Inconsiderate Drivers (share your stories, etc.)

fintail

That's a good thing - heck, I have thought of taking some advanced driving courses, and I am only in my 30s. Not all older people are bad drivers either - my grandpa didn't get risky until he was well into his 70s, and when he hit 80 he voluntarily stopped driving as he knew it was too much. And my mother, into her 60s now, certainly doesn't have a problem keeping up with traffic flow. Nice to see that lane discipline was reminded. Maybe the future will have less pristine old Buicks (or for the boomers it will be Avalons, Crosstours, etc) going 10 under in the left lane

xrunner2

Old age also implies senility, slower reaction times, and poor vision

Hopefully, elders' children, nieces/nephews, other relatives recognize senility early on and take away the keys and make other arrangements.

Reaction times of course go down with age, but seniors in this can get cataract surgery and be back to 20-20.

One thing I notice about seasoned citizens, especially on roads near a large retirement complex I pass, is that they most generally are not agressive drivers, usually stay in the right/slow lanes. Don't see them intimidating other drivers by tail-gating on interstates.

Some very old former champion race car drivers, in their 70's, have been active on Indy car circuits. This year, AJ Foyt drove the pace car at Indy 500. Mario Andretti has been driving a special 2-person Indy car in pace laps at many races. Believe that Paul Newman raced, and did well until his late 60's.

xrunner2

Sully isn't the scary oldster everyone likes to complain about. He wasn't even 60. Nobody was comparing him to crazy young sportbikers.

I was. I was doing a contrast between a highly trained, experienced pilot/captain to the other end of the spectrum - young male motorcycle drivers who apparently believe they are immortal, have perhaps minimal training in operating a motorcycle, have no regard for their passenger and do not practice safe procedures.

fintail

He was a late 50-something pilot, from what I can see most in that group have skills which are fine while driving a car, and haven't yet deteriorated. Seems kind of like a red herring to me. It's not the 50-somethings out there who worry me.

Young males take dumb risks and act without thinking, at a rate greater than the population in general ? Shocking! :shades:

Typical Seattle area Harley couple...what would an errant G-wagen do to them? I see this stuff every weekend. The older motorcyclist doesn't seem to have much better judgement than those 30-40 years younger, the only difference is slower and louder bikes.

ruking1

The NHTSA sez per capita, "baby boomer motorcycle fatalities and accident are @ or beyond epidemic proportions, DESPITE the lowest and consequently the SAFEST over all fatalities and accidents rates recorded since they have been recording these things.

nhtsa.gov

Year to Year

tjc78

but pretty dumb. This truck was so overloaded, it was scraping at times. This picture doesn't do it justice at all. At the stop light, I thought the tires were going to pop. I couldn't tell what they had in there, I would guess at cement bags or something along those lines.

shrifty

Another business gets a drive-thru installed. Fortunately no innocent people were hurt in the making.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/07/05/indiana-man-texting-while-driving-crashes-t- hrough-building/?test=latestnews

backy

And your passenger took this photo, right?

tjc78

I knew someone would comment on that!

stever

"The study provides more evidence that, despite common male wisdom, men aren't better drivers than women. The research also reflects the findings of countless other studies, as well as U.S. fatality statistics provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that show consistently higher fatalities year after year among male drivers versus female drivers."

More Evidence That Men Aren't Better Drivers Than Women (Inside Line)

ruking1

It is actually buried in the NHTSA.gov statistics that I saw in passing: aka driver fatalities male xxx. Driver fatalites female raw numbers being less than males xxx. It is rather vanilla in that it does not draw the conclusions that your linked studies attempts to.

stever

T'would be nice to see some percentage breakdowns.

ruking1

In passing, that is what raised my eyebrows. A quick and dirty comparison is something like 2.37 to 1. NHTSA.gov (23,726 males to 10,000 females)

It also gives the current statistic (you of course have to run the numbers as it does not say it directly) of what I said some time and posts ago that the majority of deaths occur at speeds 55 mph and UNDER. (76%)

The next gradation actually hides the fact that higher than 65 to 70mph (artificially low speed limits in most cases) is probably a very small percentage. (60 mph or higher) In any case, that category is less than 21%. As most folks know the speed limits range from 65 to 70 mph. Too bad it does not further stratify AND over these speed limits.

fintail

Men take too many dumb high speed risks and drive drunk more often. Women have bad situational awareness and generally poor lower speed driving skills, and don't get nearly so reckless. Easy. Non issue.

