# Questions not worth making a special thread



## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

This thread is meant for questions, which you don't consider important enough to make a special thread about. At the moment I have nothing to ask though. 


*NOTE: this thread is not skybar, it's made exclusively for questions regarding roads!*


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## Bahnsteig4 (Sep 9, 2005)

Why does some 19 km stretch of motorway have a thread with 13 pages, while the entire Austrian network has a thread of no more than 9 pages, despite regular picture contributions?

And actually I believe this question DOES warrant a thread of its own.


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

^^ You're right about that, but you already have a thread, where you can put this question, and you know which one it is.


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## Bahnsteig4 (Sep 9, 2005)

I don't particularly wish for this particular thread to be pushed any further up.


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## x-type (Aug 19, 2005)

why don't we have proper mods?


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

x-type said:


> why don't we have proper mods?


I already send a PM to Jan about this many days ago. Maybe they are just not interested at all...


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

I also sent him a PM yesterday, but got no reply, although he's been online since then. Do you guys know what a moderator we have? Look at asohn. He hasn't been online for 7 months and the last time he made a post was 1 year ago! Perfect.


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## RawLee (Jul 9, 2007)

davidkunz/VIE said:


> Why does some 19 km stretch of motorway have a thread with 13 pages, while the entire Austrian network has a thread of no more than 9 pages, despite regular picture contributions?
> 
> And actually I believe this question DOES warrant a thread of its own.


So what? Hungarian motorways thread has more posts than the German autobahn thread,although we have a shorter network.


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## Bahnsteig4 (Sep 9, 2005)

But that's basically because there are more updates in the H thread than in D.
But how many pictures are there in the S***** thread? Five, six?

But I realize that you need some comedy in the highways forum as well.


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## czm3 (Dec 4, 2004)

davidkunz/VIE said:


> Why does some 19 km stretch of motorway have a thread with 13 pages, while the entire Austrian network has a thread of no more than 9 pages, despite regular picture contributions?
> 
> And actually I believe this question DOES warrant a thread of its own.



Because the sturma highway is the best highway that ever was, or will be, built.... :nuts::nuts::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:


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## Bahnsteig4 (Sep 9, 2005)

^^ Sorry, I forgot.


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## Ballota (Oct 24, 2005)

X-Type for moderator! :banana:


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## x-type (Aug 19, 2005)

ayayay you're a dead man when Radi sees this :lol:


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## CborG (Dec 2, 2003)

Chriszwolle said:


> I already send a PM to Jan about this many days ago. Maybe they are just not interested at all...





Verso said:


> I also sent him a PM yesterday, but got no reply, although he's been online since then. Do you guys know what a moderator we have? Look at asohn. He hasn't been online for 7 months and the last time he made a post was 1 year ago! Perfect.


Try the 'about the forums' section. A 'We need a moderator!!' topic will get more attention and reactions than a PM and has worked for other sections in the past.


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## Ballota (Oct 24, 2005)

*RADI FOR A MODERATOR!!!* :crazy:


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

Mate_Balota said:


> *RADI FOR A MODERATOR!!!* :crazy:


This would be making fun of this subforum, and you'd never see me here again.


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## x-type (Aug 19, 2005)

Verso, who would suck up the ban first, you or me?


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

^ Right, that's another reason. I was talking purely about my principles though.


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## SmarterChild (Jun 19, 2007)

How many hours per day do ppl spend here on average? 

Oh wait, that's to skybarish isnt it.. :runaway:


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

Not a question, but a post. As I doubt we'll ever get Moldovan thread, here are some pictures of this country squeezed between Ukraine and Romania. The first photos show the road between Tiraspol (capital of the self-proclaimed de facto independent Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic / Transnistria) and Chişinău (Moldovan capital).


DJP said:


> Wiem, ze Moldawia to juz troche daleko od Balkanow, ale uznalem, ze dla kilku fotek nie jest niezbedne zakladanie nowego watku.
> Nie mam fotek tamtejszych autostrad, bo takowe w tym kraju nie istnieja.
> W okolicy stolicy jest kilka kilkokilometrowych odcinkow 2x2, 1x4 i podobnych. Przez praktycznie caly kraj z polnocy na poludnie poprowadzono droge o przekroju 1x3. Srodkowy pas jest wspolny dla obu kierunkow, kto na niego wjedzie pierwszy ten ma co do zasady pierwszenstwo.
> U nas tego typu rozwiazanie byloby bardzo niebezpieczne, w Moldawii, poza okolicami Kiszyniowa ruch jest przerazajaco maly.
> ...


Cool, eh?


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## x-type (Aug 19, 2005)

czm3 said:


> probably a diplomat of some sort. I am currently in Zagreb, and saw a Toureg with New Jeresy plates!


I wouldn't say, i live in a small city with no diplomatic persons. btw, it's Passat model year 1997, i doubt that diplomats would own it


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

Malaysia? Tuvalu? In Europe? WTF


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## czm3 (Dec 4, 2004)

x-type said:


> I wouldn't say, i live in a small city with no diplomatic persons. btw, it's Passat model year 1997, i doubt that diplomats would own it


Maybe that person owns a second home in your town? IDK... It could be the car that the diplomat bought for his kid? It could be anything, but a guestarbeiter seems far fetched imo.


