Forgie, I know how to pronounce "Worcestor" *g*. It comes from knowing Queen's own English, actually. And yes, I did capitalise "Masshole" :-P

Only people with a Boston accent drop the last "r". Everyone else pronouces it somewhere between Wooster (as in wood) and Wister. Closer to the former.

(Spent five years in Boston going to school but grew up in Western MA. My family now lives in Shrewsbury.)

Worcester Poly Tech ownz j00 all!

WPI!

We Massholes (capitalize it! It's our state!) and ex-Massholes pronounce Worcester 'wooh stah'. Wood with h instead of d, stah like star without the 'r'. Here in Pennsylvania these fruitcakes call the city 'Worcester' up the road 'War-cess-ter'. Nut jobs. Take me home!

AG #47: yo, I can, but I also attended RPI =]

Seriously, though, the NYers at RPI always call the MA drivers "Massholes".

Saint Louis drivers, IMO, are the worst (and I've been in NYC, San Francisco, LA, San Diego, etc) in this country. However, noone tops Parisean drivers. In Paris, the drivers constantly ignore lane markings, to the point where the government authorities have given up putting them in.

Forge #43,

Is that just specific to us? I wasn't aware of that. I've certainly seen a bit of that around here (Albany area), but then again a decent number of folks here at RPI are from MA anyway.

So, how many people can actually pronounce 'Worcester turn' correctly? ;)

This isn't a valid topic? Well okay, has anyone overclocked their detector? How about MP? :)

Samlind -

That's terrible. As someone who despises SUVs and wishes they'd disappear from the face of the planet, I find it disgusting that you helped encourage this guy to buy one-- no offence meant.

SUVs, unsafe at any speed.

Personally, I'm happy with my 1989 BMW 325is. I'm also happy with my 1985 Toyota MR2, but the BMW is more practical and precious to me. I drive like a madman, but the car will bear it. The only thing I worry about when I drive fast is cops. I don't count on other people to know what to do when I drive as fast as I do, but I usually slow down when I'm passing confused people. I typically drive to work at 95MPH on 24 from Orinda to Walnut Creek (reverse commute, Orinda is 30 mins east of SF, Walnut Creek 40 mins).

Driving that fast is loads of fun. The experience/thrill of hitting 100MPH every morning is better than coffee. The winding roads before 24 are also a blast. I have a radar detector and I've tried to hone the art of using it, but it's of little use to me. I don't take the effort to move it from the BMW to the MR2 and back because it's not worth it.

This sounds like someone just wants us to review a radar-detector for them, rather than a valid topic! nice try.

AG #41 - That and the 'Worcester turn':

1. Proceed to red light you'd like to turn through.
2. Locate blinker and enable (challenging for many MA drivers)
3. Inch out into intersection until opposing traffic is *forced* to yield.
4. Pull through, smiling and waving. Finger optional.
5. Repeat as desired.

I sweah, stop lights in Massachusetts are entiahly optional. I miss it.

#41 again

I also wanted to say that #8 was spot on with that one. Been saying it for years. The technology in your brakes, suspension, and especially tires has improved so much since the 60s that it isn't funny. Yet we've only just returned to those sorts of speed limits on the highway. I just can't figure it; I understand speed limits w/in a town/city being a necessity to protect pedestrians, children, and other drivers on crowded roads, but highways are just wide open stretches of (nearly) open road. Outside of rush hour anyway.

TargetBoy #34:

I've been noticing that about drivers in Albany, they don't really tend to display and bad habits as a whole. But if you've driven in Boston and can't say you've seen anything wrong, you must've been driving w/ your eyes closed. Almost noone in the entire state of MA has any idea how the fuck a blinker actually works. They suddenly go on in the middle of long stretches of open road and, if there even is a turn, the turn being signalled doesn't happen for another mile. Or you'll come to a 4-way and someone else is coming from the other direction, suddenly, they brake and turn, and as you hit the brakes, they'll throw on their blinker to say "yeah, i'm turning here". But those two sorts of cases only happen w/ people who actually use them. And far too many people don't.

Also, it appears that we all seem to park our car in harvard yard, though I've never actually done so.

LocalYokel,

My ":^)" should have been a ";^)". I, too, am not a fan of obviousisms paraded as valuable insights. And scrolling is much preferable to finding the Next button every few seconds.

[quote]Studies have shown that the average driver is most comfortable at 85mph. [/quote]
Joe Bad Driver in his SUV might be comfortable [i]at[/i] 85, but I'm fairly certain most accidents occur in the tense moments of accelerating to/decelerating from such a high speed. 55/60 is a good limit for the middle lane, with the understanding that the left will move slightly faster, and the right will move slower.

