Sorry To Have Disturbed You...
 

It was not quite picture perfect, but close.

Got another shot of someone reclined in his driver's seat like he is already at home in his recliner, apparently believing himself to be "God's Gift" (or higher :rolleyes: ) I was about to ask him what it is about a Ford F-350 that has this effect, but when he saw my camera, it disturbed his moment of being lord of all. Note he has enough room to wear his hat - Ford designed it that way. Unfortunately the mirror hides his right wrist is clear past the steering wheel. I wanted a better view so all of us could learn that's all it takes to have perfect control of a vehicle in bumper-to-bumper rush hour traffic. I doubt he is concerned about "America's Oil Addiction" Pres Bush mentioned last night...

I doubt he would have done road rage - my hybrid batteries would have exploded if he rammed me. :P


http://www.spencerthelion.com/images/fullofit09.jpg

Re: Sorry To Have Disturbed You...
 

This Particular picture doesnt look too bad to me, looks like he can see through the windshield just fine. But i have a question, your so worried about the others, how were you snapping this picture and being, "In control and paying attention " yourself?. just curious

Re: Sorry To Have Disturbed You...
 

While your at it, send an e-mail to to ABC about send the likes of anchorman Bob Woodruff into a war zone, or cry crocadille tears over the safety of the photographer that shot the picture of the 10yr old Vietnamese girl burned by napalm. No, I'm not saying I'm of their caliber at all - just illustrating what's out there in the real world.

I won't spend the time I did the last time describing the camera was ready to go and it took five seconds, etc., etc. (it seemed you were on that thread....) It really touches me that you are sooo concerned about my safety - so much that my momentary distraction bothers you more than the guys strutting in their giant vehicles controling them with only a single forearm on the steering wheel. BTW, they do this the entire commute - not just a few seconds.

I see right through this "Sympathy for the Devil' number....you've kind of lost the point I spoiled they guy's ego trip. Monster vehicle sales would dive if this pathetic flaunting of manhood got the embarrassment it deserved. Then we wouldn't have that much to say about gas guzzlers...

Re: Sorry To Have Disturbed You...
 

Chuck, bud, chill a little , gees. im on the road 200 miles a day i see all kinds of stuff too, all im saying is we are all doing our part by driving what were driving. We're not going to change those poeple. So dont worry so much about them or trying to hurt their ego. Just because they drive big gas guzzlers doesnt mean they are bad people, i drive a van on the weekends to pull my racecar to the track and have a little fun. am i a horrible person for it? i think not. And one more thing, just because you believe a certain way doesnt make it the perfect way. So i wouldnt judge. we are all human, and we are all sinners !

Re: Sorry To Have Disturbed You...
 

Looks like he has a Stroh's in his left hand.??? This guy looks a lot like the guy in one of your previous pic's except for the 10 gallon hat??:) Was that F350 all "riced" up or was it stock?? Only off road it probably sees is the parking lot of your local flavored ethanol distribution center...:omg:

Re: Sorry To Have Disturbed You...
 

Clubford00,

You can start by not projecting yourself on the duffus in the picture and your anger on me. My blood pressure did not rise out of my exercise - it's better than when I fumed about they are thinking they are the High and Mighty. To imply I think myself anywhere remotely perfect indicates you don't read my posts even of the last two days. We do a lot of things in life and on the road, but egotism rubs me the wrong way.

Yes, we can all make like Gandhi and let the guys race around in the monster vehicles with the environmental, economic, road safety, other impact that goes with it. Just have faith that Detroit and Washington, etc will deal with the issues when they snowball into a crisis - great formula for problem resolution.

Oh, and your pontification - do you think the President would declare America addicted to Oil if guys like the one pictured were wrapped up in their ego?

{Plays Sympathy for The Devil....}

Re: Sorry To Have Disturbed You...
 

the guy in the photo, like many others, may be perfectly free to drive what they like, how they like, but it doesn't change the fact that he and many others have their heads in the sand about the energy problem, not only in this country, but the world. we seem to be hell bent for leather to use it all up with no concern about the cost to our standard of living. the fact that our administration is now pretending to do something about it shows the lack of concern that's out there.

sure, drive a big truck. but is it necessary to drive 10-15 over the speed limit, to roar up on someone's bumper and do a lightening fast lane change and then charge by with pipe's blatting? just because you own a large vehicle doesn't make you the one in charge of who drives slower than you, and we don't appreciate the better than thou attitude that style of driving imparts.

i know from talking to some people at work who do this, that a lot of that driving style is caused by drivers not wanting the bother of having to shut off their cruise control long enough to safely go around someone. i can remember the days before cruise was standard. it was introduced basically to allow for more relaxed long highway drives. it was not designed for driving in crowded driving conditions where, heaven forbid, you might have to go around someone. and where one might need a little personal control over their vehicle.

as for snapping a quick shot while driving, how does this rate as more dangerous as the person i followed who was holding his cell phone on his shoulder and driving with his knees while he lit a cigarette?

