[News] Post a D&D Picture

Previous incarnations of Cleveland/P&C/D&D have had an image thread, to handle political cartoons and other image-based stuff that doesn't belong in the general post-a-picture threads.

If any of them spawn an extended discussion, please spawn it off into its own thread. Replies to non-picture replies should take the form of a link pointing to a post on a different discussion thread.

And I shouldn't have to say it, but the images still need to abide by the rules.

strangederby wrote:

How can it be reckless not to break the speed limit?

Huh?

Oh I see what you’re asking.

Funny story. I was driving on a highway in Texas once, going the speed limit in the right lane. Cars were going FAR above the posted speed limit. On that terrifying drive there were cars that would sit right behind my bumper, honking at me to try and get me to drive faster.

Now I despise cars, so that may color some of my opinions. But I think it’s genuinely psychotic behavior to put other motorists in danger, because of one’s belief that EVERYONE on the road should break the speed limit. Legitimately crazy stuff, especially given how much carnage cars lead to directly and how they’re choking off the planet.

I don’t get how any behavior like that is considered “normal”. I suppose if everyone is doing 170mph on a highway you have to do it too?

I 100% agree with you that that's psychotic behavior. As much as it's a pet peeve of mine to see people in the left lane not passing, I will never get angry at someone driving the speed limit in the right hand lane. Don't get me started on assh*les who fly up behind me when I'm passing someone, but not at the pace that they want ME to pass. Like you said, no one should be forced to speed just because everyone else is!

DSGamer wrote:

I came back after the fact and decided that 10 seconds of googling was effort I could afford to spend, since that’s all it takes.

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strangederby wrote:

How can it be reckless not to break the speed limit?

Picture yourself on a three lane wide limited access highway with 90+% of free flowing traffic going 55-65 mph, a speed that you would consider quite reasonable given the gentle curves and little elevation changes present. Now imagine that there is a toll plaza a few *miles* ahead, but some psychopath decided that it would be a good idea to set the speed limit to 15mph here because you are approaching the toll plaza. It is extremely reckless to do 15mph in that situation, and even three times the speed limit (45mph) is pretty unsafe when it creates closing speeds of 10-20mph.

To be clear, this is not purely hypothetical; I drove on this road many times. Absent a traffic jam, the vast majority of cars drove at more than triple the posted speed limit, and I don't think I ever witnessed anyone going the speed limit.

As I said before, absolute speeds can change the severity of collisions, particularly if it is severe enough to cause loss of control and impact into stationary objects/rollover/etc., but closing speed has much more impact on the likelihood of having a collision in the first place, and can be a big factor both directly in the severity and in the likelihood that the impact will be severe enough to cause loss of control. Generally the safest drivers travel at more or less the prevailing speed. If the speed limit is outside that speed (above or below), then traveling at the speed limit becomes dangerous. How dangerous varies with how far the speed limit is outside the prevailing speed. My example above is quite extreme, but it illustrates the point.

The topic that started this discussion; lane discipline (staying right except to pass) can mitigate the problem of closing speed, but it doesn't make it go away.

The solution is to set up bumpers in the road and when a driver is detected going more than, say, 5-10 miles over the limit the bumpers activate and gently catapult them off the road and into a ditch or spike-covered retaining wall, so that the actual responsible drivers can go about their day and won’t get blamed for not being irresponsible jackasses like the people creating unsafe road conditions with their egregious speeding.

ruhk wrote:

The solution is to set up bumpers in the road and when a driver is detected going more than, say, 5-10 miles over the limit the bumpers activate and gently catapult them off the road and into a ditch or spike-covered retaining wall, so that the actual responsible drivers can go about their day and won’t get blamed for not being irresponsible jackasses like the people creating unsafe road conditions with their egregious speeding.

We could just use speed governors, but your idea works too.

ElectricPi wrote:

The topic that started this discussion; lane discipline (staying right except to pass) can mitigate the problem of closing speed, but it doesn't make it go away.

So if the prevailing speed is 100mph as it was that one day I drove in Texas then I have to do 100mph or risk death?

I wonder why I don’t like the automobile…

Y'all want me to go poke my traffic engineer wife for info, or would that be considered threadcrapping?

My understanding of the situation: safe speeds are determined by the design and construction of the roadway, not the signs on the side of the road. The same is largely true of driver behavior. If you build a road for 65 then a 45 sign isn't really going to slow people down. And driving at 45 on said road will put you at odds with the flow of traffic, which is unsafe.

DSGamer wrote:

We could just use speed governors, but your idea works too.

Not enough spikes.

Unless maybe actuators cause spikes to erupt from the driver’s seat if someone tries to keep accelerating while at the speed cap set by the governor? I’m open to ideas. That involve spikes.

Vargen wrote:

Y'all want me to go poke my traffic engineer wife for info, or would that be considered threadcrapping?

My understanding of the situation: safe speeds are determined by the design and construction of the roadway, not the signs on the side of the road. The same is largely true of driver behavior. If you build a road for 65 then a 45 sign isn't really going to slow people down. And driving at 45 on said road will put you at odds with the flow of traffic, which is unsafe.

