Road rager pointed gun at woman

[bblhd672]

I was taught in my driver ed that absolutely you could be ticketed for impeding the flow of traffic if you were only going the speed limit, while everyone else was going faster.

*rant off*

Judge: Sir, do you know understand what you are being charge with?

Driver: Your honor I understand that I am being charged with legally driving the speed limit and impeding those illegally exceeding the speed limit.



Land of the free, with liberty and justice for all.

[mojo84]

We are way off topic.

This may help clear up some of the apparent confusion and ignorance of the law.

http://abc13.com/archive/9315437/

[Soccerdad1995]

I was taught in my driver ed that absolutely you could be ticketed for impeding the flow of traffic if you were only going the speed limit, while everyone else was going faster.

*rant off*

Judge: Sir, do you know understand what you are being charge with?

Driver: Your honor I understand that I am being charged with legally driving the speed limit and impeding those illegally exceeding the speed limit.



Land of the free, with liberty and justice for all.

No, actually you would be charged with driving in a lane that you are not allowed to drive in. You also can't drive on the shoulder of the road (generally speaking) even if you are trying to block someone from driving above the speed limit or doing something else illegal. You can pass in the left lane. You can park on the shoulder in an emergency. But they ain't for driving.

This is similar to an LTC holder carrying a handgun past a valid 30.06 sign. It may be morally right in that person's mind, but it is illegal. And ironically, the penalty is basically identical.

[bblhd672]

You also can't drive on the shoulder of the road.

Based upon the number of people I see driving on the shoulders around DFW that is not a well known law.

[oljames3]

Texas Transportation Code
http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/D ... tm#545.058
Sec. 545.058. DRIVING ON IMPROVED SHOULDER. (a) An operator may drive on an improved shoulder to the right of the main traveled portion of a roadway if that operation is necessary and may be done safely, but only:
(1) to stop, stand, or park;
(2) to accelerate before entering the main traveled lane of traffic;
(3) to decelerate before making a right turn;
(4) to pass another vehicle that is slowing or stopped on the main traveled portion of the highway, disabled, or preparing to make a left turn;
(5) to allow another vehicle traveling faster to pass;
(6) as permitted or required by an official traffic-control device; or
(7) to avoid a collision.
(b) An operator may drive on an improved shoulder to the left of the main traveled portion of a divided or limited-access or controlled-access highway if that operation may be done safely, but only:
(1) to slow or stop when the vehicle is disabled and traffic or other circumstances prohibit the safe movement of the vehicle to the shoulder to the right of the main traveled portion of the roadway;
(2) as permitted or required by an official traffic-control device; or
(3) to avoid a collision.
(c) A limitation in this section on driving on an improved shoulder does not apply to:
(1) an authorized emergency vehicle responding to a call;
(2) a police patrol; or
(3) a bicycle.

[Oldgringo]

a most informative thread! I knew it was illegal to impede traffic and I knew it was sometimes legal to pass on the shoulders but I sure did not know there were no speed limits in Texas. What a waste all those signs are!

[Charles L. Cotton]

If I were still a COP and if Friendswood had a freeway (it doesn't) then I would write citations for every left-lane-bandit that I saw. I wouldn't care if someone was driving 20 MPH over the limit at the same time, the left-lane-bandit would get the ticket. These people cause wrecks, injuries and deaths because other drivers often do stupid things to get around their car. I can't count the number of times I've been in a line of cars in the left lane while the left-lane-bandit paced a car or truck in the right lane. The moment there's a tiny amount of room available, people start shooting the gap often clearing the left-lane-bandit's bumper by mere inches. They willfully risk other people's lives because of their "I'll show them" attitude.

If you want to control another driver's speed, then become a COP. Left-lane-bandits are breaking the law even though they may not exceed the speed limit.

Now for something on topic; the guy in the truck was an idiot. Self-defense, really? If his lawyer can pull that off I'll be impressed, very impressed.
Chas.

[puma guy]

If I were still a COP and if Friendswood had a freeway (it doesn't) then I would write citations for every left-lane-bandit that I saw. I wouldn't care if someone was driving 20 MPH over the limit at the same time, the left-lane-bandit would get the ticket. These people cause wrecks, injuries and deaths because other drivers often do stupid things to get around their car. I can't count the number of times I've been in a line of cars in the left lane while the left-lane-bandit paced a car or truck in the right lane. The moment there's a tiny amount of room available, people start shooting the gap often clearing the left-lane-bandit's bumper by mere inches. They willfully risk other people's lives because of their "I'll show them" attitude.

