I know there has always been bad drivers, but I really think the past while more and more have been getting out of their heads out of their gas ovens and hitting the roads.
Most common offences I have noticed:
No signaling. At all. You will be following these people, and all of a sudden they hit the brakes and turn off the road. Or change lanes and the person in the other lane has to slow down for the moron. This is by far my biggest pet peeve. Is it that hard to do?
Turning into the wrong lane. You routinely see people turning a corner and going straight into the inside lane (if they are turning right). I have seen numerous “almost” accidents because the person turning left turned into the inside lane (as they are supposed to) but the right turner thinks they are in the right and honk and give the finger to the person turing left. WTF?
Sitting at a red light and staying there when its green. What the hell is the deal with that? Pay attention to the light! Don’t burn out like big daddy when it goes green, but after looking both ways proceed. Maybe 2 seconds should be plenty.
Cell phones. Although not illegal to drive and talk here, it sure as hell should be. I am a witness in a court case this month about an asshole that was gabbing on the phone, missed his turn and killed a guy… a family guy with 2 little girls.
I know the last one isn’t illegal, but why don’t cops enforce these simple laws? Is there anything the average Joe can do to make them? Or is this only a big problem where I live?
The biggest problem here in NC is people going 25 or 30mph in a 45 or 55mph zone. Another big problem is Drivers Ed. I dont know how it is elsewhere but it is an absolute joke here. I slept through half of it and didnt even show up to the other half and i passed with flying colors. It truly is sad that some people take it 5 or 6 times and still cant pass. I know one girl that failed it so many times they wont let her take it again until shes 21. Anyway, i think this might be more of a pit thread. Good day.
Yeah, this really blows. I get that all the time and it pisses me off more and more each time it happens.
Getting into the inside lane when making a right turn is not illegal. However, you’d think that if people see that cars are making left turns in general that they would wait.
This is probably more of a case of you getting older, and more mature, and noticing the irresponsible behaviors that have been there all along. When I was little, I can remember my parents complaining about the very same things you are complaining about. I know that I am now more likely to notice the bad driving behaviors in others that I used to not notice in others when I was exhibiting them myself (in my younger years).
This is probably more of a case of you getting older, and more mature, and noticing the irresponsible behaviors that have been there all along. When I was little, I can remember my parents complaining about the very same things you are complaining about. I know that I am now more likely to notice the bad driving behaviors in others that I used to not notice in others when I was exhibiting them myself (in my younger years).
I believe that people have become more careless and aggressive drivers as a result of the increased performance modern vehicles afford, coupled with the attitude that “I don’t have to wait, or yield, or go as slow as everyone else.”
Cars just handle and perform so much better than the big, soft land yachts of yesteryear. Better steering, tighter suspensions, improved braking and traction control, and higher power to weight ratios all contribute.
And it makes people believe they are better drivers than ever before. People can more safely perform maneuvers like sudden lane changes, swerving in and out of traffic, running red lights, cornering at high speed and such - maneuvers that were unthinkable in the monstrous, sloppy cars of old. Sure, there always have been zippy cars, but they were always reserved for the “sports car” class.
Used to be, the 2-second rule for following was the de facto standard for safe driving. And in my parents old Chevy Suburban, that was a bare minimum to be safe. But behind the wheel of a nimble VW GTI for example, a 1/2 second following distance seems plenty. And so what if the stop light is turning red? I can make it through before the opposing traffic starts to move.
That’s my theory, anyway.
BTW, my big red truck isn’t safe to drive like that, so I don’t. But I used to with a Datsun 260Z.
Speaking of driving 25-30 in a 45-50 mph zone, that seems to be exclusive to older drivers (at least around here). Why is that? Every time I’m stuck behind someone driving way too slow, and I finally get sick and pass them, I look and it’s a white-haired little old lady/man.
Is there some kind of physiological change that makes them perceive speed differently like a stoned driver on the freeway, or are they just trying to be careful, or what?
Caution, care and maturity behind the wheel in some cases, but aging is a big factor: slower reflexes, dimished vision, especially at night, dimished peripheral vision, and, in some cases, just plain fear of an accident. Then again, I know quite a few older drivers that can be (and are) more aggressive than your ‘getthehellouttamyway’ driver, especially if they are driving the bigger cars (Cadillacs, Olds, the big ‘boat cars’).
I think that there are just more drivers in general on the raods these days, so if the ratio of good to bad drivers remained constant, there are more bad drivers out on the road. This is compounded by the increased number of cars on the road making for more dangerous situations simply because the roadways are more crowded.