Re: Sorry To Have Disturbed You...
 

Chuck, i wasnt projecting anything, especially any "Anger" on anyone. just bringing some points out. We drive hybrids because we care about the delicate balance in which we live. Goofs in trucks are gonna be goofs no matter what. And unfortunately, trucks are needed in this worl for hauling stuff. For all we know this particular goof was a farmer and needs his truck to get syplies to his farm to feed this cows, that I eat. last time i had to put a few bailes of hay in my prius it was a *****. LOL anyway i was just bringing out a couple points, not mad at anyone at all. And laurie as you can clearly see Chuck and i are on the road a ton, makeup and cell phones are the least of what i see on the road. Some stuff would curl your hair !. Sorry if its naturally curly. ;)

Re: Sorry To Have Disturbed You...
 

He was an "urban cowboy" just off the Bush Tollway - their population far exceeds real farmers, landscapers, and ranchers (that actually use F-350s) over the last 15 years.

OMG - I realize that picture was doing the same thing that Danish newspaper was doing this week. It's against the religion of some to photogragh The High and Mighty....

Re: Sorry To Have Disturbed You...
 

I for one enjoyed the photo.
Not so much for his vehicle....I do believe people should be free to buy what ever they want and can afford....But I also thought he had a beer in his hand.

Pehaps I just like to see candid photos of "Interesting" people in their natural habitat.
Candid Camera.

But I paticularly DON'T like the F-350 trucks.
Why?
Ever stop at a light with one in the lane just to the Left of you?
If your window is down you'll get a face full of stinging diesel fumes as it's pumped out of that 3 inch pipe.:angry:

Re: Sorry To Have Disturbed You...
 

I just figured if some one is strutting like that are God's Gift, they would want their picture taken.

The arguement that all these power truck drivers are in construction, farming, ranching, etc - biomass. :P If you believe that, then this weeks' State of the Union would be boasting of a boom economy and more farmers....

A guy at work claims there is a product I have yet to see that would have been the perfect touch on that F-350 - testicle lugnuts.

Re: Sorry To Have Disturbed You...
 

nope, i still pay to make it curly.

i have a 40 mile commute one way. i see idiots on a daily basis. i also live on a farm. our truck gets used for farm work, not for commuting. and i would say that 80% of the guys at work that have trucks like the noise, and barely carry anything more than themselves. and i know, it's a generalization, but advertising and marketing make the push the bigger is better, and if you don't have a truck somehow you are lacking. and they buy into it. i just with there was a way to break the cycle. it's can't continue like this indefinitely.

Re: Sorry To Have Disturbed You...
 

They're not lugnuts, they actually hang from the trailer hitch. They are testicals though. ;)

As far as the pic, that one is a tad difficult to read. He looks to be "a big ole boy". He may have to recline his seat that far back just to safely fit his gut behind the wheel. There's a few F-350's around here that are non-dually but are 4x4 and have a 10 inch lift kit with serious off-road tires yet they look as though the drivers have never left the road with them. I bet my Insight has seen more offroad than these trucks. They probably do about 5 mpg tops and a Ford 7.3 diesel is an efficient engine (for what it is). My top mileage in my old F-350 dually was 23 MPG.

Re: Sorry To Have Disturbed You...
 

I gotta say that those that ride their bicycles to work or walk look at us and think the same things that feel about the big truck drivers. It's all relative. You think your doing great things for the environment and reducing our dependence on foriegn oil by driving a hybrid. Why don't you really sacrifice and work near your home or move near where you work. I live 7 miles from work by design. I can make more money working in downtown Houston than in the suburbs. I am close enough to ride my bike to work. I work with people that ride everyday rain or shine. Most of us are NOT doing all we can... so don't be so judgemtal. Look at someone better than yourself and strive to be like them, instead of looking at someone you feel is inferior and making fun or putting them down to boost yourself up. I know I'm not doing ALL I can for the environment or my country, but driving a hybrid is moving in the right direction.

In the F-350 owners defense maybe he traded in a old oil burning F-250 that was only getting 9 mpg and he is very proud to be driving his new cleaner burning, higher gas milage F-350. I don't know so I won't judge.

