Inconsiderate Drivers (share your stories, etc.)

fintail · May 2015

I love it when people slow down for an ambulance driving in the oncoming lane - on a divided limited access multi lane highway.

The police slow down thing amuses/irks me too - the popo isn't going to drop what they are doing to nab you for going 3 over, simmer down.

Interesting about the elephant race thing, I had never heard the term before Germany.

Today's winner - a Lexus LS that pulled out of an expensive/exclusive health/social club that was doing everything possible to emulate a 25 year old in an abused M3, not a signal to be seen.

imidazol97 · May 2015

fintail said:
The police slow down thing amuses/irks me too - the popo isn't going to drop what they are doing to nab you for going 3 over, simmer down.

Although I have seen the total slowdown when a police car is busy on the side of the road with a traffic stop or car check, in Ohio we've been subjected to years of public service announcements and road signs about moving over and/or slowing down when a public safety vehicle is on the side of the road.

The actual law said either move out of the right most lane OR slow down while passing, but the signs and quotes usually make it sound like both are required even for more distant lanes. Hence the total slow down on interstates in this area.

The Ohio law came out of someone on a bypass freeway here near Dayton who didn't slow down despite the snow and black ice on the road one morning. That driver slide into the wide median hitting a policeman and others in the median with the other multiple cars that had already slide off. That stretch of interstate bypass was always notorious for speeding, aggressive drivers since it had opened. But this day the aggressive driving cost lives.

ruking1 · May 2015

At some points, the legislations/regulations/ enforcements should be measured for whether or not they really work or are forms of window dressing (up to total perversions). If systems are willing to put the effort in for "new stuff", it should be compelled to do maintenance, OR REMOVAL OF OUT USEFUL STUFF !!! There are a lot of "CODE" phrases and concepts in our motor vehicle "culture" that addresses lies and sometimes totally bypass the truths.

So while your example probably started with the very BEST of intentions, yada, yada, it can be well on the "road" to sappy sentimentality.

andre1969 · May 2015

fintail said:
Easy solution, don't buy in an HOA. Most places still lack them.

My failure remark was about areas with gated communities - they tend to be those with gigantic socio-economic gaps, an effectively invisible middle class, a huge underclass with a small top few, etc. What we're all probably devolving towards, unfortunately.

Not around here, unfortunately. In fact, it seems like every new development that pops up is required to have an HOA. My understanding is that the county makes the developer pay for all the streets and such, and then an HOA gets formed to cover maintenance of those new streets, snow removal, sidewalks, curbs, etc.

There are still plenty of older neighborhoods around that don't have HOA's. But many of the towns are so bad with code enforcement they might as well be HOA's. I've heard the next town over from me, Bowie, disparagingly called "the world's biggest HOA". Many of the newer communities do have their own HOAs, but the majority of it, that went in when they broke ground in 1958 and finished up in the early 70's, has its own city code enforcement.

And, even where I live, occasionally county inspectors will get you for various no-no's. I got hit back in 2010, because my '79 New Yorker didn't have a front license plate on it, and it was backed into the driveway, so it was cited as an "untagged car". Fortunately, the inspectors aren't allowed to come onto your property, so they can only cite you for what they can see from the road. At least that's what I've heard. My neighbors got busted a year or two earlier for that for having a Ford Ranger with no tags, that they were storing for their son. It was a good 600 feet off the road, so I have no idea how they got caught. I think their driveway has an easement on it though, that allows the property owners behind them access to the road. And I have an easement on it, to get to the back part of my property, which is on the other side of a creek. So maybe that gives the county permission to go back there? Or someone from the county could have been back there for another reason, I guess.

As for gated communities, the only one around here I can think of is an apartment complex, of all places. Hardly high-society living! Back in the 1990's, one of my friends lived in a gated condo community in Garden Grove, CA. Real nice place...at first. But then the area went downhill. He had an '89-era Maxima, with a removable stereo. I remember him saying that someone hopped the fence, broke into his car, and even though he had taken the stereo out, they still stole the part that it inserted into!

Eventually that neighborhood went to the dogs, and his $120K condo became worth about $20K, and he walked away, doing a deed in lieu of foreclosure.

isellhondas · May 2015

The first house we ever owned was in Garden Grove and you are correct. To say it has gone downhill would be an understatement.

andres3 · May 2015

What happened in Garden Grove? Too many inconsiderate drivers? Too little anarchy preventers?

isellhondas · May 2015

Let's just say things changed and not for the good.