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## radi6404 (May 13, 2007)

edit


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## Alex Von Königsberg (Jan 28, 2007)

1. 2003 Ford Focus 2.3L (petrol)
2. Generally Samsung S500 (it can also take neat viedeos) and rarely Canon 350D
3. Since Saturday, my favourite road is Sea to Sky Highway in British Columbia (provincial route 99) kay: 
4. The majority of roads in Kaliningrad region are in a very bad shape. The worst motorway, however, was I-80 from Nevada border to Truckee, California
5. In Russia, my favourite place was Karelia Republic, and in the USA it is the Glacier National Park. 
6. My city is so small that it doesn't have anything interesting


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

Near embassies, you can see a lot of exotic plates. I saw already Iranian, Dubai, and US plates. However, i did see a truck with mongolian plates once at a trucking restaurant near Venlo (NL).


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## SmarterChild (Jun 19, 2007)

Anybody driven on Belarussian motorways? According to Google Maps they seem to have more motorways than Ukraine, Romania & Bulgaria .


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## SmarterChild (Jun 19, 2007)

pmaciej7 said:


> 1. What car do you drive.


Ford Fiesta - 94 Soon to be either Toyota Prius Hybrid or Renault Clio. 



> 2. What camera do you use.



Canon Ixus 500 (Samsung D 600)



> 3. Your favourite road.



Dutch N302.



> 4. The worst road you've ever driven.


Havent driven much but from where I've been; Messy Belgian A10 closely followed by congested Danish E47. hno: or any swedish provinicial road that runs through endless forrests. :sleepy: 



> 5. Places worth visiting in your country.



Plenty of choices for nature lovers... Archi fans should stick to Stockholm.



> 6. Places worth visiting in your city.



:lol: None.



> 7. Why Struma motorway is the best in the world?



B'cuz its' got slopes bitch!


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## x-type (Aug 19, 2005)

czm3 said:


> Maybe that person owns a second home in your town? IDK... It could be the car that the diplomat bought for his kid? It could be anything, but a guestarbeiter seems far fetched imo.


but if he was a diplomat, he would have CMD plates, and he has regular Liechensteiner plates. next time i see him, i'll ask him  i'm sure he'll come here for Christmas, as all gastarbeiters do. he comes each Christmas, Easter and for summer holidays.

at Verso: if you have expensive car, there is a way to make registration much cheaper if you have some exotic plates, Tuvalu is one of countries where you can do it. i don't know details, it was in newspapers, but i think that registration worths for few years, so you're paying only insurance, or s'thing like that. i've been calulating somewhen, you must have a car that worths more than 50 000 € if you would make some profit


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

SmarterChild said:


> Anybody driven on Belarussian motorways? According to Google Maps they seem to have more motorways than Ukraine, Romania & Bulgaria .


I have seen pics. It's not as motorway-like as Western European motorways, but more like an expressway. It has tollbarriers sometimes. However, Minsk has a quite extensive motorway-system, and that's not all Soviet-era motorway.


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## wyqtor (Jan 15, 2007)

You mean motorways are actually built under Lukashenka's regime? 

It would be interesting to have a thread dedicated to Belarus, but I doubt there are many pictures.


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## Qtya (Aug 31, 2006)

wyqtor said:


> You mean motorways are actually built under Lukashenka's regime?
> 
> It would be interesting to have a thread dedicated to Belarus, but I doubt there are many pictures.


I was thinking about this a lot... It would be awesome to see whats going on in Belarus, conserning the transportation system...


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## pmaciej7 (Oct 2, 2007)

I think, there are pictures on polish subforum, i'll try to find them and post a link.


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

Belarusian motorways are up to Western standards, just the pavement is what concerns me.



Chriszwolle said:


> Near embassies, you can see a lot of exotic plates. I saw already Iranian, Dubai, and US plates. However, i did see a truck with mongolian plates once at a trucking restaurant near Venlo (NL).


Mongolian? Unbelievable. But US plates are nothing special.


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## pmaciej7 (Oct 2, 2007)

Have you guys changed your tyres? I'm going to do it now.
Or maybe you don't need to change in your countries?


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

^ I have 2 weeks to go.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

You mean winterreifen (winter tyres)? Nah, it's not worth for my car, buying them costs like € 80 per tyre. And it doesn't snow or ice that often here.


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## Patrick (Sep 11, 2002)

I changed them last Saturday.


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## pmaciej7 (Oct 2, 2007)

Picture from supermarket in Szczecin 








Translation:
Verso luxury furniture shop, 1st floor :lol:


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

:lol::lol::lol: I don't think I can afford luxurious furniture though. :lol:


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

130 seems reasonable there. We have motorways in such settings with a 100km/h limit.


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## RawLee (Jul 9, 2007)

^^But its shiny and everything,it should be at least 230...:nuts::lol:


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## x-type (Aug 19, 2005)

RawLee said:


> This is unbelievable too:
> http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/3092/resizeofimg2377fn6.jpg
> speed limit is 130...hno::nuts:


khm, this is a prove that too shiny things can have negative effect. i would really like to hear Radi commenting this. is he finally about to say that Struma crash barriers are not the shinest thing in the world, or is he gonna admit that too shiny things can be bad? i think we have him in chess-mat position now!


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## RawLee (Jul 9, 2007)

^^There are 2 other similar pics in my possession. Do you want to see them?


