No respect

[EdInArk]

Originally Posted by JohnBoyToo

[snip]

Learning on a motorcycle years ago, I am a defensive driver and very observant so much so I get nervous when I DON'T have an 'out'...

[snip]

Same here. I've been motorcycling for 52 years, and it's taught me to look well ahead and anticipate traffic situations and better position myself for them. It's odd sometimes how the lessons learned on 600-pound vehicles can be applied to 18,000-pound ones.

Mainly, I just try to be patient. If pulling out to pass a slow-moving vehicle puts us at a greater risk of being stuck in the wrong lane, I just accept that I'll get there a minute later and wait. I do this to keep the "out" you referred to. Going through busy cities with heavy traffic is the worst, but we just try to determine the best lane to be in and get there early.

And if we inconvenience some other traffic by being in the way, I hate that, but I'd rather they be inconvenienced than us crash and burn.

[airshot]

Years back we had a TT and had all kinds of issues with rude drivers, but this spring we decided to get a used class a gasser and try traveling for our retirement fun. I have to say that drivers have been much more courteous in the MH than they ever were in the TT. We recently went thru Lexington KY at rush hour traffic time with no issues. In fact we had to change lanes a number of time due to poor road signs and once the turn signal was on people gave us the rightaway quickly. Also went thru Dayton and Cincinatti at afternoon rush time without an issue. We were just discussing this with some friends, my thought was, we purchased an older coach to see how we would like the MH idea. While it is in excellent mechanical condition it does have some faded and a couple spots where paint is flaking off the fiberglass. Not terrible but is does show signs of not being a newer coach. I told the friends when they see me coming and it is not shiney and new they might be scared that I would not be afraid to run them over so they get out of the way....LOL

[dix39]

Originally Posted by EdInArk

Same here. I've been motorcycling for 52 years, and it's taught me to look well ahead and anticipate traffic situations and better position myself for them. It's odd sometimes how the lessons learned on 600-pound vehicles can be applied to 18,000-pound ones.

Me too. My first car was a 1947 Harley 61 in 1957 when I was 18. I used it for everything, even during winter in sometimes snowy rural WV. Pretty easy to shovel a path though the driveway out to the road. Since then we've had a lot of different bikes up to the present time.

I think learning to drive defensively with one vehicle transfers to others, perhaps it's a mindset.

Steve

[FarmerB4]

Originally Posted by Azpugman

That comment makes exactly zero sense .. unless you are trying make some type of political statement. Classic.

Actually it makes perfect sense and it's very true ! Unfortunately .

[Gordon Dewald]

Originally Posted by FarmerB4

Actually it makes perfect sense and it's very true ! Unfortunately .

Agree. People today have been trained for instant gratification.

[Pa Miller]

Does it seem like people get offended really really easy these days? Or is it just me?

[EdInArk]

I don't know. I don't remember being being so indignant over such minor grievances when I was younger. I know there have always been people who'd take offence at just about anything, but I don't remember other drivers taking life-threatening chances over such trivialities as who gets to go first.

It's not the same everywhere, either. We just completed a trip up through the northeast -- Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Hampshire, etc. And soon after I got back I took a trip to Oregon, Washington, etc. Other drivers in the NE were much more aggressive and belligerent than the NW. It seems the higher the population density, the angrier people get.

[Fiesta48]

I consider every other driver an idiot and get proven at least once every trip away from home. I've avoided hundreds, maybe thousands of accidents. After 50 years driving a motorcycle I've think I've got a 6th sense anticipating stupidity.
Driving is now my only stress maker.
Everyone of my framily call me the safest male driver they know.

[dix39]

Originally Posted by EdInArk

It seems the higher the population density, the angrier people get.

I think there was a study done concerning this with rodents a while back that indicated that is the way it worked with them. I think in that case the word was aggressive, but it's about the same thing. Perhaps we're not that different.

After saying that, I have been treated with courtesy by some drivers in major cities and with "no respect" by others. Perhaps the courteous drivers didn't live there and were only passing through, but I think there is a "mix" that to a large part depends on how the person was raised and their life experiences.

Just a thought.

Steve

[ElvistheKing]

Originally Posted by mdvs

You must be a self taught driver. When I took drivers ed and my children took drivers ed they teach that when in three lanes or with heavy traffic stay in the second lane from the right.
The traffic jams are caused by
1) the slow drivers in the fast lane
2) people driving over the speed limit jamming in cutting off or tail gating causing others to slow down
3) accidents from drivers not merging or lane changing properly.

No I’m not self taught, I also have the equivalent of the CDL.

Another major source of traffic jams is mindless automatons that sit in the middle lane oblivious to everything going on around them, it is a passing lane, of your not passing pull over. Over here at least you are also commuting the offensive of driving without due car and attention and being a “moving obstruction”.

[ElvistheKing]

Originally Posted by GMA385

Agree 100% especially#2 except maybe more like 90%!!I feel like most drivers while merging aren't even paying attention to whats coming they just continue to drive until they run out of roadway and then move over to driving lane no matter what! Can't tell you how many times I've had to either move to passing lane or brake hard, usually the latter because there usually is other traffic next to me.

If you often have to brake suddenly then I would suggest that you are not reading the road sufficiently far ahead.

Moving over to let people in or allowing them the space to do so by slowing down or pulling over *before* they start their manoeuvre because you predicted that the vehicle coming up the on ramp maybe looking to join sometime soon is an important skill, especially driving a large heavy vehicle like an RV or towing.