Unkempt houses, much higher crime rates, tacky strip malls everywhere etc.

andre1969 · May 2015

In my friend's case, he worked for McDonnell-Douglas, which was near-by, and they laid off a lot of people in the early 1990's. So he got laid off AND lost equity in his condo at the same time...a smaller scale version of what happened to most of the country in the "Great Recession" in 2008. I don't know if it was McDonnell-Douglas laying off people that cratered that area, or if something bigger was going on.

McDonnell-Douglas got bought out by Boeing, but that wasn't until 1997. By that time, I'm sure the damage had been done, although I don't know if that ended up depressing the area even more.

fintail · May 2015

Good point about that - I see it more as letting off the gas than hitting the brakes, as some do. On that note, too often, I see people who don't move over for ambulances until far too late, like when the ambulance has to lay on the horn.

That tragic incident at the end might be more of a factor of bad driving skill and poor road maintenance as much as aggressive driving - speeding isn't always or even often aggressive driving, but speeding on ice and snow is stupid driving.

imidazol97 said:

The Ohio law came out of someone on a bypass freeway here near Dayton who didn't slow down despite the snow and black ice on the road one morning. That driver slide into the wide median hitting a policeman and others in the median with the other multiple cars that had already slide off. That stretch of interstate bypass was always notorious for speeding, aggressive drivers since it had opened. But this day the aggressive driving cost lives.

fintail · May 2015

I've only lived in a couple newer developments in my life, I don't recall HOAs - I know they exist here, but I think they are less common in the PNW. Just as gated communities here are quite rare. Maybe all of that is more common where inconsiderate homeowners are more likely to become car and junk hoarders. If I had a house with land, I'd no doubt have a parts car orchard, but I'd have a fence around it. Or maybe just put up a pole building.

Where I live now, many apartment and condo developments are gated, I suppose, as they have underground garages that aren't open to the public, and usually locked lobby doors. Where I live is locked with a garage gate, but now and then people get in anyway.

andre1969 said:

Not around here, unfortunately. In fact, it seems like every new development that pops up is required to have an HOA. My understanding is that the county makes the developer pay for all the streets and such, and then an HOA gets formed to cover maintenance of those new streets, snow removal, sidewalks, curbs, etc.

There are still plenty of older neighborhoods around that don't have HOA's. But many of the towns are so bad with code enforcement they might as well be HOA's. I've heard the next town over from me, Bowie, disparagingly called "the world's biggest HOA". Many of the newer communities do have their own HOAs, but the majority of it, that went in when they broke ground in 1958 and finished up in the early 70's, has its own city code enforcement.

Eventually that neighborhood went to the dogs, and his $120K condo became worth about $20K, and he walked away, doing a deed in lieu of foreclosure.

isellhondas · May 2015

We have an HOA and I'm a board member. HOA's are both good and bad.

Our board tries to be a bit lenient with the rules but unless you have rules some people can and will do some bad things that will make the place look tacky. We can't have boats or motorhomes in view from the street and we are (somewhat) restrictive on paint colors etc.

imidazol97 · May 2015

isellhondas said:
We have an HOA and I'm a board member. HOA's are both good and bad.

Our board tries to be a bit lenient with the rules but unless you have rules some people can and will do some bad things that will make the place look tacky. We can't have boats or motorhomes in view from the street and we are (somewhat) restrictive on paint colors etc.

I lived in a landominium in an HOA mixed with single family homes. I quickly found the HOA group was swayed easily to allow changes by friends and for others they held to the requirements. Worst was that the appearance was based on rectangular windows with the cross grids in them in all front and side windows. However, friends of HOA were allowed to put in octagonal-shaped windows for more light in bathroom area. And there were some other changes allowed that violated the spirit and intent of the actual codes.

I swore I'd never buy in another one of those.

euphonium · May 2015

Hearing the truckers on the CB reveals they take pleasure in suddenly pulling in front of your faster car, especially going up hill. All you can do is know what's ahead and making sure you overtake the truck long before it hits the hill.

imidazol97 · May 2015

fintail said:
speeding isn't always or even often aggressive driving, but speeding on ice and snow is stupid driving.

On that connector interstate, I675, it was speeding and aggressive driving on the part of many. That particular morning, the icing was forming as it happened. Nothing the road maintenance could have done. The drivers just refused to slow down from 70 despite the light snow and high humidity forming the surface ice.

andres3 · May 2015

imidazol97 said:

fintail said:
speeding isn't always or even often aggressive driving, but speeding on ice and snow is stupid driving.
On that connector interstate, I675, it was speeding and aggressive driving on the part of many. That particular morning, the icing was forming as it happened. Nothing the road maintenance could have done. The drivers just refused to slow down from 70 despite the light snow and high humidity forming the surface ice.

