I think where you get into the weeds is when you attempt to ascribe a motivation for the behavior. The behavior is reprehensible enough without the motivation speculation.
In other words, I don’t really care why they’re doing what they’re doing unless they might have a legitimate reason, like a loved one is dying and they’re trying to get to the hospital before it happens, and that’s pretty rare.
It’s up to us to not let it get to us and poison our lives with petty hate by consuming our attention. Life is better when you let it go rather than obsess over it.
“Why do most people think it’s cool to exceed the speed limit?”
I dunno, I’ll ask the wife when she gets home. Country highway, 65 in a 55. The one other time she got a ticket, I told her to “take it like a man” without complaining. I won’t be stupid enough to do that again. I don’t think she was being cool though, just trying to shorten a 200 mile drive.
Get there to ride or ride to get there, my wife does not handle car rides well due to back surgeries, so we ride to get there, shortest route shortest time possible. Solo I get there to ride, take the back roads enjoy the scenery.
Cool? Slang terms can be interpreted in various ways.
It is not “cool” (acceptable) to drive 50 MPH on a residential street, those who do so are not seeking envy from the residents of the neighborhood, they are self-centered individuals that think the rest of us are insignificant.
Been there. Your eyes focus on the tractor, tying up traffic, as he tootles down the should of the road. It’s OK because he’s coming towards you… then your eyes focus on hell’s harvesting machine covering half your lane.
I have no problem with usually going a few mph over the limit, only if road and weather conditions allow it. The problem is that most chronic excessive speeders will be weaving and passing with no regard to other motorists safety. They are also the ones that don’t care what the weather is. It could be dense fog, a snowstorm or whatever. They have to drive like an idiot no matter what. I’ve seen people reading maps or newspapers, women putting on makeup, all while speeding down the road. I only wish somehow, they would learn their lesson without taking an innocent with them.
That was me last weekend. I drove I drove with Mrs JT and Her Mother to Western Ohio from Central Maryland and back. I drove faster than the limit, though mostly 5mph since the speed limit is mostly 70. When the limit was 55 or 65, I went up to 10 over when traffic allowed it. It was 8 hours out and 10 hours back due to three stops in heavy traffic include what must have been a huge fire. A Kia Soul was completely burned and a Class C RV was burned to the frame behind the front wheels. I’m glad we didn’t leave a couple hours earlier. After the wreck, lots of people were really moving fast to make up time. I was cut off in a merge by a bobtail truck and later by a few cars. You’d think the accident would have put some sense into the other drivers. Apparently not.
I was approaching from behind, but the problem you mention is worse. I guess one or both of you just pull over when possible to make the pass. The last time this happened, the self propelled harvester was moving down the road to an adjacent field, but it still took about 5 minutes.
I think you may be interested in this. Clover was the user name of an idiot who advocated driving below the speed limit because it was the LIMIT!!! In the left lane!!! To enforce the speed limit!!!
About 20 years ago, there was an elderly man who lived in–I think–Maryland, who was famous for two things:
Writing right-wing rants to the local newspaper
Driving his Buick in the left lane of I-495 at ~45 mph
He was repeatedly warned that he shouldn’t be driving that way, and his answer was something along the lines of… Well, somebody has to slow those people down!
Yes, he was a major accident hazard.
I had a guy give me the five fingers twice driving in the left lane at 55. Six lane highway. Everyone else going 65-70 and traffic backed up behind him. I’m sure he had his Captain Midnight plastic badge in his pocket and proud of it. He probably goes around weighing peoples trash cans in his spare time to make sure no one exceeds 35 pounds.
What puzzles me is why these idiots aren’t pulled over and heavily fined.
In the '70s, when I was stationed in Germany, that’s exactly what would happen. The autobahns weren’t nearly as large as our highways, often just two lanes in each direction, but traffic flow was so much better. Everyone stayed to the right except when they were passing.
I often see left-lane hogs on nearby I-35 in San Antonio. They’re white, black and brown. Young, old and in between. Mystifies me what’s going on in their minds. Mystifies me why the troopers pull us over for doing 10 mph over the speed limit but not these dangerous idiots.
Looked it up and NH is very lenient, even after their “tough law” went in. In excess of 100 is a minimum $500 and 60 days suspension of license. Can they suspend a license from NJ? “Reckless driving”.
In Oregon it’s: 100 miles per hour or more, a presumptive fine of $1,150, and mandatory 90-day license suspension. Reckless Driving, a misdemeanor and carries up to a year in jail and a maximum $6,250 in fines. (The presumptive fine can be up to $2000 max.)
