The World’s Worst Drivers
December 11th, 2007 Posted in Eric Peters
We all know what a bad driver is — someone who doesn’t drive the way we think he should! But let’s try to define our terms a bit more precisely. Who are the worst drivers out there? And why?
Years of carefully conducted research have resulted in the identification of six major archetypes. Learn to recognize them – and give them a wide berth!
The Cringer
This driver is clearly terrified of mechanized transport; you’ll see him/her (cringers are not sex-specific) clutching the steering wheel in a Praying Mantis death grip, both hands near the very top – knuckles bony and white. Body posture is hunched up, head often far forward, with a fearful grimace distorting the facial features. The Cringer will never attempt right on red even when perfectly legal to do so – and even when there’s not another car around for miles. The Cringer is also prone to stopping completely on freeway on-ramps, left signal blinking painfully. Cringers rarely get speeding or other moving violation tickets, however – because they’re so averse to movement of any kind.
The Would-Be Mario
Unfortunately for everyone who encounters the would-be Mario, the only control he’s mastered is the accelerator pedal. Marios love to simulate automotive mating rituals by riding inches off the bumper of the car ahead. Unlike the real Mario Andretti, however, they have yet to learn the consequences of such intimacy should the first car have to brake suddenly. Marios also habitually cut to the front of any line of merging cars, shoving the nose of their primered late ’80s Ford Probe GT into even the smallest of openings. Marios are almost always young men – but once in awhile, a female of the species may be encountered. She is usually also a cell phone Chatty Kathy (see below).
The Distracted Mom
Usually encountered at the helm of an over-large SUV or minivan, the Distracted Mom is too busy dealing with her screeching, run-amok brood to notice the motorcycle in the adjacent lane she almost just ran over. Or that the light ahead turned green 30 seconds ago. The Distracted Mom is concerned about the safety of her progeny – but apparently, no one else’s. Always adopt pre-emptive cautionary measures when you spot a minivan or SUV plastered with multiple yellow and purple ribbons, stickers of soccer balls and personalized plates with “mom” or “kids” worked into them. You have been warned!
The Senile Citizen
This driver’s next ride will be a hearse, but for now you’ll find him (or her) creeping along in a mid-’90s Buick or Cadillac with a vinyl roof and fake wire wheels at 10-20 mph below the posted speed limit. Or wandering gently across the double yellow and back again, an angry line of frustrated not-yet-coffin-models stacked up behind the slow-going oldster. Like the Distracted Mom, the Senile Citizen tends to have a righteous sense of entitlement when it comes to driving – even when it’s clear that the only thing with wheels they ought to be allowed to control is a wheelchair.
The Cell Phone Chatty Kathy
These are Important People who have many Big Things to discuss that simply Cannot Wait. Expressive gesturing often accompanies these Important Calls – which invariably distract the Important Person, who is Too Busy to notice the intersection is clear and it’s safe to make a right turn merge – leaving everyone else stuck behind them with Less Important Lives to wait and stew. Studies have found that cell phones cause driver impairment comparable to having a blood alcohol level (BAC) of .08 or more – but you won’t see any mom-driven “safety jihads” against cell phones. Because they are just Too Important.
The Ba-Boom Ba-Boom Teen
He’s too legit to quit, with his mega-bass rap “music” thwomping obstreperously from the oversized speakers cut into the door panels of his clapped-out Honda Hooptie. It’s not so much his driving that annoys; it’s his belligerent use of noise to ruin the driving environment, increasing the tension and adding to the discomfort of those stuck anywhere near his auditory excesses. The Ba-Boom Teen may not drive recklessly himself – but he incites others to do so, just to get away from the racket.
This is a guest post by automotive columnist Eric Peters, check him out on the web at www.ericpetersautos.com.
What kind of driver annoys you the most on the road?
Add your answer to the comments section of this post.
Other Related Articles
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- How To Objectively Identify Unsafe Drivers
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Pretty concise list you have there; and all of them drive here in Florida!
-Dave Dragon
Ride it like you stole it
We have all of those in North Carolina, except the “Mario” is called the “Junior.” “Junior” is a little different in that he almost always drives a Monte Carlo with a big number 8 on the side of it, and when he’s tailgating he thinks he’s “drafting.” In addition, it appears all Juniors have disabled the turn signals in their Monte Carlos.