If you want to control another driver's speed, then become a COP. Left-lane-bandits are breaking the law even though they may not exceed the speed limit.

Now for something on topic; the guy in the truck was an idiot. Self-defense, really? If his lawyer can pull that off I'll be impressed, very impressed.
Chas.

Anybody interested should look at states like Montana that had no speed limits on major highways until Clinton's administration forced them to set limits or lose funds. Accidents abounded and the courtesy of moving over disappeared. Sorta off topic but speed limits are arbitrary and are more about revenue than safety. I drive Hyw 281 N to Mansfield a couple of dozen times a year. The speeds on that limited access highway vary from 50 to 75 for no reason, except for a couple of spots where their are traffic controls. IE traffic lights

[The Annoyed Man]

Any speed deferential that allows one to pass. It is an offense to impede trafic. I don't care if you are doing the posted speed. If I come up behind you going faster....you need to get over.

The non-enforcement of this is one of my pet peeves. The left lane is for passing only. If you are in the left lane with no one in front of you and you are going at the same speed as the traffic to your right then you are in the wrong lane. It doesn't matter if you are going 180 mph. The left lane is a passing lane. Period.

I don't believe this is true at all. Why would they have so many exits on the left-hand side? The speed limits aren't a suggestion they are the law. Doing the speed limit helps control the speeds to the limits that are required by law. Isn't it our duty not only to obey the laws, but to encourage others to obey the laws also?

Yeah, maybe I'm trolling a little bit here, but the truth is there isn't enough road in many cases to handle all the traffic in a single lane. If you are getting impatient because of the guy doing the speed limit in the left-hand lane, maybe you're wanting to drive too fast. If you tell the officer and later on the judge that the posted speed limit was just a suggestion it's not going to go over too well. slow down relax, people are getting too impatient. Maybe leave for your destination a little earlier, and save up that pent up rage for one of those elitst leftist in Washington.

A voice of reason. Thank you.

Those are well reasoned arguments. Now for the real world..... There's the posted speed limit, and then there is "not making a target out of yourself" speed limit. If the posted speed limit is 65, and you are doing 65 in the left lane, and you are aware enough of your surroundings to see that the flow of traffic is 75, then you are also aware enough to see that people are desperately trying to get by you and that traffic is backing up behind you. IF you are that aware (and while behind the wheel, you should be), then you ought to realize that everyone's safety including your own would be enhanced by you moving over to the right lane. Why? Because you haven't got a prayer in heaven of making everyone else slow down and maintain the posted limit. You might as well try and dam up a river with one log.

If you are NOT aware of these things taking place all around you while you're doing 65 in the left lane and being repeatedly passed by cars swerving around you, then you should be doing 0 mph in a parking lot while you finish your coffee and wake up a little. The California CHP teaches its motorcycle officers to maintain a speed just a little faster than the flow of traffic, because that is the safest speed for them to travel at. This is equally true for non-LEO motorcyclists, even if the flow of traffic is moving at the posted speed. There are traffic studies.....I'm sure I can find one on Google if anyone needs a link....that prove that when the flow of traffic is moving at one speed - even above the posted limit - and there is a slow driver impeding that flow of traffic, the slow driver is the one who creates the unsafe condition.

I'm not arguing that we should all speed. In fact, the speed limits are generally determined by experts in the subject matter, such as traffic engineers and law enforcement officials, according to the dictates of the driving conditions......winding mountain road, versus 8 lane freeway.....and I don't generally speed myself, or at least not by much. But it remains a fact of life that the flow of traffic is what it is, posted limit or not; and if you're the one impeding traffic, then you're the one creating the unsafe condition. The remedy is to get. out. of. the. way. It is safer for the driver causing the impediment to traffic to make ONE move to the right lane, than it is to make every motorist overtaking that driver to make TWO moves: one move to the right to merge with the already overtaking traffic on the right, and then another move back into the left lane. Over the course of a few miles, it can add up to hundreds of driver lane changes to accommodate the ONE driver who won't move over.

