job you managed to avoid over those 150,000 miles against the value of all the time you have wasted. Is your time truly worth so little?

A platitude straight out of the 70s, when cars all had (maladjusted) carburetors with secondary pumps that sprayed more gasoline into the air than they did into the venturi of the carb. Have you ever bothered to test your theory using a modern vehicle? Or did you just accept the dogma as fact without even questioning it?

You're more considerate than 99.9% of the Sloth Coasters out there, and my hat is off to you in appreciation. I honestly don't have a problem with any speed that people want to drive, as long as they keep to the right and don't block other drivers needlessly. Unfortunately, there just aren't very many Sloth Coasters who are as considerate as you are. They'll block whichever lane they happen to be in, and they don't give a damn who is inconvenienced by it.

I will pull off the road, either into a turnout (if available) or onto the shoulder, and let them past.

Well, since you never check your assumptions, how will you ever know? :)

Is Sloth Coasting some sort of religious experience, where you take everything on faith?

I live in a newer section (South Orange County) where all the lights are sensor-controlled. Of course, the local Sloth Coasters don't change their behaviorwhen the lights aren't timed - my bet is they don't even notice.

Well, the game you're playing is a bit different, but it's still a "sport." The goal of your sport is to maximize your gas mileage and minimize the number of brake jobs you have to perform on your car. My "sport" is to maximize my throughput and get from Point A to Point B as efficiently as possible while minimizing needless delays. You're every bit as much a "player" as I am.

The difference can be a lot larger than 2 minutes. The time I passed my Sloth Coaster co-worker on the way to work one morning the difference was more like 7 minutes over a distance of only a couple miles. Most of that was undoubtedly time he spent idling at red lights, getting ZERO MPG. I arrived at the office earlier AND probably used less fuel.

Driving AT the posted speed limit is "risking lives?"

You speak as if they only alternative to Sloth Coasting is to weave in and out of traffic and cut people off. How about those of us who don't get in anyone's way, don't slow anyone down, and just want to drive efficiently?

Besides that, when you change lanes in front of someone and accelerate away, he does not need to brake because you are going faster than he is. So where's the slowdown?

Maybe that's what happens when YOU cut in front of someone... Personally, I only change lanes if I'm going as fast or faster than the car that is about to be behind me. I never force them to slow down in any way.

I call it the Golden Rule of Driving: "I'll stay out of your way, just as I would have you stay out of mine." If everyone followed this rule, we wouldn't be having this conversation

Probably because they take everything on faith, and never realize it's not actually working as well as they think.

No, they simply want to get where they're going without unnecessary delays caused by inconsiderate road hogs. Why do you wish to deny them this simple freedom?

Reply to
Scott in SoCal

Not if you have disco lights. You turn them on and keep pulling cars over until you get to the one you want. Another option the cop could take is to pull out into the oncoming traffic lane and pass all 50 cars, then cut in front of the target car and force him off the road. :)

Which makes it all the more enjoyable when you foil their plans.

You just described Tucson to a 'T'. :)

Reply to
Scott in SoCal

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Sounds like you might need a vehicle with a little more pep than a 'Vette. -----

- gpsman

Reply to
gpsman

Certainly not.

Jack

Reply to
Jack

Did you check your assumptions? If not, how will you ever know?

You are complaining about those who aren't doing it right. You have yet to show that it can't be done with great efficiency in regard to time as well as fuel by those with better judgment.

Jack

Reply to
Jack

Ah, now you're catching on!

I *know* I arrived at the office several minutes earlier than he did - I saw him arrive.

As for my assumption about fuel consumption, that was merely idle speculation - IOW, it's based on exactly the same sort of analysis that most Sloth Coasters do. :)

Which is just about all of them, AFAICT.

Would that be you, by any chance?

Reply to
Scott in SoCal

This is why the sloths that I pass to make a green will never understand. Because I make the green light it stays green longer and much of the time they get a benefit from it.