Of course, I’m speaking as someone from the Atlanta, Georgia area. I think that I heard a statistic that if we don’t do something about our traffic situation, there will be complete gridlock within 10 years.
You will be pleased to know that in Australia it is illegal to drive while using a hand-held cellular phone. (Hence why I work in a ambulance fitted with a hands-free kit.)
I believe cars turning left are supposed to yield to cars turning right until the intersection is safe to enter. The driver turning right may need to be in the inside lane, if for instance they are turning into a driveway on the left soon after the right turn. And with some of the narrow streets in a town as old as the one I live in, it’s simply impossible to turn right and remain in the outside lane without running over the curb and anyone standing on it.
So I’d say the honking and one-finger salutes are deserved.
I always drink at home so I can see no excuse for the shitheads who think they have to drink and drive or forgo a social life. That being said, and mindful of the hypocrisy of human nature, I wonder how many Mothers Against Drunk Drivers members have caused accidents by driving oversize SUV’s while yelling at their soccer-uniformed kids in the back seat and yacking on the cell phone, after getting only four hours of sleep the previous night so as to live the yuppie ideal of the perfect family with lots of stuff. Or was that just a figment of my mysoginistic class hatred that clipped me in traffic Tuesday?
Hmmm. Time to break out my handy rant-to-GQ translator.
How about “does there exist empirical evidence that traffic enforcement has declined in recent years, or that drivers have higher or lower skills than they had in prior days?”
Definitely getting worse! HP is one of the worst offenders, although Epson is certainly not without its glitches when you’re in a shared network environment, and…
…oh…
Fifty years ago there were three common objects that could found in any household. These were a ladder, some rope and a shovel. How many homes (even excluding urban residences) have these three things anymore?
As with the above, modern people are no longer required to have much in the way of survival skills or training for that matter. Consequently, very few people have sufficient appreciation of their impact on the outside world to understand just how severely their own (mis)conduct can affect others. This translates into an overall breakdown in social cohesion. This breakdown is most perfectly shown in the almost complete absence of turn signalling on the road these days.
“Looking out for number one”, and the “Gotta get mine”, sort of attitudes are now commonplace. There is reason to suspect that this sort of mentality is behind the wheel in greater numbers than ever before. One can only hope that these poor drivers oust themselves from the genepool without taking too many of the decent ones with them.
I believe cars turning left are supposed to yield to cars turning right until the intersection is safe to enter. The driver turning right may need to be in the inside lane, if for instance they are turning into a driveway on the left soon after the right turn. And with some of the narrow streets in a town as old as the one I live in, it’s simply impossible to turn right and remain in the outside lane without running over the curb and anyone standing on it.
So I’d say the honking and one-finger salutes are deserved.
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Let me explain, as rereading a day later I realized I did a poor job. The actual instance that was in my mind at the time I wrote that was an actual controlled signal for turning left… an arrow. They definetly had the right of way over the right turning folk. Sorry for not elaborating. Me bad!
Agreed! I was in two near accidents within 2 minutes while driving near Wheaton.
A lane is closed in front of us. A white car pulls out of the right open lane and goes speeding down the left soon-to-close lane. It then tries to swerve in to the right lane(which is moving at about 15-20). Trouble is, there’s a car right where they decided to pull in. Other car brakes violently (it’s the car right in front of me) in a cloud of smoke while swearving further to the right. White car swerves to the left narrowly missing the now braked black car, then pulls in front of it in the gap now available.
Shaken, I start moving forward again. We get past the construction, and I pull into a now open lane further still to the right. I see a car up ahead pull up to the road from a shopping plaza. Never dreaming they’d try what they do, I keep driving. I’m a few car lengths away and they pull into my lane! Repeat screeching breaks, only this time I can’t pull to the right since they’re in the way (the middle-aged incompetent asshole is at a 45 degree angle in my lane) I compromise by honking horn and pulling a little into a tiny gap to the left.
!@#$ I have a new car and I want to keep it that way! I’m a fairly good driver (despite having gotten a 49 in 40 zone ticket last week) and really don’t need the urges to whip out a bokken and start wopping people about the head!
This problem is horrible! Especially on downtown Columbus.
Another thing that these morons do is change lanes(without signaling) and they expect the cars in the other lane to get out of the way. If the cars don’t make room for them immediately, they give them the finger, honk the horn, and swerve into the lane with inches to spare. I see this about 5 times a day. Driving about 3 inches behind the next car is also very common.
