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"This has nothing to do with my situation and others described here. In fact, last night I tested the difference between 35 and 50, and yikes, yeah, there really is a huge qualitative difference. You feel much less able to respond quickly. Yes, the same argument could be applied to 80 and open road, but that's kind of the point of "open road." It means you have visibility for hundreds of feet in front of you. Ever since the 70's and imposition of the 55 limit, people have either forgotten, or been raise in the era of low speed limits. They fail to realize that limits of 75 and 80 were not uncommon highway speed limits (but probably not on BI). On a straight, open road, modern cars can easily go 100. In the mid 2000's I drove a Lexus SUV in Utah and got it to 110 and barely thought I was going over 40. The only real indication that I was flying was when I looked to the side and saw cacti going by awfully fast."
I read that paragraph as saying if it's "open road" it's okay.
Dragon2K - I live in Volcano and very often drive to Pahala. Yes, I do 55 all the way downhill and I'm not the only one. I am passed often by both tourists and locals. I generally pull over to let them pass. in the meantime I have no worry whatsoever about being pulled over. And even if I were going all the way to Kailua and I could go 55 and you could go 65, you would get there about 15 minutes ahead of me. I guess you'll get a better parking space too. Plus my ride is less stressful and I'm never in a hurry. Island life. One reason we are here. If it does get like California here, I'll find somewhere else to live. But considering that Kilauea will be erupting as long as humans are on the Earth and Mauna Loa is way overdue, and Hualalai was recently reclassified as active, well, you see what I mean.
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Here's another reason to drive 55 on the Puna to Pahala road... it is one of the most beautiful drives on the island. Enjoy it.
Assume the best and ask questions.
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No, that's not what I meant. For one thing, I generally believe laws should be followed no matter how dumb they appear. There's always the good change you're overlooking something. There are always the abstract arguments like "would you obey the law in Nazi Germany?" but in open democracies there are legitimate means to change the law if you really feel one is unjust. At the same time I also don't think laws should always be applied just because they can be. That's my whole point. Was it prudent to make this woman pay a huge fine, hire a lawyer, go before a judge? In my opinion, no.
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quote:
Originally posted by Hunt Stoddard
No, that's not what I meant. For one thing, I generally believe laws should be followed no matter how dumb they appear. There's always the good change you're overlooking something. There are always the abstract arguments like "would you obey the law in Nazi Germany?" but in open democracies there are legitimate means to change the law if you really feel one is unjust. At the same time I also don't think laws should always be applied just because they can be. That's my whole point. Was it prudent to make this woman pay a huge fine, hire a lawyer, go before a judge? In my opinion, no.
If you always follow the speed limit and only get a ticket on those occasional times when you accidentally exceed the posted limit, you should get a radar detector. When it alarms, it will remind you to check your speed and allow you to get into compliance without the police having to waste their time. If you are able to reduce your speed before you are clocked by authorities, then the radar detector will pay for itself. I thank you, your insurance company thanks you, and the public that your radar detector is helping to protect also thanks you. Please flash your headlights when this happens so the traffic in the opposing lane can also benefit from your enhanced safety. Spread the safety, and the aloha. Mahalo.
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Yes, the problem for me is that the really good ones (that is, the ones that actually work) seem to be $500+, but believe me, I'm going to be saving my pennies. As I wrote above somewhere, an even better innovation for everyone would be to have GPS inform you the moment you exceeded the limit. I see no technical reason this shouldn't be possible right now, since GPS can calculate speed from successive location. The only thing that would have to be added would be speed limit data to the maps.
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The problem with 90 on BI, given most road conditions, assuming there's no one anywhere and the only person you might kill is yourself, is that, depending on what type of tires your running, there's always that small chance you have a blowout or bearing failure. If that happens at that speed, you're pretty much toast.
Also, I recommend you look into just what is involved with a ticket here over 80 MPH. It's not a pretty picture.
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90?????????? You will eventually hurt or kill someone or yourself. I am seeing more and more po po on the highway doing traffic stops. And with the new law you can lose your license and maybe run real fast then. And really, how can you not be affected by the scenery here? That stretch is always different and the light in early morning and late afternoon is magic. Driving at 90 on highways here is aggressive whether or not you think you are being courteous. I wish you the best. Maybe you could tell me what kind of car you have so I can stay out of your way.
As far as when TBI is like CA, I hope I'm old enough that I'll be dead. But if not, I've been looking at Santa Maria in the Azores. If I wanted to stay in the US I'm screwed. I really never thought all these people would be moving here. I do think Volcano is a small, protected enclave but anything can happen.
Can you imagine a lava flow into HPP?
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The other problem with 90 from a self-preservation standpoint, is that it's amazing just how easily most cars not specifically designed for high speeds will turn into airfoils at speeds near 100. All you need to do is hit the right oddity in the road, and roads that aren't specifically designed for high speed, like the autobahn is, are filled with little imperfections. It reminds me of when the Santa Clara county Sheriff department decided to use TransAms as high speed pursuit vehicles for about a year until they either learned or someone informed them that at speed over 100 TransAms turn into paper airplanes.
So, basically, move to Germany and buy something that sticks to the ground like glue, like a Mercedes-Benz.
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Could always try Montana or Nevada. "Reasonable and proper" (<150 mph) was the rule in rural areas for many years and may still be.
Of course change will come here. It already has. The question is what the change will be. Will the BI go mainland or will the mainland mentality adapt to island style? I'm hoping for the latter but also a realist. What I don't get is why people want to turn wherever they go into what they left. They generally left for a reason and wanted something different, something better. If not, why bother? Then they try and live exactly like they always have. When in Rome .....
life is short. enjoy it
life is short. enjoy it
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I consistently get about 42-44 MPG in my non hybrid toyota echo. I try to get 3-5 car lengths in front of me and I never exceed 60 MPH. I take my foot off the gas when the light is turning yellow way back. Attaining this kind MPG takes a lot of effort not to hit the breaks. I could care less what the speed is, like most of my driving is 35 but my car get's the best gas millage at 41-42 MPH when it kicks into over drive at that speed so, I'll go a bit faster to keep it in OD. Tho if the speed is 25 I won't be doing over 40, I'll probably just stay around low 30's.
To me I try to relax ... Enjoy the views and get there stress free. Not only that I don't have to worry if there is a cop around the bend or jacking the breaks when the radar beeps. No..No that's not for me. I use to do that out of habit, everytime I see a cop I'd hit break pedal. For me those days are over.
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