Two spacecraft can safely dock in orbit because they are both going 17,500 mph. But if one of them thinks that 17,000 is the safer speed and still attempts the dock, he'll crash both the spacecraft. It isn't the speed of traffic that is the problem, it is the speed differential between the speed of traffic, and the guy parked in the left lane going 10 mph slower.

[lfinsr]

When I got my LTC years ago it literally changed my outlook on driving. All of us commuting in metropolitan areas will encounter idiocy of some kind on a daily basis. I used to be like many others getting upset with the occasional gesture, but I've grown out of that. I simply can't afford to let something get out of control, the stakes are too high.

Nothing good can come of getting mad at other drivers. It raises your blood pressure and leads to events like this. I just simply mumble under my breath stuff not repeatable here, get out of the way, and move on with my day. It's just not worth it to do anything else. My only goal is to get to my destination without incident.

This guy could have done the same thing, but instead he lost his temper and it will cost him. I can think of very few scenarios where his behavior would be justified based on what I have seen.

YMMV

[stroo]

I have been and regularly see people tailgating others in the right lane, left lane, middle lane who are going well over the speed limit. I have been tailgate when I was going 10 miles + over the speed limit and then when I got over they to 10 minutes to pass me. There is no excuse for most of the tailgating I see.

That said, it doesn't justify pulling a gun.

[stroo]

BTW the video shows him driving in one of the right lanes. So as far as you can see from the video, he wasn't impeding traffic!

[1911 10MM]

Any speed deferential that allows one to pass. It is an offense to impede trafic. I don't care if you are doing the posted speed. If I come up behind you going faster....you need to get over.

The non-enforcement of this is one of my pet peeves. The left lane is for passing only. If you are in the left lane with no one in front of you and you are going at the same speed as the traffic to your right then you are in the wrong lane. It doesn't matter if you are going 180 mph. The left lane is a passing lane. Period.

I don't believe this is true at all. Why would they have so many exits on the left-hand side? The speed limits aren't a suggestion they are the law. Doing the speed limit helps control the speeds to the limits that are required by law. Isn't it our duty not only to obey the laws, but to encourage others to obey the laws also?

Yeah, maybe I'm trolling a little bit here, but the truth is there isn't enough road in many cases to handle all the traffic in a single lane. If you are getting impatient because of the guy doing the speed limit in the left-hand lane, maybe you're wanting to drive too fast. If you tell the officer and later on the judge that the posted speed limit was just a suggestion it's not going to go over too well. slow down relax, people are getting too impatient. Maybe leave for your destination a little earlier, and save up that pent up rage for one of those elitst leftist in Washington.

You are wrong. In Texas the left lane is a passing lane and those driving in it trying to enforce the speed limit of other drivers are wrong.

[OlBill]

I think a lot of it is caused by cruise control.

[WTR]

Any speed deferential that allows one to pass. It is an offense to impede trafic. I don't care if you are doing the posted speed. If I come up behind you going faster....you need to get over.

The non-enforcement of this is one of my pet peeves. The left lane is for passing only. If you are in the left lane with no one in front of you and you are going at the same speed as the traffic to your right then you are in the wrong lane. It doesn't matter if you are going 180 mph. The left lane is a passing lane. Period.

I don't believe this is true at all. Why would they have so many exits on the left-hand side? The speed limits aren't a suggestion they are the law. Doing the speed limit helps control the speeds to the limits that are required by law. Isn't it our duty not only to obey the laws, but to encourage others to obey the laws also?

Yeah, maybe I'm trolling a little bit here, but the truth is there isn't enough road in many cases to handle all the traffic in a single lane. If you are getting impatient because of the guy doing the speed limit in the left-hand lane, maybe you're wanting to drive too fast. If you tell the officer and later on the judge that the posted speed limit was just a suggestion it's not going to go over too well. slow down relax, people are getting too impatient. Maybe leave for your destination a little earlier, and save up that pent up rage for one of those elitst leftist in Washington.

You are wrong. In Texas the left lane is a passing lane and those driving in it trying to enforce the speed limit of other drivers are wrong.

What if my destination is a hospital with a critically injured child on board? I may have a legitimate reason for going 95. Why can't people read the large " LEFT LANE FOR PASSING ONLY " signs? I drive from El Paso to San Antonio regularly. It is amazing the people who ignore those signs and camp out in the left lane.