One of the most dangerous drivers I have encountered are those that will speed up while I am passing them. This is extremely dangerous especially on a two lane highway.
Also, they will usually try to close the gap with the vehicle in front, when they see you trying to pass or change lanes.
The only category these drivers belong in is the suicidal and they should not be allowed to drive ever.
You forgot the “Hurry up and Wait”. They’re the ones that you see at an intersection up ahead. They wait until you’re almost on top of them before they pull out in front of you. You think they must be in a real hurry, but then they drive 10-15 mph below the speed limit.
Yes you are right about them too. It is too bad that cops don’t focus more on these types of drivers instead. But I guess it takes more work and effort on their part.
Law enforcement focuses on the low-hanging fruit of speeders. Speeders are ubiquitous, occur for long periods, and a whole industry has grown up around the cool electronic toys used to catch them but that are worthless in detecting trully dangerous drivers.
The Wide Turners
When turning, these people take as many lanes as are available instead of staying in their closest lane. If there’s a 3 lane road and they’re turning left, you can be sure they’ll immediately be in the far right lane, keeping others from turning right onto the same road at the same time.
The Cutters
These are people who drive on the shoulder and then an ‘entrance’ ramp to cut in front of perhaps a dozen cars, causing stops and accidents for people entering the expressway.
Ralph writes:
“The only category these drivers belong in is the suicidal and they should not be allowed to drive ever.”
This actually brings up an interesting phenomenon. NHTSA does not recognize suicide as a category in their “xxxx-related” terminology, yet independent sources have estimated suicide by vehicle crash (in an attempt to camouflage it in order to collect life insurance) to be anywhere from 4% to 16% of total fatal crashes. Odd that they go out of their way to make “speed-related” so inclusive and then ignore such an egregious problem as suicide.
In my view the worst road users (and I use that phrase rather than “driver” because many bicycle and motorcycle riders are in this category) are those who insist on getting in front of you even though they know they’re going to be holding you back as soon as it becomes (otherwise) possible to go the speed limit. Sometimes these people just don’t notice you; other times their notion of “sharing the road” doesn’t include recognition of the duty to let faster drivers pass them.
I’m not saying safety isn’t important too — but the law has no business protecting these needless slowpokes from their just deserts when they insist on holding others back. The right to use the road, like all other rights, is conditional on respecting that same right in other people. The road is for all of us, so it must not be wasted.
In response to J W on Dec 11, 2007
J W,
You wouldn’t happen to live in Albuquerque, NM, Would you? This is sooooo familiar.
I’ve seen people here with 2007 Vettes swing across 3 lanes as if the have a 40 ft trailer attached. The really irritating thing (and not just for performance cars – only an example) is many of the times they’ll go a couple of hundred yards and then zip back across all three lanes and do a left hand turn. Nothing like thinking 3 ft past your hood I guess, why be bothered with thinking about or looking where you’re going. If I can manage to stay in the inboard lane with a 6000 lb SUV, I’d be ashamed if I were them.
On a similar note, there are many, many folks that seem to think that they should always prepare for that right hand turn they need to make by quickly getting into the far left lane first (or the reverse, of course). Any ideas what you call these people?. Beyond the obvious, of course. Perhaps you or Mr. Peters could help. any ideas??
Slower Traffic Keep Right-The sign doesn’t say “Slow” or “Slowest”. It says “If you’re going 150mph and the guy behind you wants to go 175, you need to move over.” It is the same color sign as the Speed Limit sign-White. There is even a law in California that says “If you are holding up 5 cars or more, you need to move to the right or use the turnouts”. Why are my tax dollars being used for a sign that isn’t enforced?
This ONE act of selfishness probably creates more freeway accidents than all others, due to the 20 extra lane changes & chain-reaction braking by all the drivers behind. I must be missing the sign that says “Slower Traffic, Make Everyone Else Go Around”.
Left Turns-Why can’t people pull out into the intersection when making a left turn, so that other people can also make the light? Then, the guy in 2nd position, who missed the last light, does EXACTLY the same thing. When it’s finally your turn, you move out far enough so that THREE cars can go, and the guy behind you leaves a one car gap so that the third car can’t make the light.
