FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK YOU MOTHER NATURE, FUCK YOU

[Signe]

I dislike NJ, except for the Pine Barrens.  Loads of frogs and buggies there.  I love frogs.  I think I've been just about everywhere in NJ.  Well, not Cowtown.  I just couldn't bear the thought.  There are a few nice bits and pieces but as a whole, it's a crappy state.  Reading Weird NJ magazine was probably my favourite bit.  NJ sure has a lot of gravity roads!

[Strazos]

True circles suck, but they're mostly getting phased out to one degree or another.

And yeah, NJ still sucks, in general.

[Abagadro]

I dislike NJ, except for the Pine Barrens. 

Just be on the look-out for an interior decorator that killed sixteen Czechoslovakians.

[nurtsi]

True circles suck, but they're mostly getting phased out to one degree or another.

This is completely opposite here in northern Europe. They are building more traffic circles (or roundabouts, whatever you call them) to replace traffic lights and traditional junctions, because traffic circles are apparently more safe.

[Merusk]

They are. They keep traffic moving, and it's harder to T-bone people in one, which I believe is the way most intersection collisions happen in the US.

[cmlancas]

Not to mention t-bone accidents result in more serious injuries than roundabout accidents.

[Draegan]

Newark is a cesspool.  It should be burned down.

Quote from: bhodi on March 27, 2009, 11:01:06 AM
That really sucks schild. I'd cry if that happened to my car, too.

The thing that sucks about NJ isn't the area. Most parts of the state are actually quite pretty. It's the people. It's that 'fuck you' attitude that everyone thinks NY people have. Unlike New Yorkers, however, the brusque attitude is more than skin deep. People in NJ know they're going nowhere in life and they are simultaneously pissed and depressed about it. Everyone who is anyone already lives in New York; New Jersey is simply filled with the leavings.

NJ folk take these conflicted feelings out on everyone around them. People in jersey don't like anyone - not you, not their friends, not even themselves.

 
Fuck you.

[Yegolev]

New Jersey state motto:

Fuck you.

[Sky]

What are jughandles?

Traffic circles can get fucked. They installed one in our business park and the same assholes who can't understand a four-way stop are now careening through an apparently advanced traffic concept. I can't even count how many times I've almost been hit, and would've been hit if I didn't know that most of these assholes are going to pull some stupid move and compensate for it (by slowing down until there are no cars in the circle and going then).

Latest one, on Saturday, two lanes in, I'm in the left lane. Left lane can continue around the circle or go straight, right lane must leave the circle going straight. Clearly marked, sunny day. I slow down because this asshole is trying to pace me on the right, and I'm suspicious that he's an asshole. I slow down in the circle, figuring he's going to jump into my lane or something. Better, he cuts in front of me to go left around the circle. I almost T-boned him, so there's that theory kind debunked...

[Teleku]

What are jughandles?

Hey, I've been there!

And I agree with you on traffic circles.  Fuck them.  They seem to be about a thousand times more dangerous.  There is one big one in Berkeley, and people are constantly getting in accidents on it, and I've had literally dodge several cars myself who just blow in without looking to avoid crash's myself.  They are cluster fucks. 

They started putting in mini traffic circles at intersections in residential neighborhoods in a town near where I grew up.  So my redneck cousins all have a good time going out with their truck and driving around them as fast as they can, keeping anybody from being able to enter the circle at all.

[kaid]

They are starting to put a ton of traffic circles around here now. Along one stretch of road they want to put in 6 double lane turning circles in about a 4 mile stretch of road. People petitioned and the voters are pissed but it looks like they are going through with it anyway.

Apparently the DOT admits there are more accidents in traffic circles but due to how you go into one the accidents are less likely to end in fatalities due to more side to side impact and less real tbone impacts. Its kinda funny but the one thing that may be them stopped is a bunch of blind folks plan to sue under the americans with disability act because there is no way for a visually impaired person to navigate a traffic circle safely as a pedestrian.

I feel sorry for any pedestrial trying to get across dual lane turning circles you are so busy trying to keep an eye to your left for idiots who want to kill you and straight ahead for people doing stupid things its really hard to spot pedestrians trying to cross them.

