What's Up w/ NOVA Drivers? (Vienna: luxury, gated, law)

[normie]

Originally Posted by RestonRunner86

Great. Stick to it in the right-hand lane. If you're going 55 in a 55 in the passing lane, then I'll tailgate you, too!

I predict a few tickets in your future. But hey, we can use the money.

[Denton56]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

I remember seeing a blurb on Dr. Gridlock about drivers who purposely go slow in the fast lane and/or block your ability to pass in order to enforce the speed limit. He even gave it a name: "Nelsoning" because apparently the guy who advocated it was named Nelson.

I remember when the WaPost printed those letters to the editor from John Nestor. The term was Nestoring, after him. John Nestor - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia It became his claim to fame, driving at 55 in the left lane.

[Denton56]

Originally Posted by normie

I predict a few tickets in your future. But hey, we can use the money.

Let's hope he gets the tickets without rear ending someone and hurting them.

[dkf747]

Originally Posted by RestonRunner86

0
I'm sorry, Normie, but "being new to the area" is NO EXCUSE for gross negligence/incompetence behind the wheel. I, too, was once new to the region, and I knew to "stay right except to pass". I also knew it was a DUMB IDEA to test the patience of drivers behind me by "cruising" the passing lane just to get a few giggles.

You knew that because you were not from this area.

[dkf747]

Originally Posted by normie

LOL, hey it's ok by me if you want to think there's some law that drivers need to "stay right except to pass". There isn't, but if you want to stay in the right lane I think that's great. More room for me.

Virginia law says "slower traffic keep right", which although the meaning is similar, is not as clear as "Keep right except to pass".

[car54]

Originally Posted by brymax

...Of course then you cross into MD and then you just better get the heck out of the way! Holy Cow!...

You don't even have to cross into Maryland....MD drivers are HORRIBLE no matter where they are....and zillions of 'em work in NOVA.

I can't understand why so many of them are such bad drivers...they just ARE! Best thing to do is, when you see a MD plate, be super alert until you can get away from them...just assume that they're going to do something stupid in the next mile or two. The ones that scare me the most are MD drivers that move to VA and change their plates to VA...you don't know who they are, so you can't prepare for them!

It's not a DC metro thing either....I'm spending most of the summer at my Eastern Shore (MD) home and the natives out here in the sticks can't drive a lick either!

[Denton56]

Originally Posted by RestonRunner86

These are precisely the types of people whom I tailgate on a constant basis. Let ME shoulder the burden of a speeding ticket. I don't need any "vigilantes" trying to slow BOTH LANES down to exactly the speed limit, which does nothing but congest traffic and encourage even MORE road rage. If you're not passing, then why ride the left-hand lane? I commute to Tysons Corner from North Reston daily via Route 7/Leesburg Pike, and this stretch of roadway is only two lanes in each direction but has a 55-mile-per-hour speed limit. Guess how many times I've been tailgating people doing 45 in the PASSING lane?

I'm sorry, Normie, but "being new to the area" is NO EXCUSE for gross negligence/incompetence behind the wheel. I, too, was once new to the region, and I knew to "stay right except to pass". I also knew it was a DUMB IDEA to test the patience of drivers behind me by "cruising" the passing lane just to get a few giggles.

Where's that law? I know that ''stay right to pass'' is the rule on the autobahn, but in Virginia? huh? Are you inventing your own laws for Virginia?

I love to have people like you tailgate me. My BMW has HUGE breaks that stop on a dime. I love to use them on tailgaters. Nothing like hitting the breaks and watching some jerk fishtail all over the road with a look of total terror on his face! It's hilarious and it always work, they always back WAY off. No one wants to rear end a BMW and watch his insurance soar AND get a big ticket! To say nothing of the pain that you would bring me. I'm pretty sure that my whiplash would last for years and cost a fortune in physical and mental anguish. So bring it on Scranny!