On a similar problem, they should make ALL Left-turn Green Arrows into the 5-light signals(red, yellow, green, yellow, green arrow). In every light cycle, AT LEAST 2 more cars could make the light(except in the example above). Does anybody else feel really stupid waiting for a green arrow at 3AM in the morning?
All these problems in the original article are the result of one thing-NO EMPATHY FOR OTHER DRIVERS. It’s all about me, me, ME!
Eric,
No, I’m in Chicago, IL where 1/2 the people drive fast, and 1/2 the people drive way too slow (I have to remember that it could be their vehicle or medication :).
Ron,
re: Pulling into the intersection when waiting to turn left…
Good one, that ticks me off all the time. At least 1/2 the people here are good about that one.
Unexpected Lane Changers without Turn Signal
These lazy (or extremely cheap lightbulb savers?) only use their turn signals when they absolutely must. They do not understand the concept of using turn signals to change lanes and will do so suddenly with no warning, either possibly causing crashes, sudden brakes or lane jerking.
I have driven all over the country including its major cities. By far the worst drivers are in Massachusetts. I know. I live there. I say ‘in’ Massachusetts because many of them come from New York, particularly in the summertime. On Cape Cod we have an abundance of older people that shouldn’t be driving, younger people that drive like they are at an amusement park and tourists that don’t know where they are going. Stop signs, red lights, speed limits and traffic lanes mean nothing in Massachusetts. Its frustrating for me to be the only good driver in an otherwise great state!
The Fast And The Furious. They frequent freeways in California, notably I-880 in the East Bay (but probably elsewhere as well), running in pairs in tricked out Japanese minimuscle cars, weaving at high speed within inches of the other vehicles. Usually run for three or four exits, then get off before the CHP can get to them. They terrify other drivers into accidents. In one instance, a U-Haul rental van swerved off the freeway and imbedded itself in a stone sound wall so deeply the wall had to be braced before the van was towed out, else it would have collapsed.
JW-
I have to admit that I sometimes do not use my turn signals while changing lanes. This is because of another type of driver who sees you put on your turn signal to change lanes, and they speed up so that you cannot get in front of them, and then they go slow again. Sometimes using a turn signal gives away your next move and your opponent takes advantage of the situation.
Another dangerous driver who tries drive in the lane that is merging over to pass 5 or 6 cars who are stacked on each other in the continuous lane. And when you don’t let them in front of you (because you are trying to get ahead of the ‘wrong lane’ cautious driver) and they honk, curse at you, and throw you the bird. When in actuality, they should have just stayed in the lane behind you and waited their turn.
What I don’t understand is when drivers stop at a traffic light but pull the entire car infront of the the big white line on the ground. My wife does this all the time, it’s not the starting line for your rear tires. And it’s almost always the smallest car way infront of that line. Like they have never driven anything bigger than a match box car.
How about the nitwit that drives in the passing lane 5mph slower then the speed limit,then gives you dirty looks when you finely pass him,Like you did something wrong.
In response to tom:
*quote*
Sometimes using a turn signal gives away your next move and your opponent takes advantage of the situation.*end quote*
That’s one of my biggest pet peeves. I realize you might have meant the term opponent as a mere figure of speech, but the very use of the term opponent gives me pause as to your own safe driving tactics.
Cars are not weapons. Drivers are not opponents. They are tools of transportation. Everyone is trying to get to somewhere. The one thing I have noticed missing in recent years is Driver Courtesy. Everyone is so self absorbed they fail to politely get into the other lane for the faster driver, to let someone out in rush hour traffic who is waiting to make that right turn in a LONG line of cars. We honk our horns and gesture violently when the person in front of us lets someone out in front of them. We actually speed up when we notice another car coming up behind us, so they can’t pass us, as if WE are the most important vehicle on the road, and nobody has anywhere to be that could possibly be more important than our destination.
An interesting scenario is from On a Pale Horse, by Piers Anthony. Our hero is shown on three vehicle modes, a bicycle, a boat, and something else…and encounters a rude traveller each time. And what strikes me is the lesson: the other driver was himself all three times.
How safe and courteous would YOUR driving behaviour be considered? Have you never cut someone off? Have you never gestured rudely to someone for not driving “your” way?
