haapanen@watdcsu.UUCP (Tom Haapanen [DCS]) (03/20/85)
In article <196@dmcnh.UUCP> gts@dmcnh.UUCP (Guy The Schafer) writes: >Catagory of Automobile Will I go out of my way to irritate the driver > by getting in the fast lane in front of him > and travel at the exact same speed as the car > in the slow lane for miles and miles? >------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >Volkswagen Yes. (Except for old beetles but they can > only do the speed limit anyway.) >Porche No if it's a real one, Yes if it's a 914. I won't even touch these. >Any vehicle using headlights > at noon Yes. Keeping your headlights on during the day is an excellent idea. In the Nordic Countries (Finland, Sweden, Norway) it has significantly reduced accidents. Note that there is no cost to performance no increased travel time, no other irritations. The only disadvantage is the increased wear on your headlights (bulbs), but often they'll be broken by a stone before they burn out anyway. I believe that the Canadian regulations will require all 1987 models to have headlights on permanently when the ignition is on (and automatically switch to parking lights when ignition is switched off). Right now I do this manually, but I'd like to see it automatic, for everybody. In Ontario you are required to turn on your headlights 1/2 hour BEFORE sunset and turn them off not until 1/2 AFTER sunrise. In addition, I'd estimate that about 5 per cent of the drivers on major highways drive during the day with their lights on. Oh, and 60% of them wear seat belts, too... \tom haapanen watmath!watdcsu!haapanen Don't cry, don't do anything No lies, back in the government No tears, party time is here again President Gas is up for president (c) Psychedelic Furs, 1982
barry@mit-eddie.UUCP (Mikki Barry) (03/21/85)
Headlights in the daytime are ok, but since this is net.flame.... I HATE IDIOTS WHO USE HIGH BEAM LIGHTS IMPROPERLY!!!!!! I can't count the number of times these moronic bimbo brains have come up behind me, high beams burning brightly in my rear view mirror. Or, the dummies coming in the opposite direction who don't realize that their brights are doing a number on your vision. KILL THEM! KILL THEM ALL! Mikki Barry * In the beginning, there was the Word, and it was written by a baboon *
bandy@mit-eddie.UUCP (++Andrew Scott Beals) (03/21/85)
Sorry Mikki, but in my travels (east coast from MD to ME and CA around SF), I have found that the highest number of idiots who leave their high beams on live in New England. My sample is clearly biased though.. What's worse are the pinheads who won't turn their highbeams down even AFTER you politely flash them and continue to nuke everyone else's vision.. It's times like these that make me with I had a nice little CO2 laser.. (that'd get 'em off the roads, now, wouldn't it?) andy
slf@panda.UUCP (Scott Fisher) (03/21/85)
In article <3845@mit-eddie.UUCP> barry@mit-eddie.UUCP (Mikki Barry) writes: >Headlights in the daytime are ok, but since this is net.flame.... > >I HATE IDIOTS WHO USE HIGH BEAM LIGHTS IMPROPERLY!!!!!! > >I can't count the number of times these moronic bimbo brains have >come up behind me, high beams burning brightly in my rear view >mirror. Or, the dummies coming in the opposite direction who don't >realize that their brights are doing a number on your vision. If I get high beams in my rear view mirror I just adjust it so that the light is reflected back into the moron's eyes. This always gets immediate results. As for the idiots comming in the opposite directon with their high beams on, give it right back to them. This also gets immediate results (except on a divided highway). What I can't stand is the macho fools who don't have high beams on, but those anoying white fog lights. You put your high beams on and they think you mean their *regular* high beams are on. Scott Fisher
barry@mit-eddie.UUCP (Mikki Barry) (03/21/85)
And then came the story of the young man in the ford something or other
who was being followed by an idiot in a Lincoln Continental. Our young
man would slow down, trying to get the Lincoln with the high beams blaring
into his rear view, to pass him so he could either return the favor,
or at least get out of the line of fire. The Lincoln would also slow
down, and refuse to pass. The young man tried turning his mirror so that the
driver of the Lincoln would know why he was not happy. Mile after mile they
went, angrier and angrier the young man got...until....a stop light.
The young man got out with a tire iron, and put out both brights.
Let that be a lesson to you all
Mikki
p.s. Happened in Illinois...however I do agree that NE people have the
highest frequency of idiots with high beam lights. Maybe its the water.
dharris@watarts.UUCP (Dave Harris) (03/22/85)
Let us not forget, either, the bozos who want you to know YOU MADE A MISTAKE. Some cars have very bright main beams, and even brighter high beams. If one of these is bearing down on you, and you politely flash your brights to let them know you're there and going blind, they will turn on their brights and *leave them on* just to prove that they weren't on in the first place. For these you want a hood-mounted Uzi.....
chris@cornell.UUCP (Christopher F. Harrison) (03/22/85)
In article <3855@mit-eddie.UUCP> barry@mit-eddie.UUCP (Mikki Barry) writes: > >p.s. Happened in Illinois...however I do agree that NE people have the > highest frequency of idiots with high beam lights. Maybe its the water. Not exactly. It's actually the acid rain, it degrades the windshields! Later! chris
dickson@gondor.UUCP (03/22/85)
A friend of mine had a clever solution to morons with HighBeams.
