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Subject:Re: Request help with traffic terminology From:"Isaac S. Hall" <bitman -at- APPLINK -dot- NET> Date:Wed, 3 Dec 1997 00:56:09 -0600
>>Could someone help me with the correct terms in American and British
>>English for the types of traffic violations described below. Perhaps there
>>is no better term for some of them, such as speeding:
>>Driving in the breakdown lane
Haven't heard of that. Sounds like the breakdown lane would be where one
pulls the car off the road opposite the side of oncoming traffic (AKA on the
right side in the US), which would be the shoulder. So, driving on the
shoulder would be the term. However, in Texas (rural, anyway), it's rarely
enforced. In fact, my dad tells of a story from when he was rgowing up in
Louisiana. Here in Texas, the shoulder is often paved. In Louisiana, it is
often gravel. Apparently, a car with Texas plates was going along the
shoulder, which did happen to be paved there. A railroad crossed the road.
Since the shoulder was not usually paved, it was not paved over the tracks
(is usually is in Texas), so the car made a leap into the air as it hit the
"raw" tracks. I think the driver was quite surprised...
>>Driving over the solid median dividing line
I've heard this simply as driving in the wrong lane or driving into oncoming
traffic.