They're either Rude, as in thinking they own the road and you can damn well go around them if you want to go faster in THEIR lane, or Stupid, as in having no idea about fast lanes or slow lanes, or worst of all, a combination of both, in which case they're Rupid?
Here's something else which is most irritating, although not necessarily bad driving.On a 4 lane highway (2 in each direction), one semi-truck overtakes another, with the overtaker going perhaps 0.5mph faster than the overtakee, often travelling around 50 mph....then they just stick together for a bit...like a moving roadblock...until finally, several minutes later, the overtaker has got far enough ahead so he can move back into the slow lane.
Few things piss me off more. It is bad driving, on both trucker's part. How hard would it be for the guy getting passed to slow down 2 mph for a minute or so? I used to help unload big trucks, and all the good drivers I rode with would do that for courtesy and safety
I am all for pro-german articles and editorials (it seems western news is chuck full of "bad German this"/"bad German that") so I found this piece to be a good read. Much better than that German canible story someone posted.
Oh BTW I am more than half German by blood, Canadian by nationality.
The 'moving roadblock' is one of the biggest problems I have during expressway driving. It really f's things up for everyone. It's usually caused by the person in the far left lane just not passing. Give them a ticket, take their license away, shoot them, I don't care. Leave that lane open for passing. It's what it's for!
The 'moving roadblock' is one of the biggest problems I have during expressway driving. It really f's things up for everyone. It's usually caused by the person in the far left lane just not passing. Give them a ticket, take their license away, shoot them, I don't care. Leave that lane open for passing. It's what it's for!
"How can I help you, Officer?" -jason
"Do you know why I pulled you over?" -lawman
"Yes sir, I was not passing in the left lane." -jason
"You know what this means, don't you?" -lawman
"ummm... a ticket?" -jason
"No son, you must be shot. It is the new law." -lawman
"Oh good, for a second there I thought I was getting a tick... what? wait, did you just tell me that I am going to get shot?" -jason
"Yah, you heard me right. I love my job..." -lawman
Much better than that German canible story someone posted.
Most of the time, the truth is in the middle. If we would combine the messages of these two articles, someone might get the impression, that we are all polite and capable drivers who would snatch a tourist at the next station for a snack...
One of the most dangerous driving practises is for a driver to overtake on the inside at a far higher speed than the general flow of traffic. I saw this on the way home a couple of weeks back...an old-style Mustang doing perhaps 100 mph blasted past me in the slow lane...nearly broadsiding someone directly in front of me who was indicating to move into the slow lane from the middle lane
Good thing I live up here in north California or else the back of my car would be filled with shotgun holes courtesy of sammi jo. Well over here I found that all the slow drivers don't want to be "slow" and think that just by moving out of the slow lane they are magically driving faster. This leaves the slow lane open with the exception of the occasional construction truck of other fast car. I have timed it and it turns out that lane is second fastest only to the carpool lane. But sammi jo, don't worry, I don't drive 100 or even hit 90 and I do look out for merging traffic. 8)
Anyone here a really bad driver that hangs out in the left lane? You make me sad.
Not really bad, but I do stay in the left lane for long periods...
Quote:
And...tailgating doesn't get you to your destination any faster.
When I was driving the first leg south on the way to a family holiday in France, because I was too young to insure abroad, a tailgater got so close that I couldn't see their car in my side mirrors. For the sake of a few more miles per gallon.
I am a good driver. Not only can I drive, but I can shave, pass without indicating, hold a conversation on the mobile, change radio stations, look at my map for directions. I can't understand why normal people can't do this!
I ate Nachos Deluxe from Taco Time the other day while driving. Used the fork to clean out the remaining meat and refried beans once the tacos were gone... steered with my knees.
Pissing in an empty Gatorade bottle on a long trip also requires skill. You have to make those passes really fast so no one can see what you're doing. Hate to let those big trucks get by you again while you stop to pee!
At Thanksgiving dinner we were having a conversation about this issue and apparently, in Illinois, you now can get your license at 16, but you cannot drive -- and this is the tricky part I'm not sure of -- people who are not immediate family members, while unsupervised, until you are 18.
IOW, you can drive yourself around, and you can drive your family members around, but you cannot drive other people's kids around (for example) until you are 18.
