KillerG

I just... I just dont get it guys. I get out on the road everyday and do my best to respect others and get myself to where i am going in a timely manner. Its just that the overwhelming majority of people I interact with on the road on a daily basis are...to put it lightly, fucking morons. The occasions where i have seen good driving in my recent memory i could count on my fingers and toes probably. And no this problem isnt region specific to where I am, its much worse, its national. I travel frequently and every area has a lot of asshats.

So many people do not belong on the road. And whats worse is the government thinks that we need to baby our retarded drivers and add more black boxes, airbags, and pedestrian crash safety measures to reduce road accidents

WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!

what you need is more DRIVER EDUCATION. You could add every safety feature in the book but if you dont improve the driver its still a rolling death machine. Thank you though, mercedes, for trying so hard and adding a fuck ton of new safety features all the time...

All i am saying is that a lot of people are lucky that my communist revolution never took root in America, if it did, and I became transportation Czar, i would make driving tests required for license renewal and they would occur YEARLY. Seriously, one day out of the year every year is a small sacrifice to make for having the peace of mind to know that people are still being educated on how to drive... the current driving test is pitiful, pathetic, and doesnt teach you shit. Fuck you, majority of American drivers.


*PS - sincere thanks to small minority of drivers who have respect and courtesy on the road for others and pedestrians. you are the unsung heroes of the automotive world

Joe5.0

Agreed.

Its getting worse too, with EVERYONE having a smart phone and too damn busy to do anything but drive correctly. I use my phone in the car, but its very limited and never to the point where I am distracted.

I feel for truckers and people that drive for a living, because that is their OFFICE. Can you imagine all those buttfucks stumbling around your office with guns and knives in their hands. Thats basically what a normal commute in an urban area is nowadays.

Edit: And black women are the absolute drivers in the world. 10x worse than Asians, IMO. Usually asians/indians just drive too godamn slow, and usually in the fast lane. Black women tend to be a combination of Asians driving slow & teenage girl that doesnt have a care in the world.

CanopyFlyer

Approximately 40,000 people die on the roads each year. Most of them due to sheer stupidity.

Why doesn't it get fixed?

Because no one cares.

Everyone feels entitled to own a car. It is extremely easy to get a license, and extremely difficult to lose it. Where I live, there is a news story about someone having their 5th or more DUI every day. One recently was up to 9 DUIs. All still have their licenses. You can't tell me that enough people give a crap about any of it to make the changes needed.

Personally, my driving skills are the product of 2 racing courses, and one defensive driving course. Add to that 6 years of Pro Solo autocrossing. The times that I've avoided an accident, due to those skills are countless, literally countless.

KillerG

I want to say "please dont be racist" but i ended up typing this rant because a black woman was tailgating me in 5 mile per hour traffic.

I dont fucking get it. Theres nowhere to go. Why the fuck are you tailgaiting me with 2 babies in the car and then speeding into the next lane over... which also has tons of traffic and is going nowhere fast

KillerG

I bet most of these accidents werent your fault either.

Joe5.0

Not being racist, just observant. Maybe in different metro areas its different, but thats been my experience...

KillerG

"Metro Detroit"

got it. fits better in context lol

wasupdog

iTrader: (2)

this is one rant thread that i can agree with and relate to lol. it was horrendous driving around la a few years back before they implemented the no cell phone while driving rule.

Sarlacc

Its still horrendous driving in LA.

Yesterday was the day of dipshit driver...if I hadn't had a pregnant wife in the car with me, I would have committed several grievous acts of road rage.

SouthernBoy

"All i am saying is that a lot of people are lucky that my communist revolution never took root in America"

Now that's a statement I hope was just tongue-in-cheek humor... please tell us it was.


As for dealing with others on the roads, think of it this way. To someone else YOU might be the asshole driver. What this means is that you really should always make sure your driving is beyond reproach as in people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

Yes there are a boatload of problematic drivers out there who test the limits of one's patience. God knows, I also come across them nearly every day too. There are a few things you might be able to do to limit your exposure, and save your mental state, when on the roads. Look for back roads/alternate routes that might be less traveled. I found that was a great help when I was working. I used other tactics as well and most did what I expected. But granted, there are a few people out there who would try the soul of Jesus if they could.

Stay safe and keep your head on.

ZhenyaF

iTrader: (6)

And not only do they drive like shit, but they also dont care about anyone.

There still a lot of snow in Brooklyn, so the streets are very narrow, leaving absolutely zero space to double park.

I was driving to work yesterday and came upon a car (Nissan Xterra) that was double parked. I figure he's picking somebody up, so I waited for a minute, but no one came out. I tapped the horn slightly - to alert him of my presence. He didn't respond at all. I waited a little more, and honked again, again no response. After my 3rd honking he finally moved, 2 cars down and attempted to double park again! This block is uniformly snowed in, leaving absolutely no place to double park anywhere.

