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How Often do you brake?


jsharr

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I thought this was going to be about something that irritates me: when I'm in a line of cars, moving smoothly in a lane, sometimes the guy in front of me is tailgating the car in front of him and, consequently, keeps hitting his brakes again and again when not a single one of them would have been necessary if he wasn't so close to the car in front of him.  I try to give him room but still end up hitting my brakes at least a few times to be safe - then appropriately react as a grumpy old man should!

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Well, it was kind of cold that night
She stood alone on her balcony 

She could hear the cars roll by out on 441 
Like waves crashin' on the beach 
And for one desperate moment there 
He crept back in her memory 
God it's so painful 
Something that's so close 
And still so far out of reach

--T.P.

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5 hours ago, MickinMD said:

I thought this was going to be about something that irritates me: when I'm in a line of cars, moving smoothly in a lane, sometimes the guy in front of me is tailgating the car in front of him and, consequently, keeps hitting his brakes again and again when not a single one of them would have been necessary if he wasn't so close to the car in front of him.  I try to give him room but still end up hitting my brakes at least a few times to be safe - then appropriately react as a grumpy old man should!

I am able to get away with hardly ever touching the brakes on the highway.  I try to be a traffic dampener.  It is amazing the ripple effect you can get from cars breaking suddenly and aggressively.

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53 minutes ago, RalphWaldoMooseworth said:

I am able to get away with hardly ever touching the brakes on the highway.  I try to be a traffic dampener.  It is amazing the ripple effect you can get from cars breaking suddenly and aggressively.

I find that it is possible to remove your foot from the gas pedal and your car will slow down on its own.  If a light turns red, you can remove your foot from the gas and reduce the need to brake.  Lots of today's drivers don't seem to be aware of this phenomenon.

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20 minutes ago, Road Runner said:

I find that it is possible to remove your foot from the gas pedal and your car will slow down on its own.  If a light turns red, you can remove your foot from the gas and reduce the need to brake.  Lots of today's drivers don't seem to be aware of this phenomenon.

Did you know that the accelerator pedal doesn't have to go all the way to the floor ? 

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8 minutes ago, Further said:

Did you know that the accelerator pedal doesn't have to go all the way to the floor ? 

What about the thing on the steering column you can move up or down and it will let other drivers know you are changing lanes or turning?  Do all cars have those or just mine?

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10 minutes ago, jsharr said:

What about the thing on the steering column you can move up or down and it will let other drivers know you are changing lanes or turning?  Do all cars have those or just mine?

Nate told you the story on that one!  Texans consider letting the other drivers know your intentions as a sign of weakness!

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11 minutes ago, jsharr said:

What about the thing on the steering column you can move up or down and it will let other drivers know you are changing lanes or turning?  Do all cars have those or just mine?

I asked about it when buying the van, I wanted to be sure it was installed. They assured me that all cars come with them. I still don't believe them.

PS  maybe the blinker fluid dries up  ?

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45 minutes ago, Road Runner said:

I find that it is possible to remove your foot from the gas pedal and your car will slow down on its own.  If a light turns red, you can remove your foot from the gas and reduce the need to brake.  Lots of today's drivers don't seem to be aware of this phenomenon.

You really notice that in 4 lane stop and go traffic. 

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2 hours ago, Road Runner said:

I find that it is possible to remove your foot from the gas pedal and your car will slow down on its own.  If a light turns red, you can remove your foot from the gas and reduce the need to brake.  Lots of today's drivers don't seem to be aware of this phenomenon.

I was behind a car last night on the way home from a long day at the hospital. The light up ahead turned green and they started slowing down. I thought they were determined to go slow enough to catch the next red light. It didn’t happen because there was no traffic on the other road to trip the sensors. A few miles later they turned in to the old folks home, that explained a lot.

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1 hour ago, KrAzY said:

I try not to break... Typically I down shift and try and stay about 2 mph.. that's the slowest I can go without falling over.. I don't like to put my feet down at lights if I can avoid it. 

MS-150 used to make everyone take their bike to one of the registered LBS for a free inspection before the ride. They replaced my brake pads, the only set I have ever replaced. I don’t brake much. I didn’t look at the pads they removed but I suspect they still had at least another five years worth of riding in them.

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8 hours ago, Longjohn said:

I was behind a car last night on the way home from a long day at the hospital. The light up ahead turned green and they started slowing down. I thought they were determined to go slow enough to catch the next red light. It didn’t happen because there was no traffic on the other road to trip the sensors. A few miles later they turned in to the old folks home, that explained a lot.


As teenager drivers, we knew that a AAA sticker and a hat were a dead giveaway to a slow geezer driver. :D

 

 

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7 hours ago, Longjohn said:

MS-150 used to make everyone take their bike to one of the registered LBS for a free inspection before the ride. They replaced my brake pads, the only set I have ever replaced. I don’t brake much. I didn’t look at the pads they removed but I suspect they still had at least another five years worth of riding in them.