This is what I've heard anyway, and apparently other states are doing some similar things (not allowing unsupervised driving until they've had their license for at least six months, etc.).
My favorite "a-hole driver" pet peave: people who tail-gate me because I'm only going 78mph in the left lane of a four lane highway... and there's NOBODY to my right, so if they wanted to, they could easily go right around me. But no, they sit there on my bumper at 75+ because they expect I'm going to get out of their way. As if I'm not actually going 23 mph over the speed limit.
I'm all for letting faster traffic pass on the left, but if you yourself *are* going fast people should respect that and go around if they can. I think anyone who drives over 75 mph (80, 85, etc.) on a regular basis is begging for a fatal accident. I only occasionally go as fast as 78 in order to get away from truck convoys in the right lanes, etc.
I'm all for letting faster traffic pass on the left, but if you yourself *are* going fast people should respect that and go around if they can.
In Germany, you are not allowed to pass on the right lane (outside of cities) and you must drive on the rightmost free lane.
Quote:
I think anyone who drives over 75 mph (80, 85, etc.) on a regular basis is begging for a fatal accident.
It's a matter of training. Depending on the car I'm using, the weather and road condition, traffic etc., I can drive about 125 mph without problems. My personal maximum on a rather free part of the Autobahn was 145 mph, but this speed is too much in most occasions - even for me.
The important thing is to adapt the speed to the current condition: E.g. there are many idiots driving in fog nearly as fast as on a sunny day.
Wasn't there a survey done about this, where the people who considered themselves to be above average drivers were actually among the worst, and the people who considered themselves average were among the best? (The people who thought they were below average actually were - but at least they knew it!)
Passing on the right (or left, for people who drive on the left) is evil partly because it makes things twice as complicated, and mostly because drivers can't see well on the opposite sides of their vehicles. Truck drivers can hardly see anything on their opposite sides (they also can't see what's right behind them, which makes people who tailgate trucks look even more stupid). In order to check to see if someone's close on your right you have to actually turn around and look back, which means that you aren't looking in front of you, which is bad.
I make it a policy to see that there is no-one to my right if I can help it, unless it's caused by my passing them.
I'm familiar with the ridiculous psychology that makes people crowd you if they think you're going to pull in in front of them. It's so bad in Chicago that you're actually better off not signaling and making people just get out of your way. I hate having to do that, but if I have a left-hand exit to take and there's some schmuck on my left-hand corner... (In Iowa City, you're more likely to get someone to open up a space for you, unless the driver is recently arrived from Chicago.) Don't even get me started on LA drivers.
Left-hand exits also make it harder not to park yourself in a left lane. If I know I have to make a left-lane exit soon, that's where I'm going to be, and I'm not going to shift lanes for someone who wants to go faster. They can wait the couple of hundred yards until I turn, and then go as fast as they want.
You are right Amorph, most people who think they are good drivers, forget all the mistakes they commit (me included).
However twelve years ago, i felt asleep while driving, my car hurted at more than 60 mph a road-light, and my car was destroyed ( a mini metro). Luckily i have just some minors wounds. But the next day, i could not stay at work, i was under shock. But until this day, i know that i am not immortal while driving, and that a simple idiot doing a mistake in the other side of the road may shorten my life. Since this event i have the conscience that driving is dangerous and i am more cautious. I definitevely know that i am not a pilot. I don't like to drive particulary slow, and i just try to anticipate things.
Althought i am cautious, from time to time i commit some mistakes, from minor one, to potentially dangerous ones. Before insulting the next coming driver, think about it, dears AI fellows
[B]Good thing I live up here in north California or else the back of my car would be filled with shotgun holes courtesy of sammi jo. .............. etc.........
You are right Amorph, most people who think they are good drivers, forget all the mistakes they commit (me included).
However twelve years ago, i felt asleep while driving, my car hurted at more than 60 mph a road-light, and my car was destroyed ( a mini metro). Luckily i have just some minors wounds.
You were incredibly lucky. There was the Darwin award nominee whose BMW was found rammed into the concrete pillar of a bridge. His body was at the wheel, the newspaper still spread in front of him.
