This is not related to cars but does involve sheer stupidity. Some years ago a friend and I spent a day fishing at an Army Corp of Engineers lake near me; the Great Salt Plains Resevoir.
There were a couple of Darwin nominees out there with a fast ski rig and they were taking turns seeing how close they could come to the rip-rap on the dam while making a high speed turn and looping towards the rocks on skis.
My estimate is that they were doing 35 MPH or so and were coming within about 15 feet of the rocks. Wash, rinse, repeat.
We watched those guys do this for about an hour; not knowing if the lake rangers would drop the hammer on them or whether one of them was going to plow into the rocks and bounce their way to the top of the dam while leaving a trail of blood and meat behind them.
They didn’t appear to be drinking so the assumption was they were just stupid.
Whether they were drinking or not, they were STUPID!
Actually, we need a more emphatic word to describe that level of stupid. Regular “stupid” just doesn’t seem quite strong enough.
You see anything enough and you become somewhat acclimated to it as normal. Around where I work, it is the jaywalking capital.
People in dark clothes crossing anywhere at dusk without so much as a glance.
People who think they should not even have to break stride and that cars should slam on their brakes to accommodate them.
Arrive at a controlled intersection, push the walk REQUEST button and proceed immediately to cross creating all sorts of confusion and near misses. The light changes sometime later when no one is around and traffic sits waiting for nothing.
People who cannot be bothered to walk an extra 30 ft to the actual crosswalk but just amble out where they happen to intersect with the roadway.
And the people driving cars are even worse. They do things they wouldn’t dare do to other people they had to face in person. That hard exoskeleton apparently provides insulation from rude and uncivil behavior…
Maybe we have just failed our kids. I remember the whole “stop, look, listen” campaign drilled into us all through grade school, not to mention the bomb drills and stop, drop, and roll for clothing fires. We lived on a busy highway and no one ever got hit except a few animals. I just don’t think these things are drilled into the kids as much these days, but rather are taught they have a right to cross the road, use the walk buttons, and even use the road for playing.
It was kind of interesting that I went out to cut the grass late Saturday afternoon, and found about ten kids in my back yard with soccer balls, bow and arrow, etc. I guess the neighbor was having some kind of gathering. They were way in back by my trees but they just kind of looked at me when I started mowing. They didn’t scatter at all and I had to be careful I didn’t run into them with the mower. It just seemed like they were saying “why are you bothering us on your yard, we have a right to be here”.
TwinTurbo: You described my town to a “T”! Jaywalking is legal in my state but is clearly stated to be at their own risk. I frequently see them walk past a marked crosswalk for 20 to 30 ft then cross the street. Why??? We also have the dark clothed nocturnal pedestrians. I call them “Ninjas”. There is also a cyclist version riding illegally “blacked out” bicycles. Why!!! We have more than our fair share of bad drivers but in the 15 years I have lived here there have been no pedestrian/cyclist collisions with motor vehicles reported. I have no idea why.
I think @db4690 answered his own question. They are alive because of the awareness and skill of people like you. Plain and simple.
Other examples, like @missileman’s are alive because of the seriously strong, safe cars we build today. Imagine if that was a 1965 Mustang. Would the outcome be a fatality? You never know for sure.
The proof lies in the statistics. We are at the lowest deaths per mile driven in history. I think we can ALL agree we aren’t making better drivers so we must be making better cars!
I know you regulars have mentioned the phenomenon of several cars making illegal left turns LONG AFTER the left turn arrow has turned red
What’s the most number of cars you’ve seen plow through that now red left arrow and make that now illegal left turn, forcing oncoming traffic to wait . . . ?
Seven, yes 7. St. Louis drivers consider stop signs and stop lights mere suggestions at best and often a mandate to speed up and blow through the intersection. It is best to remember many here consider driving a contact sport, a situation that has gotten much worse the past few years.
Used to ride with the Boss’s son at 60-65 mph in the rain in a 45 mph twisty road,while He drove with His knees and texted(I figured it would be quick,if it was my time) one time He had to take the turning lane to avoid stopped traffic at a light.Seems like He has a very attentive Guardian Angel(He has had many near events(including a motorcycle mishap that almost cost His foot)I just dont back seat drive,I usually try to avoid riding with people like Him(after all no one wants,their perfect riving skills criticized)I will be the first to admit,I dont drive perfectly and nowadays,I avoid the highway when possible(let Walter Mitty drive)
What's the most number of cars you've seen plow through that now red left arrow and make that now illegal left turn, forcing oncoming traffic to wait . . . ?
All of them
You’ve no doubt heard of “right of way”, around here it’s “left of way”. People turning left will cut off oncoming traffic all the time. I think it originates from those older intersections where the left turners are blocking everyone behind them so the courtesy was to let them go and unblock the jam behind them. People just started applying that to every intersection…
@JoeMario Sure I probably would consider it unsafe to steer with your knees, that is why most of the time I use my hands to steer. I do occasionally use my knees to steer on long straight stretches, like when I have to unscrew the cap of my thermos for another cup of coffee. I go over the speed limit occasionally, do not always wear my seat belt, eat an occasional candy bar, may not get the recommended hours of sleep, eat steak, real butter and probably a lot of other unsafe things, so I have to disqualify myself for voting it is ok in certain circumstances.
I used to eat candy bars in the dark car until I opened a Hershey bar fresh out of the vending machine and it had worms in it. That was taken care of back to the wholesaler but now I like to look at what I’m eating in the light. If I have to blow my nose I momentarily may hang onto the wheel with my knees but that’s about it.
Yes, Joe, I consider it unsafe to steer with your knees. Having to do so means you’re trying to do something else while driving, and that alone makes it unsafe. And if the unthinkable happens, like a blowout or a wheel falling off, you’ll have turned an accident into a tragedy by not having control of the car. You CANNOT keep solid control of your vehicle with your knees. Please don’t do this.
Twin Turbo: Yesterday I was standing on the sidewalk and heard someone “laying on the horn” at a nearby intersection. At first I didn’t see anything unusual then realized a driver was attempting a perfectly legal left turn with signal on. They were waiting for oncoming traffic to clear. The continued misuse of horn was the obviously furious idiot forced to wait behind them! When I plan on going through this intersection and others like it I use the right hand lane.
Last week I needed to make a left turn. 6 lanes 2 way with left turn lanes lacking left turn green arrow) signals. Standard procedure since a break in oncoming traffic is rare, is to wait for yellow light, ensure oncoming traffic is stopping and turn. The light was red and a pickup was ahead of me. I was prepared to sit through a couple cycles of the light. The pickup driver had a more innovative solution. When the light turned green they floored it and turned, continuing maximum acceleration on a 25mph residential street! A pedestrian in the crosswalk is still alive because they heard/saw the truck and stopped in time.
People turning left will cut off oncoming traffic all the time. I think it originates from those older intersections where the left turners are blocking everyone behind them so the courtesy was to let them go and unblock the jam behind them. People just started applying that to every intersection…