HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: kenny@osf.org (Kenneth Crudup)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
Subject: Re: Park anywhere - was Tailgaters abound!
Date: 14 Sep 92 22:11:04 GMT
Organization: Open Software Foundation

In article <BuL11F.Bwy@news.cso.uiuc.edu> tmkk@uiuc.edu (Khan) writes:
>Perhaps the people who park this way believe that by turning on their
>hazard lights any policeman or meter maid will assume that the car is
>broken down and will not give them a ticket for their illegal parking
>job. Although I'm not a cop nor am I a meter maid, I strongly suspect
>that the enforcers are wise to this by now and the flashing lights only
>draw their attention more quickly.

DUH???

The rest of the real world reads hazards as "I'm just in here for a minute,
getting a paper, donuts, cleaning, etc. Give me a minute before you give me
a ticket".

My cleaners is almost in Harvard Square (long story; I HATE H.S. and avoid
it at all costs) at Mass Ave, and Ellery St. I usually park on the "wrong"
side (it's a one-way, w/no parking on that side) of the street, right in
front of the cleaners in an area with *intense* parking enforcement. With
my hazards going, I've only gotten one ticket in 2 years, and that was from
some newbie <ethnic slur deleted> who had been on about 2 days (he said).
Although I'm only in there less than 5 mins, I see meter maids crawling all
over the place. They *will* come back in "a few" here, too.

	-Kenny
-- 
Kenneth R. Crudup, Contractor, OSF DCE QA
OSF, 11 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142	+1 617 621 7306
kenny@osf.osf.org			OSF has nothing to do with this post.
Not one of the "PC" weenies.
From: dos@major.panix.com (Dave O'Shea)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
Subject: Re: Does a cop need to show you the RADAR reading?
Date: Sun, 06 Sep 92 22:15:10 EDT
Organization: Hurts rent-a-dungeon, Inc.

wong@tds213.uucp (Freeman Wong) writes:

> 
> I have a friend who got a speeding ticket the other day (58km in 40km
> zone).  The cop never showed him anything to support the charge, in
> fact, the conversation were minimal:
> 
> 
> Cop:     Can I see your license, btw, you were going a little bit too
>          fast.
> Friend:  "Hand over license"
> Cop:     "Walk back to patrol car, come back with said ticket"
> Friend:  "Took ticket, said will defend it in court and drove away"
> 
> 
> I am wondering if the cop is required to do a little bit more such as
> showing my friend the RADAR reading.  Any comment on the legality of
> the cops procedure?

Uh, if we knew what country, state, or even continent your friend got
the ticket in, might offer some help. In the US, the general answer seems
to be "no". The court will assume that the cop is telling the truth,
unless you have fairly good evidence to the contrary.

Dave

Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
From: jimb@access.digex.com (Jim Brooking)
Subject: Re: Tailgaters abound!
Organization: National Commitee to Keep Slower Traffic Right
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 17:30:32 GMT

In article <jimf.715959058@centerline.com> jimf@centerline.com (Jim Frost) writes:
>jimb@access.digex.com (*ME*) writes:
>
>>In the States, I'd assume each driver pays for the damage his car causes.
>
>That's a bit hard to determine in a multicar pileup.  Consider the
>extreme case where you come to a complete stop before the pileup in
>front of you, then you get hit hard from behind and it pushes your car
>into the pileup.
>
>Clearly you were not at fault even though your car "caused" damage to
>the car in front of you.

I s'pose.  We need more laws!  8^)  Actually, just such a thing happened
to me a long time ago.  I was sodomized by some grease-ball uninsured person 
and his impact pushed me into the car in front.  My Buick left a small 
(about 1") dent in THAT car's bumper.  I didn't have to pay for damages.

