Maybe I should let this go but I don't have it in me.... You sound like a
Classic German driver with the expectation of the Road open only to you...
Although several of the faults of American drivers you noted where valid..
they were in fact obeying the Law of this country... (of which I fought to
defend) as well as being less then intelligent in your estimation... Any
thoughts on a prolonged stay in the beautiful weather of home?
I apologize up front for my attitude.. with the understanding that a car
barreling down on you 20 miles over the speed limit can be pretty
UN-nerving
Keith Turk BN2, BJ8, AN5, AN9
----------
> From: Daniel Thompson <dthompson@gbc.ca>
> To: 'spridgets@autox.team.net'
> Subject: tales from a 1700 mile journey (long, low LBC content)
> Date: Monday, August 24, 1998 11:52 AM
>
> As I announced on the list last week, I drove from Miami to Montreal over
> the weekend. For those of you who have never done it, it is a 2,700
> kilometer trip (1,700 miles) comprising I-95 from miami thru Fla.,
Georgia,
> South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey,
> and then I-87 through New York State to the Canadian border. Total travel
> time 26 hours (plus 6 hours to sleep in Richmond, Virginia). Average
speed
> 65 m.p.h. I was not driving an LBC but rather a Japanese minivan.
>
> Amazingly low number of LBC sightings (not that I-95 is the place for
> LBC's!). One Jag XK140 Roadster in New Jersey; one MGA and one TR4 in
poor
> shape on a flat bed in Virginia. That's it! The usual modern jags and
Z-3's
> with the tops up. Lots of Miatas, only half with top down.
>
> I want to thank Alan Fisher and George Marinos for their kind offer of
> hospitality. Unfortunately, the plane was late on Friday, we ran into
> torrential rain in Florida (more later), and major traffic jams in
Georgia
> due to jack knifed trucks.
>
> Visited (briefly) Wire Wheel Classic Sports Cars in Fort Pierce, Florida
> and met Hayes Harris. Very nice guy who has a whole bunch of bugeyes,
Loti,
> and Mini Coopers for sale. There was someone on the list looking for a
> decent "tub" for a bugeye. Hayes has one for sale
> (http://www.wirewheel.com). He also has a decent stash of used parts.
Only
> problem is nothing is cataloged so you need to spend half a day with your
> wish list in hand searching around his warehouse for what you need. I did
> not have half a day! He also has a very decent used bugeye bonnet for
$800.
> I looked at it, it is good with only minor damage, no real rust evident,
> and no signs of accident damage.
>
> Now on to my favorite topic: American driving style. I am from Canada,
more
> precisely from Quebec, where driving 25 m.p.h. over the speed limit in
the
> left-hand lane is not uncommon. When you come upon a slower moving car in
> my part of the world, they move over to the right. If they don't move
right
> away, you flash your high beams quickly once and they gladly move over
> (provided they have the room of course). No cursing, no swearing, no
> road-rage. I love it.
>
> Here's what I saw for 1700 miles:
>
> It is perfectly normal to drive 2 m.p.h. over the speed limit in the left
> hand lane even though there is no one in the right hand lane for miles.
No
> one seems to check their mirrors and hence never notice a car coming up
> behind them with a speed differential of 20 m.p.h.
>
> Even when the following car jams the brakes and follows 4 car lengths
> behind, nobody moves to the right. Reducing the distance to 3, 2 or 1 car
> length behind their rear bumper seems to have no effect (mirrors? what
> mirrors?). For fear of road rage, I NEVER flashed my lights or honked at
> anyone. After following for a minute or more, I would unfortunately have
to
> pass on the right. This did not seem to faze the morons at all, they
would
> continue to cruise along in the left lane. Had one incident of road rage
> with a guy who did not want to move and did not want to be passed on the
> right. He went berserk, first by harrasing us (flashing lights, braking
in
> front, swerving, etc.) and then proceeded to cut off and harass everybody
> for the next 50 miles. Almost caused several accidents, even passed
someone
> on the right shoulder at one point.
>
> FWIW, the truckers behaved impeccably the whole way.
>
> Beef # 2: people who are driving 3 m.p.h. over the limit in the right
lane
> and want to pass someone doing the limit in front of them. They insist on
> pulling out to the left lane even though a quick glance in their mirrors
> will tell them that there is a car approaching in the left lane
travelling
> 20 m.p.h. faster than them. Sometimes they use their turn signal, most of
> the time they don't.
>
> Lesson#1: people in Florida are not used to driving under difficult
> conditions. We hit 6 or seven violent rainstorms, visibility only about
100
> feet at best. I would turn on my lights and slow down to about 60 (speed
> limit 70). It seemed to be standard practice for people to pull of the
road
> in these situations. However, they insist on slowing down to 30, 20, or
> even stop completely IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY before pulling off.
Many
> cars came to a stop in the left hand lane before trying to pull off to
the
> left, where there is no shoulder, thereby providing me with one of the
most
> hair raising high speed slaloms I've ever experienced. Lesson: if you are
> nervous and want to pull off, put on your hazards or at least your turn
> signal, get over to the right hand side, and get off the driving lanes as
> quickly as possible!
>
> Best one was in one of the Florida rainstorms when a guy in the middle
lane
> started to aquaplane badly in front of us. Golden rule, if your car
starts
> to lose adhesion (water, ice, snow, etc.) lift off the gas but DON'T hit
> the brakes. He shot left, hit the guardrail, shot right, hit the
guardrail,
> shot left again and hit the guardrail again, all the while spinning like
a
> top. Finally came to rest on the right shoulder facing the right way.
There
> is now a Saturn that needs all new polymer body panels. Driver was fine.
I
> had to do my Jacques Villeneuve impersonation, I chose to go left when he
> first shot left and missed him when he bounced back right again. What
fun!
>
> Anyway, that's the story. I know that holiday drivers on the I-95
certainly
> do not represent a cross section of spridget listers but do they
represent
> a cross section of the average american driver?
>
>
> Daniel Thompson
>
>
>
>
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