Stupid Drivers

[Jim Edgerly]

Jim, it is scary indeed!
Too bad people can't be more considerate, and more importantly educated.
If everyone could experience riding a motorcycle, completely exposed at 70 mph with cars, semis, travel trailers, etc. all around them, everyone would give a litte extra space...

Rob

Rob,

I know what you mean about the motorcycle thing. When I graduated high school, 1967, I bought a new Honda CL90...if you can call it a motorcycle. It had a top end of 65mph, and I used to ride it wide open every chance I got. So often that the exhaust pipe coming out of the engine had a permanent purple tinge to it for the first several inches from being way over heated. Anyway, Hampton Beach NH, summer of 1968, I had a car cut in front of me without seeing me. Luckily I wasn't going all that fast, maybe 10-15mph at impact. I hit him broadside on the passenger side, and flew right through the open car window. Hit his hand on the steering wheel with my helmet. Broke his hand and a couple of my ribs scraping across the car door/landing on the shifter. Dented his door pretty bad, bent the front fork of my Honda partially backwards, not to mention my front wheel measured about 6 higher than it was wide, sort of egg shaped. My parents wouldn't let me fix the Honda, instead went out and bought me a 1967 Pontiac Lemans Sprint 2 weeks later. Nice upgrade, and I haven't been on a cycle since. With traffic the way it is today you couldn't pay me enough to ride a motorcycle!

Jim

[eamarquardt]

Rob,

I know what you mean about the motorcycle thing. When I graduated high school, 1967, I bought a new Honda CL90...if you can call it a motorcycle. I had a Super 90. Rode heck out of it. It had a top end of 65mph, and I used to ride it wide open every chance I got. On flat ground, no wind, and crouched over. So often that the exhaust pipe coming out of the engine had a permanent purple tinge to it for the first several inches from being way over heated. Normal. Anyway, Hampton Beach NH, summer of 1968, I had a car cut in front of me without seeing me. Luckily I wasn't going all that fast, maybe 10-15mph at impact. I hit him broadside on the passenger side, and flew right through the open car window. Hit his hand on the steering wheel with my helmet. Broke his hand and a couple of my ribs scraping across the car door/landing on the shifter. Dented his door pretty bad, bent the front fork of my Honda partially backwards, not to mention my front wheel measured about 6 higher than it was wide, sort of egg shaped. My parents wouldn't let me fix the Honda, instead went out and bought me a 1967 Pontiac Lemans Sprint 2 weeks later. Nice upgrade, and I haven't been on a cycle since. With traffic the way it is today you couldn't pay me enough to ride a motorcycle! I never had an incident with another vehicle but it did slide out from under me while turning on wet pavement one time. I have a Honda 200 converted to street legal. I don't like going over 30 mph and try and stay off of any street with a speed limit above that. Just for short hops to the store when the wx is nice and a car is down. Want to do some slow trail riding on it though. Yer right, you might as well hang a sign out that says "hit me" I'm vulnerable. But, you gotta live a bit.

Cheers,

Gus

Jim

[48Rob]

With traffic the way it is today you couldn't pay me enough to ride a motorcycle!

Jim,

I understand it isn't for everyone.
(my first was a Honda 50... I'm up to a 1600 now)

I take full responsibility for my safety when riding, no assumptions, no guessing that the other guy sees me, or even cares, I control what happens and make darn sure there is enough space and or options to stay out of a jam.
No one should ride unless they do.
So many that die or are injured could have avoided their fate by taking control of their destiny.
There will always be things we can't control, like meteors falling from the sky, crazy gunmen, etc. but I think that at least in my case, I have a better chance of arriving in one piece on my motorcycle than if driving my car, because of the greater effort expended to be completely aware of everything around me.

That said, I live in the midwest. There are places that are are just too risky, because of rush hour traffic, etc.

Rob

[angib]

I take full responsibility for my safety when riding, no assumptions, no guessing that the other guy sees me, or even cares, I control what happens and make darn sure there is enough space and or options to stay out of a jam.

I can remember my police motorcycle instructor forty years ago saying that all accidents involving bikes are the bike rider's fault since you can never assume that car drivers know what they are doing - and it will be the motorcyclist who pays the price.

