Are drivers getting worse?

[BigDaddy]

Can't say I noticed, but I'm from Boston....

Seriously, I constantly have to dodge "suburban sweepers" as they swerve into my lane while dialing the phone. Two days ago I was rear ended (while at a stop sign) by an illegal immigrant with a dog on her lap. No damage to me, but my trailer hitch left a lasting impression on her hood. (She never even got out of her car!) My wife's car was rear ended and totaled last year by a dump truck and the ass claimed she was on her cell phone. She has a hands free set up, so he'd never know either way. (How this would make him rear end her, is beyond me?!) It seems the roads are more crowded, the distractions greater and patience is thin. The only solution is to raise the price of gas so that... oh,... they're doing that already?.... nevermind.

[Xover]

Two words: cell phones. Shut The Fuck Up and drive, asshole!

oh ya, forgot about that one also on my list - thanx for reminding me Z

[The AD]

Endless: you sure your family doesn't have some kind of magnetic field around them? Steel seems to be attracted to them!

That sucks about all the accidents. I don't actually think drivers are getting worse, I think the main problem is there are just too many drivers on the roads.

And, yeah, the cell phone thing is for real. It used to be when I saw a car swerving all over I figured they were drunk. These days it's usually someone on a cell phone!

[Dexter Rutecki]

Seriously bad luck, combined with the SLC driving experience it seems, for Endless.

Just one point, you didn't mean to imply that flashing red lights don't mean stop?

become completely clueless at flashing red/yellow lights (everybody THINKS they have to stop; even the stupid drivers in the yellow-flashing lanes which screws everybody up and makes the situation even more dangerous).

[SkiingBear]

I don't know if I blame it solely on the cell phone. I had this discussion once with a coworker who used to drive ambulances back in the 60s or 70s. He compared cell phones to CB radios back then, and said it was just a matter of making driving the priority over the phone conversation. He also brought up the example of police officers today who are regularly on a cell phone, a CB radio, and their computer all while driving...and they don't get some super-special training for that.

I do believe that hands-free headsets make talking while driving safer/easier only because I feel more free to move my head to check blind-spots. I do remember one occassion where some guy made a left in front of me and cut me off (right in front of a police officer I might add that took off after him). I was on the phone at that moment and I remember tossing the phone into the passenger seat to put both hands on the wheel and swerve a little bit.

I guess this all really goes back to what I posted earlier of people not really thinking about the risks of driving...it's just something we do to get from here to there.

[13]

Endless, in addition to rightfully pointing the finger at the idiot that nailed him, did your boy stop to think about how he might prevent another idiot from doing the same in the future?

PS - Nice catch, Dex. I was wondering about that myself.

[skiing-in-jackson]

People running yellow lights here in Jackson Hole is epidemic. Dangerous and stoopid.

Attachment 13302

Idiots.

[truth]

Drive faster. The faster you drive the less time you are on the road, the less time you are on the road the more unlikely it is that you get hit.

[Trackhead]

I almost got hit TWICE today, in the same intersection. On the way out from my house, then on the way back. All in the span of an hour.

For some reason, people think I need to stop, and they don't, despite the big RED OCTAGON pointing at them.

[bagtagley]

Utah is much worse than anywhere else I've lived. I've seen more people run red lights in one year here than I have in my entire driving life. I always get antsy when I've got an open lane through an intersection with no other cars around me.

Recently, on my drives to/from work, I've gotten into the habit of setting the cruise at 65 and hanging out in the right lane. My blood pressure has dropped significantly, and I haven't punched anything in my car in weeks!

[bc]

OK, so you've all convinced me that SLC is home of the worst drivers in the USA...

...but why? Extremely lax law enforcement? Poor hand-eye coordination due to inbreeding or other mental deficiency? Altitude-induced hypoxia?

(We have cell phones and other distractions in other places as well.)

[adam]

+



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[PaSucks]

The problem is simple. The largest generation in American history is getting pretty fucking old and doesn't want to get off the road.

