Test Positive for COVID-19

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Kirbstone
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Re: Test Positive for COVID-19

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I lived in Germany for 8 years up on the North Sea coast, which put me hundreds of miles away from several good friends. This meant that I had to use their autobahns a lot so I could socialise with them. I had a right-hand-drive 5-pot Audi which was quite fast enough and I learned that it would sit very happily at 200km/h for hours on those roads (124mph). No speed traps to worry about.
A trailer side-swiped it (and two other cars) in an icy service area, so I replaced it with a German left-hooker 6-pot Audi which could cheerfully go like a bat out of Hell. On quick trips in that to Slovenia and Switzerland I found that I personally was uncomfortable at 220Kph with the big Mercs & Porsches and settled for 200. That sort of pace telescopes the elapsed time for trips nicely and I don't know any other country where you can cover the length of it and arrive fresh for dinner 700 miles from where you started. (Nordenham, via Frankfurt- Bled, Slovenia)
My then 20 yr.-old daughter doing an Erasmus year in Heidleburg helped with the driving back from the UK after one Christmas. we were still in Belgium on their lit, flat straight 3-laners and I dozed with her at the wheel. Awaking I glanced over and there she was, cool as a cucumber sitting at 200Kph cruise.
Here we live with a 120Kph (74mph) limit. My Swede Steed cruise control jumps 5mph per notch, so at 75 I spend too much time abreast of others. 80 is just about right, just 6mph above limit and nobody cares a toss. If I drove 700 mi. to dinner here I'd get extremely salty wet less than half-way!

Tom
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Faldaguy
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Re: Test Positive for COVID-19

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by Kirbstone » Tue Apr 13, 2021 3:22 am

Re: your comments about Sydney pedestrians, I expect they are divided, like the old Nicene Creed into (He shall come to judge) the Quick and the Dead. :!:


:shock: Yes, big smile...makes me think of your trans Canada experience -- it was about 5 years later I was driving our "Van Go" (had a picture of Gogh) on the side -- a vehicle we used to transport goods from the mainland to Bowen Island; but we then had a load of 'hippies' from a "Be-In" that had just concluded in Stanley Park, Vancouver --so we were about 5 days out when we stopped at a restaurant in Windsor for breakfast. It is a long story, but the short version is the RCMP stopped us on our way out of the restaurant, (we were a bit of a scraggly group) and they "found" a broken wicker basket that had potpourri in it. This was an era in which hippies and narcs were at odds, (flashing my AMEX card didn't help) and they decided it looked like Hashish...so off to the big station we went for a thorough shakedown. We were released a couple hours later but it led to several amusing moments I've 're-hashed' a few times!

And those airplanes on the road: If you had been a bit further north -- quite a bit; we had some villages in the Arctic where we would buzz the road, usually in a STOL Twin Otter, the village would clear the road and we'd land right there on Main Street! [1980]
'Y'gotta go an' see the Judge, fellahs'. We said we were Irish...
I did not have the luck of the Irish in TX -- in a "drive away" delivery headed to CA the local cop pulled me over in the middle of nowhere -- way out past where even a guy like denimini would live---a Friday night speed trap, (Cadillac, out of State plates) -- ostensibly 10 MPH over the limit, so down to the 'station" (a grubby 8x10' office, if that, where the cop said I needed to pay a $100.00 fine ($10.00 a mile over) -- or, I could sit in his clink until the Judge arrived Monday. I watched the cop sashay across to the bar in my rear view mirror when I pulled away. [1969]

But Ray is right -- OZ is draconian on imposing fines -- cameras everywhere issuing automatic tickets. Same for the toll-ways.

"Let the good times roll" :D
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Kirbstone
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Re: Test Positive for COVID-19

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FG., I'll bet that cop in not-so-beautiful-downtown TX didn't offer you a receipt for your hundred bucks. I expect he was pleased with his haul and about to spend it on a snifter or three.
In each of the Comecon countries through which we motored in 1966 they exacted a 'road toll' out of passing vehicles by stopping them for some infringement or other and demanding on-the-spot fines. Fortunately in local currency, a quantity of which had to be purchased on entry into the country. Apart from petrol there was little else to spend it on anyway. The traffic cops stepping out of their Volgas or whatever all spoke perfect BBC English, of course!! :cyclops:
Emerging into Austria out of Czeckoslovakia every orifice on the vehicle was opened and they ran large castored mirrors in under the car. That was light years before container-loads of asylum seekers!, but it's been heartening to witness how these former Ostbloc countries have bounced back from the repressive scourge of Communism.

You've probably heard of the Paris art thief whose van stopped on him right in the middle of the Pont Neuf where he as apprehended. His excuse was that he did not have the 'Monet' to buy 'Degas' to make his 'VanGo..'