That's a classic case of going "TOO FAST for Conditions!," and really has nothing to do with speeding. You can be going too fast for conditions and be at or even below the speed limit; hence, it is something different all together. Apples and oranges.

Aggressive driving implies that they meant to drive in a reckless manner at 10/10th's of the cars capabilities during less than ideal weather conditions.

imidazol97 · May 2015

andres3 said:
Aggressive driving implies that they meant to drive in a reckless manner at 10/10th's of the cars capabilities during less than ideal weather conditions.

Aggressive driving can be defined as operating a vehicle in a manner that is likely to endanger someone.
The aggressive driving on that road occurred rain, shine, sleet, dark of night. It had been the target of several police efforts to slow people down and get the aggressive drivers to go with the flow rather than trying to dominate and bully the other drivers on the road.

fintail · May 2015

I think most people define aggressive driving as driving in an intentionally offensive manner - it's pretty hard to be an aggressive driver on an empty road, for example - no matter the weather.

Being offended by speeding doesn't make the speeder aggressive, either, and slowpokes can be just as aggressive.

Inconsiderate boat driver - and of course not arrested, as Joe Schmoe Civilian wouldn't be either, yep, right, sure, uh-huh, wink

stever · May 2015

Guess he can always apply with the Secret Service.

Pretty tame week here other than the two cars leaving the nearest high school mid-morning the other day and passing three cars on the double yellow in a curve going up a hill. Was wishing for your dash cam @fintail.

ruking1 · May 2015

fintail said:
I think most people define aggressive driving as driving in an intentionally offensive manner - it's pretty hard to be an aggressive driver on an empty road, for example - no matter the weather.

Being offended by speeding doesn't make the speeder aggressive, either, and slowpokes can be just as aggressive.

Inconsiderate boat driver - and of course not arrested, as Joe Schmoe Civilian wouldn't be either, yep, right, sure, uh-huh, wink

I would also surmise that the slowpokes actively being passive aggressive are probably more the problem than the speeders, i.e., FAILING to "KEEP RIGHT EXCEPT to PASS".

fintail · May 2015

Exactly right. Passive aggressive (a big thing among the Seattle personality types) is just as bad as aggressive. Real obstinate LLCing should probably be counted as aggressive driving, in its own way.

ruking1 said:

I would also surmise that the slowpokes actively being passive aggressive are probably more the problem than the speeders, i.e., FAILING to "KEEP RIGHT EXCEPT to PASS".

fintail · May 2015

I bet some interesting things can be seen on the roads around high schools. Around here, now that driver's ed is all privatized, I suspect it's certainly not better than in the past.

This morning I was out, saw a Microsoft shuttle van literally going 55-60 on a 35mph suburban arterial. I wonder if they have GPS trackers.

stever said:
Guess he can always apply with the Secret Service.

Pretty tame week here other than the two cars leaving the nearest high school mid-morning the other day and passing three cars on the double yellow in a curve going up a hill. Was wishing for your dash cam @fintail.

imidazol97 · May 2015

fintail said:
Being offended by speeding doesn't make the speeder aggressive, either, and slowpokes can be just as aggressive.

I'm not clear if that's from my example where the stretch of road had speeding rampant. I certainly never
said speeding is aggressive by itself.

andre1969 · May 2015

I got to see a bit of funeral procession rudeness today. My 91 year old grandmother passed away earlier in the week, and the funeral was today. Well, the parking lot off the funeral home itself was on a dead-end street. At the intersection of the dead end street and the through road, funeral home employees, with hand-held stop signs, got out and stopped traffic as we lined up to get ready. They were queuing us up on the wrong side of the street, with the hearse a couple car lengths back from the intersection. There was a PT Cruiser, I guess to run blocker for the hearse, that was at the intersection, on the proper side of the road, and there was enough of a gap between the back of the PT Cruiser, and the front of the hearse, that a car could conceivably squeeze through.

Well, just as the procession was about to move ahead, this Subaru Forrester that was trying to make a left turn onto the street we were on, suddenly gunned ahead and almost did a kamikaze into the front of the hearse! How you can't see something that big and that black, with its lights and flashers on, and with people waving stop signs around, is beyond me. But, fortunately he stopped pretty quickly and backed up.

Then, once we were out on the road, a Honda Pilot makes a left turn, pulling out in front of the procession, but then only goes a few hundred feet up the road and stops, sort of off to the side, and someone walks up to it and gets in. The procession actually started to overtake the Pilot, and was passing around it, at a point where the road was about to widen, to two lanes in each direction, with a median strip. We were traveling pretty slow, but the PT Cruiser, and the hearse, had passed the Pilot, as it suddenly guns it and took off ahead of the procession, driving up the shoulder, which turned into a right turn lane, and made the turn a few hundred feet up the street.