Too many roads being designed for speed is definitely part of the problem in North America. We favor speed over anything else. Considerations for noise pollution, emissions, road casualties, pedestrian safety and the overall health of a community all take a back seat to maximal fastest throughput.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/rEMnGrZ.jpeg)

Depressing photo of the day -

100k Iranian Women marched in protest against the new Hijab Law (1979)

IMAGE(https://i.redd.it/si61dc7qdcw91.jpg)

Depressing because this feels like the US when women are protesting abortion bans, etc. in the US now. Where will we be in 40 years?

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/Fzzyt9k.jpeg)

I am just on a bleak binge - sorry

America summed up in two tweets

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/uY3qJoM.jpeg)

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/qQUV0nx.jpeg)

ElectricPi wrote:
strangederby wrote:

How can it be reckless not to break the speed limit?

Picture yourself on a three lane wide limited access highway with 90+% of free flowing traffic going 55-65 mph, a speed that you would consider quite reasonable given the gentle curves and little elevation changes present. Now imagine that there is a toll plaza a few *miles* ahead, but some psychopath decided that it would be a good idea to set the speed limit to 15mph here because you are approaching the toll plaza. It is extremely reckless to do 15mph in that situation, and even three times the speed limit (45mph) is pretty unsafe when it creates closing speeds of 10-20mph.

To be clear, this is not purely hypothetical; I drove on this road many times. Absent a traffic jam, the vast majority of cars drove at more than triple the posted speed limit, and I don't think I ever witnessed anyone going the speed limit.

As I said before, absolute speeds can change the severity of collisions, particularly if it is severe enough to cause loss of control and impact into stationary objects/rollover/etc., but closing speed has much more impact on the likelihood of having a collision in the first place, and can be a big factor both directly in the severity and in the likelihood that the impact will be severe enough to cause loss of control. Generally the safest drivers travel at more or less the prevailing speed. If the speed limit is outside that speed (above or below), then traveling at the speed limit becomes dangerous. How dangerous varies with how far the speed limit is outside the prevailing speed. My example above is quite extreme, but it illustrates the point.

The topic that started this discussion; lane discipline (staying right except to pass) can mitigate the problem of closing speed, but it doesn't make it go away.

Ok. So in this scenario I slow down to 15mph to match the speed limit. How is that reckless?

According to the Iowa DOT driver's manual

While driving too fast is a major cause of crashes,
driving too slow may also cause a crash. Try to drive
with the general traffic flow on any road.

If the speed limit is 45 but the flow of traffic is going 65 then the folks coming up behind that 45er have to slam on their breaks and/or swerve in another lane - both of which increase risk for everyone.

Right but in that scenario its the people who are breaking the speed limit who are being reckless by driving too fast and hitting the car in front of them.

If you see an impending collision and let it happen because you have the legal right-of-way, you are still legally at fault.

strangederby wrote:

Ok. So in this scenario I slow down to 15mph to match the speed limit. How is that reckless?

Picture the same situation with a 60 mph speed limit; you are cruising along at 55, and the other traffic is also going 55-65. The truck in front of you changes lanes, and suddenly you realize that there is a car going 15mph in your lane. You are closing on that car at 40mph. Alternatively, you see the slowpoke far ahead, and move over a lane or two, but there is traffic, and not everyone does. This leads to people swerving, slamming on their brakes, cutting each other off, and someone swerves into your lane 30 feet in front of you while standing on their brakes. Did many road users that acted imperfectly to some extent? Absolutely, but the person going 15 in a 60 zone was being absurdly reckless.

In the real life scenario, the posted speed limit of 15 doesn't make up for much; driving 40-50mph slower than general traffic will predictably lead to crashes in the immediate future, and is irresponsible and reckless.

There is a reason that bicycles are not allowed on interstates. If they were, even operating them otherwise within the traffic laws would be reckless and endanger all the road users.

I can agree that people going way below the speed limit are being reckless. My point is that if someone is not going faster than the speed limit they are not being reckless.

Using a whole post to say THANK YOU JC

Fine, pictures instead

I can relate to this one

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Oh, Reagan's list of crimes is much longer than that...
Closed all the mental hospitals (homeless)
Coined the welfare queen fallacy
Ramped up the military industrial complex
Initiated trickle down economics
Greed is good

And lest we forget, he was a crook (Iran Contra) and remained in office despite suffering from Alzheimer's

Also RIP The Fairness Doctrine.

Anyone unfamiliar with the history of Reagan should listen to the 2-part Dollop about him. I'm not kidding when I describe him as Trump's opening act.

I love The Dollop, but that's a couple of episodes I have a hard time revisiting. Like the Wells Fargo episode, or the Resnicks.

NSMike wrote:

Anyone unfamiliar with the history of Reagan should listen to the 2-part Dollop about him. I'm not kidding when I describe him as Trump's opening act.

Never heard of them but on your recommendation I have downloaded and will listen this weekend.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/srFeD1b.png)

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/eiABtan.jpeg)

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That is what happens when our 'news' media is beholden to corporations through advertising fees. They don't want to upset the bill payers by calling it price gouging. The sad thing is when everyone else buys into and you'll even see places like NPR using the inflation term.

His second day in charge and the guy is openly spreading known right-wing conspiracies.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/hhsRwG1.png)