So I honked some more. He started moving at a speed of 5 MPH. He finally got to the end of the block. Stopped at the stop sign, stood there for a minute then made a left turn without signaling. There were absolutely no cars in any of the directions, basically he stood for no reason. I'm thinking either because he's really oblivious or trying to piss me off.

So he finally made the left turn onto a much larger Avenue (two way traffic) and again driving at 5MPH. I thought he was trying to find a space to pull over since he moved to the right several times, but no, he kept driving straight.

Finally we get to an intersection, where the light is green. He pulls over to the right and as I go to pass him on the left he decides to turn on his left turn signal and turn.

I was so lucky that my ZDX has brand new tires and I was able to brake on a dime.

Anyway, I was 15 minutes late to work. A trip that normally takes me 5-7 mins, took me 25 minutes, all because of some jackass who is oblivious to his driving.

I've had a lot of occurrences of stupidity behind the wheel lately - but this took the cake.

The second place goes to a guy in a Toyota Corolla who decided to drive in the left lane of a 2 lane highway, going 45-50 MPH, weaving in his lane, while texting at the same time.

CanopyFlyer

I have my fair share of bone headedness too. I was turning left onto a major 2-lane road that is currently under construction. I'm always careful about this intersection, because cars coming from the right are doing nearly 55mph down a hill. I started my turn and suddenly this girl in a small car appears. Not her fault, she was slowing to turn into the road I was currently on. Her car was completely hidden behind my TL's A-pillar, and I failed to do my normal head jostling to clear that space. She was pissed too, justifiably so, I waved and mouthed "sorry" to her.

That is one thing I try to do, if I screwed up, is tell the other driver that I'm aware of my screw up and apologize. People can't be 100%, it's impossible, but they can drive correctly 90% of the time. The 10% that they screw up, hopefully, is during the other driver's 90% and an accident is avoided.

Back to utterly stupid drivers. I was dropping my oldest son off at pre-school, and parked next to a Nissan Armada and noticed that the tires were completely bald. An 8" snow was on its way that day too. I pointed this out to the woman, politely, as the tires were dangerous even in dry conditions. Her reply was; "Well it's 4-wheel drive!" She then went blithely into the school. I was stunned. Here it is a month later and she has yet to replace the tires.

Will Y.

I've made a few bad judgments and cut cars off or scared pedestrians unintentionally which required me to signal or say an apology on those infrequent occasions.

SouthernBoy

Yeah, I'm sure all of us have done some dumb things when driving which we would normally not do. The most dangerous of these, other than the obviously deliberate ones, are those classed as errors in judgment. If you've ever seen someone who has suffered a catastrophic trauma to their body, and I am not talking pictures but rather up close and in person, you'll appreciate that when a human being and a 3500+ pound hunk of metal get into an argument, the human just gets in the way.... the results are not pretty.

So please my friends on this site, watch out for the truly dangerous drivers out there and don't do anything stupid yourselves.

mcflyguy24

My biggest gripe on my daily commute is this:

03tLsNBP

iTrader: (9)

the simple answer is that most people just dont care about driving. it is last on their priority list.

usual priority list (rank em yourself if you dont agree):

1. cell phone
2. smoking
3. talking with passengers
4. napping/spacing out
5. changing radio/mp3 player
6. eating
7. makeup
8.

list can go on and on. while driving, drivers nowadays are doing everything except driving.

swami

Seems to me when I took drivers ed. when merging onto a highway they told you to speed up and blend in with traffic, not go 30mph and when you realize you can't merge because you're going too slow...jam on the brakes. Shit pisses me off.

lightjak_tsx

mrmako

You guys should try living here, where people have to pay $1500 or more for a license. And they do the most stupid shit, such as:

While driving in the far left lane, coming to a complete stop to look at something, but no signals or anything.

Drive along in the same far left lane (non passing that is), and stick a hand out the window, and make a three lane right turn. Fucking lovely.

Light turns red, and you blow through it 3 seconds after.

And the most annoying is what happens when the locals approach an intersection. Green light, they ride their brakes through it. Light turns yellow, they hit their brakes so that they can get through the light and you stop.

ARRRRGGGGHHHHHHHH..... I feel better.

OP: Here's your answer: Most people suck at life AND driving.

03tLsNBP

iTrader: (9)

it is true that even with all the terrible drivers in the US, they will never be terrible as drivers in other countries.

when i was 14, i rode my cousin's motorcycle in India. it was quite a thrilling experience.

Crazy Bimmer

Everyone sucks.

