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Old 01-12-2000, 01:50 PM
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need2speed need2speed is offline
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Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 1,253
I remember fondly a tour of Scotland in the late 80's in a rented Nissan Micra. After getting the hang of driving on the wrong side of the road and shifting with my left hand, I was still frustrated by everyone passing me in a blaze of blinking headlights. Finally, on a typical one and a half lane roadway on the Isle of Mull, a large lorry went by and I decided to tuck in behind and follow at whatever speed he was going. Lo and behold, I discovered that the roads were smooth, the curves properly cambered, and the exit ramps had a constant radius. The passing zones were in the right places and I actually enjoyed more spirited driving for the rest of our trip. IMHO roadway engineering is as important as vehicle engineering for achieving "rapid transit" and unfortunately, we seem to have competence in neither on this side of the Atlantic.

Dean Albrecht
94 E500
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