Driving PMO's

[skeeter@ccia.com]

Just wondering what dirving error made out there is the biggest concern to all of you around the country/world...some say is DUI..some say speeding...What is the biggest most important concern of you drivers on the highways today?...As a retired truck driver, I have seen just about everything and some things I still cant believe I have seen people do.
My biggest PMO is crossing the center line while rounding a bend. They divided the road in 1/2. One side for me, the other for you. Each side is big enough for one vehicle..so if you put yours on my side, where do you think I should go?..It boils down to lazy driver...just don't want to trun the steering wheel..How many times does a tire have to roll over the center line in order to wear out the paint?. Ever notice no paint on the bends? I have survived everything from the stop in your tracks head on to getting run over by a 70mph tractor trailer...whew..that one was tough...


have a nice day...stay on your side of the center line.

[Steverino]

Good thread Skeeter!

I used to be of the school of thought that the maniac speeders were to blame for the majority of automobile accidents, however, I've since come to the conclusion that it's the pokey drivers that cause everyone to react.

My pet peeves? (I'll try my best to keep the list short;) Selfishness! If you want to poke at 10 mph under the speed limit, fine....just do it in the far right lane. Merge ramps...how about speeding up to actually merge with traffic instead of putzing at your pokey speed and leisurely come traipsing across three lanes of expressly traffic to resume your poking speed while the rest of us poor slob drivers have locked up our brakes to accomodate your slow moving vehicle.:mad:

Cell phones????I wish I had a nickel for every nickempoop that cut somebody (or me!) off in expressway traffic while busily yacking on their cell phones. Sometimes I've seen folks using both of their hands waving in the air to articulate a point in their conversation that has naturally caused me to wonder how they're steering their cars???:rolleyes:

Ohhhh I could go on and on but will stop here. You're a retired truck driver Skeeter so I know that you've seen it all and that I'm "preaching to the choir." In a nutshell though, I believe it really all boils down to selfishness-people wanting to drive how they want with no thought or concern for their fellow commuters.

[Rocky Raab]

Ditto on the cell phone, and also ditto on crossing the center line.

Skeeter, the reason people dive across the lane line isn't that they are too lazy to turn the wheel, it's because they turn it too soon.

Imagine you're on a straight section of road. There's a curve ahead. If you turn the wheel a quarter mile before you get to the curve, you'll cut across the painted line (in one direction or the other). That's an exaggeration of distance, but it's what those lane-divers are doing: turning too soon. If they'd turn when the road does - but no sooner - they'd stay right in the center of their lane.

I also shake my head at those idiots who drive as if they were the only car on the road. Come storming around a blind corner, drive diagonally across parking lots (staring straight ahead), turn or change lanes without signalling or even looking - then they look up with big eyes when they hear the squeal of tires, absolutely astonished that there might actually be another vehicle in the universe. Sheesh.

[M.T. Pockets]

Careless passing would be on top of my list.

Cell phones a close second. I saw a clever bumper sticker on an old farmer's pickup. "Would you drive better with that phone up your...?"

[GoodOlBoy]

We have ALOT of those road splitters in East Texas. Most of them drive pulpwood trucks. . . . . . Thats why I had to by something I could drive in the ditch at least twice a week.

GoodOlBoy

[Aim to maim]

Originally posted by GoodOlBoy
We have ALOT of those road splitters in East Texas. Most of them drive pulpwood trucks. . . . . . Thats why I had to by something I could drive in the ditch at least twice a week.

GoodOlBoy

If you like that, you'd love eastern Kentucky. Roads are narrower, hills steeper, curves sharper.... and coal trucks weigh more than pulpwood trucks. To make matters worse, there's usually no ditch, just a cliff to drive off of or into.

[Skyline]

CELL PHONES!!!!!!!

I can't believe how people drive when they are talking into a cell phone. Crap!!! They drive worse than most DUI's. When they have that phone burried in their ear they drive like they are the only one on the planet. It amazes me how bad they are. And, unlike drunk drivers.....which is illegal of course and makes up a small precenage of the drivers on the road at regular hours...............the cell phone users are by the millions.

A severe case of head up a&% when that phone gets in the equation.

