Things

[Rupert]

You don't have to tell me! East coast tourists are already terrible terrible drivers within 100 miles of an national park; put them in an RV, and, hoo-boy.

[AutobahnSHO]

Yeah, same thing when we moved last year.  Except I was driving the 26' U-Haul and my wife was following in a 21'.  Not difficult if you carefully choose your fueling points, and other stops.  Plus for most it's their first time driving something like that so they are either extra careful or stupidly reckless.  Fortunately, most are extra careful. 

Diesel?  U-Hauls are all gas IIRC.  You must have had a Penske or someone else.

Yup, the big 26' truck was Penske, with a big lift on the back. they do mostly commercial rentals, so it was the way to go for BIG. I also rented a small 14' truck from Uhaul...  Drove truck from TN to MD then rental Focus back, then TN to SC...

[hounddog]

You don't have to tell me! East coast tourists are already terrible terrible drivers within 100 miles of an national park; put them in an RV, and, hoo-boy.

The problem is more the age of the average RV driver than it is the RV itself. 

Average age is 49. 

Insurance numbers suggest that people begin to significantly slow their driving habits at around 50.   

[CJ]

Insurance numbers suggest that people begin to significantly slow their driving habits at around 50.   

Tell that to my parents! They've only sped up.

[SJ_GTI]

That is a helluva rig.

If you make it to any Rutgers games (@ Rutgers) while your kid is playing, let me know! Have never met another carspinner in person, but if we are at the same football game it would be easy.  You wouldn't be out of place either. Some of the set ups folks here have are out of this world.

[J86]

That is a helluva rig.

If you make it to any Rutgers games (@ Rutgers) while your kid is playing, let me know! Have never met another carspinner in person, but if we are at the same football game it would be easy.  You wouldn't be out of place either. Some of the set ups folks here have are out of this world.

I tailgated at Rutgers for the Houston game!

[MrH]

That is a helluva rig.

If you make it to any Rutgers games (@ Rutgers) while your kid is playing, let me know! Have never met another carspinner in person, but if we are at the same football game it would be easy.  You wouldn't be out of place either. Some of the set ups folks here have are out of this world.

  Someone is just looking to party in style for free.

[SJ_GTI]

I tailgated at Rutgers for the Houston game!

Huh, small world I guess! If you go to any other Rutgers games let me know.

[SJ_GTI]

  Someone is just looking to party in style for free.

Yeah, so? 

[hounddog]

No, they're a nuisance because they're too slow, large, and often can't seem to stay in the lane.

My goal is not to get this debate raging again, however, I missed this I believe. 

The exact same thing can be/should be said wrt tractor-trailers driven by "professionals" since all you need to be a "pro" is a few dollars and some time.    Some of the worst drivers I have ever seen were driving a 80,000+ lb vehicle.

They pull into rest stops and take up two spaces meant for rigs because they can't park any better than they can drive.

Well, they are actually meant for vehicles with trailers.  ALL vehicles with trailers. 

And, yes, there are many many people out there who are not as adept at hauling trailers as they had ought to be.  I am pro-licensing of anyone hauling a trailer which exceeds 30ft in length, regardless of weight.

They'll stay in the right lane in heavy traffic and block the entrance and exit ramps for other drivers.

~Tractor-trailer drivers are notorious for this very behavior.
~On most interstates it is not always practical or safe to move over.
~The law does not require vehicles to move over and allow a merge in Michigan, rather it is the responsibility of the merging driver to do so in a safe manner.  (Not sure about other states)  Politeness aside, it can hinder the safe flow of traffic for any slower moving vehicle to move over unexpectedly, depending on traffic conditions. 

But, I do tend to agree in general.  I would have no problem if Michigan required an endorsement to pull a large trailer.

It certainly would not make the roads more unsafe to require it.  :)

[hounddog]

That is a helluva rig.

