Starting to Change?

[bowtieguy]

no change in central florida either. the only people driving slow are tourists that don't know where they're going!

as consumer products go up in price with these gas prices, i wonder when OTHER taxes are going to be raised with the increase in gov't budget due to their extra fuel costs?

[VetteOwner]

yea people around here are driving a bit slower, of course its the first nice week so everyones prolly mellowing out enjoying the cruise with the windows down.

everyones still driving dumber than rocks tho, acting like the turn signal lever just turned into a cactus or something, watched some lady make a left turn on a 4 lane highway from the far right lane, people stopping at the end of on ramps, people not getting over for you to merge when noone else is near them, doing the California roll thru stop signs, running redlights...

[GasSavers_RoadWarrior]

Originally Posted by VetteOwner

everyones still driving dumber than rocks tho, ....

Yep, despite the general lack of aggressive driving, I've had 3 very near misses over the last week. People doing really, really, stupid crap.

[dkjones96]

Originally Posted by bowtieguy

i wonder when OTHER taxes are going to be raised with the increase in gov't budget due to their extra fuel costs?

The government hasn't really said anything about it. But the military has been told to reduce its fleet fuel consumption by I think 15% in the next 5 years.

[VetteOwner]

Originally Posted by RoadWarrior

Yep, despite the general lack of aggressive driving, I've had 3 very near misses over the last week. People doing really, really, stupid crap.

like today, i almost got my rear bumper taken off by some douchebag who wanted to make a right turn up ahead off a 4 lane highway but decided his steering wheel was really heavy and couldn't turn it enough to get over in the turn lane as i was braking behind a semi for the red light...

then about got ran over by a hummer that decided to whip around me and about sideswiped a civic in the process ... then she about rear ended the guy she gunned it up behind... I swear if it were legal I would have shot her...

[hybriDatsun350]

Nobody is slowing down around here. I've still got people blowing by me at 75+ on a regular basis.

[red91sit]

it's hard to tell if people have slowed down here, since my cruise control is still pretty spotty, but new truck sales seems down. I can't remember the last time i saw a truck with out plates. We still have about 75% of traffic as suv or trucks, but of these, only 0.5% is muddy or hauling a load.

[Frankenstipe]

Nope, around here it's the same ole same ole, no one goes below 70 and they're all doing 80.

[101mpg]

Drove my "new" CRX from Orlando, Florida to Charleston, WV the other day and I can tell you that people were NOT slowing down. Driving like total idiots. Had one idiot in Orlando in an Acura trying to tailgate with about 4 feet between us, and he kept trying to pass. This in total rush hour traffic in the "fast" lane. The "fast" lane does not mean 20 MPH+ over what everyone else around you is doing, or that much over the posted speed limit, etc.

It's like when cigarettes hit some magic number that smokers will stop smoking. I have a few friends who smoke and they have sworn over the years to stop when it reaches $X per pack yet still haven't. People are in a hurry to get to/from work to overpay for their mortgage, overpriced fuel-inefficient vehicle, etc.

[DRW]

Maybe I'm simply growing accustomed to driving slowly now. When I first dropped my freeway speed I got anxious whenever another car got behind me since I just assumed I was holding them up and pissing them off. Now I just keep my speed nice and steady and let the car behind me take care of itself. Suprisingly, some cars will follow for a while with no drama. They're OK with my pace, too. Just today I had a line of about 5 or 6 cars behind me. No one was tailgating, they held their speed steady. We were in the slow lane with 3 other lanes available for passing. I'd like to think they were comfortable with the speed and situation. I felt like the first goose in a migrating formation. Someone has to take the lead and show what pace is acceptable on the road. Lately I'm starting to see other driver who are willing to let a slower driver set the pace. I'm sure there are others out there who still feel societal pressures to drive fast, but now there's pressure to drive slower, especially now that gas is over $4 a gallon in this area.