That reminds me of a funny story: My family did a university sponsored exchange with a family in France. We got their house and car for a year, and my parents got jobs at their university, and vice versa. The French family came to the US first. So their father got in our big old Ford Galaxy 500 for the first time, fired the car up, shifted the first three-on-the-tree automatic he'd ever seen into drive, and hit the gas as hard as he was used to doing with his little Citroën. The giant V8 obliged by launching the car away from the house, down the street, across another street, and into a telephone pole before he could blink. He leaped out of the car, horrified, to discover that he hadn't even scuffed the bumper.
I hate tailgaters. When someone rides up my ass and I don't have any place to go I keep at the same speed while putting my free foot on the brake just enough to make my brake lights go on. That scares 'em.
Comments
Here's something else which is most irritating, although not necessarily bad driving.On a 4 lane highway (2 in each direction), one semi-truck overtakes another, with the overtaker going perhaps 0.5mph faster than the overtakee, often travelling around 50 mph....then they just stick together for a bit...like a moving roadblock...until finally, several minutes later, the overtaker has got far enough ahead so he can move back into the slow lane.
Few things piss me off more. It is bad driving, on both trucker's part. How hard would it be for the guy getting passed to slow down 2 mph for a minute or so? I used to help unload big trucks, and all the good drivers I rode with would do that for courtesy and safety
Oh BTW I am more than half German by blood, Canadian by nationality.
Originally posted by bunge
The 'moving roadblock' is one of the biggest problems I have during expressway driving. It really f's things up for everyone. It's usually caused by the person in the far left lane just not passing. Give them a ticket, take their license away, shoot them, I don't care. Leave that lane open for passing. It's what it's for!
"How can I help you, Officer?" -jason
"Do you know why I pulled you over?" -lawman
"Yes sir, I was not passing in the left lane." -jason
"You know what this means, don't you?" -lawman
"ummm... a ticket?" -jason
"No son, you must be shot. It is the new law." -lawman
"Oh good, for a second there I thought I was getting a tick... what? wait, did you just tell me that I am going to get shot?" -jason
"Yah, you heard me right. I love my job..." -lawman
*BANG BANG*
Originally posted by \\/\\/ickes
Much better than that German canible story someone posted.
Most of the time, the truth is in the middle.
Originally posted by sammi jo
Tailgating is about as dumb and stupid as it gets...
Absolutely! As a contrast to the article that started the thread, read this....
Originally posted by sammi jo
One of the most dangerous driving practises is for a driver to overtake on the inside at a far higher speed than the general flow of traffic. I saw this on the way home a couple of weeks back...an old-style Mustang doing perhaps 100 mph blasted past me in the slow lane...nearly broadsiding someone directly in front of me who was indicating to move into the slow lane from the middle lane
Good thing I live up here in north California or else the back of my car would be filled with shotgun holes courtesy of sammi jo. Well over here I found that all the slow drivers don't want to be "slow" and think that just by moving out of the slow lane they are magically driving faster. This leaves the slow lane open with the exception of the occasional construction truck of other fast car. I have timed it and it turns out that lane is second fastest only to the carpool lane. But sammi jo, don't worry, I don't drive 100 or even hit 90 and I do look out for merging traffic. 8)
Anyone here a really bad driver that hangs out in the left lane? You make me sad.
Not really bad, but I do stay in the left lane for long periods...
And...tailgating doesn't get you to your destination any faster.
When I was driving the first leg south on the way to a family holiday in France, because I was too young to insure abroad, a tailgater got so close that I couldn't see their car in my side mirrors. For the sake of a few more miles per gallon.
Pissing in an empty Gatorade bottle on a long trip also requires skill. You have to make those passes really fast so no one can see what you're doing. Hate to let those big trucks get by you again while you stop to pee!
I am a driving god.
IOW, you can drive yourself around, and you can drive your family members around, but you cannot drive other people's kids around (for example) until you are 18.
This is what I've heard anyway, and apparently other states are doing some similar things (not allowing unsupervised driving until they've had their license for at least six months, etc.).
My favorite "a-hole driver" pet peave: people who tail-gate me because I'm only going 78mph in the left lane of a four lane highway... and there's NOBODY to my right, so if they wanted to, they could easily go right around me. But no, they sit there on my bumper at 75+ because they expect I'm going to get out of their way. As if I'm not actually going 23 mph over the speed limit.
