Wanted To Shoot This Guy

[Ross]

OK, maybe not shoot him, just hit him with a baseball bat. Coming to work this morning I saw a guy driving along with a laptop balanced against the steering wheel, with his head down typing away! Granted, it was a slow moving area of freeway at that point, but who cares? He was typing on his freaking computer in moving traffic! I've ranted about people reading maps, women applying makeup, etc. in traffic, but this ranks up near the top of the list. :awe:

[Joe Walsh]

I've got a good one too...Driving on DC Beltway in HEAVY stop & go traffic....(what else is new!) IDIOT in a big BMW is driving while the Wall Street Journal is fully opened and d***** across his steering wheel and windsheild!!!! :shake: :loco: He glances up about once every 5-10 seconds!!! I pull up along side, LAY ON MY HORN, and when the 'D' bag looks over in suprise, I Yell at him to watch the **** Road!!!! He looks at me like I'M a problem.....Oh am I glad I don't own a gun. I'm tempted to buy a 1968 Ford LTD Wagon, get a LOT of insurance and then just RAM morons like that. Better yet...get in FRONT of them and then NAIL the brakes...its their fault because they were following!!! heh heh heh

[torinodan]

If you ever see me in my torino, please dont use a ball bat on me. THEY HURT!!! yes, i use a laptop to tune it and i've had to do it by myself when my wife didnt want to help. seeking better ways if you have any ideas.

[metroplex]

I can see a problem barreling down the freeway at 80 mph while typing away on a laptop... but if its in traffic (avg speed is 5-15 mph) that's not even 2nd gear... you can easily see the front of your car via peripheral vision. I wouldn't recommend it though.

Maybe the guy was lost and was checking his location?

I hate people that make it their business to become driving etiquette enforcer. Just remember whenever you use your horn, you introduce plenty of high voltage spikes and surges into your electrical system. These transients slowly eat away your expensive silicon semiconductor ICs. Leaning on the horn won't do it, it's just the use of the horn that introduces large transients.

I.e. the guy in front of you that is doing 5 mph below the freeway speed limit of 70 mph and does brake checks because you're behind him flashing your highbeams to tell him to change lanes. (Because you're supposed to pass him on the LEFT and because you're supposed to let faster moving traffic through).

[Ross]

If you ever see me in my torino, please dont use a ball bat on me. THEY HURT!!! yes, i use a laptop to tune it and i've had to do it by myself when my wife didnt want to help. seeking better ways if you have any ideas.
Dan, did you use your laptop in moving traffic?

[metroplex]

I have the SCT PRP flasher unit and CarCode as my datalogger. I occaisonally do datalogging, but I simply set my favorite PIDs to record and set my laptop aside. I never drive with the laptop in front of me!!!

[Joe Walsh]

I can see a problem barreling down the freeway at 80 mph while typing away on a laptop... but if its in traffic (avg speed is 5-15 mph) that's not even 2nd gear... you can easily see the front of your car via peripheral vision. I wouldn't recommend it though.

Maybe the guy was lost and was checking his location?

I hate people that make it their business to become driving etiquette enforcer. Just remember whenever you use your horn, you introduce plenty of high voltage spikes and surges into your electrical system. These transients slowly eat away your expensive silicon semiconductor ICs. Leaning on the horn won't do it, it's just the use of the horn that introduces large transients.

I.e. the guy in front of you that is doing 5 mph below the freeway speed limit of 70 mph and does brake checks because you're behind him flashing your highbeams to tell him to change lanes. (Because you're supposed to pass him on the LEFT and because you're supposed to let faster moving traffic through).

I have a nice response for you..but I don't want to be banned from the site...Stay in the right lane and play with your laptop!

[torinodan]

naw, it's normally in the other seat doing nothing but running a datalog till i get to a stop. so dont worry, i'll be good:wflag:




I have a nice response for you..but I don't want to be banned from the site...Stay in the right lane and play with your laptop!

[Joe Walsh]

torinodan...my post was not directed at you.
Joe

[metroplex]

Joe Walsh, your response would have made a LOT more sense if it WERE directed towards Torino Dan.


