If you like diner food, Blast From The Past Too down in Scarborough was excellent when I was last down that way. It's not that far away from the mall.

A warning is better than a fine.

Hannaford in my experience. But Shaw's can be good if you shop their sales.

At this point, I think it's been hit around four dozen times. I was just there today. The green sleeve is gone, and the pole was bent over from the latest muppet trying to drive through it.

Might not be such a good idea to walk from that direction. Park at the Lowes instead. People driving in from the Burger King side can't even see a bright yellow pole, so I wouldn't trust them to see a person walking.

Augusta has its own Walmart. Ignore the main entrance on Stephen King Drive if possible. Go in this way or this way. They both bring you around the side of the store and let you skip the much more congested main entrance.

That pole is probably more (in)famous than anything else in Auburn.

I found it on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wj0hpCM6fR4

The more I read about the kind of anti-consumer bullshit they're pulling with new cars, the more I figure buying my next car will involve a trip out west, outside of the salt belt, to get something that's at least 20 years old.

Clutch? Last I knew, the Equinox never came with anything but an automatic transmission.

They are a law enforcement force, and that includes enforcement of traffic laws.

In 20 years of driving, I've never had them try to shake me down. Must be because I know how to follow simple traffic laws.

There are more fatal car accidents every year than there are intentional homicides. Traffic enforcement is just as important for saving lives.

For these guys, it's because they make wide right-hand turns. Sometimes, the only way for them to make a right turn is to swing to the left first. Stupid people will sometimes try to squeeze by on the right when they do that, even when the driver has his blinker on, and then get squished when the driver tries to make the turn.

As for why you shouldn't pass on the right normally, bear in mind that these rules were written years ago, and that when they were written, many cars did not have passenger side wing mirrors. Even though everything has a passenger side mirror nowadays, they bear the warning, "Objects in mirror are closer than they appear." So if you go to pass someone on the right and that driver decides to move back over, then when he looks in his right side mirror, it looks like he has more space than he actually has.

I see this argument in response to keep right rules all the time. Do people really think it means everyone is in the right lane at all times and never moves out of it for any reason? It's not that extreme, even in states like Maine and Massachusetts that have the more strictly worded laws.

Faster traffic uses the left lanes to overtake slower traffic, and then moves to the right when they're done. This is how it works in the majority of the world that drives on the right. In countries like the UK where they drive on the left, it's the same system, but reversed.

Heavy, but free-flowing, traffic means a speed gradient between the lanes: Right lane moving the slowest; left lane moving the fastest; any lanes in the middle should be progressively faster as you move left. As long as each lane is moving faster than the lane to its right, the letter and spirit of the law are being followed. The people getting pulled over in this situation are the people who are obstructing traffic.

Stop-and-go traffic, nobody is getting a ticket for failure to keep right. Nobody cares what lane you're in when it's stop-and-go. Just keep it between the lines and use you blinker if you need to move to another one. If I'm the one in the other lane, I'll let you over in front of me as long as I see the blinker.

These rules are not about letting people use the left lanes as a racetrack, or about parting the Red Sea in heavy traffic so that people can do 100 in a 70. They're about creating an orderly, predictable traffic flow so slower drivers and faster drivers can share the same road safely.

This is the relevant law in Maine:

>6. Ways with speed limit of 65 or more miles per hour. An operator driving on a limited-access way with a speed limit of 65 or more miles per hour is restricted in ordinary operation to the right-hand lane and may use adjacent lanes for overtaking and passing another vehicle, but must return to the right-hand lane at the earliest opportunity. This requirement does not apply to an authorized emergency vehicle, or to a vehicle otherwise directed by posted signs, a law enforcement officer or a highway maintenance crew.

Basically, the right lane is the lane you're supposed to drive in. The middle lane is the passing lane, and the left lane is an extra passing lane that you can use if you need to. Drivers in the middle or left lanes are supposed return to the right-hand lane at the earliest opportunity.

Treating it that way goes hand-in-hand with prohibiting big trucks from using the left lane. They still have a passing lane that they can use, because the travel lane is still the far right.

Only about 10% of the drivers down in that part of the state understand this, though, so good luck.

Passing on the right is perfectly legal on the Interstate in Maine, as long as you do so in an actual lane. There are legitimate safety concerns about it, in my opinion, but a one-way road wide enough for multiple lanes of traffic is one of the situations where passing on the right is explicitly allowed by the law (see Title 29-A, §2070 ¶6).

I'll look at the study a bit more later, but as far as whether letting folks go is overall safer, I think that it is. The motorway fatality rate in Germany, for example, is only 1.74 per billion vehicle-km traveled. In the UK, it is 1.16. In the US, it is 3.38 (stats pulled from Wikipedia).