[NowhereMan]

Are roundabout really just a hugely foreign concept to Americans or are there actually that many awful drivers in the States? Seriously they are fucking simple and safe to use provided you haven't got 12 lanes all going to different places, where you get a lot of assholes jumping in and out of lanes, I do not understand stories about people who can't figure out you go the same direction as all the other traffic and you give way to anything that's already there.

[Teleku]

Are roundabout really just a hugely foreign concept to Americans or are there actually that many awful drivers in the States? Seriously they are fucking simple and safe to use provided you haven't got 12 lanes all going to different places, where you get a lot of assholes jumping in and out of lanes, I do not understand stories about people who can't figure out you go the same direction as all the other traffic and you give way to anything that's already there.

Mixture of both.  At least on the west coast, there never were any such things as roundabouts, and they only just started showing up here.  So people don't know how to use them.  Still, how the fuck can you get anymore simple than an intersection?  Red light stop, Green light go.  With traffic circles your telling everybody to go at once and to just wing it.  Merging is dangerous anywhere, and the whole damn thing revolves around merging.

[Paelos]

Are roundabout really just a hugely foreign concept to Americans or are there actually that many awful drivers in the States? Seriously they are fucking simple and safe to use provided you haven't got 12 lanes all going to different places, where you get a lot of assholes jumping in and out of lanes, I do not understand stories about people who can't figure out you go the same direction as all the other traffic and you give way to anything that's already there.

Mixture of both.  At least on the west coast, there never were any such things as roundabouts, and they only just started showing up here.  So people don't know how to use them.  Still, how the fuck can you get anymore simple than an intersection?  Red light stop, Green light go.  With traffic circles your telling everybody to go at once and to just wing it.  Merging is dangerous anywhere, and the whole damn thing revolves around merging.

The problem I've seen is that most drivers generally can't even bother to use a turn signal when flying across lanes in the highway. The merging aspect of the roundabout when you're not used to it or perhaps don't know the general rules about lanes throws everything out of whack. Tons of Colorado towns near and around where my family lives have roundabouts with 2 lanes, which can cause hilarity. People don't realize how to get out of the inside lane to get out of the roundabout when it's crowded, and you get people cutting across other people in order to get out.

[Johny Cee]

Are roundabout really just a hugely foreign concept to Americans or are there actually that many awful drivers in the States? Seriously they are fucking simple and safe to use provided you haven't got 12 lanes all going to different places, where you get a lot of assholes jumping in and out of lanes, I do not understand stories about people who can't figure out you go the same direction as all the other traffic and you give way to anything that's already there.

Like anything else,  if you aren't used to it, it's a problem.  I've driven with far too many Brits who fucking forgot what side of the road is used in the US, or on the other hand, I always almost run at least one red light every time I'm in Montreal because I'm hardwired to look for the traffic light over the road, and not by the side of the street.

So much of driving is a bunch of learned behaviors hammered into us over time so as to be almost automatic.  Unless you live in New England, most don't have a lot of experience with roundabouts.

And New England roads are FUCKING INSANE.

Mixture of both.  At least on the west coast, there never were any such things as roundabouts, and they only just started showing up here.  So people don't know how to use them.  Still, how the fuck can you get anymore simple than an intersection?  Red light stop, Green light go.  With traffic circles your telling everybody to go at once and to just wing it.  Merging is dangerous anywhere, and the whole damn thing revolves around merging.

Traffic lights are really, really, really expensive.  A single traffic light can pop into six figures, and five figures for maintenance and what not.

A roundabout is really cheap in comparison, and in lightly used intersections it's better than the 4-way stop.

[ashrik]

That really sucks schild. I'd cry if that happened to my car, too.

The thing that sucks about NJ isn't the area. Most parts of the state are actually quite pretty. It's the people. It's that 'fuck you' attitude that everyone thinks NY people have. Unlike New Yorkers, however, the brusque attitude is more than skin deep. People in NJ know they're going nowhere in life and they are simultaneously pissed and depressed about it. Everyone who is anyone already lives in New York; New Jersey is simply filled with the leavings.

NJ folk take these conflicted feelings out on everyone around them. People in jersey don't like anyone - not you, not their friends, not even themselves.