On the driving front, today I saw a huge moving van tractor trailer style rig get high centered pulling out of a sloped parking lot into a major street. Blocked 3 lanes and a turn lane. Nice.

shrifty

I do this as well, unfortunately the opposite seems to happen quite frequently. A lot of people will see someone approaching from behind, and will swerve in front of them and then proceed at a snail's pace past the vehicle in front of them (now on the right).

I can't find where in the code, but I believe what you have described is written in PA's driving code somewhere.

It is also law that the person being passed on the right (driving in left lane) shall not increase their speed while being passed [S3303(a)(2)]. I would love to see this one enforced, although I'm sure there will never be a citation for this one.

http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/pdotforms/vehicle_code/chapter33.pdf

ruking1

I failed to notice if the 32% of DUI fatalties was more males than females. If I had to guess, I would say it is more evenly distributed. AL Kill Haul

Same I think is true on the speed issues.

andres3

I'd argue that fatalitites have little to do with who's the superior driver. Who causes more traffic and congestion, males, or females?

Now that's something of value!

ruking1

Indeed a great driver can be dead right or dead wrong. Evidently a lot of males were legends in their own minds. I truly hope they didn't take too many people with em.

Most times, I do not have enough time nor distance enough to tell.

timadams

Unless I missed it, the study ignores the distance driven by each gender. Men drive more miles per year than women, on average. The figures I found show that the average male drives about 50 percent more miles per year than the average female. If you look at accident rates per mile, I bet the accident and fatality numbers even out.

ruking1

I would agree with you that the accident rate per mile would be the "statstitical" leveler in the male vs female question. I am sure at some level this statistic is kept, but the data seems opaque.

fintail

Two similar but different idiots today - both merging issues. First one a yuppie [non-permissible content removed] type in a Ridgeline with a huge couch in the back. Going slow behind a slow moving 7er on an on ramp, floors it and gets around the BMW in the carpool lane, then slows back down to 50 when merging into a flow of 65 or so. Gave me a gesture as I flashed my lights at him to speed up - he had no problem doing so to get around the other car. Those pickups attract idiots. Then an hour later, merging onto the same highway, got behind a "new resident" type woman who looked to be about 4' tall, in a Forester. I was 2 cars behind her. She hit the 65mph flow at about 35. Seriously. Guy in front of me in a Ranger was going nuts. Maybe we let people buy their licenses like we let them buy residency...

And the best one was a story told to me...my friend in suburban Atlanta said he had a gun pointed at him in traffic today. Says he was being tailgated by a Charger, who he motioned to pass...and while doing so, the incident happened. Driver wasn't the stereotype, either, more like a good old boy. He called the police and reported it, dealt with nonchalantly as it is apparently a common occurrence in that world leading area.

fintail

Saw a younger guy on a bike actually use a hand signal for a left turn today. I felt like I was in a parallel universe. Didn't last long as I soon saw a similar rider run a red light and miss getting hit by a few inches. I would have just bawled my eyes out had he come to harm.

Insane amount of slowpokes not using their signals today. When you slow to a crawl and turn without a signal, I get to test out my horn. Saw 2 different Camry drivers do the "OMG I'm lost so I will freak out and stop in the middle of this 4 lane 35mph arterial" routine today, too.

shrifty

Hopefully you could have gotten a video of that to show bikers what NOT to do.

Yesterday I was on a 2-lane road with a turn lane in the middle. Why is it so difficult for some people to understand that you should move into this lane to make the turn? Instead they decide to block the lane and sit there to make the turn :mad:

Last year when this happened, there were about 30+ cars approaching from the other direction, I just used the turn lane to get around. Wasn't waiting for that idiot to finally move over or make the turn.

fintail

Today's winners - old fart in an early 90s Dodge diesel pickup merging onto I-90. Hit it going about 36mph with some nice fumes too. Why can't people merge here? Second place goes to a woman in a PT Cruiser applying makeup while driving - not just lipstick or anything, but actually applying lotion to her face while driving. Insane. Also, I swear 4 in 10 people had a phone to their ear today.

andres3

I think you need to outfit your vehicle with one of those loud air horns to notify people when their driving is subpar.

fintail

The fintail pretty much has one, stock. Lay on that horn and people soil themselves :shades:

What I need is either an old Power Wagon to ram the incompetent off the road, or a grille-located missile launcher.

fintail

It's 2011 - all computer guided now. Lock in on my slow moving target and hit the button. The modern world, it's something :shades:

stever

Guess not, unless you're a contractor.

How about some stories that are on topic and aren't directed at other forum members?

shrifty

Last year I had the amazing opportunity to drive around a foreign country with essentially no driving laws, and it was awesome to see how courteous everyone was. I wish we could rise up to the level of this third world country. I carried an M16 with me everywhere I went, but kept it down by my side so no one could see it, not that I needed to use it, had it just in case.

