Having a SENIOR moment

[tomman58]

We are on our yearly trek across the US and again are being greeted by some seriously unqualified drivers.
The first one is the person that refuses to put on his headlights at dusk or in the rain. The "I can see you so you must be able to see me"
Next we have the person that thinks you will move over for him as he enters the freeway........ wrong not moving because I have a semi passing on the right.
Next we have the clown that cuts you off because you aren't doing 70MPH even though you are in the far right lane.
Finally we have the gut that just blows through a dead red light. This seems to be far more frequent of late.

These people ware on me and I really wish they were fewer but they seem to be multiplying.

[JKJavelin]

This is minor, but it's hard to believe how many people don't know how a 4-way stop works. They sit there like they don't know it's their turn to go.
Maybe they think they're being nice by letting me go first (while I'm sitting there waiting), but I'm not a mind reader. Just go!!

[DrewE]

run100 wrote:

tomman58 wrote:
We are on our yearly trek across the US and again are being greeted by some seriously unqualified drivers.
The first one is the person that refuses to put on his headlights at dusk or in the rain. The "I can see you so you must be able to see me"

This is a problem that I've noticed getting worse the past couple years. It appears to be more common in the evenings than the morning. Many evenings, while driving home from work, one particular stretch of road is quite dark - depending what time I leave the office. Even when well past dusk, the number of cars on the road without their headlights on is shocking. Within the last year, I've had at least three close encounters (collisions) with people driving in stealth mode.

Whether it's a result of DUI, cell phone distraction, or a brain-dead driver, it's very frustrating!

I suspect as often as not it's the result of many modern car dashboard displays that are always lit. The subtle, almost subconscious, visual cue that you need to turn your headlights on because the speedometer is invisible is lacking, especially if it's gradually getting darker out or if you're driving in an area with decent streetlights. (Daytime running lights can also contribute some towards mistakenly not turning on one's headlights as they provide a little illumination on the road.)

[run100]

tomman58 wrote:
We are on our yearly trek across the US and again are being greeted by some seriously unqualified drivers.
The first one is the person that refuses to put on his headlights at dusk or in the rain. The "I can see you so you must be able to see me"

This is a problem that I've noticed getting worse the past couple years. It appears to be more common in the evenings than the morning. Many evenings, while driving home from work, one particular stretch of road is quite dark - depending what time I leave the office. Even when well past dusk, the number of cars on the road without their headlights on is shocking. Within the last year, I've had at least three close encounters (collisions) with people driving in stealth mode.

Whether it's a result of DUI, cell phone distraction, or a brain-dead driver, it's very frustrating!

[rickeoni]

Too many nanny devices in vehicles these days, lane departure warnings, blind spot detectors, upteen cameras on a 14 inch screen, heads up displays........ all of these are supposed to warn a driver if we are about to make an error, but, drivers have come to rely on these devises as a primary means of observation, and no longer use their senses. Years ago I took an advanced driving course and SIDPE was drilled into us. Scan Identify Define Prepare Execute.

[fj12ryder]

gtnsmlr wrote:
If I don’t look, you have to let me in...

Yeah, that does appear to be a theme. It would seem that the meaning of "Merge" has gone astray, and morphed into "I'm entering the road and surely I have the right-of-way".

[gtnsmlr]

If I don’t look, you have to let me in...

[fj12ryder]

"Then we have a lot of drug users something new to Tn and in Nashville and other cities."

What, they started wearing signs: "I'm a drug user"?

[down_home]

This subject comes up several times a year. No one wants to drive with the flow and other issues.
Every week, just about while home, we drive 200miles pus round trip to the Doctors.
We have almost been involved in accident, been forced off the road, crowded out of merging on the interstate,Had truckers block traffic in all lanes, all the time, n purpose, and all sorts of their games. Now in the last five or six years, we have a lot of new people from California, some I see at the VA,and escapees from high tax areas with people jammed cheek to jowel. They drive very aggressively and don't care, it seems, about bent fenders. Then we have a lot of drug users something new to Tn and in Nashville and other cities.
Defensive driving is the name of the game and I avoid many stretches of I24and I75 when I can. Wife insist on driving them however.
Just stay safe out there is about all you can do. No Sunday driving, no cell phnes etc.

[run100]

Many of the problems associated with bad driving behavior can be traced back to the growing number of cell phone users attempting to drive an automobile simultaneously. It's a very bad mix! Unfortunately, appropriate laws are being introduced far too slowly.

I just read that pedestrian deaths are up some 40% since 10-years earlier and now account for 16% of all automobile related deaths. Problem is, drivers and pedestrians are both overly distracted these days! I also regularly see bicyclists playing with their phone while riding. Myself being a cyclist, I can say there's already enough hazards to worry about without introducing unnecessary distractions too!

[BarabooBob]

Last summer we experienced two cases of absolutely terrible driving. The first was were a driver kept speeding up then slowing down to block me from merging. The other was a person driving a very large (3 axle) fifth wheel on a one ton dually blowing by everyone doing at lease 75 in the fast lane when we had a 40 mph wind quartering us from the front. I told my wife that we would probably see him again. Up ahead we came to a traffic slowdown/(stop and go) that lasted about a half hour. That 5th wheel/truck unit was in the ditch and looked like a bomb went off in it. Unfortunately both people in the truck died.
So, it is not always "the other guys" that cause problems.

