Car Chat General discussion about Lexus, other auto manufacturers and automotive news.

was this really so hard to avoid?

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 11-01-16, 10:52 AM
  #31  
mmarshall
Lexus Fanatic
 
mmarshall's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
Posts: 90,573
Received 83 Likes on 82 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by tex2670
Are we really going down this road (pun intended)? I saw a Prius driver make a d*** move at a congested intersection, pulling out into the oncoming lane to go around 2 cars that stopped at a yellow light, so he could beat the red--no hypermiling there. There is no make or model which you can make sweeping generalizations about, and have them be true about "most" of the drivers of that car. I see way more suburban housewives driving around in their 3-Series than aggressive drivers.
With all due respect, try actually reading my posts before you pile on them.

Having said that, of course, you're correct that even a Prius jock can get carried away once in a while.

Originally Posted by mmarshall
It's true, as you note, that any car or nameplate can (and sometimes does) have a moron or a blowhard behind the wheel.

Last edited by mmarshall; 11-01-16 at 06:51 PM.
mmarshall is offline  
Old 11-01-16, 01:51 PM
  #32  
Stroock639
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
 
Stroock639's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Long Island
Posts: 4,828
Received 231 Likes on 175 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by SW15LS
Thats just totally not true lol. Your depth perception is nowhere near as accurate at night as during the day.
won't deny that, but neither of us were there so we don't know the full circumstances
Stroock639 is offline  
Old 11-01-16, 06:46 PM
  #33  
SW17LS
Lexus Fanatic
 
SW17LS's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Maryland
Posts: 55,594
Received 2,519 Likes on 1,817 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by Stroock639
won't deny that, but neither of us were there so we don't know the full circumstances
Bottom line is you made a statement about human vision in the dark that wasn't accurate. We don't have to have been there to know that.
SW17LS is offline  
Old 11-01-16, 08:37 PM
  #34  
AJT123
Lexus Champion
 
AJT123's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Knoxville, TN
Posts: 11,639
Received 186 Likes on 165 Posts
Default

The 10 is extremely dangerous (as are most SoCal roads) because you have the millions of people stuck in traffic who aren't paying attention, and trying to take every last second off their commute trying to make it shorter on top of it. Another thing I couldn't believe when I lived there was how narrow the roads are. I get that there's just no room, but still. Literally, in DTLA on the 110 there is a stretch through the THICK of DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES where it is THREE lanes across, that's it. Three lanes, for our nation's second largest city. The 10 from what I remember is 3 lanes, with some spots of 4 at most. I still remember being fairly shocked on how narrow the interstates were there. I was expecting Atlanta-like, 16 lane interstates. The 101 I lived by was 4 lanes with barely any shoulder room. A car pulled over would hold up traffic not from people watching, but from literally blocking traffic.

Driving and traffic there is no joke. While it sucks, I can 100000% understand why our rates doubled when we moved out there. My husband was rear ended three separate times in the two years we lived there (just minor fender benders), and once a guy backed into me in a grocery store parking lot.
AJT123 is offline  
Old 11-01-16, 08:57 PM
  #35  
Stroock639
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
 
Stroock639's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Long Island
Posts: 4,828
Received 231 Likes on 175 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by SW15LS
Bottom line is you made a statement about human vision in the dark that wasn't accurate. We don't have to have been there to know that.
i just said it's easier to see lights when the surrounding environment is dark, nothing about depth perception
Stroock639 is offline  
Old 11-01-16, 09:01 PM
  #36  
mmarshall
Lexus Fanatic
 
mmarshall's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
Posts: 90,573
Received 83 Likes on 82 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by AJT123
The 10 is extremely dangerous (as are most SoCal roads) because you have the millions of people stuck in traffic who aren't paying attention, and trying to take every last second off their commute trying to make it shorter on top of it. Another thing I couldn't believe when I lived there was how narrow the roads are. I get that there's just no room, but still. Literally, in DTLA on the 110 there is a stretch through the THICK of DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES where it is THREE lanes across, that's it. Three lanes, for our nation's second largest city. The 10 from what I remember is 3 lanes, with some spots of 4 at most. I still remember being fairly shocked on how narrow the interstates were there. I was expecting Atlanta-like, 16 lane interstates. The 101 I lived by was 4 lanes with barely any shoulder room. A car pulled over would hold up traffic not from people watching, but from literally blocking traffic.

Driving and traffic there is no joke. While it sucks, I can 100000% understand why our rates doubled when we moved out there. My husband was rear ended three separate times in the two years we lived there (just minor fender benders), and once a guy backed into me in a grocery store parking lot.
L.A.'s famous smog probably doesn't help things at night, either.
mmarshall is offline  
Old 11-01-16, 10:02 PM
  #37  
AJT123
Lexus Champion
 
AJT123's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Knoxville, TN
Posts: 11,639
Received 186 Likes on 165 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by mmarshall
L.A.'s famous smog probably doesn't help things at night, either.
Actually, the smog wasn't really that bad out there. 2014-15 are all I have to go on, but smog really wasn't an issue. We lived in the base of the Hollywood Hills and could see DTLA; it was usually clear. The lights and haze (be it from smog, smoke, etc.), though you could get lost in. One thing I do miss are those views. Air quality isn't great here, either, but I couldn't tell a difference.

