Strange habits you have

[TheHighwayMan3561]

If I'm watching a video on YouTube or something, I have this need to press pause at the end of the video before it can reach the end roll. It has nothing to do with stopping it before it rolls into another video or anything - I want to feel like I had control of ending the video.

[US 89]

I clinch roads and counties.

Oh wait, that's like 95% of people here.

[MultiMillionMiler]

Whenever I get in any car with anyone I immediately look at the gas gauge. If I see it is at 1/4 tank or lower I will nag the driver to stop and get gas.

Running out of gas is one of my worst nightmares, and seeing people let their gauge drift towards E without acting like something urgently needs to be done about it drives me batshit.

I should probably take that advice. I let my gas tank get down to 1/10th far too often. I have 15.5 Gallon Tank and a couple times recently getting gas I was able to put 14-14.8 gallons in! This is mainly because I have this OCD thing where I like to see how many miles I can get out of a full tank and trying to beat previous mileage. My record is currently 431 miles before pulling up to a pump and I still had a fifth or a sixth of a tank left.

[Max Rockatansky]

I clinch roads and counties.

Oh wait, that's like 95% of people here.

I think the county part of it has happened by accident for me by proxy the process of clinching roads. 

[1995hoo]

When I'm riding the subway and I need to stand, I put on a glove if I have one with me. God only knows who's touched that pole or railing and where that person's hands have been.

[ethanhopkin14]

When I'm riding the subway and I need to stand, I put on a glove if I have one with me. God only knows who's touched that pole or railing and where that person's hands have been.

I don't know if that qualifies as a strange habit.  I think that qualifies as being smart.

[MultiMillionMiler]

I set my tripodometer as the road becomes straight so I can measure exactly how long a long straight section is, and also measure the length of curves, so I know how sharp the are for the future. Don't worry, the button is in my field of view so it's not really distracted driving. It's more "road research".

[J N Winkler]

I set my tripodometer as the road becomes straight so I can measure exactly how long a long straight section is, and also measure the length of curves, so I know how sharp the are for the future. Don't worry, the button is in my field of view so it's not really distracted driving. It's more "road research".

That sounds like a way to wear out the odometer reset button quickly.  Have you considered just getting this information from construction plans sets?  That would also give you the superelevation, which has a huge influence on how sharp curves feel.

[roadman65]

I set my tripodometer as the road becomes straight so I can measure exactly how long a long straight section is, and also measure the length of curves, so I know how sharp the are for the future. Don't worry, the button is in my field of view so it's not really distracted driving. It's more "road research".

I would say your fixation on grappling hooks on choppers to handle road problems is strange to say the least.

[J N Winkler]

Yeah, but I like my accuracy to a 10th of a mile. And what the manuals might consider straight, I may not. For me, a "straightaway" means I can't even perceive the slightest veering/deviation from an ideal straight line if I am paying attention to it. I also try not to change lanes if possible because that would add some distance to the line.

Then you really need to start getting into construction plans.  Curves are surveyed to a precision of 1/100 of a foot--much better than 1/10 of a mile.  And a curve will show up in the plans even if it is hard to see on the ground; the Thruway, for example, has curves with radii as high as 16 miles.

[webny99]

And a curve will show up in the plans even if it is hard to see on the ground; the Thruway, for example, has curves with radii as high as 16 miles.

Indeed, and I'm not sure how rare it is for curves to have radii of this size, but the gradual nature of curves on the Thruway in general is one of the reasons why it is (at least IMO) one of the highest quality roads in the country.

[MultiMillionMiler]

And a curve will show up in the plans even if it is hard to see on the ground; the Thruway, for example, has curves with radii as high as 16 miles.

Indeed, and I'm not sure how rare it is for curves to have radii of this size, but the gradual nature of curves on the Thruway in general is one of the reasons why it is (at least IMO) one of the highest quality roads in the country.

Really? Look at this curve near exit 15A:

Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway
https://maps.app.goo.gl/Z1TFqUu4kc48ZM7j6

I've hit this curve at 65-70 mph and you really feel those G forces. Maybe another location I should have my highway patrol and speed cameras. The rest of the thruway can go unlimited for all I care.

