Stupid drivers.....

Miss Mary · #1 Postby **Miss Mary** » Mon Jul 21, 2003 7:32 am

24 car pileup, direct result of driver changing lanes too quickly to take cover from rain under an overpass - to keep her sofa dry, in the back of her pickup. Give me a break!

Stupid, stupid drivers.....

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/South/07/20/ ... index.html

#2 Postby **azskyman** » Mon Jul 21, 2003 7:42 am

I see accidents several times a week on the way to and from work. Many times they are caused by impatience or poor judgment. But sometimes accidents happen...in spite of our best attempts to keep our head on our driving.

These things will become even more obvious to you as your girls begin driving more, Mary. Unfortunately, your family knows all too well the pain that can go along with driving and dealing with other drivers.

Miss Mary · #3 Postby **Miss Mary** » Mon Jul 21, 2003 8:02 am

Steve - got your name right this time - yes our family sadly knows the full extent of careless driving. For those that don't know, my 16 year old nephew died last Sept. He and 3 other friends were headed to a community service project (they were in a drum-core type band from school). The driver decided to do a little hill hopping and lost control of the SUV. It flipped several times and our nephew was ejected. He died on route to the ER, via aircare. Severe head trauma. I should add Luke was not wearing his seat belt, he fought his mom all the time on wearing one (also no alcohol involved). His 3 friends all had theirs on and walked away with minor injuries. Nina says she will never give a friend a ride unless they wear their seatbelt now. They can just get out if they won't put it on. I didn't even have to impose this rule. We're not there yet though - she still has her temps. Losing Luke just devastated our family.

I just thought this Atlanta story was worth mentioning. I'm always telling Nina you have to watch the other drivers too - in case they do something like this. But the 24 cars that crashed (she never touched another car, just caused this chain-event) probably had little, if any time to prepare. Good thing no one was seriously hurt! And all for a couch........

azsnowman · #4 Postby **azsnowman** » Mon Jul 21, 2003 8:06 am

BRAVO Mary........I too, cannot even begin to tell you how many stupid drivers I've seen, especially up here on the mountain and more so in the winter......

Now....this is gonna get Lindaloo going here "LOL!" BUT........older drivers, when do you say "enough is enough?" Take for instance that terrible accident in California just last week at the farmers market, the gentleman is 87 years old.......I know, I know, it depends on the person BUT........after a certain age, I truly believe that once a driver hits 60, they need to be tested ONCE A YEAR!

There.......thanks for letting me rant and goind off topic just a tad! I'm especially sensitive to the elderly driving thing this time of year when the mountain is full of retired folks!

Dennis

Miss Mary · #5 Postby **Miss Mary** » Mon Jul 21, 2003 8:11 am

Dennis - I just read an article on CNN's website I think, in which this elderly man feels awful. He should! And IMHO, he shouldn't have been driving. But you see senior drivers all the time, going 40 MPH on the highway, for one example. Just nuts!

I have never forgotten a tragic accident on I-75 in downtown Cincinnati years ago. Two elderly women somehow accidentally got on to an on ramp. Relatives later said they avoided the interstates, rarely traveling but if they had to, rural or back roads. Here they were estimated as going only * 2 MPH *!!! That's right 2! Their car was immediately slammed by a semi. Truck driver was fine but the two women died instantly. So when I see a very slow car on the highway, I get the heck out of the way of that vehicle! That's just asking for an accident.

Lindaloo · #6 Postby **Lindaloo** » Mon Jul 21, 2003 8:37 am

Ya can't blame the elderly driver ALL the time. I know of teens and middle aged drivers who have accidentally hit the gas instead of the brake and rammed into parked cars, garages, and buildings. I know of a 28 year old mother of 3 that got her "high heel" caught in between the gas and brake pedal and rear ended a car injuring one of her children who was not wearing a seatbelt. The elderly know when they are not capable of driving a vehicle anymore. My Great Uncle who just celebrated his 70th wedding anniversary told me he quit driving a vehicle five years ago because he was just not capable anymore. When I received my license years ago I had to take an eye test. They do not give those anymore and I believe that is a practice that needs to come back. Do I believe the elderly need to take a "reflex driving test" passed a certain age? YES, they should. But then again look at all the drunk driving accidents and deaths we have everyday.

Dennis, the only problem I ever had is the people who call the elderly names. It is just disrespectful and uncalled for.

Miss Mary · #7 Postby **Miss Mary** » Mon Jul 21, 2003 8:47 am

Linda - I agree, namecalling is uncalled for. Maybe I shouldn't have titled this topic - stupid drivers. My first choice was idiot drivers. LOL Maybe I should have said wreckless drivers.....have to stop this.

j · #8 Postby j » Mon Jul 21, 2003 8:58 am

I agree Lindaloo....In SC teen drivers account for the largest percentage of highway accidents in the State. No big surprise there. Take a look at any teenagers car and you will see an assortment of beads hanging from the rear view mirror, stickers everywhere....the radar detector, then there's the thumping bolt rattling ghetto music spewing from the trunk. Is it any wonder they cause most of the accidents?

Oh...I forgot...they all have a cell phone growing out of one ear!

