I no longer stop completely for Stop Signs, and I turn left on red

General Discussion
1

People here in Indiana are all a bunch of idiots ( Me included, (Triedaq is not) ). If you are doing 60-62 in a 55 you will get tailgated over 50% of the time. If you go 55 you will get tailgated 90% of the time. If you go 65 in a 55 you will get tailgated 30% of the time and if you go 70 in a 55 you will still get tailgated sometimes. This is based on research I have done.

The drivers are often drunk or high and on meth, turn signals are not used alot, cell phones are usually in hand, many drivers do not even have a license. People burn their trash and toxic waste. Tires? Ah heck burn em too! My mailbox has been hit 3 times in the last 5 years!! I live on a perfectly straight road, and you have to go off the road to hit it.

Anyone that thinks that Indiana is filled with good 'ol friendly folk is wrong. Everyone is in a big hurry and only thinks of themselves. They act more like “city people” than actual city people do.

Since there is little to no law enforcement in my county I have decided I don’t care any more. I do rolling stops in intersections where Its wide open and I can see its clear, Some stop signs I don’t even bother slowing down for, and there is a turn on my way to work where I turn left onto a state highway and have to wait for the green light to do so. Not anymore. I wait till its clear and I go. If people feel they should not obey the speed limit and tailgate me when im going 7 over, why should I stop at stop signs or obey no right turn on reds. I will lower my standards to be more on par with other drivers.

Now I only do this when its wide open and I know for sure there’s no other cars, and the chance of a cop seeing you and then stopping you is small to none. Whats it hurting?. I don’t believe in certain traffic laws so I decided that I will no longer follow them.

I also may start littering since that’s a popular pastime here as well.

2

“People here in Indiana are all a bunch of idiots ( Me included, (Triedaq is not) )”.

Don’t be too sure about Triedaq. He sings to the traffic signals. One of his songs, to the tune of “Go Down, Moses” has the lyrics

Turn Green, Stop light
Let my traffic go.

Triedaq doesn’t litter the roadway. However, the vehicle he drives is always full of junk. We rattle along with a music stand and his tools in the back of the van.

Mrs. Triedaq

3

I bet Mr. Triedaq is a hoot. I love when he shares his experiences and his great stories. I bet he is a wealth of knowledge!

4

@WheresRick

If you can’t beat 'em, join 'em, eh?

While I don’t condone running stop signs and red lights, as long as you sleep well and don’t crash into my car . . .

5

Ah, another driving dissertation by Rick. And I thought the week was going to be boring.

Rick, you need to learn to drive properly. I’ve noticed a common thread in your posts; you do everything the way it should be done and everyone else is a jerk. Learn to drive. I’m sure your fellow citizens will appreciate it.

Mrs. Triedaq…I sing while driving too. Out of tune.

6

@the same mountainbike

I drove according to the Indiana Rules of The Road, I followed all traffic laws to the best of my ability.
Because I don’t blatantly ignore the speed limit means Im a bad driver? I have a Class A cdl and drive a 30klbs truck, should I speed in it? If so how much over the limit is ok with you?

You say its ok to have total disregard for the speed limit but all other traffic laws should be followed? I don’t play that way.

I have a safety manual at work, a lot of the safe approach distances to energized conductors slows me down because if I get closer than the limit I must don rubber goods. Should i disregard those limits? Id get more work done that way, at least until I got killed.

If I was a machinist and the tolerance on a part was .002 and I decided to go with .010 is that ok? I could work faster this way.

When are limits to be followed? If the speed limit is 30 how fast should I go? 40, 50, 65? I am confused, Please define speed limit for me.

Please tell me so I can adjust my speed accordingly.

When I go to Kroger and use the self checkouts, I slip one unpaid item in the cart, Im only breaking the law a little bit. Is this ok?

You must be in a big hurry…

Debate.

7

@db4690

I sort of gave up I guess. One day I was driving to work and a truck was tailgating me because I was going 40 in a 30 on a road where people routinely go 50-70 mph, there is no police patrols even though there is frequent crashes. Well anyway I came up to the stop sign at the t intersection at the end of this road( Its a very open and wide t intersection, I cant explain it, its like a miniature interchange) and I could see there was no other cars except the guy behind me so I slowed to 20mph and just went. I figured why not, Ill get better gas mileage and its not hurting anyone.

