Excuse me, you royal dipshits. It’s Sunday afternoon at 2pm - not too much traffic. The speed limit on this highway is 65. Not the 85-90 you are going, and therefore expect everyone else to. Apparently, my more modest speed of 75 is too slow for you, and prompts honks, rude gestures and glares, and just about everyone and his/her brother to pass me.
What is the big problem? I’m maintaining a good speed, not in the passing lane, and being a courteous driver. I’m already going 10 miles above the posted speed limit, so why do I still feel like a slow old jerk?
The first thing I did after reading your post was check and see if you’re from New Jersey.
Yep.
How long have you lived here?
Obviously not long enough to learn that on highways, 65 really does mean 85.
Sorry, I just realized that sounds smart-ass. That wasn’t intentional - I just had to look at the calendar to see what day it was. Did this happen on Sunday? If it did, I’ve driven on the Turnpike on a Sunday afternoon - there is no ‘Sunday drive’ for these Jersey-ites. And yes, 85 is the speed you’re expected to go.
I hate driving in New Jersey. Aside from the speed limit issues, they have those weird ass left turns where you have to circle around to the right and then go straight across the road instead of just turning left. What the fuck? Can they not just turn left?
We have school zones that the speed limit is 30 km/h in, or about 19 mph. This is for a good reason - so we don’t squash little kids who are wandering about in the school zones.
I always obey this one, and you’d be amazed at how many people actually honk at you for going even 40 in the zones.
Whoops, I should have said “Thursday” (It is Thursday, isn’t it?). It feels like a Sunday for various reasons though. I’ve lived here all of my 17 years - not long, admittedly, especially for a driver, but I was taught not to do above 75 on the highway by my parents who do the same. They’ve never run into trouble with it. Add onto that the fact that I’ve only been driving for a bit over a year, only 3 months of which have been alone, and I don’t quite feel comfortable going that fast. It makes it a little more frustrating to deal with the highway rudeness.
We live in a fairly rural area of southern Jersey where traffic is a scarce problem, and it is daunting to see this on the highways (my friend, who does 90 and stays in the passing lane for the entirety of his drive, did nothing to help me feel better). Speaker, do the people speed in the school zones when school is in session (read: when children are out and about) or when it’s unlikely for kids to be there? Ours are 25 mph, but if it’s a Sunday afternoon or some such time, I’ll go faster as there aren’t any children to endanger.
Drive at the speed you feel comfortable with. And practice your middle finger. Make it fun - do it with a flourish. Paint it colors. At least you’ll be amused.
And yeah, it’s Thursday - that’s why I had to do a doubletake at the ‘Sunday’:).
Ah. The Joys of the New Jersey Turnpike. Having spent many hours on the southern parts of the Turnpike en route to my old dropzone, I have come to realize that the main problem is that you have to deal with so many damn Pennsylvania drivers. But, hey, look on the bright side! At least you’re at least two states away from Ohio.
