THIS is the reason why I don't drive!!

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Hello Wrong Planet-eers.

Just singing on to tell you about an act of stupidity I saw not an hour ago, that was so reckless that it bears sharing with you folks, I'm still a little pissed about it.

You see, me and mom were in her car, driving me back to my apartment after a night's stay at the old homestead. Well, not 5 minutes into the drive, we just about had a near-death experience.
There was a mail truck pulled over on the side of the road in which we were driving, with some lady standing outside it, as if it had broken down. Well, my mom was so focused on looking at the lady that she *almost didn't see (though I saw it several seconds before she did) that a car had stopped DEAD IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LANE!! !* If you're gonna help someone in distress, PARK ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, NOT DEAD F**KING CENTER where others are driving!

Anyways, I finally said to Mom, 'um, aren't you going to slow down or go around'? to which she gasped and quickly swerved her car around the parked car, going into the opposite incoming traffic lane and back again. We were so mad at the stupidity of that driver that it took me a few minutes to realize.....if there had been oncoming traffic, we could've been killed!! (or at the very least, suffered cracked ribs and severe whiplash)

And THAT, my friends, is why I choose not to learn to drive... because I don't want to deal with STUPID F**KING as*holes LIKE THAT!!

Sorry for the yelling and the cursing, but I feel it's justified.

Usagi1992

It is justified, there are people who don't appear to have brains out there!
Hope it didn't shake you up too much.

Driving can be hard on the nerves...
It can get the heart really working.

Fortunately most things involving stupid drivers end well..

Two weeks ago, I got hit by a drunk driver at 1 o'clock in the afternoon. People can be very reckless and irresponsible.

The first thing my Dad (who worked many years in the Insurance industry) taught me about driving - long before I ever developed an interest in learning:


No matter how well you drive, no matter how confident you are in your own safe behavior - always assume that every other driver on the road is an idiot who will accidentally kill you if you stop paying attention for one second.


That wisdom has served me well. I've been driving for 36 years, with only 4 moving violations (mostly for not noticing signs that said DON'T DO THAT HERE), and I've been involved in only one accident, which was the other driver's fault - she turned left in front of me without signaling, dunno how I could have avoided that.

In any case, not driving won't keep you from having to deal with the idiots of the world. They're everywhere, and they cause chaos even when they're not behind the wheel.

Nah, not too much...

I'm sure everybody else here has had a moment like that which they couldn't shake off right away. Like when you almost get creamed by a tractor trailer truck, and you have to pull over to the side of the road and listen to your heart pounding good and hard for ten minutes.

Merely talking about upsetting things like that on WP helps relieve my stress.

And wise advice, Willard...wise advice.

Remember folks, think of how stupid the average American is, and then realize, half of them are stupider then that!

Usagi1992

I hate idiotic drivers who cause accidents by mere stupidity alone! About two months ago, my fiance and I were traveling on a major highway. We were about 30 minutes from our destination, when it started to pour. Accordingly we slowed down. A driver in front of us was swerving erratically, sometimes even going onto the shoulder of the road. On closer inspection, she was sitting low in her seat, while chatting on a cell phone. I urged my fiance to go around her because she was going to cause an accident. We managed to pass her, and were trying to get into another lane but it was impossible. So what does she do? Rear ends us. Her excuse? She was from out of town and not familiar with the area.

I follow 2 major rules while driving:

1. NEVER drive at night if I can avoid it. You sight is extremely limited at night compared to day, especially if you wear glasses like me and have to deal with glares. And yet despite this, people tend to drive faster at night than they do doing the day. If I ever need to go anywhere during the day, I would prefer waking up early and going in the morning than waiting till night.

2. Only use the highway if I have to. It just boggles me at how reckless people can be while going at speeds that would splatter your body in not even a few seconds. I see people driving at a distance from the person in front of them that I would not even attempt at less than half those speeds. If I do need to use the highway, I stick to the right slow lane, preferably behind a large trailer truck. It may take a little longer, but I prefer those professional drivers far more than the idiots passing him, and plus I get to save a little gas from the air bubble behind him.

I prefer driving at night. Less traffic and less tiring for the eyes.

About splattering speeds... the chance you splatter between two trailers trucks is bigger compared to between cars.

And driving distance, once you driven in The Netherlands you will be cured. The police tried some automatic systems to measure the distance and if they would have fined 80% of the drivers should have a fine. It is really intensive driving at certain moments.

And the speed... if you drive 90 km/h or 120 km/h, you are just as dead.

I have driven most everykind of vehicle you can think of. In every one of them "you must be aware of your surroundings"

I've driven fast motorcycles, moving vans, mini vans pick up trucks, sedans. In the army.
H1's and 5ton wreckers, forklifts even helicopters
Thats whats called panic and target fixation. Scan Scan Scan

My father was a state trooper. When he developed als I drove him around ,.....and believe me if I wasnt aware of even my blind spot all the time he'd be PO'd. He also had a degree in transportation and owned a travel/bus tour company.

For the above reasons (my dad) I avoid doing anything but driving when I'm behind the wheel. I dont try to change the heat setting or the radio station , eating and doing other tasks when in changing or dynamic situations.
For myself the easiest vehicle to focus on nothing but driving was motorcycle I put 38,000mi on 1 in 18 months. No heat, no radio, no passenger, no food, no distractions

I will be the first to also admit to not always being a good boy. It was a fast motorcycle ! ! but I used that to get out of potentially bad situations. ie.(group clustered on highway, in someones blind spot,..)

Semi drivers....Their view of sport bikers. "Nuts" but "Respect" I would "draft" behind them to get a break from the wind. I would also help them get thru traffic by clearing a spot for them to merge or opening up a lane to maintain their speed.

point of this >> dont give up, just learn how to be a good driver and to recognise and avoid the bad ones.

Very true; not just for driving, but this has many other applications as well.

The whole "imagine that everyone is out to get you" paradigm is too true for driving. It makes it a lot more predictable... and forces you to stay attentive.

Here, simple example. Did 275 miles today (Oxford->Bath->Bristol->faff around Bristol->Cirencester->Swindon->Oxford) and almost got killed 3 times, all 3 of which were due to people doing what they shouldn't be doing (in order: nasty overtake, nasty overtake, and a ret*d blonde driver who decided that moving into the right lane of a dual carriageway didn't require mirror checks or blind spot checks if there are L plates on her car. Her boyfriend was the accompanying adult, so... yeah, obviously, had I not noticed it, I'd have been licking the ground right now). The one thing you quickly learn as a driver is to scan your surroundings. In a car, it's easy to phase out for a bit, which makes things a lot more dangerous.