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## x-type (Aug 19, 2005)

why is it so unusualy calm here today?


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## wyqtor (Jan 15, 2007)

Hm,...maybe because Radi will post some pictures of the Struma motorway and the anticipation is building up?  In the last days he said he would be going to Bulgaria very soon.


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## keber (Nov 8, 2006)

We're all anxiously waiting for new Struma pictures. :lol:


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## xzmattzx (Dec 24, 2004)

*Does your city/area/country use expressways for other things?*

Does your city, state, or country use their Interstates, expressways, motorways, and other major roads for things other than moving people? For instance, There are basketball courts underneath the elevated Interstate in Wilmington. In nearby Newport, a skate park was built underneath an expressway. Across the state line, in Philadelphia, an Interstate was covered over, and a park was built on top.

Does the land above or below your roads get used for anything else?


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

Yeah, under the A8 in Zaandam (just north of Amsterdam), an Albert Heijn supermarket has been build. The roof of the supermarket is the motorway.


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## keber (Nov 8, 2006)

In Ljubljana, Slovenia, tennis court was built on top of cut-and-cover of motorway junction and also future motorway, currently under construction. Also railway station is also over that junction.


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## Beware (Oct 30, 2007)

:angel: *" No, My hometown doesn't. Thank God! "*


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## RawLee (Jul 9, 2007)

Well,the motorways/expressways around Budapest are sometimes used as parking lots...but only in case of a traffic jam. We dont use them for anything else.


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## thun (Aug 8, 2007)

Some parts of the Swiss motorway network were designed to be used as emergency take off/landing runways for combat jets, but of course never used in a war situation.


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## radi6404 (May 13, 2007)

keber said:


> In Ljubljana, Slovenia, tennis court was built on top of cut-and-cover of motorway junction and also future motorway, currently under construction. Also railway station is also over that junction.


I was always wondering what that is when I was travelling through slovenia, especially because after this tunnel Lubljana suddenly ends, you are in the middle of town with trafficlights etc, go through this tunnel and on the other side it is like you´ve never been in a town, this always was strange to me. your townroads are extremly good mates, very very smooth asphalt there.


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## Ballota (Oct 24, 2005)

There is a parking lot and a caffe-bar on top of an underpass, in Split. 

Here is the view from the caffe:









Sat view:









:cheers:


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## FM 2258 (Jan 24, 2004)

RawLee said:


> Well,the motorways/expressways around Budapest are sometimes used as parking lots...but only in case of a traffic jam. We dont use them for anything else.



:lol: That got a good laugh out of me. :lol:



Austin has a parking lot under Interstate 35 between 6th and 7th streets. It used to be free but now they charge $5-7 for parking.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

Per hour? 

The most expensive parking lot in the Netherlands is in Amsterdam, about 8 bucks an hour.


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## Xusein (Sep 27, 2005)

^^ Hartford is worse. I know of a few parking lots that pay *$20/hr.*

Although we are a small city, we are on the top 10 most expensive cities in the US for parking.



Anyway, we have a park, named the Riverfront Recapture, above I-91 downtown.










There are also some parking lots below I-84's elevated section.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

20 dollars per hour is nuts, i don't even think most people earn that per hour, after FICA taxes are subtracted.


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## Xusein (Sep 27, 2005)

There are some that are actually that high, if believable. The central parking spots are insane, however if you get out of downtown, you could go as cheap as $4/hr.

A lot of the corporate parking lots are really expensive....high parking costs actually caused MetLife (a company here) to move their operations to the suburbs, where there was free parking.

Anyway, most people who actually park all the time downtown use passes for the whole month, that would cost like $200-$300. Until I started taking the bus downtown, I spent $230/mo on parking alone.


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## Alex Von Königsberg (Jan 28, 2007)

I don't care as well. As a tourist, I leave some of my money in this country and whenever I buy something, I pay all the sales taxes just like local population. Plus, in Europe (except Germany) it doesn't make sense to feel guilty because you pay motorway tolls just like everybody else. And it ain't cheap either hno:


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## ADCS (Oct 30, 2006)

If I could drive stick, maybe I'd have this concern. Since I can't, I just stick to taking the train and PT


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## DanielFigFoz (Mar 10, 2007)

Alex Von Königsberg said:


> I don't care as well. As a tourist, I leave some of my money in this country and whenever I buy something, I pay all the sales taxes just like local population. Plus, in Europe (except Germany) it doesn't make sense to feel guilty because you pay motorway tolls just like everybody else. And it ain't cheap either hno:


They are free in the UK and Ireland too.

I can't see whey you would feel quilty.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

Motorway tolls in Europe are generally 5 times as high as in the United States. Some turnpikes charge like 1,5 eurocents per kilometer.


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## havaska (Dec 26, 2005)

Not all motorways are free in the UK and Ireland, though tolls are not very common.


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## Mateusz (Feb 14, 2007)

M6 Toll near Birmingham is toll


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## Republica (Jun 30, 2005)

Theres that one toll yes, but it follows the route of the M6, so you have a choice! Some bridges have tolls.

But anyway back to the topic of the topic; strange topic!


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## RoadUser (Aug 10, 2007)

No.


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## PLH (Mar 9, 2007)

Weird topic I must say too, but as to the question, I do not really feel guilty, maybe only when the road passes through small villages or city centres.


