Someone on the phone
or
Someone driving on summer tires in sub freezing temperatures
1 Like
How about neither one . And is this a survey of some sort ?
Certainly neither is what we all want - but it is a survey of a sort to find which one people think is the worst.
seems to be an A. or B. answer. What do you think?
Given only the two answers, cellphone. But I’d rather either of those than a drunk/impaired driver
1 Like
You need to be more specific in your question.
It’s going to depend on road conditions.
Just because it’s “Sub Freezing Temperatures” doesn’t mean the roads are slippery, I’ve seen -27f on bare and dry roads while cruising along in my semi at 80 mph.
I’ve also seen cars with “Summer Tires” getting around better than cars with “Winter Tires” on snow and ice.
“On the Phone” is this phone being held in their hand, or are they using a Bluetooth or hands free type system ?
For what it’s worth, even if the roads aren’t slippery, summer tires are likely to be rock-hard with a much-increased stopping distance at those temperatures.
It’s for a buddy of mine. He (rightly) berates another friend who speaks on the phone (in hand) while driving. He also seems to get later and later every year in switching over his tires. We’ve had some icy mornings and he’s talked about having to take the bus instead of driving but has yet to do so. After his last lecture about driving while talking on the phone, I said I don’t want to be driving around either of them. I don’t really know much about summer tires except what I’ve read online and I just wanted to see what other drivers think.
If those are the two scariest scenarios you can come up with in regards to someone you see in your rearview mirror while you are stopped, I invite you to visit my neck of the woods… The Greater Philthadelphia area!!
The sights and sounds will astound you, the gunplay will excite you, the verbage yelled between drivers will make you blush, the accidents and debris on the roads will make you fear for your life and the things you see in your review mirror rapidly approaching while you are at a full stop is the stuff of nightmares. I kid you not.
4 Likes
The last time I was rear-ended was by an auto parts delivery truck. The kid driving it was daydreaming or something and the collision was embarrassing to the company.
The joke was that they were looking for more business!
Th previous time was by a stolen car and the driver fled the scene but not after I got his licence plate and description of what he looked like. I had to make a court appearance later to confirm the culprit.
1 Like
How far are they behind me? If they’re texting - I don’t want them anywhere near me, I see it all the time. If it’s icy and driver behind me has summer tires then if they are 1/4 or > then it doesn’t matter. Talking on cell while driving is bad but not as bad as texting.
2 Likes
As long as neither guy is riding my ass, either one is fine!
All of the above, I could use a new bumper cover and my tailgate has a ding in it from the boat trailer. Let their insurance pay for it!
2 Likes
The AAA Foundation for Safety and Education did some research which concluded that hands free was just about as distracting as hand held.
1 Like
I’d choose the cellphone. I have a lot of experience with summer tires and while I wouldn’t want to drive them if freezing temps, they are still OK to drive on. More OK than an inattentive driver.
2 Likes
I agree! I lived in the frozen ( many months per year) north, just north of the 45th parallel. My wife and I both commuted over 70 miles round trip to our jobs, two different directions, for decades. I never put winter tires on any of my vehicles and we never got stuck, left the roadway, or had a collision. I always had at least half dozen cars (4 drivers, including my kids), and to screw with winter tires was not practical and apparently unnecessary. I will add though, these were not “summer tires” on these cars all year, but rather “all-season.”
People on cell phones while driving are total idiots!
CSA
Keep in mind… there are summer tires and there are max performance summer tires. Tires with treadwear labels of around 200 usually come with warnings about driving them in temps below about 40 F. They lose a lot of traction in cold weather.
1 Like
One solution is don’t let the guy with the summer tires drive in the winter, and give him a hard time when he starts a phone call when driving. You might also refuse to let him drive as long as he wants to use the phone while driving.
Here in Southern Minnesota, I really can’t say how many people use separate winter and summer tires. I think it is fairly rare and most just use all season radials except the Highway Patrol. I know they use winter tires. At any rate I can’t say as I really have been affected much by someone using their cell phone. In town trying to make a turn with the thing in their ear but not on the highway and easy to avoid them. One thing that did scare the heck out of me one morning on the freeway was a guy coming up pretty fast on me from behind. He was either in a trance or asleep at the wheel. What do you do? Same as a drunk driver. You don’t switch to the left lane because that might be what he does in the last second. So I guess I had just decided to hit the shoulder if I had to but I hit the horn and flashed my brake lights and at the last minute he got woke and slammed on the brakes. That affected me more than any ole cell phone or bad tires.
1 Like
Last week, while I was driving at ~40 mph in a 35 mph zone, I saw a woman in a late-model Range Rover come roaring up behind me at very high speed. Luckily, she braked hard at the last minute.
I assumed that she would then be riding my rear bumper constantly, as it was a no-passing zone. However, I was wrong! She then dropped very far back and was probably driving no more than 30 mph. Then, I noticed that she veered over the double yellow line several times. Then, she roared up onto my rear bumper again, only to once again fall back and drive below the speed limit.
The best part was at two intersections where we both turned in the same direction. Apparently, she thought that her expensive Rover would tip-over if she took those turns at more than 5 mph. Absolutely bizarre!
Finally, I got stuck at a red light, and was able to see that she was totally focused on her hand-held phone. At that point, all was explained…
1 Like