You are too old if you remember.......

[webny99]

Heard b, but not a.

Same here, actually.

[frankenroad]

Getting back to the theme of "You are too old if you remember," a tweet from the Virginia DMV earlier this afternoon prompted me to think of two driving-related ones:

Who else here learned that (a) when you stop at a red light, you should be able to see where the car in front of yours' tires touches the pavement (though you should also pull up if needed to let someone get into the turn lane); (b) when you're changing lanes, you should check your rearview mirror and if you can see both headlights on the car in the other lane that's behind you, you have enough space to get over?

Someone on another forum once said (b) is dating yourself because that isn't taught anymore.

I don't remember being taught A in Driver's Ed (1972), but I learned it from my son when he took Driver's Ed in 2000.  FWIW, both he and I took Drivers Ed in Ohio.

Never heard B.

[1995hoo]

When my dad taught me how to drive, he told me (b) as a way of knowing when to get back over after passing someone.  I don't think I learned it in driver's ed, though.

I don't recall for certain whether I heard that in the classroom portion of driver's ed (which was part of the phys ed curriculum for one-quarter of your sophomore year of high school when I attended high school) or in the behind-the-wheel portion (which, like most people here, I took from a private driving school, not through the public school system). I do know both of my parents mentioned it. Maybe it's a more regional thing? My parents both learned to drive in New York, if that's relevant (my mom got her license in Virginia, though, because the road test here doesn't involve parallel parking).

[Mapmikey]

I was also taught - and still do - (b) though I don't recall if it was my dad or the SC driver's manual. SC didn't require any driver's Ed when I started driving in 1985.

I'm not sure what the point of (a) would be unless you are on a steepish uphill grade and you would want to give room to the manual transmission car in front of you who might roll backwards a bit while trying to take off at the green light.

[1995hoo]

...

I'm not sure what the point of (a) would be unless you are on a steepish uphill grade and you would want to give room to the manual transmission car in front of you who might roll backwards a bit while trying to take off at the green light.

Other reasons I've heard are to reduce the likelihood of ramming the car in front of you if you're hit from behind at low speed and to leave room to get out of the lane in case someone ahead of you breaks down or someone attempts to carjack you or similar.

[formulanone]

…

I’m not sure what the point of (a) would be unless you are on a steepish uphill grade and you would want to give room to the manual transmission car in front of you who might roll backwards a bit while trying to take off at the green light.

Other reasons I’ve heard are to reduce the likelihood of ramming the car in front of you if you’re hit from behind at low speed and to leave room to get out of the lane in case someone ahead of you breaks down or someone attempts to carjack you or similar.

I was taught A and B, though for the reason of breakdowns/hazards at stop lights. Also, in case you're hit from behind, you've given just a little more room so you stand less of a chance of hitting the car in front of you...provided the rear-end accident occurs at below 20 mph, and your brake pedal is depressed.

Since headlight assemblies are becoming $1000-2000 items in the average car (and can be double that in some luxury cars), I feel this is advice has aged well. I don't think the extra 2-3 feet are demanding that much on overall traffic.

[Scott5114]

Leaving room at a stoplight also helps clear the light faster, as when the light turns green you can use that buffer space to start rolling even if the cars ahead of you haven't reached full speed yet.

[abefroman329]

Heard b, but not a.

Same here, actually.

And me.

[Rothman]

Heard b, but not a.

Same here, actually.

And me.

You are too old if you know the source of The Sausage King of Chicago...

[jeffandnicole]

Getting back to the theme of "You are too old if you remember," a tweet from the Virginia DMV earlier this afternoon prompted me to think of two driving-related ones:

Who else here learned that (a) when you stop at a red light, you should be able to see where the car in front of yours' tires touches the pavement (though you should also pull up if needed to let someone get into the turn lane); (b) when you're changing lanes, you should check your rearview mirror and if you can see both headlights on the car in the other lane that's behind you, you have enough space to get over?

Someone on another forum once said (b) is dating yourself because that isn't taught anymore.

I've heard both, although with (a) I heard you should be able to see the bumper of the vehicle.  Line of sight basically allows the tires to be seen also. 