As for radar detectors--capitalism at its best. Making people pay for fake peace of mind must be a high-profit industry, and if you're going fast enough in traffic to need one of these things, you deserve to get caught.

I have a BEL 980 and that thing has paid for itself 10x over. I have received 3 tickets in 14 years of driving and I ALWAYS do 10 over at least. I'll prob get a ticket tomorrow for saying that :) As far as my BEL 980, ive noticed no difference between it and a friends V1. Once you consider the asinine price of the V1, its not hard to make a decision if your looking for a high end detector. Reading some of your comments about them not working...I think some of you have had experiences with wal-mart specials. And guess what...your right...they don't work. If a cop is using instant on or laser...then your screwed with any detector, but its so easy for those "BEARS" to catch speediers its hardly used. Usually its like a pond that you can catch a fish on every cast.

as far as the "BEARS" hating your detector, just turn the damn thing off if you get pulled over. Hell I've even yanked mine down and dropped it in the backseat floorboard. Just don't do that if he has already closed the gap on you and watches you do it...if that happens you deserve a strip search and the drug dogs called in.

I thought we were talking about radar detectors not bad drivers? which one is the best?

I've lived in the Chicago 'burbs for the the past 10 years and I can understand how people drive. But For the last 2 years of that I have been going to school in Fort Wayne, IN, and after learning to drive outside of Chicago I am convinced that nobody here knows how to drive.

SLow in the fast lane, fast in the slow lane. Nobody uses turn signals, nobody. And if the do, they are the wrong one. I have almost gotten into two accidents because of the morons that drive here. The worst part is, they dont know how to change lanes. 3 to 4 car lengths is the minimum they need to do it.

Now I'm not the best driver in the world, but I'm not a speed demon either. I drive 5 - 10 miles over the speed limit for city driving (except for the "downtown" area which has timed lights every block, if you go too fast (over 25 mph!!) you have to wait at the lights.) And perhaps 10 -15 mph over the speed limit fo rhighwaydriving. What I want is a moron detector, not a radar detector.

- Bugsy

TargetBoy, it doesn't help that the street and highway layouts in Denver were apparently done by people unable to make it on either coast, who seem to have found a naive reception here... it's like the rejects of the world have congregated here! Stupid stuff, like freeway entry and exit lanes on the left -- they rebuilt the worst one (called "The Mousetrap", the I-70 and I-25 interchange) but I don't know that they actually [iixe /i] it.

Being a drinking buddy for a couple of bears has given me a few insights I'd like to share.

1. Bears **HATE** radar detectors. It makes them peeved in a way that's difficult to describe. Suffice it to say, if he's pondering letting you go and he notes something detector-like on your visor, you're screwed.

2. Bears love to give tickets to folks who slow down to almost the legal limit just before they hit the trap. They also love ticketing those fools who slam on the brakes when the detector first pings. There's usually a reckless driving cite thrown in, on those.

Basically, your detector probably isn't helping. Most times, you can see them and they can see you before the gun goes off. Either drive like a lunatc and have a friend riding shotgun do the pig squeal, or just do the damned speed limit.

Actually, I live in the Albany NY area and I don't have any problems with the Driving here.

I lived in Syracuse for four years and that was insane, since people never used turn signals.

I've driven in Boston and didn't really have any problems.

I think Twofer hit it on the head about Denver, though. It's like everyone's worst habits all mashed together.

[q]People around here in Colorado are odd folk, some drive under the speed limit in the fast lane, others drive over the limit in the slow lane.[/q] I first moved to Colorado in the early 60's, and it was very different then: Denver was just an overgrown cowtown, and the pace was much slower. Nowadays, the place is full of idiots who come from many different places, almost none of them Colorado -- and they all have different driving training and habits. So they all drive differently, and each thinks all the others are nuts.

This makes Denver driving an extremely different experience than L.A., for instance (I lived there for five years; they mostly drive uniformly -- very fast, bumper-to-bumper, but generally polite), or New Jersey (eleven years; the road ahead of you belongs to you -- protect it! regardless of the consequences! and ignore the lane laws!). It also makes Denver driving incredibly dangerous: another thing studies have shown is that speed [ier s/i] isn't as dangerous as the speed delta between vehicles. What you're doing, JediDan, is pretty risky (and this from someone who was an active skydiver for 25 years). Lemme know when you're on the road, and I'll stay off it. :P

Closer to topic: the folks I know with radar detectors get just as many speeding tickets as those without, and I've never seen any brand dependence; at best, they just have a few seconds more to think up a good story (which won't work, anyway...). There's a chance that a scattered signal will reach them before they actually hit the trap, but generally if they set the sensitivity that high they get so many false alarms they tend to ignore the real ones.

Originally Posted by LocalYokel
Does anyone, anywhere, live among anything other than \"the worst drivers in the world\"? I didn\'t think so.