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## go_leafs_go02 (Jan 16, 2007)

Heck no!


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## Palance (Mar 23, 2005)

In some countries it is easier to drive with a 'local' licenseplate rather then a 'foreign' licenseplate. Driving with a local (rented) normally means fewer stops by the police to pay some fine :nuts:


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## davsot (Dec 27, 2008)

*Where in the world? *

:nuts:

http://tti.tamu.edu/groups/cpd/resources/images/images_db/Freeway_Interchange.jpg


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## go_leafs_go02 (Jan 16, 2007)

Some American city in the early 1980s.


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## Natomasken (Apr 25, 2008)

This has to be in Texas. Frontage roads, paved-over embankments, horizontal signal heads, spindly-looking bridge supports, and the arrow in the bottom right corner of the exit sign are all typical Texas features. I think the vertical freeway route is also not an interstate route since there is no exit number tab on the exit sign.


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## x-type (Aug 19, 2005)

3822px × 2560px :drool:


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## Natomasken (Apr 25, 2008)

I think I have it. US 59 southbound at I-45 in Houston, Texas. The exit is for McGowen Ave. and Taum St. (couldn't have figured it out without that clue!)

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=...9.741128,-95.36562&spn=0.009353,0.025964&z=16


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## Timon91 (Feb 9, 2008)

It's big. It's Texas!


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## DJZG (Aug 2, 2007)

wow... big picture too


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## Timon91 (Feb 9, 2008)

This is a bit like "Guess the highway", so is it possible to merge the two threads? That would clear it a bit up


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## wdw35 (Dec 12, 2008)

*Priority question*

This one I've asked countless people, and there doesn't seem to be a definite answer, and there seem to be a lot of conflicting views.
On a unidirectional carriageway with more than two lanes, two drivers, situated on lanes n+2 and n attempt to change lane to lane n+1. Assume that if they do it simultaneously they hit each other. Who has to yield and why??


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## bubach_hlubach (Jan 16, 2005)

ChrisZwolle said:


> While they advertise with the best speed to reach a certain fuel economy, it's *in my opinion more important if you can reach a constant speed*. Going from 0 - 80 km/h all the time on main roads through villages is less fuel efficient than doing 120 km/h on a freeflowing freeway.


Your opinion is totaly valid, cannot agree more. kay:
I also try to mantain a steady speed as much as road conditions and traffic flow allow it, and gliding in neutral on the blissfully unbusy highways can also make my day  

:cheers:


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## bubach_hlubach (Jan 16, 2005)

Chrissib said:


> And what about a company car whre you don't have to pay the fuel? :cheers:


I ain't got nothing more to say about that  If I were your boss I'd put you on the blacklist, and make your company car wear a big rose sticker - "How's my driving? Call toll free num. 666 xxx 022"  As long as you manage not to attract any complaints you got the job, bud. 

:cheers:


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## keber (Nov 8, 2006)

ChrisZwolle said:


> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_economy_in_automobilesWhile they advertise with the best speed to reach a certain fuel economy, it's in my opinion more important if you can reach a constant speed. Going from 0 - 80 km/h all the time on main roads through villages is less fuel efficient than doing 120 km/h on a freeflowing freeway.


True. For now I had lowest fuel consumption, when I had to drive whole day on motorway with low traffic and had cruise control set to 130 km/h (although this is over 4k rpm for my car). Using cruise control on motorway helps lowering fuel consumption for around 10 % (at least in my case).


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

keber said:


> Using cruise control on motorway helps lowering fuel consumption for around 10 % (at least in my case).


Yes, I heard that. I also heard automatic transmission increases fuel consumption by 10%.


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## Total (Mar 12, 2009)

As i got it, old automatic transmission were inefficient because of their design, but modern should be ok, since after it switches gear it blocks the slipping... i dont know how is situation on current cars. are cheap cars with automatic transmission "modern" nowdays? 

As for safest/most economic speed for me is around 90-110 on motorway, but i guess it depends on the car. If your engine RPM drops too low it is not economic! So you have to find just the sweet spot. and as for safety, i guess, driving too slow on motorway is maybe even more dangerous than reasonable speeding.

Well i hope someone got something interesting from this, cuz i believe most of it is just basic stuff 

Wanted to ask... I guess everyone knows that you can save some gas on driving behind truck for example, and for long runs it is considerable amount. I was wandering, how do truck drivers think about that? is it bothering to have "freeloaders on your tail"? I mean if they are "cool" (phlegmatic?) enough to do something like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmvtFog2zLo Why bother if someone is behind you...

And what is minimum legal distance you can get to the another vehicle without breaking the law, as i got it, in some countries they monitor it on cameras very rigorously? 2 sec rule?

Thanks!


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## RawLee (Jul 9, 2007)

Do you drive? The legal distance is breaking distance,so depends on the vehicle. Going close enough to a truck to save that much fuel is basically suicide.


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## x-type (Aug 19, 2005)

120-130 is optimum for my punto. it is fast enough, safe enough, and over it consumption rises significantly. however, at open road doing 90 it consumpts much less. difference is not that low as Chris has shown in my case.


