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Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Driving tips
These are a few helpful thoughts that will prevent you from getting killed by an angry driver or killed in an accident. For them to be helpful, you must already know the basics, being the laws of the road and how to move your vehicle.

Thought #1, the most important one:
DRIVING IS EASY. AVOIDING ACCIDENTS IS HARD.

Rule #1, the most important one:
IF YOU ARE AWARE OF YOUR VEHICLE'S CAPABILITIES, AND YOU ARE AWARE OF EVERYTHING AROUND YOU, YOU WILL PROBABLY HAVE A VERY CLEAN DRIVING RECORD.

1. If you are going to turn, and there is a turn lane, use it to slow down. Do not slow down in traffic, and then pull in, because people might run into you.

2. You are not allowed to get angry at people going the speed limit, even if everyone else is going above it. You can mutter and such under your breath, but once any driver is driving at the speed limit, they cannot be considered a 'slow' driver. The only exception is if they are in the fast lane (in which case you still can't be angry if they are going 140% of the speed limit - that's 90 in a 65 MPH zone - since if that is 'slow' then you are 'insane'). Plus, they may have seen a radar cop that you didn't.

3. Do not tailgate. Tailgating is defined as the distance that the trailing car needs to avoid the car in front if it suddenly hits the brakes, gets into an accident or explodes for no obvious reason. If you can't do that, you're too close.
EXCEPTION: Sometimes traffic is tight and letting too much room will cause a cavalcade of aggressive drivers to cut in front of you. In this case, drive just close enough to prevent that.
TIP #1: You don't have to be able to stop behind the driver, if you know you have room on the right or left to avoid the accident. This requires constantly knowing if anybody's in your blind spots, even when you have no intention of going there.
TIP #2: A good rule of thumb is to have two seconds between you and the next car - whatever landmark (sign, light, etc) he passes, you should pass two seconds later.
TIP #3: If someone's following too close, tap your brakes (i.e., flash your brake lights) to let them know you think they're too close, and try to let them by. Note that if you're not going the speed limit or going slow relative to traffic, you need to move out of the way. If you're going a decent speed (see #2) and they actually get closer, slow down until they get all pissy and go around you. Remember, if they hit you for any reason, it's their fault. Call 911 and scream bloody murder for the insurance money. Don't take a settlement until you know exactly how much it'll cost to fix up your back bumper (not usually cheap!).

4. Use your turn signal, always. The more everyone knows, the less likely accidents happen.

5. If you are moving over into a lane, and another person is also moving into the same lane from the opposite side, whoever is in the blind spot gives up the lane and waits their turn. If both cars are even, give it up. Don't be the jerk and live to drive again.

6. When an outside lane is closed (left or right), don't be the jerk that tries to get all the way to the front of the line and then merge. Play the good driver and pull in after a reasonable time and then wait. If you happen to see one of these guys, don't let them in. It makes them think they can always do it.

7. Whenever possible, stay out of people's blind spots. Obviously, this isn't possible in medium to heavy traffic, but when traffic's relatively light, avoid that spot.

8. Find out where you're going before you go. No one wants to see you driving 15 miles per hour looking for a sign.

9. Don't do your makeup or talk on your cell phone when piloting a death machine. For that matter, don't do anything other than talk to friends, or listen to the radio, and drive.

10. If someone has done something bad, you may honk, but do not lean out and shout or throw something. You aren't paying attention anymore and YOU are now the jerk.

11. Never listen to music so loud that you can't hear sirens, squealing tires, etc. "Stop! My child is attached to your bumper!" is something nobody wants to hear, but nobody ought to have that cry unheeded, either.

12. You may dance to the radio only at stoplights. Singing is OK if you are still paying attention and still are obeying #11.

13. People may go under the speed limit in the slow lane, down to 2/3rds of the speed limit without penalty. Below that, pull over and figure out where you're going or turn on your emergency flashers if your car's broken and that's as fast as it goes.

14. LEFT LANE IS FOR FAST PEOPLE, RIGHT LANE IS FOR SLOW PEOPLE. If you're in a hurry, don't be angry at the slow person in the right lane (see #13). Conversely, don't go anything less than the speed limit in the fast lane.

15. Give very large vehicles room. They swing wide, can't dodge or slow quickly and they will probably kill you without remorse if you do something stupid.

16. Give motorcyclists lots of room. They have no metal around them. Give them even more room than cars (see #3, tip 2), so that they have a fighting chance of dodging or surviving an accident.

17. It's OK to slow down well before a red light so that you can go through the green upcoming light without coming to a complete stop, but you may not go less than 1/2 the speed limit to do so.

18. Regardless of the expiration date of your license (AZ licenses last roughly forever), get your eyes checked regularly if you are over 60. If you find people honking at you a lot, do not drive. Bug your kids, friends, home, etc. to do it for you or just use the public bus system.

