Turn Signals

"gpsman" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>
> Daniel W. Rouse Jr. wrote: <brevity snip>
>
> > Arif is referring to the Blindzone Glare Elimination (BGE) mirror
setting
> > and he is correct: one headlight in the side mirror (and one in the
rearview
> > mirror) is barely acceptable for changing lanes, but it won't result in
a
> > collision.
> -----
>
> Acceptable... to whom? Won't result in a side collision... perhaps.
> But Arif claims his settings "eliminate" any and all blindspot(s) and
> that's incorrect.
>
> And to use that as a reference to all vehicles at all speeds in any
> position in their lane while he may be in any position in his lane is
> stupid, if nothing else.
>
> This kid thinks he's eliminated the need to look over his shoulder and
> he hasn't. I agree there are optimal mirror adjustments but they DO
> NOT eliminate any and all blindspots. Plus, his attitude is as
> ignorant as his assumptions. Adversarial driving is stupid.

Actually, the BGE mirror adjustment only requires a 90 turn of the head--a
shoulder peek, if you will. It does not require looking all the way over the
shoulder due to the wide angles of the mirrors.

At worst, only motorcycles riding on the lane markers could hide from the
BGE mirror adjustment, but the addition of a small blindspot mirror even
solves that.

The blind spots that result from using the BGE mirror adjustment are much
smaller than those that result from turning the side mirrors so that the
sides of the vehicle are visible.

Do a search for "blindzone glare elimination mirror adjustment" and read up
on it, it's one of the most useful side mirror adjustments that a driver can
use.

In article .com>, gpsman wrote:

> Acceptable... to whom? Won't result in a side collision... perhaps.
> But Arif claims his settings "eliminate" any and all blindspot(s) and
> that's incorrect.

On many cars it is possible to eliminate blind spots. Now the torqueless
wonder car had an annoying blind spot that I couldn't get rid of. So what
I did was place a shim in the folding mechanism of the mirror. That
eliminated it.

> Using turn signals is providing the enemy with information

Doubtless some people avoid using their turn signal for this reason,
but it requires thinking. I'd bet that a a more common explanation is
based on NONthinking -- simply abject self-centered failure to consider
that other people in traffic might benefit from knowing what their
intentions are.


Or if they do give it a moment's thought, they reject the notion of
communicating with other drivers (except perhaps with the single-finger
thingy salute) as unimportant or beneath them. Someone on the
newsgroup coined a term for this attitude, "MFFY," which explains a
great deal about USAmerican public conduct these days, especially in
traffic.


The term also explains that "you might get into my lane but you ain't
gettin' ahead of me" mentality that leads people to close the gap and
prevent your maneuver, should you be so polite as to not only use your
turn signals, but use them in announcement rather than commemoration.



Two adjacent MFFY drivers, one each with these respective attitudes,
can make beautiful music together, at least according to the clangorous
listening tastes of the paint-and-body shops.


Of course, in some situations, you also have the people who demonstrate
why "passive aggressive" starts with "pass" (not to mention a slightly
shorter word), and seem to think that instead of getting into the line
of cars headed where they're going, they can zoom up a relatively
free-flowing and unoccupied adjacent lane, then pretend it was all a
dreadful mistake and would you please let me cut in line at the last
moment if I ask real nice. Blocking them out is of course unsafe as
well as rude, but the *urge* to do it is understandable.



Then there are the people who seem to think you're just warming up your
turn signals for later use. And the ones who interpret them as "last
chance to pass on this side"...


--Joe

On Sun, 11 Dec 2005 12:56:06 GMT, "Dave" > wrote:

>> Car ahead of me wants to change lanes. Puts on his turn signal, and the guy
>> beside me immediatly hurries to close the gap so this person can't change
>> lanes. The the guy behind him passes me and does the same thing. The original
>> schmuck that wanted to change lanes finally gets in behind the 2nd car.
>>
>> Now, do you wonder why people don't use turn signals?
>
>Using turn signals is providing the enemy with information that they WILL
>use against you. This is old news. -Dave

The fact is, the guy is an incompetent ****. I use my turn signals
EVERY time I chage lanes or make a turn, and NOBODY boxes me out. I
don't give them the opportunity.