How fast should I go? I always ask myself that, Its my money on the line, and my cdl. The road with the t intersection where I blow the stop sign now leads 1/4 mile down to a stop light, everyone races down this road just to catch the stop light. The guy who was on my tail raced to the stop light and caught up to me, and I figured he was in a hurry and it was clear so I decided to turn left on red. Its not hurting anyone so why not?

I figure if speeding’s ok why draw the line there? Stop signs slow me down too much, so forget about them. I will drive like this until I get a ticket or get tired of blatantly breaking the law.

8

I must add, I am only blowing stop signs in my personal vehicle. My work vehicle I still obey the laws in.

Is it ok for a semi driver to go 65 in a 55 on a curvy 2 lane road with blind hills? What if a car is broke down and the driver cant see it in time?

9

I also have a cdl, a class b, actually

Anyways, in California, the big commercial vehicles are supposed to drive 55

Most of them seem to be doing 65-70mph, if not slightly more

I go 55 and let others pass me, if needed. Near my shop, there are a lot of highway patrol stops, and there’s even a dedicated police division that pulls over commercial vehicles that are violating the rules.

Even in my own personal vehicle, I don’t do anything to endanger my cdl, because I need it for my job. The job pays decent, has very generous benefits, and was extremely difficult to get, and I mean to keep it

10

As Mrs. Triedaq pointed out, I sing to the traffic signals. My singing irritates them so much that ultimately they turn green. One important reason I have for following the rules and driving safely is that I needed to set a good example for my son. It paid off–my son has a spotless driving record. When he was financing his way through seminary, he drove church buses and school buses which he wouldn’t have been able to do with traffic violations on his record.

11

“Do as thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.”

If you’'ve given up on adherence to the traffic laws on moral grounds, it still is a lousy risk:benefit ratio. Compare the time saved (at your typical hourly rate) against the probability of something bad (accident, ticket) happening, times the dollar equivalent of harm.

Probably a net loss by behaving in this manner

12

Rick, I’m not recommending this mind you, but a person could try what a Colorado cattle rancher I knew years ago did when he was annoyed by people honking at him at stop lights.

If he was first in line stopped at a traffic light and the light turned green and he didn’t speed away as soon as the driver waiting behind him thought he should so the driver behind honked.

What he’d do, he’d immediately turn off the engine, then fiddle with the dashboard knobs, turning the lights on and off, turning the turn signals left, then right, then left again, blaring the radio, switching the station then turning it off, back on, back off, pretending he didn’t know how to work the radio or to turn on the emergency flashers. Finally he’d turn the emergency blinkers on, get out of the car, and slowly, very slowly walk around the entire car, stopped right there in the intersection, blocking the honking driver.

He’d be looking under the car, then looking at the tires, then kicking the tires, then letting some air out of the valve stems, then knocking on the hood, the roof, the trunk. He’d open the hood and look at the engine, look at the oil on the dipstick, the transmission fluid. Finally the guy behind would scream out “What the heck are you doing?”, but using more “colorful” language of course. The cattle rancher would pretend that this is the first time he noticed anybody is behind. He’d say “oh, sorry, I didn’t see you there behind me, I just heard this sound I never heard before coming from my car, and I’m trying to figure out what is causing it. Do you have any ideas what could have caused that weird sound? Do you think I might damage my car by driving it, or should I just call a tow truck?” Well, you get the picture … lol …

13

Rick, you’ve posted a number of threads in the past telling stories of problems you’ve had on the roads with the other drivers. I commend your honesty.

However, you’ve also made it clear in your posts that you try to control the behaviors of other drivers by going strictly by the speed limit no matter what the flow of traffic normally does, intentionally aggravating them. You’ve even told the story of a potentially serious conflict you had with another driver in a pickup truck.

And now you’ve stated that you disregard stop signs at your leisure, make left turns on red lights, and you’re quoting statistics about how often you’re tailgated.

