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If people would give themselves PLENTY of following distance from the car in front of them, most interstate accidents would not happen.
Think about it - one dog running across the freeway - the first car slams an its brakes. And ALL the cars following that car? The car with the person looking away at the moment texting?
moving. Period. If it's not about that, I want it out of the way. Funeral processions, stopping traffic and telling people to pull over "out of respect"--phooey, to heck with it, someone died whom I don't know, what do I care?
Thoughts?
Sooo... And why should anybody have one gram respect for you. Let me know when you are behind me, I teach you some real slow driving......
On a perfectly dry 4 lane open interstate in daylight, the most significant issue I see is people driving in the left lane as if it is to be used as a cruising lane. This leads to people stacking up behind and tailgating, which leads to accidents and lane changes that result in accidents. Often the left lane drivers have tags that are from urban areas where the left lane is more typically used as a driving lane, so they don't know the concept of using the left lane as a passing lane.
At night, undoubtedly, the majority of the wrecks are deer collisions around here as the deer are nocturnal. Counted over 30 dead deer on the road between Kansas City and Branson, MO about 2 months ago. Most appeared to be fresh. Got stopped in daylight for another deer collision at 2 PM just north of Branson. The deer are way overpopulated at the moment. With the overpopulation comes disease, so they should die back eventually. We avoid nighttime highway driving for this reason.
Yes, sometimes drivers make stupid mistakes. Thank goodness the woman I hit was so incredible nice to me. After I said I was sorry, she said, "Oh honey, don't be so upset. It was an accident."
1. Falling alseep
2. Changing lanes into blind spots.
3. Changing radio stations
4. Getting food out of cooler in back seat.
5. Assuming that you can't have an accident, it's a freeway.
Last on the list and rarest cause -- mechanical problems, tire failure, etc.
Sooo... And why should anybody have one gram respect for you. Let me know when you are behind me, I teach you some real slow driving......
Ha ha! A few years ago I was in the right lane on a snowy day going at a speed that felt safe. You could not go the speed limit, because road conditions were too icy, snowy, and slippery. I had some azzhat right on my bumper in those conditions. Left lane was open...go around me dip$hit, if you are that eager to hit the ditch. So I slowed even more than I had going just to get him to back off further OR go around. Eventually (2 miles down) he took an exit, but criminy, people....drive for the conditions and slow down when road conditions dictate.
There are lots of reasons. In snow and ice, it is just going to happen. People who say "If you are an expert driver like me, it will not happen even in snow and ice" are just inexperienced drivers trying to fool themselves. Even at a slow speed a car can slide 100 yards or more. Usually a freeway driver has no idea how much stopping room they need on a snowy or icy freeway and in the case of patchy black ice, they will not even realize there is any ice present. Sometimes sudden squalls of snow or dust/sand can completely blind you in less than a second. If the driver in front of you has slammed on his brakes, you have no chance of stopping. If you stop, you will get hit from behind. In some conditions, the only safe speed is 0. Even at 5 or 10 mph you are likely to get into an accident. Sometimes if you stop at all, you can slide off into the ditch, you have to keep moving and just slow way down at stop signs and lights.
I have driven over a million miles. I have manage to avoid a lot of accidents and failed on a couple of occasions. Not all accidents are avoidable. And you are not always on top of your game. Despite the fact friends and family consider me an excellent driver, I make mistakes. My mind or attention will wander once in a while. That happens to everyone. Those who think it does not happen are worse drivers because they are not aware they do it. It only takes a tenth or less of a second to glance at the radio or speedometer and look up to discover someone has slammed their brakes on. Even with a reasonable distance, you may or may not have time to stop. If you do mange to stop, the people behind you probably will not.
One thing that has always bugged me--wrecks on the Interstate. Now, I will admit, first and foremost, with the exception of the "rat running" practice which I oppose (and thus don't practice myself), I view all roads as a means to get where I'm going and dislike any delays, ANY. To me, the roads are for one thing--moving. Period. If it's not about that, I want it out of the way.
