# God damned Texas drivers!! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 27, 2015, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-damned-texas-drivers/713789 "2015-02-27T18:42:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-damned-texas-drivers/713789/21 "2015-03-01T04:43:40Z")
I remember it rained so hard one day in Dallas that I couldn’t see anything in front of my while I was driving on 635. We all slowed down to 60 mph instead of our normal 70. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-damned-texas-drivers/713789/22 "2015-03-01T05:14:26Z")
60 MPH in the rain with poor visibility? You should know better than that. ---
**Author:** ![tripthicket](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripthicket/32/297_2.png) [@tripthicket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tripthicket)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-damned-texas-drivers/713789/23 "2015-03-01T05:27:56Z")
I’ve driven on 635 a few times. IME, as stupid as it sounds, going slower than the very crowded traffic all around you made conditions _more_ dangerous for you and all of the other drivers who apparently have to check their sanity at the entrance ramps. Worsened conditions due to weather seem to have little or no effect on the sanity levels. It’s the only place I’ve ever driven where I always felt like I was in the middle of a stampede. I avoided it like the plague when I could, and my adrenalin levels and blood pressure were through the roof when I couldn’t. ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-damned-texas-drivers/713789/24 "2015-03-01T11:03:19Z")
> [@dzeiger](#): > > I wouldn’t even know where to get tire chains in Dallas, much less want to have them in the car for the once every few years when they might actually be needed. > > A lot of the problem Friday was that it was a bit of a surprise– Not trying to be a smart-ass, but they’re 39 bucks at [Pep Boys](http://www.pepboys.com/product/details/8467597/00727/tires/snow_winter_chain). The box is the size of a large lunchbox and weighs about 5 pounds. Throw in an old blanket and a pair of coveralls and you’re ready. They’re much cheaper than a tow, and much _much_ cheaper than your deductible. I bought a fitted set for each of our 4 cars and I put them in the trunk(s) in November (and remove them in March). For me, they’re just a part of the standard winter kit for the cars. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-damned-texas-drivers/713789/25 "2015-03-01T18:53:41Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > 60 MPH in the rain with poor visibility? You should know better than that. I’ve seen this quite a number of times in torrential downpours like that. The passenger vehicles will typically slow down-but the truckers keep on blasting ahead. Once it got like that for a number of miles, so I dutifully got in the right lane and slowed down to like 45. Every single truck on the highway just blasted on past me like it was a dry sunny summer day in July. When it let up, I sped back up, and passed every single one of those trucks in turn. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-damned-texas-drivers/713789/26 "2015-03-01T21:04:53Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > I’ve seen this quite a number of times in torrential downpours like that. The passenger vehicles will typically slow down-but the truckers keep on blasting ahead. > > Once it got like that for a number of miles, so I dutifully got in the right lane and slowed down to like 45. Every single truck on the highway just blasted on past me like it was a dry sunny summer day in July. When it let up, I sped back up, and passed every single one of those trucks in turn. 😕 Those truckers must live in a fantasy world. Woe betide them when two or more of them collide and the owners of the trucks scream bloody murder when their insurance rates go out of sight. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-damned-texas-drivers/713789/27 "2015-03-01T22:14:13Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > Those truckers must live in a fantasy world. Woe betide them when two or more of them collide and the owners of the trucks scream bloody murder when their insurance rates go out of sight. They sit up higher so road spray is less of a problem. Different windshield shape and angle. Might have used regular 'Pledge™" on the windshield. Better than RainX™ IMO. Your Rain May Vary ( YRMV ) ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-damned-texas-drivers/713789/28 "2015-03-01T23:55:24Z")
Yeah, and so does the stopping distance–with the speed, the weight of the vehicle, and the texture of the roadway, not to mention the surface of the truck tires and the condition of the brakes. The real problem is that the truck driver up there in the cab is in the same vehicle that has the wheels down here; the laws of motion don’t make allowance for the driver’s blissful ignorance and he can be trussed up in a fracture ward, or pushing up daisies. ---
**Author:** ![DrumBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@DrumBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrumBum)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-damned-texas-drivers/713789/29 "2015-03-03T16:09:46Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > Yes there are, and we put on tire chains. But as near as I can tell, I was the only one who knew this. I was visiting Houston a few years ago when a pretty good - by Texas standards - winter storm hit and put a couple of inches of ice on the city streets. Despite warnings on the local TV stations to stay at home a fair number elected to get on the freeways to test their winter driving skills. I watched the noon news and saw cars sliding all over the freeways. That same day, I went for a walk and saw a fellow on an icy street who was putting chains on the tires of Honda. It looked to be his first time doing this, and it took him several tries before getting the chains put on. Unfortunately for him he did not realize that the chains for his car should have been put on the rear tires and he made very little progress. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-damned-texas-drivers/713789/30 "2015-03-03T16:18:58Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > Yes there are, and we put on tire chains. But as near as I can tell, I was the only one who knew this. Chains were not needed this past weekend in Dallas. Chains are a bit overkill for 3 inches of snow. People just need to slow down a bit and give each other more room in between cars. People were still driving bumper to bumper at 30 mph, as they do in dry conditions going 75 mph on a normal day. And when you brake real hard when you see the ice on the bridge, it doesn’t help, especially if there is less than a car length between you and the cars in front and behind you. ---
**Author:** ![GraceTX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c4cdca/32.png) [@GraceTX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GraceTX)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-damned-texas-drivers/713789/31 "2015-03-04T03:14:57Z")
Took me two hours and 20 minutes to get home on Friday. I work near DFW and live in Plano. On Saturday morning, I got up early to take my car into the shop for some non-weather related repairs and passed a few cars going 5 mph in the center lane with their hazard lights on. I admit that I’m a Texas girl and don’t know a whole lot about things, but if you’re driving 5 mph in the center line with your hazard lights on, just stay home. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-damned-texas-drivers/713789.md?page=1)