\nWhile some stereotypes tend to bear out sometimes, some are no better than urban myths.<\/p>\n
Myth 0: The speeders on the highway tend to be people driving hot cars.<\/p>\n
Fact: I’ve seen a few Ferraris, a couple of Porsches, and a couple of Nissan Skylines (very subtle) – all in city traffic. I’ve never seen a hot sports car on the highway.<\/p>\n
Where I live, the people driving well over the speed limit on the highway are comparatively rare. Yet, I see a few every time I’m out there. (I don’t see them for long.) They usually drive everyday Asian-brand small cars up to 15 years old – ones you’d never notice in traffic.<\/p>\n
\nYesterday, I was driving the highway: traffic was heavy as I left the city for home. However, about 20 km on, I’d escaped the commuters.<\/p>\n
There are a few stop lights on that highway. Alone on the road, I coasted to stop at one. I was in the right lane; as I reached the stop line, an import station wagon – maybe from around 2010 – was already stopped in the passing lane, going my same way. It had a kayak strapped to its roof. No-one was ahead of us; we were the only two cars going our direction who were stopped at the intersection. There we waited, side by side. No-one arrived behind us, either.<\/p>\n
I wondered – “If this wagon has been alone on the road, why is it in the passing lane? It can’t be driving very fast, since it’s got a kayak strapped to its roof. Therefore, etiquette demands it should be in the right lane, like I am.”<\/p>\n
The light changed and we both started off – not in a drag race manner or anything like that. However, the wagon accelerated slightly quicker, so ended up ahead of me. I reached the speed limit, but it was still pulling away. I raised my speed, to 10km\/h over the speed limit: it continued to pull away.<\/p>\n
\nI estimated, by the rate the wagon left me behind, that it was going 20km\/h or 30km\/h over the speed limit. I relaxed my own speed and watched it go.<\/p>\n
Driving 130km\/h or 140km\/h with a kayak on the roof – that’s no small feat, especially for a compact station wagon, probably with a 4-cylinder engine. I don’t doubt the actual handling of the car would be more challenging from carrying the kayak, as well. Whoever was driving that wagon, they were serious.<\/p>\nJack of Oracle Tutoring by Jack and Diane,<\/a> Campbell River, BC. \n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Self-tutoring about highway driving: the tutor tells an interesting story. While some stereotypes tend to bear out sometimes, some are no better than urban myths. Myth 0: The speeders on the highway tend to be people driving hot cars. Fact: …<\/p>\n