[Valigator]

Oh what a can of worms...I figured mine out a while ago...you know when you have a ton of traffic and things get backed up..especially in a busy intersection...its a 4 way light...and those last piss ant cars want to get thru the light? The get backed up in the middle of the intersection and my light says turn left but I cant because some jerk is blocking the intersection...I think I could get out at the point and put a 20 guage to his back window...

[gd357]

While I don't speed excessively, I get really irritated by people who don't pay attention and refuse to attempt to reach the speed limit. And dittos about those morons who don't use the ramp to catch up to traffic speed (or around here, they use it to stop and see if there's any traffic coming:mad: ). It amazes me that more of these people aren't killed annually from bad driving. I've noticed the tendency of aggressive drivers to be much more aware of their surroundings, and therefore be able to react in a positive manner to the idiocy around them. And throwing PC to the wind, if you're not used to driving in this country, learn how before attempting to switch lanes in rush hour while yakking on the cell phone (the next asian woman to cut me off is gonna get run over). Living in a large city has taught me one major lesson, the more the population increases, the more morons are within driving distance.:rolleyes: ;)

gd

[huntingvet]

Road rage! I hate it when people think that a plate of glass, some sheet metal and asphalt passing by at 30-60 miles an hour exempts you from courtesy and respect. Can you imagine if people treated eachother the same in the grocery store while shopping or waiting in line as they did while in their cars?

[skeeter@ccia.com]

seems to be about the same around the globe so far..and yea, even truck drivers aren't all pros..it is funny how when they come around the bend..because they started into the turn too early, they can't ease off to get back into their lane but they can when they figure you aren't moving over..they aren't that lazy then..in fact, I bet they have chew marks on the seat when they get home to go along with the guard rail marks down side of vehicle. Not just because I drove truck but another thing is the lack of respect for the bigger vehicles out there. 1 1/2 ton car vs. 40ton truck (I would rather be behind a rock going down a hill instead of in front of it) and they still just have to pass you then slam on brakes..because they don't want to get a ticket for a yellow light..( the local waiting for someone to go 5mph over the limit) oh oh..who is chewing the seat now?...how about the guy in front of you at the redlight..stops, puts vehicle in neutral to rest his poor tired leg (get an automatic)..the people in front of him are pulling out...but waits for his turn to move..then puts in the clutch, searches for a gear then the time of light is about 1/2 over..he moves on..make a turn without a signal...then make a turn and not cancel the signal...blink blink blink....or how about this one...someone heading toward you, signal on to turn right, the guy behind him, dashes head on in your lane around him while blowing the horn at him for being a dumb azz?..meanwhile, you have to hit your breaks to avoid him?....sure there are more and interested to hear...

[Dom]

Well, I'll add a couple to those above, although I do have to say driving over here is disciplined, I guess because it costs around 2 grand and 6 months classroom/road instruction to get a license. My #1 PMO:

The lights RED, I'm coasting to it, still 100 yards or so off, double lanes, and you pass me and slam on the brakes because the light is RED. Go figure . . . I wonder if part of all that training drilled into their heads is it's against the law to coast, either foot on the gas or foot on the brake . . .

But a GOOD comment to go along with that one:
Over here on the Autobahn, there is NO speed limit. You ONLY use the left lane to pass, PERIOD. If you think you can stay over there, think again, because there's at least a thousand Porsche's and Mercedes that will be 1 foot off your bumper at 100mph. You still want to poke along in the left lane? I think not, and I think you should get tickets in the states for driving slowly in the left lane -- it's a PASSING lane for crying out loud, and passing on the RIGHT is illegal, Waidmannsheil, Dom.

[fabsroman]

Good Lord, I think I could go on forever.

This happened to me a couple of months ago. I was approaching an on-ramp for the interstate and the road was fairly crowded. I left a gap in front of me so that somebody coming off the ramp could merge easily and I could merge behind them as I approached the ramp. Within 100 yards of the ramp, at about 45 mph, the idiot directly behind me pulled out of the lane and into the left lane to pass me and cut me off right before the ramp. All to gain a single car spot on the road. After jamming on the brakes to slide in front of me and slow down to merge on the ramp, he took the ramp extremely slow. Man was I pissed. He barely even sped up when he was merging on the interstate. I was completely confused at how he was in a hurry 10 seconds beforehand and now he was at a leasurely pace.