There might be a lesson here regarding leaving some space when you stop
behind someone.  I suppose if I'd been closer to the guy, there would have
been more damage.  Now I leave even MORE space if I'm nervous (1 car length?)
and scan for escapes.  ('Specially when on motorsickle. 8^)


-- 
jimb@access.digex.com  | (Cage) 1991 323se     ZCP-710   |     Comus Road
Merry Land (MD) U.S.A. | (Bike) 1986 GSXR750    (sold)   |     ClarksBURG
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
But of course, I have three eyes.  I have clairvoyant paranoia.  -King Missile
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
From: us267384@mmm.serc.3m.com (Steven M. Anastasi)
Subject: Re: Objects falling from vehicles
Organization: 3M - St. Paul, MN  55144-1000 US
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 92 20:17:03 GMT

From article <18o4v9INN3ke@gilligan.East.Sun.COM>, by mike@gilligan.East.Sun.COM (Mike Roncadori):
> In article <nauman.716147327@hq> nauman@Pt.hq.af.mil (Stratton D Nauman) writes:
>>A few years ago, A dump truck traveling at about 45 MPH "dropped"
>>a 5 foot diameter boulder out of its back end, which made mincemeat
>>out of our tank Chevy Suburban traveling at 35 MPH in the opposite
>>direction.
>>
>>I am Writing to tell about it, so thats good. :)
>>
> 
> Man, I'd have had to clean out my drawers after that!
> 
> The worst thing I've ever seen fly off a truck was a
> 2-foot section of a 2x4, while the truck it flew off
> of and I were doing about 70 on I-20, east of Columbia,
> S.C..
> 
> I'm damned glad there was nobody around me, because I
> had a heck of a time dodging that thing as it fluttered
> about in the air, and seemed to "follow" my every move.
> 
> It finally landed about 4 feet to the right of my car,
> and I had to stop for a few seconds... Scared the s**t
> out of me. All I could think of was being bludgeoned
> by a flying 2x4 coming thru my windshield.
>

I was following my dad down the interstate in the rain.  
He was pulling a trailer
(flatbed) with a garden tractor on it.  Behind the rear wheels where
wedges of oak trees (that we were cutting down).  One of the wedges
shook loose and fell off the trailer.  When it hit the road, it started
spinning wildly and quickly started rolling.  Since it wasn't round,
it would jump up and then land roll a bit, jump up high, land roll a
bit.  Of course, it was amusing watching this for only a moment until I
soon realized that I was its target.  There was a car on my left so
my only choice was the ditch yet I couldn't predict its path.  The wedge
took a couple small jumps then lept into the air and descended directly
toward my windshield.  I only had time to put my arm over my face and
close my eyes.  THUD THUD ....... the windshield isn't even cracked.
I pulled over (to inspect the car and clean my shorts).  The wedge hit
the very front of the hood (denting it) and deflected hitting the 
windshield wiper (that was now bent out and immobile halfway up
the windshield).  I could not believe it.  The hood deflected it
into the windshield wiper in motion absorbing enough energy to
save the windshild and potentially my life.  Amazing, but true.

-- 
Steve Anastasi	
smanastasi@mmm.com
St. Paul, Minnesota
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
From: jern@visual1.jhuapl.edu (Bob Jernigan)
Subject: Re: Tailgaters abound!
Reply-To: jern@visual1.jhuapl.edu (Bob Jernigan)
Organization: Johns Hopkins University
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 92 21:10:59 GMT


|> In article <jimf.715982037@centerline.com> jimf@centerline.com (Jim Frost)
|> writes:
|> 
|> >Unfortunately where I do most of my driving it's impossible to leave
|> >more than a few feet of clearance between you and the guy in front of
|> >you when you're stopped at an intersection.  If you do you get
|> >unceremoniously cut off.
|> 
Worse yet is to have someone jump into that space as you are stopping.  Happened to me this morning, suddenly my comfortable stop was changed to a panic stop as that space was usurped by an idiot.  Had I not able to stop, would I have been at fault?  Any experience here?
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
From: kenny@osf.org (Kenneth Crudup)
Subject: Re: Tailgaters abound!
Organization: Open Software Foundation
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 19:13:56 GMT


I wrote:
>"Reasonable and sensible" == "plodding and slow". Nothing else. The asleep-
>at-the-wheel contingent takes to the road.

