Scary Moment

[maryannette]

I was on a two-lane road yesterday and saw an impatient guy nearly roll his Explorer. He was behind a big truck and I was behind him. He tried to pass the truck - got into the other lane, but there was a vehicle coming at him head-on in the other lane. Instead of pulling back in behind the truck, he went off the other side of the road, hit a ditch, went flying and hit hard. I pulled off and 2 cars behind me also did. The guy was okay, except for being shaken up. He blew the right front tire and demolished the front bumper. There was other visible damage and maybe more that he discovered later. After I found out he was not injured, I told him that although I didn't know him, I still cared about him and that he should be more patient and careful and not to do that again. It happened in a few seconds. And what I want to tell all of you is that the risks that we take every day seem like a necessary part of life, but they are RISKS.

Slow down. Be patient. I care about you.

 

[Master slacker]

I won't have to worry about doing what that dude did. My daily driver can't get out of its own way.

 

[Supe]

Definitely important to exercise caution. I'm on site today, and the roads coming up to the job site twist and turn through rural areas. Trucks leaving the site are constantly FLYING around the turns, with some narrow lanes in both directions. Definitely some near-misses on what seems to be a routine basis.

 

[roadwreck]

I don't want to sound callous, but I hope that driver got a bit of a scare and that makes him a more cautious and contentious driver in the future. With the way he was driving he could have easily hurt or killed someone, he is lucky to escape with just a little damage to his own vehicle.

To many times I see people driving recklessly in the interest of saving a few seconds. This morning on my commute to work I saw two different people make multiple bone-head maneuvers that could have caused multi-car wrecks had anything unexpected happened. One of these guys was tailgating people so closely I thought he was going to start pushing the cars in front of him. This is in Atlanta traffic during rush hour, there is no room for error. The stupid thing is for all his lane changing and accelerating to get ahead he repeatedly ended up behind me and I was driving in the slow lane driving the speed limit. Driving like a maniac was getting him nowhere fast.

 

[Capt Worley PE]

I don't want to sound callous, but I hope that driver got a bit of a scare and that makes him a more cautious and contentious driver in the future. With the way he was driving he could have easily hurt or killed someone, he is lucky to escape with just a little damage to his own vehicle.

100% agree. I absolutely hate hearing of accidents where someone driving safetly gets nailed by some bonehead acting the fool.

 

[TouchDown]

The stupid thing is for all his lane changing and accelerating to get ahead he repeatedly ended up behind me and I was driving in the slow lane driving the speed limit. Driving like a maniac was getting him nowhere fast.

I see this all the time. All the impatience usually leads to very little and putting yourself and others at risk... The other day, my wife looked at me and said... "comon grandpa - I gotta go pee, speed it up!!!"

I'm not usually in a hurry.

Similar situation, but more bonehead than agressive. A few years ago, I was following a person who was talking on the cell phone while driving on an interstate at 70MPH (one of my pet peeves). We started going around a corner and her car started to gradually run off the road. She was 3/4 into the paved shoulder when we came upon a person changing a driver's rear tire on their SUV on the shoulder. About 100' (WAY too close for me), I think she realized what was approaching and YANKED the car back onto the road, narrowly missing this person changing the tire.

I know hands free can help, but inattentiveness can be just as dangerous as agressive driving. Be careful out there. Thanks Mary!

 

[Wolverine]

One of these guys was tailgating people so closely I thought he was going to start pushing the cars in front of him. This is in Atlanta traffic during rush hour, there is no room for error. The stupid thing is for all his lane changing and accelerating to get ahead he repeatedly ended up behind me and I was driving in the slow lane driving the speed limit. Driving like a maniac was getting him nowhere fast.

Hey, did you see me waving at you? That was me.
(j/k) I will put Atlanta's Automotive Morons up against the best in the world. Thing is, stupidity is contagious - that's why everybody here drives that way. <guilty>

"I'm not a bad driver, I'm a conformist"

 

[Kephart P.E.]

Precisely the reason I need a truck with 400 hp.

Seriously, good to see the dude was O.K., when you see something like that it can hang with you for a bit, I don't think most of us realize how close we are to danger in our cars.

 

[OSUguy98]

...I don't think most of us realize how close we are to danger in our cars.

Very true... The bigger the vehicle, the safer we feel and sometimes (arguably most) the more stupid we become... I know there's a psychological experiment there somewhere.....

Over my ~15 years of driving, I've seen some morons... I've seen a handful of accidents happen (most of which were the little fender benders at low speed intersections)... But I've seen an idiot fly by me at 90+ and freak out because he topped a hill and there was a cop walking in the median (a car had blown a tire and went into the median, he was picking up pieces of the tire) and then spin his Trans AM around a few times... he's lucky he didn't go into the median, he surely would've killed the cop....

