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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
GET OFF MY BUMPER!
UGH. Can someone tell all of the SUV's in the Twin Cities to GET OFF MY *bleeping* BUMPER. I drive slow in the snow because last winter I survived some very tricky automotive gymnastics involving doing 360's up 169 (and miraculously did not hit anything.) I would rather NOT repeat that as I was [thisclose] to having a heart attack.
SO.....CHILL OUT PEOPLE and DRIVE CAREFULLY.
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Re: GET OFF MY BUMPER!
Judging
Lordy Pete, you're telling me! That is a problem when there is NO snow.
Ugh. Totally.
Also a note to little old men: please don't step out into traffic without looking in the middle of a road (no intersection, no crosswalk) with cars coming from either direction when the roads are this bad... I had to slam on my breaks and go sailing around wildly to avoid hitting just such a man this morning. Good times.
Hey don't just blame the SUV drivers...I drive a 4wd vehicle and I maintain at least 2 car length distance so that I can stop if I need to...but most of the time I do that some jacka$$ cuts in front of me as if I was making a spot for them.
Today a BMW 330 biffed it in front of me luckily I had enough time to slow down and get around him!! Usually I see cars and minivans in the ditch though and today I wasn't disappointed 3 cars and one minivan in the ditch...how fast were these people going???
Ugh - this exactly! I leave space between myself and the car in front of me, and it's inevitable that some d-bag takes that as their opportunity to just shimmy their way in, usually with no blinker, or using their blinker after they're already halfway into the lane. So annoying.
I will also say I get frustrated in the other direction though. Yes it's snowing but that does not mean you should drive 30mph on a road that is normally 55mph. Slowing down from 55pmh is a safe thing to do but don't take it to the other extreme and go so slowly that you cause accidents/problems! I don't think people realize how going too slowly can be just as dangerous for other drivers as driving too fast!!
Okay, rant over now.
Judging
If it's snowing/super slippery why not drive 30 in a 55? 55 is the speed limit under ideal conditions. If it's not ideal I will go 30 (or less? depends on conditions). Just because you can legally go 55 doesn't always mean you should. There were plenty of people going the same speed as me today. If I was the only one going drastically slower I'd either get off the highway or speed up (if safe.)
And to the PPs, I agree it's not just SUVs...I just seemed to encounter a lot of them this morning. I think I notice them especially because they zoom up and fill up my whole rear-view mirror. If someone wants to go super fast, then safely get around me and zoom off. Don't sit on my bumper. Be safe no matter what speed you feel you should be driving. The end. :-)
Blinker?? What's a blinker??
I agree!!!
People drive way too fast and think that they can stop better and faster... nope, not true!
I know 55 is for ideal conditions and what is why I said that "Slowing down from 55 mph is a safe thing to do but don't take it to the other extreme". We are in agreement that you need to slow down based on road conditions, but I think it's safe to say we have all seen those that slow down TOO much (which, yes, is possible). My point was that I get frustrated with those that slow way way down thinking they are being so safe and yet they are oblivious to the fact they are in fact making it MORE dangerous.
And slowing down to 30 mph from 55mph was not the road conditions or weather I experienced this morning but maybe where you are you did so it's all relative to the area, road and other factors.
LOL, I know, right?!?
I don't tailgate, 'cause that's stupid.
But you DON'T ALWAYS NEED TO CRAWL BECAUSE THERE'S FREAKING SNOW!! Seriously, the roads this morning when I left were not bad, a little snow, but they'd been plowed and it wasn't slippery, except on the bridge. And we were going 20 in a 60. We could have EASILY been going 45-50 safely.
And if you're GOING to go 30 in a 60, no matter the conditions, get the F out of the left lane. It is not your job to police other people.
This is kinda where I'm at. I don't care one iota if you don't feel safe driving as fast as me because every person, and their car, is different. I get that. What irks me to no end are the people that sit in the left lane and do it. I'm not driving obscenely fast to begin with but I should be able to go around someone who is driving obscenely slowly and continue on my way. I think a lot of people have a love affair with the left lane and think that they should sit there their entire route. It is a passing lane meant mostly for going around slowpokes and then moving back over.
I agree with this.
The left lane is a passing lane - I think it's funny that there's signs reminding slow drivers to stay in the right lane.
Funny thing is... Minnesota is the only state where I've seen slow drivers hogging the left lane on a regular basis...
I'm so glad someone else said this. All of this. If you want to crawl along, that's fine. But you better not be in the left lane, if the right lane is available for you to use. This applies no matter the road conditions. I have a three hour drive home along 94 to my hometown. It drives me insane when I get stuck behind someone going 65 the whole way. It's my prerogative to go 70 or 75 if I want. I'm the one who will take the consequences if I get pulled over. (FTR, I've never been in an accident, nor have I been pulled over for speeding, so I'd like to think I can safely judge the limits.) *knocks on wood*
And, yes. Minnesota is the only state where I've seen this regularly. H laughs at me when we drive home together. If I get stuck behind someone going slowly in the left lane, it's almost always a MN plate.
Eat.Drink.BeMarried. Blog.
Anyone watch the good question on wcco 10pm news last night? It was safer in winter: cars or SUVs?
http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2011/01/31/good-question-safer-in-winter-cars-or-suvs/
"At WCCO-TV?s request, the Department of Public Safety analyzed three years of crash data, comparing SUVs to all other vehicles (vans, trucks, cars, etc.).
During the non-winter months, SUVs make up about 16% of all crashes. But consistently, when winter arrives, that percentage moves up to 18%.
That 2 percent matters when you?re talking about a total of 50-60,000 winter crashes."
I like the comments to this article...this answered no questions whatsoever so the article didn't really accomplish anything other then to prove that it isn't always SUV's that crash in the winter since of the 59,000 crashes in 2010 in the winter only 10,000 of them were SUV's, that means that 49,000 of the crashes were something other then an SUV.
Also, when a vehicle goes "blowing" by in the story...did the the interviewee ever look down to see their actual speed? If you're going 15mph on the highway and a car passes you at 30mph they're going to seem like they're going way too fast...just saying.
Going super slow in the left lane, especially when it's snowy, is just asking for trouble! I would never do that.
I drive a relatively small car so I especially notice when SUV's fly by me or come up quickly in my rear view mirror.
Until I had my spin-out last year on 169 I was a much speedier drive in the snow. Now I am much more cautious because I saw how quickly and unexpectedly something bad can happen. You blink and all of a sudden you're spinning wildly with no control and it is absolutely terrifying. :-(
Bottom line is, and I think we can all agree - be careful and don't go too fast, OR too slow. :-)
This, I get being cautious during inclement weather, but sometimes the slowness on highways is ridiculous. If you'd like the courtesy to go at your own pace, please also be curteous to those who have to dawdle behind you and please stay in the slow lane.
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