The problem is that liberals are on a "public transportation" binge and are trying to get rid of interstates/highways. Not understanding that the amount of people in America makes such an option not an option. So the "get out of the way" sentiment doesn't work if there aren't dedicated lanes for special traffic - a dynamic I've only ever seen in San Diego (and imagine that, they have very efficient traffic most of the time).
Quote:
Originally Posted by shyguylh
All of that being said, I understand how wrecks happen in the city limits, but I've never understood how people wreck on the Interstate. Understand--I'm not talking about very crowded LA freeways etc, I'm talking of Interstates where there's a 70 mph speed limit and everyone is moving right along. It makes no sense to me how people wreck in those situations. There are no school zones, no stop lights, no points of interests (malls, shopping centers, schools, places of work, restaurants etc) which people are pulling into (they will exit off the freeway to do so), no people making turns--everyone is just moving. The roads are straight, typically not icy or such, and with all of those complicating factors not being a part of the situation, it would seem very easy driving that would not involve wrecks.
And yet, people wreck on them, ALL the time. It makes no sense to me.
I will admit that it bothers me, yes, mainly because of how it inconveniences me. When these wrecks happen, they create a HUGE amount of traffic backed up and I'm thinking "how can you people wreck on such easy roads?
Texting. YES it causes wrecks.
Phone calls WITHOUT Bluetooth. Yes, it causes wrecks because people can't react fast enough when they have one hand holding a phone up to their ear.
Drunk drivers. Doesn't matter that it's unsafe, if the Seahawks just won a pointless game they're going to drink like mad and then get on the road and endanger lives.
Road hazards. Yep, those illegal immigrants didn't tie that ladder down tight enough and it came flying off the back. Normally this isn't an issue if you know what you're doing, but if your reaction time is low, you're slamming brakes and the person behind you (who was texting) slams into you, and so on.
Off ramp ignorance. People don't research which ramp they need to take beforehand and take a guess, then their BFF or significant other yells at them that it's the wrong one and they jerk back into traffic - never safe - rather than just safely exiting and getting back on the freeway at the next on ramp.
Backing down the ramp. See above.
Inclement weather. Driving on icy roads is never safe and even if it's not snowing, there could be black ice that you can't see or assume is just a wet road. Dangerous.
Car maintenance. Many people refuse to get proper maintenance for their car, so after going 30,000 without an oil change because their dad told them it wasn't necessary for their 15-year old Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, it stalls on the road, someone slams into the back of them, or not, but they're jamming up a lane, causing traffic jams because people are trying to get out from behind them.
Car fire. See above
Rain. You'd think people would simply slow down and drive a bit slower when it rains, but no. Especially when they didn't bother changing their headlamps so that they could see the road in the first place.
President/Vice President motorcade - because of course it makes no sense for them to come into the city outside of rush hour so as not to impact traffic (Clinton was better at this one)
Tire blowout. If it was a road hazard this is just random, but the ones I've seen are people driving around on bald tires trying to be bold, it eventually blows and traffic is impacted.
Do you need me to go on? I don't think so.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jtur88
1. Falling alseep
2. Changing lanes into blind spots.
3. Changing radio stations 4. Getting food out of cooler in back seat.
5. Assuming that you can't have an accident, it's a freeway.
Last on the list and rarest cause -- mechanical problems, tire failure, etc.
Bold should not be happening. If it does, it shouldn't be the driver doing it. The food can wait until you get to your destination, otherwise exit safely, get what you need and then get back on.
Red is not rare at all. I would submit that in Western Washington State, those are right behind texting drivers.
Blue is another culprit. Although I have no sympathy on this one because it's controllable. Exit or pull over, do something because you feel it.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! OMG tears are running down my face!
OP, come to South Florida and spend ten minutes on I-95, I595, or the Florida Turnpike and get back to me!!
OMG I'm crying!!!
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