But then again... you don't want me to get started on the cops that speed down the interstate in the left-most lane at 90+ without lights or a valid reason... DVINNY, I know you know what I'm talking about there... I'm sure you've been passed many a time between Fairmont and Bridgeport but a state trooper doing 90+....

 

[MA_PE]

we can also blame technology for the speds that people travel at today. Improvements in engine efficiency, suspension and handling make todays cars drive much smoother at high speeds than they did years ago. Even econoboxes cruise smotthly at 80+ mph, so people (especially young people) tend to cruise there.

you don't want me to get started on the cops that speed down the interstate in the left-most lane at 90+ without lights or a valid reason

I have historically been one of those that would complain about police officers/state troopers flagrant disregard for speed limits. As I get older I have a tolerance for it. They're out there doing a job. These guys don't just put the "pedal to the metal" for no reason all the time, and they don't owe John Q. Public any explanations if they do. I wouldn't like someone scrutinizing my every move at work and passing judgement, so I'm not going to do it to them.

Of course, they have a duty to not endanger the public and quite frankly I believe that every time I've seen a cop whiz by, it was pretty safe to do so.

 

[Chucktown PE]

we can also blame technology for the speds that people travel at today. Improvements in engine efficiency, suspension and handling make todays cars drive much smoother at high speeds than they did years ago. Even econoboxes cruise smotthly at 80+ mph, so people (especially young people) tend to cruise there.

Cars are probably slower and more uncomfortable in Europe

 

[MA_PE]

Cars are probably slower and more uncomfortable in Europe

we know for a fact that they're much smaller. In fact I believe they generally seat one person, have only two big wheels, and are powered by the driver doing some sort of pedaling action. They hold some race where they tour France every year.

 

[Wolverine]

Cars are probably slower and more uncomfortable in Europe

I'll testify to the opposite - the cars in Italy drive much faster and are pretty comfortable . . .

. . . of course, they prefer to be comfortable because they all drive like maniacs; apparently it relaxes them amid the insanity. While there, I got a lesson in just how spoiled we Americans are to have crazy things like traffic laws, stoplights, and two lane roads with actual lines on them.

The most surprising thing about Italy was how few smashed up, dinged-up, dented-up cars I saw and how many people I saw riding bikes that were not dead.

 

[Capt Worley PE]

Cars are probably slower and more uncomfortable in Europe

Yes, but that is better.

 

[Chucktown PE]

Yes, but that is better.

That goes without saying.

 

[Capt Worley PE]

I have a firm grasp of the obvious.

 

[Dleg]

I'll testify to the opposite - the cars in Italy drive much faster and are pretty comfortable . . .
. . . of course, they prefer to be comfortable because they all drive like maniacs; apparently it relaxes them amid the insanity. While there, I got a lesson in just how spoiled we Americans are to have crazy things like traffic laws, stoplights, and two lane roads with actual lines on them.

The most surprising thing about Italy was how few smashed up, dinged-up, dented-up cars I saw and how many people I saw riding bikes that were not dead.

You know, a while back some old, somewhat senile guy I know wrote a letter to the editor here observing that traffic seemed to flow better whent he power was out and the traffic signals were out of order. i thought he was nuts. But then, last year when we had daily rotating power outages for 4 months, I observed precisely the same thing. And this was with no police giving hand signals; no nothing. Just a free-for-all at every intersection. yet, there was signifcantly less traffic back-up at every intersection (virtually zero, in fact), and there were no accidents that I am aware of.

Maybe traffic engineering is unimportant, at least up to a certain level of congestion?

 

[Supe]

You know, a while back some old, somewhat senile guy I know wrote a letter to the editor here observing that traffic seemed to flow better whent he power was out and the traffic signals were out of order. i thought he was nuts. But then, last year when we had daily rotating power outages for 4 months, I observed precisely the same thing. And this was with no police giving hand signals; no nothing. Just a free-for-all at every intersection. yet, there was signifcantly less traffic back-up at every intersection (virtually zero, in fact), and there were no accidents that I am aware of.
Maybe traffic engineering is unimportant, at least up to a certain level of congestion?

You know, I'll tip my hat off to Houston drivers in a similar fashion. We were without lights for a while after Ike, no traffic cops, but everybody actually took turns alternating at intersections like they were supposed to, and there was no real slowdown. Back in CT, it would look more like a demolition derby.

 

[MA_PE]

I was working in MN a few years back and they were going to "try" operating the highway system without the metering lights at the on ramps. The local news made such a BFD over it like they were expecting total chaos.

Being from MA I had never encountered these lights before and I'm thinking this is a pretty stupid idea to start with.

 

[Supe]

I was working in MN a few years back and they were going to "try" operating the highway system without the metering lights at the on ramps. The local news made such a BFD over it like they were expecting total chaos.
Being from MA I had never encountered these lights before and I'm thinking this is a pretty stupid idea to start with.

What the hell's a metering light?