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gigag04 wrote: If you are significantly absent minded, or zoned out early on, I respectfully suggest you not drive until after 10am. You are operating a deadly weapon.

As I said, it's when I'm driving to work or school. I can't not go to class and I can't not go to work -- even if I haven't had much sleep and am zoning out. If I could get my hubby to drive me, I would, but he has a different schedule that doesn't allow for it. I've never been so bad as to fall asleep while driving; I just tend to zone out a bit.

SQLGeek wrote:

TXJK wrote: If I'm tailgating you in the right lane, I'm the . If I'm tailgating you in the fast lane, you're the . Move over.

Tell you what...if I'm in the left lane, going above the limit and passing traffic on my right, you can wait.

I cannot stand it when people tailgate. Kevin said it, it is aggressive and bullyish.

I know I tailgate people, but 99% of the time I honestly don't mean to. I usually tailgate if I'm going the appropriate speed and, especially if I'm headed to work or school which is just down the road, I'm a little bit zoned out due to the early hour and my body's dislike of being awake earlier than 10am. When I encounter a car moving a little slower than me I slow down...but fail to realize how close I am. Once I snap out of "the zone" I back off, but at that point I've been tailgating the whole 7 miles to work/school. I feel a little bad about it; however, my husband keeps me in check when he's in the car with me, reminding me that, "you're a little too close to that car, honey..."

The other 1% of the time I tailgate is purposeful and, yes, aggressive. If you're on a two lane highway (and by that I mean one lane going each direction) going 40mph when the speed limit is 55mph and don't have the sense to move over onto the shoulder, just a little bit, to let me pass, I'm going to ride closer to your rear in hopes you'll realize I REALLY WANT TO PASS YOU. I don't ride as close as I do when I absentmindedly tailgate, but I'm going to be close enough for you to wonder WHY I'm that close. Going 15mph under the limit in this situation means you're either not paying attention or being inconsiderate of the drivers behind you who don't have the ability to safely pass you unless you pull over on the shoulder a bit.

I once got stuck behind a guy going 40mph on a 70mph two lane highway. I counted at least 8 cars behind me, and it was piling up fast. This went on for 15 miles before I could pass...and I'm guessing even longer for everyone else.

My husband posed this question to me as well, and to himself since he was about to get his CHL at the time. My husband could, if necessary, subdue my brother without weapons just because of the fact he is twice as large and much stronger. For my hubby it was a no-brainer. If my brother wasn't armed, he'd use his hands to get him under control and only use his weapon as a last resort. I don't have that luxury as I was (and still am) smaller and weaker than my brother.

I thought about my initial reaction when my husband posed this question to me, and my thoughts remain the same. If it was the exact same situation, and I had had my CHL...well, I plan on having pepper gel on me as a non-lethal option. Also, my brother would not (and will not) know I have my CHL. My brother had no weapon and only his strength as an advantage. He didn't take action to stop my mother from calling the police.
I would have drawn pepper spray and warned him to stay away from me. If he advanced I would have sprayed him. Because I know my brother and that he's really a big wuss with pain, I expect that the spray alone would be enough to keep him down until the police got there. Police response time in Frisco has always been 5-10 minutes at the very most from my experience. (We called several times for other reasons, like my dad...)
I cannot see him advancing further after being sprayed, but if he chose to continue to advance towards me I would draw. I cannot tell you if I would shoot or not. I know that I would prefer to remove myself from the situation altogether but also had to worry about my mother, who is physically weak from MS and wouldn't be able to defend herself if I left her alone with him. I could see myself attempting to shoot at an appendage to impress upon him that I'm serious, but I do not know if I could shoot him in the chest as I am prepared to do to a stranger. I know that's not a good option, but I don't know if I could shoot a family member.

Things are different if you're shooting at someone you know as opposed to an unknown attacker. I'll be the first (haha!) to say that women are different from men. They are connectivists, so relationships are important. Even if everything is logically SCREAMING to act, women are often held back by their feelings. I'm not wholly caught up in the connectivist viewpoints like some, who might go, "Oh, but if I shoot my attacker then his mom has lost a son!" or "What about the attacker's life? He might have a family!"
Oh, no. An attacker is an attacker and if he was your son or father, I'm sorry, but when push comes to shove I care more about my rear than his. Still, when it comes to my family, I could see taking action as a CHL holder being a problem simply because there's a relationship there.

gigag04 wrote:

randomoutburst wrote:

gigag04 wrote: Unfortunately this is par for the course in LE..Like all areas we have "better" areas where these things are less of an issue. If you have an opportunity to ride with your local agency you'd see much of the same I'd expect. It still blows my mind that people call the cops because their kid won't listen.