Another one I love is approaching a red light on a multi lane road. I usually ease off the gas before getting to the light, and whenever I happen to be the first car approaching the light, somebody always has to try and speed by me and cut me off so that they can be the first car in that lane (i.e., there are already cars ahead of them in the other lanes). I especially love it when I am driving my truck and they try that stuff because when my truck isn't loaded, it is pretty quick.

Another thing I hate is when I put my blinker on to change lanes and the idiot behind, but in the lane I want to change into, speeds up to try and cut me off. That happened to me yesterday as I was trying to pull behind a tractor trailer to get to an off ramp. I saw the guy coming in pretty quick in that lane, so I just backed off and let him cut right in front of me. If I had sped up, I would have screwed him because he had nowhere to go but into the back of the tractor trailer, but then I would have missed my exit. What I have noticed around here though, is that people pay attention to the blinker on my truck. I guess they don't mind getting hit by a Taurus, but think twice when it happens to be an F-350.

[Rocky Raab]

You reminded me, Fabs...

Cruising along in the right lane, at the speed limit. The only car behind me is coming up in the left lane.

Does he slow down, slide behind me and then take the upcoming exit? No. He has to floor it, zip around me on the left, then slam on the brakes and zig WILDLY across both lanes - JUST TO TAKE THAT EXIT!

[PJgunner]

:mad: All of the above and then some. I'm making a left turn. The idiot in the opposing lane is making a right turn and slides all the way into my lane rather than into the proper right hand lane.
Idiots that come into the free way and refuse to speed up past 30 mile an hour for at least a mile after entering the freeway. But the thing that probably takes me closeset to road rage is are the "High Beam Harrys" that refuse to dim their lights, regardless of how many times you blink them to do so. It's even worse now that some cars have to extremely high intensity type headlamps.
Paul B.

[Steverino]

I'll add some more because this is a fun post and we're all such perfect drivers.:rolleyes: (This is really a simple exercise as all I have to do is close my eyes and imagine my upcoming commute!)

Okay- some other driving pet peeves:

What's with the optional turn signals nowadays? Did I miss some kind of vogue or new-age fashion type trend that dictates that you don't use your turn signal to indicate that you are turning??? I am not a tail-gater and increasingly find myself locking up my brakes for some moron clipping along at 40mph that decides they want to turn. Not a gradual, tap your brakes a few times to slow down, and then turn.

Oh no, no no...

There's a harsh brake immediately followed by a hard turn of the wheel. Oh and these "treats" are usually yacking obliviously on, you guessed it, their cell phones...:mad:


Val, a 20ga is being downright courteous. A sawed off 12 with some 00 buckshot should do the trick nicely.

My "favorite" driving peeve is the jamoke that you see everyday commuting to work (you know the ones, they have the nice luxury sportscars and sedans) that refuses to merge from a 3 lane rd into a two but instead races along the merging lane and shoulder and at the last moment cuts over.
It's happened to all of us at one time another driving in an unfamiliar area and a merge sign comes up quick but the same vehicles every day???

There's been days (especially coming off a bad day of work dealing with a whole other slew of morons) where I have said in my mind "Enough's enough already!" and have sped up in my own lane thus not allowing the car riding the merge lane and shoulder to cut me off and the looks of indignance that I have received are priceless. I like to smile back, sometimes wave or make that wonderful hand waving back and forth (na, na, na, na, na) gesture with the thumb touching the front of your nose.

Alright, perhaps not the most mature thing to do but...:rolleyes:

I long ago pondered the introduction of an automobile targrting system that would allow drivers to shoot colored rubber darts (these would be some high-tech ply-rubber with some incredible magnets that the average joe slob would not be able to pull off on their own at home) at other drivers for driving infractions inflicted upon you while commuting. The colors would be indicative to the nature of the violation: Red-no turn signal, Blue-cutting me off, Green-weaving, etc. Once a month, the person has to go to a certified municipal center and have these darts removed with a de-magnetizer type of equipment while the number of darts and colors are tabulated. A predetermined number is allowed but a certain number or co,lor combination would result in a public dunking tank.

Serious offenders would have to have placcards (much like the driving schools employ) on the roofs of their vehicles announcing to other commuters and the world for a month period of time that they drive like an idiot.

