I was talking to my sister the other day and she told me how she was driving on the highway doing the speed limit when a girl driving a SUV and talking on her cell phone rear ended her at 20 mph over the speed my sister was driving which also made her slam into the guardrail. Now get this when the FHP arrived at the scene the girl driving the SUV said she was laughing so hard while talking to her friend that she didn't know her foot was pushing down harder on the accelerator. Now my sisters car is totaled and she has pulled muscles in her back all because of a stupid driver. You guys stay safe out there because some people think driving safely is a joke.
Bad Drivers
- Thread starter Drluvv
- Start date
Loose_Cannon47
Expert Expediter
Many states are outlawing the use of cell phones while driving...this is just another excellent example of why they should...I'm never in favor of people giving up their rights, or of enacting additional laws, of which we have too many already, but the cell phone issue has just gotten out of hand...too many drivers 'live' on that damn thing...
Loose
Loose
I think cell phones are not the biggest problem - it's what they represent that is so dangerous. Namely, that driving is something you can do while doing something else at the same time. Even those of us who have been driving longer than teenagers have been alive need to consider driving safely as something that requires ALL our attention, all the time. Whatever takes that focus off the road, whether it's a cell phone, kids acting up in the back seat, teens acting up in the backseat, even the argument you just had with your SO/boss/roommate/whoever - is a danger to all of us on the road. Cell phones are a visible clue that the driver is not fully engaged with driving, but it's the attitude that you can multitask while driving that needs adjusted - and education, not legislation, is the answer. That's just my opinion, but it's something I have thought a lot about. (I try to be a careful & courteous driver, but I catch myself sometimes being distracted, too.)
I think most can handle just a conversation while driving. The ones that worry me are people who are conducting business. They have the breifcase open, paperwork scattered and may even try to make notes. I got flipped off by a guy like that when he realized at the last second he was at his exit and I did'nt slam on my brakes when he made his 2 lane change. He ended up on the left shoulder of the ramp. With traffic behind me I was'nt about to hit the brakes.
>Cheri, you captured that very well. Alittle to PC for me but
>caputured and right on none the less.
>
>Raceman
>OTR O/O
Oh boy - a dialogue! Thanks, Raceman. Even the part about "a little too PC" is good, because a lot of my opinions aren't. Like telling my 15 yr old daughter to go ahead & wear her favorite T shirt to school - the one that says "Throw me a target - if you dare". She is a pretty good trap shooter, and I'm 100% behind the right to bear arms. Sometimes I'm left, sometimes I'm right, and sometimes I just can't decide where I am. (Wish there was a GPS unit for that...) But I welcome the chance to talk to other drivers, cause I don't hang out at truckstops much, or use the CB. and, yes, I still call myself a driver!
>caputured and right on none the less.
>
>Raceman
>OTR O/O
Oh boy - a dialogue! Thanks, Raceman. Even the part about "a little too PC" is good, because a lot of my opinions aren't. Like telling my 15 yr old daughter to go ahead & wear her favorite T shirt to school - the one that says "Throw me a target - if you dare". She is a pretty good trap shooter, and I'm 100% behind the right to bear arms. Sometimes I'm left, sometimes I'm right, and sometimes I just can't decide where I am. (Wish there was a GPS unit for that...) But I welcome the chance to talk to other drivers, cause I don't hang out at truckstops much, or use the CB. and, yes, I still call myself a driver!
raceman
Veteran Expediter
Cheri1122, what did you mean by that remark? I hope you were glad I commented and not trashing me for it.
I simply thought you hit the nail on the head but said it a little more PC than I would have. When I am fired up about things that idiots do or dont do I normally put it pretty straight. Your post sounded as though you feel the same but said it all very carefully.
Enjoy and be safe.
Raceman
OTR O/O
I simply thought you hit the nail on the head but said it a little more PC than I would have. When I am fired up about things that idiots do or dont do I normally put it pretty straight. Your post sounded as though you feel the same but said it all very carefully.
Enjoy and be safe.
Raceman
OTR O/O
I got rear ended over a week ago in my dads car. He just wasnt paying attention. And he hit hard too. I went to the hospital and had nexk strain (whiplash) and lower back strain. The insurance company told me they werent going to pay much because it was "just a few scratches". I dont care what damage was done-- of course it wasnt much it was a big old wagon. But I know how hard he hit and how much it hurt. Im going to talk to her again tues.
Doug
Doug
Raceman;if you got the impression I was trashing you, I apologize> I really am glad for the chance to talk to other drivers. I do try to be more careful in writing than talking, because it's permanent! But as far as being PC - I couldn't care less. And I'm ok with people disagreeing with me, because I know how many times I've been so far off base I wasn't even in the same ballfield! Lol The one true thing I know is just how much I don't know - but I would like to learn.
SHARP327
Veteran Expediter
It seems that alot of people think of their car/truck as a phone both and can hardly wait until they get into the car to make phone calls.
I can under stand that sometimes when the phone rings you just have to take care of business and answer it, it may just be the load offer that'll make the truck payment, I'll answer and either tell them I'll take the run or not and that I'll call them back or for them to QC the load info.
But when you see people on the phone in their cars for miles and miles and all wrapped up into the call and don't even realize they're driving then I feel that's the same as reckless driving or close to it!
I also feel that with all the safety features they put into these newer cars such as air bags,side impact bars, anti-lock brakes and seatbelts it gives the drivers a sence of being safer than they really are, and 4x4 suv's act as though they're singing CAN'T TOUCH THIS as they fly by you in bad weather.
