Stupidest/Most dangerous thing you've seen on the road?

[fatpat268]

Guy on the phone in a Jeep doing about 80 in a pounding rainstorm with visibility about 40 feet.

On a similar note, people who don't turn on their damn lights in rain. It's more dangerous than most realize, especially if you have a gray/silver car. A gray car will practically disappear in the wash behind you if they don't have their lights on.

Also, a few months ago, I had someone tailgating me in a rainstorm in the right lane. Left lane was clear for passing, but nope, he rather drove within 3 feet of my bumper apparently.

 

[xanis]

On a similar note, people who don't turn on their damn lights in rain. It's more dangerous than most realize, especially if you have a gray/silver car. A gray car will practically disappear in the wash behind you if they don't have their lights on.

Also, a few months ago, I had someone tailgating me in a rainstorm in the right lane. Left lane was clear for passing, but nope, he rather drove within 3 feet of my bumper apparently.

I see this every single time it rains. I see it almost every night as well.

 

[Ns1]

narrowly avoided being run over by a giant lifted trunk running away from the cops going down the wrong side of the street.

 

[AstroManLuca]

I see this every single time it rains. I see it almost every night as well.

They should make it like Canada and require your lights to be on at all times when driving regardless of conditions. Way too many people without their lights on while it's raining, snowing, or dark.

And cars with automatic headlights should have their lights on at all times as well. My wife's car has automatic headlights but they only come on when it's dark enough. Fairly sensitive, they come on when you go under an overpass, but they're not always on. I always manually turn them on when I drive her car but she doesn't.

Really, all cars should have headlights that are on 100% of the time if the car is running.

 

[xanis]

They should make it like Canada and require your lights to be on at all times when driving regardless of conditions. Way too many people without their lights on while it's raining, snowing, or dark.

And cars with automatic headlights should have their lights on at all times as well. My wife's car has automatic headlights but they only come on when it's dark enough. Fairly sensitive, they come on when you go under an overpass, but they're not always on. I always manually turn them on when I drive her car but she doesn't.

Really, all cars should have headlights that are on 100% of the time if the car is running.

Now I have automatic headlights and DRLs, but before I got my new car I had a POS that I had to do everything manually on (windows included). I still managed to remember to turn on my headlights all of the time.

The same people that forget to turn their headlights on at night are probably the same people that see four way stops the same way they see Rubik's cubes.

 

[SithSolo1]

Saw someone doing 40 in the inside lane of a busy interstate. Saw them pay for it too.

RV trip out west with the family. We were one lane over and this car just swerved right in front of us and almost lost it. Dad was cussing up a storm and then noticed the slow driver the car had dodged and made an off hand comment that they'll kill somebody. Not 15 secs later another RV clipped the car, went side ways, and basically disintegrated as it barrel rolled down the highway. The slow car was all smashed to hell as well.

Also I see a lot of idiots around here running red lights and backing up traffic to turn with a no turn sign staring them in the face.

 

[Ayrahvon]

As much as I enjoy driving, I look forward to all cars driving themselves as soon as possible! Especially since so many of the things stated in this thread are relatively common occurrences on my drive to work each day.

 

[sixone]

Trash truck pulled out in front of me this morning. I went to the right lane, to go around him, but of course he moved over there, too. When I passed him on the left, he started honking and waving.

Idiot.

 

[Jimzz]

Explain? Magic? Or someone who just doesn't know how to tow? Speed is pretty much irrelevant.

I would expect you of all people would know:

Uhaul trailer, improperly weighted
+ small, low weight vehicle
+ high speed
= shitstorm commence.


I remember when my family moved to california from colo. my dad tried, but the trailer wasn't weighted correctly, with too low relative tongue weight. With an econoline E-150 van (not a light vehicle) that was heavily packed, it still fishtailed above around 65. especially in wind.

people get going fast, fishtail, then slam on the brakes, which is also the wrong thing to do. lose control, slam into a guard rail (if lucky)

Yep to much weight on the accord and to fast.
There is a reason why it says Max speed 45mph on those small uhaul trailers. They can get real squirrelly at higher speeds.