[Scott5114]

If you can't navigate that curve safely you should turn in your license.

[MultiMillionMiler]

If you can't navigate that curve safely you should turn in your license.

My car could handle it safely, but my point is locations like that are where the strict speed limit enforcement should be, not on wide straightaways like between exits 11 and 15 or along I-90 outside of the cities. When you start to feel a little pressure from making the turn at the speed limit, you know that there's no way it could handle any higher speeds, so the speed limit tolerance should be like 3-4 mph tops.

[Bruce]

Would this stretch of I-84 be too much to comprehend?

[MultiMillionMiler]

Curves are way too sharp, cars coming around the curve to the left (rightbound on the screen) are likely to skid right across the grass and crash into cars merging from where the yellow lines are. But because it's a 6 lane divided highway I'd compromise and allow a 50 mph speed limit around the curves with speed camera tolerance up to 53 mph (54 mph = ticket).

[Max Rockatansky]

"Rightbound"  is an interesting new directional term.

[Bruce]

Curves are way too sharp, cars coming around the curve to the left (rightbound on the screen) are likely to skid right across the grass and crash into cars merging from where the yellow lines are. But because it's a 6 lane divided highway I'd compromise and allow a 50 mph speed limit around the curves with speed camera tolerance up to 53 mph (54 mph = ticket).

Too bad, it's a 70 mph zone with a 65 mph truck speed. There is an advisory sign with 50 mph, but making that the limit would result in death threats.

[Scott5114]

Curves are way too sharp, cars coming around the curve to the left (rightbound on the screen) are likely to skid right across the grass and crash into cars merging from where the yellow lines are. But because it's a 6 lane divided highway I'd compromise and allow a 50 mph speed limit around the curves with speed camera tolerance up to 53 mph (54 mph = ticket).

Too bad, it's a 70 mph zone with a 65 mph truck speed. There is an advisory sign with 50 mph, but making that the limit would result in death threats.

Only around the curves, the straight stretch you could increase back up to 70+ mph, even if there's another curve coming in 1 mile. Only around the curves would you have to drop to 50 mph, and trucks should be limited to 45 mph around those NASCAR style curves.

Or you could stop being a wuss about it...

[jakeroot]

Drivers are more than capable of making safe and rational choices about how much to slow down around a corner.

The issue is, well, physics. Cars that are lower to the ground are going to take curves much better than cars with high centers of gravity. Ergo, taller vehicles have a much lower threshold for how much beyond the speed limit they could take a corner before flipping or losing control. But, that doesn't mean you punish every driver simply because there's some cars that have to go a little slower.

Still, even at high speeds, most cars will not lose control or flip on a curve. Nannying drivers with a curve-specific limit is unfair to the thousands of drivers that are being completely rational with their speeds.

[1995hoo]

When I'm riding the subway and I need to stand, I put on a glove if I have one with me. God only knows who's touched that pole or railing and where that person's hands have been.

I don't know if that qualifies as a strange habit.  I think that qualifies as being smart.

I agree, but it seems like almost nobody else does it.

Then you have mornings like yesterday where the 4 train was so crowded that I was jammed in by the door, nothing to hold onto, but it didn't matter because there was no way to fall over due to how crowded it was.

[kkt]

I wash my hands when coming inside after riding the light rail or bus and touching things.

[webny99]

• Keeping my chest hair trimmed in roughly the shape of a heart

         (Probably TMI, but it does fit the subject!)

[Roadgeekteen]

I wash my hands when coming inside after riding the light rail or bus and touching things.

I usually do that as well, at least when coming home.

[1995hoo]

I wash my hands when coming inside after riding the light rail or bus and touching things.

I have done that for years too. When I worked downtown and rode the Metro, washing my hands was usually the first thing I did when I arrived at the office. Nowadays the wider availability of hand sanitizer at building entrances makes it easier to do this first thing before even heading to the elevator, although I still prefer how my hands feel using soap and water to the way they feel after using hand sanitizer.