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Your driving habits, how have they changed over the years?
The cellphone/driving thread got me to thinking, and earlier today I did a grocery run, and while driving realized how I've modified my behavior in recent years.
First, I've slowed down. A lot. I've always loved speed, worked w. SCCA racing years back, owned sports cars and souped up MiniCoopers, fast bikes too. I once owned a Kawi 500cc H1, a suicide machine which was at the time the fastest accelerating street-legal bike available generally. My last bike was a Kawi Ninja 750 that was considerably jazzed up, too.
But it got to where I simply could not operate a bike at the speeds I enjoyed, so I sold it. Teach and others enjoy those big road gliders that offer living-room comfort while touring, but if I'm not going 100+ it's not fun for me. Each to his own.
My '96 T-Bird LX, the "Great White" w. the largest V8 Ford made is a rocket for a fairly heavy car, all the speed that I really can handle these days. And more.
A few years ago I would catch myself going too fast for my reflexes. My speed hadn't changed but my reflexes had. Now, I'm no road terror and I'm very cautious about city streets and school zones, etc, but freeways and expressways, I'd be cranking along at 80 or so. Wide city boulevards rated for 45, I'm doing 60.
But (thankfully not having a crash to make it a solid object lesson), I found myself "overshooting" my comfort zone and having to brake suddenly too soon, too often. I told myself "slow the hell down!" and have done so.
The other problem that's crept up has been a gradual loss of peripheral vision. Once, with excellent vision, I could keep eyes straight ahead and still see side street traffic. Not any longer. Now I have to consciously turn my head slightly.
A warning to those approaching geezerhood (I'm well past this, will be 71 next month) ---- it creeps up on you and isn't a slam-dash event. You need to make a conscious evaluation of prior driving habits to learn what's going on with your reflexes and vision. Especially peripheral vision -- you can possibly still see straight ahead but that side vision squeezes in slowly so that you don't really notice.
Being older, I also cannot drive long distances comfortably (meaning safely). My night vision is still fine however.
Anyway, for me, I've absolutely slowed down and I take more care at intersections. Luckily my general abilities and mental swoosh seems to be fine, so long as I take into account the limitations.
So you? Especially those approaching full geezerhood, how have your driving habits changed? Any particular advice? A funny story? Or not-so-funny object lesson?
First, I've slowed down. A lot. I've always loved speed, worked w. SCCA racing years back, owned sports cars and souped up MiniCoopers, fast bikes too. I once owned a Kawi 500cc H1, a suicide machine which was at the time the fastest accelerating street-legal bike available generally. My last bike was a Kawi Ninja 750 that was considerably jazzed up, too.
But it got to where I simply could not operate a bike at the speeds I enjoyed, so I sold it. Teach and others enjoy those big road gliders that offer living-room comfort while touring, but if I'm not going 100+ it's not fun for me. Each to his own.
My '96 T-Bird LX, the "Great White" w. the largest V8 Ford made is a rocket for a fairly heavy car, all the speed that I really can handle these days. And more.
A few years ago I would catch myself going too fast for my reflexes. My speed hadn't changed but my reflexes had. Now, I'm no road terror and I'm very cautious about city streets and school zones, etc, but freeways and expressways, I'd be cranking along at 80 or so. Wide city boulevards rated for 45, I'm doing 60.
But (thankfully not having a crash to make it a solid object lesson), I found myself "overshooting" my comfort zone and having to brake suddenly too soon, too often. I told myself "slow the hell down!" and have done so.
The other problem that's crept up has been a gradual loss of peripheral vision. Once, with excellent vision, I could keep eyes straight ahead and still see side street traffic. Not any longer. Now I have to consciously turn my head slightly.
A warning to those approaching geezerhood (I'm well past this, will be 71 next month) ---- it creeps up on you and isn't a slam-dash event. You need to make a conscious evaluation of prior driving habits to learn what's going on with your reflexes and vision. Especially peripheral vision -- you can possibly still see straight ahead but that side vision squeezes in slowly so that you don't really notice.
Being older, I also cannot drive long distances comfortably (meaning safely). My night vision is still fine however.