I could go on and on with this subject but I know that everyone here all ready knows what it's like, I'll just keep trying to keep those bone heads from using me as their way to comit suicide!
I can under stand that sometimes when the phone rings you just have to take care of business and answer it, it may just be the load offer that'll make the truck payment, I'll answer and either tell them I'll take the run or not and that I'll call them back or for them to QC the load info.
But when you see people on the phone in their cars for miles and miles and all wrapped up into the call and don't even realize they're driving then I feel that's the same as reckless driving or close to it!
I also feel that with all the safety features they put into these newer cars such as air bags,side impact bars, anti-lock brakes and seatbelts it gives the drivers a sence of being safer than they really are, and 4x4 suv's act as though they're singing CAN'T TOUCH THIS as they fly by you in bad weather.
I could go on and on with this subject but I know that everyone here all ready knows what it's like, I'll just keep trying to keep those bone heads from using me as their way to comit suicide!
Doug, when you talk to the insurance rep again, you could point out the fact that a closed head injury may not even look like "a few little scratches" - it might look like no injury at all - but it can be severe & lasting brain damage. Which she already knows, of course, but she will try to minimize your injury to save her company a few bucks. You could let her know that sometimes neck & back injuries get much worse over time, and need a lot of physical therapy, chiropractors, etc.....Then you just have to find a middle ground you can agree on! Good luck - & hope you recover quickly.
rollingstock
Expert Expediter
SUV's and their drivers are my favorite pet peeves. What they don' understand is that their super powerful vehicle is a truck. Its handling dynamics are those of a truck and worse yet, they do not know that their vehicle will accelerate and drive INTO marginal weather but will not STOP any better than any other vehicle.
I try to stay out of their way.
I try to stay out of their way.
raceman
Veteran Expediter
RollingStock, Right On! I am an owner of a great big Ford Excursion with a wonderful V10. More powerful than a speeding bullet. I have driven 4x4s for many years and although they will pull, tug, yank, go through mud, snow, water etc., they will not stop any better tha anything else.
Many of the simpletons driving these boats have no idea how different they are from a Pinto or VW and that is disaster waiting to happen.
You make a very good point. I still think at least once a day that this country needs more training in order for people to excersise their right ot drive or have children.
Raceman
OTR O/O
Many of the simpletons driving these boats have no idea how different they are from a Pinto or VW and that is disaster waiting to happen.
You make a very good point. I still think at least once a day that this country needs more training in order for people to excersise their right ot drive or have children.
Raceman
OTR O/O
greg334
Veteran Expediter
Ok the one thing I hate is people with cells phones and talking to their kids as they drive. Today made me hate them more.
Hate may be a strong word, but I can’t find another.
Today I was driving my dad’s van going around looking at trucks. Of course we come up to the famous I-94 construction area with all the streets having something done to them. as I approach an intersection, there is a truck parked on one side of the road half in the right turn lane and the right lane (mind you without any flashers on) but on the other side there is a police car in the left turn lane and a car in the left lane also parked with the doors open, also with no flashers. This is no accident from what we hear as she is yelling at the cop that the car is broke down. You have to zigzag between the two to get by the mess.
Well I am sitting in the left lane trying waiting to move through the mess. I have a girl behind me with two kids in a dodge ram who has a phone stuck to her ear and yelling at the kids at the same time and I have a girl also on the phone that is fast approaching in the right lane with a kid in the back and what to appears to be a very ugly kid in the front, which turns out to be her boyfriend.
The girl in the dodge ram is impatient and isn’t waiting for anything; she whips out to my left, guns it passed us and gets back in to the lane as soon as she sees the police car. I think she wanted to pass everyone in the left turn lane, which is a new Detroit area trait lately. I can't understand how she could not see the police car, it had all kinds of lights on. At the same time the other girl in the right lane was not slowing down much and she barley misses the truck when she whips in to the left lane, or tries to do so. I learned a funny thing in physics classes in my college days; two objects can’t share the same space at the same time and that is what these two girls tried to disprove.
Even after the collision, these two girls were still on the damn phone.
Hate may be a strong word, but I can’t find another.
Today I was driving my dad’s van going around looking at trucks. Of course we come up to the famous I-94 construction area with all the streets having something done to them. as I approach an intersection, there is a truck parked on one side of the road half in the right turn lane and the right lane (mind you without any flashers on) but on the other side there is a police car in the left turn lane and a car in the left lane also parked with the doors open, also with no flashers. This is no accident from what we hear as she is yelling at the cop that the car is broke down. You have to zigzag between the two to get by the mess.
Well I am sitting in the left lane trying waiting to move through the mess. I have a girl behind me with two kids in a dodge ram who has a phone stuck to her ear and yelling at the kids at the same time and I have a girl also on the phone that is fast approaching in the right lane with a kid in the back and what to appears to be a very ugly kid in the front, which turns out to be her boyfriend.
The girl in the dodge ram is impatient and isn’t waiting for anything; she whips out to my left, guns it passed us and gets back in to the lane as soon as she sees the police car. I think she wanted to pass everyone in the left turn lane, which is a new Detroit area trait lately. I can't understand how she could not see the police car, it had all kinds of lights on. At the same time the other girl in the right lane was not slowing down much and she barley misses the truck when she whips in to the left lane, or tries to do so. I learned a funny thing in physics classes in my college days; two objects can’t share the same space at the same time and that is what these two girls tried to disprove.
Even after the collision, these two girls were still on the damn phone.