Coworker always complains about slow drivers or ones who arent paying attention. YET everyday after lunch while hes driving and smoking a cigarette hes always doing 10mph under the limit. When people behind him gets pissed and go around him, hes then oblivious to why they are so angry.

I confident i suck as well. There goes the BMW douche thinking he owns the road again!

speedemon90

I remember reading an article about a study that says 1 in 5 americans that have a license will fail the test. Then again our test is easy to pass

I dont think we need a more rigorous drivers ed class, most people I bet dont even pay attention.

We need a better behind the wheel drivers training. I remember mine, all they do is make sure you know how to gas, brake, turn, merge and that crap. Their should be a mandatory defensive driving course people must take to get your license. Then we will actually get better drivers.

Like the OP said, and I've said before in a thread; stop investing so much money in safety features. I mean who the hell needs blindspot detection unless you drive a big rig you shouldnt even need this feature.

Costco

I'm not the best driver... I really want to take defensive driving courses just for kicks - I'm sure there's a lot that I haven't realized yet. I text, but only at stoplights and I usually pull over to talk on the phone or just let it go to voicemail. Occasionally I'll get on the phone if I'm on an inside road and telling someone to open their door cause I'm almost outside.

I ALWAYS stay on the lanes to the right unless I'm passing, and if I'm in the left lane and see a motorcycle coming up trying to lane-split, I give them a little room and get a courtesy wave/hand signal once in a while. People never pass me on the right lane if I'm in the left lane.... unless they're going 90+. I also look both ways before crossing an intersection, look twice over my shoulder to double check before changing lanes, etc. so generally most people think I'm a good driver or at least better than average.... I think I have room to criticize peoples' driving.

I think the biggest problem with traffic is that people don't fucking know how to merge; this may be a little obvious since traffic almost always gets congested around freeway connections. Most people driving automatics don't know jack shit about downshifting or even simply stepping on the gas a little more to maintain speed while going up a hill or descending one.

As easy as it is to get a license and as simple as the core rules of the road are, I actually know people who have failed the driving and/or written portion and some have failed it multiple times. Another thing.... I think our driving tests are way too freaking easy. I haven't looked at the DMV handbook in a couple of years now and I still passed the test to renew my license!

Gfaze

Common courtesy is also sorely lacking with most drivers these days. One example is people driving with the high beams on. Most of the time on a well lit road. Common courtesy is to turn them off when oncoming traffic is approaching. Nope!! I'll just blind oncoming traffic 'cause I'm a douchebag!

I also HATE people that insist on driving 5 MPH below the limit in the "fast lane" holding up a line of cars behind them. Go to the far right lane dumbass!! Better yet, get the hell off the freeway!

I've learned to drive under the assumption that everyone else on the road is a blithering idiot. I've avoided countless accidents driving this way.

cjTL

iTrader: (2)

I don't understand how or why renewing a license is as easy as signing a few papers. That's not renewing anything other than the piece of plastic you get that identifies you as having passed a driving test at some point in your life. I'd be just fine with mandating one take a written or practical test every few years in order to renew their license. And personally, I disagree with the legal driving age being 16. In many other countries its 18. The things people my age and younger do while driving is insane...absolutely terrifying. Taking turns without even tapping the brakes is common. Messing with an electronic device and driving? That's nearly everyone. Not using any extra caution while there's snow on the ground, and sliding all over the place? Sure. Blaring music so loud that you can't even hear anyone talking inside the car is also a popular thing to do. I'm nervous every single time I drive near my school. And I don't ride with my friends. I drive instead.

Drivers that are are age 70+ is a whole nother topic.

Mr Marco

Why do so many people drive like absolute shit?
They are from Oregon.

Costco

Not only should the driving test be more strict, they should also require people to retake the driving test every 2 years. Then to facilitate that, they should make the DMV suck less ass.








.... yeah right I'm afraid none of the above will happen.

gompert

i am 19 and drove with a black box in my car since ive had my license i personally feel that this has made me a better driver and not as aggressive as other drivers my age.

KillerG

to the above poster, the same effect could be realized with self control.

and @ southernboy

i respect your reasoning but i will say that if you respect everyones space on the road and make your decisions rationally then you dont necessarily EVER have to be "that asshole on the road". I keep my glass walls polished as best i can

i know everyone makes mistakes but for some people skirting death on the road is an everyday occurrence. i knew a guy who in the span of 3 days caused 3 separate accidents and it was no biggie. people like this are numerous.

people like the the asian woman who drifted over 3 lanes of traffic on the turnpike and almost killed me because she was putting on makeup are also far too common (my reaction: "WTF i almost died to a stereotype")

not everyone strives for automotive zen sadly, alot of people just dont give a fuck and think the roads were made for them and them only...


if anyone else wants a good read, pick up
"traffic: why we drive the way we do and what it says about us"

i thought it was a pretty good read ;o

SouthernBoy

I agree with this completely. And I also understand that try as we may, there are some drivers who just flat make us nuts.