I'm all for letting faster traffic pass on the left, but if you yourself *are* going fast people should respect that and go around if they can. I think anyone who drives over 75 mph (80, 85, etc.) on a regular basis is begging for a fatal accident. I only occasionally go as fast as 78 in order to get away from truck convoys in the right lanes, etc.
Originally posted by Moogs
I'm all for letting faster traffic pass on the left, but if you yourself *are* going fast people should respect that and go around if they can.
In Germany, you are not allowed to pass on the right lane (outside of cities) and you must drive on the rightmost free lane.
I think anyone who drives over 75 mph (80, 85, etc.) on a regular basis is begging for a fatal accident.
It's a matter of training. Depending on the car I'm using, the weather and road condition, traffic etc., I can drive about 125 mph without problems. My personal maximum on a rather free part of the Autobahn was 145 mph, but this speed is too much in most occasions - even for me.
The important thing is to adapt the speed to the current condition: E.g. there are many idiots driving in fog nearly as fast as on a sunny day.
Pissing in an empty Gatorade bottle on a long trip also requires skill.
what are you talking about? just set it on the floor and drop yourself in. easy as pie and no one can see.
Passing on the right (or left, for people who drive on the left) is evil partly because it makes things twice as complicated, and mostly because drivers can't see well on the opposite sides of their vehicles. Truck drivers can hardly see anything on their opposite sides (they also can't see what's right behind them, which makes people who tailgate trucks look even more stupid). In order to check to see if someone's close on your right you have to actually turn around and look back, which means that you aren't looking in front of you, which is bad.
I make it a policy to see that there is no-one to my right if I can help it, unless it's caused by my passing them.
I'm familiar with the ridiculous psychology that makes people crowd you if they think you're going to pull in in front of them. It's so bad in Chicago that you're actually better off not signaling and making people just get out of your way. I hate having to do that, but if I have a left-hand exit to take and there's some schmuck on my left-hand corner... (In Iowa City, you're more likely to get someone to open up a space for you, unless the driver is recently arrived from Chicago.) Don't even get me started on LA drivers.
Left-hand exits also make it harder not to park yourself in a left lane. If I know I have to make a left-lane exit soon, that's where I'm going to be, and I'm not going to shift lanes for someone who wants to go faster. They can wait the couple of hundred yards until I turn, and then go as fast as they want.
However twelve years ago, i felt asleep while driving, my car hurted at more than 60 mph a road-light, and my car was destroyed ( a mini metro). Luckily i have just some minors wounds. But the next day, i could not stay at work, i was under shock. But until this day, i know that i am not immortal while driving, and that a simple idiot doing a mistake in the other side of the road may shorten my life. Since this event i have the conscience that driving is dangerous and i am more cautious. I definitevely know that i am not a pilot. I don't like to drive particulary slow, and i just try to anticipate things.
Althought i am cautious, from time to time i commit some mistakes, from minor one, to potentially dangerous ones. Before insulting the next coming driver, think about it, dears AI fellows
Originally posted by Ebby
[B]Good thing I live up here in north California or else the back of my car would be filled with shotgun holes courtesy of sammi jo. .............. etc.........
]
Huh?
Originally posted by Powerdoc
You are right Amorph, most people who think they are good drivers, forget all the mistakes they commit (me included).
However twelve years ago, i felt asleep while driving, my car hurted at more than 60 mph a road-light, and my car was destroyed ( a mini metro). Luckily i have just some minors wounds.
You were incredibly lucky. There was the Darwin award nominee whose BMW was found rammed into the concrete pillar of a bridge. His body was at the wheel, the newspaper still spread in front of him.
That reminds me of a funny story: My family did a university sponsored exchange with a family in France. We got their house and car for a year, and my parents got jobs at their university, and vice versa. The French family came to the US first. So their father got in our big old Ford Galaxy 500 for the first time, fired the car up, shifted the first three-on-the-tree automatic he'd ever seen into drive, and hit the gas as hard as he was used to doing with his little Citroën. The giant V8 obliged by launching the car away from the house, down the street, across another street, and into a telephone pole before he could blink. He leaped out of the car, horrified, to discover that he hadn't even scuffed the bumper.
Originally posted by sammi jo
Huh?
Heh. I quoted the wrong paragraph.