I drive assertively, and defensively, not aggressively. I do not talk on my cell when driving, won’t even look at it. I have a baby, and believe me, I keep my EYES on the road and hands on the wheel, because she is my MOST precious cargo.
The only comment I can make about Massachusetts drivers is that I wish they’d stay out of New Hampshire! Tailgating, Speeding, cutting off, no directionals, horn blowing ten milliseconds after a red light turns green, are just a few of the habits of the most inconsiderate drivers in the world.
You are missing one crucial type: THE LOW RIDER. This type is usually encountered in the southwestern states. The low rider most frequently has an 80’s era GM “B-body” car, i.e. Chevy Monte Carlo, Pontiac Gran Prix, Buick Special, Olds Cutlass.. The owner has torched the front and rear suspension to weaken the springs. He has removed the shocks and welded on brackets for “hydraulics”. He has installed ridiculously small 13 inch reversed wheels with impossibly undersized tires. The car has become a novelty that will bounce, tilt and rock playfullywith the throw of a switch Unfortunately all suspension geometry has been negated so that cars are undafe at any speed over 25 mph on the road. Since the cars will crash over any unevenness in the road the driver must unaccountably reduce speed to a crawl for any pothole, speed bump, driveway or railroad tracks he encounters ledst he crash his creation. Travelling behind the low rider is an exercise in panic braking. This frustration on the part of following vehicles enhances the low-rider’s “machismo”.
The California Lookie-Loo.
This creature is very common although most of us have never actually seen one; we are generally stuck in the traffic jam it created. This is the first driver to slow down or even stop to get at good look at whatever may be happening on the shoulder, even if the activity is occurring on the other side of the freeway. Automotive anthropologists suspect they may travel in small loosely coordinated groups giving them the ability to block an entre freeway.
The Crotch Rocket Lane-Splitter
A very common sight on California freeways, the Crotch Rocket Lane-Splitter is not content to move with the flow of traffic, even if the flow is well over the speed limit. As he passes between cars at 20 or 30 mph above the flow of traffic, he will miss your side mirrors by inches while he exercises the special rights he feels entitled to by virtue of using only two wheels. Being obviously superior to the rest of the drivers on the road, he keeps a middle finger at the ready for those who fail to show him the respect he so richly deserves.
The Beverly Hillbilly
Usually seen in the southbound lanes of San Diego’s freeways, this insulation-rack-equipped pickup truck is loaded not with rolls of insulation, but grossly overloaded with furniture and major appliances. So grossly overloaded that the suspension is visibly stressed and any but the gentlest maneuver will send it completely out of control.
NeverLift, you are right on about the “Fast and the Furious”. I don’t know if that is a phenomenon unique to California, but I get treated to some Tokyo Drift almost every day on my way home from work on the 15 in San Diego.
In response to tom:
*quote*
Sometimes using a turn signal gives away your next move and your opponent takes advantage of the situation.*end quote*
You know, if I’m the one to let you in you’ll find the opposite is true. I speed up and get pissed off when I can see that people aren’t going to use their blinkers and I graciously let people in if they do. But yeah, I know what you mean and people like me are probably in the minority, but you might be surprised. :)
J W-RE: Letting people in. You ARE in the minority. I would rather make my own breaks by signaling at the last moment. It tells you I’m moving over, but doesn’t give you enough time to punch it. I rarely, if ever, get mad if other drivers do not impede my progress, including the guys who pass me on the right at a stoplight, the lane-splitting motorcylist, or the Fast & Furious. The key is I don’t impede other people’s progress; I expect them to do the same for me. Most of the time I’m disappointed.
Well, the comments are too well accepted. I live in Maryland have experienced it all except the low rider – roads are extremely bad in MD and the lower rider would not survive. Anyhow my complaint is the driver that wants to be courteous while on a high speed road. On our expressways, the speed limit can be from 55 to 65 mph. When cars are merging into already existing high speed driving the driver in the right lane will literally stop to allow the merger to enter the highway. No regards for what is behind him at all. I guess I really cannot fault them because the merger really expects you to stop for him to enter the highway just to go 10-15 miles slower…..will patience work… police never catch either driver.
