[golfbravobravo]

For me the ultimate driving test was Storrow Drive Boston Mass at rush hour. You survive that your have skills.

Interesting to hear all the variety of 'learning experiences'. Howebver, I have to tell you that you are all learners until you have a) driven around the Arc de Triomph in rush hour and b) in Belgium.

Cheers

 

[golfbravobravo]

I love driving the NC twisties like the dragon. Tires squealing and starting to slide. I wish they would stop thinking they can use the whole road. Stay in your bloody lane. You never know what is coming around the next bend. It could be an 18 wheeler just barely able to stay in its lane.

I have to say I don't get the US aversion to using the whole road. The key is to be able to see at all times and often using the whole road, in appropriate circumstances, is the best way to do that. On the Tail, there is a small matter of double yellows, that crimps that - at least in a legal sense. I saw few drivers positioning and the ability to read the road ahead seemed very limited. Maybe I was lucky, when I trained for my advanced driving exam, I had two police class 1 driving instructors in the car with me and I grew up where (Lancashire) certain things were ordained: lights are always on the outside of a bend; the solid line always breaks at the apex of the bed, etc., etc. I still use that stuff 50 years later, though not all pertain in the USA!!!
I did get my comeuppance one day many years ago: as teenagers we used to drive out on country lanes (often to pubs) and I had a van. One was high enough up to see across the tops of the drystone walls that lined the roads, and hence used all the road - one had a clear view of anything coming a long way off. Unitil One day in the middle of the road I met a Lotus Europa coming the other way. The saving in laxatives around that time was significant.

Ditto with overtaking on standard (not two lanes in the same direction) roads here. It's an aversion that is completely mystifying - especially in "perfect" conditions, for example I have passed a long line on Highway 54 which was straight as far as the eye could see. But no, we must sit in a nose to tail gaggle. And I'm not talking about reckless actions here, just standard overtaking. Passengers look as though one has committed the ultimate death defying act.
Odd!

Cheers

 

[Les Strat]

I have to say I don't get the US aversion to using the whole road. The key is to be able to see at all times and often using the whole road, in appropriate circumstances, is the best way to do that. On the Tail, there is a small matter of double yellows, that crimps that - at least in a legal sense. I saw few drivers positioning and the ability to read the road ahead seemed very limited. Maybe I was lucky, when I trained for my advanced driving exam, I had two police class 1 driving instructors in the car with me and I grew up where (Lancashire) certain things were ordained: lights are always on the outside of a bend; the solid line always breaks at the apex of the bed, etc., etc. I still use that stuff 50 years later, though not all pertain in the USA!!!
I did get my comeuppance one day many years ago: as teenagers we used to drive out on country lanes (often to pubs) and I had a van. One was high enough up to see across the tops of the drystone walls that lined the roads, and hence used all the road - one had a clear view of anything coming a long way off. Unitil One day in the middle of the road I met a Lotus Europa coming the other way. The saving in laxatives around that time was significant.

Ditto with overtaking on standard (not two lanes in the same direction) roads here. It's an aversion that is completely mystifying - especially in "perfect" conditions, for example I have passed a long line on Highway 54 which was straight as far as the eye could see. But no, we must sit in a nose to tail gaggle. And I'm not talking about reckless actions here, just standard overtaking. Passengers look as though one has committed the ultimate death defying act.
Odd!

Cheers

My friend who lives in Charlotte went on a 1,200 mile road trip a few weeks ago ( that's almost impossible in UK!)
Whilst driving in Texas, doing about 85 mph, he was passed by two cars who he suspected were racing.

He estimates that they were doing at least 130 mph... in heavy rain, at night!

 

[bevanc]

Ditto with overtaking on standard (not two lanes in the same direction) roads here. It's an aversion that is completely mystifying - especially in "perfect" conditions, for example I have passed a long line on Highway 54 which was straight as far as the eye could see. But no, we must sit in a nose to tail gaggle. And I'm not talking about reckless actions here, just standard overtaking. Passengers look as though one has committed the ultimate death defying act.
Odd!

Got to say I agree with you. The issue is US drivers, even if they are like driving miss Daisy, don't expect people to overtake them.

And in the US, they will put double lines down the middle of every road, even when it's fine to overtake. At least, that is what it is like in PA.

