Why? Driving observation

[rhagfo]

Well after the commute home, dinner, and while walking the dogs my mind wandered back to the daily commuting grind.

This may or may not apply to your local, I live and drive in the greater Portland area. Yea, this is a bit of a rant, but just my mind wandering while walking the Dogs.

WHY?
Do drivers when turning left from a multi left turn lane, use the inside lane then cut across three lanes to take a right at the next intersection?

WHY?
Is it that when the roads are dry and the weather nice drivers putt along at 5 to 10 mph below the speed limit on local roads (35 to 45mph limits)?

WHY?
When the weather is nasty, rain and wind, wet roads, they drive like Mario Andretti, speeding and cutting in out of traffic.

WHY?
Is it that a driver will run a stop sign to get in front of you and then proceed to do 5 to 10 mph below the speed limit (nice weather)?

WHY?
Will they drive 50 to 55 in a 35 mph arterial in a residential zone, but only do 45 mph on a 55 mph divided state highway?

WHY?
Will they race up to cut in front of you with a another car about two car lengths ahead, doing the limit or a bit better, to take the exit 100 yards up the road. When there was at least a 10 car length space behind you?

Just wondering WHY?

Russ

:B

[slickest1]

Do as I say not as I do!! Cops are human too, they even make mistakes. I have seen a couple doozers as well!

[spoon059]

fj12ryder wrote:
And what would have happened if you had hit someone head-on? Would they have been any less dead since you were responding to an emergency?

Seeing as to how I was driving with lights and sirens and doing about 15 mph to ensure my safety and the safety of everyone around me, chances are that *IF* we got into an accident, there would be some dented bumpers and not much else.

However, as it were, only 1 person died (and if I remember, he was probably dead before I was dispatched to the call anyway) and my response and driving kept one other person alive. Guess that is inconsequential to you...

You seem to have a very specific anger here... we are done.

[fj12ryder]

spoon059 wrote:

fj12ryder wrote:
I actually chewed out a Missouri Hiway Patrol officer one time for backing up an exit ramp. This is supposed to be a person who knows better, talk about setting an example!

Do you know WHY he was backing up an on ramp? You do realize that police can violate any and all traffic laws when responding to an emergency, right?

I've driven several miles on the center median and WRONG side of a divided highway trying to get to a homicide during rush hour. But, if I did things YOUR way, I would have waited 2 hours to get there and it would have been a DOUBLE homicide. Thankfully, I chose to follow the law as it pertains to law enforcement and got there in about 10 minutes and transported a second victim to a local hospital where she survived and was able to eventually assist homicide detectives in identifying the killer.

Thankfully YOU don't make the rules for me, someone who has a better understanding of the real world makes the rules...

Uh yes, I do know why he was backing up and that's why I was PO'd. He made the wrong turn and didn't want to go to the next exit to turn around. He was not in a hurry to get anywhere and he said that. Being a LEO does not give you the right to drive however you feel.

Like I said LEO's are some of the worst drivers for the very reasons you cite: they think the driving rules don't apply to them. Most of the time those rules do apply.

And what would have happened if you had hit someone head-on? Would they have been any less dead since you were responding to an emergency?

[spoon059]

fj12ryder wrote:
I actually chewed out a Missouri Hiway Patrol officer one time for backing up an exit ramp. This is supposed to be a person who knows better, talk about setting an example!

Do you know WHY he was backing up an on ramp? You do realize that police can violate any and all traffic laws when responding to an emergency, right?

I've driven several miles on the center median and WRONG side of a divided highway trying to get to a homicide during rush hour. But, if I did things YOUR way, I would have waited 2 hours to get there and it would have been a DOUBLE homicide. Thankfully, I chose to follow the law as it pertains to law enforcement and got there in about 10 minutes and transported a second victim to a local hospital where she survived and was able to eventually assist homicide detectives in identifying the killer.

Thankfully YOU don't make the rules for me, someone who has a better understanding of the real world makes the rules...

[fj12ryder]

Well, you sure shouldn't talk to the LEO's about driving responsibly, they are some of the worst offenders. I actually chewed out a Missouri Hiway Patrol officer one time for backing up an exit ramp. This is supposed to be a person who knows better, talk about setting an example!

[Grit_dog]

Because you live in the PNW. Worst overall group of drivers I've experienced all over the country.
I actually think Portland and BC are a bit better but that may be because I'm not there daily.

[myredracer]

blofgren wrote:
It is the same here in the greater Vancouver area my friend. The only reasonable answer is STUPIDITY! :B

x 1000!! OMG, I hear fingernails screeching on a blackboard... :M

That stuff drives me flippin' crazy and it's pretty much the same everywhere you go. It'd be like playing hockey or football and your team is playing by the rule book and the other team threw the book away. I've asked cops from time to time over the years and I always get the exact same party line answer - "we just don't have the resources" or "it's the same all over." In the Province of BC, the level of enforcement can vary substantially depending where it is and if it's the federal RCMP or local municipal cops from next to zero enforcement to too much. When it's too much, the focus is usually just on speeding tho. We need a provincial police force and enforcement based on a uniform per capita basis and not politics. Also, instead of fines (if they ever actually do fine anyone) going to the provincial general treasury acct., fines should go to cities and municipalities so they can put the money directly into enforcement. The courts need to bring in harsher penalties too.

