I hate driving and the reason is other people. People are terrible drivers and it makes sense why there are so many automobile deaths in the US. They just don't pay attention and don't seem to understand what the hell is going on or what they're doing. My greatest pet peeve is people who will not maintain a constant velocity on a straight road. There will be no reason to change velocity, but these drivers never maintain a speed. It's usually because they're talking on their cell phones. The reason it drives me batshit is because it's not an overt crime and it doesn't get the attention of others and it doesn't piss other people off. It's a silent crime. But it prevents me from being able to drive properly because I have to adjust and realize "oh... this guy doesn't know what he's doing." Just today I was driving along a main road and there was a business man talking on his cell phone in a perpendicular road bisecting mine at a stop sign. He was stopped and just as I was getting near him, he guns it halfway into the street right in my way and then stops right there with a confused mystified expression on his face. I slowed down almost stopping in order to prevent an accident. I considered using a gesture, but thought better of it. I drove around and continued on my way a little angrier. The route I now take because of my new job forces me to go through many lights which has caused me to contemplate about why it takes traffic so long to get going once the light has turned green. The answer, I concluded, is the same reason for the other acts of stupidity previously mentioned. It's because people are terrible drivers and do not pay attention. They only begin to realize that they ought to start moving soon when the car ahead of them accelerates. People do not pay attention, they're farding and gabbing on their cells, doing everything except what they should be: driving! There are also other practices which would improve traffic problems, such as drivers giving other drivers proper distance and not overreacting to changes in speed. There have been studies which indicate that many traffic jams which apparently have no cause are caused by people overreacting to other drivers. http://focus.aps.org/story/v13/st26 What if we had an experimental section of a city where only people who had specific and intensive driving training were allowed to drive? Not only would they know basic driving laws and safety procedures, but also good practices, how to drive efficiently and intelligently. That's the kind of city I would want to live in and drive in. What's to prevent us from imposing more and stricter driving laws to improve the road for everybody? Why shouldn't we chuck 2nd time DUI offenders into cells? Why isn't cell phone use while driving banned everywhere in the US? You can respond to those questions or just talk about what pisses you off on the road.
People who think that everyone else but themselves are bad drivers. The thing about it is eveyone always talks about all the bad drivers on the road, but fail to realize that for every one jackass cutting you off there are 1,000 others driving just fine, and in all probability that person cutting you off isnt a "bad" driver they just made a mistake. I know this might be way out there but at one time or another you have made a mistake driving and been that jackass that everyone else hates.
1. That doesn't mean I meant or implied that everyone but me is a bad driver. 2. Your first response didn't answer a single question or focus of my original post. Good work.
The reasons why you cant just continue to implement more and more laws is because the majority of people are going to make mistakes and no matter how many laws you make people are still going to die on the roads. You can make all the rules you want but you cant save people from their own stupid mistakes. Have you ever been in an accident? Driven after one too many beers? Made a mistake while driving?
Yes, it was caused by a woman who wasn't paying attention, or at least didn't check her blind spot. Probably more than I should have, but not dangerously so. Of course I've made driving mistakes. My point is that people treat driving like it's a joke. They take it as seriously as they do their bodily functions. Are you telling me you think that if laws put 2nd time DUI offenders into jail for five years more people wouldn't take drinking and driving more seriously? Is that what you're telling me? Of frickin' course, there will still be idiots who will continue to drink and drive, but there will be less incentive for them to do so. Same goes with the other laws. If you make more strict driving laws, yes, you're right, people will continue to screw up. But if there is more incentive to take driving seriously, guess what? More people will!
Who are you to determine when a few too many makes it dangerous, thats why the law is there. But the threat of having your license taken away and maybe going to jail/ paying out the ass in fines and high risk insurance wasnt enough to deter you from driving while intoxicated. You know why? because the chances are your not going to get caught, what makes you think the threat of jail after the second Dui is going to decrease the number of people driving drunk? It wont cause they get a free pass the first time, and those who get caught the second time didnt give a shit the first time so what would change? Nothing.
Did I do that? The law where I am says .08 is the limit. I believe I was under the limit. So I really don't know why you're saying I'm determining what's too much to drink. I think you're confused. What the hell are you talking about? First, how do you know I was intoxicated? Maybe I just meant that I had a few too many according to my standards, not necessarily the standards of the law. You don't know, you just assumed. Don't assume. Second... are you kidding? What makes you think first time offenders get off free? If they didn't give a shit the first time they got a DUI, why should they care if they get another if the penalty is 5 years? I don't know? Five years of prison? Living in cramped quarters, getting sodomized? That's a pretty good reason to not want to get a second DUI. But I guess that's just me.
Why not just make it the first offense then? Or better yet instead of making the punishments more harsh why not implement a system to prevent such things from actually happening, if you really wanted to reduce the number of drunk drivers you could just mandate that all cars had ignition interlock systems. I am sorry if I assumed, i was under the impression that a few too many meant a few too many by legal standards. Good on you if you never have driven over the legal limit.
Because that could hugely punish a person who was barely above the legal limit and who doesn't well know what it is like going over the limit. I'm not a legislator, but I think there should definitely be a substantial fine or punishment for the first offense, and then a huge penalty for the second offense. The first time you made a mistake, albeit an irresponsible stupid mistake. The second time, it just means you have no regard for the law or other people on the road. I'm just saying stricter laws so people take driving more seriously. You can't tell me that huge penalties for driving violations and more mandatory training and testing wouldn't make people take driving more seriously. I'm just irritated by the lack of respect people have and with how little seriousness people take driving.
Talking on a mobile is ILLEGAL. If a cop sees you do it its a huge fine plus 3?(i think) demerit points
In the US talking on a cell phone is prohibited in only 5 states. California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Washington. http://www.ghsa.org/html/stateinfo/laws/cellphone_laws.html
There's also a number of larger cities that have similar laws. I'm originally from Chicago, and within the city it is illegal to talk on a cellphone without a hands free device.
Funny little tidbit........ Me and my boyfriend were driving home from the movies one night. There is a guy in front of us who was going as slow as molasses stopping and then taking forever to go at a stop sign and there is nobody around. Neitzche starts yelling (no kids in car) FFS SAKE THESE GODDAM STUPID DRIVERS IN THIS CITY .........MOVE IT. Then he pulls around the corner and drives over the curb himself. OMG what timing I was in tears laughing..... I was like Bad drivers in this town huh?
I want people who don't use their turn signals to be arrested. NOTHING pisses me off more while driving. I don't care if you speed or go slow, just use your damn turn signal. Tailgaters suck too. Especially people in trucks who get right up on you and their headlights shine right through the back window. Also irritating are people who don't turn their lights on. I don't care if you can see, I care about seeing you! Especially if its snowing and you're driving a white car.
The hands free devices don't make any difference - if you're on the phone your driving is degraded, regardless of how many hands you have on the wheel. Some people handle the situation better than others, but everyone is affected enough to be noticeable from outside the car. I have taken to turning my phone off when I'm driving, because the temptation to answer is strong. Other than banning phone calls and maybe requiring windshield replacements at 200k miles or so, new laws are just more hassle - the existing laws are sufficient to get any bad driver pulled over. Even the drop to .08 from .1 in the alcohol limit has basically been something to clog the courtrooms and enrich the insurance people - the drunks are mostly over .1 anyway, and the key is diligent enforcement.