[bmwguydc]

It's not a passing lane on Route 7. It's the left lane of a numbered route, not a limited-access highway. There are people who need to be in the left lane to make a left turn, such as at Colvin, Springhill, or Towlston, not to mention neighborhood streets that require crossing two lanes of Route 7. People who need to make such turns are well within their rights to drive in the left lane, no matter how fast someone else may wish to go. I think that the county needs to review the speed limit on the Fairfax stretch, since, personally, 45mph is a more reasonable speed with all of the intersections.

55mph encourages people to think that they are on a highway, when they are not. And, I, for one, do not want to be run off the road, or have anyone in my vehicle be subject to unsafe driving because we are so audacious that we might need to make a left turn into Great Falls when returning from Leesburg. Then again, I have driven at high speed, and have cars that can handle them, but it's not prudent on a suburban roadway in a heavily populated area, since it's not a highway. The Toll Road has the same speed limit as Route 7, remember, not the prevailing speed on either, and there's no reasonable reason as to why Route 7 has such a high speed limit, IMO.

Route 123 south of Fairfax has a 50mph speed limit and is a newer road, with fewer cross streets and houses off it than the stretch of 7 from the Loudoun County line to Lewinsville, where the speed limit drops into Tysons. Even in Loudoun, which has fewer non-controlled intersections, Route 7 is not 55mph until west of Cascades. The unknown can happen, and in many cars that blow past me (and I am not the slowest person on the road), I see distracted drivers, or cars that can barely handle 55mph, much less 70mph safely on a congested suburban roadway. So, the current 55mph is more than generous and should be strictly enforced, IMO.

It's similar to a discussion I had with someone I know about the deer population and how it's so dangerous driving in parts of Great Falls because of the deer. I said two words to them, "slow down." That's it, since it's the easiest solution. I know that if I come around a curve at 25mph, I will be able to stop much faster than at 45mph+ (how fast many drive on that stretch of road that has a 35mph speed limit). And, when I see one deer, I will be especially vigilant, because there are usually others nearby. If it takes two extra minutes to pull into the driveway, I do not understand the big deal, since the deer, the human(s), and the car arrived at their respective destinations safely.

We are isolated in our own cars, and as such those tend to be the most selfish moments, where our needs, or wants, are the only ones that matter. I tend to step back, and let people blow past me, no matter that I may be driving a car that can outmaneuver or outrun the other driver, since I do not view such interactions as a competition. Suburban roadways are not race tracks, and if people want to drive as though they are in a race, the track is always an option for a hobbyist -- safer for all concerned, and less expensive in the long run than tickets, lawyers, or accident repair costs.

It's easy to say that people are being vigilanties, and some may act that way, but the vast majority of drivers who might be in one's way are merely traveling to their destination. On a limited-access highway, or Interstate, there are limited reasons why one will need to be in the left lane (such as a left exit), but on regular raods, there is no such thing as a passing lane. Just because someone else wants to go faster, the right to do so on a public roadway is not guaranteed, no matter their acceptance of risk and consequences. No matter the speed limit, one should always be driving at a safe speed for road conditions, to include: traffic congestion, weather, sunlight/darkness, etc. on any roadway.

[car54]

Originally Posted by Denton56

...I love to have people like you tailgate me. My BMW has HUGE breaks that stop on a dime. I love to use them on tailgaters. Nothing like hitting the breaks and watching some jerk fishtail all over the road with a look of total terror on his face! It's hilarious and it always work...

Well, maybe it's always worked SO FAR. Jamming on the brakes is a dangerous game, girl. One day, you might get one that's working on a text message, or similarly distracted, and they're gonna hit ya!

Oh, and between 10 and 20 percent (over 30 million, nationally) of the cars on the road don't have a dime's worth of insurance....

[Denton56]

GREAT post BMWguy! I hope people like RestonRunner listen to you! He's headed for a horrible accident and a big ticket. I just hope and pray he doesn't hurt anyone when it happens. Young men on roads are so very dangerous. They think their abilities far exceed the reality of their lack of driving experience. That's why they have such high insurance rates!