I nominate the Book Reader. I was coming up on a slower moving car one night on I35 and could see the driver was driving with his dome lights on. I found out why when I passed him …..he was reading a War and Peace sized book while driving 60 mph down the highway!!! And they give me speeding tickets for being unsafe.
One thing most people don’t seem to grasp (besides the rules of the road and common courtesy) is how to use the accelerator effectively. Knowing when to step on the gas is at least as important as knowing when to use the brakes, if not more so.
Snowbelters without a brush…I guess these folks want to keep their intentions secret by not cleaning the snow off the brake lights and/or turn signals. Irritating! You really have to increase the distance from these inconsiderate yahoos, regardless if you’re on city streets or on the highway, because they may (probably WILL) surprise you with a stop/slow down or turn that visible rear lights would have indicated. CLEAN ‘EM OFF PEOPLE!!!!
The Cringer is known to me as the Brake Light Flasher. The slightest little turn or drive and he flashes his brakes for no good reason, very irritating to follow.
The Cell Phone Chatty Kathy on the other hand might as well be pointing a gun at my head if she is tailgating me. That is a sure fire way to get me to slow down.
I recently wrote a letter to the editor for my hometown paper after a cop who was involved in a struggle with a violent drunk armed with brass knuckles while other drivers just drove on by not even bothering to call 911. To find that letter online do a google search on this string:
Laser Technology International + Tailgater Enforcement Device
You can find me listed at the top of this search, at least for the moment. The point I am trying to make is this: If the police were generaly more involved in an honest protect and serve mode rather than an extortion mode the public would be more willing to work with the police and provide assistance if necessary. That would enhance police effectiveness and police safety as well as our safety.
Edwin C- The Cringer is also known as the “One Foot On the Gas & the Other Foot On the Brake-er”. And then complains that they only got 10,000 on that set of brakes.
Cell Phone Chatty Kathy- Odd. I’m normally behind her as she goes 50MPH in the fast lane, oblivious to everything else.
To Ron: Time to read The New York Times!
Click on this:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/technology/04jammer.html?_r=1&th=&emc=th&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin
“…protect and serve mode rather than an extortion mode…”
Explain “extortion mode”, please.
An example of a police extortion mode is posted on a blog of comments to a letter to the editor I wrote which was published Tuesday February 5, 2008 in the Herald Times in Bloomington Indiana. It was posted by JJH on Friday, February 8, 2008, 12:58 pm. It goes as follows:
“There is a speed trap on highway 43 in whitehall, you have to ride the brakes all the way down the steep hill no matter what. Police park at the church, and pull em over 5:30 in the morning while people are on the way to work. watch out for them, I saw 8 cars in the parking lot one day and people were getting tickets for going 40 mph on a state highway. funny thing is, I never see the police there after work when traffic is congested and there are kids out there after school playing or riding their bikes.”
A example of an honest protect and serve mode would have been to have been there after work when traffic is congested and there are kids out there after school playing or riding their bikes.
The latter presumably a safety measure, the former strictly state sponsored armed extortion.
An oh-so-typical attitude. The police should only enforce the law when it’s convenient for you.
To Matt: I believe that you are a police officer. You of all people should be able to appreciate getting the law abiding public on your side. The laws presumably are written to enhance the safety of the public, however, very often are abused by municipalities and local governments as revenue generating rather than safety enhancing measures. This is counterintuitive to public safety as well as police salaries and benefits in the long run, very short sighted!
Municipalities and local governments are under severe pressure to provide services and entitlements while somehow keeping taxes down, a rather impossible predicament. There are a lot of things that drivers do that are quite dangerous that should be corrected. These things can and should be corrected and could be perhaps a better revenue generator than the low hanging fruit of speed traps and automated traffic enforcement.
Tailgating is my pet peeve. Rear end collisions contribute to nearly one third of all accidents and one third of all fatalities. Please visit the National Transportation Safety Board’s website below:
http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/2001/SIR0101.htm
In the past, it has been very difficult for police officers to detect and get a conviction for following too closely. That has changed. Please visit this website:
http://www.engadget.com/2006/12/05/arizona-implements-lidar-gun-to-nab-tailgaters/
If you look at the enforcement picture on Germany’s Autobahn, the first thing you will notice is that there are no speed limits in rural areas most of the time. The second thing you will notice is that the police are just as busy writing tickets for violations such as lane discipline violations, impolite gestures, improper cell phone use, and of course following too closely. The fines are levied on an ability to pay basis so that way the rich pay larger fines. Also since the police are there to protect and serve rather than to extort they are better paid and are more respected, not just feared.