In article <CURT.92Sep11141553@vtucs.cc.vt.edu>
curt@vtucs.cc.vt.edu (Curt Tilmes) writes:
>When a three lane road turns into a two lane road, do you zoom around
>all the "plodding and slow" drivers and beg someone to let you back in
>the line before your lane gives out?

HA! This guy's never been to Massachusetts! It's right in the handbook:

"If you have to beg to get in, you've screwed up somewhere."

Seriously, though, no. My first reaction is to get away from all these
"reasonable and sensible" drivers and make my way in. Haven't had a
problem yet, because I PLAN what I'm going to do, looking for holes in
traffic, unlike all these "reasonable and sensible" drivers.

Someone tell me why:

 - when in the city, and there's a car double parked, why it takes some
   people to drive almost into it's trunk, even though its hazards
   are blaring away, before they wake up, realize "hey, I guess this
   car ain't moving", and then traffic gets held up while they try,
   tentatively, of course, to get into the other lane, even though
   most of the other drivers have already gotten out of the way?
   (Usually most- "r & s"'ers tend to travel in packs)

 - you "r & s"'ers drop to a CRAWL at intersections, regardless of
   conditions?

 - some drivers, as was stated before, take *forever* to start up at lights,
   and leave plenty of room between cars, therefore limiting the number of
   cars that can get thru already congested lights?

 - so many people *refuse* to go around cars making left turns?

 - so many people will *wait* on pedestrians *nowhere near* crossing the
   street?

See, some of us have somewhere to go, and don't want to spend more time in the
car than necessary anyway, especially plodding thru traffic (I don't mind the
open road).

Look around you- I may be cutting you off! Hell, if you're that slow, you
probably don't care anyway.

-- 
Kenneth R. Crudup, Contractor, OSF DCE QA
OSF, 11 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142	+1 617 621 7306
kenny@osf.osf.org			OSF has nothing to do with this post.
Not one of the "PC" weenies.
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
From: mperlman@nyx.cs.du.edu (Marshal "Airborne" Perlman)
Subject: "I smell bacon"
Organization: University of Denver, Dept. of Math & Comp. Sci.
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 92 22:43:15 GMT

When I'm out driving, and I see a "helper" flashing his break lights
like a crazy fool...I can assume that he just passed a cop (prob. on his right
sitting on the sidewalk or something)...do the headlights come into play
ever? 90% of the time flashing headlights are another way of yelling
"Hey you bastard"....

Any info would be nice...
--
Marshal Perlman - Huntington Beach - California - USA - Earth - Milky Way 
                 Private Pilot - Airplane Single-Engine Land
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
From: tsang@cs.washington.edu (Donald Tsang)
Subject: Re: Tailgaters abound!
Organization: Computer Science & Engineering, U. of Washington, Seattle
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 92 18:43:32 GMT

In article <> russotto@eng.umd.edu (Matthew T. Russotto) writes:
>In article <> curt@vtucs.cc.vt.edu (Curt Tilmes) writes:
>>>"Reasonable and sensible" == "plodding and slow". Nothing else. The asleep-
>>>at-the-wheel contingent takes to the road.
>>
>>When a three lane road turns into a two lane road, do you zoom around
>>all the "plodding and slow" drivers and beg someone to let you back in
>>the line before your lane gives out?
>
>Sometimes.  And the damndest thing is, it usually works.  I'd prefer
>not to do it, but I find it hard to sit in one of the through lanes
>and watch all those people pass me while the idiots up front let in 5
>or 6 of them at a time.  If I don't do it, I try to let only one car
>that does do it in.

It seems to me that every person who has to beg to get in (or cut
someone off) is slowing down the overall flow of traffic.

