Your Attitude Towards People Who Drive Gas Guzzlers

[lazygood4nothinbum]

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Originally Posted by Nords Is this a Hawaii phenomenon, or do the rest of you experience "sympathetic braking"?*

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Originally Posted by Andre1969 That's one reason why I try to stay between traffic packs on the highway. But it's kinda hard to do once the highway becomes one big pack!

i think andre1969 identifies this correctly as pack mentality, possibly imported to hawaii with the introduction of cattle and tourists. you'll notice the same thing when you try to get ahead in traffic, or when you go to pass someone. they'll do 40 mph in front of you or alongside but when you try to pass they do 50. they think they are pack leaders but they are merely pack followers who happen to be one car ahead. again, i find a minimal of 300 hp seems to dust that issue.

on a related issue, did you ever notice how traffic comes to a stop for what seems to be no reason at all and then starts again. there was an interesting pbs thing on this. they showed that when a car breaks in traffic, or breaks sympathetically lane to lane, they slow traffic so much at that spot that because there are always more cars behind the breaking spot then in front of the breaking spot every car behind has to slow down until you get to that spot and then because there are less cars in front of that spot than behind (because they've already gone by) you get to accelerate again.

not sure if i described that very well but the graphics on pbs sure made sense.

[JB]

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Originally Posted by grumpy Let the free market function.* If they chose to spend their money that way, thats up to them.

Yup, but problem is that the costs are subsidized by the taxpayers (future taxpayers).

Let's start by imposing a $3/gal tax to pay for Iraq and*competitive bidding for drilling rights. Then consider the environmental costs.

Once the real price is accounted for let the market function.

[lets-retire]

I think the sympathic braking is due to the possibilty of seeing boobies.

[Andre1969]

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Originally Posted by lazygood4nothinbum i on a related issue, did you ever notice how traffic comes to a stop for what seems to be no reason at all and then starts again. there was an interesting pbs thing on this. they showed that when a car breaks in traffic, or breaks sympathetically lane to lane, they slow traffic so much at that spot that because there are always more cars behind the breaking spot then in front of the breaking spot every car behind has to slow down until you get to that spot and then because there are less cars in front of that spot than behind (because they've already gone by) you get to accelerate again.

One reason for this phenomenon might also be simply the fact that a car, any car, can brake much more quickly than it can accelerate. Even if the driver floors it to get back up to cruising speed, if you were going along at 60 and had to suddenly slow to 30, it's still going to take you longer to get back up to 60. And then if you multiply that by the number of cars that are behind the first car to brake, the effect just gets amplified, with the cars further back having to slow down even further, and then susequently take longer to get back up to cruising speed.

Or is that kinda saying the same thing? I dunno...it's late. I want to go home.

[REWahoo]

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Originally Posted by lets-retire I think the sympathic braking is due to the possibilty of seeing boobies.

My dog goes into sympathetic barking and howling whenever she hears an ambulance siren or whenever a C5 flies over. No other aircraft, just a C5. Go figure.

Oh, you said sympathetic braking. Nevermind.

[Danny]

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Originally Posted by lets-retire I think the sympathic braking is due to the possibilty of seeing boobies.

What is it with boobies, I don't get it....what's the big deal with them anyway and why brake for them aren't they just for babies? least that's what my girlfriends in high school & college used to tell me...
did I miss out on something...

[MikeD]

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Originally Posted by Cute Fuzzy Bunny And he must really, really hate america.

Are you questioning his patriotism?

[brewer12345]

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Originally Posted by MikeD Are you questioning his patriotism?

Wouldn't be the first time. :

[audreyh1]

I don't really care if someone is spending his/her hard-earned dollars to fill his guzzling gas tank (to each his own).

What really pisses me of is if he/she complains about how much it costs to fill the tank!!!!

The gall to think you're entitled to cheap gas just because you like to burn a lot of it. Makes me want to slap 'em upside the head!

Audrey

[audreyh1]

Gas guzzlers.....

My 30,000 lb motorhome averages about 8 mpg of diesel fuel - and that's while pulling a jeep behind it.

How many mpg does your home get?

Of course we don't drive it everyday/everywhere either.* Only put 8000 miles on the first year.

It's pretty light on the utilities too - much less consumption than a standard house.

Oh yeah - an on the potential to flatten a passenger vehicle: I do make sure to put 5 secs between me and the passenger vehicle in front - even when someone cuts right in front of me without thinking!

Audrey

[kz]

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Originally Posted by audreyh1 I don't really care if someone is spending his/her hard-earned dollars to fill his guzzling gas tank (to each his own). What really pisses me of is if he/she complains about how much it costs to fill the tank!!!! The gall to think you're entitled to cheap gas just because you like to burn a lot of it.* Makes me want to slap 'em upside the head! Audrey

That reminds me of the idiot on CNN a few weeks ago that was complaining that when he bought his Range Rover a few weeks before the prices weren't that high. Did he think gas prices were going to fall once he got his gas guzzler?? I just don't understand people like him.

[laurence]

Nightly news did a special on a woman who said gas prices were affected her family's budget, made a big deal of her going down the grocery store aisles with her kids, telling them "no" for a lot of items, then showed them climb into their Cadillac Escalade XLT Grande edition (or whatever).