I haven't really worked out as to whether I would employ a vehicke targeting system to shoot the darts ala James Bond style or just a roll down your window and manually shoot these from the driving position...Mmmm Decisions, Decisions:D

[Rocky Raab]

Paintball, Steverno, paintball.

Let 'em clean the stuff off themselves.

[gd357]

Many times over I have wished for several "extras" that seem to come standard on James Bond's car. Like rockets for instance... Or perhaps the oil slick function for tailgaters? And who could forget the landmines... Ahh, heck, I can't choose just a few. I want 'em all.:D Let's see how the morons like my new built-in flame thrower.;)

gd

P.S.

I'm sure there are a few people out there who feel the same way about my driving. LOL

[8X56MS]

most drivers pmo :D

[skeeter@ccia.com]

As usual, HC gets some interesting ideas and thinking this topic can remind us of some of the things to watch out for out there in the hustle/ bustle of the day and even maybe point out those things we are even guilty of doing now and then ourselves, some great ideas do manage to surface...like the dart system...yea, I like that one...and the sign they have to support like the local pizza delivery man, must have a target on it...now we would all enjoy hunting/stalking our way to work and back..and would be a plus for those whose job includes putting up with those on their way to and from their job..bullseye!
Ok so I am learning here...I don't understand what the turn signal has to do with making my car turn. I guess when I slam on the brakes, slow down, make the nose dive, turn the wheel, my car just won't go anywhere unless ...oops ..forgot to use the signal...so I guess after getting hit from behind, I can say or a whitness can say...yep...used the signal..put the thing on to warn others..it has nothing to do with turning the wheel! afterall, the car still drives good with it on the rest of the trip.

Just wish more people could remember that during those trips to and from their ....job.....there are people whose job....is driving out there all day...so you run them in the ditch, crash into them, cut them off, cause them to have an accident..that is how they feed their family..it is their job...how would you feel if they came into your place of work (have wanted to do this many times) and just smash up your computer, toss your papers all over the place, destroy the machine you have to run, toss paint on the fresh painted car in the lot, then call the police on you and have your 'place of business' fined for trashing the place...there goes your job..your paycheck..food out of the mouths of your kids.
Blink, Blink Blink...humm wonder what that blinking light on my dash means?..oh, can turn it off with this stick here..oops, scream the brakes..forgot to turn for my coffee on way to work...darn truckdriver, ride my bumper like that!!!!!! Wait till I tell the people at work about this idiot.

[rubicon]

I saw a good one this morning commuting to work, a young lady driving a BMW into the morning sun, drinking what was apparently a Starbucks coffee, and although it was not all at one time, smoking a cigarette, putting on her make-up, brushing her hair, and talking on the cell phone, in the HOV lane when she was the only on in the car cruising at 75. My apprentice and I hung in beside her for a long ways, totally amazed! This lady had multi-tasking down to a science.

[fabsroman]

That is somebody that I would want to run off the road. I love when people are driving in the HOV lane without the adequate number of people in the car. I see that kind of stuff on I-270 all the time. Several months ago, I was at a dead stop on I-270 with the HOV restrictions in effect. A guy in mid size truck passed me in the HOV lane, and I couldn't help but smile because I saw the State Trooper up ahead sitting at the median divide. Needless to say, the brake lights on the truck came on rather quickly and he tried to start merging over into the local lanes to get away from the officer. The officer got him though, and I was thrilled. Another evening, I was coming home on I-270 with the HOV restrictions in place and right as the spur, which also has HOV restrictions, was merging into I-270, there were at least 4 State Troopers pulling people over for HOV violations. I almost wanted to get out of the car and shake their hands. The number of cars they pulled over was incredible. They probably could have had 10 officers there writing up tickets and that would have taken care of the county's monetary problems for the year.

As far as the idiot doing all that in her car while driving, she is the type of person that causes an accident and then says it wasn't her fault or she wasn't contributorily negligent. I love it when I go to the body shop and see food and drinks spewed all over the car's floor. If she had gotten into an accident, I hope you guys would have stopped and given the Troopers and good account of what she was doing. Eventually, this kind of stuff catches up to these people (i.e., Karma).