I cannot think of any reason why a perfectly normal flow of traffic
from three lanes to two cannot occur with at most a 1/3 reduction
in overall traffic speed (also, this reduction in speed should have
an equivalent increase in density, thus yielding the same throughput).
However, it is quite clear that one person having to slow way down or
stop will adversely affect the rest of traffic behind him for a long
period of time (ever drive into a really slow section, then come out
into normal traffic with no apparent reason for the slow part?).

I suppose it's the old "Prisoner's Dilemma"... if everyone cooperates,
great, everyone's happy, but if just one idiot mucks up the works, the
rest of the selfish people are "better off" giving themselves 30 extra
seconds in return for slowing down over a hundred cars behind them...
perhaps for more than 30 seconds apiece...

-- 
Donald Tsang                    "Ho!  Haha!  Guard!  Turn!  Parry!  Dodge!
tsang@june.cs.washington.edu     Spin!  Ha!  Thrust!"
..!uw-beaver!june!tsang                       -- Robin Hood Daffy
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
From: jimf@centerline.com (Jim Frost)
Subject: Re: LIDAR baffle?
Organization: CenterLine Software, Inc.
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1992 19:54:07 GMT

shaig@Think.COM (Shai Guday) writes:
>Following the recent discussion on Lidar and plates (or tags)
>I noticed a vehicle on I-95 shoot by me at 85+ this weekend.
>I managed to pick out a radar detector clipped to his visor
>and as he drew away I noticed that his plate was covered by a
>semitransparent light blue sheet of material.  Could this be some
>form of Lidar discourager?  I could not figure it out.

Sure could.  Anything blue-tinted would tend to absorb light in the
red wavelengths and (therefore) would be a poor red-reflector.  I
don't have any information on how common tints react in wavelengths
outside of the common range, but it seems likely that many common
visual tints will effect the IR frequency by the guns since car color
has a definite impact on LIDAR guns.

Too bad you didn't get his plate number, I'd like to talk to him.

Unfortunately if the police figure that one out they'll probably
outlaw any kind of tinted cover over the license plate (I believe some
areas already do this even for untinted covers) so it'd be better to
find a transparent spray-on material.

jim frost
jimf@centerline.com
From: gwcook@wineglass.Corp.Sun.COM (Gary Cook - ICON Edu Mgr)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
Subject: Ontario Cops (was: Cobra radar detectors)
Followup-To: Re: Cobra radar detectors
Date: 8 Sep 1992 16:52:08 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Distribution: world
Reply-To: gwcook@wineglass.Corp.Sun.COM
NNTP-Posting-Host: wineglass.corp.sun.com
Keywords: detectors radar

In article 2947@cs.mun.ca, avp@garfield.cs.mun.ca (Anthony Paul) writes:
teek@kingcong.UWaterloo.ca (Prateek Dwivedi) writes:
>
>Stuff Deleted...
>
>
>On another note, I'm from NF, and he was the nicest cop I ever
>had the misfortune to meet.
>
>)
>Anthony V. PauL             AV     VPPPP 
>137 Rennies Mill Rd.       A V    V   P 
>St. John's, Nf            A  V   V   P 
>CanadA                   AAAAV  VPPPP
>A1B 2P2                 A    V V 
                       A     VV   

>avp@garfield.UUCP      || It wasn't me.           || Electrical  '9 
>avp@garfield.cs.mun.ca || Boston Celtics in 92-93 || Engineering  4     
>||   The best defense is a good offense. --- How do you Drive?   ||


They are very friendly..

I got busted with my Passport near Ontario in July.  

The technique they use is to cruise with their detector on, radar off.
When they get a hit on the detector-detector, the come up behind and
blast you with radar.  The car with the instant brake lights is the
winner.

FYI..  $100 fine.  He told me to put it in the trunk until I got out
of Canada.