The Autobahn has a better safety record both in terms of number of accidents and number of fatalities than does the American Interstate Highway System. Driving the Autobahn is more intuitive and makes much more sense than the American Interstate.
Time to put the crystal ball away. I am not and have never been a cop. I do believe that rules are put in place for EVERYONE to follow, all the time, not just if or when it is convenient for them to do so.
The people that believe they are above the rules are responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocents in this country every year. Speed limits, among other things, are not just arbitrarily set so that cops can write tickets. They are set for good reasons.
I have had a number of good friends die simply because other selfish and self-centered idiots believed themselves to be above the rules.
Edwin-”Tailgating is my pet peeve.”
Let’s make sure we are blaming the correct person. The signs say “Slower Traffic Keep Right”. Is this the reason that people Tailgate you? They don’t tailgate me, because I move over(and there’s no law that says I can’t move right back).
The people who are the original CAUSE of most of the accidents, are those who WON’T MOVE OVER-making everyone else go around. Yet, they are NEVER given citations(ATTENTION POLICEMAN MATT). If the police could figure THIS out(it’s not rocket science, ya know), there would be a LOT LESS accidents.
Matt writes:
{I do believe that rules are put in place for EVERYONE to follow, all the time, not just if or when it is convenient for them to do so.}
Rules or laws are just policy statements backed by armed authority. For any rule to be effective and to be accepted, it must make sense and it must actually accomplish what it was intended to accomplish. Then, and only then, can we expect everybody to follow those rules.
{ Speed limits, among other things, are not just arbitrarily set so that cops can write tickets. They are set for good reasons. }
No, in fact, they are not set for good reasons. Aside from their spotted legislative history where they have been justified by any number of excuses from not scaring livestock (their original intent), to saving fuel, to saving tires, to reducing suburban sprawl, the most common excuse is that speed limits lead directly to safer driving, with the implicit (and sometimes explicit) assumption that the higher the limit, the more deaths will occur. This is wrong. It is not supported by empirical evidence.
Speed limits are recommended by engineers to state legislatures, based on some very sound principles that actually produce safer roadways. The legislatures then throw out all that science, substituting their judgment for what they can get away with (i.e., what is politically safe), tempered by the influence of special interests who benefit from keeping speed limits lower than optimal, that is the insurance industry, law enforcement as an institution, photo-radar companies, et al.
{I have had a number of good friends die simply because other selfish and self-centered idiots believed themselves to be above the rules.}
We will always have people who decide that the rules do not apply to them. Our focus should be on creating intelligent rules so that the number of exceptions is very low and then concentrate on them rather than the low-hanging fruit created by stupid rules driven by greed rather than science.
It’s obvious that you are one of those that will obey the rules only if it suits you to do so.
‘Nuf said.
Matt- If you are a cop, why don’t you guys enforce ALL the laws, not just focusing on the ones at the morning briefing, like Revenue Enhancement. Those that have come down from the chief(because some councilman chewed his butt) because someone didn’t obey his “Slow Down. Child at play. 10 MPH” sign in front of his house(making EVERYONE else responsible for the child’s well-being, instead of the parent teaching the kid how to play in the street properly).
If you are a cop, stop having that “arrogant cop attitude”. Maybe the people on this website have something to say that will help prevent traffic accidents & deaths.
{It’s obvious that you are one of those that will obey the rules only if it suits you to do so.}
When the rules make sense, I follow them. When the rules don’t make sense, I ignore them. I follow all of the rules that comprise URROW; I ignore speed limits because I want and need to drive reasonably.
You could learn a lot more from the people than the people can learn from you. Think about it.
I agree with most everything that is being written on this site. (see: James & Tom)
I HATE:
1)Drivers who refuse to pull over to let faster traffic by, especially those who go exactly the same speed as the car in the other lane, creating a rolling road block. Or they being rude on purpose, or are they simply oblivious to their surroundings? SLOWER TRAFFIC MOVE RIGHT!
2)Drivers using the cell phone, thus driving erractically in many ways, mostly slowing down, or weaving all over the road.