But, both of those were fairly minor in the overall scheme of things, and the rest of the trip was pretty uneventful. It was a fairly short ride, through a rough neighborhood....this is in poor taste, but I almost blurted out "This is the part of America we never get to see. Look at all this plight! Are you noticing all this plight, kids? Okay, roll 'em up, roll 'em up!!"

euphonium · May 2015

Outsiders don't enter the hoods & cause the blight. Their plight is the result of the locals poopin in their mess kits.

andre1969 · May 2015

Here's what I was trying to quote, just in case anyone didn't get the reference...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwBoa-NbNL8

fintail · May 2015

A lot of people over a certain age won't get it

Outsiders, in terms of bought and paid for politicos and their crony capitalist funders, definitely contribute to blight.

I've only dealt with one funeral procession - not a big thing in my area, probably due to the latent heavy traffic that exists most of the time. I was in a rural area, and it was oncoming - I felt like I should pull over, but there wasn't a good place to, so I just slowed down.

ruking1 · May 2015

YUP ! DITTO on frequent Obama visits !!! It really mucks up commute traffic ! Hillary will probably make her way here as much or MORE than BHO.

On FUN eral traffic? No comment.

andre1969 · May 2015

dunno about inconsiderate, but I ran across one today that was, umm...interesting. I was out running some errands with a friend. Windows up, a/c on, as it was getting a bit muggy. We were stopped at a light, and after a bit, my friend said "I smell skunk!" I responded that I don't think that's skunk. So, I looked around a bit. Ahead of us was a kid in a Grand Marquis, but he was smoking a regular cigarette. Hand out the window, with the cig in his hand. There was a Benz in the right lane, next to the Grand Marquis, but its windows were up. But then, I looked next to me, and saw a '97-01 era Camry, front window up, but back window down, and the kid was smoking something a bit too small to be a cigarette!

Now, I'm not one to judge, but as far as I know, weed isn't legal in Maryland, except for medicinal purposes. And, I'd imagine that smoking it and driving isn't a very good idea...

fintail · May 2015

It's legal here, which I support, due to the ridiculous war on drugs failure that so many anarchy-preventers and arrogant untouchable prosecutors still cling to. But smoking and driving should be treated like drinking and driving. I don't think the authorities have figured out a plan for that one yet.

Not too many bad drivers today. I think when I drive the old car, I am less likely to catch the errors made by others, as I am constantly monitoring the health of my own car.

Michaell · May 2015

fintail said:
It's legal here, which I support, due to the ridiculous war on drugs failure that so many anarchy-preventers and arrogant untouchable prosecutors still cling to. But smoking and driving should be treated like drinking and driving. I don't think the authorities have figured out a plan for that one yet.

Not too many bad drivers today. I think when I drive the old car, I am less likely to catch the errors made by others, as I am constantly monitoring the health of my own car.

fin, we have the same issues here in CO .. I think the state has set up some limits, testable by blood, that determine the 'driving while high' threshold.

ruking1 · May 2015

I think the end goal has always been to push for "IT" to be legal. Two easy reasons (among many) have been the ENORMOUS profit and subsequent enormous taxes that can be levied after legalization. It has always fallen under the DUI category. So when they can develop and implement testing like blood draw and breathalyzers (like for alcohol), it will be a no brainer for another revenue stream.

Michaell · May 2015

ruking1 said:
I think the end goal has always been to push for "IT" to be legal. Two easy reasons (among many) have been the ENORMOUS profit and subsequent enormous taxes that can be levied after legalization. It has always fallen under the DUI category. So when they can develop and implement testing like blood draw and breathalyzers (like for alcohol), it will be a no brainer for another revenue stream.

Yep, the taxes collected on pot here in Colorado has put the state into an interesting conundrum - the state has collected more tax than allowed by law, so must return it back to the citizens. This is also true for the town I live in - they have to either refund the money or hold a special election to allow the citizens to vote whether the town can keep the excess.

ruking1 · May 2015

There is almost nothing more ADDICTING than being the controller/beneficiary of taxes that either a minority or a majority WANTS to pay !!!!!

So for example, there is precious little transparency on the alcohol (wine, beer, spirits ) taxations. More to the transportation point, same is true for ethanol (corrupted for human consumption). The consumption of (10%) ethanol is a HUGE tax on transportation. It also has another HUGE role in massive price increases in food costs, i.e., TAXATIONS.

