4 or 5
1 Turned to fast,lost control, slid car into curb and folded front wheel.
2 First Winter driving accident. This tree jumped out in front of me! The poor car was hurt so bad the drivers door would not open. No damage to me.
3 No Insurance. One full year Revocation not Suspension of Licence.
3a No inspection.
3b Switched plates.
3d No Registration. Yes I was stupid.
4 Two or three Speeding tickets.
5 Improper Backing. Truck got hit in rear by another car. I got the ticket.
6 Improper Left turn. I swear I never saw the motorcycle before he hit my truck. I didn’t feel bad about my ticket, but the poor 'cycle rider didn’t have a M/C indorsement, him I felt bad about.
I’ve been driving (on and off) since 1976. I admit I’m not that good. MTS
I rate myself an 8. In 25 years of driving, I have aperfect record aside from parking tickets. No moving violations or accidents whatsoever. The strange thing is that, except for school zones, I always drive well above the speed limit. I regularly get officers who pull up beside me and point, telling me to slow down, but they never stop me. This happens a couple of times a year, and has since I started driving 25 years ago. As far as no accidents, I do drive fast, but I also drive defensively. I leave a usable buffer zone between other cars, and if one isn’t available, I slow down to the point that it is. Over the years, I’ve seen more then a few accidents in front of me, and have had no problem avoiding them, though I have had to be creative at times to get out of the way of those behind me as they slide towards the accident with brakes at full lock…
Well, I consider myself to be a great driver (around a 9), but my driving record may not be eveidence of it. I recently turned 27 and now have around (I’m not exactly sure) 56 points on my Ohio driving record. My license has been suspended for more time than I’ve been legally able to drive (since I was 16). The short list:
-speed (lots and lots of speeding tickets)
-failure to yield (stop lights, traffic signs, etc.)
-reckless driving
-flee/elude police
-d.u.i. (one was valid…the other was on a golf cart. no lie)
-accidents (lots of accidents)
The good news? I figure a decade of stupidity behind the wheel is enough. When I get my license back (hopefully in March!), I’m slowing down…for good.
In six years of driving, I’ve had:
One ticket for running a red light (but I beat it)
One accident (got sideswiped by a semi – my fault)
I’d rate myself a 7 to 7.5.
Hehehe. I’ve had my license for about 2 years, and I absolutely suck at driving.
I’ve been pulled over 8 times. 4 verbal warnings, 3 written, and one court summons. The court summons was in New York a few months ago while I was visiting my best frend, I never did show up for the trial. So far I haven’t heard of anything, but for all I know I could have a warrant out for my arrest. Oops.
It’s an ongoing joke between me and my sister (my most frequent driving companion) how I can get out of any ticket. My personal fave was the night I was going 95 in a 65 zone coming home from work on interstate, in the right hand lane. Female cop pulls me over. I just knew I was screwed. She says she watched as I swerved all down the highway. I was pure exhaustion, I’d just finished a 14 hour shift, and it was almost 3 in the morning. I didn’t even have my license with me. She listens to my story, didn’t make me take a breathalizer (much to my amazement!), and tells me to drive more careful next time. i got off with a verbal warning!!! Either she was a lesbian, or she was just damn glad I didn’t appear to be too terribly drunk. I was just happy to have gotten out of it without having to lower my cleavage line like i usually do
ahh, the joys of being female.
Malaka, how can you give yourself a 9 with that many accidents and moving violations? I think your record shows you aren’t a good driver at all. I’ve been driving about the same amount of time as you, and aside from my one exception below, all my moving violations have been speeding, the worst being 88 in a 55, in none of the others was I doing more than 20 over the limit. I KNOW I’m not a good driver. My Dad is a good driver, in his 55 years of driving he has gotten 3 speeding tickets and has never been in a major accident or found at fault for a minor one.
Though I have driven drunk before (sometimes very drunk, there are a few times I don’t remember driving home), the one time I was arrested for DUI I wasn’t, it was a case of a small town grudge with a police officer. I got it plead down to reckless driving, probably would have gotten it thrown out if I took it to court (breathalyzer scores were .03, .08, and .13, highly inconsistent and aside from that there were 11 provable mistakes or inconsistencies in the case against me) but I didn’t want to risk it as that same court gave a guy 25 years for a DUI once (a non-injury one, no less). My lawyer said he was 95% sure he could get it dismissed, but I didn’t want to take that chance when I could get off with a measly $400 fine.
I think it’s weird how almost everybody takes pride in their driving and thinks they are a better driver than most, even when they are always getting into accidents and getting tickets…a weird cultural phenomenon, most people have no problem saying ‘I suck at math’ or other self-critical things, but few people will say ‘I’m a lousy driver’.