That stretch of I-10 is a nightmare, though. Too narrow and not enough lanes and/or shoulders. I feel my blood pressure rising just thinking about driving around that city.
AJT123 is offline  
Old 11-01-16, 10:14 PM
  #38  
AJT123
Lexus Champion
 
AJT123's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Knoxville, TN
Posts: 11,639
Received 186 Likes on 165 Posts
Default

In reflection, watching a little more of that, I also don't understand why they couldn't move the disabled vehicles over to the right.

Around the 4:20 mark where it shows the disabled Prius and old 3 series (which isn't tricked out btw, it was just going too fast), that's exactly what I mean about having no shoulder space out there. Get over to the right, (where even there space is limited), or this pileup WILL HAPPEN. Pretty much a sure thing in the dark for the reasons you've all mentioned.
AJT123 is offline  
Old 11-02-16, 12:44 AM
  #39  
Fizzboy7
Lexus Test Driver
 
Fizzboy7's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: California
Posts: 9,678
Received 156 Likes on 91 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by mmarshall
L.A.'s famous smog probably doesn't help things at night, either.
I've mentioned before in other posts, we no longer have the "famous" smog. L.A. has really cleaned up their act, thank goodness.
Fizzboy7 is offline  
Old 11-02-16, 01:21 AM
  #40  
AJT123
Lexus Champion
 
AJT123's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Knoxville, TN
Posts: 11,639
Received 186 Likes on 165 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by Fizzboy7
I've mentioned before in other posts, we no longer have the "famous" smog. L.A. has really cleaned up their act, thank goodness.
I always thought the Zero-emissions busses were pretty cool when I would take walks, etc. Also the parking spots for electric vehicles. Don't miss paying to park everywhere, though. Lol.
AJT123 is offline  
Old 11-02-16, 05:26 AM
  #41  
SW17LS
Lexus Fanatic
 
SW17LS's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Maryland
Posts: 55,594
Received 2,519 Likes on 1,817 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by Stroock639
i just said it's easier to see lights when the surrounding environment is dark, nothing about depth perception
But for the purposes of what's happening here's that's meaningless. Your point was to try and say that it should have been easier to judge what was going on at night and that was completely wrong. Being able to physically see lights doesn't do you any good when we're talking about judging distance and velocity of those lights at night.
SW17LS is offline  
Old 11-02-16, 05:38 AM
  #42  
4TehNguyen
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (1)
 
4TehNguyen's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Houston, Texas
Posts: 26,033
Received 51 Likes on 46 Posts
Default

could be classic target fixation, basically you steer where you are looking at on a subconcious level. So if this person paniced and focused on the other car under stress then they will steer towards and into it.
4TehNguyen is offline  
Old 11-02-16, 08:59 AM
  #43  
tex2670
Lexus Test Driver
 
tex2670's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Southeastern PA
Posts: 9,958
Received 9 Likes on 8 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by mmarshall
With all due respect, try actually reading my posts before you pile on them.

Having said that, of course, you're correct that even a Prius jock can get carried away once in a while.
I read it. When you start off by saying "not all are like that", and then go on to say that the same can be said about any make, it gives me the impression that you agree with the underlying proposition that most drivers of that particular make are jerks, but not all of them, instead of the proposition that it's unfair to smear one make because of a few bad apples. No one posts videos on the internet of drivers that chug along obeying traffic rules...
tex2670 is offline  
Old 11-02-16, 09:38 AM
  #44  
chikoo
Lexus Champion
 
chikoo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: TX
Posts: 3,763
Likes: 0
Received 6 Likes on 6 Posts
Default

When it's dark, the iris widens and the pupil dilates, or gets bigger, to allow as much light as possible to enter the eye. The opposite occurs during the day. When the Sun is shining bright, the iris narrows and the pupil constricts, or gets smaller.
Anyone who knows photography also knows how it affects your Depth of Field. It reduces when the pupil is dilated (bigger) and objects are not perceived as sharp as they are during the daytime leading to blurry vision.
Add on to this the fact that most cars now have a navigation screen, which can lead to drivers having to switch quickly between a bright screen at short distant to a dark screen at long distance. Focus suffers or rather the speed at which focus adjusts suffers.
chikoo is offline  
Old 11-02-16, 04:50 PM
  #45  
tex2670
Lexus Test Driver
 
tex2670's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Southeastern PA
Posts: 9,958
Received 9 Likes on 8 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by chikoo
When it's dark, the iris widens and the pupil dilates, or gets bigger, to allow as much light as possible to enter the eye. The opposite occurs during the day. When the Sun is shining bright, the iris narrows and the pupil constricts, or gets smaller.
Anyone who knows photography also knows how it affects your Depth of Field. It reduces when the pupil is dilated (bigger) and objects are not perceived as sharp as they are during the daytime leading to blurry vision.
Add on to this the fact that most cars now have a navigation screen, which can lead to drivers having to switch quickly between a bright screen at short distant to a dark screen at long distance. Focus suffers or rather the speed at which focus adjusts suffers.
Also, add in the fact that all these cars driving down the highway aren't stopping because they don't see brake lights in front of them, just tail lights. You just don't expect a parked car sitting on the left lane on the highway.
tex2670 is offline  


Quick Reply: was this really so hard to avoid?



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 10:26 AM.