[bc]

The problem is simple. The largest generation in American history is getting pretty fucking old and doesn't want to get off the road.

I deal with this every day--reporting demented drivers to the DMV. State law--in CA--requires medical providers to report all forms of dementia just like they would diagnoses of syphilis, etc. It's really a good mechanism. Drivers can take the written and road tests again if they want to keep their license and must retake both every 2 years thereafter.

Family members or others can also report anonymously with the same effect: the driver gets a letter from the DMV informing them that they have to re-take the test. I think if more people knew about this option the roads (at least in Cali) would be a helluva lot more safe. Sure there are those who would still drive even without a license, but the presently aging generation is strikingly law-abiding.

No age restrictions on this mechanism either. After all, people can and do develop Alzheimer's in their 30's, 40's, 50's, etc.

So get out their and be a medical "rat."

[funkendrenchman]

People running yellow lights here in Jackson Hole is epidemic. Dangerous and stoopid.

IMO, less dangerous than slamming on your brakes to stop for a yellow light. Most lights have a couple second delay after the opposing light turns red. I would assume most accidents involving lights are people running reds not yellows.

The only time I have ever been involved in an accident was when I stopped for a yellow light and the truck behind me hit me.

[Endlessseason]

What the crap is wrong with people? My oldest son and his wife were just T-boned again this afternoon in their brand-new car. I got the call as I was coming down from skiing. They hadn't even received the license plates for their car yet. His wife is pretty messed up as they were hit on her side, but we're pretty sure she'll be alright. It is a very panicky feeling to approach a completely clogged intersection, emergency vehicles everywhere with their lights flashing, car fluids and shattered parts all over the road, and you know it's your own family. It's terrifying.
His car sustained several thousands of dollars of damage, but since it's new the damge will probably not exceed the value. The perp's insurance company will probably insist on fixing it and, of course, it will never run or look quite right again.
Within one year, this now makes 2 separate broadsides and one rear-ender he's had to deal with, another broadside and another a rear-ender for my other son, a life-altering broadside to my wife's brand-new SUV from a sixteen year-old girl driver, and finally, one of my daughters getting ragdolled by a freaking idiot driver while walking with her boyfriend downtown IN A CROSSWALK!
That's seven separate accidents for our family in less than a year, NONE the fault of our family. Every single one of the other drivers received one or more citations in every case. You can't believe how much time, money, physical therapy, lost wages, insurance problems, and grief this crap has caused.
I had a conversation with one of the policemen at today's scene and asked him if it was just me or are people getting stupider? He told me not to get him started. People run stop signs, race to beat intersection lights, ignore double-yellow lines, transition their turns into the wrong lanes at intersections, become completely clueless at flashing red/yellow lights (everybody THINKS they have to stop; even the stupid drivers in the yellow-flashing lanes which screws everybody up and makes the situation even more dangerous). He said it is absolutely unbelievable how bad drivers have become.
The ER doc told me that nearly one-fourth of their visits are car accidents now. He didn't have historical data but felt it was definitely up in recent years.
Is anyone else noticing an increase in stupidity? What the crap is happening?

Well, an update since I wrote this. Now we've had 8. My second daughter, who was hit while walking in a crosswalk last year, was run over by a truck last month. The woman driver hit my daughter while she was riding her bike IN A BIKE LANE!

My daughter is in incredible physical shape. The truck ran knocked her to the ground and ran over her lengthwise, from her leg to her shoulder. She was really messed up with this one. The main, lingering injury now is her knee. It appears to have really loosened, but not torn, a couple of her knee ligaments. This additional, random accident has really brought her down emotionally this time.

So many drivers are complete stupid idiots and shouldn't be on the roads endangering lives and causing severe injuries. I'm just sick of it.

[Endlessseason]

Seriously bad luck, combined with the SLC driving experience it seems, for Endless.
Just one point, you didn't mean to imply that flashing red lights don't mean stop?

