galleychief

There is a stretch of road on the way to the house that brings about a change in my normally conservative demeanor. It is always a 2nd gear beep and some days 3rd gear too. Anyway, I received a call from the local police department last night because my car had been reported travelling at a high rate of speed along this stretch of roadway 3 times in the last 10 days. I was given a stern talking to by Officer Friendly and told I would be seeing him in court if he received another call. This is very troubling to me because I consider myself a good and safe driver, and I know how I feel when the 16 year old with the learners permit and mom's minivan comes roaring down the street past my house.
Anyone else out there struggling with the Jekyll and Hyde driver syndrome?

MEGAREDS

Its hard to drive the 8 slow, to be sure. But starting when my sons were first able to leave the house on their own, and now that they're riding around on bikes, I worry about traffic all the time. They're smart kids, but often oblivious to the world when they're out playing. Being hit by a car could easily happen because they don't act in ways a driver might expect. Every once in a great while a Harley from the dealership down the road takes a test drive through my neighborhood and I start to foam at the mouth.

I try to keep these things in mind when I'm on residential streets. It helps to calm Mr. Hyde.

kbull

I take extra care in about the last half mile before home, just because all of my neighbors have kids that are constantly playing in the street. Other than that, Mr. Hyde seems untameable.

ptiemann

Cough cough.. beep in 3rd gear? Doesn't that mean 96 mph?

JimW

I would wait and see if you are harass
ed by the police dept. If so I would then file a complaint! They need to catch you in the act of the offense, calling the house and harassing you is a big no...no.

Spin9k

Harasment by Foot!! - I'd say they are doing him a BIG favor! Quick - go THANK that NICE COP!!

I mean they could have just gone out of their way for a few days to be in that area and catch him 'beeping' in 2nd or 3rd gear..... now THAT would would be one big unpleasant ticket in a residential area!

My credo, don't $hit in your own backyard - IOW drive slow anywhere around your home area.

Slickvic

Give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe the cops were trying to do you a favor.

John Corbitt

I drive the speed limit on the streets. I guess this comes with age. However, I beep 2nd 3rd and 4th gear at the track. After doing that with a bunch of other cars doing the same thing in Sebring, it seems pointless to go fast on the street. A ticket for 20mph over the speed limit is the same price as the entry fee at the track. go to www.nasaproracing.com
Have fun

John

zzum-zum

I always find it funny that people admit to breaking the law, and then call it harrassment when the police call them on it.
Spin9K is right - they did you a huge favor!

galleychief

I probably should have mentioned that the speed limit is 45 on this stretch of two lane road, it's not considered residential even though there are houses set back off the street. And you ought to get that cough checked ptieman, we all know what a beeb in third means And yes, I'm thankful for the lecture from the police and would never consider that harrassment. I guess it's time to throttle back and count my blessings!

Lufa

I speed like a mad man on the highways, but never over 25 in residential. Way too many children around my house to even think of beeping 2nd, much less 3rd.

On the other hand give me an on-ramp and pole position at the light, with a nice long curve .

Todd Green

95 in a 45...... hmmm that's crazy! thank goodness the brake rotors on the 8 are gargantuous!

Senseny

IMO that was pretty cool of the cops. Like someone else said, they could just wait and catch you. Around here doubling the limit can be charged as reckless driving and not just speeding.
I understand your passion for giving this car the gas, good luck and pick your spots differently I guess.

G)(O

the people that made the reports though do not always have the correct reasoning for it.. before i got my rx-8 i drove my sis's G35 coupe quite a bit, and i got three complaints in my neighborhood... normally i wouldnt argue, but whoever has drivin a G35 knows that it isnt the quietest car, in fact it is one of the loudest stock cars ive driven... anywayz the moral of the story is some old lady's think ur goin fast cuz they here the car coming... but that doesnt mean i was doing anything stupid

JimW

galleychief drives in a mostly conservative manner, except for a certain stretch of road. He then takes advantage of the way the car is designed for. I guess if he was speeding way over the limit, then it was a favor they called instead of setting up a trap. How many people drive over the speed limit? I know in my area, everyone does at least 10-15 miles per hour above. This includes grandmas and offduty speed enforcers. This does not mean it's o.k. to speed, but to get a call and being threatened with a court hearing based on someone complaining without hard evidence, would make me feel like I was being singled out for other reasons than the speed infraction. Exactly like G)(Os statement above, it could be prejudice based on the type of car you drive, irate ex girlfriend or hipocritical self-rightious bigot! This is The United States of America, innocent until proven guilty!

guy321

I don't think everyone is reading the original post correctly. He was not complaining about the police harassing him. He admitted to driving insanely. Yet he "considered" himself a safe driver.. He's saying that the 8 is compelling him to drive other than in his normally safe style.

Yes, 95 in a 45 is not safe and can get you arressted if there are cops around.. I try not to do more than 70, if there are no houses around.. and personally (to answer the original question) I do drive "differntly" in the 8.

Yanje

wha, 45mph actually arent that bad. over here, we're forced to drive 50km in suburban streets (household areas). and 5km above it will see a $50 fine. 10km above it will mean demerit points and $100, and much more if above 20km.

i kinda drive 9.9km (or somewhat around that) above the limit at all times to avoid the demerits. but yeh, i drive extremely slow near schools, and households around the mornings (8am-10am) and in the arvo's (3-5pm). but i must admit, i do crazy stuff late at night, and thats on any road. thinking the chances of seeing ppl on the road is almost NIL.... but its a bad habit tho.

even tho i have some bad habits, but i'd say i'm a responsible driver (at least for an 18 yr old).

crumpmd

I kinda have the Jeckyl and Hyde thing going. But it comes on the onramp. I gas it to the 3rd gear beep when there is no traffic ahead. Then I go 3 to 6 and coast back to 75mph.
On an unlimited access surface street near a residential neighborhood I'd be less than tempted. It is pretty easy to control the impulse if you think about smashing some kid, or even a pet speeding like that.

northern-8

The RX-8 just begs to be driven hard, but I always fight the tempation when on residential streets. I'm move aware since my little guy was born, but I know that I couldn't live with the guilt of killing a kid.

I think the cops did galleychief a favor. A warning is much better than a nasty ticket.

Keep Mr. Hyde in the trunk until you get away from kids, then let him out!

Chrisbert

Inside my neighbourhood I put it into 3rd and putz along at around 32 MPH. Going downhill 3rd holds the car back enough to maintain 35 without using the brakes.

Can't go whipping around in there since many of the kids own golf carts.

mjd

Nobody else has an 8 in the area where I live, so they have absolutely no clue. I've gotten wierd looks from people walking on the street after going up to 4000 rpms before shifting after leaving a stop sign. I guess many peoples ears do not understand the renesis. I would love to go to about 5000-6000rpms after a stop sign and have a cop nearby and see if they would do anything. Could they accuse me of over-revving the engine or excessive acceleration??

JimW

When I get in the RX8 I get the urge to buy some nomex driving gloves and I screen all my calls from now on!

JimW

galleychief, since that NON residential particular stretch of road gives you the urge to drive the car the way it was meant to be driven find a desolate road like it or away from that @ss hole complainer and have fun.