I ask this because we got stuck behind a Very Slow Driver on the way home from my sister's place today. By Very Slow Driver, I mean twenty miles below the speed limit, at times dropping to twenty-five miles below the speed limit (doing 30-35 in a 55).
The line of built up traffic behind this car was ridiculously long. It was lightly raining, but nothing exciting, and the temperature well above freezing (actually, it's still above freezing and raining out).
The car was also weaving a bit, and hitting their brakes while going uphill. Now, they were the lead car, nothing was in front of them (or ran in front of them), so to slow down, all you've got to do is let your foot off the gas.
It got to the point where people were passing by the line of cars obnoxiously fast and obviously too fast for the road conditions.
The Slow Car kept randomly hitting their brakes for no apparent reason.
I swore a lot. As I watched the weaving, braking, and Really Low Speed, I wondered if the driver was drunk, exhausted, or really scared of driving.
But can really slow drivers be a danger like really fast drivers are?
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
On many/most freeways in Michigan, when the speed limit is 65, it's illegal to drive below 45.
I think it is rather dangerous to be driving that slow, or at the very least, it isn't appropriate. If you want to drive that slow, take sidestreets or something else, you don't take the expressway. If you're doing 30, it's not exactly express for everyone else.
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
Absolutely! I found myself behind a too-slow as well as erratic driver on the way home from Ma's house this evening. "I've got to get away from this idiot" I murmured. And then I did just that.
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
I think in Florida, you can get a ticket for driving more than fifteen below the speed limit, or something.
-pH
Posted by theCrowsWife (Member # 8302) on :
It sounds like the guy was driving an automatic with one foot on the gas and the other on the brake. Some vehicles require very little pressure on the brake for the brake lights to come on.
--Mel
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
On highways it's generally illegal to drive below a certain speed.
In any case, with the weaving and all that, it sounds like he was driving recklessly regardless of his speed, and thus breaking the law.
It sounds, actually, like he was high. Alcohol generally makes people drive fast. Pot generally makes them drive very slowly.
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
Driving too slowly is rarely dangerous for the person doing it (unless someone behind them pulls a gun). Because of road rage, impatience, and just plain urgency of some situations, however, driving too slowly could be a huge problem for the people stuck in the queue. Someone is bound to try something reckless in order to get around/ahead of the bottleneck. The resulting crash is that person's fault, but the situation was initiated by the person doing the slow driving.
Still, the responsibility of every driver is to take each situation as it comes and deal with it effectively. That means that there should be NOTHING inherently more dangerous about a slow-poke driver than there should be about any other traffic situation. If only the drivers in the middle of it keep their cool, and display the necessary skill in the driving task.
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
That's New Hampshire's law, right? There are many states that have a minimum on limited access highways -- some states post the minimums. I don't recall seeing one for surface streets, but there's usually some sort of "impeding flow" provision in the law to take care of enforcement on local streets.
Posted by MidnightBlue (Member # 6146) on :
I believe the Connecticut driving manual says something about driving at a reasonable speed for the conditions.
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
It wasn't a limited access highway, it was one of the many, many two lane state roads with a 55mph speed limit.
I just found it so incredibly stressful to be stuck behind this guy (I was the first car directly behind him). The random braking, trying to follow at a safe distance while he kept changing speeds, the guy behind ME my riding MY ass (and on and on down the line), people from the middle or end of the line zooming past us in the opposite lane of traffic after the "No Passing Zone" sign...it was awful.
If we suspect a driver of being under the influence, can we call the cops? Should we? What number do we call? We certainly were able to read the license plate, give a description of the car, and the location. But we couldn't figure out what number to call. Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
In CA, not only is it against the law to drive dangerously slower than the flow of traffic (which could cause a sudden stop and possible crash in the traffic we have out here) there's a law that if you have more than three cars following you closely because you are going slower than them, you must pull over at the first available place and let them pass. (This law actually gets used on the Angeles Crest.) You can usually call the non-emergency number for the Highway Patrol or whoever has jurisdiction over traffic where you are.
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
911. I've done it, when ElJay and I were behind an obviously intoxicated/impaired driver on the freeway.
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
I have called the police on a number of occassions when I suspected a driver to be under the influence. Basically, if you have a cell phone and you don't have posted call in numbers (many states/locales put signs on the roads giving you a number to call), you can call 911. If you immediately identify yourself calling in a possible DUI driver, the dispatcher will know whether to place you on hold or not -- depending on their current call volume. If they tell you to call back on the non-emergency number (I doubt they would) you could do that too).
I might hesitate slightly if someone is driving too slowly...it just seems like less of an emergency and you can't really be sure they are drunk -- I know a guy who drives like that because he's got Parkinsons disease and refuses to stop driving. He drives within the limits of his reaction time (he thinks) so he goes really really slowly. Someday he's going to bump into something and, maybe, dent his bumper -- but if I was really concerned about it and still didn't want to call 911, I figure I could call information and get the non-emergency number to call.
Ultimately, it seems like it's the other drivers doing the immediately dangerous things, though. And if everyone just could take a deep breath and wait a bit, they'd get through the situation. A little bit later than they anticipated, but not horribly (I mean, if you were behind them for a full hour, they might cost you 20 minutes). It's the danger of rear-enders and such that is more important. And that's the responsibility of everyone in the queue to avoid.
Where were you? If this was around Boston, it would've been perfectly acceptable to honk, no?
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
We were in central New Hampshire. There had been two others in front of us, but they honked, gestured, and eventually passed the guy. We got stuck behind him then, and were unable to pass because of opposing traffic.
If it were just the driving really slowly, I wouldn't have been so tempted to call. But there was also a lot of weaving, and a lot of speed changes. We also were behind this guy for forty five minutes.
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
Well, I would've called under those circumstances. I would've called 911 if there was weaving. It is an emergency.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
Or call information and ask for the state troopers/highway patrol.
In Florida, you can call *FHP. Is there anything like that up there?
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
I was told that overtly slow driving, if not done by an elderly driver, but if done in conjunction with weaving, is a sign of marijuana intoxication--The driver thinks they are going really really fast.
It can also be a sign of sleepiness behind the wheel, which is a big killer.
If the driver were polite and mostly concious, they would have occasionally pulled over to let others pass.
However, my favorite slow driver story came to me during Jury duty a few years ago. We had a case involving the simple question, did Driver A have a heart attack before or after crashing into Driver B. If he had the heart attack before, and was dead, he was no longer liable for damages his car did. If he was alive, and the crash caused the heart attack, then he was responsible for crossing the line and hurting Driver B.
During the deliberations in the jury room, the elderly lady to my right said, "That's ridiculous that a heart attack could cause you to loose control of your car. Why, just before my husband died he was driving me home from St. Louis to Sullivan. He started complaining of chest pains. I suggested he stop. He said he was having trouble seeing, but if I could direct him, he would go ahead and drive me home. And that is what he did. We didn't crash into anybody."
That drive is over 50 miles on interstate highway.
Everybody just stared at the woman for about five minutes after that story.
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
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