Tom
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rode_kater
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Re: Test Positive for COVID-19

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Ray wrote: Tue Apr 13, 2021 8:00 pm Australia was the worst for speed limits. Draconian punishment for speeding, and a lot of country to drive through to get anywhere.
I remember discussing this once there and the point was made that after 110km/h the effect of wind resistance really kicks off and so your petrol usage goes through the roof. So much so that if you're not paying attention to might not make the next petrol station. Though car efficiency has probably gone up sufficiently to make this less of a concern these days, it just starts costing more.

In central Europe this won't matter so much, in Australia it can matter a lot. Also, the roads have to be built to higher speeds and quite a lot of the major roads are not that straight. The east coast of Australia is not exactly flat.
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Re: Test Positive for COVID-19

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by Kirbstone » Wed Apr 14, 2021 3:56 am

FG., I'll bet that cop in not-so-beautiful-downtown TX didn't offer you a receipt for your hundred bucks. I expect he was pleased with his haul and about to spend it on a snifter or three.
You've got that right--something about the secretary wasn't in on weekends! :shock:

You've probably heard of the Paris art thief whose van stopped on him right in the middle of the Pont Neuf where he as apprehended. His excuse was that he did not have the 'Monet' to buy 'Degas' to make his 'VanGo..'
Now I think you've opened a can of worms! (This may even merit a new thread, or: Darn you. Is there any way to mend this thread?

I once saw a page long story mostly of musical composer puns, wish I could recall it; and several variants on Monet and Degas...love 'em. I think your thief changed venues after his arrest and tried musical stores, he wanted the 'lute'. Late reports suggest he may of been from the SC, found raiding a fabric store -- following a pattern?

Uncle Al may have a contribution or a gazillion; he probably even knows why Bach had so many children -- it seems he had no organ stops.

Alright somebody, let's see the Skirt pun thread -- _________ _________ ____________ ___ __________.....
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Re: Test Positive for COVID-19

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Faldaguy wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 8:46 pm he probably even knows why Bach had so many children
His wife was known in the maternity ward as Mrs. Offenbach.
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Kirbstone
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Re: Test Positive for COVID-19

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Notice stuck on the glass door of a little corner music shop:

Gone Chopin', Bach to lunch, Offenbach sooner.

Tom
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Ray
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Re: Test Positive for COVID-19

Post by Ray »

Rode_kater

I’d accept the fuel consumption argument, but for a few issues:

1. Fuel consumption doesn’t suddenly get worse at 110. It’s a steady progression of degradation from about 60kph (the slowest you can sensibly go in top gear).
2. It’s ironic that the speed limit is set to reduce fuel consumption when many Australian cars (Holden, Falcon, and your average Ute) are terribly inefficient, yet Australia levies tariffs on European cars which are way more fuel efficient.

My 2007 Alfa Romeo Brera coupé can do 6.7l/100km. A Golf diesel will do 4.5l/100km. A recent Vauxhall Astra, hired in Spain last year, delivered a remarkable 4.5l/100km. It’s petrol!

For US readers, that’s about 62mpg, or in US gallons, about 50mpg.

Put another way, a Golf diesel at 130kph is way more efficient than a Ute at 110.
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Re: Test Positive for COVID-19

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The fastest speed limit in my neck of the woods is 70mph, (112 kph) though I've heard it can go faster out west, even here people push 80 to 85. Reckless driving is 80mph in my state.

70 is plenty fast enough considering the congestion, truck traffic, rolling hills etc. The GPS tracker on my work van is VERY strict and sends emails to virtually everyone imaginable when you speed, so I normally set cruise control anywhere from 5-10 mph UNDER the speed limit at all times.

I've heard our speed limits are set based on a variety of factors...

Of course, the politicians say it's all about safety (and to be fair, I suppose slower driving habits are safer)

Realistically I think it comes down to a few others:

1) Revenue in the form of traffic citations

2) Revenue in the form of civil asset forfeiture stops (our law enforcement is granted the exclusive right to take your property without probable cause, warrants, etc...)

3) I've heard that the faster the driving, the harder it is on the pavement, this is especially true with heavier vehicles.

My car starts to hum at over 4k rpm in 5th speed at 80mph. At that speed you can almost watch the gas needle drop. It red lines at around 6k rpm, and I'm not sure what speed you'd be cruising at that rate, I've never tried. I think the vehicle was geared to comfortably cruise at a top speed of around 60mph. But I don't think it was ever really engineered to be an "highway ride". It's buyers market was more for the backwoods, off roading type. In fact, there is a subculture of first generation Sportage people who like to modify their rides for some serious off roading that would rival any Jeep out there.