My impression is that you have some deep rooted anger that you’re taking out on the road. If your posts are to be believed, you’re your own worst enemy.

I’m glad you follow the rules when you’re in your truck. But my honest impression based on your threads is that your behaviors in your Prius intentionally incite rage in other drivers. My impression is that you do the exact speed limit in your Prius no matter what the flow of traffic dictates. And my impression is that you accuse anyone who does not of being lawbreakers, make them sound like criminals. I hope I’m wrong. Or I hope you get your rage in check before someone innocent gets hurt.

Sorry, but either you’re telling tall tales or you’re dangerous. I hope I’m wrong.

14

@MeanJoe,Alestir Crowley?.Seriously Rick I agree,(Ye are the salt of the Earth,if salt loses its savor,how can it be restored?" I feel your pain,chances are that you are the one whom will recieve the ticket and you really cant risk it with your CDL,to whom it may concern,I sing also(just cant remember the lyrics) the " creampuffs" I drive usually dont have a functioning radio and if they did the noise in the cab drowns the talk radio I listen to-Kevin

15

Well, you gotta admit that speeding is just as illegal as rolling a stop sign or running a red, and usually saves less time.

16

I am a chronic speeder, and I will roll stop signs at familiar intersections if the way is obviously clear. I’ve been known to go through red lights (after stopping) if it’s the middle of the night and the roads are deserted. I don’t speed in school zones, residential neighborhoods, etc. With common sense, I don’t feel these things are unsafe. Obviously I set a bad example and if everyone did this, there’d either be anarchy or more people getting hurt when someone just didn’t look quite well enough before going through a stop sign. (you’re crazy if you just roll through one at 20) So I wouldn’t advocate it for everyone.

@Wheresrick: Maybe it’s time to consider moving if you hate the town you live in so much…

17

Though I wholeheartedly agree that obeying driving laws is best, sometimes you need to drive faster then the speed limit just to keep from getting run over. "When in Rome…

18
you will get tailgated 30% of the time and if you go 70 in a 55 you will still get tailgated sometimes.

Come to Boston sometime…If you drive 80 in a 55 zone you’ll get tailgated 90% of the time. I don’t know what you’re complaining about.

19

I think Rick has more than just problems about driving, in Indiana. I used to work with a lady that transferred from Michigan to Ohio for career enhancement. She complained constantly about Ohio being worse than Michigan to native Ohioans and then wondered why she couldn’t make any friends there. Embrace Indiana, Rick, every state has its idiot cousins that we pat on the head and smile. Some drive, some work at the DMV, some are elected to the legislature. In the south they just insult them directly, “he’s dumb as a box of rocks”, but follow it with “Bless His Heart” and that makes it OK.

20

@the same mountainbike

I usually drive 5-7mph over the limit, You will not get a ticket or get pulled over for going 7 over here. My question is how fast should I go? The speed limit is 55 mph, how fast should I go? I drive the same in the Prius, caprice, 2500 silverado, I drive the same in all the vehicles.

If I am going 60 in a 55 mph zone does that make it ok for someone to tailgate me? I feel if Im going the speed limit, or above, you should not tailgate me. Do you condone tailgating?

I started blowing stop signs because its safe to do so, and there is no chance of getting a ticket. I am not actually doing it because I am in a hurry, im just doing it to make a point.

The intersection where I am now turning left on red… Where do I start… Its wide open, you can see in all directions, there is little traffic, you will sometimes wait over 90 seconds when you pull up to the light for it to change. Again im not in a hurry, just trying to prove a point. If the police don’t enforce other laws here, why should I worry about the red light.

I am not disobeying the traffic control devices recklessly, I make sure no one is coming and I go. Why not. How come its ok to break the speed limit, but not ok to break other traffic laws?

I do have some anger toward the general motoring public, we set up workzones to work in, with signs, cones, flashing lights, ect… Some people can not take 10 second out of their busy day to slow down when they go by our trucks.

I have worked in many states, and I have to say the people in Indiana tend to be very rude, and in a big hurry.

One question, How many accidents have you been in?

You offer very good, constructive criticism. Are you a therapist? Lol, if not you should be.