I can't wait to go back where things are peaceful. Driving in America has been far more frustrating to me.

fintail

Sometimes a lack of traffic controls can force people into being awake...but at the same time, I see plenty of unawesome driving skills from the third worlders who have moved here, so I don't know.

Not much on the local roads worth mentioning today - most annoying was a Caravan going up a long hill, and it couldn't keep up with the speed limit. 4 lane 35mph arterial with a steep grassy divider, no cross streets, he was often being passed on the right as he went 25-30. And what does he do at the top of the hill? Gets in the right lane :sick:

Also saw a princess in a late model Volvo XC nearly rear end a GL - she pulled off the stop at the last instant, dropped her phone most likely.

shrifty

The place I went to does not have the "typical third worlders". Funny thing, at first I had no idea what side of the road to drive on, and in some places/situations it didn't matter. The hardest part was returning back to the states and readjusting.

Tonight I saw a car completely engulfed in flames on the opposite side of the road, and of course my side was filled with rubber-checkers who have to slow down and not cross the lines as they aren't paying attention.

As for driving through Manhattan, pedestrians love to cross when you have a green arrow and they have a Do NOT Walk signal. I found the best way through this situation is to squeal the tires a bit when pulling out and gun it at them. Most seem to stop or scatter out of the way at this point, allowing a gap to form for you to pass through.

Back when I was new to the city driving I tried being the "nice guy" and let them cross while I was sitting in the middle of the intersection. I found out the hard way that what happens is you will lose the green arrow, and will have two or three lanes of irritated drivers bearing down on you and no chance to get out as the pedestrians now have the right of way and you still can't get through.

Best to make them think you are going to run them over so that you can go through. Sad that this seems to be the only effective way I have found to make the turn.

fintail

Where were you then? I know when I have came back from Germany, I've pretty much wanted to cry when confronted with the driving situation here, especially on highways. It's culture shock going back to a place where a massive amount of "drivers" have a phone to their ear, LLCing is a constitutional right, and a sensible commuter car can be a Suburban.

I noticed lots of jaywalkers when I was recently in Manhattan too. In my area, that is somehow a taboo, and those who protect and serve actually enforce it with insane obsessive zeal. I noticed in NYC, you jaywalk right in front of a cop and it doesn't seem to matter. I like your "make them think you'll run them over" line of thought.

shrifty

I will let you know the country in 68 more years.... I do hope to go back soon.

When in nyc awhile back, a cop directing traffic yelled at a bicyclist that I almost ran over, missed by about a foot at 40 mph. Nice deer in the headlight stare. Cop told him to stop and me to go, so I obeyed the law. Well, not quite as I was 5 over

shrifty

I just saw a cop drive through a light that has been red for some tome in Queens, didn't even turn on his lights. Typically they do. Gotta love that privilege.

backy

Your post reminded me of a radio program I heard the other day in which they were talking about the adjustments that American soldiers need to make when they return from a place like Iraq or Afganistan. One thing that stuck out in my mind was, the soldiers are apparently taught that when they drive under a bridge, they must not come out on the other side driving in the same lane in which they entered (makes it harder for someone on the bridge to drop something dangerous on them). There were some other behaviors that were, let's say, contrary to normal driving behavior in the U.S., e.g. driving as fast as possible down every road. And they drive this way for many months--as long as their tour of duty. Many have had multiple tours.

So if we see someone make a sudden lane change for no apparent reason while driving under a bridge, and they are of the age where they could have served in the Armed Forces in the recent past, the appropriate response might be to tip your cap or give some other positive gesture to them.

shrifty

I actually panicked the first time driving in the states when I thought I forgot my M16, as I didn't have it next to the driver's seat.

In some ways, I felt safer driving where I was than driving here in the states. Over there, only issue (for me) could be IEDs, here it is texters, eaters, redlight runners, etc:..........

fintail

68 years...some kind of hint? :P

Oh yeah I think you told me that NYC incident after I returned. I had a blast just walking around in the organized chaos - people from this area would just die if they had to deal with that.