No, I mean flashing yellow for one direction, say North to South, and Flashing red East to West. Rather than just slow down for the flashing yellows, around here everybody treats the intersection as a frikkin 4-way stop. The few people who know they're supposed to only slow down and drive right on through yellow flashing lights sometimes get honked at by the idiots who think they're supposed to come to a complete stop!!

Because the majority of the drivers are clueless and do it wrong, it needlessly grinds the flashing yellow lanes to a stop and additionally endangers drivers from all four directions because of the confusion.

[bio-smear]

Damn, Endless, if it weren't for bad luck, you and your family would have no luck at all.

I don't know if people are becoming worse drivers, or if I am becoming more prudent as I get older. I know I used to drive faster and more aggressively than I do now. One thing I do know is that only way to avoid accidents is to drive defensively at all times, which means driving for those other drivers, anticipating all the possible bad moves they could and probably will make. How many people do this? It always seems like other drivers are caught looking, styling their hair, mind anywhere but in the driver's seat.

And that is my driving experience, every day. "oh hey there corporate working mom in your RX300 at the stop sign...I'm thinking you're probably just going to pull out in front of me as soon as I close within 50 feet, because your distance judgment sucks with your head turned all cockeyed squeezing the phone between jowl and shoulder.... Oh yep, you did. Thanks. I was expecting that."

I was sitting at a red light on a cross street to McCarran Blvd in Reno, and my light turned green to pull out onto the 45-50 mph speed limit 4-lane boulevard. I just sat there without moving as 2 tanker trucks blew through the red light at full creaming speed, cattle catchers deployed. Now I always wait an extra 2 seconds at green lights and look for Johnny Nick-o-time to come blasting through the intersection.

People are extremely complacent and don't consider the consequences of their driving actions. To most people, the act of driving takes a back seat to other bullshit they do while in the car. Only when they get wadded or kill somebody do they wake up and realize that it's serious. I seriously think that freshly licensed drivers should be forced to experience a serious collision to see how violent and traumatic it is. Something that would just *almost* fuck them up. Some sort of simulator...

[P_McPoser]

You should have seen the winner that ran vehicles off both lanes of the 2 lane highway that Blurred, Shera, Z, and I were on the other day.

Oh and the other unnamed maggot who flipped his shit into a pile the other day. w00t.

[snowsprite]

and i almost forgot...everyone's on the phone...all the time.

Yes, brain damage from said phones!

Sadly there is a huge epidemic of irrationality and inconsideration, on the road and elsewhere, in our society.

Sprite

[Sir Jongalot]

^^^^^^^

[Cirquerider]

Best wishes to your daughter's fast recovery Endless. That's just awful!

Riding a motorcycle has been a real eye-popping experience for me. Its not just defensive driving, these people seem to actually be taking aim. Most of the evasive maneuvers I've taken have been for people on cell phones without a clue of what's around them. Others, are just bad, or inattentive drivers. Closest call was with an oncoming driver that dropped wheels onto a soft shoulder and overcorrected and nearly took me out head on. I'm amazed at how often I see cars simply drive off a straight road for no reason, and overturn or crash into ditches or barriers.

Well, an update since I wrote this. Now we've had 8. My second daughter, who was hit while walking in a crosswalk last year, was run over by a truck last month. The woman driver hit my daughter while she was riding her bike IN A BIKE LANE!

My daughter is in incredible physical shape. The truck ran knocked her to the ground and ran over her lengthwise, from her leg to her shoulder. She was really messed up with this one. The main, lingering injury now is her knee. It appears to have really loosened, but not torn, a couple of her knee ligaments. This additional, random injury has really brought her down emotionally this time.

So many drivers are complete stupid idiots and shouldn't be on the roads endangering lives and causing severe injuries. I'm just sick of it.

[FREESKIER_FIVE-0]

I jumped my truck yesterday. It was super gnar. Prolly 10ft of air. I nosed the landing though. All this took place off-road, of course.

On a bike path? Wow. The stupidity is impressive.