Never a dull moment

[SoCal250]

So this morning I'm on the FZ, doing my usual long commute on the 405 through SoCal traffic  Not really a very fun ride, but hey it's seat time and I get to work much faster than in a cage. I regularly see a lot of people doing crazy shit while driving -- reading a book, working on a laptop, shaving, putting on makeup, and it seems about 50% are doing something with their phones. :o

Well today I saw something I thought I'd never see.  It was a little after 8am and traffic was actually moving and not the usual stop-and-go or gridlock. I was in the carpool lane and as I came up on a Tesla S (they're everywhere here and I can't stand them) in the fast lane, I noticed that the guy driving (sole occupant) didn't have his hands on the wheel. Not a big deal as many owners abuse the self-driving feature and mistake it for auto-pilot. However, as I passed the driver's side window I noticed the guy was not only hands-off but he was sound asleep with his head tipped over to the side and his chin on his chest. ! I rode next to him for a little while just to be sure he really was sleeping and he didn't move or open his eyes. Just cruising along in rush hour traffic doing about 40-45mph while catching up on some much needed sleep. 

I've heard stories and seen videos but I never thought I'd witness this myself. It friggen nuts and endangering everyone else on the road. I quickly speed up to get as far away from him as I could. Knucklehead!

[suey1958]

WOW, that is totally insane. 

[Greaser Greg]

Wait...what!? How was he not crashing?

[rodneya]

Did the car have a red LED strip at the front of the hood?

[~JM~]

How about those autonomous semi rigs?

80K Lbs. No driver.

Pretty cool, huh?

[Greaser Greg]

No, just no.

[Tuck]

Don't worry Russ, it won't be long you'll be commuting on this every day.

[SoCal250]

So this week I saw more bizarre stuff on the same section of I-405.
I passed a guy on a motorcycle going the other way with a bicycle rack on the back. He had a full-sized mtn bike on it that was completely assembled with both wheels still mounted. The bike was suspended vertically, over the rear wheel and passenger area, and  off to one side slightly. It looked really crazy – very top-heavy, sticking up high and off the back.
And 3 days in a row I saw I guy on a Grom...on the FREEWAY! Saw him once in the AM and twice in the PM


Luckily, I didn't see anyone sleeping while driving though   ;D

[Seizer]

How are the fires impacting the traffic down there Russ?


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[pdxjim]

Evidently that bike on bike stuff is pretty common.

[Redbird]

I drive professionally. I really need to mount a camera in the truck.

[m in sc]

1: ive seen the bike on bike thing a lot. 2: my grom would sustain at 75 all day long with the 4v head, lots of guys rode em on the freeway, i did. 

[SoCal250]

How are the fires impacting the traffic down there Russ?

Not impacting me at all, although from work I could see the smoke plume off in the distance being blown out to sea.  The Saddleridge fire is north of LA up by Granada Hills, Sylmar, & Hansen Dam. I'm south of LA by about 30-40 miles and ride the 405 through the Long Beach/Carson area.

[SoCal250]

I drive professionally. I really need to mount a camera in the truck.

Probably a really good idea, especially if you spend so much time on the road. I've been thinking I really need to start using my GoPro again. Traffic here is nuts -- 5 lanes of bumper to bumper traffic each direction, drivers on their phones, aggressive bad drivers, no one seems to know what a turn signal is for, and bikes lane splitting. I see a bike down almost every day and at least 2-3 accidents each direction on my commute.

[~JM~]

I drive professionally. I really need to mount a camera in the truck.

Probably a really good idea, especially if you spend so much time on the road. I've been thinking I really need to start using my GoPro again. Traffic here is nuts -- 5 lanes of bumper to bumper traffic each direction, drivers on their phones, aggressive bad drivers, no one seems to know what a turn signal is for, and bikes lane splitting. I see a bike down almost every day and at least 2-3 accidents each direction on my commute.

Caught in a So-Cal traffic jam about 20 years ago. I'm stopped & looking around at the vehicles/drivers around me. One is reading a book, gal doing her make-up, etc. The only driver paying attention, was the guy smoking a joint.