Driving, something we all do everyday, it has become so integrated into society over the past one hundred years that people are taking it for granted.
The other day I was merging left from a three lane road onto a two lane road when a large bread truck speeds
up to pass me. The truck barely made it in front of me while i pushed on my brakes hard. As I got around the truck, I saw that the driver was not even looking at the road; he was on a cell phone, while on the job.
This made me angry, obviously, and the rage spread. I was mad all day long, I couldn't focus in my morning
class and I was pissed at work.
People are terrible drivers. Everyone. Absolutely every last one of us. Driving down a road today is more
dangerous than ever before, cell phones, food, radios, satellite radios, ipods, texting, fixing your seat,
mirrors, or make up, hell, I see people dressing themselves on the road every day.
These distractions do not lend themselves to driving. Theres a reason theres a whole dam profession for driving, those NASCAR guys (and girl) know whats what.
The freeways are ripe with traffic. Every time that I leave for Los Angeles, the 405 freeway is jammed with people.
Every few hundred feet there are those drivers that wait way the fuck behind the car in front of them for no reason, what the hell?
Just because you're going slow to begin with, does not mean that travelling ten car lengths behind the car
ahead of you is a good idea! What are you thinking?!
Nothing, thats what. They're too busy with their radio, or phone to even notice what they're doing.
We're facing a driving crisis, each year there are hundreds of accidents caused by driver negligence.
The road should be a safer place, all the terrible drivers are causing dangers that no one should have to face on a daily basis.
More rigorous tests, or regulation, something needs to be done.
The state of our roads is ridiculous, old people, young people, whites, blacks, asians, mexicans.
Licensed and unlicensed drivers, were all at fault. We all go through road rage, we all drive too fast,
or too goddam slow.
Were all driving under the influence, drugs, drinking, phones, stereos,
anything that takes our attention off the road.
Change it.
Yeah, that's why I hate driving. I take the bus, which might not really make the roads any better.
Common sense is as rare as genius. ~Emerson
I agree
I think I can deal with all of those things you mentioned. There is one thing that pisses me off though: accidents. Not the fact that an accident occured, but that it happened on the side of the road and there is absolutely no reason to slow down and take a look. But they do, and as soon as you pass the accident, traffic speeds right back up to the dangerous degrees that you described.
Boy decide. You're too old to fuck around and too young to die. Try this trial life on for size. ~Murder by Death
What would your comments be without their awesome titles?
Common sense is as rare as genius. ~Emerson
apparently not much
There is a house in New Orleans
They call the Rising Sun.
And it's been the ruin of many a poor boy
And God I know I'm one. ~The Animals
I am a teenager and I have to say that nearly all of the things that you mentioned are ever increasing problems with our teenage drivers. The drivers at our school are horrible. I believe I am a decent driver as my parents spent nearly a year and half teaching me on a daily basis before I went to get my license. It may be irresponsible parents that are responsible for their childrens actions while driving but it is still unacceptable. I live in Central Oregon where ice and snow during the winter months is prevalent and dangerous. Some parents send their children to school with two wheel drive, 10 year old cars that do not have traction or studded tires. There have been numerous accidents because of this. I think that America should change its driving program to the one they have in Europe where kids cannot drive until 18 and have to undergo many instructional programs.
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I don't think that how ever much time you spent practicing before getting your license counts. At school all the guys have this big ego problem about whose car is faster, who can bust a u quickest, and all this crazy stuff. And in that hype I believe is when common sense is lost. That's probably why insurance rates for teenage males are usually higher than females.
--I am nothing special, just the combined efforts of every
person I've ever met and every book I've ever read.
I am a teenage driver, and I try to be careful when driving. I have both hands on the steering wheel, and I do not talk on the cell phone or eat while driving. I believe that times are changing so much that people nowadays love to multi-task. I tell my mother that she should not multi-task to much while driving, but she does not listen to when I say that. Everyone is constantly doing something else while driving. I rememer seeing video of distracted drivers while I was at drivers ed. I knew from that point on I want my concentration as much as possible to be on the road.
Well I love multitasking while driving, but in 4 years i have yet to get in an accident or rive remotely dangerously, but that is just because first and foremost my attention is on the road. I did get a DWI, but I wasn't drunk and driving all over the road or anything, i had a damn tail light out.
Must have been a pretty drunk taillight. Or maybe...you got the DWI because you were drunk? Hmmm, what a concept.
There is a house in New Orleans they call the Rising Sun.
And it's been the ruin of many a poor boy and God I know I'm one. ~The Animals
It still wouldn't make a single person who drives a safe driver. No matter the classes taken to improve driving skills. No matter the massive amount of time behind the wheel some refer to as "expirience". And no matter the amount of phone calls you can take, food you can inhale, and alcohal you can consume while driving and not manage to involve yourself in an accident.
People are dumb. People have short attention spans. People are too cocky. Because of this, we are a doomed driving society.
I have to quote my dad here and say, "any idiot can get a license."
2 years ago I was in a car wreck . . not a bad one - or it shouldn't have been as bad as it was. Lil old lady, big ass car sitting at the stop sign. I'm going down the road and going slow cuz I'm not too sure where I'm going. I spot her and the the street sign and turn on my turn signal. Now mind u I don't have a stop sign or anything so I start to turn, I'm in the middle of the road and she slams on her gas, hits my car and pushes me to the other side of the road and continues around me.
Totals my car (whitch I'd only had for 24 hr's), causes me to misscary and the seatbelt caused cellulites in my breast (basiclly an infection of every cell in ur body) So I get horrible infections now and every few months have to go get surgery because I got an infected hair or a paper cut.
She didn't get so much as a scratch to her car. Go figure right? And she didn't have insurance.
STUPID PPL SHOULDN'T BREED
Where I live, Virginia, they are currently passing laws against teenage drivers talking on the cell phone while driving. As a teenager, 18, I think this is absolutely absurd. Legislation needs to stop singling out teenagers just because we are the younger generation. A 32 year old is just as capable of causing an accident while talking on a cell phone as I am. There needs to be a law against everyone using a cell phone while driving.
Do what you feel in your heart to be right - for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't.
-Eleanor Roosevelt-
"Well I love multitasking while driving, but in 4 years i have yet to get in an accident or [d]rive remotely dangerously..."
I think that this is the screwy thinking most people use in order to make it seem that driving while talking on the phone is not dangerous.
While I don't believe that if you talk on the phone while drive you WILL get into an accident, I do believe that it increases the likelihood.
Let's say that the chance that an average person has of getting into an accident when NOT talking on the phone is .05%.
The chance that an average person has of getting into an accident when talking on the phoneis 1%.
So, the chances of getting into an accident double when they pick up the phone and begin chatting away.
Not only does this action negatively affect the actor (driver on phone), but also whoever else is driving around that person. By talking on the phone and driving, you are are increase your chances of getting hurt and also the chance of someone else getting hurt. This does not mean that it is impossible to drive and not get into an accident, but only that doing so increases the probablity of it happening.