So I tried driving sensibly...

Ethan.Bassist. · 06-22-2010, 11:05 PM

and less jerk-like today. Let me tell you, it was difficult. Usually, I zip around everywhere, accelerating quickly, stopping pretty quickly too. Stopping too close to the person in front of me. Just generally slightly reckless and jerkish. Sure, I'm not the worst mannered driver, but I am uncomfortable with it. I don't usually speed (relatively), but speeding isn't the only unsafe thing you can do.

So I'm trying to be more patient and drive more safely and sensibly. Shifting at 2.5k, stopping earlier, not riding peoples rear. For a few reasons: 1) I don't want people to see my car and get angry (not sure the chances of that, but oh well) knowing the driver of it sucks. 2) I don't want people to see my driving and extrapolate that to all DSM owners (I know, it's weird). And 3) What I was doing is unsafe. No one needs an unsafe driver.

So there you have it. I guess I'm just saying this, but I guess for the sake of conversation, do any of you have this issue and are fixing it as well? Or are an unashamedly a crazy driver?

gtrdave · 06-23-2010, 05:22 AM

I stopped driving like a jerk many years ago with the main reasons being that I was tired of getting tickets and mostly because I wanted my Christianity to exist in every part of my life, including when I'm behind the wheel/bars.

I hardly drive like a 90 year old ninny now, but I'm not in such a hurry as I use to be.
It's just not worth it in so many ways.

**Josey Wales** · 06-23-2010, 07:39 AM

i have to work on this, because i live in the city, and come from rural roots, so this traffic bugs me to death. and i act like the road belongs to me, i ignore speed limits, especially on this 2 laned road on my way to work, since most mornings i'm running late i speed anyway, but someone gets in front of me goes 15 when i want to go 60. i just don't know what to do about all this.... it's starting to get to me and i can't even stand to be in the car... it sucks man. it really does.

**redbaron** · 06-23-2010, 09:08 AM

in a car I can drive calm, sedate, and even magnanimously. On the bike, I simply can't. It's my hooligan side. If you're not going to do the speed limit, I will pass you. If you're in the left lane not doing the speed limit and there's a 1/2 car length gap, that's more than a bike length, and I will pass you. Other than that, I try to keep my speed to <10+ indicated, and honestly given that my bike's speedometer is off by +7% at 70mph indicated i'm doing 65.1mph which isn't really that naughty. (in a 60 zone)

Ethan.Bassist. · 06-24-2010, 03:00 PM

Glad to hear I'm not the only one!

Quote:

Originally Posted by gtrdave

I stopped driving like a jerk many years ago with the main reasons being that I was tired of getting tickets and mostly because I wanted my Christianity to exist in every part of my life, including when I'm behind the wheel/bars.

I hardly drive like a 90 year old ninny now, but I'm not in such a hurry as I use to be.
It's just not worth it in so many ways.

I haven't gotten any tickets yet thank the Lord! And yeah, keeping Christianity part of every aspect of my life is also part of my motivation. And that's very true, it's not worth it. You pass someone and a few miles down the road, there they are right next to you. It all evens out!

Quote:

Originally Posted by josey wales

i have to work on this, because i live in the city, and come from rural roots, so this traffic bugs me to death. and i act like the road belongs to me, i ignore speed limits, especially on this 2 laned road on my way to work, since most mornings i'm running late i speed anyway, but someone gets in front of me goes 15 when i want to go 60. i just don't know what to do about all this.... it's starting to get to me and i can't even stand to be in the car... it sucks man. it really does.

I've lived in some size of city all my life, but traffic still annoys the crap out of me! Luckily, here in Oregon, traffic on the highway is minimal, but we still have some city traffic even in my smallish city.

Quote:

Originally Posted by redbaron

in a car I can drive calm, sedate, and even magnanimously. On the bike, I simply can't. It's my hooligan side. If you're not going to do the speed limit, I will pass you. If you're in the left lane not doing the speed limit and there's a 1/2 car length gap, that's more than a bike length, and I will pass you. Other than that, I try to keep my speed to <10+ indicated, and honestly given that my bike's speedometer is off by +7% at 70mph indicated i'm doing 65.1mph which isn't really that naughty. (in a 60 zone)

That is kind of cool that you can slip in and around traffic, though! And quick question: How can you tell that your speedo is off my 7% ? I think mine (on my car) is off, either that or the speed signs (the radar things) are off.

I guess part of this stems from still getting used to the 5 speed. It's so fun, how do you not drive crazy, lol! I'm going to try to keep my craziness to rural roads free of traffic. And by craziness I mean driving the speed limit

...