With (b), my car has an unusual right-side camera on the right side-view mirror that is displayed in the center dash area (where the rear-camera video is also played) whenever the right blinker is turned on.  There's a few lines on the screen that shows when it's safe to merge over, which is about when I can also see both headlights of the car in the adjoining lane.

As far as that camera goes, I think the purposes include helping assist in traffic to see if a bicyclist was coming up on the right side, along with the passing reason above.  However, it took the driver's eyes away from their natural viewing spot, outside the car.  Honda did away with the camera in the 2022 model year, replacing it with more standard side warning lights in the side view mirrors.

[kkt]

Heard b, but not a.

Same here, actually.

And me.

You are too old if you know the source of The Sausage King of Chicago...

Ferris was not that long ago!  was it?

[Rothman]

Heard b, but not a.

Same here, actually.

And me.

You are too old if you know the source of The Sausage King of Chicago...

Ferris was not that long ago!  was it?

Don't look it up.

[abefroman329]

Heard b, but not a.

Same here, actually.

And me.

You are too old if you know the source of The Sausage King of Chicago...

Ferris was not that long ago!  was it?

Let me put it this way: If Back to the Future was made today, Marty would go back to 1992.

[Scott5114]

Heard b, but not a.

Same here, actually.

And me.

You are too old if you know the source of The Sausage King of Chicago...

Ferris was not that long ago!  was it?

Let me put it this way: If Back to the Future was made today, Marty would go back to 1992.

Oh God, now I feel old.

[ran4sh]

Leaving room at a stoplight also helps clear the light faster, as when the light turns green you can use that buffer space to start rolling even if the cars ahead of you haven't reached full speed yet.

I wish people would actually do this, it shouldn't take more than a few seconds to start moving when the light turns green. I can usually take my foot off the brake immediately when the light changes, but if other drivers don't start moving I have to put my foot back on the brake.

[Bruce]

Decent homes priced under $200,000? Even for the exurbs, those numbers haven't been seen since the 1990s.

You can see them today...

Meant to say "around here".

Different world out there.

[kphoger]

Leaving room at a stoplight also means less exhaust is coming in through your air vents.

[formulanone]

Heard b, but not a.

Same here, actually.

And me.

You are too old if you know the source of The Sausage King of Chicago...

Ferris was not that long ago!  was it?

Let me put it this way: If Back to the Future was made today, Marty would go back to 1992.

Oh God, now I feel old.

You feel old? I was a senior in high school back then.

[kphoger]

Later this year, there will be people turning 21 who weren't even born yet when 9/11 happened.  I swear that was like ten years ago...

[Scott5114]

Later this year, there will be people turning 21 who weren't even born yet when 9/11 happened.  I swear that was like ten years ago...

In 2018, each of us at the casino got to feel old the first time we ran across a patron with a birth year starting with 2.

[1995hoo]

A few years ago on a trip to Florida, our nephew who lives in Broward County was riding with me and he didn't know what the handbrake lever was. (He was even more baffled when I then told him the car had three pedals for me to use while driving.)

His cousin in Fort Myers, on the other hand, wanted to know what that stick I was always moving around was. The cousin's father commented on how you don't see many cassette players these days (the car has one), which then had his sons wanting to know what a cassette was (so I pulled one out of the armrest and played it).

[roadman65]

When cars had an option of manual or power windows.  They used to charge way more for the latter and most were standard in only Lincoln's and Cadillacs cause they were upscale autos and a crank wouldn't fit the model.

[kphoger]

When cars had an option of manual or power windows.  They used to charge way more for the latter and most were standard in only Lincoln's and Cadillacs cause they were upscale autos and a crank wouldn't fit the model.

The fleet of work vans at my job have manual window cranks.  Some things that come standard on typical passenger cars aren't standard on fleet vehicles.

[zachary_amaryllis]

I don't know if anyone has said this yet, but I remember having to turn the TV to channel 3 or 4 to watch a video tape or play games.

(OT: Has there ever been an area with both numbers being assigned to different stations? Probably not, because at least one channel would have to be free for those kind of things.)

If I remember right, the rules were that one of those channels had to be free in every area.

[snowc]

Later this year, there will be people turning 21 who weren't even born yet when 9/11 happened.  I swear that was like ten years ago...

That's me.