He drives a 1955 Buick and wanted to load it up with LOTS of
car batteries to generate enough power for the AIRPLANE LANDING LIGHTS
(the kind that light a runway from 2 miles out at 2000 feet.)
that he wanted to mount behind the grill. If nothing else, it
would teach them a lesson. Shame he never was able to get the
parts...:-)
--
--Scott Dickson
User Consultant
uucp: {allegra, ihnp4, akgua}!psuvax1!gondor!dickson
Bitnet: {allegra, akgua,ihnp4}!psuvax1!BSD@PSUVM.BITNETchu@lasspvax.UUCP (Clare Chu) (03/22/85)
In article <> bandy@mit-eddie.UUCP (++Andrew Scott Beals) writes: >What's worse are the pinheads who won't turn their highbeams down >even AFTER you politely flash them and continue to nuke everyone >else's vision.. It's times like these that make me with I had >a nice little CO2 laser.. (that'd get 'em off the roads, now, >wouldn't it?) > > andy Not to defend those pinheads who actually leave their highbeams on, but when I had my Subaru with the halogen headlights, I would have them on low beam and still get people flashing me. It seems like the lowbeams were too strong! So my strategy was to make sure the opposing driver saw that I had turned off my highbeams by flashing them when they flashed me. Clare
jcjeff@ihlpg.UUCP (jeffreys) (03/23/85)
> but when I had my Subaru with the halogen headlights, I would have > them on low beam and still get people flashing me. It seems like > the lowbeams were too strong! > > Clare .......Or badly adjusted :-) -- [ You called all the way from America - Joan Armatrading ] [ You're never alone with a rubber duck - Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy ] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ || From the keys of Richard Jeffreys ( British Citizen Overseas ) || || employed by North American Philips Corporation || || @ AT&T Bell Laboratories, Naperville, Illinois || ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ || General disclaimer about anything and everything that I may have typed || ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
rafe@reed.UUCP (Rafe Needleman) (03/25/85)
[] Interesting thing happened to me when I was driving from San Francisco to Portland (OR) last Christmas... It was late, I'd been driving for hours, and my brights were one when I came up behind a truck. In order to inform me my brights were on, he flashed some side-mirror-mounted lights (that I swear were as bright as regular headlights) right at me. I shut off my brights immediately. I have never seen headlights pointing backwards on anything except firetrucks, police cars, and ambulances. Do all semi's have these nasty (but exceedingly useful) devices? Some? Or was this driver just looking for a way to get back at all the buffoons who blind people with brights? -Rafe (rafe@reed)
wls@astrovax.UUCP (William L. Sebok) (03/25/85)
> even AFTER you politely flash them and continue to nuke everyone > else's vision.. It's times like these that make me with I had > a nice little CO2 laser.. (that'd get 'em off the roads, now, > wouldn't it?) > andy A CO2 laser might burn them to death but wouldn't blind them. The 10 micron infrared light from a CO2 laser is invisible. -- Bill Sebok Princeton University, Astrophysics {allegra,akgua,burl,cbosgd,decvax,ihnp4,noao,princeton,vax135}!astrovax!wls
ethan@utastro.UUCP (Ethan Vishniac) (03/25/85)
> > even AFTER you politely flash them and continue to nuke everyone > > else's vision.. It's times like these that make me with I had > > a nice little CO2 laser.. (that'd get 'em off the roads, now, > > wouldn't it?) > > andy > > A CO2 laser might burn them to death but wouldn't blind them. The 10 micron > infrared light from a CO2 laser is invisible. > -- > Bill Sebok Princeton University, Astrophysics Bill, I think Andy was suggesting blinding them permanently. If a laser will burn it will blind. Wasn't the Pentagon thinking about this recently? Of course, they'd only use it on Russian tanks with their high beams on :-). "Don't argue with a fool. Ethan Vishniac Borrow his money." {charm,ut-sally,ut-ngp,noao}!utastro!ethan *Anyone who wants to claim these opinions is welcome to them.*
ix1037@sdcc6.UUCP (Christopher Latham) (03/26/85)
> A friend of mine had a clever solution to morons with HighBeams. > He drives a 1955 Buick and wanted to load it up with LOTS of > car batteries to generate enough power for the AIRPLANE LANDING LIGHTS > (the kind that light a runway from 2 miles out at 2000 feet.) > that he wanted to mount behind the grill. If nothing else, it > would teach them a lesson. Shame he never was able to get the > parts...:-) My father used to drive a car with a spot light that could be aimed. When he encountered someone who refused to switch off their highbeams he turned on the spot light and aimed it at the right edge of the road and then slowly started to move it over towards the on coming car. He never actually had to aim it at the car however, the driver always seemed to get the message pretty quickly. Christopher Latham U.C.San Diego Dept. of Applied Mechanics and Engineering Sciences ..sdcsvax!sdcc6!ix1037
