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Jerk of the day contender from Friday Aug 1.

Heading west on 120 in a 50mph zone. My cars gets pretty good steady speed mileage at 45/50mph, so I usually like this section, however there are several areas where people may get stopped turning left which holds up traffic plus some areas where people wait along time to get into the traffic flow, so they often push in where they shouldn't. But this isn't about one of them.

No this is about another guy heading west. As we entere an area that is having occationaly contruction (no change in speed limit, and usually no one working there during rush hours), there is a sign letting you know of a bump in the road. The bump is actually a change in road height between old and new surface and happens at each end of the construction area. As I'm aproaching I find myself braking heavily which isn't surprising since there is a left turn that is commonly taken. I figured either somoene turned without a signal, didn't turn when others though he would, or the 2nd car was tailgating. I go over the first bump at about 10mph which is very rough compared to the usual 50mph speed. Start to accelerate up and suddenly find myself braking again where I have never had to before unless there was backed up traffic, which I should be able to see. Then I see him. About 7 car lengths up, a small car driven by someone I'll never see, came to a near stop to go over the 2nd bump. Even with the space in traffic to buffer, I had to slow from 40 back down to 5mph before going over the bump. Again it was horribly rough compared to taking it at speed & letting the car gluide over the area. Accelerated back up to 50mph just in time to have to brake again for a light that turned red, which I would have easily made if not for the the bump delays (and which the problem car did make).

So his/her annoying little habbit caused over a dozen cars to bunch up unexpectedly, twice. Caused us to have to accelerate 3 time uncessarily (2 bumps + 1 light), and caused a much rougher experience going over the bumps than necessary.

Hey little buddy...this finger's for you.

Hey that driver would fit in just fine around here. Folks driving sturdy looking pickups,huge SUVs etc will insist on slowing waaaay waaaay down to go over the railroad tracks that have a slight bump to thm.Yeah, lets slow waaaaay waaay down and crawl across the tracks instead of getting to heck thru that danger zone.
Heck, you are driving a 4X4 pickup with 10" of sidewall, what is the big idea about a little bump!!??

Drives me crazy; I want to get across tracks quickly, not spend 5 seconds crawling over a 1" bump!
Charlie

Hey that driver would fit in just fine around here. Folks driving sturdy looking pickups,huge SUVs etc will insist on slowing waaaay waaaay down to go over the railroad tracks that have a slight bump to thm.Yeah, lets slow waaaaay waaay down and crawl across the tracks instead of getting to heck thru that danger zone.
Heck, you are driving a 4X4 pickup with 10" of sidewall, what is the big idea about a little bump!!??

Drives me crazy; I want to get across tracks quickly, not spend 5 seconds crawling over a 1" bump!
Charlie

Sad. I bet those trucks will live out their days without ever seeing any off road action. :p

That is very annoying. I have had that happen to me at the bottom of a hill. Doesnt help at all.

Hey that driver would fit in just fine around here. Folks driving sturdy looking pickups,huge SUVs etc will insist on slowing waaaay waaaay down to go over the railroad tracks that have a slight bump to thm.

Actually the SUVs & trucks go over fast. This was a little car that slowed down for what was, in my opinion, no reason. Someone who constantly changes speed with their brakes doesn't really belong here, although I wish they would join so they could understand why & modify their behavior. Heck, if this guy was just crawling along at 30mph, I'd have been find with it, but quick stops/starts make this guy/gal a pest.

This is situation normal around here, given all the railroad crossings. If you're paying attention you can just shy right and hit the relatively even pavement at your cruising speed without much impact at all. If you're not (usually the case), you wait until the last second to brake down to 5mph and crawl over the tracks. There's also the group that likes ancient cars with ridiculously oversized wheels (18"+) with rubber-band tires that can't handle even a pea-sized imperfection given the cut and/or torched springs.

I definitely feel your frustration on people stopping stupidly or suddenly. Doggonit, don't screw up my glide!