Sympathy for the Devil Again
 

I guess you are an apologist for GM and all the people in the last twenty years that think they need an Escalade, F-350, Hummer, etc. or they will get clastrophia. I don't know how people got along without these vehicles before 1985 it was sooo hard. :cry:


So many thread discuss the environmental impact of our oil addiction and the economic fallout of being dependant on nations that will either cut of their oil or run out. The grass roots cause is fingered and a few defend them. :confused: Hello!

Re: Sorry To Have Disturbed You...
 

Do you have similar loathing for those here that bought the FEH or the HIHY? They think the need an SUV. Certainly they could have made a better choice and bought a Prius or a HCH. How wasteful they are to have intentionally have bought a vehicle that only gets 30 something mpg when a vehicle that gets 60 mpg was available. What about those of us that have not figured out how to hypermile. We could employ the P&G technique more effectively to raise our MPG above the EPA numbers.

Re: Sorry To Have Disturbed You...
 

Living in Oklahoma the state ride seems to be a truck. Most of the concrete cowboys in this state drive f-150's gm and mopars equals. Most folks that drive around in 3/4 and 1 ton rigs do use the mass and power to tow and haul. Granted they do get used as daily drivers also. If I had spent 40k to 60k on a truck,, I prob. would be driving it more than to haul or tow also.

Why anybody would drive a truck full time I dont understand. I own a Ranger. After driving the Accord and Civic. I get into it and cuss it. Hord driving rig it is. I have to make myself drive it now every two weeks or so just to keep it in good driveable shape.

Big trucks dont bug me as much as mini vans and suv's that seem to never have more than one person in them. Or the folks that think they need one for two kids. Three of us kids where raised in a 1967 Fiat 850 sport coupe. I remember some hellish long road trips in that car with my parents and siblings. It didnt kill any of us...

Funny thing happened yesterday here. There was a 6 car pile up on a local freeway. The person that caused the whole mess was in a Civic. The one that was at the end of the line was a co-worker in his f-250.

Thers no justic in this subject at all... LMAO

Re: Sorry To Have Disturbed You...
 

Since it's 25 miles to work, cycling or walking is not an option, however I walked across the intersection to a meeting this morning without the car.

I don't "know" what a driver's needs in the sense a patrolman that can ID a suspect can, but you can definitely suspect who does. Lot's of vehicles has been "super sized" over the last 10-20 years and everybody claims to have a pragmatic need for them - my B.S. alarm is deafening.

I target the power trucks and jumbo SUVs because they are the least likely to be used for their utility and they way many of these drivers carry themselves in a narcassistic manner. The ads for them appeal to the ego and power - not utility. The suggestions of riding a bicycle or downsizing from an FEH....maybe that's out of environmental concern, but I'd also be unsuprized it's from a land barge lover...could go either way. I target at what I'm more sure of....

Re: Sorry To Have Disturbed You...
 

Maybe they may have a particular need for a larger vehicle but chose a hybrid SUV because it's a "green machine", not just a hypermile machine. Please keep in mind that hybrids not only get better mpg's but produce less greenhouse gasses.

The Pictures....
 

There is a method to my madness. The pictures I've posted of guys reclined in their land barges with that one-hand lean on their vehicle was ridicule. Over a year ago, it was funny when a Jeep driver stopped it when I imitated his silly posture....

It clearly illustrates they are not driving defensively or remotely hypermiling. They are on an ego trip, which means there should be no objections to taking pictures. This is an obvious paradox - behind the wheel behaving as if they are some celeb networks are itching to interview on prime time, yet embarrased when their pompous stutting is revealed. They would not think of behaving that way face-to-face and somehow are oblivious the freeway is even more public.

Detroit caters to this narcassism in their ads - satify your ego - screw the economy, ecology, and road safety while doing it. It's my right.

I have a question for the people doing it: If you object to my illustrations, why to you think it's OK? The answer is obviously they know it sucks, but insist on the right to do it anyway - absurd contradiction.

The sooner these guys feel foolish, the sooner and more effectively America kicks Oil Addiction. It's probably the only "button" to push that registers with them.

Re: Sorry To Have Disturbed You...
 

Delta Flyer

I drive kicked back alot in my Hondas and my Ranger. Is that any diff. than say a Boss Hog Truck or SUV or cylinder managed Chrysler 300's? Im still very aware of where Im at and whats going on around me. Wife drives setting straight up and both hands on the wheel. She's a wreck waiting to happen.

I guess Im missing the ego angle. OOO-well

Enjoy!!!

Re: Sorry To Have Disturbed You...
 

I could be showing that I'm over 40 by being in that school of two hands on the wheel most of the time to have control of the vehicle. I'm more concerned with losing vehicle control than maybe being slapped with an airbag.