As for Jax, he's just stock, but still fun in the mountains!
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Jim
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Re: Test Positive for COVID-19

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Except for long trips, I usually try to get the best miles per gallon rather than the lowest time, but I try to make allowances for those who are in a hurry and behind me when passing isn't easy.
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Re: Test Positive for COVID-19

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Through most of central USA it’s max 70mph, with lower and faster posted speeds depending on the state and road types. TX, for instance, has speed limits up to 80mph (I swear I came across a section that was 85, but don’t recall where). It’s a bit scary to actually travel that fast in TX on these back roads - the roads are wide - the shoulders appear to be designed for cars making a right turn - but they are hilly and some don’t have central dividers (they have a central rumble strip though). Dedicated passing sections allow faster cars to safely pass “slower” moving traffic.

What gives me a chuckle - going from one state to the other - and on the same highway - the speed dropping by 5mph. Nothing else has changed - same road, same signage, same shoulders - just different local laws. Or driving around a major town and the speed drops to 55mph - while I laud them for their efforts at safety, people like me who drive the speed limit no matter what end up getting buffeted by idiots who drive 10, 15, 20 miles over the speed limit, which is most drivers.
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Re: Test Positive for COVID-19

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Back in 2015, I can remember driving back from the North Carolina coast on the beltway around Raleigh (the capitol city). If I'm not mistaken, the speed limit was 55, and I swear there must have been 10 lanes (five per side) on the road. We were coming through during rush hour, and I had gradually gravitated over to the far left (fast) lane.

We were bumper to bumper, traveling very fast. I started to feel the car get a "floaty" feeling in the suspension (my wife's Elantra). I glanced down at the speedometer, it registered 93 mph. :shock:

That little car can sure book it.
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6ft3Aussie
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Re: Test Positive for COVID-19

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I think that thread drift has happened here....

I recall that in parts of Nevada and Utah the limits are about 75 MPH, and in Arizona and Southern Idaho I've seen speed limits up to 85 MPH, and my wife's uncle who was driving at one time was cruising about 90, and at one stage up to about 100 MPH...

You do that now in Australia and you'll loose your license for 12 months, massive fine and your car will be impounded, or in one state, permanently confiscated and crushed under their anti-hoon laws, if you're a repeat offender. Highest speed limit in Australia is 130kmh (81MPH) in the NT, and 110kmh (68 MPH) elsewhere.

I was with a former workmate when he got booked doing 101 kmh in an 80 zone (as the limit on that road goes up and down whenever there's an intersection), 3 points and $344 fine.. Here you if you get 12 points on your licence within 3 years you loose your licence for I think 12 months, and if you get caught driving on a suspended licence, it's about a $1200 fine, car impounded and see you in court, where your suspension will be probably extended by a further 12 months minimum. I think once you get to 40kmh over the limit it's instant loss of licence and impounding.
Then there's speed cameras.. They're black and white, we got you over the limit and here's the evidence to prove it. If the registered owner of the vehicle was not the driver, it's up to that person to prove who was, and that person will get the ticket and the points. And don't get caught toughing your phone while in the drivers seat (and that includes using your phone to pay for Maccas at the drive in), as that will earn you 4 points and $1000 fine...
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Sinned
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Re: Test Positive for COVID-19

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Sorry, 75"Aussie, I presume your comment about the drive-in payment was tongue-in-cheek as over here the younger generation know very few other payment methods than phone contactless. It would mean very few drivers on the road under the age of 70! Mind you, 85mph through a drive-in - is that what they call fast service?

Here speeding is points and a fine. Vehicle impounding is not common but can happen. Gatso ( speed ) cameras are yellow. We also have average speed cameras over a measured stretch of road so if your time is under a certain value then you are in trouble. Mind you there are cameras all over the roads monitoring you all the time.

Limits are 70mph on motorways and dual carriageways, 60mph on single lane, 50mph on open urban lanes, 40mph on more central urban built up areas, 30mph on most other city/town roads and 20mph in other designated areas such as near schools. In rush hour in cities the speed of traffic can tend to zero. Oh, I forgot on some motorways there are varying limits which are indicatedon displays over each lane and depend upon the density of traffic in that lane. So you could be in a 50mph lane but the lane next to you could be 40mph. Sounds complicated but it seems to work out. With the higher limits there is some leeway so motorways will allow 80mph but get to 90-95+mph and you are in danger of being pulled over. I think that covers the speedy thingumys.
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Re: Test Positive for COVID-19

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Sinned wrote: Thu Apr 15, 2021 8:50 pm Limits are 70mph on motorways and dual carriageways, 60mph on single lane, 50mph on open urban lanes, 40mph on more central urban built up areas, 30mph on most other city/town roads and 20mph in other designated areas such as near schools.
...But some types of van (but not all vans) are limited to 60 on dual carriageways, 50 in a 60 limit and 40 in a 50 limit.  Exactly the same van, fitted with a bed and a kitchen sink can be classified as a camper and becomes exempt from those extra restrictions.
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