If you ask me, a major reason this stuff happens is the lack of enforcement by cops. I almost never see cops doing traffic enforcement here anymore. You get your DL and then you can forget about the motor vehicle regulations and drive how you want. What kind of message does that send to drivers when the rules never ever get enforced? Around here (rural area outside Vancouver) I see drivers all the time on cell phones, passing on double yellow, running 4-way stop signs, speeding in school zones, changing lanes in an intersection, etc., etc. and of course speeding. Almost nobody drives anywhere near the posted speed limits so why even bother putting signs up? Many drive at 25-30 mph above the speed limit and too often, higher than that and at a speed where there's supposed to be severe penalties but they get away with it. The only thing motor vehicle laws are good for is when you are in an accident and they look for some rule that you violated to be able to attribute some or all of the blame to you or the other party(ies).

I almost died 18 years ago by a driver on a cell phone speeding 20 mph over the speed limit in a residential zone when he rear-ended me while I was stopped and waiting to turn. The only reason I'm still here is because I always keep my wheels straight until I'm ready to turn. Drivers that do things like this should be given stiff penalties, community service time, maybe some jail time but all this driver had to do is pay higher insurance rates for a few years. Taking licences away isn't a solution either because they'll still drive. I have zero respect for drivers that flaunt the rules and who could care less.

End of rant... (Sorry for being wordy.)

[slickest1]

People drive like that because they can! Even when they get in an accident they usually don't get what they deserve. A couple things I will add to the list is people driving with their earbuds on listening to their tunes cranked up and oblivious to what is happening around them. Wearing hoodies while driving and not having peripheral vision.
Many are bored with driving so they have to be entertained.

[fj12ryder]

"Accidents per mile driven have also declined."

I think "fatal accidents" have declined due to the way vehicles are constructed now. I, personally, don't think non-fatal accidents have declined. I think most of the stats collected relate to injury causing and fatal accidents. I was having trouble finding anything on non-injury related accidents, i.e. fender benders and such.

[spoon059]

Tvov wrote:
Ok, I'll bite. Why would you do that? Play bumper cars on the highway? Why not just let the guy go? That way if his driving causes and accident it would not be with you, and you get a person off your rear bumper.

My thoughts exactly. This guy is the problem driver that must of us are referencing. Intentionally driving in this manner to irritate someone else and cause a reaction.

Any reasonable person would pull to a lane on the right if being tailgated, to allow that person to pass. If its only a one lane road, I have been known to pull to the shoulder and allow someone to pass. I'm not going to let someone behind me dictate my speed... I'm also not a 14 year old, so I'm not going to play chicken with someone on the road.

[Tvov]

BruceMc wrote:
Not long after getting my new Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen, I had an idiot try to pass me in a merge lane on a 2 lane highway. The area is 45mph, and just after the merge, the speed goes to 55.
We were on the main highway and he had been tailgating me anyway. Just as we hit the merge lane, he yanked his into the merge and tried to go around me. I saw what he was doing & engaged the turbo on that little 1.8L to close the gap in front of me, leaving him no where to go. he had to back off & pull back in behind me.
Now it may have been that he thought the highway changed to 2 lanes in our direction, realized his mistake but tried to barrel ahead anyway. If that was the case, he should have simply pulled back in behind me.
...

Ok, I'll bite. Why would you do that? Play bumper cars on the highway? Why not just let the guy go? That way if his driving causes and accident it would not be with you, and you get a person off your rear bumper.

[pnichols]

Here's an anti-rant.

You left out four Whys:

1. Why do drivers everywhere tailgate at all speeds?

2. Why do drivers everywhere think that the speed limit is the lower limit?

3. Why do drivers everywhere who think that the speed limit is the lower limit get irritated when all other drivers around them don't think and drive likewise?

4. Why do certain forum posters think California drivers have a monopoly on behaviors in 1., 2., and 3., above?

[Fisherman]

You forgot one. People that ride the brake so they don't go over the speed limit going downhill.

[toedtoes]

My current issue is on local roads with 2 or 3 lanes in each direction. It never fails that no matter what lane I'm in, there is someone driving in the next lane over right next to my rear. There is no one in front of them, no one behind them, but they must drive right in that spot that requires me to have to speed up or slow down to change lanes.

As for the cell phones, I think there's a lot more to it than just an inconsiderate driver. I know that my dad, my boss, and several other folks would call me when they know I am on the road. I keep my phone in my purse while I'm on the road so I don't see or hear calls or messages. Never fails, these folks are mad because I didn't pick up and didn't respond until I was stopped somewhere. They wanted me right then and there - not 15/20 minutes later and how dare I not make that happen.

On the positive side, this got me out of doing a lot of stupid errands that these folks wanted me to do for them. 🙂

[westernrvparkow]

Desert Captain wrote:


IMHO: As far as deaths and injuries declining over the last years that is a reflection of the higher quality safety features and better construction that the modern vehicles bring to the roadways and NOT an indication that folks are driving better.

As always.... Opinions and YMMV

:C

Accidents per mile driven have also declined. Perhaps vehicles now have better brakes, horns, mirrors and, with newer models, collision avoidance features. But the fact of the matter is, by any measure, it is safer to drive on the highway today than it was 10, 20 or even 30 years ago. Maybe the reason people feel there are more bad drivers than ever before is our collective knowledge is greater than ever. Before the internet we never would have heard from all the people, who are scattered to the far corners of the globe, posting in response to this thread. When we hear of more and more incidents our minds unconsciously equate that to actual experience. It is no different than how many people feel there is more crime, more political upheaval, more civil disobedience, more poverty, more most anything, today. Again the facts will bear out there actually less. But social media, 24 hour news channels, and a much greater atmosphere of connectivity makes it seem like we are living in the toughest of times.