Only time I might consider reclining would be out in the country - not in an urban area. And I never feel as comfortable from a control standpoint.

Yeah, I did the pictures to use a less broad brush. Still might have got some folks unintentionally....if the shoe fits....

Re: The Pictures....
 

Chuck a guy in a Prius BLEW by me on the way home from work. He was weaving in and out of traffic too, he was a complete idiot! Just because a person drives a land barge doesn't make ALL of them bad drivers as I just related my story a small hybrid driving like he or she (it was dark out) was at a race!kevin

Re: Sorry To Have Disturbed You...
 

Disclaimer: Sure, my post will be antagonizing. But before Delta Flyer takes personal offense to it, it's not directed towards him with any purpose.

Just reading this post brings up images of pots and kettles and the colors of each. The same view person A driving vehicle A may have at person B driving vehicle B is probably rooted from the same area as if looking from the view of person B. Delta Flyer is looking at the truck driver, thinking "how smug" because of what that person is driving (or even body posture). It's a good bet that how the other members of this forum is responding is due to them seeing the roles being reversed. From the responses, it's evident that you're showing your "smug-ness." Off the pedestal already. Sure, this dude was driving a gas guzzler, but why does his body position offend you? He's sitting erect. He's got a clear view of the road ahead of him.

Yeah, I'd vote this thread with one star.

I drive pretty relaxed. I don't have a ghetto lean, but I do sit far enough from the steering wheel that my elbows are slightly bent. I occasionally drive with one hand. I usually drive with two though. But I find the risk factor of driving with one hand to be so low that I don't have any fear about it. And when it's a nice day outside, I roll down the window and drive with one arm on the window sill.

Re: The Pictures....
 

I've had my cruise set at 70 on a 75 mph strech and got passed by an Insight at a pretty good rate of speed!

Re: Sorry To Have Disturbed You...
 

I would love to bicycle to work. The only problem is I'd have to move into the ghetto with its nightly shootings. No thanks. I'll stick to my small suburb and my HCH.

Re: Sorry To Have Disturbed You...
 

I used to bike to work when I lived 3 miles away. I didn't do it for the environment. Although, that was a good by-product. I did it to stay in shape. I really liked doing it. Now that I live almost three times as far, I drive. Or, ride my motorcycle. It's pretty cool how my hybrid gets almost as many miles per gallon as my motorcycle. In fact, most hybrids get BETTER mileage. I get 34-42 mpg on the bike.

Re: Sorry To Have Disturbed You...
 

It would be cool if Honda or somebody found a good practical way to make a four-cycle motorcycle and get incredible FE. :)

Guess I took pictures of mirages - nobody does that kind of drving the Cadilliac Escalade commercial target....oh I'm just deluded.... :P:P:P

Re: The Pictures....
 

I was coming back from NW Arkansas a few weeks ago in a company truck and was passed by two insights on that trip. I always seem to see them in pairs. lol

Re: Sorry To Have Disturbed You...
 

Motorcycles have always (at least as far as I know) been geared towards performance. There are some guys that are into high mileage (www.ironbutt.com) bikes, but they tend to take things into their own hands, instead of demanding better FE bikes from manufacturers. These guys will build auxillary tanks so that they can go a lot farther between fillups during endurance runs. Not me; I need to stretch the legs every so often.

Nobody is denying that there is some value as to what's in the pic. But your passion to pointing out the error of the typical F-350 (with no real need for one) driver is extreme. I am in agreement with you that MOST large vehicle drivers don't really need their vehicle. I know a guy in Texas that has a Suburban. He has a family of six. They're constantly in the vehicle all at the same time. And they take a lot of road trips. Sure, he's getting his use out of it. But I also know of another person that has an Expedition. She says she needs it to haul around her two kids and all their things. Really...

As a side note, I've been driving my '93 GMC Sonoma for 12 years. I've always needed a truck for various reasons. Hauling my motorcycle to the race track. Bringing home landscaping stuff. Moving myself from place to place (ah, the good old days when everything I owned fit into the back of my truck). This summer, when I was looking at buying a new vehicle, I considered getting a full-size GMC truck. I just couldn't justify getting it. I've never needed anything bigger than the truck I've got. And I couldn't see getting a bigger one, just to have more interior room. Especially since my truck only costs me a low insurance premium, since it's never broken down in 177K miles. So, I decided to just get a car with higher mileage and keep my truck for when I needed to haul stuff around.

Re: The Pictures....
 

:omg::omg::omg:

Re: Sorry To Have Disturbed You...
 