People brake for RR tracks? I used to, but now I don't even bother. Taking them at 30-40mph feels a LOT smoother than taking them at 5 mph. I'd like to see a study on the effect on your tires/alignment of taking bumps & RR tracks faster.

I have two RR crossings each way on my commute, and I don't even notice them anymore. They're situated such that I'm usually NICE-On coasting to my next stop beyond the tracks anyway, so I just aim for the area of the tracks with the smallest gap to the pavement.

Hi All,

Real pickup trucks are sprung for their loaded weight, which is dramatically larger than the unloaded weight. This is different than cars and SUV's. So going over a railroad track can be a real teeth chattering experience, unless the Pickup is loaded more than half way.

It's those kind of drivers that make me allow an extra big cusion to open up in front of me. Also, when I am heading towards a long downhill, I make it a point to let the traffic get way ahead of me so that I don't have to ride my brakes all the way down that grade just because the driver in front of me is riding his brakes.
The real jerks are the people who go around you and then cut in front of you only to step on their brakes to make a right turn a quarter mile farther down the road. That's when it pays to always make sure you 9 o'clock is clear so you can change lanes instead of nailing your brakes.

It's those kind of drivers that make me allow an extra big cusion to open up in front of me. Also, when I am heading towards a long downhill, I make it a point to let the traffic get way ahead of me so that I don't have to ride my brakes all the way down that grade just because the driver in front of me is riding his brakes.
The real jerks are the people who go around you and then cut in front of you only to step on their brakes to make a right turn a quarter mile farther down the road. That's when it pays to always make sure you 9 o'clock is clear so you can change lanes instead of nailing your brakes.
Amen to that! Same problem here, same solution. Also gives the tires a rare taste of the left lane.

donee- true about how they are sprung but more true for 3/4 and 1 ton not the far more common 1/2 ton pickups,SUVs . Still hitting a bump at speed will compress the suspension and the bump will actually be softer in many cases for the 1/2 tons. 3/4 and 1 tons generally give a very harsh ride when less than 1/2 loaded no matter what the speed.

These slow down folks are doing it because" they don't want to hurt their suspension" .They - many folks -actually tell me this. The morons work their brakes like they own an autoshop , but they act like their 1/2 ton is delicate crystal.

The worst drivers are those that HIT THEIR BRAKES FOR NO REASON EVERY 4-5 SECONDS. What are you checking to make sure they still work?? Drives me crazy to be following a brake light idiot at 60 mph on the interstate. Why are you hitting you brakes?? Just take you right foot off the GAS!!!!

Brakers drive me crazy!!
Charlie

There is an old trick for dealing with railroad tracks and bumps in the road, especially if you see them too late to slow to a reasonable speed to roll over them. Shortly before you reach the bump, you briefly press on the brakes to compress the front suspension. Then you let off the brakes (and can also gas it a bit) which will lift the front end and unload the front tires. If you time it right this happens just as you get to the bump.

I used to have a car with an aluminum sump and not much ground clearance, so I had to do this all the time. Best not to do it in traffic though!! And obviously it's not particularly FE.

I slow way down for big bumps when I'm bringing somebody home from the hospital:o. I don't do it suddenly though. Sorry if it inconveniences people, but I'm not planning to change. I agree with the recommendation of increasing buffers on rough roads.

I slow way down for big bumps when I'm bringing somebody home from the hospital:o. I don't do it suddenly though. Sorry if it inconveniences people, but I'm not planning to change. I agree with the recommendation of increasing buffers on rough roads.

No need to appologize. I doubt anyone here would mind someone doing it with good reason. I suspect you also don't wait to the last minute to brake & hit them hard. It is the sudden, violent braking that kills me...I guess braking hard at the last minute & then punching in on the other side lets you both be "gentle" on the suspension and still maximize time, but people just get silly about it. Besides there is always another red light ahead thats going to pack the pack together again.


UPDATE: I should mention that the road has been fixed and the bump sign removed, however I'm still having people brake as they don't realize the road has been fixed and there is still some constuction cones and a color change between the old and new road. Guess it will be another week before everyone knows.