Hey man, fuck off.  People who badmouth the Jersey wake up burning in a pit of bubbling hair gel and mispronounced Italian foods.

[schild]

Guys, this shit is about me.

Also, Jersey is as shitty as my car.

Continued talk about Jersey will make me dump this in Useless news.

[Trippy]

So, is your insurance going to cut you check for your car?

[schild]

Lady is coming Wednesday at 7:30AM. Hopefully they are. Have my stepbrother looking for used car for me (that's what he does on the side, get used cars for people). So, yea, hopefully they'll cut a check.

[Salamok]

I called the dealership to get an estimate on my repairs (thinking i'd have it ready for the claims guy coming tomorrow) and they pretty much told me an estimate is a waste of time.  The insurance guy will come out cut me a low ball check and hope i cash it and never get it repaired.  If I want it fixed just wait for them to admit it needs fixing and bring it in, they will then have to file an ammeded claim for the true cost.  Sort of like insurance fraud in reverse, fuckers!

[Strazos]

How ARE you supposed to go from the inner to out lane in a circle? And why would you stay in the inner one anyway, when the outer has the option of exit or continue?

By the time I hit driving age, most of the circles around here were gone. Some of them survive in part, with lights at certain points. We also have partial circles that have roads going directly through them.

[Trippy]

How ARE you supposed to go from the inner to out lane in a circle?

You aren't:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFsDjmceuDo

[lamaros]

How ARE you supposed to go from the inner to out lane in a circle? And why would you stay in the inner one anyway, when the outer has the option of exit or continue?

Serious questions? I don't want to get sucked in...

[Yegolev]

(that's what he does on the side, get used cars for people)

Sounds legit!

[NowhereMan]

How ARE you supposed to go from the inner to out lane in a circle? And why would you stay in the inner one anyway, when the outer has the option of exit or continue?

Serious questions? I don't want to get sucked in...

Generally you're only going to have inner lanes in cases where you've got multiple lanes going into the roundabout. In those cases you'll go into the inner lane if you're merging along with the other lanes and you've all got to go into different ones. Since people are meant to give way to cars ahead of them it shouldn't be too hard to pull out provided you give some warning.

Times you'd want to be in an inner lane usually involve either multiple roundabouts or specifically set up exits where you're meant to be in a set lane for your exit. They're pretty much impossible to navigate if not very well signposted, generally with signs and road markings indicating which lane is which.

[Yoru]

The way it works up here is that the outer lane is for immediate exits only. If you're in the outer lane, and you can turn right out of the roundabout, you MUST do it. This means that the inner lane can then exit at the same exit into the left lane of a two-lane road, or merge into the now-empty outer lane in preparation for exiting.

You do not get the option to "continue" if you're in the outer lane. This is probably where the whole model falls down with drivers that aren't used to multilane roundabouts.

They are a serious bitch for pedestrians though. Any roundabout with significant traffic produces an almost-constant stream of cars entering/exiting the roundabout, so you play some kind of shitty version of Real Life Frogger, trying to scurry from median to median along the outside of the circle before you get hit. Cities that seriously employ them should invest in stairways or tunnels.

[schild]

I called the dealership to get an estimate on my repairs (thinking i'd have it ready for the claims guy coming tomorrow) and they pretty much told me an estimate is a waste of time.  The insurance guy will come out cut me a low ball check and hope i cash it and never get it repaired.  If I want it fixed just wait for them to admit it needs fixing and bring it in, they will then have to file an ammeded claim for the true cost.  Sort of like insurance fraud in reverse, fuckers!

Yup, same thing they said to me. Unfortunately, time is of the essence in my situation and it's not exactly drivable. I've never reported a claim on this car or even been in an accident in it. In fact, I don't even think I've gotten a ticket in it, as such I'm going to give them all sorts of guff if they try to to fuck me.

[ahoythematey]

I hope your lungs are ready for it, because that is exactly what will happen.  Insurance companies may have had real and good purpose at some point, but in personal experience and from most of what I have heard, they are all in the business of fucking you over.

[schild]

I hope your lungs are ready for it

We're talking about me here. Comeon.

[Salamok]

I've been wondering if you can take your insurance company to small claims court or if you have to go the big boy route.  Then again for all i know they have some mediation/arbitration clause in my contract where I can't sue em without numerous meaningless pow wow sessions. 