Talking heads on FiNet/cable tv, say the monies saved on recent lower gas prices were spent on (surprise surprise?) rents/GROCERIES.

euphonium · May 2015

"It's legal here, which I support" And do you have a kayak floating around Elliott Bay too?

fintail · May 2015

I think there are limits here, at least on paper, but I read they are easily challenged or debated in court. A hard limit, as with drinking and driving, is needed - no exemption for "medical" use either. You are under the influence, or not.

Michaell said:

fin, we have the same issues here in CO .. I think the state has set up some limits, testable by blood, that determine the 'driving while high' threshold.

fintail · May 2015

Nope, I am a normal private sector worker without a family business or taxpayer support to fall back on.

Which is why I support it being legal, rather than having that much more of my money thrown into the fire pit of the incredibly wasteful and poorly planned "war on drugs" which has produced little or no beneficial result, other than make-work projects for the already out-of-control Praetorian sector.

euphonium said:
"It's legal here, which I support" And do you have a kayak floating around Elliott Bay too?

Michaell · May 2015

fintail said:
Nope, I am a normal private sector worker without a family business or taxpayer support to fall back on.

Which is why I support it being legal, rather than having that much more of my money thrown into the fire pit of the incredibly wasteful and poorly planned "war on drugs" which has produced little or no beneficial result, other than make-work projects for the already out-of-control Praetorian sector.

euphonium said:
"It's legal here, which I support" And do you have a kayak floating around Elliott Bay too?

I voted in favor of legalization as well, thought I've never used drugs in my life.

fintail · May 2015

Same here, never been close to driving under any influence either. It's just considerate

ruking1 · May 2015

"Legal" pot sales really is code for (LEGAL) GUTTING of areas where they will go into. One major metropolitan area close to the "TESLA' plant is wanting to put pot sales in so called "industrial" areas. On the face of it, (it almost sounds like a knee jerk reaction) @ least they can be seen as controlling it. BUT to me it BEGS the question, why aren't INDUSTIES being put into INDUSTRIAL areas? Or are city fodders/mudders putting industries where pot sales were originally planned to have been located? The third question, IF YOU were the owner of an industry, would you want your industry to be located in an industrial area where pot sales are permitted?

Not being TOTALLY impractical, I would, IF my industy happened to be a hydroponic pot growing operation

Some things are TERRIBLY TWISTED!!!! ??

euphonium · May 2015

This is very inconsiderate & hazardous. Click here: Meskel Square, Addis Abeba

euphonium · May 2015

Oh well?

ruking1 · May 2015

I can hardly spell TAKATA, now I PROBABLY have one !! ??

http://www.safercar.gov/rs/takata/index.html

Mr_Shiftright · May 2015

According to a recent survey, people aren't just texting or getting stoned.

People doing other things while driving

stever · May 2015

DrivePromise suggests putting a pic of a loved one in your view (off to the side of course) to remind yourself to pay attention to your driving.

Any loved one that you care about will work; like, say, the roadster in the garage you only drive on weekends. :-)

euphonium · May 2015

How about an ad from the local funeral home?

fintail · May 2015

I've always thought cars with loads of pics and bric a brac on the dash didn't tend to have the most with-it drivers. And watch out for stuffed animals.

As long as laws have no real teeth and no encouragement for the enforcers to enforce, we'll get what we've got.

stever · May 2015

I'm going to wait for my next new car before permanently gluing my favorite bobble-head to the dash. (And yes, Fin, it came from Archie McPhee's).

PF_Flyer · May 2015

I GOTTA find the switch that disables my car's cloaking device because I MUST be invisible on the road. A limited access 4 lane divided road. 50 mph limit, 1 traffic light in a 2 mile run. I'm doing 45 (uphill) approaching the light that's green. Car on the road that intersects at the light sitting at the red light. I'm about 10 car lengths from the light (still green) when the GENIUS decides that they've waited long enough and comes out to make a LEFT to go in the opposite direction that I'm traveling. Used an almost A-move to avoid the moron. In the rear-view, the light is still green until I can't see it.

xwesx · May 2015

Not funny at the time, but at least one of you were aware of your surroundings. Scenarios like this remind me of when I had to drift my minivan to avoid a Jeep that decided to pull a similar stunt.

fintail · May 2015

Bobbleheads are OK, at least in vintage cars. But dangling gold changes, religious figures, stuffed animals, pictures of loved ones stuck to the instrument cluster - these are not signs of someone who is all there.

Saw an incident today where someone was inconsiderate - a 1st gen Saturn and an early CRV got in a tangle. It was like a time warp to 1998. Somehow the Saturn was spun around and was facing the wrong way. Cop was on scene when I drove by - didn't think it was exciting enough to get a dashcam capture.

Inconsiderate Drivers (share your stories, etc.)

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