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Post by timholycross on Jun 2, 2023 6:50:28 GMT -5
Florida auto insurance rates are very high compared to Mass.
Given that the roads are better there; wider, straighter, flatter; no wintry weather; how do you explain that? Higher rates indicate more claims, that's a fact.
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Post by Tom on Jun 2, 2023 6:59:10 GMT -5
he #49 and #50 best (read: worst) drivers every year alternated between Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Rotaries will do that for you Rotaries are making a comeback. I know a few places in central MA that have fairly recently replaced conventional stop sign/traffic light intersections with rotaries
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Post by newfieguy74 on Jun 2, 2023 7:01:35 GMT -5
he #49 and #50 best (read: worst) drivers every year alternated between Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Rotaries will do that for you Rotaries are making a comeback. I know a few places in central MA that have fairly recently replaced conventional stop sign/traffic light intersections with rotaries I'm off to Ireland tomorrow for two weeks and will be driving. I keep telling myself--when you get to the roundabout go left.
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Post by lou on Jun 2, 2023 7:05:57 GMT -5
I'll repeat . . . . the insurance industry, where I worked for many decades, many investigating and managing investigations of accidents, rates the drivers in each state every year. While I haven't checked it recently, the #49 and #50 best (read: worst) drivers every year alternated between Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Rotaries will do that for you along with drivers assuming stop signs only count if you see another car coming; yield signs mean nothing; turn signals are for suckers. Jughandles in NJ are to keep the traffic departments in business. Driver license requirements are pretty much a joke nowadays in most states. But in Europe, roundabouts are everywhere. Why can't we (Americans) drive in them correctly? We just returned from London. Speed limits are posted over the highways as lighted numbers which can change with signs saying "best speed for cleaner air"...and, amazingly, drivers appear to stick to the speed limit
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Post by hcpride on Jun 2, 2023 7:27:59 GMT -5
Rotaries are making a comeback. I know a few places in central MA that have fairly recently replaced conventional stop sign/traffic light intersections with rotaries I'm off to Ireland tomorrow for two weeks and will be driving. I keep telling myself--when you get to the roundabout go left. Many years ago I was in South Africa. Driving a stick shift. And hit a roundabout. My brain hit overload. (Keep in mind I was shifting with the other hand on a right hand drive car...was driving on the left side of the road approaching the roundabout...and now was entering and bearing left circling the other way...looking over both shoulders...and, of course, the locals were whipping through the roundabout at top speed.) On the other hand, roundabouts are making a comeback in my area (replacing lights). Numerous accidents as some dim bulbs in the circle feel obligated to stop and allow cars to enter in front of them. And get rear-ended by drives who don't expect this move. Of course, there are also accidents as cars entering the circle don't realize they don't have right-of-way. It's been five years and some local folks still don't get it. Overall, they do tend to make driving more convenient in my area (if one ignores the broken tail light glass and plastic).
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Post by rgs318 on Jun 2, 2023 7:29:12 GMT -5
Florida auto insurance rates are very high compared to Mass. Given that the roads are better there; wider, straighter, flatter; no wintry weather; how do you explain that? Higher rates indicate more claims, that's a fact. A fact indeed...as are floods, hurricanes, tropical storms and senior drivers.
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Post by Xmassader on Jun 2, 2023 7:50:55 GMT -5
Rotaries are making a comeback. I know a few places in central MA that have fairly recently replaced conventional stop sign/traffic light intersections with rotaries I'm off to Ireland tomorrow for two weeks and will be driving. I keep telling myself--when you get to the roundabout go left. newfieguy74 Enjoy your trip. Went to Ireland in 2017 and drove throughout the country. In addition to the “left side” driving and clockwise rotaries, the roads in many places are quite narrow. The driving shouldn’t prove to be much of a problem outside of Dublin.
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Post by Tom on Jun 2, 2023 8:53:25 GMT -5
I'm off to Ireland tomorrow for two weeks and will be driving. I keep telling myself--when you get to the roundabout go left. On the other hand, roundabouts are making a comeback in my area (replacing lights). Numerous accidents as some dim bulbs in the circle feel obligated to stop and allow cars to enter in front of them. And get rear-ended by drives who don't expect this move. That was me just Monday. I knew the car entering was not going to stop (or at least was going way to fast for someone planning to stop in 15 feet), so I stopped in the rotary to avoid the collision. Happy to say I did not get rear ended
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Post by Tom on Jun 2, 2023 8:54:19 GMT -5
Rotaries are making a comeback. I know a few places in central MA that have fairly recently replaced conventional stop sign/traffic light intersections with rotaries I'm off to Ireland tomorrow for two weeks I'm jealous. Have a great time
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Post by sader1970 on Jun 2, 2023 9:48:38 GMT -5
“That was me just Monday. I knew the car entering was not going to stop (or at least was going way to fast for someone planning to stop in 15 feet), so I stopped in the rotary to avoid the collision. Happy to say I did not get rear ended”
Good for you, Tom! The combination of rotaries (round abouts as you prefer) with the inability to predict whether another driver will actually yield to a yield sign makes driving dicey and I’ve had to take similar actions too.
Oh, icing on the cake in my neighborhood. I usually go for an early morning walk and, like clockwork, a female neighbor that I don’t know personally but know she is a corrections officer (her uniform gives it away) heads off to work and without fail drives at least 40 mph down the street and I see her running 3 stop signs. We aren’t talking rolling stops because I have been behind her car and no brake lights go on and pretty sure she doesn’t take her foot off the accelerator. Presumably she thinks she’s a cop. The only halfway good news is she does this before the kids go to the bus stops but one day some landscaper or other tradesman will be coming out of a side street and it’ll be Hospital or morgue.