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## FM 2258 (Jan 24, 2004)

My personal speed limit is 90mph. In the United States I think all freeways should have a speed limit of 85 in the city and no speed limit out in the rural areas.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

85 mph in urban areas... that's never gonna work because

a) it reduces capacity = more traffic jams
b) it would create a lot more of turbulention around exit-rich areas
c) it would generate significantly more noise to the surrounding areas
d) it would increase accidents, because urban freeways are too busy to handle such speeds
e) freeways are not designed for such speeds, especially not in urban areas with 1930's - 1950's design standards.


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## Jeroen669 (Nov 29, 2006)

RawLee said:


> Most efficient IMO is any speed that is near the lower RPMs,in whichever gears.
> Be it 50 in 3rd or 130 in 5th,both require the same amount of work from the engine(not actual values,just to give you an ide what I try to say).


Driving in a too low rpm won't be efficient either though. Most cars can run 50-60 km/h in 5th gear, but I doubt if that would be the least consuming speed... (in km/l)


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## Exethalion (Dec 23, 2008)

FM 2258 said:


> My personal speed limit is 90mph. In the United States I think all freeways should have a speed limit of 85 in the city and no speed limit out in the rural areas.


Well thank God you aren't the States' Transport Secretary, or else we'd be looking at a ridiculously high accident rate, and dreadful traffic flow to boot.


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## Aerin (May 19, 2008)

*Engineering Software?*

I don't know if this has been asked already, but for those who are working in the field of transportation, what engineering design program do you use?


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## Mateusz (Feb 14, 2007)

I suppose you are looking for stuff like CAD


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## EricIsHim (Jun 16, 2003)

Aerin said:


> I don't know if this has been asked already, but for those who are working in the field of transportation, what engineering design program do you use?


Depends on which sub-field of transportation are you talking about, and which region in the world you are in...

Here are some examples:
Highway design - AutoCAD or Microstation etc.
Capacity analyses - Transyt, Trafficware Synchro, Highway Capacity Software, PASSER, Sydra etc.
Signal phasing and timing - Transyt, Trafficware Synchro, Highway Capacity Software, PASSER, Sydra etc.
Planning - TransCAD, PTV VISSUM etc.
Microsimulation - Trafficware SimTraffic, PTV VISSIM, Panramics, CORSIM etc.


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## J N Winkler (May 14, 2007)

It is never just one piece of software. A CAD program of some sort is essential for drawing up plans for road and bridge construction. But in order to produce plans for a complete project you will need the following as well (these can be either standalone programs or bolt-ons to the main CAD package):

* A civil engineering design package like _Geopak_ or _Inroads_ to assemble ground information (staking reports, etc.) and survey data into a digital model of the terrain through which the finished road will pass

* Specialized packages to perform flow computations for drainage structures like culverts, to develop design details for elements like direction signs, etc.

In the USA the vast majority of state DOTs have standardized on _MicroStation_ as their CAD package. Some DOTs use _Geopak_ for civil engineering design, while others use _Inroads_. The most popular signing CAD program in the US (available either as a _MicroStation_ MDL or as an _AutoCAD_ bolt-on) is _SignCAD_, although _GuidSIGN_ is also popular.

In the UK digital terrain models are developed in a separate program, called _MOSS_, and then imported into _AutoCAD_ for further design work. The sign design program that is considered most competent for professional work is _KeySign_, which is available as an _AutoCAD_ bolt-on. The main advantage of _KeySign_ is that it allows designs to be produced that do not conform strictly with the design guidelines and so will, e.g., completely fill a sign panel of standard dimensions without the need to use aircraft grey backing boards. There is a very popular competitor, _SignPlot_, which is a standalone program (it will print directly to PDF) and does not offer much flexibility in terms of dimensioning signs outside the guidelines.

Elsewhere in western Europe, Denmark seems to like _MicroStation_, while both _MicroStation_ and _AutoCAD_ are rivals in Spain, and _AutoCAD_ seems to rule in France. Each country has at least one preferred sign design package. In France two appear to be in wide use--one is called _Corine_ and produces landscape-format sign drawings, while the other (whose name I do not know) produces portrait-format drawings. In Spain there is just one package I am aware of, which has the capability (not always deployed in practice) to produce fully dimensioned landscape-format sign drawings with the producing company's name in the upper right-hand corner.

With the exception of Britain, these European countries show a marked preference for direction sign designs in full color. British designers tend to prefer keyline drawings for ease of B&W reproduction, although some designers may use filled letters for legend in Transport Heavy. US guide sign designs are almost always in B&W (monochrome Group IV TIFF is a very popular format for distributing plans electronically), though the precise format can vary from keylines to black background fills. The method of presenting sign designs I like best uses filled characters and borders to avoid bare keylines to the extent possible (aside from shield outlines).

Edit: The other French sign design package, which seems to have the larger market share, is called _Sherpa_.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

I use AutoCAD.


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## keber (Nov 8, 2006)

I use it too, and add-on software for AutoCad for designing roads and railways.


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## J N Winkler (May 14, 2007)

I have used both _AutoCAD_ and _MicroStation_, and personally I prefer the latter because it has a more intuitive interface for batch-plotting jobs. (I occasionally have to batch-plot when I get files in CAD format only.) I have never been able to get _AutoCAD_ to plot to PDF without leaving annoying artifacts, like thin strips of white in color fills and what look like serifs on unserifed text. These are easiest to see in _Acrobat_ when it is set to smooth line art.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

J N Winkler said:


> I have never been able to get _AutoCAD_ to plot to PDF without leaving annoying artifacts, like thin strips of white in color fills and what look like serifs on unserifed text. These are easiest to see in _Acrobat_ when it is set to smooth line art.


