Why are some people still alive?

I took a Defensive Driving course to recognize and avoid those types. You learn to recognize them!

I ride a lot on two wheels. Anyone who rides a motorcycle or a scooter learns really fast to watch all the time, everywhere, because the last words you hear in your life could be, “I never saw him, officer.”

@VDCdriver

Those tragic and preventable deaths show us what NOT to do

Anyways . . . my mom and my sister-in-law often display really bad seat belt habits

My sister-in-law will sometimes not buckle in, if she’s sitting in the back row, squashed to my nephew’s child car seat. Her reasoning is that she’s too cramped back there, and can’t properly buckle up

When I’m taking my mom somewhere, she often doesn’t want to buckle up initially. Her reasoning is . . . we’re going to be late, and waiting for her to buckle up will cost us precious time. She says she’ll buckle up once I’m underway

I tell both of them, “I’m not going anywhere until you’re buckled up. Your safety is more important than being on time.”

Years ago, a bunch of us were driving home from some kind of an apple festival . . . the fruits, not the computers . . . Anyways, there were four of us, in a Dodge Ramcharger. I was in the backseat, and I was the only one buckled in. We were t-boned, and everybody EXCEPT me was thrown every which way inside the truck.

I’m sure a great many of “those types of drivers” meet their end every single day. It’s just that few people are aware of the details behind that person’s doom as a newspaper blurb or 6 second blip on the local evening news doesn’t provide details.

That blurb or blip may simply state that John or Jane Doe was killed when their car overturned.
Left unsaid is that John or Jane was doing 30 over the limit on a winding road while putzing with a cell phone, juggling a cup of coffee, and trying to unwrap a breakfast burrito just acquired from the convenience store… :frowning:

So let’s see . . .

You’ve got “only” two arms, you’re trying to do all that stuff that was mentioned, AND drive the car . . . ?!

:cold_sweat:

I remember following a co-worker out of the parking lot one afternoon. Gary had just broken his left arm which was in a cast. He was driving a five speed Trans Am. He was getting along pretty well, until his cell phone rang. The car weaved a couple of times before going into the right ditch. He was OK, but the car’s suspension was messed up.

No, I didn’t call him just to see what might happen.

I used to commute to OK City for work and one morning while on my Harley some guy in a Lincoln Town Car pulled out about a block in front of me.

As I got up beside him (4 lane and fairly heavy traffic) I looked over and noticed he had an OK City newspaper unfolded and lying on the steering wheel. He had a cup of coffee in one hand and a donut in the other.
Now and then he would glance over the top of the paper and go back to reading and breakfast at 45 MPH in moderately heavy traffic.

At that point I backed off the throttle and got clean away from him. This moron was either steering with his knees or he had several additional arms underneath the newspaper.

@ok4450

Maybe this guy was actually an octopus . . .

Those extra “arms” would come in handy if you’re trying to multitask

:smiley:

I used to enjoy driving, now I count my blessings when I get home safe. I live in Connecticut and I hardly notice any police presence. Why is nothing being done to protect us from these bad drivers. The other day I was almost hit at a 4 way stop, some idiot on his phone plowed right through it.

I’m not a slow driver and not too long ago I was passed on a narrow back road on a curve!! Something needs to be done.

Years ago, I saw something funny

A moron was trying to pass a semi. The semi was in the far right lane, and this moron tried to pass him IN THE BREAKDOWN LANE

Because the breakdown lane was narrow, and full of debris, he really bashed up his car, both on the debris, against the side of the semi, and against the concrete wall on the right. It was just like in the movies. he kept going and didn’t stop, probably because he knew he could only blame himself

I suppose he might have been a drunk driver

I just laughed and continued on my way

I didn’t even have a cellphone at the time, so I didn’t call it in. It might have even been back when cellphones were available, but the plans were really expensive

In any case, talking on the cellphone while driving is dangerous, so maybe it’s good I didn’t call it in. I might have endangered myself and others

I actually am more afraid of animals now than of other people. I haven’t hit or been hit by a person in over 40 years, but those dang deer and raccoon are another story. I especially cringe when I see a cycle driver at night knowing that just around the corner a deer could be waiting for him. The struggle in Minnesota continues. DNR says the deer population is down but State Farm says our likelyhood of hitting a deer has increased. Frankly I believe State Farm over my buddies at DNR.

Going though Chicago last week on the toll road I was going at least 70 but this little car in back of me wanted me out of the way. So he followed close and flashed his lights and gave me a couple waves. When I got over and he went by, I’ll swear there was not one undamaged panel on his car. Front to back, full of dents

@Bing You have a point. My wife has killed a bear (small one) with her car in a national park and I have collided with a deer on the Alaska Highway. I.ve also run over a fox and several porcupines; in both cases unable to avoid the collision.

Careful driving on these roads is a must; the animals don’t know any better. In the Middle East many drivers are killed in collisions with camels.

@db4960 I am talking about a friendly tap on the horn not acting like a maniac.

Any opinions on how long sitting behind a driver not paying attention to driving (ie because of smartphone or whatever) after a light turns green before one does something, if anything, and what do you do?

Barkydog: I have had to use a beep-beep only 3 or 4 times to “wake-up” the texter. In this state laying on the horn in this situation can result in a $1500 road rage citation.

I’m usually good for ten seconds. Longer than that and you risk the light changing again.

@Bing

that guy I mentioned 100% deserved a dose of his own medicine

And I was happy to give it to him

Honking at somebody because they don’t have nascar reflexes and don’t drive like a bat out of hell the millisecond the light turns green is not okay

That’s how that jerk treated me

And that’s why I honked at him at the next light. Not my fault that he didn’t check if the light is even green before he put his car in gear and plowed ahead

:grin:

So @db4690 what do you do when the light turns green and the driver is asleep at the wheel? Probably you had a hothead in your rear view mirror. db We have been through this before, you disagree on some other post, Now I am your favorite target, we end up as friends, your call.

You aren’t alone db4690, we have those “what, me worry?” jaywalking pedestrians here in San Jose too. I encountered one on Friday evening in fact, who pret-near got run over by half a dozen honking cars, but he never looked right or left, just continued strolling slowly across an 8 lane 40 mph street, completely unconcerned. I’m thinking folks who behave like this, they’ve just generally given up and don’t care whether they get run over, or not.

@Barkydog

“Now I am your favorite target”

Just because somebody’s a friend, doesn’t mean you’ll agree with him all of the time

“your call”

I hope that’s not supposed to be an ultimatum . . . because ultimatums can be seen as being aggressive, if you think about it

My way or the highway
If you’re not with me, you’re against me
If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem

Those ultimatums sound pretty aggressive to me

Let me tell you something, and I’m going to be blunt

There are only a few people on this website who I don’t really like

I’m not going to name “names” because it can serve no purpose

But you’re NOT one of them

I’m surprised more students aren’t killed on college and university campuses. I was riding with a friend who at the time was in her late 70s. She had had a stroke and is partially paralyzed on her right side, so she brakes with her left foot. At any rate, we were on aa main street that goes right through the campus. A college student stepped right out in front of us. I thought for certain the student was going to be hit, but she braked her big Cadillac to a stop and didn’t hit the student. I don’t think I could have reacted that quickly and when I saw how dumb the student looked, I might not have even tried.