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Post by Non Alum Dave on Jun 2, 2023 10:47:05 GMT -5
One thing that has always driven me nuts: political supporters or demonstrators using a rotary/traffic circle/roundabout as a place to congregate and do their best to get people's attention while drivers should be concentrating on, you know, driving.
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Post by hcpride on Jun 2, 2023 10:59:22 GMT -5
On the other hand, roundabouts are making a comeback in my area (replacing lights). Numerous accidents as some dim bulbs in the circle feel obligated to stop and allow cars to enter in front of them. And get rear-ended by drives who don't expect this move. That was me just Monday. I knew the car entering was not going to stop (or at least was going way to fast for someone planning to stop in 15 feet), so I stopped in the rotary to avoid the collision. Happy to say I did not get rear ended Happy for the driver behind you too! (And perhaps you hit the horn to educate the non-yielder ) On the other hand, I find roundabouts early in the morning (with almost no traffic on the road) to be a more efficient way to move along than traffic lights.
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Post by Tom on Jun 2, 2023 15:12:51 GMT -5
That was me just Monday. I knew the car entering was not going to stop (or at least was going way to fast for someone planning to stop in 15 feet), so I stopped in the rotary to avoid the collision. Happy to say I did not get rear ended Happy for the driver behind you too! (And perhaps you hit the horn to educate the non-yielder ) On the other hand, I find roundabouts early in the morning (with almost no traffic on the road) to be a more efficient way to move along than traffic lights. I don't think there was a guy behind me, but he'd be really happy because the accident would have been his fault even if the 3rd party failed to yield Despite learning to drive in MA, I don't usually use the horn to inform someone they're being an idiot
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Post by nycrusader2010 on Jun 3, 2023 8:49:31 GMT -5
My first rotary driving experiences in metro Worcester were definitely much scarier than anything I dealt with in NYC as a young driver.
Of course, NYC further simplifies traffic lights by banning right turns on red city wide except for a handful of intersections where its specifically posted.
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Post by nycrusader2010 on Jun 3, 2023 8:52:38 GMT -5
Happy for the driver behind you too! (And perhaps you hit the horn to educate the non-yielder ) On the other hand, I find roundabouts early in the morning (with almost no traffic on the road) to be a more efficient way to move along than traffic lights. I don't think there was a guy behind me, but he'd be really happy because the accident would have been his fault even if the 3rd party failed to yield Despite learning to drive in MA, I don't usually use the horn to inform someone they're being an idiot That's an interesting one. In all situations, that accident would be at least partially there fault, because you have to maintain safe following distance at all times. But with a dashcam, you could make a case to assign some of the fault to the illegally merging car, in which case both would be liable for a portion of damages. Of course, with no evidence of a third car, the guy who rear-ended would be on hook for 100%.
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Post by longsuffering on Jun 12, 2023 21:52:30 GMT -5
Would be a great reality show to just videotape those pro se negations at the prosecutor’s table in random courthouses around the country. Anyone accused of a crime that has the possibility of jail time is provided an attorney if they can't afford one, and these moving violations are often handled by police prosecutors. The worst ones are pro se people fighting speeding tickets, sometimes bringing charts, graphs, and articles from who knows where to show that radar is unreliable. It usually doesn't work. I heard one young man say he was speeding because his pregnant wife, who was in the car, had an urge need to use a rest room. Case dismissed. I got a speeding ticket by a State Trooper on the Mass Pike in Milbury in the summer of 2001. My court date was 09-12-01 at the Worcester Courthouse. The judge gave extra time for the Trooper to arrive but he never did and he found me not responsible. I get out to my car and turn on the radio news and it says all available State Troopers were called in to comb the parking garages at Logan Airport for clues about the 9-11 hijackers who took off from Logan the day before.
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Post by nycrusader2010 on Jun 15, 2023 6:06:08 GMT -5
Did some of the hijackers enter the system in Boston or did they all start in Portland early that morning?
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Post by bfoley82 on Jun 15, 2023 12:34:58 GMT -5
Did some of the hijackers enter the system in Boston or did they all start in Portland early that morning? I remember at least some started in Portland that day....
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Post by mm67 on Jun 15, 2023 16:03:45 GMT -5
Horse hockey. What was the source? The Massachusetts tourism board? Edit: I believe this may be where our disagreement comes into play. "Best/worst drivers" in my definition is accidents, while your source is probably on fatality rate and, here's a site to justify your comment: www.safewise.com/blog/safest-states-drivers/Again, from memory (always suspect), best/worst drivers in the insurance industry studies included accident rates, knowledge of driving/traffic laws and rules and other more expansive data. You're talking fatality safety. Two slightly different things. Fatalities have a lot to do with speed (open roads and higher speeds will normally generate more fatalities - physics?). My experience driving on the Garden State Parkway with a 65 mph speed limit and driving 75 mph, I was forced to the right lane as everyone else was going much faster. Troopers didn't glance at you at those speeds. RI & MA not so much. Rarely drove out west but would be willing to put money that those Jersey drivers would be slow pokes on open roads out west. Take the LIE, the "world's longest parking lot." Western part of the suburb, heavy traffic, bumper-to-bumper, stop & go. Can't get to the speed limit oftentimes. Out east, more open road and higher speeds. When I have time, don't now, will see if I can find my source material. Was that you on the Garden State only hitting 75? In a '47 Packard? I remember it well. Too slow! For crying out loud, get the heck out of my way. HA!!!
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