3)macho a**holes who speed up as you try to pass them, as if you were trying to emasculate them somehow.
4)Drivers who zoom past, cutting you off as you try to change lanes, only to slow down as soon as they’re in front of you!
5)Rubberneckers. There are many websites where you can see gruesome auto accidents, if that’s what you like to see. Morbid a**holes!
6)Tailgaters. Those that ride your bumper, even when you’re in heavy traffic, and there’s obviously no way to speed up.
7)Drivers who refuse to put their lights on at dusk or dawn, or in bad weather. What are you saving them for? Sure, maybe you can see me, but PEOPLE CAN’T SEE YOU, MORON!
8)Drunk drivers! ‘Nuff said.
9)Holier-then-thou people who think that the rules should be obeyed, no matter how inappropriate, useless, or inane they may be.
10)Facist, “Clint Eastwood wanna-be” cops who love imposing their will upon others. Or those who treat me like an errant child when stopping me, i.e., “Do you know how fast you were going?” I’m a full grown, intelligent man who happens to pay your salary. Don’t forget that, officer!
Alao, selective law enforcement. When my child was kidnapped by her mother, the law would not do anything on my behalf! I lost a LOT of respect for lawmen at that time.
BTW, I found my daughter ON MY OWN!
Now before anyone jumps on me, let me say that I drive as if I were a jet fighter pilot. They have a phrase, which is “situational awareness.” I believe that most drivers would not last 10 seconds as a fighter pilot. I keep my vehicle well maintained (tires, brakes, lights, etc.) and, as I drive, I always keep in the back of my mind an escape route, if the unexpected should happen. This tactic has kept me out of accidents for many years now.
PS… What is URROW?
URROW is the Universal Rule of right-of-Way, the set of traffic laws that proscribe who has the right of way given a set of circumstances. It gives guidance as to who goes where, when and often how. It is why we drive on the right and pass on the left. It is why we stop for red octagonal signs and red lightsand why, in their absence, the car to the right has the ROW. It is the body of laws that was a legal solution to an organizational problem.
Speed limits have never been a part of URROW because they are not necessary to organize traffic flow.
“By Ron on Feb 9, 2008
Matt- If you are a cop…”
You’d be a lot more credible if you’d read posts before making comments. I have already said that I am not and never have been a cop.
“By James Young on Feb 9, 2008
I ignore speed limits because I want and need to drive reasonably.”
There is nothing “reasonable” about breaking the law. I hope I never have to travel a road that YOU are on. With luck, you’ll amass enough speeding tickets that the state will take you’re license. One less sociopath on the road.
“By Joey on Feb 10, 2008
I keep my vehicle well maintained (tires, brakes, lights, etc.) and, as I drive, I always keep in the back of my mind an escape route, if the unexpected should happen.”
I do the same – the majority don’t. looking for escape routes is so second nature to me that I don’t really have to think about it any more. It only makes sense, considering the number of people on the road that believe they are above the law.
“I ignore speed limits because I want and need to drive reasonably.” — JY
Matt responds:
{There is nothing “reasonable” about breaking the law. I hope I never have to travel a road that YOU are on. With luck, you’ll amass enough speeding tickets that the state will take you’re [sic] license. One less sociopath on the road.}
You have made myriad mistakes in your assumptions:
• If the law is unreasonable, especially to the point of absurdity, not following it is perfectly reasonable.
• If the law requires me to drive at significantly less than the scientifically determined safest speed, then the law is an ass.
• You should desire that all drivers are like me. I’ve been driving since I was 14 years old, 12 if you count farm trucks and tractors; that is 50 years. I have 2 million+ miles, zero at-fault crashes and only a dozen or so citations, all for speeding, never for any unreasonable acts and certainly nothing even close to dangerous.
• Be careful what you wish for.
Matt…. you sound like another one of those law and order types….Yawn. You don’t have to be a cop, just a want-to-be. One of those “my way or the highway” types. One of those faithful sheep who will do anything reasonable or unreasonable that nanny government requests. Fall on your sword, jump off a cliff, what ever government hints. No brain required because there’s no need to think, just take your marching orders (law). One of those who think they are the only good driver on the road simply because they follow the speed limit even though they have their cell phone glued to their ear, fumbling with the CD changer all the while keeping a close eye on his GPS following the lead vehicle about one car length at 60 mph. Don’t let your hallo choke you.