**redbaron** · 06-25-2010, 03:34 PM

use a GPS to verify your speed. say your car says 70 but your gps reads 60. that's ~16% (divide the indicated by the actual, and it'll tell you what % of your indicated speed the actual is, in this case 85.7%)

Also, the ECU on my bike is well published to be set +7% (even though the odometer reads dead on, so those speedometer check zones on the side of the interstate look dead on.

Ethan.Bassist. · 06-25-2010, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redbaron

use a GPS to verify your speed. say your car says 70 but your gps reads 60. that's ~16% (divide the indicated by the actual, and it'll tell you what % of your indicated speed the actual is, in this case 85.7%)

Also, the ECU on my bike is well published to be set +7% (even though the odometer reads dead on, so those speedometer check zones on the side of the interstate look dead on.

Ah, very interesting. I didn't think about the GPS thing. I'll have to try it, see how accurate Klipsy is.

And I've heard of that, making the speedo faster rather than slower from the factory. I don't enjoy that very much. Oh well.

And do you know of a way to reset your speedometer? I guess if the discrepancy originated in the ECU you could reprogram it if you had some sort of stand-alone tunable ECU. I don't know.

**redbaron** · 06-25-2010, 06:09 PM

it's pretty easy to do the conversions in your head if you figure 5/10/15% (round up or down respectively) because it's really easy to say that 10% indicating 70mph is 63mph.

The nice thing about it reading a bit over is that it helps pad a little bit and prevent speeding infractions

Ethan.Bassist. · 06-25-2010, 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redbaron

it's pretty easy to do the conversions in your head if you figure 5/10/15% (round up or down respectively) because it's really easy to say that 10% indicating 70mph is 63mph.

The nice thing about it reading a bit over is that it helps pad a little bit and prevent speeding infractions

Yeah, makes sense.

funkStrat_97 · 07-01-2010, 05:51 AM

I too am trying to slow down on the highway. I have no problem driving at (or even slightly below) the speed limit wile driving through town, but as soon as I hit I-95 I feel compelled to hit 80 mph. It just feels good and right! I don't do all the zipping in and out stuff though. But when the raod is open, it's like hearing the voice of God say "go man, go!" BTW, I do drive a Mazda and in the Zostrian faith, Ahura Mazda is god the creator...hmmmm (the company claims that the name "Mazda" is a variation of its founder's name "Matsuda" and is not affilaited with any religion). Any way, I'm trying to stick to 70 and below.

**scared2mosh** · 07-01-2010, 07:34 AM

I dont really drive jerkish... I usually stay in one lane and only pass if you are going below the speed limit on a stree where everyone normally goes 5+ over.

bowstaff981 · 07-01-2010, 09:24 AM

For me the best way to take my mind off things while driving is to listen to a comedian that I enjoy.

Ethan.Bassist. · 07-01-2010, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by funkStrat_97

I too am trying to slow down on the highway. I have no problem driving at (or even slightly below) the speed limit wile driving through town, but as soon as I hit I-95 I feel compelled to hit 80 mph. It just feels good and right! I don't do all the zipping in and out stuff though. But when the raod is open, it's like hearing the voice of God say "go man, go!" BTW, I do drive a Mazda and in the Zostrian faith, Ahura Mazda is god the creator...hmmmm (the company claims that the name "Mazda" is a variation of its founder's name "Matsuda" and is not affilaited with any religion). Any way, I'm trying to stick to 70 and below.

I know what you mean! It's like God WANTS us to have a little fun! I don't usually zip in and around people. I try to only pass on the left, but sometimes when someone's slow in the left lane and the right lane is clear, I'll pass that way. And yeah, I learned about Zoroastrianism a couple terms ago and what wondering about the relation between Mazda and Ahura Mazda.

Quote:

Originally Posted by scared2mosh

I dont really drive jerkish... I usually stay in one lane and only pass if you are going below the speed limit on a stree where everyone normally goes 5+ over.

Yeah, I'm trying to stick to this kind of stuff now. Instead of whipping around every where. But it takes a conscious effort for me to do so.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bowstaff981

For me the best way to take my mind off things while driving is to listen to a comedian that I enjoy.

Yeah, usually I listen to music, but on long drives I'll put a couple of podcasts from "Stuff You Should Know" on my ipod beforehand. For some reason it helps me focus on not only the podcast but the road too. Maybe it's because I'm not singing and putting on mini-concerts for myself.