Sloth drivers have no understanding how traffic lights function. To them a red signal is an act of god or something they have no control over so they just go slow in case a red light comes... this is self-fulfilling.

The thing is, these sloths are often the same people who make a dangerous pass when I am bicycling so they can wait at red signal slightly longer than they would have if they just eased off the pedal and stayed behind me. Then they accelerate so slower than I typically do on a bicycle to boot.

Another thing about drivers who don't understand how traffic lights work. When I am bicycling I have to try to get them to pull up over the sensors.... arg.

Reply to
Brent P

i suggest videotaping the sequence, wherein the license plate and drivers face are recognisable. then post on rubetube

ime, the blocking azzhoe republicans aren't necessarily driving japanese econoboxes. they drive any make.

Reply to
Choise76Smu

Ever play chess, Michael? Ever win the game in just one move?

Usually you have to position your pieces properly before you can win. When one is caught amongst a Phalanx of Sloth, managing to be first in line at a red light is a definite WIN. You see, once that light turns green, there are no more Sloths in front of you to impede your progress, and you can finally start making it through some green lights.

That's when you say CHECKMATE, SLOTH!

Reply to
Scott in SoCal

I am uncomfortable and feel unsafe around people that view routine driving as a game or a metaphor for warfare.

Reply to
Laurence Sheldon

with better judgment.

We aspire to greatness.

Jack

Reply to
Jack

And?

Jack

Reply to
Jack

Your standard of "winning" seems somewhat low... not to mention exceedingly variable.

You arrive first at a red light = "winner". "Sloth coaster" arrives first ("all smug and sanctimonious", IIRC) = "loser".

You seem to imply that arriving first at a red light causes traffic to the front to vanish. No traffic pulling out from anywhere to your front, no traffic turning R or L from the cross streets.

I have just got to visit your planet someday. Well, maybe a flyover would do.

Yeah, I played chess with guys like you. One second it's "checkmate", and the next it's "I didn't see your (fianchettoed) bishop, can I take that back?" -----

- gpsman

Reply to
gpsman

with better judgment.

So let's see a video of you actually DOING it.

Several months ago, I made a video of myself driving "like a jackrabbit" and posted it, unedited, to serve as a benchmark. You can watch the video and count how many red lights I had to stop for and how many green lights I just sailed right on through. At that time, I challenged any Sloth Coaster who thought he could do better to post a similar video.

Strangely, there were no takers.

Perhaps you're just the person to demonstrate how your "better judgement" can perform with greater efficiency?

Here's the link:

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As you watch, you'll see all the Sloths falling by the wayside as I pass them AT THE POSTED SPEED LIMIT. At about the 1:39 mark there's one light that I would have made except my path was blocked by a Sloth Coaster. By coasting at 35 MPH in a 60 MPH zone, this moron caused both of us to miss the light. Talk about a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Here's the full tally of time indexes and the light color (feel free to verify this yourself if you like):

0:02 G 0:07 G 0:11 (Not a complete stop, but I'll be charitable) R 0:14 G 0:17 R 0:27 G 0:30 G 0:34 R 0:40 G 0:50 G 0:55 R 1:05 G 1:08 G 1:09 G 1:12 R 1:18 G 1:21 G 1:27 G 1:39 R (would have been G, but there was a Sloth Coaster blocking my path) 1:55 G 1:59 G

By my count, that's 15 green lights I sailed through without stopping, and 6 red lights that I had to stop (or mostly stop) for. And it would have been 16:5 if it hadn't been for that moron Sloth Coaster blocking my way.

So go ahead, show us all your superior intellect: make a video of yourself Sloth Coasting. Show all us "jackrabbits" how your superior techniques will allow you a higher "sail through the green" vs. "stop for the red" ratio than my jackrabbit approach. And be sure and do it without blocking anybody behind you (I certainly never did when I was making my video).

The gauntlet is at your feet. Put up or shut up, Sloth.

Reply to
Scott in SoCal

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