---
Gary W. Cook, Education Manager
Intercontinental Operations		Tel: 415-688-9371
Sun Microsystems, Inc.    		Fax: 415-688-9025
2550 Garcia Ave.  MS MPK2-01		Email: gary.cook@Sun.COM
Mountain View, Ca  94303-1100		Compuserve: 73567,2774
From: tcora@PICA.ARMY.MIL (Tom Coradeschi <tcora>)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
Subject: Re: Tailgaters abound!
Date: 10 Sep 92 13:39:47 GMT
Organization: Electric Armts Div, US Army ARDEC, Picatinny Arsenal, NJ

bpita@ctp.com (Bob Pitas) writes:
>In article <1992Aug28.203227.12056@cabot.balltown.cma.COM> welty@cabot.balltown.cma.COM (richard welty) writes:
>
>>In article <1992Aug27.182155.3578@ctp.com> bpita@ctp.com (Bob Pitas) writes:
>>>  Just remember that the car in front of you takes just as long
>>>as you do to stop,

Except that the car in front of you is already decelerating. If you follow
too closely, you may well hit it before you even get your foot onto the
brake pedal.

>>er, if the car ahead of me is being driven by a trained threshold
>>braker, and i lock 'em up, then he'll stop more quickly than i will
>
>If the guy in front of you is eating bannanas and throwing the peels out his
>window...
>
>>up until the point that i rear end him, at which point the two cars
>>will be come a coupled system ...
>
>Yeah, well, if I'm driving a 1979 Cadillac Eldorado and the car ahead of me is
>a new RX-7, he may stop a little smidgeon faster...  I think you know what I
>was talking about, though, didn't you?

See my statement above. A number of years back (like 1979), a co-worker
and I were rear ended. He was driving his Mom's Town Car (we're talking
serious behemoth:-}) and stopped short. We were rear ended by? A Honda
Civic.

What it really boils down to is not the capabilities of the car(s) itself,
but that of the operator. Attentiveness and reaction time are everything.
-- 
 
                tom coradeschi    <+>    tcora@pica.army.mil
From: un023331@wvnvms.wvnet.edu
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
Subject: Tailgate
Date: 7 Sep 92 23:55:37 GMT
Organization: West Virginia Network for Educational Telecomputing

A cop stopped me said I was tailgateing him, but I didn't think I was. I was 
yelled at and threatened with a ticket. I thought he was just in a bad mood
and tried to find somebody to yell at, I wonder if he could really give me a 
ticket, and if the court will uphold him.
From: c23st@kocrsv01.delcoelect.com (Spiros Triantafyllopoulos)
Newsgroups: rec.autos
Subject: Re: GMs plans
Date: 8 Sep 92 14:24:15 GMT
Organization: Delco Electronics Corp.

In article <1992Sep8.044642.22480@unlv.edu> edcrwfrd@unlv.edu (Edward Crawford) writes:
>Can anyone tell me what GM is advertising on TV? Here's the
>commercial:
>
>(Terminator 2 sound track)
>
>(all text, no voices:)
>
>On September 9th,
>
>GM Will turn Plastic
>
>into Steel.
>
>And another commercial: (not exactly sure of the wording)
>
>On September 9th,
>
>GM Will make all of your credit cards
>
>last years model.
>
>--
>
>What it seems like is GM is coming out with a new credit card/
>financing program but i havent heard anything about it.

Didn't Ford Motor Co. have their own credit card program also? 

(either that or the new credit card is from plastic used in Saturns :-)

Spiros

-- 
Spiros Triantafyllopoulos                    c23st@kocrsv01.delcoelect.com
Software Technology, Delco Electronics       striantafyll@kosds1.gm.hac.com
GM Hughes Electronics, Kokomo, IN 46904      [A Different Kind of Disclaimer]
Newsgroups: rec.autos
From: wlsmith@valve.heart.rri.uwo.ca (Wayne Smith)
Subject: Re: I HATE SHABBY MECHANICS 
Organization: The John P. Robarts Research Institute, London, Ontario
Distribution: na
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 03:08:01 GMT

