People who either don't move over or don't pull over on a one lane road just **** me off. I was with my dad in northern california, where there was a white van going 50 in a 55 and not pulling over at the turnouts for the 8 cars piled up behind him. The only solution is to pass him in a dangerous location. What these people don't understand is that their making the roads more dangerous. When people are trying to pass you on double yellows, thats not a good sign.

 

This may date myself... But the last time I took a drivers test it said one must pull over if five cars are behind you.

 

In NorCal we've got this lovely road from the Coast to Silicon Valley over the California Coastal Range. CA Hwy 17. Most accidents per mile in the state. 3200' elevation change in 15 mi. 50-65mph zones for cars, 35mph throughout for trucks. Dozens of high speed, decreasing radius, downhill, rough surface turns. Few pullouts, mostly "pinball chutes" with concrete "Y" barriers on both sides.

You know "The Corkscrew" at Laguna Seca? Well the designer drove down to the site on Hwy 17 and said, "I gotta put one of these in there!" He picked an easy one to model Turn 9 after.

And then there are the sand trucks and the gasoline trucks and Tour Busses and the occasional VW Surfer Van (but love for the ones with the bumper sticker: "0-60...yes!"). They aren't just a moving chicane, They're barely moving lane closures without the benefit of warning cones, invariably coming into your view 1/2way round a blind curve.

The commuters know "the dance". You let folk into the fast lane to get around The Trucks, and they move out when they're past. If you run-up in the right lane passing a bunch of cars on the left because YOU didn't see the slow truck ahead of you, you at minimum owe the person who let you in a wave.

But then there are the tourists (bless their hearts and their money--leave it all here, please) and the infrequent travelers. Rather than just stick to the right lane behind a sand truck and take the necessary 2 hours to go the 15 miles, they move into the left lane...and freeze. Big. Scary. Trucks. Cannot pass, cannot slow down to get back behind. Uh-oh! A Curve!!! What to do!? A Hill! But cannot pass scary truck! Oh, dear!

So now we have two lanes of 15mph traffic and the inter-bumper gaps get tighter and the patience wears thin and...did I mention this stretch of road has the most accidents in the state? No wonder. Don't get me started about when a noob trucker (or some equipment failure) catches a sand truck out on one of those curves and the whole thing goes a$$ over teakettle and the thing shuts down for two hours. Or four. Bring a book. Or a tent and K-rations, cause brother, you're going to be a while.

So when I find myself behind someone who doesn't know The Dance, who is afraid to move right or just oblivious, I breathe, look up at the trees and the sky (lovely scenery, really), I turn up the tunes, downshift one for the fine engine song...

......and get off onto a side road to be able to open the throttle and save my sanity!! (Can we hear an "Amen!" for Bear Creek Road "shortcut" brothers! A "Hallelujah" for Highway 9? A "Huzzah" for Old San Jose Road? )

 

Do you consider CA17 a tough/difficult road? I think it is a great, low skill, mountain pass road. Of course, the skill of most of its users is quite low. The accidents on 17 are due to the ineptitude of the drivers. I have seen people driving that road reading a book on the steering wheel, constantly yakking on the cell, eating, applying makeup, etc. The road is not the issue - the people is.

 

I've found that most people here (US) assume driving to be a God-given right, and not a privilege that must be earned. Setting the cruise at 65 and parking in the left lane seems to be the norm nowadays. Move over?.. never.

I enjoyed driving in Germany during my trips there in the 80s. People there seem to get it.. The tests German drivers are required to pass in order to 'earn' a license are a test of one's driving skills, and not the ability to memorize road signs. Of course that was 20+ years ago, so things may have changed since I last visited.

 

I didn't interpret the prior post as a commentary on high levels of skill being required to drive 17; it seemed to me to be an indictment of the abhorrent driving behavior exhibited there.

MB

 

Oh yes; i know those roads. Don't live there but have been there, seen that many times. Got a love our roads in the mountains HW 4, 108, 120.

One of my favorites is the road from Willits to Fort Brag.

As for the traffic; 90% US drivers suck.

 

We should meet, you might be my brother from another mother or something. I could have easily posted this EXACT same message. let's hope SOMEONE steps up and brings society back to a place where accountability matters, and people don't drive to asses their superiority over another human being, or exercise their ego, but rather to drive and be aware of what's going on around them....and say "thank you" when you hold a door for them

 

THAT is an attitude worth saving...nothing you can do about it, but ALWAYS save for a nice throttle blip downshift.

 

on their brakes when a cop is on the side of the road. If your speeding and he comes into view he already has you. As to the comment about holding doors I have experienced the same here in Florida but I would say only about 3 out of 10 don't say thank you and I always make a point to say your welcome if they dont .

I actually feel sorry for people that don't have manners because its hard to erase a first impression and something as simple as please and thank you can really open a lot of doors.

 

Have had the pleasure of driving in Germany a few times. Just got back from 10 days in Germany/Austria with a 997S. coming back home and driving again is the most depressig, frustrating thing you could possibly imagine.

It is absolutely fascinating to see cars having an oppty. to pass on the right but they WILL NOT do it. The slower car in the left almost immediately moves over, and if traffic doesn't permit they will move over eventually - or get another car up their ***.

Most people in this country wouldn't last 10 minutes driving in Germany. The people here are just so self absorbed and selfish it's amazing.

 

I could quote every post in this thread thus far and say, "I absolutely agree" but I really here ya on the going from Germany to the US thing. I was so impressed with the roads and the drivers. When I came back I was just depressed, as you say, and couldn't believe how unsafe I felt in comparison. All the while driving at half the speed I was on the Autobahns. Driving skills and judgment is an issue 'round here.

 

I have to say that Cali does have some of the worst drivers in the world and i cant believe how people come off an exit ramp to dart straight over into the left lane only to do the speed limit.

Not to sound anti american, but i think there is a mindset in this country of entitlement, pride and arrogance which extends into driving where people are unnaccepting of cars moving faster than them. I dont know how many times i pass people, only to see them speed up to pace me or to try to race me as they are offended that i have passed them. As the rest of the world lives more modest than us, they believe in the concept of yielding to faster moving traffic and lane discipline.

i drove in many part of Europe and the fact is that in the UK and Germany, 90% of the population fail the driving test on their first attempt, whereas here in the US 90% pass the test. American build cars as they expect their cars to be in accidents and therefore value safety whereas the europeaners design their cars to avoid accidents..

i guess i had to rant a little..

 

Yeah, welcome to America. EPIC FAIL highway driving etiquette. I've been to a lot of 3rd world countries and the left lanes are typically reserved for passing and respected. Ugh, I tell you guys, I like driving abroad more than I do here almost any day.

Left lane bandits **** me off. The state police who think they're entitled to be high and mighty cuz they have a baton shoved up their a$$ need to get with the program and be way more aggressive in pulling dipsh*ts over (even 80 year old grandmas!) that hog the left lane - and force me to pass them on the right !!!

 

Truth. The driver's tests here need to get way tougher. In fact it should be a federal mandate