I have a nice response for you..but I don't want to be banned from the site...Stay in the right lane and play with your laptop!

Like I said earlier, when I datalog I leave the laptop alone/closed. I do not have the laptop open in front of me while driving!! The only time I do datalogging is when I'm WOT hitting 6k in 2nd gear at closed loop trying to get STFT numbers or cruising around at above 35 mph. There's no way anyone can safely look at the screen and drive at the same time.

If you've ever used CarCode or ran any dataloggers, or performed any tuning rather than buy a buttload of bolt-on nickel and dime mods, you would know what I'm talking about. You set it to record the PIDs you want via Favorites. You simply start CarCode and it automatically links up to your PCM and starts recording. You toss the laptop aside (on passenger seat or passenger seat floor) and do your driving.

The old fogies that drive 5-10mph under the limit on the freeway should stay in the right lane. :fishslap: The drivers here that wish to play drivers etiquette enforcer should relax and mind their own business because they're just as bad as the old people that drive 5-10mph below the limit. :bump:

[metroplex]

Posted by Joe Walsh:
I pull up along side, LAY ON MY HORN, and when the 'D' bag looks over in suprise, I Yell at him to watch the **** Road!!!! He looks at me like I'M a problem.....Oh am I glad I don't own a gun. I'm tempted to buy a 1968 Ford LTD Wagon, get a LOT of insurance and then just RAM morons like that. Better yet...get in FRONT of them and then NAIL the brakes...its their fault because they were following!!! heh heh heh

Now I see why you directed your response to me... I didn't even read who posted the above quote until now.

:popcorn:

[Haggis]

OK, maybe not shoot him, just hit him with a baseball bat. Coming to work this morning I saw a guy driving along with a laptop balanced against the steering wheel, with his head down typing away! Granted, it was a slow moving area of freeway at that point, but who cares? He was typing on his freaking computer in moving traffic! I've ranted about people reading maps, women applying makeup, etc. in traffic, but this ranks up near the top of the list. :awe:

If you are doing anything , but paying attention while driving your car pull off the road to do it. Once your finished "playing around" continue to drive, paying attention to your driving and everyone else around you!!

[Ross]

The old fogies that drive 5-10mph under the limit on the freeway should stay in the right lane. :fishslap: The drivers here that wish to play drivers etiquette enforcer should relax and mind their own business because they're just as bad as the old people that drive 5-10mph below the limit. :bump:[/QUOTE]


WOW! I hope I'm not one of the "old fogies" or a "driver's etiquette enforcer", but when someone is driving along in stop and go traffic, a few feet off of the bumper of the car ahead, all it takes is a second or two of inattention to run into someone's rear end. Call me what you want, but some things are just plain wrong, and driving in traffic with your head buried in a computer is one of them.

[PJR]

If it helps, I have stopped and had little 'talks' with drivers who were:

Reading

Applying Makeup

Driving with cardboard sunhield in place

And in some cases,

talking on the phone.

At least our talk cost them some money, and maybe, just maybe, they will think next time.

[Joe Walsh]

but when someone is driving along in stop and go traffic, a few feet off of the bumper of the car ahead, all it takes is a second or two of inattention to run into someone's rear end. Call me what you want, but some things are just plain wrong, and driving in traffic with your head buried in a computer is one of them.

Thank You...My point exactly.
There is no defending the practice(s) mentioned above ^^^^ regardless of what speed you are traveling.

[Bluerauder]

I can see a problem barreling down the freeway at 80 mph while typing away on a laptop... but if its in traffic (avg speed is 5-15 mph) that's not even 2nd gear... you can easily see the front of your car via peripheral vision. I wouldn't recommend it though.
Every morning on I-95 North in Virginia there is an accident where someone thought that they could read the paper, talk on the phone, eat breakfast, look at a map, apply make-up, or use a laptop and drive safely at the same time. They can't ... their stupidity causes damage to someone's car when they run into it from behind and screws up traffic for miles while they sort out insurance information. I like the baseball bat solution; but I don't that it would get the point across. Of course, I don't really have a strong opinion on this .... :soapbox:

The "most unusual" one that I ever saw was a guy shaving his head while waiting for the light to change to green. That was rather unique...........