Yeah, I have that problem too, what's up with that?


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## J N Winkler (May 14, 2007)

I wish I knew. All I know is that I don't have this problem when I plot _AutoCAD_ drawings in _MicroStation_ (it can read them, believe it or not, although I am not sure it supports all of the recent releases of _AutoCAD_): it gives me smooth color fills all the time. It's not a reliable workaround, however, because sometimes _MicroStation_ misinterprets borders, and turns them into random bubbles of color fill.

My best guess is that there is some feature or aspect of _AutoCAD_'s plotting engine which leads it to use an excessive number of overlapping polygons for color fills. You don't see this problem with drawing text or simple keylines, but it is pretty hard to avoid with full-color sign drawings because those use color fills extensively.


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## Aerin (May 19, 2008)

keber said:


> Which ACAD version do you use? In our company we're upset for paying big amounts of money every year to get another even more bloated and slower version of autocad, which still has not resolved many ancient bugs.
> 
> I use 2008, which is probably the last version, which is still usable for longer infrastructure projects.


I can't properly comment on Autocad as the last time I worked with it was more than 10 yrs ago, but if Autocad seems so bad, why do companies stick with it?


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## keber (Nov 8, 2006)

There is too much auxiliary software bonded to Autocad. Also dwg format is practically de-facto standard for drawings, and is often demanded by customers and authorities (depends on the country though). You could ask the same: why companies stick with Windows and MS Office software if they have free alternatives?


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## msz2 (May 25, 2006)

I am bridge design engineer, and I use AutoCad 2009 (full version) plus additional Polish program BestCad which works in AutoCad enviroment and is specially written to help design bridges and viaducts. A lot of road design engineers in Poland use Microstation but some of them use also Civil 3D.


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## msz2 (May 25, 2006)

Cross section of the viaduct made by me in AutoCad:


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## msz2 (May 25, 2006)

del.


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## marki (Nov 23, 2007)

*Mathematical formula for perfect parallel parking*

Just use this formula to help you make a perfect parallel park.













Find the actual formula document here:
http://media.vauxhall.co.uk/content/Pages/news/gb/en/2009/VAUXHALL/12_11
_perfect_parking/_jcr_content/iconrow/wordfile/file.res/Final_parking_formula.doc


Scientists create formula for perfect parking
Telegraph, By Murray Wardrop, Published: 6:55AM GMT 11 Dec 2009
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/6784428/Scientists-create-formula-for-perfect-parking.html

For those who dread trying to squeeze their car into a tight space, help is at hand – scientists have created a mathematical formula to help motorists park perfectly.


UK Boffins have come up with the formula for working out how to fit your car into a tight parking space. Photo: SOLENT 
The equation is the result of a collaboration between Vauxhall Motors and maths professor Simon Blackburn. 

Prof Blackburn, from the University of London's Royal Holloway College, came up with the formula to make even the trickiest reverse parallel parking situations a breeze. 

However, to the average motorist, its array of square roots, brackets and symbols is likely to lead to more confusion than the driving task at hand. 
The formula was released after a Vauxhall survey showed 57 per cent lacked confidence in their parking ability and 32 per cent would rather drive further from their destination or to a more expensive car park, purely to avoid manoeuvring into a small space. 

The least confident parkers were those from Norwich, while the most confident were the Welsh. 

Professor Blackburn said: "Parking the car is something that most of us do on a daily basis – and we all get a little frustrated with it sometimes. 
"This was the perfect opportunity to show how we can apply mathematics to understanding something that we all share. 

"The formula and our advice can help people understand what good parallel parking involves. 
"If you understand the angles and the dimensions of your own car then you can work out how to park in a nice, confident way. 

"Everyone has had the experience of ignoring a space because you're not sure if you can fit in or not. This formula solves that problem." 
The formula begins by using the radius of a car's turning circle and the distance between the vehicle's front and back wheels. 

Then, using the length of the car's nose and the width of an adjacent car the formula can tell exactly how big a space needs to be for your car to fit. 

By applying this to basic parking guidelines, you can work out exactly when to turn the steering wheel to slide in perfectly. 
Spaces will be at a premium this year as 35 million shoppers flock to towns and cities to snap up last minute bargains. 

However, the survey found that 15 per cent of Britons claim parking their car to go shopping is the biggest challenge they face at Christmas. 
Simon Ewart, from Vauxhall Motors, said: "There's no escaping the fact that parking can be challenging for the best of drivers." 