faigin@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Daniel Faigin) (03/26/85)
In article <8345@watarts.UUCP> dharris@watarts.UUCP (Dave Harris) writes: >Let us not forget, either, the bozos who want you to know YOU MADE A MISTAKE. >Some cars have very bright main beams, and even brighter high beams. If >one of these is bearing down on you, and you politely flash your brights >to let them know you're there and going blind, they will turn on their >brights and *leave them on* just to prove that they weren't on in the first >place. For these you want a hood-mounted Uzi..... The hell with the Uzi. I'd rather have either a hood-mounted bazooka, or, better yet, a hood mounted light-anti-tank rocket launcher. Karen Davis, via the account of her financee... -- Daniel P. Faigin, System Development Corporation UUCP: {akgua allegra ihnp4 hplabs sdcsvax trwrb cbosgd}!sdcrdcf!faigin {netvax randvax ucla-cs uscvax cepu psivax} ARPA: sdcrdcf!faigin@UCLA-CS.ARPA W: SDC, 2500 Colorado MD 52-46; Santa Monica CA 90406; (213) 820-4111 x6493 H: 11743 Darlington Avenue #9; Los Angeles CA 90049; (213) 826-3357 In computing, turning the obvious into the useful is a living definition of the word "frustration" -- A. J. Perlis, SIGPLAN 17:9 Sept 1982
ems@amdahl.UUCP (ems) (03/27/85)
> > ... It was late, I'd been driving for hours, > and my brights were one when I came up behind a truck. In order to inform > me my brights were on, he flashed some side-mirror-mounted lights (that I > swear were as bright as regular headlights) right at me. I shut off my > brights immediately. > > ... Do all semi's have these nasty (but exceedingly > useful) devices? Some? I have seen these on flat bed semis for use in unloading cargo at night. I think they are intended only for that use, though they do seem to have others ... :-) -- E. Michael Smith ...!{hplabs,ihnp4,amd,nsc}!amdahl!ems Tilapia Aureus is the way and the light. This is the obligatory disclaimer of everything.
dmm@browngr.UUCP (David Margolis) (03/27/85)
I am a photographer and have been sorely tempted to set up a bank of strobes pointing backwards so the next jerk that sits in back of me intentionally blinding me will get a test of his own medicine that will make him think twice the next time. 800 watt-seconds would leave a lasting impression on him, and also his retina. By the way, I agree that NE drivers have to be the worst, and RI the worst of them. All you folks who are about to say, "Boston is ten times worse" have obviously never driven in Providence, except to maybe pass through. These drivers are downright hostile.
mike@enmasse.UUCP (Mike Schloss) (03/30/85)
> > even AFTER you politely flash them and continue to nuke everyone > > else's vision.. It's times like these that make me with I had > > a nice little CO2 laser.. (that'd get 'em off the roads, now, > > wouldn't it?) > > andy > > A CO2 laser might burn them to death but wouldn't blind them. The 10 micron > infrared light from a CO2 laser is invisible. So is the UV during a solar eclipse, but it can still blind you. Mike Schloss
daveb@reed.UUCP (David Billstrom) (04/09/85)
> > Interesting thing happened to me when I was driving from San Francisco to > Portland (OR) last Christmas... It was late, I'd been driving for hours, > and my brights were one when I came up behind a truck. In order to inform > me my brights were on, he flashed some side-mirror-mounted lights (that I > swear were as bright as regular headlights) right at me. I shut off my > brights immediately. > > I have never seen headlights pointing backwards on anything except firetrucks, > police cars, and ambulances. Do all semi's have these nasty (but exceedingly > useful) devices? Some? Or was this driver just looking for a way to > get back at all the buffoons who blind people with brights? > > -Rafe > (rafe@reed) > What you probably saw were the rear-facing loading lights, used to see the condition of the trailer behind the tractor cab, or put chains on, or whatever. These lights are flood lights, different from headlights in that they have a much shorter range, but wider throw (of beam). Ambulances have the same kind of light for loading patients and for lighting the accident scene. Firetrucks have even more, for illuminating buildings. Police cars generally have only a single spot light, flexible forward; and two flood lights, one to each side of the car. Truckers regularly flash their load lights to communicate exactly what that fellow did. Note: in most states such flood lights and spot lights, whether pointed to the side, to the rear, or on a swivel, are illegal to use while in motion. A technicality surely only used for abusers.
chu@lasspvax.UUCP (Clare Chu) (04/09/85)
Thanks everyone for pointing out that headlights must
be adjusted. Notice that I said "I HAD a Subaru Brat".
Clare