If you make it to any Rutgers games (@ Rutgers) while your kid is playing, let me know! Have never met another carspinner in person, but if we are at the same football game it would be easy.  You wouldn't be out of place either. Some of the set ups folks here have are out of this world.

With Rutgers coming into the league I suspect we will be out there in '15.  Will have to see.

Used it for the UM vs. MSU game a couple weeks ago.  It rained and was cold, so we had a good time being warm and dry. 

Took food/beverages for about 250 people and it was mostly gone by the end of the game.  Had a great time and look forward to many many years of tailgating!

[Soup DeVille]

My goal is not to get this debate raging again, however, I missed this I believe. 

The exact same thing can be/should be said wrt tractor-trailers driven by "professionals" since all you need to be a "pro" is a few dollars and some time.    Some of the worst drivers I have ever seen were driving a 80,000+ lb vehicle.
Well, they are actually meant for vehicles with trailers.  ALL vehicles with trailers. 

And, yes, there are many many people out there who are not as adept at hauling trailers as they had ought to be.  I am pro-licensing of anyone hauling a trailer which exceeds 30ft in length, regardless of weight.
~Tractor-trailer drivers are notorious for this very behavior.
~On most interstates it is not always practical or safe to move over.
~The law does not require vehicles to move over and allow a merge in Michigan, rather it is the responsibility of the merging driver to do so in a safe manner.  (Not sure about other states)  Politeness aside, it can hinder the safe flow of traffic for any slower moving vehicle to move over unexpectedly, depending on traffic conditions. 

But, I do tend to agree in general.  I would have no problem if Michigan required an endorsement to pull a large trailer.

It certainly would not make the roads more unsafe to require it.  :)

I agree here more than I disagree

[Rupert]

Most annoying thing semis do is pull out to pass another rig on an uphill, slow way the hell down and then just fucking sit in the left lane going to same speed as the guy they're supposed to be passing. I recently had a semi do that, then stay in the left lane after he eventually passed the guy to pass the next rig a ways up, and then block me from completing my pass on the right after he still stayed in the left lane for the next rig after that, and then I blew his fucking doors off the next time. I know he saw me; I was way left in his mirror.

[Soup DeVille]

The sheer number of rigs on the road means eventually one of them is going to act like an asshat.

Plus, speed limiters fuck a lot of that passing up.

[Rupert]

Agreed, though drivers should know their rig's abilities, limiters or not, and not act like assholes in the left lane on a grade. It's pretty common, at least out here.

[hounddog]

The sheer number of rigs on the road means eventually one of them is going to act like an asshat.

Plus, speed limiters fuck a lot of that passing up.

I agree. 

The other problem is that there is a mindset in LE that truck traffic should be left to the DOT's of the various states.  The issue with that is there are so very few DOT LE units out there commercial enforcement is almost entirely non-existent as "regular" police largely ignore commercial enforcement.  Some of that is owed to poor education of the officers on what they can and cannot do by their agencies, and some because their agencies just do not give a damn about commercial enforcement.  It is, and always has been, a problem exacerbated by the territorial culture of law enforcement in general.

The various DOT agencies hope that having one truck cop for two or three or four counties during the daylight hours is enough to dissuade bad driving.  It is not.

In Michigan, for example, there might be one DOT LE car for an entire district of 10-15 counties, if there is even that.  Truck drivers know this and act accordingly.  Without oversight, they do pretty much as they want, and it shows.

Agreed, though drivers should know their rig's abilities, limiters or not, and not act like assholes in the left lane on a grade. It's pretty common, at least out here.

+1

My question has always been; why do you need to pass a truck in heavy traffic when you are going 1-2 miles per hour more than that truck?  Is it really THAT big of a deal?

[MrH]

+1

My question has always been; why do you need to pass a truck in heavy traffic when you are going 1-2 miles per hour more than that truck?  Is it really THAT big of a deal?

I always wonder why they can't wait until they get out the city to do it.  Happens all the time here.  They'll slow all of traffic to a 60 mph for 10 miles in order for them to save fractions of time just for themselves.