=================also:

British scientist crafts mathematical formula for perfect parallel parking
BY Jacob E. Osterhout , DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER , Tuesday, December 15th 2009, 3:20 PM​http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyl...cal_formula_for_perfect_parallel_parking.html

You've got to be handy with numbers and measurements - and have some extra time on your hands - but this mathematical formula is the key to the perfect parking job​ 
It's the skill that every New Yorker with a car knows.
A scientist in London has created a formula for parallel parking, according to the Daily Telegraph.​ 
To the average driver, the equation, which involves four variables and a multitude of square root signs and brackets, won't make much sense, but to professor Simon Blackburn at the University of London's Royal Holloway College, it's the solution to even the trickiest reverse parking job.
Professor Blackburn devised the formula after a survey by Vauxhall Motors determined that 57 percent of of British drivers lacked confidence in their parking skills.​

The equation starts off using the radius of a car's turning circle and the distance between the vehicle's front and back wheels. It then takes into account the length of the car's nose and the width of an adjacent car.​ 
Plug in the appropriate numbers and the equation will determine exactly when to turn the steering wheel to slide into the parking space perfectly.
Next up for New York drivers: a formula to determine the exact right moment to flick tailgaters the bird.​


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## andrelot (Aug 6, 2008)

That's really cool... They should instal infrared sensors to measure availabe parking space and sound a beep to advise you if space is not enough to try parking.


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## H123Laci (Dec 6, 2007)

math is for suckers... try the DRIFT parking method... :lol: :cheers:


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## x-type (Aug 19, 2005)

andrelot said:


> That's really cool... They should instal infrared sensors to measure availabe parking space and sound a beep to advise you if space is not enough to try parking.


actually, they allready have done more of it. i know for Lexus LS


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## marki (Nov 23, 2007)

:rofl:

thatd be too fast and furious for me!



H123Laci said:


> math is for suckers... try the DRIFT parking method... :lol: :cheers:


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## Morsue (Mar 28, 2008)

The formula has one flaw, it doesn't take into account the margin of error required for women drivers :lol:


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## cardinals1 (Jan 24, 2009)

x-type said:


> actually, they allready have done more of it. i know for Lexus LS


Parking assistant in the new F10 is currently the best out there.


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## Scion (Apr 26, 2008)

H123Laci said:


> try the DRIFT parking method


Even a bus can do a pretty damn good 180 drift park


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## x-type (Aug 19, 2005)

cardinals1 said:


> Parking assistant in the new F10 is currently the best out there.


it's still brand new, i don't know much about it. so bmw has made it too? it parks by itself like LS?


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## shpirtkosova (Jun 7, 2009)

Question lies, if you can get technology paralell park for you, why the hell the state has to test you on paralell park! lol :lol:


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## Dr.Mabuse (Jun 6, 2009)

*Asking out of curiosity: How is the behaviour of "drving right" on the highway/motorway/autobahn???*

Hi!

Just aksing because i am curious. Do people follow the rule of driving on the right side as often as possible and only dive left/middle lane to overtake??

Here in Germany in my opnion it ranges from 2 to 6 from a scala from 1 worst to 6 best.

But most time it is 3 to 4. in my opnion.

I dont understand why people drove in the middelane altought the right lange is free for kilometers!!!!

that cracks me up!!

Drive on the right when it's possible. Why is that so hard to understand????

It's illegale to overtake sombeday on the right and dangerous (altough i have honest to admit, i have done this some times) but only because the middlane and left lane was blocked with low speed driving cars!!! hno:



The next thing is i would like to know is, i have learned in german driving school that you turn on the turn lights when you reach the 300 meters barrierr, when you leave the Autobahn. I hardly see this. Mostly people turn on the signals when they reached the 100 metert barrier or it's common to see they tunr on the signals one short time when they drive to the exit!!!

Is this the same in your country?

Both the middel/right lane thing and the turn on the signals when you reached the 300 meters barriert????????????????????

thank you for replies

p.s. sorry for my english


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## x-type (Aug 19, 2005)

in Croatia we had a plenty of left line hoggers. but since you can read often at forums and internet about it, it has drasticly fallen down. so now is actually situation really ok about that. of course, you can allways find drivers who think they are gods on motorway so they drive in left lane (and cars twhich they drive are Mercedes, Audi, BMW, or some expensive other like Touareg or some other large luxury SUV). number of them has also decreased since we have Cobras.


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## Spikespiegel (Jul 13, 2009)

Most motorways here are four-laned. Because of the high amount of traffic, everyone abides by the "hold right" rule. Near Copenhagen, we have quite a few 6/8/10-laned motorways, and here you may experience people not wanting to hold right. Everyone hates lane-hoggers, so if someone is staying in the middle lane, even though lane 1 is empty, people will usually signal the lane-hogger to pull in. After a few of these signals, the lane-hogger will usually get embarrassed and pull in.


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## LtBk (Jul 27, 2004)

> It's illegale to overtake sombeday on the right and dangerous (altough i have honest to admit, i have done this some times) but only because the middlane and left lane was blocked with low speed driving cars!!!


Could it be the heavy traffic that makes it difficult for cars on the left lane to move over?


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## Dr.Mabuse (Jun 6, 2009)

LtBk said:


> Could it be the heavy traffic that makes it difficult for cars on the left lane to move over?


yes, but thats not the point. the point is, why is the left lane is filled with cars, altough the middle lane is free (in an extrem case) thank god, it happend not often.

normally the cars pull on the right when you come closer with you car. its a thing wihich is understand. i do the same. 

and as far as possible i ride on the right lane.

flashing light is strictly forbidden.


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## Suburbanist (Dec 25, 2009)

ChrisZwolle said:


> Yep. More and more trucks have automatic gearboxes as well.





x-type said:


> actually, i'm not sure if you could buy a truck without it in last 10-15 years  (of course, i'm talking about trucks for pulling 13,6 m trailers or 7+8 tandems)


Cool, my grandfather was a trucker (now retired, 90 years old), but he never told me about such features in his trucks.