But then he was the guy who did this Q&A session:
Instructor: "You are following a car along the road. An amber light on the right-hand side of the car in front begins to flash. What does this tell you?"
Motorcycle students (waving hands in air like school swots): "Please, sir, it means the car is going to turn right."
Instructor: "Incorrect. It may mean that as well, but the only thing you can be sure it means is that the bulb in that lamp is operating satisfactorily."

The "bulb operating satisfactorily" has stuck with me my whole life. I wish could get the instructor out of his grave and let him know that.....

[eamarquardt]

I take full responsibility for my safety when riding, no assumptions, no guessing that the other guy sees me, or even cares, I control what happens and make darn sure there is enough space and or options to stay out of a jam.

I can remember my police motorcycle instructor forty years ago saying that all accidents involving bikes are the bike rider's fault since you can never assume that car drivers know what they are doing - and it will be the motorcyclist who pays the price.

But then he was the guy who did this Q&A session:
Instructor: "You are following a car along the road. An amber light on the right-hand side of the car in front begins to flash. What does this tell you?"
Motorcycle students (waving hands in air like school swots): "Please, sir, it means the car is going to turn right."
Instructor: "Incorrect. It may mean that as well, but the only thing you can be sure it means is that the bulb in that lamp is operating satisfactorily."

The "bulb operating satisfactorily" has stuck with me my whole life. I wish could get the instructor out of his grave and let him know that.....

Yes, but it is NOT an indication that the "lightbulb" in the brain of the driver of the vehicle is working satisfactorily.

Cheers,

Gus

[Jiminsav]

whats wrong with drivers today...i'll tell you whats wrong..people of a certain age..i'm 51, had to wait till they were 18 to get a licence, in NJ anyways.
My father, the sorry bastard he was, started teaching me the rules of the road when i was 10 Y/O everytime we were out together going somewhere. i was with him when he did something stupid and hit someone in the ass at a stop sign because he was looking left, and not at the car ahead of him..i learned from that..I was with him when he was doing 120 MPH in his used plymouth Fury 3 police car..and it scared the pee out of me. so i don't do 120 MPH anywhere. He taught me that Merge means get in there as you can, neither cutting someone off, nor stopping at the end of the on-ramp...pace yourself in to traffic. i learned that Yield means the other guy ain't stopping, so i better. I learned that people will blow the horn and give you the one finger salute if your doing 20 in a 45..my Grandmother taught me that..

who teaches kids to drive today?..no one..the kids have enteretainment systems, Ipods, nintendo games, and various other things to do instead of obsereve what the driver is doing right, and wrong...i taught my daughter to drive. but you couldn't tell it when your riding with her..scares the pee out of me..but since she's a momma now, she's slowed down a notch.

[Roo Dog]

Jim.

I have been reading this topic with some interest.
I did a lot of work as a qualified driving assessor in more recent times. Cars, Trucks and Motorbikes. It is interesting work. I can say from the experience really good drivers are a rarity.
Most experienced drivers pick up some bad habits as the years go by and are often surprised when tested just how bad their driving standard has become. As for the young, they need a few years and experience, youth is not an incurable disease. Most of us become adults eventually.
Despite being out of the game for a few years now I still have an annual assessment, of my own volition, just to have my driving standard checked. It used to be more frequent than that when I was carrying out assessments.
I would recommend a retest from time to time from an approved organsisation/assessor. It certainly is worth the effort. Most of us are nowhere near as good a driver as we think we are. A driver might not have an accident on record but there is a good possibility that he is placing other drivers at risk.
Situational awareness is what it is all about. Be aware. Never assume. A bit of common sense goes a long way too.
Take it easy.

RD

[RandyG]

I once saw a guy driving, in city stop and go traffic, with an ipad on the steering wheel. I just let him pass and stayed away, I don't care how good of driver you think you are, pull over and play with your tablet!