I think realizing that I am not a good driver, that I am NOT just unlucky, has helped me a lot. It makes me extra careful, more aware of my surroundings…those three defensive driving classes probably even helped a little. 8^)
Generally I’m a 9 out of 10 driver, but there are those times when I spaz out and turn into the driver from hell. I’ve only had 1 ticket and one accident in 3 and a half years of driving. I will say I drive excessively way too fast. On regular roads I go about 65 on interstates I do upwards of 90+ at least once per trip. Theres been times where I have broken the 120 mph barrier in my car while racing others. I guess maybe I should be more careful and considerate? At least I don’t ever drive drunk.
I do consider myself to be a good driver. I was only ticketed for 3 or 4 accidents. I only felt responsible for 2 of them. The speeding tickets and reckless OPs were cases of being “unlucky”. (Besides, I don’t consider speeding to be “bad” driving. Unlawful, sure…but “bad”, no.) Only one of the DUIs were valid. Stupidity on my part on the first…but the second one, I was in a golf cart at 4 am. Two cops (on foot!) stopped me and arrested me. A lawyer managed to get it reduced to a reckless OP, but I still spent 10 days in the clink for it. When I ran the stop sign, it was a rolling stop. When I ran the light, it was yellow. I fought this one and lost. The flee/elude police charge was my fault…but in my defense, I was young, dumb and…you know the rest.
However, even driving in a 4 door, maroon Tercel, the cops will pick me out of a crowd. Most recently, I had my license revoked for driving without a license/insurance. My insurance had lapsed while on vacation and therefore, my license was suspended. I was not aware of this and was driving home from work…in rush hour traffic…obeying all laws. A cop pulls up behind me, ran my plates, stopped me, and impounded my car. Now I will lose my license for around 3 months.
Tell me I’m not unlucky…
I’ve only owned 2 cars…a Jeep Wrangler and a Toyota Tercel. In both cars, I knew exactly how far I could push the car. Speed, cornering, braking, etc. To me, this is a better measure of what constitutes a good driver. Knowing your car…and the road.
I am proably a 1…a 3 at best…
Driving for: 17 Years.
Speeding/Moving Violations: 15
Suspensions: 2
States Ticketed in: 5
First Suspension: 1 year after getting licensed.
Highest Speed ticketed: 99mph (100mph would be a felony. Got a break)
Cars I drove: 1985 Trans Am, 1988 Dodge Shelby Z, 1995 Mustang GT.
Best cop quote - Cop: “I was doing 90 and you were pulling away from me!”
My best quote: “I’m getting married in two days and I have to have surgery tomorrow (which was true)” Cop’s response: “Go home”.
Worst reason for being pulled over: Driving too slow.
My pulled-over-to-ticket-ratio: about 50%.
See ya on the road!
:)Vrooooooooooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!
[rant]
No, I’m sorry, malaka, you are not a good driver. Being a good driver does not mean that you know how to handle a car. It means that you know how to handle it responsibly and safely. Being cited for 4 accidents is not driving safely. Period. You’re not paying attention to the flow of traffic, or to others around you. If you cause multiple accidents in a relatively short time, you are not a particularly good driver. Maybe a 5. There’s no way in hell you could be considered a 9. There are race car drivers who can handle their vehicles with utmost precision, but if they forget that not everyone on the road is a racecar driver, and they cause lots of accidents, they are NOT good drivers outside of the track.
For people who speed excessively: What you may not realize is that the rest of the people on the road EXPECT you to be going somewhere within about 10 mph of them. They change lanes, make turns, pull out, with that expectation. When you drive 30mph over the speed limit, you put everyone at risk, even if you can easily handle the car on that road at that speed. The likelyhood of mistakes by other drivers causing an accident when you’re going that fast rises consideably.
[end rant]
I’m not one of the slow ass people holding up the passing lane, just so you know. I usually drive about 5-7 mph over the limit. I can usually handle people driving plenty faster than me, but there ARE a lot of people on the roads who are bad drivers because they can’t handle the car, and every driver needs to be aware of how their actions could affect the other drivers on the road.
Jman
I’ve never been in an accident (besides with the garage), or gotten any tickets… but that certainly doesn’t mean I’m a good driver.
I give myself about a 6.
Jman,
IIRC, the 4 accidents were:
- Spun out in my Jeep. I was 16 and had just learned to drive a manual transmission. I shifted going into a turn on a rainy road.
- Domino pile-up on the freeway. Snowy conditions/icy roads. I was the 4th car (out of 4) to hit.
- Rammed a stopped motorist while drunk-as-hell.
- Hmmmm…
Well, actually it seems like there were only 3! I guess it seemed like more because of all the times I’ve been involved in accidents that weren’t my fault. Anyway, I see #1 as poor driving due to ignorance, #2 as forgivable, and #3 as my bad. I don’t see how any of them make me a “bad” driver, though.
However, I can see the point in your [rant]: I can’t blame others for sucking. Anyway, its a moot point:
See ya on the sidewalks…