Create your own worst Chicago driver (legally, shop, license plate)

[Irishtom29]

Originally Posted by sittingduck41

Don't take this the wrong way, but I am able to talk and text on my phone while driving without taking much attention away from the road. Maybe it's because I've driven a lot since getting my license (7 years). It's never been a problem for me though, whether in bumper to bumper, or cruising at 80 in the left lane with traffic. I can see how some might get distracted, but for me it is really like changing the radio station. Anyone else like this?

Let's hope not.

If you really believe what you said you're delusional.

Maybe you're kidding.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by sittingduck41

Don't take this the wrong way, but I am able to talk and text on my phone while driving without taking much attention away from the road. Maybe it's because I've driven a lot since getting my license (7 years). It's never been a problem for me though, whether in bumper to bumper, or cruising at 80 in the left lane with traffic. I can see how some might get distracted, but for me it is really like changing the radio station. Anyone else like this?

Please mail your car keys to someone with some common sense. Thank you.

[Irishtom29]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

Please mail your car keys to someone with some common sense. Thank you.

Maybe he'll hit a tree before he reproduces. He named himself aptly anyhow.

[Avengerfire]

Nature selection.

[sittingduck41]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

Please mail your car keys to someone with some common sense. Thank you.

I just want to clarify what you are saying. You are saying I have no common sense because I am perfectly (by "perfectly" I mean 0 accidents after driving to and from the city (25 mile trip) hundreds and hundreds of times, and even more time spent driving in the city or suburbs) able to drive and also type a text message or talk on the phone. Not trying to brag (as much of that may be due to luck) but facts are facts.

If that is correct, I have a hard time understanding how you can arrive at that conclusion while knowing next to nothing about my driving ability (or lake thereof). It is a very real possibility that I may be a better driver than you if I am typing up a text message and you are 100% focused on the road. I say a possibility because for all I know you could be a wheel man or a taxi driver, although from reading this thread many consider taxi drivers to be among the worst.

Anyway, I really don't mean to come off as arrogant/cocky. I have a lot of people who are often guests in my car. If I decided to type an essay while driving they would not be worried. The first reason is they know that I am a pretty good driver and I've never given them reason to think otherwise. The second, and more important reason, is they know I am not even close to stupid enough to risk even a slight collision. As a matter of fact, my entire life literally consists of objectively weighing risk and reward. I believe I have a good understanding of what I am able to do and not do while driving. And having that understanding about my driving ability is exponentially easier than the understanding of my abilities that I need to have in my work. I really think I have it down.

I can see why you made that comment, and had I seen what I wrote from a different perspective, I may have said the same thing. In my business, I've seen many people achieve wild success. Some of them need to pay 100% attention to what is going on. Some perform better when distracted to some degree. I fall into the latter group, and I think the same applies for my driving. All I am saying is don't pass judgment on how I drive unless you are informed enough to do so. The fact is that those who are informed enough to do so would say I am the best driver they know under any circumstances.

I am sorry if reading what I said before caused you to fear apparent idiots like me on the road. However I hope I've made it clear that I'm not some maniac, and that I simply would not distract myself while driving if it would increase the risk of something happening.

I've been up about 50 hours now do to work, so I hope that made sense. And if it's any consolation, the last thing I would do right now is get behind the wheel.

[sittingduck41]

Originally Posted by Irishtom29

Let's hope not.

If you really believe what you said you're delusional.

Maybe you're kidding.

Not really sure what to say to that. I mean, I believe what I said. And that belief comes from nothing but experience...not sure how that qualifies me as delusional.

I'm not trying to be confrontational or anything, especially to a fellow Irishmen. But what if I told you I was able to do something you could not do? Like being able to make 10 freethrows in a row or make 1 million dollars in a day. I can do neither, but I do know people who have done both (consistently).

I've heard people make claims far more extreme than mine (example could be a member of my group of friends claiming he made 6 figures playing poker in a week. This person was someone we all considered slow, dull-whitted, and in posession of a severe deficit in logic and reasoning ability. And we are all educated and have known one another for over 20 years. However the new 75K car he bought erased our doubt) and I made the mistake of labeling them delusional or something along that line.

Again I've been awake for some time so if I am missing something take it easy on me.

[sittingduck41]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

Nature selection.

Did you mean natural selection?

[Drover]

Worst Chicago driver? The one who lives in a neighborhood where parking gets really tight but is lucky enough to find two open parking spaces adjacent to each other -- and strategically parks his car right in the middle of the two spots so he can pull out of his space with ease the next day....

...which often ends up not being as comfortable as he would have guessed, what with him sitting on a pile of shattered glass that used to be his front left window.

[Irishtom29]

Originally Posted by sittingduck41

Not really sure what to say to that. I mean, I believe what I said. And that belief comes from nothing but experience...not sure how that qualifies me as delusional.

I think you're delusional because you think you're driving "perfectly" while texting.

It would be diifferent if you thought "yeah, this is risky behavior and not proper driving but screw it, I'm gonna do it anyway". That would be reckless but at least a realistic appraisal. But in thinking you're in total control of your driving while texting you put yourself in the same category as those who blithely yack on the phone, read newspapers and apply makeup while driving.

[rockinrolla]

Originally Posted by sittingduck41

Don't take this the wrong way, but I am able to talk and text on my phone while driving without taking much attention away from the road. Maybe it's because I've driven a lot since getting my license (7 years). It's never been a problem for me though, whether in bumper to bumper, or cruising at 80 in the left lane with traffic. I can see how some might get distracted, but for me it is really like changing the radio station. Anyone else like this?

"Don't take this the wrong way," says Jack, spinning the cylinder on the revolver and raising the gun to his head, "but I'm so good at this russian roulette business, I'm never gonna, ummm, loose."

Every time I see some twit rolling down the kennedy or ike as he/she steals glances at the road in between thumbing the qwerty board on their phone, I picture what a darwin award would look like on their shelf.

It's sad though, that where there's an irresponsible driver, there's often enough a victim involved as well.