First of all, I pick a suitably sized gap into which to merge. This
means I'm far enough ahead of the other vehicles in the target lane
that I can merge in without interference. After selecting a proper
merge gap, and when my turn signal goes on, I don't sit there like
some mope waiting for five minutes before I begin my lane change - I
begin my lane change *immediately*. Thus, even if somebody wanted to
speed up and block my lane change, by the time they realize what's
happening and catch up to my position I'm already in the new lane.
Also, unlike the dumb****s who SLOW DOWN when they want to change
lanes, royally ****ing over everyone around them, I SPEED UP (if
necessary) or, at the very least, maintain speed while I change. I see
no need to annoy the drivers behind me by making them slow down just
because I want to change lanes.

If you change lanes correctly, it's virtually impossible for even the
most territorial jerkweed driver to block your maneuvers. OTOH, the
people who have problems have yet to master this basic skill.

On Sun, 11 Dec 2005 20:02:06 GMT, Arif Khokar >
wrote:

>The sign of an incompetent driver, Mr. "too scared to change lanes
>because I can't see cars in my blind spot located in my side view mirror
>despite the fact that my mirrors are supposedly adjusted properly." My
>method is as follows. First, I check my mirrors and determine when a
>suituable gap to change lanes into becomes available. Second, I switch
>on my signal. Third, I start changing lanes as the turn signal bulb
>switches on a second time.
>
>I have yet to see someone who has successfully blocked me out. Oh, and
>btw, if I can see one of your headlamps in my side mirror, I know I can
>get in front of you.

Arif, congratulations on being one of the few, the proud, the ones who
"get it." You can be my wingman (wheelman?) anytime.

Yeahbbuutt.... that's _not_ doing it correctly.

The point of turn signals is to allow other cars to take evasive action
if you screw up. If there really _is_ someone beside you or very close
to you that you haven't seen, then they aren't going to be able to do
anything about it if you don't give them time to.

You are _effectively_ not using your turn signals, just like some of
the rest of us.

Dave Head

Daniel W. Rouse Jr. wrote:
> "gpsman" > wrote in message
> oups.com...
> >
> > Daniel W. Rouse Jr. wrote: <brevity snip>
> >
> > > Arif is referring to the Blindzone Glare Elimination (BGE) mirror
> setting
> > > and he is correct: one headlight in the side mirror (and one in the
> rearview
> > > mirror) is barely acceptable for changing lanes, but it won't result in
> a
> > > collision.
> > -----
> >
> > Acceptable... to whom? Won't result in a side collision... perhaps.
> > But Arif claims his settings "eliminate" any and all blindspot(s) and
> > that's incorrect.
> >
> > And to use that as a reference to all vehicles at all speeds in any
> > position in their lane while he may be in any position in his lane is
> > stupid, if nothing else.
> >
> > This kid thinks he's eliminated the need to look over his shoulder and
> > he hasn't. I agree there are optimal mirror adjustments but they DO
> > NOT eliminate any and all blindspots. Plus, his attitude is as
> > ignorant as his assumptions. Adversarial driving is stupid.
>
> Actually, the BGE mirror adjustment only requires a 90 turn of the head--a
> shoulder peek, if you will. It does not require looking all the way over the
> shoulder due to the wide angles of the mirrors.
>
> At worst, only motorcycles riding on the lane markers could hide from the
> BGE mirror adjustment, but the addition of a small blindspot mirror even
> solves that.
>
> The blind spots that result from using the BGE mirror adjustment are much
> smaller than those that result from turning the side mirrors so that the
> sides of the vehicle are visible.
>
> Do a search for "blindzone glare elimination mirror adjustment" and read up
> on it, it's one of the most useful side mirror adjustments that a driver can
> use.