19. TURN OFF YOUR STUPID FOG LIGHTS. They are designed to aim up in order to aid visibility in heavy fog. This means you are blinding everyone in front of you, and that is dangerous. If you want your car to look cool, give it a better paint job. Besides, I can't tell if you have a cool car if all I can see is spots.

20. That horrible squeaking sound that seems to emanate from so many vehicles is a loose belt. It's easily replaced. Please go do that.

21. If your stereo system makes your car rattle, you've probably spent more on the stereo than on the car, and that makes you an imbecile.

22. If you spot someone pulled over by the side of the road (especially a freeway) and can't be the good guy to offer help, at least try to put one lane between you and them. It's bad enough that they're stuck on the side of a road without people going 90 MPH about 3 feet away. This is also true of anyone who has been pulled over by a cop.

23. If you have kids in your car, you must be able to deal with them without looking at them. If you cannot, pull over. If you are a halfway decent parent, you will be able to do this. If you're still a pretty bad parent, I'm pretty sure the fact that you pulled over just to yell at them will get the kids' attention. If that still doesn't help, consider adoption. Also (from Drivl): If you have kids in the car, and are smoking, I may follow you home to beat the addiction out of you.

24. Don't block side streets when there's 1 or 2 lanes. For example, if traffic's backed up a few blocks on a stop light, don't pull your car in front of a residential lane and let people come in and out. If there's more than 2 lanes, though, it's not really safe to try to cross 3+ lanes, so no worries.

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posted by Steve @ 7:09 PM   0 comments
Saturday, September 24, 2005
A Funny Thing Happened Today No. 3: Family Guy and barroom sociology
Tonight, while working as a DJ (as I do), I had some stuff to give away. But not just random junk - whole DVD's of The Family Guy. Five copies of the first and second seasons (which is volume 1), five of the third season, some shirts, and a bunch of DVD's with 5 "favorite" episodes. Wow.

I decided pretty early on not to let the staff have some because there was a lot more staff than giveaways - and to do trivia questions.

Now, that's all well and good but not interesting enough to justify a blog post. The funny part is how people act. I don't generally like doing giveaways because I inevitably end up acting as a referee.

It's not all bad - one guy who answered first and correctly thought I had the new 'Stewie' movie (which hasn't come out yet). He already had the set he had won and so gave it to someone else. That was really cool of him.

On the other hand, one girl literally tackled a guy to prevent him from answering a question (I didn't accept her answer - I don't care if you're right, you have to pay consequences for being a greedy bitch). Another guy actually won one - he got the 5-episode DVD - but kept bugging me to 'trade' for the box set. I told him to answer a question correctly like anyone else. And honestly - you got a free DVD, man, what are you complaining for? Doesn't help that he was attempting to crawl into my ear the whole night.

I feel very uncomfortable even when a good looking girl gets into my little personal space, nevermind a greasy lookin' dude who wants favors. I'm still a little suprised every time a girl thinks that grabbing my crotch or showing more cleavage will get a song (etc.).

Currently listening :
Timeless: The Singles Collection
By De La Soul

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posted by Steve @ 3:20 AM   0 comments
Sunday, September 18, 2005
Random Thought No. 2: Villain to Hero Ratio
There is a proper hero-to-villain ratio that is necessary for any set of 'good guys' to defeat a type of bad guy. The tougher the bad guy, the higher the ratio.

Also, in anime especially (think Ruroni Kenshin), it's easy to tell how 'tough' the person is by how much trouble the artists and creators took to create an interesting backstory and/or visage. A masked nobody is going to die no matter what - while the complex, detailed character won't go out for quite a while. The list I have of hero:villain ratios goes like this:

>100:1 - Fodder
50:1 - Nameless, faceless mook
25:1 - Mook (group name)
15:1 - Punk
7:1 - Goon
4:1 - Agent
2:1 - Henchman
1:1 - Villain
1:2 - Leader
1:4 - Boss
1:>5 - Archvillain

It seems about right to me. Of course, there are times that the distinctions get a bit fuzzy .. Agent Smith in the Matrix movies went from Villain to Fodder, at least for Neo.

Currently listening :
Use Your Illusion 2
By Guns N Roses

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posted by Steve @ 7:29 PM   0 comments
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
One more try at a blog.

I've started a lot of journals in the past. In some cases it was because I as a bored/moody/lovesick teenager. Later, it was to catalogue my trip(s) to Japan between 2000-2004.

This time, I'm writing as to get my thoughts down. I am blessed with an active mind and cursed with a terrible, lazy memory. I have more ideas than I can keep in my head at once, and both the good and bad vanish very quickly from me. Hence, this blog.

A few rules for myself: nothing I'd find boring to read. I will link when appropriate. I will write well. I will write twice weekly. I will not censor myself despite the fact that my parents/in-laws might read this. I reserve the right to break my own rules.

Currently listening :
Feel Good Inc
By Gorillaz

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posted by Steve @ 4:30 AM   0 comments
 
About Me


Name: Steve
Home: Tucson, Arizona, United States
About Me: I like to think about things, and I occasionally like to write what I think.
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