I was a heavy bike braker as a teenage - loved to scream up to stop signs and stop abruptly.  I've told the story of my near-death experience many times here and in the Olde Country aboot the time I had the pads in ass backwards and went shooting across a busy street as a result.  That company would be sued big time today for making brake pads with that "feature"!

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15 hours ago, Further said:

Did you know that the accelerator pedal doesn't have to go all the way to the floor ? 

You mean it's not an on/off switch?

I have always tried to be a smooth driver. When possible, pressing the pedals as if there is an egg on each one....the Jackie Stewart philosophy. He said there is very little difference in the skills to drive a performance car well or drive a limo. I have no problem keeping up with traffic and often leave the stop and go guys behind as I coast through a light that had changed about the time I got there. 

We have had a bit of snow. yesterday streets were a little slick. I gave extra room to the cars in front of me. At one point a guy in a pickup cut into the gap I had given just as the light turned red. It was all I could do not to hit him! Sucks that I would legally have been in the wrong while trying to do the right thing....

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It seems like it would be very difficult to develop a self driving car that could properly and efficiently deal with all the various conditions and predicaments that a driver is commonly faced with in heavy, stop and go city traffic.  

A couple days ago, a guy cut in front of me and made an abrupt right turn.  I had noticed that he was driving a little weird before he cut in front of me, so I was prepared mentally for a radical move on his part, and I was able to slam on the brakes and swerve to avoid him as a result.  Not sure how you get a self driving car to evaluate the other drivers around you.

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15 minutes ago, Road Runner said:

It seems like it would be very difficult to develop a self driving car that could properly and efficiently deal with all the various conditions and predicaments that a driver is commonly faced with in heavy, stop and go city traffic.  

A couple days ago, a guy cut in front of me and made an abrupt right turn.  I had noticed that he was driving a little weird before he cut in front of me, so I was prepared mentally for a radical move on his part, and I was able to slam on the brakes and swerve to avoid him as a result.  Not sure how you get a self driving car to evaluate the other drivers around you.

The book Autonomy covered all that!  I highly recommend it for anyone interested in self driving car technology.  That very circumstance caused a rare fender bender for the google car. They program in the scenarios after things like that. Sort of a database of numbskullery. :D

The part I found most interesting was when a guy finally persuaded them to let him ride in an early prototype, the jerkiness just aboot made him sick. They had to make a lot of adjustments for people. 

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30 minutes ago, RalphWaldoMooseworth said:

The book Autonomy covered all that!  I highly recommend it for anyone interested in self driving car technology.  That very circumstance caused a rare fender bender for the google car. They program in the scenarios after things like that. Sort of a database of numbskullery. :D

The part I found most interesting was when a guy finally persuaded them to let him ride in an early prototype, the jerkiness just aboot made him sick. They had to make a lot of adjustments for people. 

Do they recognize that, like I do, the traffic light two blocks away has just turned yellow and with my knowledge of current traffic conditions and the way that particular light functions, I have zero chance of it turning green before my arrival based on my current speed;  so I slow down accordingly? 

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29 minutes ago, Road Runner said:

Do they recognize that, like I do, the traffic light two blocks away has just turned yellow and with my knowledge of current traffic conditions and the way that particular light functions, I have zero chance of it turning green before my arrival based on my current speed;  so I slow down accordingly? 

Wasn't mentioned explicitly, but I would sure think so.  If you were in Phoenix you could call an unmanned cab and find out. 

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53 minutes ago, RalphWaldoMooseworth said:

The book Autonomy covered all that!  I highly recommend it for anyone interested in self driving car technology.  That very circumstance caused a rare fender bender for the google car. They program in the scenarios after things like that. Sort of a database of numbskullery. :D

The part I found most interesting was when a guy finally persuaded them to let him ride in an early prototype, the jerkiness just aboot made him sick. They had to make a lot of adjustments for people. 

Can they tell the difference between a light grey sky and a dirty white 45 ft box trailer that just turned across the road in front of them?

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1 hour ago, maddmaxx said:

Can they tell the difference between a light grey sky and a dirty white 45 ft box trailer that just turned across the road in front of them?

Very soon it will MUCH BETTER than any of us.

It is going to be a tidal wave of change. And cyclists and pedestrians will be some of the biggest beneficiaries.

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1 hour ago, maddmaxx said:

Can they tell the difference between a light grey sky and a dirty white 45 ft box trailer that just turned across the road in front of them?

Ahhh, that one was veeery interesting. Use of a tesla aid outside of recommended parameters. Elon musk was guilty of encouraging this behavior. A true screwup. 

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1 hour ago, Razors Edge said:

Very soon it will MUCH BETTER than any of us.

It is going to be a tidal wave of change. And cyclists and pedestrians will be some of the biggest beneficiaries.

Self riding bikes?

Self walking shoes!!!!!!!

God I love technology!!!!!

How about self swimming pants/shirt for the tidal wave?  

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