Driving is no fun.

[TomoHawk]

he trouble is not really if they ride your bumper or not, but how they change lanes when going around.

[Jeff G 78]

Anyone else noticing this increase over the past 10 years?

In the past 14 months, I've been hit three times.

The first was because some jackass decided to wait his turn in traffic, so he blew past 1/4 mile of stopped traffic and dive bombed in when he saw a small gap. Of course he couldn't go from 50 mph to 0 in 25 feet so he rear ended the car in front of the hole he found. I was three cars in front of that car and I still got hit. His bonehead move wrecked four cars and my neck still isn't right even after months of physical therapy. Luckily, I was in a company vehicle and there was very little damage.

The next hit was in the winter and a girl was going too fast for the icy conditions. I was two lanes to her left on the highway and I saw her car rotate 90 degrees towards me. I tried to avoid her, but she still clipped me, putting a small crease in my truck's bed.

Finally, last week, I was approaching an intersection in the left turn lane. When I was about 50 feet from the red light, an SUV was turning right from the road I was going to and she failed to turn tight enough. She took the turn at about 30 mph using three lanes to do so and hit me LF corner to LF corner. She did enough suspension damage to total my truck. She was cited and told the cop that she had a glass of wine with dinner. She was below the legal limit, but I'm thinking it had to have played a role. She wasn't even close to making the turn and it was as if she was never in control of her truck. Had I not stopped short when I saw her coming, she would have T boned me right in the driver door.

So yes, I think driving has gotten much worse. I see stupid driving every day and I have three accidents to show for it. In two of the three, I wasn't even moving and I tried my best to avoid contact in the third one. At least I wasn't in a Z.

Edited January 19, 2014 by Jeff G 78

[siteunseen]

Wow, 3 close calls, not in one of your Datsuns! I've always heard "it comes in 3s" so maybe invest in a grow light company.

[TomoHawk]

At least I wasn't in a Z.

If you were, you'd get a $50 bill, and a short smile. If you're lucky, they'll say, "Sorry, and Good luck."

On Fridays, I used to visit my uncle who lives 20 minutes from me, straight down the highway. I leave to go home about 4:30, and almost every week, I'd see a minivan or SUV on its side in the on-ramp, or upside-down in the median ditch. I think some might be kids going home from OSU to Cleveland. So much for people who want to get home 'real fast' with their luxury SUV or luxury minivan.

[gnosez]

Personal observations and experiences aside the number of accidents has been dropping since 1990 (see this: Motor Vehicle Accidents and Fatalities - The 2012 Statistical Abstract - U.S. Census Bureau) Click on 1103

And here's an interesting site to see where accidents take place anywhere in the U.S.: State Motor Vehicle Crash Statistics

Seems that you are at the highest level of risk between 3 and 5pm and that 3pm is the deadliest time of the day. I always thought any time after 11pm was not when you wanted to be in vehicle.

[TomoHawk]

I usually get thoughts of collisions with drunk drivers after about 7pm on weekends.

From what I've seen after my years of driving is that 98% of drivers don't really want to get into a collision, but the other 1% seem to spoil things. Even people who use phones or type SMS messages, etc. while driving don't really want to get into a collision. Most don't, but the ones that do make it a concern, because it's easily preventable, if people will just "grow up."

It's that other 2% of people who are not paying attention/daydreaming, are in a hurry/driving badly, or just don't have any idea of how to drive safely that stand out. If you figure there are millions of motor vehicles out there, that means there are hundreds of bad drivers in any given area that you need to be looking for.

[TomoHawk]

And here's an interesting site to see where accidents take place anywhere in the U.S.

I'd like to see a color-coded map detailing the density of collisions or mishaps. Thinking about where the most traffic problems are in my area, I think it's the cross-town freeway and the bigger freeway interchanges that would be solid red.

[gnosez]

It's one of the things I like about being out on a race track - everyone is really, really concentrating, no cellphones, texting, reading, putting on eye shadow or eating and most people are going in the right direction.

[TomoHawk]

That's right. The only vehicles going nan 'alternative' direction are in the parking lot!

Are you allowed to chew gum while racing today, like in an old car-racing movie?

Edited January 20, 2014 by TomoHawk

[Mark Maras]

I was told a long time ago that all drivers who are slower than you are idiots and all drivers faster than you are maniacs. Funny thing, the percentage of maniacs dropped to almost 0 after I bought my first Z. It seemed as though all those maniacs had morphed into idiots. I still encounter them to this day. Drive safe and have fun.

Mark in Portland

[Mikes Z car]

I had a cop rear end my previous Z around 1983 though it wasn't entirely his fault in my opinion. There wasn't major damage but I felt sorry for the gentleman as I figured he had to have been embarrassed. I did a triple take when I got out of the car and saw the car that hit me was a cop. He noticed my reaction and said "it isn't every day that a cop runs into you is it?". I had jumped on the gas a bit too fast when the car in front of me had taken off, then the car in front of me stopped immediately making me have to stop even more quickly making it tough for the cop behind me to stop in time. What made it worse for the cop is that he said he was adjusting his radio at the time. That was the last time I was that unpredictable or jumpy in traffic.

I saw that same scenario play out in opposing street traffic once (same city) and that scenario also caused an accident which drove home the lesson for me. I don't want to be unpredictable in traffic any more!

[TomoHawk]

Thar's why I usually accelerate slower than the vehicle ahead of me. I can always catch up at any time.