As well as being the one (the only one) pushed by traffic and driving
schools and manuals.
And yes, if he can see headlights of a close vehicle in the adjoining
lane in his left side mirror from his normal driving position, his
mirror (at least that one) is adjusted close to correct.

Harry K

Harry K wrote:

> Daniel W. Rouse Jr. wrote:

>>Do a search for "blindzone glare elimination mirror adjustment" and read up
>>on it, it's one of the most useful side mirror adjustments that a driver can
>>use.

> As well as being the one (the only one) pushed by traffic and driving
> schools and manuals.
> And yes, if he can see headlights of a close vehicle in the adjoining
> lane in his left side mirror from his normal driving position, his
> mirror (at least that one) is adjusted close to correct.

Actually, for the car I drive, the method works for both sides. Also, I
was referring to only one headlamp visible in the side mirror and none
in the rearview. Using that as a marker doesn't work in all vehicles
though. In most other vehicles, I use 2 headlamps in the side mirror as
a minimum.

It really comes down to how far out one adjusts the mirrors. I've
detailed the method in past postings, but one can refine it by adjusting
the mirrors slightly inward to minimize those smaller blindspots between
the FOV of the rearview and FOV of either one of the sideview mirrors
that can result from the default adjustment. Sometimes, adjusting the
rearview mirror slightly to the right or left can also compensate for
any gap as well.

But, I guess that gpsman is like many drivers I can whose face I can see
in their drivers side exterior mirror while I'm behind them at a stop light.

On Mon, 12 Dec 2005 06:17:27 -0800, N8N wrote:

> So you admit to driving aggressively while bemoaning the fact that people
> are still killed on our highways every year? Just go kill yourself now
> and make the world a better place.

Ah, nothing like still being baited by that little prick LBMHBF after so
many years

Every time I stay away for a while I hope against hope when I return, that
the people in here finally started quietly ignoring this assclown and
every time of course I hope in vain.

There is nothing whatsoever gained by arguing with people like that. You
won't make yourself look better (arguing with a moron makes you look like
one too) nor him worse. It won't make you feel better nor him worse.

What you are doing, in essence, is touting his drivel, because the only
way he can get this message out to countless people is to provoke others
into answering, making it look like he has a valid point that deserves to
be argued. And every time you or someone else in here answers that stupid
moron, dozens of people see his drivel, who otherwise would not have seen
it because of the miracles of filtering technology.

Chris

Arif Khokar wrote:
> Harry K wrote:
>
> > Daniel W. Rouse Jr. wrote:
>
> >>Do a search for "blindzone glare elimination mirror adjustment" and read up
> >>on it, it's one of the most useful side mirror adjustments that a driver can
> >>use.
>
> > As well as being the one (the only one) pushed by traffic and driving
> > schools and manuals.
> > And yes, if he can see headlights of a close vehicle in the adjoining
> > lane in his left side mirror from his normal driving position, his
> > mirror (at least that one) is adjusted close to correct.
>
> Actually, for the car I drive, the method works for both sides. Also, I
> was referring to only one headlamp visible in the side mirror and none
> in the rearview. Using that as a marker doesn't work in all vehicles
> though. In most other vehicles, I use 2 headlamps in the side mirror as
> a minimum.
>
> It really comes down to how far out one adjusts the mirrors. I've
> detailed the method in past postings, but one can refine it by adjusting
> the mirrors slightly inward to minimize those smaller blindspots between
> the FOV of the rearview and FOV of either one of the sideview mirrors
> that can result from the default adjustment. Sometimes, adjusting the
> rearview mirror slightly to the right or left can also compensate for
> any gap as well.
>
> But, I guess that gpsman is like many drivers I can whose face I can see
> in their drivers side exterior mirror while I'm behind them at a stop light.

In mine, there is only a slight zone just as the car is passing. As
the rear disappears from the outside mirror, I only have to turn my
head slightly to pick up the nose in my peripheral vision.

Harry K