[DaMadman]

Cellphones, and people that do not know what the word MERGE means.

Any I don't might ratting my own wife out because she is one of the biggest Cellphone ABUSERS on the road. It's like the cell phone is attached to the ignition switch in her car, as soon as she starts the car she either dials that damn thing or it rings and she is off to the races

[Tater]

My biggest pet peeve is when the 'cloaking device' on my truck goes on and off at random. Every so often it's like I'm invisible. By the way, does anyone know where the 'cloaking device' switch is on an '87 Ramcharger?

[skeeter@ccia.com]

Tater, my cousins cloaking device in his 80,000 lb rig got stuck on last week. Caused a lady to run square into the rear of him while he was stopped at a redlight..Said didn't even see him..Darn defective devices anyhow.

[fabsroman]

I have a couple good ones from this past week. I rode in my client's car to go to an accident scene that she was in. She ran the stop sign coming out of my neighborhood, but there wasn't a car in sight so I wasn't too worried about it. On the way back, she did the same thing, but it is a 4 way stop sign and there were several cars at the intersection. Needless to say, I was grabbing on to the seat pretty hard and I was extremely happy that I was home.

Just yesterday, on the way to Court, I saw a lady come to a near stop in the right lane of the interstate as she was waiting for all the cars merging onto the interstate before she tried to take the off ramp. That is the first time I have ever seen anybody come to a complete stop on the interstate and yield the right of way to those coming onto the interstate. I was amazed that there wasn't a wreck in front of me because the interstate was pretty busy.

[Aim to maim]

Originally posted by fabsroman
I rode in my client's car to go to an accident scene that she was in. She ran the stop sign coming out of my neighborhood, but there wasn't a car in sight so I wasn't too worried about it. On the way back, she did the same thing, but it is a 4 way stop sign and there were several cars at the intersection. Needless to say, I was grabbing on to the seat pretty hard and I was extremely happy that I was home.



Not certain if she was driving at the time of the accident in question, but if that was the case, I might have second thoughts about representing her in court.:D ;) :p

[Aim to maim]

Illegal aliens. Seldom have a driver's license (unless they bought one in Tennessee) and almost NEVER carry liability insurance.:mad: :rolleyes:

[fabsroman]

She is from Ecuador, but she is legal. She got her driver's license when she got here and has been driving for 3 years now. I was representing her regarding a ticket that she got with the accident. It was snowy day and she slid into the curb. She got out of the car to look at the damage and some idiot came along and plowed into her car. The investigating officer wrote her a citation for having her car in the travel lane. At the end of the day, what he wrote her up for was completely crap, and I would have gotten her off in Court yesterday. However, the officer never showed up so the case was dismissed. Trust me, I will never get in the car with her again.

I spoke to her about the stop sign issue because she is currently on probation for a speeding ticket, and she responded that she never even saw. I was dumbfounded.

[skeeter@ccia.com]

I am sure now as to where some of my neighbors moved to..by the sounds of how they drive down that way. lol..However, they left their cousins laggin behind. Still....this is all unreal as to how people survive on the highways today for so long doing the stupid things they do. I just don't understand why they pass a law making you wear a seat belt but give no attention to rules of the road and defensive driving. Just prepare you for after the fact. There are those that do the right thing and stop at an intersection ( sometimes even if you don't have to) and look both ways before entering the intersection but they only looked, didn't see what they were looking for...like one lady said to her hubby when he asked ' any cars comming?'....she said 'no' so he pulled in front of a truck.....he said ' you said no cars were comming'..she said..'you didn't ask about a truck'....has to be something in the water we drink.

[Aim to maim]

Originally posted by fabsroman
She is from Ecuador, but she is legal. She got her driver's license when she got here and has been driving for 3 years now. I spoke to her about the stop sign issue because she is currently on probation for a speeding ticket, and she responded that she never even saw. I was dumbfounded.

Ah, that explains everything. I can testify from personal experience that compliance with traffic signs and signals (if even present) is strictly optional in Central and South America, at least so far as the natives are concerned. :rolleyes: ;)

[rubicon]

I heard that BinLaden threatened to pull all arabic taxi drivers out of DC and thereby stopping all public transportation in the metro area. If so, Geico insurance rates may be going down. What would be next, closing all 7-11 stores?