My mom had to call the police because my brother (at the time he was 15) was so irate and out-of-control that we both felt we were in danger. It's ridiculous. It shouldn't be your business but some people need that authority present to calm them down.

Boot him out of the house IMO.

He was eventually. Lives with my dad now.

gigag04 wrote: Unfortunately this is par for the course in LE..Like all areas we have "better" areas where these things are less of an issue. If you have an opportunity to ride with your local agency you'd see much of the same I'd expect. It still blows my mind that people call the cops because their kid won't listen.

My mom had to call the police because my brother (at the time he was 15) was so irate and out-of-control that we both felt we were in danger. It's ridiculous. It shouldn't be your business but some people need that authority present to calm them down.

Yes, hubby works nights but he drives down at around the time traffic going OUT of the city is building up, which typically means traffic going into the city is zilch. Same with his drive back home - very little traffic. Typically we can use cruise control at any time of day or night until we hit 380. Traffic after that is horrible because of all the construction at 121 and 75.

I typically drive right at the speed limit, maybe one or two over since I learned the Camry's spedometer is just a little off, and says I'm going faster than I am. Wish I had never figured that one out, it might have been better that way...

jmra wrote:

randomoutburst wrote:What I should have clarified when I said my hubby was told he was pulled over for speeding is that he was supposedly going MUCH over the speed limit, not just 2 mph. I know 2 mph over is still speeding. Yikes!

And Oldgringo - I'm not saying traps are unfair, just that they are what they are. How else are they going to catch people breaking laws...dumb luck? :)

it's not about catching law breakers, it's about generating revenue.

Yes, but to do that they have to have a reason, yes? Hence the catching of speeders using traps. They don't leave it to chance to find law-breakers because they're looking for revenue.

gigag04 wrote:

fickman wrote:Some just miss a sign, have something important on the mind, are tired, dealing with distractions (kids, glare, whatever).

Driver inattention frequently contributes to accidents or increases the severity of an accident.

True, but it doesn't mean that it doesn't happen. If everyone only drove when they were alert, fully awake, and without distraction...there'd be no drivers on the road!

surprise_i'm_armed wrote:Note of correction to the OP:

I-75 = Interstate 75, which runs from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan
to the Naples, Florida area. It does not have any miles in Texas.

The highway that runs through Collin County, Texas is US 75.

"US" prefixed the original federal highway system.

Ouch, my mistake. I feel silly. :)

What I should have clarified when I said my hubby was told he was pulled over for speeding is that he was supposedly going MUCH over the speed limit, not just 2 mph. I know 2 mph over is still speeding. Yikes!

And Oldgringo - I'm not saying traps are unfair, just that they are what they are. How else are they going to catch people breaking laws...dumb luck? :)

Oldgringo wrote:A "Speed Trap" is one thing. A "Speed Limit" is the law of the land.

"Speed Traps" and "Speed Limits" are not necessarily synonymous.

If there are two cruisers on each side of the highway (as was the case) I would call that a speed trap. ;) I agree, though, speed limits are posted and posted for a reason, so if you're caught for speeding you're S.O.L.

This is probably the only thing my husband and I just cannot agree on. If I'm speeding and I fall into a speed trap, my fault. Why warn other people if they're speeding and are about to get caught? Too bad!

I think this shocked him a bit since he didn't even see the officer until he had his lights on behind him...and my husband is VERY observant. Maybe this'll be the defining moment that makes him stop flashing his lights at other cars!

In any case, we really can't afford a ticket or the hassle so I'm hoping he's sincere when he says he'll stop warning other vehicles about speed traps.

Hubby texted me to tell me he had been pulled over. He was driving to work on US-75 and had just passed into Collin County.

Apparently he had been flashing his lights at oncoming traffic to warn of an impending speed trap and the officer who stopped him had noticed. Pulled him over for "speeding" (not likely; hubby ALWAYS uses cruise control at about 2mph over the limit) and then asked if something was wrong with his brights. Truthfully, they don't work when you turn them on, but if you use the "burst" option they work. So hubby made a comment about them not having worked for months, handed over his CHL, DL, and insurance. He said the officer didn't bat an eye, gave him an official warning (for speeding), and sent him on his way.

Good contact, but bad husband! I told him that is EXACTLY the reason I DON'T warn oncoming traffic of a speed trap, and told him he should stop doing that. AND he lied to the officer about flashing his brights when he knew that was probably why he'd been pulled over.