In article <1992Sep10.014029.6801@posms.cactus.org> rick@posms.cactus.org (Rick Kirchhof) writes:
>>barry@geovision.gvc.com (Barry Comer) writes:
>
>>             [Two thoughtful replys deleted]
>
>[one moment, ascending to soapbox]
>
>According to the Secretary of Transportation, the amount of information
>needed to repair ALL models of cars manufactured in 1965 was 5000 pages.
>To have similar information on todays cars requires over 1/2 million
>pages of data.  New people entering the auto repair profession need to be
>highly motivated, skilled as an electronics technician, and willing to
> 
>Until you learn what is needed to do the job you criticize, listen to
>customer complaints such as yours, pay for your own tools and training,
>and then provide for all the employee benefits with your own post-tax
>
>[decending from soapbox]

I'll take the box for a while...

I agree that the independant repair shop is badly positioned in the
car repair market, and automakers are making that situation worse by
not standardizing car computer interfaces and repair codes and the like
(gee, I wonder why...)

But I have to ask, is the 1/2 million pages of repair/service information
worth it?  What are people gaining?  I have read, from more than one source,
that the average person, earning the average wage, is working almost
10 additional weeks per year to pay for/pay off the average car, as compared
to 20 years ago.  Today's cars are IMHO a (bad) comprimise between utility,
safety, maintain-ability, and low speed impact "resiliance", all for the
sake of improved fuel efficiency, and supporting the huge expenses incurred
by the car companies (ie workers drug/health/dental/insurance plans, union
wages, etc).  The new car of today stands alone as the single worst investment
a person could make (speaking monentarily/asset wise).

Ok, someone else take the box for a while :) ...
From: wesf@hpdmd48.boi.hp.com (Wes Fujii)
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 18:19:29 GMT
Subject: Re: THE DOOR HORROR
Organization: Hewlett Packard - Boise, ID
Newsgroups: rec.autos

I knew of an elderly lady that, because of her age and mobility, had
trouble getting in and out of her car easily.  She needed to have her
car door open as far as it would go in order to make it.  Her solution
was:

	1) Get door protectors put on her car door
	2) Open the door and push it out as far as it would go
	3) Get out

I'm sure that she thought that the door protectors would protect the OTHER 
door as well as hers.  

The only time that I have ever parked next to her, I was on the 
receiving end.  I was driving a beater at the time.

Last time I knew, she still was driving and I doubt if anything has
changed... 

Wes Fujii

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Wes Fujii               *           JAPANESE BUSINESS MOTTO           *
* Boise, Idaho            *        You can buy anything you want        *
* wesf@hpdmd48.boi.hp.com *             with a lot of money             *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
From: bdm@druwa.ATT.COM (Brian Millham)
Newsgroups: rec.autos
Subject: Re: I HATE MY DODGE
Date: 10 Sep 92 15:41:15 GMT

in article <7740218@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM>, vlj@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM (Victor Johnson) says:

>   Too many tire shops use air wrenches and too
>   few use, *or even possess*, a torque wrench.  I have even witnessed some
>   "tire care professionals" who do not even bother to tighten the lug nuts
>   using a cross pattern.

I saw a tire shop that amazed me a few weeks ago.  I watched a one of the
mechanics putting a wheel back on using an impact wrench.  Ok so far, this
looks normal.  But then he did something that completely amazed me, he
walked over to a chart on the wall, looked at something, grabbed a
torque wrench, and torqued the lug nuts the rest of the way!  I had
never seen this before.

Needless to say, when I put new tires on my Caddy, that is where I'm
taking my business.  BTW, it was a Big O store.  I've talked to others
who say that every Big O they've been to has used torque wrenches.
--
Brian Millham     |Kitty      |Fletch |Dragon's Lair |Kick Man |New World
AT&T Bell Labs    |Ferrah     |Buddy  |Space Ace     |Sinistar |High Speed
Denver, Co.       |Dr. Pepper |       |              |         |
bdm@druwa.att.com |(ferrets)  |(cats) |(laser disc)  |(video)  |(pinball)
Newsgroups: rec.autos