Samlind,
The German is driving correctly. Do not try to retrain him. Flashing your high-beams at slower traffic in the left lane is the international symbol to get the F out of the way. If you've ever driven in Germany (or some other places in Europe), you'd notice that:

A. People drive very, very fast on the Autoban

B. They display lane discipline (stay to the right unless passing, always pass on the left).

C. The death/injury rate per mile driven is much, much lower than the United States.

A, B and C are not unrelated.

In many places in the U.S. it is, in fact, illegal to pass on the right. The cops should enforce this (I know they don't, but they should).

When I was stationed in Italy briefly (USAF), the base commander told us that the #1 reason American servicemen got traffic tickets was - passing on the right. I understand that many drivers are idiots, but most people (at least in Portland, Or) *will* get over if you tailgate them and flash your brights.
Sometimes you must pass on the right, but it should be a last resort - not the first.

Originally Posted by ---k
The V1 has come in handy when going through unfamiliar territory. If you are using it go to and from work, then I think it\'s overkill. Like AG26 said, the V1 by itself won\'t save your butt if you are an incurable leadfoot. Most of my ticket avoiding happens in my head. You learn to observe the traffic ahead and also have a good idea where the cops are hiding. If you are going around a blind corner or a coming up on a hill, also overpasses and large trees/shrubs and are good spots for a speed trap. The V1 just gives me that extra second to react and switch lanes. Speeding is easy, speeding w/o getting caught takes some practice. :)

Why the hell is there an apostrophe in there? Jeez. Neeed editing..

Samlind,

I feel sorry for your German, people in this country need to take a class in highway etiquette and all our lives would be much nicer and safer. Too many damn puritan's in the US. Dumb as blocks and fascists to boot. Those bastards who clog the fast lane peeeees me off.

LocalYokel, you ever driven in Denver? My one experience this summer was exactly how he described. It was chaos.

To keep it on topic, I own an older radar detector but don't use it. I find I'm a more alert and careful driver if I'm taking responsibility for keeping my ass from getting a speeding ticket, rather than leaving it to a machine.

First off, I dunno why anyone is even posting about the 'morals' of speeding. It is unrelated to radar detection equipment. Do it or don't, it's your business. I've had just about every possible detector brand and the V1 totally is the best. There is no question in my mind about it, and I read that detector review some time ago and was puzzled against the guys hatred of the V1...It's obvious something was up there and I'm glad someone else saw this too. The V1 has saved my butt many, many times. The early 90s passports were the worst ever IMO. After the V1, I'd say the high end bel's are about hte best and always have been good consumer grade stuff. Whistler makes the worst crap ever and has since the mid 80s. They are so noisy that I can pinpoint a car with a Whistler with my V1. These dudes with the crappy detectors or even better with the 'radar jammers' really piss me off. All they do is screw other motorists and do nothing for their own coverage. The best defense is a good forward and rearward visual scan, don't be first or last in a group of cars going faster than the posted limit, and when I have Mike Valentine with me in the car with me it's an added bonus. If Mike Valentine says there's K-band....There's K-band :) I got my V1 as a gift so I'm not defending my investment really, but honestly, nothing touches the V1 (and I dont give a poop about talking alerts and other fancy useless crap on some of the other brands)
-Trouble

Originally Posted by LocalYokel
---k, speeding alone isn\'t all that dangerous. Its combination with stupidity, for instance JediDan, is another story...

Originally Posted by ---k
Along with my daily dose of tech sites, I frequent the car sites and every couple of months you hear about some member who got killed in an accident. They are usually in their late teens/early 20\'s and usually result from parents buying them a brand new sports car and trying to show it off to their friends. It really is a sobering experience. Sometimes we feel like we are invincible and the only thing that can knock some sense into us is a preventable loss of life.

A few people have mentioned it here, but I would like to agree that speed limits are more of a recomendation than a rule.

People around here in Colorado are odd folk, some drive under the speed limit in the fast lane, others drive over the limit in the slow lane. Either way, I drive with what I feel comfortable with in the situation. If its dark on the back roads of rural Denver, great, 45-55 is fine. Given that incident of someone driving on the wrong side of the 2 lane highway at 1am, my passenger left stains on the seat, while my driver training helped save both of us from a head-on at 55mph my way, who knows what the other guy was doing.

In the middle of the day down I-25, hell, how much do you want to burn off your gas tank? 110 or so is quite the moving speed, but thats rare, average cruising speed is 80-85 for me. Pretty quick when everyone else driving is doing 10 under. Morons.

Don't move to colorado!

Anyhow, my new bike should help negociate some of the interesting traffic after I finish breaking it in. Hmmm 0-60 in 2.4 seconds... bikes rule