[bhodi]

There is always the arbitration clause. Always.

[kaid]

This would be the sane way to do it but in wisconsin on the double lane traffic circle it works like this.

The outer lane can turn right at the first exit to your right and the one straight ahead of you. In the inner lane you cannot take the first right you must either go straight ahead or continue to the next exit which would be to your left when entering into the traffic circle.

The big problem here is the signage is so fucking loopy looking by the time you figure out what the random squiggles are trying to show you its to late and you are in the circle this led to a TON of accidents. Things are getting a bit better now that more people are getting used to them but its really nerve wracking going into one because you cannot count on people having a fucking clue what they are supposed to do.

When they offered 18 classes in how to navigate round abouts and had a series of city hall meetings to help people navigate them one has to wonder why they are so damn horney for them.

I am guessing that no matter all their crowing about safety its really about the lower cost of not having to maintain the street lights. In theory once your roundabout is setup there is no more recurring cost other than normal road maintenance. Street lights require ongoing maintenance and I think we will see a lot more roundabouts as state govt pinch whatever pennies they can.

The way it works up here is that the outer lane is for immediate exits only. If you're in the outer lane, and you can turn right out of the roundabout, you MUST do it. This means that the inner lane can then exit at the same exit into the left lane of a two-lane road, or merge into the now-empty outer lane in preparation for exiting.

You do not get the option to "continue" if you're in the outer lane. This is probably where the whole model falls down with drivers that aren't used to multilane roundabouts.

They are a serious bitch for pedestrians though. Any roundabout with significant traffic produces an almost-constant stream of cars entering/exiting the roundabout, so you play some kind of shitty version of Real Life Frogger, trying to scurry from median to median along the outside of the circle before you get hit. Cities that seriously employ them should invest in stairways or tunnels.

[Sky]

We have a few circles in the bigger cities, there's been one off the thruway in Syracuse (Carrier Circle) as long as I can remember. The one I'm talking about is not only new, but poorly laid out and exceedingly tiny. Even though it's in a 35MPH zone (read: 45MPH zone for most people, not myself), you can't safely navigate it any faster than 15MPH...but people try to. Thus not only the situation I mentioned earlier, but most people shave the lanes: enter via the right lane, cut through the left lane, and exit the right lane, to maintain as much speed as possible.

Traffic signs are easy, but it's amazing how many people simply ignore them. Full-on blowing through stop signs without slowing. People here regularly ignore red lights, never use their signals, and I'm amazed at how many people are on the cell phone. Honestly, I see more drivers on cell phones than not. It's crazy.

[Broughden]

A) Sorry about your car Schild.

B)

NY sits on solid rock that goes miles deep... Don't really have to do a lot of the stuff Merusk was talking about when you have such solid foundation.

I've also heard it's why NY was one of the first places to have skyscrapers, they didn't have to deal with all the ground prep that a lot of other cities have to.

This is why Central Park is located where it is on Manhattan Island. Because it was the one place with shitty dirt that couldnt take big buildings, so they said "fuck it" and made it into a park.


C)

There are large, and I mean large portions of this state that is farmland and forest.  You just happened to travel through the densest part of the state for population.

I was in NJ this past weekend. Even the "nice" parts are shit holes. In fact after moving to Louisville this past August I had forgotten how fucking filthy that part of the country is. The highways and roadsides are fucking inundated with trash EVERYWHERE.

[lamaros]

The way it works up here is that the outer lane is for immediate exits only. If you're in the outer lane, and you can turn right out of the roundabout, you MUST do it. This means that the inner lane can then exit at the same exit into the left lane of a two-lane road, or merge into the now-empty outer lane in preparation for exiting.

You do not get the option to "continue" if you're in the outer lane. This is probably where the whole model falls down with drivers that aren't used to multilane roundabouts.

I go through a busy multi-lane roundabout near here fairly often and the problem is not people not getting out at the right time, it's people who are fucking idiots and cannot properly judge when they are meant to enter the roundabout. Every single time there is some dickhead who doesn't enter when they should, or does enter when they really fucking shouldn't. Compared to that problem people working out "outside lane for first exit, inside for opposite or third" is pretty simple.