Some people seem to see the mega vehicle as a God given right, as if taking it away from them would be worse than having a domestic eavesdropping program oh never mind.

[SLC Tortfeasor]

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Originally Posted by grumpy Let the free market function.* If they chose to spend their money that way, thats up to them.* I personally wouldn't drive an SUV if you gave it to me for nothing. * *Grumpy

Ordinarily I would agree with this 100%.* Unfortunately, the market isn't functioning well in this situation.* The costs of gas overconsumption aren't limited to the overconsumers.* They're borne by everyone who breathes polluted air -- there are documented scientific links between the increase in asthma and other respiratory illnesses and air pollution.* The costs of oil overconsumption are also borne by everyone who pays taxes, because our government subsidizes petroleum consumption in more ways than one.* And need I point out that our national security is fundamentally weakened by our dependency on foreign oil.* Worried at all about America's global trade deficit?* Blame it in large part on oil imports, because they're one of the the largest components of the deficit.

The "free" market in this case really isn't free.* It's heavily subsidized and regulated.* And the exceedingly high costs of overconsumption are spread around to every man, woman, and child, whether they drive a gas guzzler or not.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I drive a sports car that gets 20-26 mpg.

[Gumby]

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Originally Posted by SLC Tortfeasor Ordinarily I would agree with this 100%.* Unfortunately, the market isn't functioning well in this situation.* The costs of gas overconsumption aren't limited to the overconsumers.* They're borne by everyone who breathes polluted air -- there are documented scientific links between the increase in asthma and other respiratory illnesses and air pollution.* The costs of oil overconsumption are also borne by everyone who pays taxes, because our government subsidizes petroleum consumption in more ways than one.* And need I point out that our national security is fundamentally weakened by our dependency on foreign oil.* Worried at all about America's global trade deficit?* Blame it in large part on oil imports, because they're one of the the largest components of the deficit. The "free" market in this case really isn't free.* It's heavily subsidized and regulated.* And the exceedingly high costs of overconsumption are spread around to every man, woman, and child, whether they drive a gas guzzler or not. FULL DISCLOSURE:* I drive a sports car that gets 20-26 mpg.

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[getoutearly]

This is America, right? Then let the market decide.

If we are going to decide what size car people should drive (guess we should let the government decide who is elegible to drive the SUV's? Gee, I bet that turns out real well), then why don't we let them decide what size house everyone deserves, who get's to own a motor home, who get's to live in the parts of the country that consume the most energy cooling their homes.

Better yet, we sholod let the police enter people's houses at will when they think they may have their A/C units turned down too low.... Where does it end? I for one don't want to find out. Believe they tried this in the good ole USSR, to rave reviews...

Was at least glad to see that the largest vote on this poll was in the Let the People Decide category.

Think I'll go out and start my 2 HUGE SUV's and let them run all night while I turn the A/C down and get a good night's sleep...

[Gumby]

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[razztazz]

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This is America, right? *Then let the market decide. * If we are going to decide what size car people should drive (guess we should let the government decide who is elegible to drive the SUV's? *Gee, I bet that turns out real well), then why don't we let them decide what size house everyone deserves, who get's to own a motor home, who get's to live in the parts of the country that consume the most energy cooling their homes. * Better yet, we sholod let the police enter people's houses at will when they think they may have their A/C units turned down too low.... *Where does it end? I for one don't want to find out. *Believe they tried this in the good ole USSR, to rave reviews... Was at least glad to see that the largest vote on this poll was in the Let the People Decide category. * Think I'll go out and start my 2 HUGE SUV's and let them run all night while I turn the A/C down and get a good night's sleep...

Before this phantom market people speak of *"decides" anything, The People are "The Deciders". *All up one side o' town and down the other. THAT IS the market. *The market is what the people say it is. Not the other way around. Why not just let the police ... why not let the Gov decide who can or can't....Where do we draw the line....?

Hey man, life is about choices. It's all, every minute of it, all about drawing lines. *If it is decided that SUVs are banned...? Poof! If it is determined that we should ration gasoline... ? Poof! *And it cannot be other than right. *Sorry it ain't a perfect system. It'll average out.

By the way I am against doing those things *above, at least at this time but unlike so many, *I do not live in the 18th century or "back in the old days", or when so and so was a boy and this country did/had/allowed whathehellever. Gotta change with the times. *

[MJ]

I get between 100 to 150 miles per bowl of spicy black beans on my bicycle.
Cheapest gas around but it does bring down the air quality some.

[lets-retire]

OH great your responsible for all of the methane increase. I say ban beans!!!

[bpp]

I've posted on this before, but I don't understand people who want to make a moral issue out of choice of vehicle. I pay much more for gas than people in the US do, and don't complain. That was part of the deal. SUV, 20 mpg commuting, 24 highway.

I love alternative energy, and am watching the price of photovoltaics to see when they will become viable for us. But on the road, safety comes first, even if it makes me a peckerhead.

On the subject of sympathetic braking, I always assumed it was due to other drivers thinking that the first person to brake might have a radar detector, and were slowing down for a reason. Only rational to follow suit...

Bpp