[teejaywhy]

Veebyes wrote:
The merging thing. Why don't drivers, cars mostly, not get over if they can to let vehicles on, especially things like RVs & semis which are not able to speed up quickly?

It is a simple matter to show a little courtesy to help that big guy on the highway.

I'm not understanding the belief that merging requires the established traffic to speed up or slow down or move over ??

Merging is simple. One needs merely to use that 1/4 mile on ramp to accelerate and match the speed of the established traffic and then position oneself in the gap between two vehicles.

Getting to the end of the ramp and thinking someone needs to "let you in" because you weren't paying attention is just bad driving.

[monkey44]

Won't even debate about California drivers being the worst, but it certainly competes with Florida for that honor and trophy.

We have youngsters that think the throttle and steering wheel link together forcing the 'weave in and out' snake-slither pattern but meet us at the next stop light and gun the engine. Then we have the seniors too short to see over the wheel and dashboard with one foot on the brakes driving 45 mph in the left lane 65 mph zone but think they're speeding.

[Edd505]

opnspaces wrote:

azdryheat wrote:

BTW, I've seen some pretty crappy RV driver behavior, too, so I don't think we have a leg to stand on to criticize non-RVers.

I'm with azdryheat on this one. Seems like we're seeing a cross section of human behavior out on the roads. What I find really disheartening is my fellow RV'rs, the self proclaimed nicest people in the world, putting others at risk. There are multiple posts above to rationalize why the poster is justified in driving in an unsafe manner. Justifications run the gamut from "I'm bigger and can't move over easily" to "I have the right of way and I'm going to take it" And I really love the quote "Not my job to merge you in, bud."

I truly hope that these kinds of quotes above are from keyboard warriors and not indicative of true driving styles.

Nope it's the law that says who has the right of way! The law is there to make sure that it's done uniformly. The party merging has the OBLIGATION to merge and not interfere with moving traffic. You can alow them the space IF you are able.

Grit dog wrote:
Weird, last 2 on-ramp loafers I seen yesterday were both blue hairs. Both women. 1 with a car full of presumably grandkids getting on I 90 at about 44mph and the other, grandma flying solo in a circa mid 90s Buick, same deal.
Pretty sure neither of them consciously thought they were “entitled” to drive so d@mn slow, they were just slow.

You should all probably read Grit dogs post again. Not everybody has the same incredible and legendary driving skill that you have. Does that entitle you to run them off the road as they try to merge?

Not everyone should be driving. There is a point when a person needs to be smart enough to say I am not a good driver any more. WA state I could send in a form for reexam of people that should not e driving. I have a relative that is limited to speeds under 45, because shes dangerous faster. At 70 she has 54 years experience and should be a good driver.

Johno02 wrote:
It is the "entitled, I get anything I want" generation.

While I agree with the entitled part of this post I question which generation is showing the sense of entitlement here.

Many years ago I was a 19 year old having to take a drivers safety course because of a speeding ticket. The class was taught by an off duty police officer and truly most of it was a blur of boredom soon to be forgotten monologue. But one quote the officer said has stuck with me to this day. It was relevant then and is relevant enough today that I passed it along to my children as I taught them to drive.

"Never force the right of way. You may be right, but you may also be dead right."

True enough but I will not endanger myself or anyone else so you can merge. CA has some of the worst drivers in the nation. I won't go into left coast entitlements.

[DutchmenSport]

Blazing Zippers wrote:
Reminds me of the fellow that said, " I've never had an accident, but there have been quite few of them really close to me."
HHMMMMMMM

Actually, this is quite an interesting comment you made here. I vividly remember in drivers education class (Summer of 1970) when our instructor made a comment very similar.

He said, "YOU may never be in an accident yourself. But if experience other drivers having accidents near you, it's time to reevaluate YOUR driving style." I never forgot that.

I must be doing something right, I've witnessed only 1 accident happening at an intersection in 45 years of driving, when sitting at a red light and someone ran the light and T-boned the other car. We were about the 4th or 5th car back from the stop. That was more than 20 years ago.

I've never had an accident involving another car in 45 years of driving. But, that doesn't mean I haven't backed into a telephone pole, I've hit a deer, I ran into a tree laying across the road at night during a black-out thunderstorm though. 😉

[tomman58]

Horsedoc wrote:
"Next we have the person that thinks you will move over for him as he enters the freeway........ wrong not moving because I have a semi passing on the right."

I am trying to visualize this and just can't picture it. So, are you saying "the person" is entering the freeway from left? If you are in the right lane, and the person is entering like most interstate on ramps are set up (from the left) then you might try to work with the guy. How does a semi on your RIGHT figure into this ? Wouldn't you be changing lanes to your left?
Explain??

Sorry meant the left of me although I have had issues a time or two with a merge lane on the left side of the freeway on a two laner.