[jstrubberg]

whats wrong with drivers today...i'll tell you whats wrong..people of a certain age..i'm 51, had to wait till they were 18 to get a licence, in NJ anyways.
My father, the sorry bastard he was, started teaching me the rules of the road when i was 10 Y/O everytime we were out together going somewhere. i was with him when he did something stupid and hit someone in the ass at a stop sign because he was looking left, and not at the car ahead of him..i learned from that..I was with him when he was doing 120 MPH in his used plymouth Fury 3 police car..and it scared the pee out of me. so i don't do 120 MPH anywhere. He taught me that Merge means get in there as you can, neither cutting someone off, nor stopping at the end of the on-ramp...pace yourself in to traffic. i learned that Yield means the other guy ain't stopping, so i better. I learned that people will blow the horn and give you the one finger salute if your doing 20 in a 45..my Grandmother taught me that..

who teaches kids to drive today?..no one..the kids have enteretainment systems, Ipods, nintendo games, and various other things to do instead of obsereve what the driver is doing right, and wrong...i taught my daughter to drive. but you couldn't tell it when your riding with her..scares the pee out of me..but since she's a momma now, she's slowed down a notch.

Jim;

I don't disagree with you, but every time someone starts into "kids these days", I flash to this quote...

"I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on
frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless beyond
words... When I was young, we were taught to be discreet and
respectful of elders, but the present youth are exceedingly wise
[disrespectful] and impatient of restraint" (Hesiod, 8th century BC).


"The young people of today think of nothing but themselves. They have
no reverence for parents or old age. They are impatient of all
restraint. They talk as if they alone knew everything and what passes
for wisdom with us is foolishness with them. As for girls, they are
forward, immodest and unwomanly in speech, behaviour and dress."(Socrates)


Sorry for the derail.

[Gladtobehere]

Stupid drivers exist in Canada as well.

I believe carefull driver skills improve with age. I remember being a stupid driver and having zero concern for the other traffic.

With or without a trailer I find the worst offenders are the ones driving in daddys Mercedes.

Some of these people even end up on the "Worst Drivers" tv show.

Caution is always needed when you drive.

[Wimperdink]

if a lot of people had to work as hard as a truck driver to get a truck driivng license and realized that he can lose his driving license for life with a 3 strike rule in one year or lose use of the license for 60 days and have a hell of a time getting a job once he got cought speeding or tailgating or something stupid.

if all folks had to go though what a truck driver does to drive a truck

things on the roads would be a heck of a lot diffrent!

makes you think when you realise one little speeding ticket can mess your life up and lose your truck driving license.

if the normal class c drivers had this serous of rules on there driving licenses things would definty be diffrent.

my opeion.

slow

Any idea then as to why some truck drivers drive like idiots as well? I used to travel around the country for work and there's as many bad truck drivers per truck capita as there is class c drivers per their own. Seems a bunch of the bad truck drivers drive orange trucks. (I'm looking at you schnieder)

[48Rob]

Back when I was pulling a tanker for W.R. Grace, Schnieder was known for hiring the greenest, youngest, bottom of the barrel picks.
It may have changed as that was 15+ years ago...

As with any industry, there are always the elite, the average, and the ones that should seek another type of employment.

In times of fair to okay economy, the trucking companies can select the better drivers, and weed out the rest.
When things are booming, they can't get enough drivers...

That said, slow is right.
Any good truck driver values his (good) license like gold. Do something stupid while driving a truck, and your career is over.
If class C drivers were faced with the same type of penalties, it might help a little, as would giving class C drivers a taste of what it is like to drive a big rig while surrounded by class C drivers.

Rob

[mezmo]

I'm under the impression that Driver's Education has either been
eliminated or is not as widespread as it used to be. I'm sure that
has to have some effect on the quality of the average driver out
there now-a-days. Plus, there are a heck-of-a lot more drivers out
there now than in 'older' times. The increase in the quantity of
all drivers also brings an increase in the numbers of 'stupid' ones.

And stupid drivers have always been with us, just the unfortunate
truth. Before the age of the cell-phone and i-pod and texting, in the
late 1970s, I passed a car on the interstate in NY State one time, and
the gal had a book held opened on the steering wheel in front of her
and was "reading" as she was "driving" ! And... a couple of years later
I was on an interstate in KY and passed a guy who was doing the same
thing !

Like the comedian Ron White says - 'Ya can't cure stupid'.

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

[Roly Nelson]

I taught all of my kids that all of the other drivers are out there to try to kill them. When they see this happen and the stupid driver fails, just say, "well, there goes another one". It works for me and I am constantly on the alert, watching for these crazy drivers.
Roly ~~

[Lesbest]

I have a bumper sticker that says " I need my brakes fixed, pass with care" , and I don't get as many cutters as I used to. Most get behind me.

Les