If I do overtake, the wife yells at me.... But then I get my own back when I'm back in the UK. Engine braking going into roundabouts, lots of overtaking, I scare the crap out of her and then calmly tell her that is how you need to drive over here.

 

[ArmchairPhilosopher]

I have to say I don't get the US aversion to using the whole road. The key is to be able to see at all times and often using the whole road, in appropriate circumstances, is the best way to do that.

I take it you have Italian roots… ;p

 

[golfbravobravo]

My friend who lives in Charlotte went on a 1,200 mile road trip a few weeks ago ( that's almost impossible in UK!)
Whilst driving in Texas, doing about 85 mph, he was passed by two cars who he suspected were racing.

He estimates that they were doing at least 130 mph... in heavy rain, at night!

In 2018 in prep fro the big move I drove my Genesis G80 from Ca to NC via I40 which looks to be a fraction under 3000 miles. I left the car in the garage and few back to prep for our final move in June. That time we took a UHaul and our worldly goods, this time via I80 (it was summer) and a similar 2900+ miles.

I did the first in 3 days and the big trip in 4.

 

[golfbravobravo]

I take it you have Italian roots… ;p

Far from it. Vikings, Danes and dinosaur dropping miners from Lincolnshire........

 

[classfolkphile]

Interesting to hear all the variety of 'learning experiences'. Howebver, I have to tell you that you are all learners until you have a) driven around the Arc de Triomph in rush hour and b) in Belgium.

Cheers

or c) in Rome - or actually anywhere in Italy.

 

[KoshNaranek]

I tried listening to audio books in the car. And failed. Hard. Really difficult to rewind back to where you went mentally off the rails when something in the story triggered a mental tangent. And I get so involved in a good story that I get distracted from the road. Double Not Good. I already have a problem with getting lost in thought on the commute only to realize 20 minutes later that I'm where I'm supposed to be but have no freakin' clue how I got there.

I need to READ books. I don't care if they are electronic or made from dead trees.

I have Sirius XM in the car - sounds like ass. Which fits since there's road noise and I have the basic factory music system in the car. And I don't want to upgrade, it would be too distracting. Sigh.

I do not have any problem with audiobooks, so I had the bright idea to try to learn a foreign language on CD in the car. Two near death experiences in rapid succession put a stop to it in minutes.

 

[Odin412]

I prefer voting with my money and buy my music as lossles FLAC instead whenever possible.

FLAC seems like a widely used format and the codec is free and open. I know that Bandcamp uses it for downloads. And since it's lossless you can transcode FLAC files to whichever format you prefer.

 

[Pondoro]

I take it you have Italian roots… ;p

I've done a lot of business in Italy, all technical Italians know a lot of English. The Italians criticized the strange English rules of pronunciation and grammar! I patiently explained that Italians, Poles, Germans, Spaniards, etc., usually with no formal education, had come to the US and been allowed to talk as they wished. Before that the British nobles spoke French, and allowed the uneducated masses to speak "English" as they wished. So English is a language of the peasantry. This did not move my Italian friends, they still told me our language was basically useless. Finally I told them, "The English rules for speaking are like Italian rules for driving." Then they nodded and understood.

 

[KoshNaranek]

I do the same thing with all of @Ripper2860 's music.

While I respect your ear and like you as a person, I do not believe you have grounds to complain about other people's music choices

 

[FLTWS]

I'd have to agree with Jefferson Starship's "Built this City" as worst ever

...simply because these people were the Jefferson Airplane before they sold out!

Their early albums were the steak, the later ones the sizzle.

 

[ScottFree]

My friend who lives in Charlotte went on a 1,200 mile road trip a few weeks ago ( that's almost impossible in UK!)
Whilst driving in Texas, doing about 85 mph, he was passed by two cars who he suspected were racing.

He estimates that they were doing at least 130 mph... in heavy rain, at night!

A buddy of mine used to help run security for various U.S Government personnel on foreign trips. A few of those trips would be to Saudi Arabia. During transit from place to place they would be escorted by the Saudi Arabian security forces and the average speed during transit would actually reach about 130 mph plus.

 

[Odin412]

Covid reignited my music listening, I am buying CDs for $1 to $6. It is the golden age.

Agreed - buying used CDs is great value. I rip them to my hard drive and enjoy lossless audio.