What Irked You Today?

[Guest]

Well, I don't text and drive, but I DO find texting handy sometimes, and I am not 13 either!

Through some kind of magic, my cell phone is connected to my truck's radio without wires. If a call comes in the radio turns off automatically, I press a button on the steering wheel and answer the call. Pretty cool magic. I don't text even when I'm not driving.

Same here. I'm way past 13 years old...

Edited July 26, 2014 by midnightprowler

[High octane]

Harry, although the law says no texting or using a hand held phone while driving, I see people doing it every day. So EXACTLY what good is that law if they don't enforce it???

[Harry P.]

Harry, although the law says no texting or using a hand held phone while driving, I see people doing it every day. So EXACTLY what good is that law if they don't enforce it???

Speeding is also illegal, but you see people doing that every day, too.

It's impossible for the cops to be everywhere at every time and catch everyone who's breaking a law. Which is a lesson I learned many years ago when I was stopped for speeding one day. I told the cop that yes, technically I was speeding... but I wasn't going any faster than the rest of traffic... so why did he stop me?

His answer: Yes, everyone was speeding, but I can only stop one person at a time.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Speeding is also illegal, but you see people doing that every day, too.

It's impossible for the cops to be everywhere at every time and catch everyone who's breaking a law. Which is a lesson I learned many years ago when I was stopped for speeding one day. I told the cop that yes, technically I was speeding... but I wasn't going any faster than the rest of traffic... so why did he stop me?

His answer: Yes, everyone was speeding, but I can only stop one person at a time.

Not to worry. Soon, the onboard artificial intelligence will communicate directly with law enforcement and snitch on the driver whenever the car is exceeding the speed limit (or is driven with transient G-loads that indicate aggressive or "reckless" behavior) sending out its VIN and license plate number, and a DNA scan of the driver to make sure the right perp gets the ticket, plus a dash-cam shot of the driver's face just to be sure.

The technology exists now.

Then ALL the scofflaws will get fined. Feel better?

Edited July 27, 2014 by Ace-Garageguy

[Tom Geiger]

WHAT IS SO IMPORTANT that people have to stay connected every waking minute of every day? Are all these seeming-fools really working on cures for cancer and world peace, faster-than-light-travel and endless free energy, and their input is SO necessary constantly that they have to text while driving??

I believe it's videos of kittens. Yea, that's what's so important.

[Harry P.]

Not to worry. Soon, the onboard artificial intelligence will communicate directly with law enforcement and snitch on the driver whenever the car is exceeding the speed limit (or is driven with transient G-loads that indicate aggressive or "reckless" behavior) sending out its VIN and license plate number, and a DNA scan of the driver to make sure the right perp gets the ticket, plus a dash-cam shot of the driver's face just to be sure.

Something in there has to be unconstitutional. Unreasonable search and seizure... right to privacy... something. We're a long way from that happening... first would come years and years of court battles. I know that the insurance companies have data recorders that track your driving, but at this point at least, you have to allow them to put one in your car.

[Harry P.]

Speed traps!

They're everywhere. A perfect example, right near my house... a very well-traveled E-W street, 3 lanes eastbound, 3 west... one of the main commercial drags in the NW suburbs (Woodfield Mall is located just off it)...

The speed limit is 45, except for about a two-block stretch where it suddenly drops to 35 for no reason... then back to 45 again. No reason for the speed limit drop... nothing changes, same number of lanes, but for that mysterious two block stretch the limit is 35. The only reason I can think of is to trap drivers doing 45.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Something in there has to be unconstitutional. Unreasonable search and seizure... right to privacy... something. We're a long way from that happening... first would come years and years of court battles. I know that the insurance companies have data recorders that track your driving, but at this point at least, you have to allow them to put one in your car.

There are a lot of folks, hard-core rule-follower sheeple, who would gladly trade freedoms for perceived security. They came out in droves after 9-11, in far far greater numbers than I ever thought possible. These folks also think that if you're not doing anything wrong, you shouldn't need to worry about an invasion of your privacy.

I have a feeling that just as laws are taking their sweet time catching up to the reality of the internet and all its havoc wreaked on privacy, identity theft, etc., the systems could well be in place and functioning well before the courts get involved to determine the legality of them.

It's hardly any stretch to go from roadside, speed-activated cameras that record the licenses and faces of speeders, or stoplight-cameras that catch light-runners, to in-car devices that are required to get a vehicle licensed. There are no SPECIFIC laws forbidding it, so any legal challenge would most likely happen after-the-fact, and we all know what happens once the camel's nose is in the tent.

In Georgia, a police officer has to have "probable-cause" to stop a vehicle. Speeding is one acceptable probable-cause, and a case could be made that an in-car device that snitches AFTER the operator violates a law is simply a technical extension of the policeman's existing right to stop a vehicle he observes being operated in an illegal manner.

PS. Who's the new Harry?

[Joe Handley]

Speed traps!

They're everywhere. A perfect example, right near my house... a very well-traveled E-W street, 3 lanes eastbound, 3 west... one of the main commercial drags in the NW suburbs (Woodfield Mall is located just off it)...

The speed limit is 45, except for about a two-block stretch where it suddenly drops to 35 for no reason... then back to 45 again. No reason for the speed limit drop... nothing changes, same number of lanes, but for that mysterious two block stretch the limit is 35. The only reason I can think of is to trap drivers doing 45.

