Shortcomings of the Average Driver

[G.Irish]

On my way to work today I was walking across a crosswalk and a woman ran a stop sign and almost hit me. I ran up to yell at her at the next light, but it occurred to me that she might have been someone who wasn't familiar with the area and she simply didn't notice the stop sign, cross walk, or person walking across the street.

That got me to remembering how several times on the way to my building I've seen people cause near accidents because they thought they could take a turn but it was illegal, so they get confused and do something stupid. Or people who turn down one of the streets towards the State Dept. and are met with a secure gate, so they whip a u-turn without looking and almost get t-boned.

It just seems like some people when confronted with an unfamiliar driving situation lose about 50 points of IQ while they're in that uncertain state. Another example is when people are not sure whether they should take an exit so they dart across several lanes of traffic and hit a divider or other cars.

Has anyone else witnessed confused drivers hitting the off switch on their brain?

[JPolen01]

People who miss their exit and then reverse on the shoulder. What the fuck is wrong with you? Take the next exit, turn around and get back on the highway and then take the exit you intended to originally.

[Apoc]

Isn't this what Merc has been trying to engineer out? The human?

[Kaan]

yeah i'm not sure why people "have to" go on that road to go that way... or arent more aware of their surroundings while driving (people walking, dogs in yards, bicyclists, motorcycles, joggers, kids playing, etc).

if you miss your exit, there will be another one (and around here its no more than 5 minutes away) where you can take that exit and get back on the highway going the other way for one exit... dont panic, relax and find the next best solution.

It doesnt matter if they werent from the area and were lost... when you drive down a road that has side walks, businesses, etc you just need to pay more attention. the driver would probably tell you "oh it was raining and hard to see" or something stupid like that. hell if you cant see and/or drive when it rains; stay home, take a cab, or call a friend that can drive.

[SlimKlim]

People who miss their exit and then reverse on the shoulder. What the fuck is wrong with you? Take the next exit, turn around and get back on the highway and then take the exit you intended to originally.

But that's not their favorite.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQSRPMFDTSs">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQSRPMFDTSs</a><!-- m -->

[JPolen01]

YES!! I forgot about that rant. He is spot on.

[Ken]

That's my biggest pet peeve. Oh, I might miss my exit, let me endanger the lives of several other people in order to make this exit. Logic is so flawed.

That being said, I've occasionally been guilty of the "i don't know where i am" mistakes. It happens. Just try and limit your idiocy and think through it. I was in the city and they closed the main entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel. Asked a cop where i needed to go and he said to just make the next left. So i did. Right into a one way. Realizing my mistake halfway through the turn i just calmly got to the shoulder and then i saw the car behind me do the same thing and get pulled over. Waited for the cop to walk up, explained what happened, and he let me go (slowly up that shoulder to the next street).

[Goodspeed]

I frequently encounter the people that are trying to make a panicked right turn into traffic - they stop, look at you coming, and short-circuit (evidenced by the go-stop-go in the first 3 feet of rolling out) because they lose the ability to judge speed and distance correctly. Then they realize they pulled out way too late, cutting you off, and their response is to just freeze their foot on the accelerator at 15% throttle. I had to lay on the horn at a minivan driver the other day for doing this.

[SlimKlim]

On my way back from lunch just now I witnessed a Honda Pilot, on an otherwise empty street, execute a right hand turn while failing to signal AND failing to use the turn lane. I don't even know what to make of that.

[Senor_Taylor]

I'll be honest, my driving takes a huge hit when I'm driving somewhere I never have. I think my driving habits are largely based on planning what I'll do really far ahead of time. I'm the kind of person who wants to memorize the next 5 steps on the directions before I'm driving. This is negatively impacted when I have no clue what the road is like or the area, for the matter.

When I've been up to NOVA for my first few times this year, I was a lost little baby. Never have I encountered traffic/roads like that.


Personally, I've never seen the "reversing on the shoulder" phenomena.

[BLINGMW]

YES!! I forgot about that rant.

haha excellent, me too :lol:

However, I would speculate that the same people that lose 50 IQ points when in unfamiliar territory are also responsible for the "most accidents occur within 5 miles of home" statistic. When in familiar territory, they are eating, talking on the phone, and again not having much regard for the dangerous weapon they are operating, while surrounded by a field of other people just as short-sighted as they are.

[SlimKlim]

I'll be honest, my driving takes a huge hit when I'm driving somewhere I never have. I think my driving habits are largely based on planning what I'll do really far ahead of time. I'm the kind of person who wants to memorize the next 5 steps on the directions before I'm driving. This is negatively impacted when I have no clue what the road is like or the area, for the matter.

When I've been up to NOVA for my first few times this year, I was a lost little baby. Never have I encountered traffic/roads like that.


Personally, I've never seen the "reversing on the shoulder" phenomena.

When I first moved up here I made Jake come to the grocery store with me because I wasn't 100% sure I would know how to get back home.

Everyone makes mistakes while driving. The differences is how you react. If you tense up, panic and stop thinking you're only going to make the situation worse.

Instead of slamming on your brakes, diving across 5 lanes of traffic or doing something stupid like that when you make a mistake, just stay calm and take the next turn or pull off the road where you can stop safely and figure out what you need to do to get back on course. I have never gotten why people flip their shit when they miss a turn, worst case scenario you add 10 minutes to your trip, big deal.

[SlimKlim]

People who don't turn their effing headlights on it a torrential downpour. :evil:

[Dave]

My favorite this morning: flying down the interstate since traffic was light (80+) due to the torrential downpour, in a grey civic...with no headlights on. Seriously people, headlights are just as much for being able to see as being seen by others around you. Idiots like them are why DRLs were forced on people who knew how to turn their lights on at appropriate times.

[SlimKlim]

On my way back from lunch i was following a rain-gray colored SUV with no lights on and being followed by a rain-gray colored sedan with no lights on. It was pouring hard enough that I could barely make out the taillights of a car maybe 50 yards ahead of me that *DID* have it's lights on.

That's one thing I would be totally ok with jacking up to like a $500 fine. Hell I'd almost want to become a cop just to go out in the rain and ticket fuckers that do that.

[Beej]

People who don't turn their effing headlights on it a torrential downpour. :evil:

Yeah but on the whole, this is offset by folks who run their rear fogs all the time (hey look a button!).

[SlimKlim]

People who don't turn their effing headlights on it a torrential downpour. :evil:

Yeah but on the whole, this is offset by folks who run their rear fogs all the time (hey look a button!).

I hardly ever see that, don't almost all US spec cars not have rear fogs? Only car I had it on was my Saab, which, among other bizzare features, also turned on the front turn signals when you put it in reverse.

[WRXtranceformed]

My car has rear fogs and its the dumbest feature ever. Without fog it pretty much blinds anyone behind you

[SlimKlim]

I get the concept, in really bad rain/fog, especially out in the country, having an extra bright light lets people know there is another car up there. Where I grew up out in the sticks, in really bad weather, you can completely lose cars 50+ yards in front of you even when they have their taillights on. In NOVA traffic when everyone is nose-to-tail regardless of the weather, it's a pretty pointless feature.

In weather like we've had for the past few days I always turn on my lights (which really just turns on the taillights since I have DRLs) and the front fogs just to make myself as visible as I possibly can.

[Jake]

I got behind TWO different vehicles last night with no brake lights. Headlights were on, not in DRL mode (too old for that) but just... no bulbs, or bad wiring, or something. Totally oblivious. One was an older Toyota pickup, which I can (ever so slightly) understand something malfunctioning. The other?

An ambulance. New-ish F450 cutaway, headlights blazing, the entire rear box was dark. Amazing.