Anyway, for me, I've absolutely slowed down and I take more care at intersections. Luckily my general abilities and mental swoosh seems to be fine, so long as I take into account the limitations.
So you? Especially those approaching full geezerhood, how have your driving habits changed? Any particular advice? A funny story? Or not-so-funny object lesson?
Replies
Turns out, all I need is open space and someone elses' car to revert to a 16 year old again.
-Mikhail Kalashnikov
As I have gotten older I have reduced my highway speeds, but still find driving in town to be above the 35-45 speed limits. Even when I travel I usually set the Cruise for 62-63 MPH in my MH.
What's an acceptable figure? Less than 10 octogenarians per year?
― Douglas Adams
Also, if you pass a hot girl, slam into her car. She HAS to give you her number then.
Rental car, empty parking lot and snow. That is some serious fun.
-Mikhail Kalashnikov
Sorry, dude. There a a lot of reasons that you shouldn't do the speed limit sometimes. Traffic and weather are two of them.
The speed limit is totally dependant on the current driving conditions. Out here in the Southwest, there are frequent wind storms in the spring that can reduce visibility to 25 yards. Freeways are sometimes completely closed down. You don't drive the speed limit in extreme conditions.
The only thing that bothers me now when I drive is people who drive like they own the road. They are entitled to get where they are going and nobody and nothing else matters. They are better and smarter than everyone else. They seem to think they have a say about how I drive. It's much easier to do when they're in the safety of their cars.
Gotcha. Just saw a blanket statement there that we know isn't always true.
It might be annoying to you, but I think you should drive your own car and not thiers.....
ETA - not trying to be a butthead. But it's the truth. I get annoyed with people driving like that all the time. But horn honking, fingers and tailgating rarely get anything usefull accomplished. Do what you want. If it was a friend or relative of yours, you wouldn't do that to them......
AKA: Former Founding Member
40MPH seems about right to me.
What size motor do you have?
I also stopped drinking and driving cos I kept spilling my drink when I ran over pedestrians.
Rentals have no speed limits and irrespective of make, size or shape are designed to go offroad fast. ( The only thing that pisses me off about US made cars is that stupid park brake activated by your foot....How the hell are you supposed to do handbrake turns ???)
I am still a believer in the ' If you travel twice as fast as everyone else, you wont ever get rear ended'..........which is why I dont stop at lights or stop signs......
I have been told by passengers that I scare their pants off...............unfortunately I have never had a female passenger in the vehicle at the time. Although there was this one time when I was ...uh......never mind, you wouldnt believe me if I told you.
I have modified my driving though cos I want to die quietly in my sleep like my grandfather...........not kicking screaming and yelling like the rest of the passengers in his vehicle.
No !!! you forget, this is a special edition made for Sam !!! the exclusive Limited Yosemite Sam Edition............ one of 50 made !!! :jester:
And in a few years, I intend to extend this behavior to the grocery store, where I will show up at peak business hours, with a cane and wearing a plaid shirt, suspenders, khakis, and a pork-pie hat. I will stand in the middle of the aisle, seemingly oblivious to the traffic back-up I'm causing, and tap individual items on the shelf while reading every word on the labels out loud. It will be a blast. :jester:
BTW, I like two old sayings about driving:
1) "Anyone driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone driving faster than you is a maniac."
2) "When I was 15 I used to do 90mph; now that I'm 90, I do 15."
Agreed. We rented a 2013 Suburban to drive to Yellowstone with some in-laws a couple weeks ago. Fun fact, a fully loaded Suburban will easily do a steady 100mph across the middle of Wyoming.
I think the horn button on cars should be solid metal and should have a half power tazer hooked up behind them.
You can still press that button.........but you'd better have a DAMN good reason for doing so.
Getting into wrecks sometimes happens, I have no problem with that, but somebody blowing their horn (even if it isn't at me), is probably the # 1 thing in this world that makes me more angry than it should.
Back in the day, I used to have the 120mph speedo on my Mustang buried coming down Tappan lake dam (jbohio will know where that is). One deer decide to run across the the road and I'd have been toast.
I'll bet it can pass everything but a gas station while it's doing that, too!
Jerry