Joe, et. al., how many friends and family members have you had killed by a**holes that ignore the rules? None, I wager. The “I don’t like that rule so I won’t obey it” mindset shows a complete disregard for others; it shows recklessness; it demonstrates immaturity and it takes lives. Give me all of the self-righteous excuses for bad behavior you want to, the simple fact of the matter is that breaking the law is breaking the law. And no amount of self-important posturing is going to change that fact.
There is a system in this country whereby people can affect change if they are dissatisfied with the rules. Oh, sorry, that would require lazy people to get off of their butts and actually DO something. Besides behaving like outlaws.
Matt writes:
{Joe, et. al., how many friends and family members have you had killed by a**holes that ignore the rules? None, I wager.}
Criminal acts are not limited to the highway. We have all had friends or relatives killed as the result of “rule-breaking.” One need look farther than Walter Cronkite’s or Huntley-Brinkley’s reporting of the war in Vietnam, accelerated in large part by the Gulf of Tonkin “incident.” Even closer is the invasion of Iraq, clearly illegal under international law. How many tens of thousands have died as a result of those criminal acts?
{ The “I don’t like that rule so I won’t obey it” mindset shows a complete disregard for others; it shows recklessness; it demonstrates immaturity and it takes lives. Give me all of the self-righteous excuses for bad behavior you want to, the simple fact of the matter is that breaking the law is breaking the law. And no amount of self-important posturing is going to change that fact.}
What you don’t seem to want to understand is that the mere act of “speeding” endangers nobody. If that were the case, we would all be dead because all of us have exceeded the limit, many of us with regularity. Call it selfish if you wish but that is what drives advances in transportation and advances in productivity, one measure of which is how much we can reduce the time spent in peripheral activities such as transportation.
It is not about being self-righteous; it is not reckless; it has nothing to do with maturity because drivers of all ages exceed the limit; and it is not “bad behavior,” except in your mind.
If we adopted your attitude that “breaking the law is breaking the law,” then this nation would not even exist because those patriots who protested the government’s taxation policies by destroying all that tea in Boston Harbor would not have done so just because it was “breaking the law.” What you fail to understand is that much of the traffic code is unwarranted by public need, counterproductive, and excused by specious reasoning to justify what is little more than a money-grab. The problem is not driver behavior; the problem is the law itself.
{There is a system in this country whereby people can affect change if they are dissatisfied with the rules. Oh, sorry, that would require lazy people to get off of their butts and actually DO something. Besides behaving like outlaws.}
I have already done that. I helped the NMA rescind the stupid and dangerous NMSL. I have lobbied in four different states for rational and scientific traffic codes. I have also been denied access to legislators in Texas and California because I had not contributed to their campaigns. So don’t preach to me about the system because the campaign contribution has replaced the ballot box as the currency of democracy.
Legislators, law enforcement, insurance industry and the self-righteous prigs of the anti-motorist industry all benefit from limits that are set too low to be scientifically justified, actually costing lives and economic damage. Yet, they continue to put hundreds of millions into efforts to maintain a demonstrably flawed system because they make hundreds of billions from it. They are willing to sell your life and your liberty just so they can add another few cents to their P/E ratio or another employee under their political power umbrella.
How dare you criticize us for “bad behavior” when your own house reeks of greed and corruption.
Matt-(”You’d be a lot more credible if you’d read posts before making comments. I have already said that I am not and never have been a cop.”).
You’re just about darn-near perfect, aren’t you? No wonder why so many people think you’re the “Arrogant Cop”. We were posting about the same time.
(”I don’t really have to think about it any more”).
Sounds like Matt is part of the problem drivers.
(”looking for escape routes”)
I hope you’re going to signal first and not swerve or speed up to avoid the trouble. Afterall, “breaking the law is breaking the law”
Matt is trying to convince us that if a semi-truck has lost his brakes behind us, and we are at a Stoplight that says “No Right Turn On Red”, it is better to get run over than get out of the way.
(”how many friends and family members have you had killed by a**holes that ignore the rules?”)I wager there is almost as many people killed by EXACTLY following the traffic laws.