 

[Fayd]

Yep to much weight on the accord and to fast.
There is a reason why it says Max speed 45mph on those small uhaul trailers. They can get real squirrelly at higher speeds.

well, when we took stuff to my brother, it said 45 or 55 on ours.... not that we paid attention to that.

of course, it's not like a 1000lb loaded trailer's gonna drag an 8000 lb loaded excursion out of lane.

 

[CountZero]

Saw a truck towing another truck with a rope tied around the bumpers going down the interstate at 70+ MPH. Coming up to them I was thinking "That truck that keeps swerving sure is close to that other truck". Nuts.

One thing that used to drive me crazy was in the north Dallas area when a cop pulled someone over on a major thoroughfare they would pull over in the lane even when there was a turn off not 100 ft away to get out of traffic. They would do it any time of the day, during rush hour it would cause a backup while the cop took 1.5 lanes (because he/she obviously has to walk up to the driver's side and the lane isn't wide enough). Just stupid. Never got pulled over there so no idea if they would drag me out of my car for fleeing if I turned down a side street or into a parking lot.

 

[jupiter57]

Just remembered a good one.
Back in the '80s, saw an older pickup truck, loaded with gravel, going down the INTERSTATE while I was gassing up!
Problem was, he had a flat right rear tire.
Got on the interstate, passed him shortly thereafter, he was running on the rim, sparks flying.
Next morning, saw the truck sitting a few miles past where I went around him, truck was still there that evening.
That was the stupidest thing, far too many dangerous things to remember them all.

 

[Rubycon]

Well, this thread is about what you've personally seen, not seen on youtube.

Some of us don't drive.

That said perhaps only in Russia does one see the sidecar show!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zxxM9EYQzY

 

[HeXen]

100mph SUV with 3 kids in the back hauling ass down a country road. Woman driver so it didn't phase me once i saw her.

Saw a cop turn his lights on to run through a red light then pull into a dunken donuts.

Saw a large work truck leaking oil down to its driveshaft which then got spat out in every direction onto other cars. "fill up the oil and check the gas"

 

[Ichinisan]

Trash truck pulled out in front of me this morning. I went to the right lane, to go around him, but of course he moved over there, too. When I passed him on the left, he started honking and waving.

Idiot.

Don't try to pass on the right. You would have prevented him from getting over!

 

[Red Squirrel]

Some of us don't drive.

That said perhaps only in Russia does one see the sidecar show!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zxxM9EYQzY

In Soviet Russia, concert drives to you!

 

[Chaotic42]

I was in the east-bound lane of I-10 near the LA/MS border when I saw another vehicle in the same lane decide that they needed to get to the Louisiana Welcome Center (which is attached to the west-bound lane). They stopped in the left late of the interstate, backed up, cut across the median, drove against traffic in the west-bound lane, and finally entered the Welcome Center through the exit-only interstate on ramp.

Good times.

 

[Raduque]

Just remembered a good one.
Back in the '80s, saw an older pickup truck, loaded with gravel, going down the INTERSTATE while I was gassing up!
Problem was, he had a flat right rear tire.
Got on the interstate, passed him shortly thereafter, he was running on the rim, sparks flying.
Next morning, saw the truck sitting a few miles past where I went around him, truck was still there that evening.
That was the stupidest thing, far too many dangerous things to remember them all.

This reminded me of a Dodge pickup that I was behind on the freeway. One of those junk collector guys, cruising down the freeway at 65-70 as I was merging on, his right front tire started wobbling, I guess it was loose, it was vibrating the truck so bad some of his junk was threatening to fall out of the back.

 

[Svnla]

Other drivers that did not pay attention/carelessness, like this person = http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2307008

From what I saw on the roads, I will NOT ride a motorcycle and will NOT drive a small car such as the Smart.

 

[Eos]

I'm in yellow, driving an empty truck and pup, using the left lane to pass a slower vehicle. This is a truck and pup:

http://www.angelrockandsand.com/images/truckandpumb.jpg

As I get to the start of the uphill section of the overpass, I notice a car (noted in red) in my lane, going the wrong way. I stab the brakes and come to a stop in a cloud of rubber smoke with a line of traffic behind me. Somehow I was the lead vehicle.

This old lady had managed to get onto the freeway at the next on ramp. I got out and helped her get turned around. The whole time I'm shaking, trying to calm down. If that truck was loaded, it would not have stopped in time.