In regard of automatic gearboxes: don't they increase consumption in trucks like they are argued to do in cars?


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

> In regard of automatic gearboxes: don't they increase consumption in trucks like they are argued to do in cars?


I believe that's mostly an issue of the past in automatic gearboxes.


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## mappero (Aug 25, 2008)

New automatic gearboxes in trucks and coaches are full eco and fuel friendly. They have special in-between gear to reduce forces between shifts and make acceleration smoothly and more efficient. 
Also cruise control is really common in these time. BTW, I really like using this


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## piotr71 (Sep 8, 2009)

x-type said:


> actually, i'm not sure if you could buy a truck without it in last 10-15 years  (of course, i'm talking about trucks for pulling 13,6 m trailers or 7+8 tandems)


Let me add something. Not only tractor units have cruise control. Even smaller rigid body lorries are mostly equipped wit this device. I drove several different trucks( from 7.5t >)and all built after 2002 let you have a pleasure to use cruise control.


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## x-type (Aug 19, 2005)

talking about the trucks, have you guys tried to drive them? i drove Volvo FH12 460, Scania R420 and DAF XF95.430. i couldn't get Scania's gearbox :lol: on the other hand, Volvo was really pleasure to drive


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## Jschmuck (May 27, 2008)

FYI;

Trucks have cruise control. However, speed is dictated by the company we drive for. In other words, a lot of our trucks are governed.

Trucks are available in both manual and automatic. There are even many transmissions that are semi-automatic which provide features of locking into a gear...and other features that I can't remember because these semi-automatic transmissions are confusing.


mine is 10 speed manual Freightliner Century. I have heard a lot of problems about Volvos' here in America, but this is now off topic.


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## kato2k8 (May 4, 2008)

Dr.Mabuse said:


> flashing light is strictly forbidden.


Nah, it's not (in Germany). §5 (5) StVO allows flashing lights to announce an overtake attempt. It's driving close up to the one you want to move and then flashing lights that's forbidden - and even then most courts will only do you in if you keep doing it for a couple hundred meters.


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## Suburbanist (Dec 25, 2009)

Previously I've talked about trucks that travel in blocks on the right lane. Now, I've other issue that is very common in Italy.

Some people get very powerful sport cars or alike, and then take them to the freeways. Without discussing the issue or overspeeding, speed limits etc., I usually yield to whoever is trying to overtake me on the leftmost lane - just a matter of highway courtesy.

However, sometimes freeways are busy, but running fast (>100 km/h). By busy I mean that they have fully occupied lanes and small extra space to wander between lanes without necessity etc. In this situations, where one can easily see a long queue of cars travelling at the same speed, it is pretty much useless try to overtake.

Yet, some stupid top-car drivers feel somehow entitled to get a free pass. They tailgate on you, they flash at you, they even honk at you, regardless of the fact that in front of you there are not empty space they can speed on, but another car for them to repeat such harassment.

I find this to be one of the most disgusting manifestations of road rage. Such drivers will keep putting pressure so people "yield" at them crowding the right lane for them to "make a way" through a steady flow of cars running at 80-100 km/h. It's not the couple second the maneuver cost me that bothers me, but their arrogant attitude like "hey, I've spend € 200.000 to buy this car, so get out of my way".


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## CptSchmidt (Jan 7, 2010)

People around here generally stick to the right when it comes to highway travel; it's on collector and main roads that people tend to drive wherever they want. 

On an urban 2x2 section of road that's 60-70kmph (where most can get away with 80) people tend to camp the left lane by going the speed limit, or even ten below. When people do this, it can take several kilometres just to get past them. When two cars are going 60kmph side-by-side where people want to do 70-80, it can get _very_ annoying. 

I've noticed one thing that Nova Scotians are notorious: they will drive in the lane they'll need to be in 20km away. They'll turn onto the collector and move into the left lane because they'll be turning left at an intersection 20km away. It's like they're afraid of changing lanes, so they avoid it altogether and don't care how slow they're going in what's supposed to be a passing lane. 

It also works the other way round; people will hang out in the right lane and would prefer to sit in backed up traffic for a kilometre or two just so they can avoid merging from the left to access a right access ramp. Perfect example of this: 

This if from one of my older videos, with my first car . Jump to 6:10 and watch until the end to see what I'm talking about. All that backed up traffic is heading for the access ramp I merge onto. Most of those cars I passed will have to sit through two or three changes of that light... I don't understand people sometimes, I really don't.


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## Jeroen669 (Nov 29, 2006)

x-type said:


> talking about the trucks, have you guys tried to drive them? i drove Volvo FH12 460, Scania R420 and DAF XF95.430. i couldn't get Scania's gearbox :lol: on the other hand, Volvo was really pleasure to drive


Most trucks with more than 8 gears have 2 extra devices for splitting gears. Mostly a low/high gearing and a extra splitter. That means that you can get 16 gears forward (and 4 backwards) where you normally would have only 4 gears. I drove a MAN some time ago which was set like this, I loved this transmission.  Scania with 12-gears is quite tricky indeed, since the location of the gears is quite weird (1st/4th gear right up, instead of center up). 

I defenately prefer manual over automatic gearbox by the way. It makes driving so much more fun.


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