Did people forget how to drive????

Argo

Lifer
Apr 8, 2000
10,045
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This is ridiculous! 4 almost accident within a period of 36 hours! Let's recap:

1) I'm driving out of the mall, doing about 25-30 on a 2 way street. All of a sudden this girl jumps in from the side street. This is only half the story, because if she sped up I would've had to break slightly to avoid her. But she sees me, panics and stops completely in the middle of the freaking road. I had to switch into in coming lane to avoid her.

2) The same trip, maybe 100 feet later. I'm on at a red light in left turn only lane. There are 2 left turn only lanes and I'm in the right one. Each one of us has our own lane after the turn as well - so the car on my left should get into the leftmost lane and I should get into the second from the left. Well, I do my part, except the car on my left (old lady) decides she likes my lane better than hers and turns into my lane as well. Not only that - she never stopped, she just continued turning forcing me to make some unbelievable move that missed the accident by about 3 inches. And then as we're stopped at the next traffic light she looks over at me as if nothing happened!

3) Next morning, I'm on the highway, in the rightmost lane. There a tractor-trailer to the left of me. All of a sudden he starts changing into my lane, forcing me to slam on the breaks. Ugh, I thought truck drivers supposed to be good.

4) Ok, this should be enough for one person, right? Wrong. Later that same day I?m driving on a two-lane road. I'm in the left lane, there are no other cars around me. Well, no other cars except for a car ahead, stopped on the shoulder. The car looks like it's starting to pull out, but that's ok right, she has the entire right lane to herself. Well, for some reason she decides she needs to cut through the rightmost lane and right into mine, forcing me to swerve onto the shoulder to avoid the collision. Now mind me, there are no left turns for another 400 feet, so she has no need to be in the left lane.

That being said, my next car is going to be the biggest baddest car money can buy!


So how was your day?
 

halik

Lifer
Oct 10, 2000
25,696
1
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palceholder... still reading

EDIT:
yesterday was an idiot driver day.... i had two close calls, one on my bike (now i know why honda put those huge disc brakes up front)

1)

I arrive at an intersection's left turn lane (flashing red light...first come, first go) a second after a car across the other side. He goes straight. I wave the next car on the opposite side to go (yielding my spot, as im making left and dont wanna have a problem). Then i start making left, as im about half way thru, an idiot behind the car i waved to go decides its a good time to make a right turn...he was TWO SPOTS behind his turn to go. I end up yanking the front brake and end up about 4 ft in front of him. I asked him what the fvck is the doing and weaved around his front end.

2)

Again left turn, this time its regular lights. I have a green arrow to make a left turn and again an idiot in a minivan decides to make a right turn (on a red light). You're supposed to yeld traffic when making a right hand on red... going is the opposite of yielding. Same thing happens i slam on the brakes, repeat the same query and then the guy decideds he'll go anyway .... WTF


seriously i havent seen peopel that bad in a while...
 

ThePresence

Elite Member
Nov 19, 2001
27,727
16
81
If you almost smash into another car everytime you're on the road:
1) Don't drink and drive.
2) May be time to examine your own driving habits.
3) Don't drive in the tri-state area, people are frigging clueless drivers.
 

Argo

Lifer
Apr 8, 2000
10,045
0
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Originally posted by: ThePresence
If you almost smash into another car everytime you're on the road:
1) Don't drink and drive.
2) May be time to examine your own driving habits.
3) Don't drive in the tri-state area, people are frigging clueless drivers.

1) Never do that
2) I drive fast, maybe aggressive, but I stay within my lanes and don't jump in front of people!
3) That seems to be the problem :(
 

brtspears2

Diamond Member
Nov 16, 2000
8,659
1
81
Situation 1 happened to me last week, though replace side street with driveway. I know where she works and what car she drives, so I become a jerk and stalk her every morning as she enters the parking lot, as she works right next door to my place. She did not even wave or say sorry or anything! She just s heepishly just kept a huge distance.
 

Argo

Lifer
Apr 8, 2000
10,045
0
0
To add to what I said. There seems to be a common problem in connecticut, where all the high school kids, stay at home moms and dads and other people that don't drive regularly go driving on the weekends. As the result, you have a lot of inexperienced drivers on the road, which causes all the mishaps. Btw, this isn't the first I've had a near-miss on a weekend.

I don't know whether state's driving test or guidelines are too easy, or the permitt laws are too linient but I have to be extra careful driving on the weekends these days.
 

cyclistca

Platinum Member
Dec 5, 2000
2,885
11
81
The fact is that most people don't know how to drive. I wish they would retest everyone and get all the dumb asses off the road.
 

rh71

No Lifer
Aug 28, 2001
52,844
1,049
126
Originally posted by: Argo
2) I drive fast, maybe aggressive, but I stay within my lanes and don't jump in front of people!
I'm also an aggressive driver... being this way, it is your duty to watch for others. It is your duty to anticipate other people's moves and do whatever it takes to avoid others. The left-most lane is no longer the only passing lane so don't b!tch when others are selfish about it. Moreover, you lose the right to use your horn except to warn someone you are there and cannot move. By being an aggressive driver, you lose all rights that common drivers have. If you choose to be aggressive, you better be prepared at all times.
 

lozina

Lifer
Sep 10, 2001
11,711
8
81
I was gonna say stop driving in New Jersey but then I see you're from Danbury...

Your #2 is a pet peeve for me as well. I work in White Plains and there are several turns where there are multiple left-turn-only or right-turn-only lanes in an intersection. I always am careful on these because people are too stupid to know which lane they should be turning into- they either make in wide or short and wind up in the next lane without looking for what other cars may already be occupying that lane. This is while all these turns have curved dotted lines in the middle of the instersection guiding people to the correct lane!
 

Joemonkey

Diamond Member
Mar 3, 2001
8,859
4
0
remember, school is coming back into session again for many folks, that's why the roads have become full of idjits yet again. it will get easier in mid september
 

Vic

Elite Member
Jun 12, 2001
50,422
14,337
136
Bah. I went up to Seattle this past weekend to visit some good friends. You haven't seen bad drivers until you've been in the Seattle area. Quite possibly the worst in the world. For one thing, the idea of lane discipline isn't even a lost art in Washington state, they simply never had it. The left lane is always the slow lane and no one passes except on the right. This despite "Keep Right Except to Pass: It's the Law" signs every few miles.
 

pulse8

Lifer
May 3, 2000
20,860
1
81
"Here's one they just made up: "near miss". When two planes almost collide, they call it a near miss. It's a near hit. A collision is a near miss. *thump* Look! They nearly missed."

-George Carlin