Didn't need to worry about speed traps tonight after work, plenty of sunday drivers got out of the house tonight and were clogging up traffic flow., especially when you got one who might be doing speedlimit in the passing lane while the one in the passed lane was running close enough to the other car that you can pass either one of them.........got a dirty look the latter tonight......

[Joe Handley]

Something in there has to be unconstitutional. Unreasonable search and seizure... right to privacy... something. We're a long way from that happening... first would come years and years of court battles. I know that the insurance companies have data recorders that track your driving, but at this point at least, you have to allow them to put one in your car.

Supposedly OBD3 was supposed to include such capabilities as far back as the mid-late 90's, but was primarily for emissions control purposes, but could be used for the rest. IIRC, Detroit and the ACLU had both been fighting that at the time too. I seem to even remeber some talk of states looking into cell phone tower pings to deturmine traffice flow and speeds, and then even for writing tickets based on how fast your phone is traveling through a given area.in comparison to the posted limits and the only way to get around that is to have a cell phone you can pull the battery out of. Of course now we're given the option, to some extent, by insurance companies, under the guise of "cheaper insurance rates"...............please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks that reasoning is bull.........

[bob terry]

I think the new Harry was on the Jeffersons.

[bob terry]

Ah yes. Thank you IMDB. Harry Bentley, the esoteric English gentleman living next door.

[charlie8575]

Friday night, I had to prime the hallway.

Because of a lot of left-over gunk on the walls, we decided to use the Zinnser Cover-Stain primer, a heavy, oil-based primer. Works well for its intended purpose.

But THE SMELL! It got so bad, I had to leave the house for two hours or I was going to vomit. Here it is, over forty-eight hours later, and I can still smell that stuff, albeit nowhere near as bad.

Charlie Larkin

[Guest]

We have forum members here doing one handed driving while taking pictures of cars to post on the forum!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jwrass]

I try to steer with the top of my thigh so I'm hands free when taking pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! just kidding

[Ace-Garageguy]

I try to steer with the top of my thigh...

Me too. But it's so I can eat breakfast and answer e-mails so when I get to work I can concentrate on surfing the internet all day.

[Joe Handley]

I usually try to wait until I'm at a stop light, still ticketable, butbat least the car is sitting still!

[Harry P.]

Ah yes. Thank you IMDB. Harry Bentley, the esoteric English gentleman living next door.

[Danno]

And more idiot texters...

No exaggeration, I had to take evasive action twice within 10 minutes on Interstate 75 just now to avoid being sideswiped by idiots texting. I get to Buckhead, and at the bottom of the off-ramp, there's one sitting oblivious to everything, texting away and holding up a line of 7 or so cars behind her. Finally she notices all the horns blowing, nails the throttle and races through the intersection, narrowly missing cars there. Then, on the surface streets on the way home, I had to swerve violently to avoid yet another ditsy bidge who was too busy looking at her tiny little screen to notice both lanes jogged right, and she kept going straight. And a little farther down the road, some numb-nutz almost runs over the flagman at a bridge construction site, and a minute later the same bozo is driving down the ONCOMING lane, and happens to look up in time to avoid a head-on.

WHAT IS SO IMPORTANT that people have to stay connected every waking minute of every day? Are all these seeming-fools really working on cures for cancer and world peace, faster-than-light-travel and endless free energy, and their input is SO necessary constantly that they have to text while driving??

Somehow, I doubt it.

No, Bill. They're usually Facebooking or Twit-Tweeting (that's tweeting by twits).

[Danno]

Me too. But it's so I can eat breakfast and answer e-mails so when I get to work I can concentrate on surfing the internet all day.

Said the thoroughly modern man wearing his baseball cap backwards while driving the pretentious BMW with fartcan exhaust tip.

[blunc]

Said the thoroughly modern man wearing his baseball cap backwards while driving the pretentious BMW with fartcan exhaust tip.

you forgot to mention that he was posting a selfie to instagram at the same time.

[charlie8575]

My parent's one running car went in for brakes. No big deal, so I drove Dad to work.

I stopped on the way back to get breakfast, and the starter ground itself into oblivion. That's like the fourth or fifth one in a year. The nose-cones keep breaking on used and new ones, and in this case, we think the Bendix drive stripped because it's spinning free.

Annoying beyond all belief. And because I would've been completely stranded at my garage (which is in the middle of nowhere,) I ended up stuck all day until the car was ready to go home.

Oy....

Charlie Larkin

[blunc]

some kind soul took the time to walk up my driveway and break the drivers door mirror on my wife's car.

WTF!!! I haven't called law enforcement on any of the BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH that happens on my street!!!!

I guess it's time to put security cameras on the house.

[Danno]

you forgot to mention that he was posting a selfie to instagram at the same time.

Oh, yeah! That, too!

[Harry P.]

My parent's one running car went in for brakes. No big deal, so I drove Dad to work.

I stopped on the way back to get breakfast, and the starter ground itself into oblivion. That's like the fourth or fifth one in a year. The nose-cones keep breaking on used and new ones, and in this case, we think the Bendix drive stripped because it's spinning free.

Annoying beyond all belief. And because I would've been completely stranded at my garage (which is in the middle of nowhere,) I ended up stuck all day until the car was ready to go home.

Oy....

Charlie Larkin

You have more problems with car breakdowns than any other person I've ever known!