Today’s lesson: crime feels good.
People Who try to pass you when they plan on exiting at the upcoming off Ramp, like they are in such a hurry they risk life and limb just to get in front of you and beat you to the off Ramp
“if you can see the spot where the tires on the car in front of you touch the ground, you’re back far enough.”
At what speed?
That methodology might work just fine at 35 mph, but at 65 mph, it represents insufficient distance between your car and the car in front of you.
At 0 mph. Like waiting for the light to turn green. If you’re closer than you should be, anyone who rear-ends you is going to knock you into the guy in front of you.
So returning litter to the litter-er is a crime. ?
I agree with you Chaissos, by throwing it back at him you prevented a crime which so many smokers commit. Good for you.
Uh, yes. Throwing something from one moving vehicle into another moving vehicle is a crime. It’s a good thing he didn’t get startled and swerve.
“Agator82 7:03AM Report
I agree with you Chaissos, by throwing it back at him you prevented a crime which so many smokers commit. Good for you.”
That should be “committed” not “prevented”. Here, I’ll show you:
“I agree with you Chaissos, by throwing it back at him you committed a crime which so many smokers commit. Good for you.”
And now, the award for the worst offender goes to…
the guy who, in front of BiWise Market in Allenstown, parked his Suburban crossways across two (of the three) handicapped parking places. And no, he was not handicapped. Just lazy and inconsiderate. He just wanted to be right in front of the door.
Piter,
The other driver was going down the road and the wind blew the cigarette butt out the window, oops he lost it and that is worth a good ticket in most states. Thank goodness Chaissos was there and return the butt to the driver (not wanting him to suffer with the ticket) so that the driver could dispose of it properly. This is community service, helping your neighboring driver.
Get over it, too many smokers throw their butts out the window with complete disregard to those around them. I do not want a cigarette on my hood or on my chest. That is why most cars are equipped with ashtrays. There is a poetic justice at play in Chaissos’s story.
Chassios, your actions in returning the cigarette butt in the manner you did may not have taught him any lesson, but I applaud what you did. “An eye for an eye” is far more effective and morally upright than “turn the other cheek”.
I tip my hat to you.
PostScript: if it had caused him to crash into a tree I’d have felt the same way except that I’d have felt sorry for the tree.
How would you feel if it caused him to crash into a school bus? Or as I suggested above, get startled and accidentally swerve toward the motorcycle? It’s easy to talk tough.
To sum up: cartalk posters are okay with driving across the front yard of people whose vehicles are not obstructing the road “all the while giving the one finger salute with a wry grin”, and with throwing trash into moving vehicles through the window.
First, the opinions I express are my opinions and my opinions alone, the generalization that CarTalk posters think one particular way is insulting to me and the other people on this board.
Second, given the facts of this matter, that is to say that there was no school bus and the motorcycle rider and driver survived indicates that the conditions were not as treacherous as you would like us to imagine. It is easy to think of ‘what if’ situations such as what if the cigarette had still been lit when it hit the motorcycle rider in the chest or what if a cop had been around to witness either the disposal or return of the butt or what if a meteorite struct them on the spot, but none of those are the facts of this incident.
The specific topic is in regards to people who litter. Typically a person who will throw a butt out of the car with complete disregard to others around them will do so again later the same day. Chassios spoke up in a way that many people can’t or won’t and that is what people respect about the act. No one will follow his actions because of what they read here they will simply chuckle, tip their hat to him, and go on their way.
It might come off as ‘tough talk’ but when you watch people litter on a regular basis stories such as this provide a pressure relief for those of us who have complained about it many times while sitting in our cars. It is actually greater than tough-talk and is largely cathartic for many. Why else would there be a discussion about the annoying things other drivers do?
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How about the person who has their fog lights on when there IS NO FOG!
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How about the person who has no heads lights on when driving IN THE RAIN!
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How about the person who waves you out when you are stopped at a stop sign and they are not (gifting the right of way).
Thanks for letting me vent. 
Have a nice day.
C’mon, guys, no need to escalate this. OK, some of you agree with Chase, and piter disagrees. Piter, no need to generalize that all Car Talk posters support anti-litter vigilantism. Your argument’s got merit on its face.
“2) How about the person who has no heads lights on when driving IN THE RAIN!”
It’s only the law in certain states that I know of…It’s NOT the law in NH. In fact only CA, NY and OH are the only states I found to have this law. And unless it’s raining very very hard out…I don’t have a problem seeing other cars in the rain.
NJ also has this law, and it is widely violated and rarely enforced.
IMHO, the biggest problem in terms of visibility is that a car without tail lights, when traveling at high speed in the rain, becomes nearly invisible as a result of the spray thrown by its wheels. Many cars have DRLs, but since DRLs do not illuminate a car’s tail lights, it is really important for drivers to use their headlights when driving in the rain. That way, other drivers can see them both coming and going.
If a driver flicks 1/2 pack a day out his/her window without even bothering to look, that’'s 10 times daily, or 3,650 times a year that he/she endangers others by potentially throwing a lit butt onto another driver’s lap or down the shirt of a motorcyclilst. 36,500 times in ten years.
By all means, if you can throw the butt back at them. Maybe, just, maybe, it’ll cause them to think about what they’re doing and perhaps the roads will be safer as a result.
In short, flicking lit cigarette butts out the window without looking is endangering everyone else around you. Thousands of times a year.
I make no apologies for my attitude on this.
Headlights on in rain is law in FL as well and I would bet almost all states. It is just common sense, rain reduces visibility even light storms. If you turn your lights on you are more visible from the front and especially the back. Personally I run with headlights in all conditions for safety.
What annoys me is when I am on a road trip, and I have got the cruise set at 70 and then (as another poster said) a car trying to pass will come along side and just hover there. Usually about the time another car comes up behind them and rides their tail, they will get their head out of their rear and finally complete their pass. Well that’s when they get in front of you and all of the sudden they are like “I’m going too fast” and they slow it down to about 65. Of course this forces you to re-pass them (still doing 70) at which point they are like “I must be going too slow” so they pass you once again and the whole thing repeats itself! One guy did this to me like 5 times! I got so frustrated that I decided to let my car stretch it’s legs for a few miles until I was well clear of him to prevent it from happening yet again.
“a car trying to pass will come along side and just hover there”
Actually, you should not allow this type of situation to exist, as it poses a potential safety hazard for all concerned. When traveling on a highway, it is important to have the ability to change lanes suddenly in the event of an animal dashing into the road, a wandering vehicle, an obstacle in the road, etc. By allowing someone to lurk next to you, or even in your blind spot, you are just adding to the potential for an accident.
When one of these “afraid to pass” folks gets next to me and decides to pace me, I engage in a brisk acceleration run for a few seconds in order to put a good amount of space between me and the lurker. Don’t wait for someone else to come up in back of the left lane lurker. Eliminate the hazard as soon as you can safely do so.
Gratuitous brake users. The cars in front of them usually aren’t braking while they are. Why can’t we just work toward going to our destination as efficiently as possible? Flashing brake lights every now and then does not help.
Rubbernecking. Cars hit each other from time to time. It’s none of your business. Park it if you want to look. Just let other people through. I don’t care who hit what, I just want to go home after a long, draining day.