I got over it a long time ago. If you are stuck behind a slow driver, try pulling over and taking a one minute cigarette break and then proceeding, odds are, you’ll never catch up with him.
I had a speedo cable drive break on one of my motorcycles so and I just had to guess my speed for a couple of weeks. Funny thing was that when you don’t know exactly how fast you are going, the slow drivers don’t bother you as much, so I made a habit of just ignoring the speedometer when in slow traffic.
To be honest, when driving on Ben White from I-35 to “the Y” in Oak Hill, I’m just grateful we are moving at all.
I prefer to just stay in line and relax. I’m not an aggressive driver. Besides, when I’m in a line of traffic I don’t bother to pay attention to my speedometer. In that situation it serves little purpose.
But I do maintain that people who slowly cruise along secondary roads below the normal speed range of the road create a hazard. Slow moving vehicles are the very reason traffic engineers created the passing lanes I described.
Another trick I have learned for dealing with slow drivers on secondary roads where you can’t pass is simply not catching up with them. Stay way back and give them lots of space and they themselves will often speed up to a speed that’s quite reasonable for that road. If you run up on them and tailgate them, they’ll show you just how slow they can drive.
Just to play devil’s advocate, that could be 3 minutes each way to (and from) work. so 6 minutes a day. time 5 days a week, that’s 30 minutes a week, 52 weeks a year, and suddenly you’re at 26 hours a year being stuck behind someone. That’s not insignificant if you value your time.
No, they just like loud noises and irritating people, and the lifted coal-rollin’ bro-dozer is the best way they know how.
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For several years I drove a parcel delivery route 300+ miles each day and found that poor planning and poor management of time were far more costly than dealing with slow drivers. Myself and 2 others ran the most successful of 13 routes often totaling more deliveries and freight charges than the other 10 combined. And the 3 of us never were ticketed for speeding, etc., yet we were rarely late to any scheduled stops.Racing from red light to red light and town to town was a losing proposition as evidenced by the success of those who avoided it compared to those whose days were a mad house of rushing to make up for poor planning.Of course there are annoying people and totally unforeseeable delays but rarely do they throw off a well planned day.
You’ve described my neighbor!
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That sounds very familiar. I had a 112 mile round trip commute plus the 300+ mile delivery route. In 10 1/2 years (May 1979 to November 1989) I received 2 speeding tickets on the interstate. The first was a 12.5% speedometer error which my employer had dismissed. The second was an obviously bored state trooper who cited me for 58mph in a 55. It was dismissed by a Judge while shaking his head. I had to get my CDL (written test only) and complete the “Smith Driving System” commercial version (8hrs) “Smith” taught that smooth and steady was usually faster than fast and erratic such as constantly changing lanes and racing to red lights. It served me well and still does.
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Ok, let me play devil’s advocate. Let’s say that because I don’t accelerate all the way to the speed limit just because I can, I get to work in nearly the same time as my neighbor who races towards each and every red light, I just spend less time going zero miles per hour waiting for lights to change, and because of the way I drive, I burn only 80% of the gas my neighbor does in a similar car. Multiply that by five days a week and 52 weeks a year and it really adds up.
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Depends on what your priorities are. Obviously, you can’t control everything.
My priorities are simple. I don’t exactly live to buy gas, clutches, and brakes for my car, and I drive in a way to make all three go as far as possible.
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Heavy traffic is a relative situation but down here in a town of 35,000 while many people complain about getting caught at “every red light on Main St” I rarely slow enough approaching a light to shift into 1st gear. It really can become second nature if you drive an old ‘three on the tree’ car. Keeping the car moving steadily along by watching and timing the lights and traffic ahead is much more important than texting, tuning radios or challenging yourself to getting home a few minutes faster than yesterday. And actually the trip is quicker and less stressful using that method. But those who feel compelled to alternate between slamming the accelerator and brake to the floor often get aggravated if behind me and they never recognize that if they were ahead of me they would only average being a few seconds ahead.
Or some people like to DRIVE their car/pickups.
BTW, my Pickup is more comfortable&quiet than my car.
On road trips, my priorities are to make good time (as good as practical anyway). To that end, I try to maximize the factors I can control. For example, I’ll fill up the day before the trip, once on the trip, I’ll only stop when I need to fill up, which is typically once every 4-5 hours or so. I’ll combine that stop with lunch, ideally both the restaurant and gas station will be beside each other and no more than 1/3rd of mile from the interstate . I routinely beat my mom and stepdad to the beach by anywhere from 1- 1.5 hours on the 5 hour trip to the outer banks and nearly double than on trips to Edisto Island. I’m not driving massively faster than them either, I tend to stick to the whatever the the prevailing speed of traffic is ( typically 75-80 MPH) once you get south of VA. Most of time is gained because I don’t stop every other hour, to get out and stretch or stop for a snack or to get gas 70 miles into the journey. I’d rather do my relaxing on the beach rather than a highway rest stop.
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The capitol city has two four lane one way boulevards running North and South. They are posted 30mph. Signs hanging between the signal lights read “Signals Timed for 27mph” Late at night with little or no traffic you can cruise through all 12 signals. Those two or three pedals should be operated more like rheostats rather than on/off switches. I guess many people enjoy paying for clutch and brake jobs.
What will it hurt to take a 5 minute break at the rest stop, you will be energized, refreshed and alert after a quick rest period. My guess is you cant wait to get to the beach to start drinking.
What if the world ended before you got there? would you still drive like a kamikaze to Edisto? Or would you rather have enjoyed life a little?
I try to enjoy all moments in life. We never know how many moments we will have, we think we know, but that is not our choice is it.
Certainly not, I’d stop if I feel I need to rest, but I’m not at that point until about 4 or 5 hours into a journey.
Wanna hear something that’ll blow your mind Rick? I’m one step above a teetotaler, I can count the number of alcoholic drinks I’ve had in the last two years on one hand.
That would be a shame wouldn’t it?
I don’t see where driving 75-80 MPH in areas where the speed limit is typically 70 MPH constitutes “kamikaze” driving. But then again my car has massive 6 piston Brembos disc brakes so I can get it whoa’d down pretty quickly, multiple times, fade-free if I needed to 
I try to make good time in order to have more time to enjoy life.
I enjoy certain things more than others. To that end, I try to maximize the time I have for the things I enjoy.
It’s true that you usually don’t know know when your time up, in some situations, sadly you do have a pretty good idea about how much time you have left, but most people aren’t burdened with that knowledge.
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Here in Southern California it’s pretty simple, if you wanna drive slower than the speed of traffic then you stick to the two right hand lanes but if you want to go faster you go into the left two lanes… that’s generally how it works. But not always. I usually drive 65MPH ( which is the posted speed limit) so I’m good in the middle lane. If someone wants to go faster than me I don’t let them push me, they can go around or I will move a lane over and let them pass. That being said, I love my good ole Crown Vic and the way it just cruises down the highway 
I wish it was that way in Florida, the law says slower traffic keep right but it is not enforced. LEOs just pass on the right like the rest of us.
So if I want to drive 100mph and people are in the left lane they should get over right?
The slower traffic move right law does not mean that the speed limit is null and void.
Society is lawless. Lets all just do what we want.