PortlandRL

Oregon drivers are the worst and the problem is, they've been told by countless "studies" that they are the best so it's all gone to their heads. Because of this they feel it is their moral responsibility to teach everybody else how to drive. I have never seen any other state in the nation where three cars will pace each other doing 50 mph on the freeway. It's maddening to the point I only use the freeways between 1 and 3 AM. I came to the stunning realization a few weeks ago that 99.9% of all road rage is caused by smart people who know what they're doing getting pissed off by stupid people who don't know (and don't care) about what they're doing.

Where's that Jeremy Clarkson quote?

speedemon90

about the common courtesy, if I see a person next to me signaling I will give him room to come into my lane, most of the time I slow down a ltl so they have room. I normally never get this, especially in traffic since its hard to find openings unless someone gives you once.

Yesterday was my first time that someone let me go in and gave me the high-beam to let me know that he's not gonna go up. I've had people let me go, but I normally wait a sec to make sure that they were just not paying attention. First time I've had the high-beam letting me know that I can go. to that driver.

Ohh another thing, I dunno about you guys but I honestly dont see how talking on the cellphone is really that distracting. Calling someone, yes the part where you dial takes your eyes off the road for a ltl, which I normally dont do, but if someone calls me I'll answer. I'm in california, so I also make sure there isnt a patrol car within site of me. But I'm just kinda against this law. My eyes are on the road. I'm still concentrated, looking ahead checking blindspots, checking rearview mirrors. Yes one hand is off the wheel, but honestly how many of you guys drive with one hand? I bet a lot of you. Plus with todays powersteering its really not that difficult to make quick adjustments with one hand.

To fully understand my reasoning answer this question for me:

What is the difference between talking to your passenger and talking on your cellphone?

cjTL

iTrader: (2)

I guess I'm thankful Indianapolis drivers aren't dicks. Nearly everyone around my area lets you in, high beams you to let you in, waves as a "thank you", etc.

Some of the west coast stories I hear from you guys would drive me nutty.

Aman

Good to see some people being honest about not being the perfect driver. Nobody is.

As sad as it is, sometimes you have to drive aggressively in order to get anywhere. Chinatown here in Toronto is suicidal. Every Asian stereotype is abused, the curbs here are the size of microwaves, oblivious jaywalkers galore. Basic driving practice just doesn't cut it here, you have to accelerate quickly, brake hard, swerve, all that stuff. It's sad, because you want to drive like a sane person, but impossible to get anywhere.

I think retaking your driving test every five years, or whenever you go to renew your license, is fair. Like CJ said, right now renewing your license is nothing more than overpaying the government for another piece of plastic. Make it worth something.

KillerG

@southernboy

I hope i run into more people like you on the road

Bearcat94

I actually think this IS the problem. Or at least a large part of it.

People on the road have no consideration for other drivers. They don't pay attention to the other drivers around them and they don't pay attention to how their driving affects others.

I drive a LOT of highway miles (job related). I've seen all kinds of crazy stuff. And I'll make bone-headed mistakes from time-to-time.

BUT, imho, there are far too many people that drive as if they were the only one on the road.

SRK85

Easy people are idiots. It happens people are so impatient and just total dicks on the road. Thats how it is, I am use to it by now.

wasupdog

iTrader: (2)

you got to be kidding...

SouthernBoy

Why thank you... figuratively, of course.

SouthernBoy

I wrote earlier that the two most dangerous driving activities are errors in judgment and those involving deliberate actions. Both can be deadly but the worse of the two is deliberate actions because the driver is doing dangerous things on purpose. Well there is a third dangerous activity. Not being aware of your surroundings. Any one of these activities can get you or someone else killed. And I would bet all of us are guilty of having done all three at some point in our lives.

I can tell you straight up that the third one has saved my life several times from almost certain death in two instances in particular. It was only through my awareness of what was about to happen and the moves I made to escape the events that I am here today to write this.

So never take anything for granted. Always be aware of your surroundings (God, I used to preach this to my daughters until I was blue in the face, and not only about driving). Expect the unexpected and expect it can happen anytime, under most any circumstances, and anywhere. Get away from those who are deliberately doing crazy stuff in your vicinity (let them die, not you). Leave enough of a buffer so that you might be able to correct for someone's error in judgment. And play "what if" games. Those little games could save your life.

Finally, if you are of a mind to feel squirrely and want to stretch your car's legs and push it a might, find somewhere where you can do this safely... a lonely stretch of road where if someone is going to get hurt, it's only going to be you. Never forget, stupidity doesn't suffer fools. When you escape a stupid action, you just got lucky.