Seriously, I’m not sure what has been going on lately, but there have been a lot of people who have been driving like maniacs. I often wonder how these people ever got a license in the first place. I am constantly seeing people driving through stop signs, speeding while turning, and zig-zagging through lanes recklessly.
Also, why do people speed? Do people have any idea that speed limits are in place to save lives? People speed and then complain that they got pulled over. Is it so hard to go the speed limit? :smack:
I also do not understand why people honk their horns for no reason at all. I just don’t understand. Do people need attention that badly?
Haha, good point. I just don’t like when people come close to hitting my car. I’m a bit OCD when it comes to people almost hitting my car… and I do think people honk excessively.
Not hard, but dangerous if no one else is. You see, what’s dangerous isn’t so much high speeds per se, but when you have high relative speeds between different cars. That happens if you’re going 50 (the speed limit) and everyone else is going 70.
If you do feel you have to go the speed limit when no one else is, at least do it in the right lane, not the left, and do not do anything to keep people from passing you. Keeping them from exceeding the speed limit is not your job, unless you are a state trooper. If you are, and you are going the speed limit, you probably aren’t going to see a lot of people passing you.
Also, not all speed limits are set for safety reasons. I suspect some of the roads around Pittsburgh have 55 or even 50 speed limits for purposes of raising revenue from speeding tickets. If the people who set the speed limits are the same ones who benefit from fines paid by speeders, you’re going to get that kind of conflict of interest.
It may be of interest to note that deaths from motor vehicle accidents in the US continued to decline after the National Maximum Speed Law, which set speed limits at 55 MPH, was repealed in 1995. It’s debated whether that law actually had a benefit in terms of reducing traffic fatalities. It’s really not as simple as “lower speed limits save lives”.
I definitely do not do that. I’m just going by what I observe…
and ranting about it!
Actually, it’s usually when I’m walking. I rarely get honked at when I drive. It’s just I can’t figure out what people are honking about. It must be a college town thing… shrugs It makes me think am I doing something wrong? Am I not walking right? What am I doing wrong?
There one instance where I got a ball thrown at me when people were driving by. My girlfriend has had the same issues. People have cat-called her and showed her signs that say “Show me your tits!”
I was going to start a near identical topic, but post-vacation ennui has dissuaded me, so I’ll just piggyback on this one. On my recent 3800 mile trip through a dozen Eastern states I saw numerous instances of driving asshattery, some of which resulted in wrecks (none of which I witnessed, coming upon them after the fact):
Just about everyone tailgates, and I mean everyone. Nobody even pays attention to the so-called 2 second rule; you’ll often see a train of a dozen cars trying to get past a slower vehicle, all 10 feet from each other’s bumper. Saw 4 cars off on the left side one day, all with dinged-up bumpers, which tells you all you need to know (they won’t learn of course). And then when I leave a reasonable space, some twerp will inevitably cut in front of me.
Likewise very few drivers pay attention to reduced speed limit zones, even (or should I say especially) those in construction areas. Since I know cops like to lurk there right after the limit drops (and I believe in giving workers a “brake”), I’ll usually slow down, but nobody else does. It’s hilarious for me to pass someone (usually a trucker) in the normal (65-70) zone, slow down when I see the orange work signs, have them pass me, then pass them again once it goes back to normal.
2a. As a corrolary, most drivers don’t adjust to changes in driving conditions-oh, if it is a Biblical downpour with 50 foot visibility, sure they’ll slow down, but a moderate rain and they’re plowing on ahead like it’s dry and sunny. Don’t bother to give you a bigger cushion either of course.
Unsafe lane changes galore-truckers esp. don’t seem to give a flying fuck whether they just cut you off or not, and oftentimes they’ll take an eternity to pass each other, as all the while the traffic behind them piles up. And if I had a dime for every cretin who almost took off my front bumper as he darted in front of me… And don’t get me started about left lane hogs.
Speeders don’t bug me tho, just as long as they don’t do 1-3. I think speed is the least of the causal factors involved in wrecks BTW, and I would go faster if I didn’t care about gas mileage (I also prefer to take a sedate pace while listening to my music).
You see this? I’d love to see this. Around here everyone goes through the damn turns at 2-3mph, hits the brakes, takes up both lanes, then when they get out of the corner they’re flying like a bat out of hell. People seem so scared about going around a corner, especially when they’re stopped at a red light.
Yeah, I really hate it when people tailgate and everyone does it. It’s amazing how many people get their license that really don’t even deserve to have a license. I mean people should at least be taught not to tailgate or ride bumper to bumper during smooth-flowing traffic. I’ve had cars cut infront of me also. At least, let me know that you are going into the other lane or something instead of cutting in front of me out of the blue. No one uses their turn signals anymore either. How else am I supposed to know that you are about to change lanes?