Saw a Bit of Road Karma in Action Today......,
We live 12 miles from town on a two-lane winding county road. This road has a speed limit of 40 mph for the most part, although some of it is less. Many people drive this road like loons, 50-55, even 60+ mph. Today my wife and I went to town. I was driving about 42-45 mph, and within 4 miles had collected 3 speed demons. At about mile 6.5 the first one zips around me on a straight stretch. Just below mile 6 the second one goes around me on another straight known locally as the duck ponds. This leaves one final tailgater. At mile 5 is a boat launch, and parking area for launching into the river. The road is a somewhat short straight, a corner, and another longer straight.
The shorter straight is enough to pass if you get right after it, but demon #3 waited a bit long to pass. When he pulled out to pass, I thought "Buddy, this is awful short, you better twist that thing's tail". Well lo and behold, he gets right beside me, and an empty log truck come around the corner, headed back upstream for another round. As luck would have it, we were right exactly at the boat launch parking area. I heard that guy's tires squeal as his brakes locked up, and he made a mad swerve into the boat launch lot with gravel and dust flying.
When I saw him in my rear view mirror pulling back onto the road, the was no more speed demon tailgating the rest of the way to town, as he stayed about 1/8 mile behind me. Gave him time to contemplate almost becoming a Peterbilt hood ornament.
The shorter straight is enough to pass if you get right after it, but demon #3 waited a bit long to pass. When he pulled out to pass, I thought "Buddy, this is awful short, you better twist that thing's tail". Well lo and behold, he gets right beside me, and an empty log truck come around the corner, headed back upstream for another round. As luck would have it, we were right exactly at the boat launch parking area. I heard that guy's tires squeal as his brakes locked up, and he made a mad swerve into the boat launch lot with gravel and dust flying.
When I saw him in my rear view mirror pulling back onto the road, the was no more speed demon tailgating the rest of the way to town, as he stayed about 1/8 mile behind me. Gave him time to contemplate almost becoming a Peterbilt hood ornament.
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Hope it sinks in and last,and not forgotten the next time he takes the wheel again. 0 -
Sounds a lot like here, and feel free to send some of that Road Karma this way.[;)] Couple times in the last week or so I've almost had to put my pickup in the ditch, to get around the idiots that think it's the Nurburgring and not Highway 93. If I'm looking at headlights that close again, it better be because I'm popping the hood to check the oil.[}:)] 0 -
One, rooky, cut out at the wrong time, late.
I hope it was not a speed contest after passing legally.
Road Karma works everyday on the wide open highway.0 -
[^][^]Maybe he got a free lesson in life... 0 -
Two years ago up here in New York State on the Vermont border....I had a tailgater with New Jersey plates pass me on a curve and rear end a freshly loaded manure spreader.....air bags deployed and saved his and his wife's butt......sure was messy... 0 -
When you were describing the road you live on I thought you were describing where I live except for the speed limit. In Virginia the state wide speed limit is 55 MPH unless otherwise posted and it ain?t otherwise posted. There isn?t a place on this road that should be more than 45 MPH and most places less. The one that really scares me is an old lady who appears to intentionally run me off the road from time to time. I can tell she is furious, shaking her fist at me and screaming. I can?t tell what she?s saying but I doubt it?s greetings and salutations.
The first mishap since I?ve been here was a head on across the road in front of Billy?s house. I was outside so I saw it and ran up there to see if I could help. By the time I got there one of the cars was on fire so Billy and I got the driver out of the car. I could tell he was hurt pretty bad but he insisted he didn?t want medical help. We got the fire out and everybody out of the other car. I don?t know why but they didn?t want to get checked out either. It was obvious why the other guy didn?t want an ambulance; his car was knee deep in beer cans.
The next one wasn?t really a crash, but I think the driver was in the market for some new underwear. He ran off the road at my driveway, up the bank and the full length of the drainage ditch, back up the bank and made it back on the road just short of Thomas? corner post of his pasture. He never came back to offer to fix my front yard and driveway.
The next one was what I call the luckiest man in the world. He left the road just this side of Thomas? corner post, down the full length of the drainage ditch, became airborne and jumped the creek and into Elmo?s woods. My wife was in bed watching TV in the front of the house. I was ?messing with that computer? in the back room. She hollered and asked me what was that noise. I told her I didn?t hear anything. She kept on about it until I went outside to see if anything was out of the ordinary. I told her I didn?t find anything so she calmed down and went back to sleep.
On our way to church the next morning I noticed the bottom of a car on its side wedged between two trees in Elmo?s woods. I asked my wife if she recalled a junked car in Elmo?s woods before. She said she didn?t think so, so we went to Church.
When we got home from Church there were two Virginia State Troopers on my porch. They told me they got him out of the car and somehow got his car out of the woods. I don?t know how. They said he told
them he woke up and couldn?t get the door open so he laid down and went to sleep. They also mentioned it was alcohol related.
The last one (so far) was about three weeks ago. A 93 year old woman ran off the road just south of my driveway and took out one of my driveway markers, crossed my driveway and took out the other driveway marker. That was not an easy trick. My driveway markers were poured concrete inside landscaping timber frames secured to the ground with four foot rebar and four large rocks on the concrete. I thought that rebar would break before it would bend but she broke about half of them and the spaghettified the rest.
She broke her femur which is a pretty serious injury for a 93 year old woman. She was airlifted to Duke in Durham. I haven?t heard how she made out yet.0 -
Don't know exactly where in Virginia you live James but when I had a place in Woodlawn several years ago, one of the things I noticed about the roads in SW Virginia. Just about every rural roadway has no SHOULDERS![:0] Just two lanes and an embankment of various depths of peril along both sides![:0]
Oh yea, and everyone likes to wave at you when you drive by![:D]0 -
Yep, that's my place. [:D] 0 -
quote:Originally posted by 35 Whelen
Sounds a lot like here, and feel free to send some of that Road Karma this way.[;)] Couple times in the last week or so I've almost had to put my pickup in the ditch, to get around the idiots that think it's the Nurburgring and not Highway 93. If I'm looking at headlights that close again, it better be because I'm popping the hood to check the oil.[}:)]
[:D]0 -
quote:Originally posted by 35 Whelen
Sounds a lot like here, and feel free to send some of that Road Karma this way.[;)] Couple times in the last week or so I've almost had to put my pickup in the ditch, to get around the idiots that think it's the Nurburgring and not Highway 93. If I'm looking at headlights that close again, it better be because I'm popping the hood to check the oil.[}:)]
[:D]0 -
Odd, when I see cars piling up behind me on narrow country highways and byways I try to find a safe spot to slow down and wave them by or pull over to let them pass.
I don't know why people, admittedly driving under or just at the legal speed limit, have such a hard time being kind and thoughtful to other drivers and letting them go by at the earliest opportunity.
Mind you I have about 1,500,000 miles under my belt and know I am not the traffic law enforcer in any manner shape or form.
Flame on.0 -
Granny used to call people driving slow in front of you your guardian angels. "Better slow down, you're catching up to your guardian angel." 0
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