Stop looking just 2 vehicles ahead and start looking as far ahead as you can see. US roads are pretty wide, straight and clear of obstructions compared with the rest of the world and in a truck or RV you also have a good elevated position (obviously higher in an A class) so there is very little excuse.

[Betr2Trvl]

I've been debating on jumping in on this since the beginning, as my response may not be palatable to some RVers..... But here it goes anyway.

First, distracted driving in its many forms is a chronic problem, and creates many traffic problems from aggravation to deadly crashes (I won't call them accidents, because they are not accidental). I'll just leave it at that because the specifics aren't really important in this discussion.

Next, most drivers have little to no concept of the "challenges" of driving a large vehicle; RV, Semi, or otherwise. And therefore, simply make no connection to thier actions and those vehicles. Simple enough.

Traffic in most larger metro areas can be horrible in general, and if you have to drive in congested traffic everyday, can create a lot of personal anxiety and aggravation.

With regards go those points, we can all complain, but it's just what you have to account for drivng an RV, and to a great degree, any vehicle theses days.


Now, I'm going to approach RVs on the road from a "non RVers" perspective. If I go back much more than 3 years or so, I would not have put myself in an RV, while now in the last 2 1/2 years we have driven ours over 23,000 miles across much of the country and into Canada already, puttng probably 15 months of travel behind us. So here it goes...... I sure was never going to be that old guy driving an RV that shouldn't be on the road in anything, much less a monstrosity of a Class A. Yep, just lump all RVers together in that bucket. But why would I have had that feeling?

Let's start with the "rolling roadblock" on the interstate. Yes, we see it, and even read it here. The big RV traveling at 55 mph when the traffic flow is 70 mph, particularly in a major metro area. Even worse when the RV not in the far right lane. Dangerous for everyone. RVs need to keep up reasonably with the traffic flow.

Next, even if reasonably keeping up with traffic flow, "why is the RV not in the far right lane?" Now I understand that in certain situations, with at least 3 if not 4 or more lanes of traffic, it is much easier and safer for the RV not to have to deal with on bound and exit traffic, but if you are not an RVer, you don't even think about that. From a non RVers perspective, they just think you should be in the far right lane period. Given that, I am very cognizant of when and where I drive in other than the right lane, and often follow the lead of what lane(s) the big trucks are drivng in.

RVs driving where they really don't need to be or should be, even if it's technically legal to do so, and holding up traffic one way or another; but hey, "you" are an RVer, a tax payer, and have every "right" to drive where and when "you" want to, and if others don't like it, it's their problem". A partial list that comes to mind: Blue Ridge Parkway; 441 over the Smokies between Cherokee and Gatlinburg, Tail of the Dragon, HOV lanes, express toll lanes. Or, simply not pulling over on any 2 lane road, if there is a chance to safely do so, to let a line of cars go by. And then RVers complain when other drivers don't give them due consideration along the road.

Yep, RVers have every right to drive when, where, and however they want to in their RV, in a legal fashion, and all the other drivers have every right to be poed at them, given their actions, or those of any other RVer, and take it out on you and every other RV they see by tailgating, cutting you off (and maybe giving you a nice brake check), pulling out in front of you (because they certainly don't want to get stuck behind you), etc. The driving behavior of one RVer may affect how other drivers react around all RVers.

If you find that others are seem to be commonly driving aggressively around you in your RV and / or your other vehicles, it may very well be that it is your driving that is the problem, and negatively impacting others around you whether you realize it or not. Think about your actions before blaming others for thier bad behavior.

And you know, maybe an accident isn't legally your fault, (you may not even realize your caused one) but do you really want to live with the fact that your driving caused an accident or injury to someone else just because "it's your right to drive that way"?

In closing, and not to be living in a glass house, I know of a few times that our RV driving has created situations that have obviously poed other drivers or truckers (and probably a few more that weren't so obvious). We were never trying to "make a point", but simply a miss judgement in some way or another in driving on our part. I take it to heart, and try to learn from it going forward, and hope that my bad judgment doesn't impact some other RVer at a later time because it imparts negative connotations of RVers to other drivers.

Hopefully everyone take this as food for thought and some self realization......

Regards, and safe travels.

[Radacravitz]

lotsa good points there, BETR, thx.

[mdvs]

Originally Posted by ElvistheKing

No I’m not self taught, I also have the equivalent of the CDL.

Another major source of traffic jams is mindless automatons that sit in the middle lane oblivious to everything going on around them, it is a passing lane, of your not passing pull over. Over here at least you are also commuting the offensive of driving without due car and attention and being a “moving obstruction”.

True, any lane to the left is a passing lane. When I'm in the middle lane it is to allow those cars merging and exiting the highway a buffer zone from the full traffic flow. When I'm in the middle lane there is a left lane (3rd lane) for vehicles to pass me. I can't be held responsible for the fool's or idiots that pull into the passing lane and then decide to mirror my speed or others speed in the middle lane. I only pull into the left (3rd) passing lane when I can pass the slower vehicle in a reasonable time.
The following is taken from a U.S. drivers ed book.
"On multi-lane roads, you should be in the left lane when passing or preparing to turn left, and in the right lane when turning right or preparing to enter or leave the roadway. Avoid passing on the right."

So with a 3 lane road I'm driving in the middle lane unless traffic is light in which case I use the right lane.