I hate all these - but which of 'em would you rate "Most Annoying"?
* Senile Citizens driving 10 mph under the speed limit, oblivious to the crush of cars behind them >
* Self-important Yuppies gabbling on cell phones >
* Slouching, wanna-be thugs blaring rap "music" into the next county >
* People who plaster their minivans with bumper stickers about their chyyyldrun >
* Minivans >
* Click it or Ticket >
* Excessive fines for minor traffic infractions >
* Assholes who put "antique vehicle" tags on some old junker they drive every day - to avoid state safety/emissions inspections >
I'm sure you can think of more - but this is my short list this morning... what do you say?
Any vehlcle which is square and large.
Slow old people wandering and slow, nah, I will be old someday. They still irritate, but hey, what's a few minutes and no lane-sense and only approximate directional stability compared to alternatives?
Not all old people are like this, but there are seriously 'approximate' drivers out there.
Amen on "square and large"!Originally Posted by robmcg
On senile citizens: I don't think it's age per se; a lot of these offenders were bad drivers when they were young. Now that they're geezing, "bad" often slips into "dangerous."
Yes. I would take them aside and say, think about it, if I could, but I drive in way where I steer clear, and eventually others crash into them or they crash generally so it fixes itself... old geezers don't always take advice. Cops tend to pick them up on main highways, less so in the 'burbs.
Should we have more cops to police the geezers?
Who pays for them?
Less taxes....? Yeah right...
>> but which of 'em would you rate "Most Annoying <<
Silly, a waste of emotion.
The OFs who drive at ten under are less to blame than those around them who should pass or get off the pot.
And learn to love minivans, they carry the little kiddies who will someday grow up and pay into those great Ponzi schemes, Social Security and Medicare, from which you will be getting something for nothing.
Don't scoff, it will happen.
The OF are always in the left lane too.
How about an old fart driving 10 under in a minivan covered in stickers about their grandkids, yakking on the cellphone? Will an original first-year 1984 Plymouth Voyager qualify for antique plates?
[quote=misterdecibel ]
>> The OF are always in the left lane too. <<
In this area, it's sometimes quicker to stay in the far right lane which is frequently vacant when not near the ramps.
>> How about an old fart driving 10 under in a minivan covered in stickers about their grandkids, yakking on the cellphone? <<
Euthanasia?
>> Will an original first-year 1984 Plymouth Voyager qualify for antique plates? <<
If it has lasted this long, I'd think it entitled to to a medal.
Moving roadblocks at or around the speed-limit on multi-lane highways.
"Moving roadblocks at or around the speed-limit on multi-lane highways."
Old people; cops.. minivans!
Clearly not a major part of current life. That people are different... we are not talking minivans, we are taling all kinds of cars
I am not going to dissect an engine in this pic... this the schedule was adhered-to, and you could relax in a six-compartment or choose after about 1953 'open' carriages, so, if you were in a train with inefficient and ran well and then stopped, you might see a train running parallel, slower or faster, or an old engine with an old 1900-style freight engine with a long line of coal bound for London.
Fast trains usually ran in an 'envolope' of timing and signalling.
Meanwhile the miners wanted more, the factory workers wanted more, they had just done two world wars,
Living in free country?
I suggest you move to the Auckland Islands
>>Old people; cops.. minivans! <<
I qualify for 2 out of the three-- Eric, you obviously have an image problem. Where you born in a mini-van? Did yo mamma embarass you by dropping you off at school with her mini-van?
I happen to enjoy my mini-van. It hauls a lot of stuff, gets reasonable gas mileage (trip to Columbus,OH 3500 miles round at 24.2MPG) and is easy to enter and exit.
May the mothers driving 1000 mini-vans hem you in traffic for the next 6 months! ;D
You're an exception!
And thank Elvis, when I was a kid, there were no minivans. We had stattion wagons. V-8 engines. Rear-wheel-drive. And our parents didn't obsess about saaaaaaafety! We rode unbuckled in the back - sometimes, feet hanging out of the rear glass. It was a wonderful, better time...
Apparently, not so much. The vehicle has had immense popularity and utility, and I have no reason it won't be viewed with much the same nostalgia as the station wagons of our youth. In addition, they are safer and much more efficient.
You just can't argue with their immense sales figures, and, had the SUV not come along, they would be even more numerous, since they fill a need for America's families.
Have I ever owned one? No. Didn't need it.
Do I think they're a pox on the face of the earth?
No. Nowhere near the SUV.
"The vehicle has had immense popularity and utility"
True.
So have plastic forks.
"... and I have no reason it won't be viewed with much the same nostalgia as the station wagons of our youth. "
Want to bet? Old school stattion wagons had charm, power, quirkiness. Minivans are as useful as disposable diapers, it's true - but also just as appealing.
"In addition, they are safer and much more efficient."
Efficient, yes. Safer?
Debatable.
Which do you suppose is more "survivable"? A 5,500-lb. full-frame station wagon - or a flimsy little unibody van? Despite the absence of air bags and so on, one of those old dreadnoughts could take a mighty hit relative to what a minivan can. I have no doubt that in certain types of accidents, the old wagon is more crashworthy.
"You just can't argue with their immense sales figures"
I never argued they haven't sold well - have I?
I've just stated my opinion that they are dispiriting breedermobiles.
Relatively undamaged vehicle full of dead bodies or the occupants walking away from a vehicle which is fit only for scrap? I know which I'd choose!
There's no way an old body-on-frame vehicle could even begin to approach the safety of virtually any modern monocoque. In the old body-on-frame vehicles, the frame was literally the only part that had to have any strength at all. And that's not where the passengers are. The only thing body-on-frame is good for is demolition derby.
You forget that size/mass confers an inherent safety advantage.There's no way an old body-on-frame vehicle could even begin to approach the safety of virtually any modern monocoque. In the old body-on-frame vehicles, the frame was literally the only part that had to have any strength at all. And that's not where the passengers are. The only thing body-on-frame is good for is demolition derby.
This is why, for example, a big heavy car like a Crown Vic is more crashworthy than a Honda Fit.
Now then. Station wagons were much larger/heavier than the typical minivan. They could absorb more damage, esp. (as an example) when impacted by a smaller/lighter car (which is most cars on the road, these days).
Not necessarily; see my post to Mr. D.Relatively undamaged vehicle full of dead bodies or the occupants walking away from a vehicle which is fit only for scrap? I know which I'd choose!
Imagine a current year econo-box hitting a big wagon from yesteryear at say 35 mph. The heavy steel frame (and heavy gauge body panels) would absorb much of the impact as the econo-box crumpled. Assuming the occupants of the wagon were buckled, they'd probably suffer, at most, a few minor bumps. I doubt very much the occupants of the econo-box would fare as well; the mass/bulk of the big wagon would be as unyielding as an oak tree. The econo-box would crumple up like ab accordion. Yes, the air bags, etc. would prevent much of the forces from reaching the passengers - up to a point.
I don't argue the improved crashworthiness of modern cars. But the sheer mass/size of those old battlewagons provided a safety cushion, too.
Amazingly enough, crashes in the "battle wagons," and in today's SUV's, for that matter, are a lot less survivable than you might think. And I see crashes every day that used to be fatal. Saw 3 yesterday, for some reason.
It's not really fair to bundle SUVs and wagons; SUV fatal accidents often involve rollovers - which SUVs are much more susceptible to. The comparison should be made with large sedans. And large sedans are, in fact, safer than smaller cars.
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