Rant about bad drivers

[ImprovedModel56Fan]

The OP mentioned talking to a passenger as one reason for distracted driving causing an accident. Why do drivers have to turn their heads to face the passenger when they are talking? Yesterday on a two lane highway, the car ahead of me kept going over the centerline everytime the driver turned his head to talk to the passenger. Several times the car was in the middle of the oncoming lane before the driver corrected.
Why?

I don't know why. I once asked a passenger in the rear not to block the rear view mirror. [I had intentionally placed him in the rear seat behind me so that he would not block my vision. My wife was "riding shotgun."] He replied with some psychobabble about relating to the person one is talking to, and didn't move his ****ing head. I have no idea exactly what he said, and care slightly less. This was twenty-some years ago, and he hasn't been in a car of mine since. Of course, I don't see him much, anyway.

I occasionally worry about whether stupidity is contagious.

 

[PALADIN85020]

I occasionally worry about whether stupidity is contagious.

Ya gotta realize that while you can cure ignorance, you can't fix stupid.

John

 

[finesse_r]

When you pass another car on the freeway, PASS IT. Don't inch up and run side by side for any length of time. If you have to break the speed limit to do this, DO IT. It's safer than blocking the road and hacking off those behind you for miles. Then get back in the original lane at the posted speed.

John

Well said right back at you. Amen! If you have to break the speed limit for a short time to drive safely do it! Don't be so afraid to break some rule or law that you become a problem yourself. Driving is about judgment and concentration first and foremost.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Bad drivers are a lot like dead people. Neither realizes that they are part of that subgroup.

 

[Straightshooter2]

All I can say is if you drive in Atlanta, you have best be a really good defensive driver in order to keep all your fenders straight. The other day on I-285 a guy came on at an entrance ramp and went straight across five lanes of traffic while talking on the phone. If I hadn't been watching as he came across, I would have performed a perfect PIT maneuver on a crowded interstate. As it was, I was able to back off and he crossed about three feet in front of me.

Addendum: The official speed limit in Atlanta for those passing through on the Interstates is 55 or 65 depending on where you are. The reason so many cars pass you is the unofficial speed limit in Atlanta for residents is 85.

CW

 

[Edmo]

A couple of definitions based on perspective...

Maniac - The driver tailgating you, trying to pass and go much faster than they should.

Idiot - The driver blocking traffic in front of you who is driving well below the correct speed.

The idiots in front generally look in their rear view and comment about the maniacs behind them while the maniacs are making similar comments about the idiots up front.

OBTW, I generally need to wash my windshield when there is a maniac on my bumper and love dropping down a couple of gears and twisting the throttle to pass the idiots.

Edmo

 

[soFlaNative]

Idiot - The driver blocking traffic in front of you who is driving well below the correct speed.

OBTW, I generally need to wash my windshield when there is a maniac on my bumper and love dropping down a couple of gears and twisting the throttle to pass the idiots.

Edmo

So that's why I keep getting sprayed !

 

[CCantu357]

While I am no speed jockey, drivers that insist on driving 10 or more under the posted limit annoy me, especially in the passing lane. Usually they are on the phone are talking to someone in the car. I understand the need for being careful, but if it is a clear and dry day, please drive the speed limit. There is no need to do 25 in a 45.

 

[Brian41]

Anymore when I see a driver going slow or not staying in their lane I suspect they are on their cell phone or texting and usually right. I used to see drunk drivers acting like that but with the stiff punishments now I suspect there are fewer on the road. I know at least if I had more than one beer I'm afraid to get on the roads today.
We get snow and ice here in the wintertime and I swear people forget how to drive in it on the first snow of the year. I see people driving too fast, making sudden lane changes and doing other stupid things in the snow. I doubt most have ever gone into a large vacant parking lot to see how their vehicle handles on snow and ice.
Years back I was driving my conversion van in the snow and driving slow on an exit on one freeway to another. A guy was tailgating me and once I got on the expressway he showed me and sped up to pass me. Only thing he lost control and started spinning in circles. I slowed and when he was heading for the other side of the three lanes I went around him. Problem was traffic was coming up from behind and started hitting him so many times it looked like a pinball game in my rearview mirror. Traffic came to a halt behind me with so many wrecks and I continued on the road with nobody else on it. I got home and turned on the local news and learned they shut the expressway down for hours to clear the wrecks.
So sometimes Karma happens and on rare occasions you are there to witness it too.