In the US, lane discipline is virtually non-existent. In fact, in my experience, Mainers are better about it than the rest of the east coast. People in other states just hang out in whatever lane they want on a multi-lane highway, and pass on whatever side they want, and it gets significantly worse if there are more than two lanes. In Germany and the UK, though, they are more strict about it. You only pass on the driver's side, and you move back over when done. No passing on the passenger's side allowed.

So, while I can't claim that getting out of the way is specifically what leads to the lower crash rates overall, there does appear to be a correlation. Of course, they also have stricter licensing standards in general, and bad drivers can take the bus or the train and stay off the roads, which is not really an option in most of the USA, so there's definitely more than one factor at play.

I drive the speed limit everywhere. I stay to the right unless passing or required to use a different lane to follow my route, whether the law actually requires it of me or not. I still get annoyed by left and middle lane campers, as they also seem to like camping out in my "blind" spots.

"Shit or get off the pot!" is what I most often find myself saying to them when they are hovering alongside like that. Adjust my speed to give myself some space on the side, and they'll be back to my blind spot in short order, like moths to a flame.

It seems pretty much common sense. Defensive driving is all about reacting safely to all the people out there who don't follow the rules. Speeding drivers behind you? They have already decided that they don't care about the rules, or about the danger they are creating for themselves and others on the road. What's the best way to mitigate the risk to yourself and your passengers?

A. Prevent them from passing you, leading to them unsafely tailgating you and possibly slamming into the back of you if Bullwinkle decides he wants to play on the Interstate today.

B. Let them pass, leading to them speeding off and getting far away from you.

Road rage is a separate issue altogether. But in my mind, if someone is in such a hurry that they are disregarding the rules of the road, then I'd rather have them in front of me than behind me. I trust myself to avoid crashing into them more than I trust them to avoid crashing into me.

Additionally, the right-hand lane is the safest lane on an Interstate highway (unless you're near an active entrance). The middle lane has you surrounded by cars on all sides. The left lane has cars to your right and a ditch or barrier to your left. The left lane is also where you are most likely to meet a wrong-way driver (and we do get them from time to time in Maine).

The right lane, though, has cars on your left, but the break down lane to your right, and so is the best place to be in terms of leaving yourself a potential escape route if things suddenly go awry in front of you.

Really, there is no reason at all to be any further left than necessary on the Interstate in Maine. It's generally safest to keep right, and it's the law wherever the speed limit is 65 or more.

What kind of food do you like? Are you by yourself or do you have friends with you?

If you have some friends with you and you all like seafood, then head over the river to Brewer and check out the Eagle's nest. The seafood platter they serve costs like $50, but it will feed like three or four people (seriously, the platter takes up like half the table). It comes with haddock, clams, shrimp, and scallops.

If you're looking for cheap lunch and like Mexican food, then Las Palapas is the answer.

Asian food? I'm quite partial to Green Tea and (once again, over the river in Brewer) Yoshi (try the phở, it's absolutely delicious!). I've had good food closer to downtown at Ichiban as well. The Oriental Jade used to be fantastic, but I haven't been in years, so I don't know if it's as good as it used to be.

Chinese: Ming Lee in Waterville for a sit-down place. For take-out, the Canton Express in Augusta. I've been to the Kowloon, and while their food was good, I didn't think it was as good as either of those two places.

Mexican: Las Palapas in Bangor or Brewer. It's cheap and satisfying, the way Mexican food is meant to be. It's about as close as I've found to what I ate as a teenager when actually went to Mexico some 20+ years ago. El Agave in Augusta isn't too far behind them.

Lobster: Just get it at a Hannaford's seafood counter. They'll steam it for you right there and it'll cost about half of what you'd pay for it at a restaurant. It's not like it'll taste any better at a restaurant. They pretty much all cook it the same way.

Thai: Red Curry in Augsta and Roselyn in Rockland. Rice and Noodle in Belfast is good for takeout, but I don't think they do dine in anymore.

Japanese: Shinbashi in Ellsworth or Green Tea in Bangor. I think they're related, because they both have this "rock shrimp" appetizer that I'm addicted to, and they both make it the same exact way.

Fried Seafood: The Eagle's nest in Brewer. Get the seafood platter. It's like $50, and you'll get three or four meals out of it.

Sandwiches: Big G's in Winslow.

Italians: Damon's in Augusta or Sonny's in Fairfield. Terroni's in Portland has gone out of business unfortunately, but they used to have the best.

Italian food: Marco's Ristorante in Lewiston is one of my favorites. Their marinara sauce is just sooo good.

Pizza: Alexia's in Belfast. Also have had very good pizza from the Milo House of Pizza, but it's been a long time since I've been there.

Diner: The A1 diner in Gardiner. The best burger I ever ate at a restaurant was right there.

Bakery: Hillman's in Fairfield. Also, the Abbott Village Bakery.