I went on a little road trip today, no real driving issues - other than Canadian truckers with poor lane discipline, and a few spots with LLCs galore - I passed on the right more than once.

ruking1

Just this past Sunday, we have the most issue free car trip to the greater LA area during the so called "carmegeddon" Los Angeles wide 405 freeway scenario. It was so smooth and @ higher speeds as to be surreal.

tjc78

Took a trip to the shore (Sea Isle City NJ to be exact) and have to say the entire way up and back really nothing crazy to report CC @ 74 the whole trip down the expressway/parkway and backroads home. Not even an LLC to be seen. I thought that maybe I went the wrong way and left NJ

the_big_al

Saw this the other day while headed home. I was on the freeway (I-5) coming down a hill. I had merged onto the freeway behind a sheriff cruiser. He was going about 76 in a 65, I kept it at my usual 9-10 over. He eventually made it to about a half mile or so ahead of me. Then for no apparent reason darted into the right lane and and slowed to a stop on the shoulder. His partner got out and I started slowing and looking for the reason for it. No lights, however they might have been a good idea. For right as I passed him, I looked left and saw a guy walking in the middle of the freeway on the northbound side. (it was divided by only a concrete barrier, cop was on the southbound side on the far right side). As soon as he saw the cop, he took off across the freeway nearly killing himself. After that I can only assume that a chase ensued, but by then I was already past and couldnt very well stop and observe...

I just continued on my merry way, astounded at the sheer stupidity of some people.

shrifty

All I can say is that it was a very wonderful and rewarding experience that I will be blessed with the opportunity to do again in the future.

Back to inconsiderate drivers, I can't believe I am about to type this, but I am actually complaining about people driving in the RIGHT lane! On my way back from NYC at around 5AM, I stopped to help a stranded motorist on I78. She ran out of fuel and the battery was drained. We went to get fuel at the next exit, and on the way back I did a nice little U-turn on the highway in order to jump her car. While we were on the side of the road with no room to move further on the shoulder, I was surprised by how many people did not move over into the left lane until they got past us.

I kept watch, and anytime I saw a car coming, I told her to get out of the way as she was trying to put a gallon into her tank.

Too many people drift toward the right lane, some were way too close. We could only move over about 2-3 feet to the right of the line.

It would have been nice to see them move over to the left when passing, and then move back into the right. A few did, but many did not.

tjc78

As a rule, I always move over a lane to the left when there is any activity in the shoulder. The last thing people need is a car buzzing by @ 70 while trying to fill up or change a tire. The shoulders on so many roads are pretty small.

ruking1

I seem also to notice that folks tend to drift toward a car that is pulled over to the extreme right. The opposite seems to be true, (seems less dangerous) when a car is pulled over to the extreme left. I really do not know why.

fintail

Same idiots who speed up while being passed, I bet

ruking1

I have just scanned it quickly, but failed to notice if the NHSTA publishes its fatality and accident rates on cars pulled over the side of the road and which has the worst percentage, left or right side.

I still find the situation described in your post/quote aggravating. On a two lane road (one lane each way) it also can prove to be fatal.

stever

There's a term for that behavior but the name escapes me (and no, I'm not thinking of idiocy - :shades: ).

In tree skiing, you aim for the gaps between the trees. As soon as you look at a tree, your natural tendency is to veer toward it. Same thing in cars I think - you notice a break-down on the side of the road and unconsciously gravitate toward it.

stever

"Left-lane camping has gained the State Patrol's attention. So many complaints poured in from the public this year that troopers in King County stopped 200 people in April and issued 24 citations as part of an education campaign."

Poll: Left-lane campers don't know the law (seattlepi.com)

fintail

Perfect for the insane passive-aggressive PNW mentality.

I wonder what the stoppage vs citation rate is for other infractions, though.

No real inconsiderates on my commute today, just lots of slowpokes as the sun peeked out of the clouds and fried some brains. Well, I did get behind an old dork in one of the gaudy facelift previous generation Lexus ES with the chrome rings around the lights, who drove with his signal on for maybe half a mile.

shrifty

Good to hear, below is the link to the video for the WSP.

http://www.youtube.com/user/wspgovandmedia#p/u/8/tIA2pueFMh4

andres3

Same idiots who speed up while being passed, I bet

Ran into one of those while passing some guy around Oceanside on my way back to San Diego from L.A.

He was LLC with all other lanes clear and seemingly clear for like a mile in front of us (lots of traffic, just not in this particular mile and stretch of road).

I was behind him for a good minute or two, flashed my lights after 1 minute, tailgated for about the last 20 seconds of the 2nd minute, then proceeded to pass on the right.

I always pass at a good clip, but noticed he was speeding up right away, so I decided to pass at a really good clip. whereas we both started from somewhere around 76-77 (I wanted to go 80-82), quickly I reached 100, then 110, then 120, then 125! He must of gone up to about 110 to 115 in that Pontiac G6 because it wasn't until I was 125 that I felt like I had pretty much lost him and had a good enough distance in frront of him that he wouldn't bother me any more. I showed him what a slightly modified A3 is made of! hahaha. Can't believe he made me gun it, and not only gun it, but get it to 120+ in order to safely pass.