Just to weigh in with my two cents:
1) I liked the picture.
2) Sometimes people react to criticism of others with hostility because they see the same traits in themselves and feel guilty about it. I know I do that sometimes. Your picture comments on ego, yes, but also on driving safety. To those who disagree that it's safer to drive with your hands on the wheel, then I'd be interested to see any safety studies or DOT reports to that effect. [side note: A childhood friend of mine had a deaf brother, and her mother would sometimes drive us home from school. I always felt uncomfortable because she would drive the van with her knees or elbows so she could sign her words as she spoke. At least she had a reasonable reason for driving that way- most people don't. They just don't take vehicle safety very seriously.]
3. Sure, some people need big cars/SUVs/trucks. They have lots of kids or they haul stuff around. In my area, though, most drivers are commuters, driving by themselves to an office job. I once spent a summer day when I was driving around counting all the light trucks that went by to tally how many of them were being used to carry anything in the bed, and only about 10% had any cargo- just a personal observation, nothing remotely scientific about it. I would guess that the rate is much lower for SUVs, but it's harder to see inside them.
4. One of the big reasons I hear from friends and acquaintances about why they drive or would want to drive SUVs has always been 'better safety.' I try to point out that having so many more big cars on the road makes any given accident more dangerous for all drivers (simple physics- the energy released by a collision relates to the momentum of the moving object, which is mv^2, so higher mass = more destructive), and they reply that it might be more destructive for the person they hit, but at least it's safer for them. Aside from the terrible, short-sighted selfishness of this, the claim has been completely debunked. See today's article in the New York Times about vehicle safety.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/03/business/03auto.html

One critical sentence: "A report last month by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that S.U.V.'s also had the highest death rate for their own occupants of any broad class of vehicles."

These are just my reactions to your picture and the responses it provoked, for what they're worth.

Re: Sorry To Have Disturbed You...
 

I wonder if the higher death rate for SUVs is related to increased roll-over risk?

Maybe two years ago there was a news report of an SUV roll-over. I think they said there were 9 people in this 5 passenger Expedition. This is very common out here, especially with people that live on Indian reservations. They're poor people, but their tribe gives them money (or is it just vehicles?) to live. They buy these SUVs to carry around their large families. They still live in shacks, but they're driving $40K vehicles! Anyways, back to the story. This particular Expedition rolled over, and the only person left alive was the single-digit-age girl. I think she was 8 or 9. She was the only one seatbelted in.

The Safety Factor
 

Being serious, I think part of the rollover risk is many SUV drivers assume the posture pictured, resulting in a slightly delayed response time, then overturning, then rollover. :(

Once I was stupid enough to mock this and overturn. Spinning out and going backwards at 60mph is a sobering experience. :omg: It's a minor miracle there was no collision. If feel certain if I was in an SUV doing this, I'd rollover.

Again, I was stupid to have done it.

Re: Sorry To Have Disturbed You...
 

My mother once fit herself and my entire little league baseball team into a 1973 VW bug. However, there were no child passenger safety laws in effect in the mid-1970s. There are now.

Re: Sorry To Have Disturbed You...
 

Well, your arms certainly shouldn't be fully extended when you're driving.

http://www.mpi.mb.ca/English/dr_tips/driver_position.html :

You should be sitting far enough away that your arms are slightly bent. This allows for better control in surprise situations. Of course, some drivers may have to move the seat forward to reach the pedals and then tilt the seat back into the correct position.

http://www.marylandmva.com/Resources/DL-002B.pdf

Sit as far away from the steering wheel as practical. Try to maintain

10-12 inches from the steering wheel hub to the chest.

http://www.emcins.com/ps/losscontrol/driving_tips.htm

It is a general rule that the seat should be positioned so your wrist is at the top of the steering wheel with your arm fully extended. If your vehicle is equipped with an air bag, the seat should be positioned so that the closest part of your body is at least 10 inches from the steering wheel to avoid injury in the event of air bag deployment.

Re: Sorry To Have Disturbed You...
 

The first thing I do is move the seat bottom to where I can comfortably move my foot from gas to brake without having to move my leg/knee. Then I adjust the seat back to get that slight elbow bend. Something I thought was really cool with these newer cars is the telescoping steering wheel. It makes it easier to have a more upright/laid back position and still have the best arm position.

Something else that I learned in driver's ed a long time ago and what's being taught in driver's ed today: instead of the old 10 and 2 o'clock hand positions, with the advent of the air bag, drivers should now use a 9 and 3 o'clock hand position.

Re: Sorry To Have Disturbed You...
 

The legal warnings on the airbag seems to have done a disservice. They make it seem if you have your arms a little bent, you are dangerously close to the airbag.