Lindaloo · #9 Postby **Lindaloo** » Mon Jul 21, 2003 9:20 am

You are correct j, but I have researched this for the state of MS. There were 42,000 teen-driver accidents in the state of MS last year. There was only 2300 elderly driver accidents in this state last year. And more than half of the elderly deaths in this state occurred at railroad crossings. About 10% of elderly deaths were auto-related in which they were hit by teen drivers who run red lights. Do not feel I am bashing all teens however. Some of them have no business operating a motor vehicle because of lack of experience. And I have also seen some very courteous teen drivers.

I did not take offense to the title Miss Mary.

Miss Mary · #10 Postby **Miss Mary** » Mon Jul 21, 2003 9:29 am

Linda - didn't think so, but thought I'd say that for anyone offended by my topic title.

Cell phones.....ugh - I so want to pull up those drivers who poke thru left turn arrows, so the rest of us miss our turn, and motion hanging up the phone. But of course I don't.....for fear of road rage.......you just drive on, muttering pleasant words.

I have a teen driver. It is going so slow. She hasn't mastered driving above 3rd gear. We both have manual transmissions so I thought I'd clear that up. She will in time figure all of this out, but I'm glad to take it slow. No reason to hurry this along - I can still taxi her around.

weatherlover427 · #11 Postby **weatherlover427** » Mon Jul 21, 2003 10:30 am

I so agree with this thread. I feel bad for the guy in Santa Monica due to the fact that he was elderly and he may have been confused as to what pedal he was hitting. However; I do not feel that it should have gone on for 3 blocks like it did.

Also, my grandpa will be turning 75 this year and he is still driving. I regularly go places with him. He is a good driver IMHO. I woud not consider having his license taken away at this time. The only real problem he has at this time is that he cannot drive at night. You know that if you do not trust an elderly family member with their license you can have it revoked, right?

azsnowman · #12 Postby **azsnowman** » Mon Jul 21, 2003 5:13 pm

I agree with you Lindaloo on two points......teens are JUST as bad if not WORSE at times AND the issue of name calling, there's a LOT of elderly folks out there who can still drive regardless of age AND......we owe a tremendous amount of gratitude to these folks too, the WWll vets for one!

Dennis

CajunMama · #13 Postby **CajunMama** » Mon Jul 21, 2003 5:36 pm

Between Lafayette & Baton Rouge there is a part of I-10 that is a bridge built over the Atchafalaya Swamp. The speed limit on the bridge is 60 but many drivers pay no attention to it. They fly by you at 75-80 mph. And of course there are no state police around.

Just last night, an Allied moving van did not see the vehicles in front of him slowing down or stopping and plowed into 10 of them. His truck caught on fire along with 3 other cars. The truck driver and 4 other people were killed and 7 were injured. Three of the people were sent to the burn center in Baton Rouge and are in serious condition. I don't know if speed was a factor and/or he was just not paying attention. I-10 was shut down for 12 hours.

therock1811 · #14 Postby **therock1811** » Mon Jul 21, 2003 5:46 pm

KingofWeather and I just discussed the stupidity of some drivers 2 nights ago... my mom and I were nearly hit by one last Thursday... I had some guy swerve in front of us, apparently cause he didn't want to slow down.........grrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!! :grr:

#15 Postby **Pburgh** » Mon Jul 21, 2003 5:51 pm

I travel about 2 hours a day to and from work - Interstate and Turnpike. Boy, I get to see it all!!!! I just go with the flow of traffic and watch some real idiots going 80-90 mph to get to where???? Are they that late for work that they have to be in such a hurry? Will they get there that much sooner or at all?? They are young, old and in between. I can't even imagine their anxiety level. If I'm going to be on the road for any length of time I certainly don't want to be all stressed out, soooo I watch them, watch the road and watch my speed. Some people just don't know how to take it easy. By the way, my Mom is 80 years old and still drives to work at the hospital gift shop and drives to her AARP meeting. She's a very responsible driver and the type of person who, when the time comes will gladly turn in her keys. She's a sweetie!!!!

Miss Mary · #16 Postby **Miss Mary** » Mon Jul 21, 2003 6:49 pm

Karan - I think you and I were taught to drive when there were sane drivers on the road - for the most part. I was taught to leave a certain car's length behind the car in front of you. Absolutely no tailgating - ever! No quick lane changes, no weaving in and out of traffic. I quit the working world around 85 but went to college full time for a few years. I took mainly back roads then. Then I had my children and didn't really pay much attention to how aggressive drivers have become (rarely driving on interstates). Until the past few years - it's a real eye opener!!! Hubby has watched it naturally occur, driving in it daily. Me? I'm just shocked somedays - I want to scream at them all - hey, this isn't how I was taught to drive!!!!

Well, that rant's over. Feel better now. Thanks for reading Karan! :-)

JetMaxx · #17 Postby **JetMaxx** » Mon Jul 21, 2003 11:36 pm

I told you'll drivers here in Atlanta were insane...one nut caused a 24 vehicle pileup over a sofa. Heck, if you think that's crazy, you should be here when it snows :lol:

weatherlover427 · #18 Postby **weatherlover427** » Mon Jul 21, 2003 11:48 pm

Yesterday when I was out looking for my a/c unit (which I still don't have :cry:

), I heard a loud revving of an engine to my left. Turns out it was this little souped up Subaru sports car that apparently had revved its engine (the driver, not the car

) and sped up from about a block back to race through the intersection - not running a red light or hitting anyone or anything - all the while catching a good foot of air in the process :o :o :o :crazyeyes:

!!!

j · #19 Postby j » Tue Jul 22, 2003 7:17 am

JetMaxx wrote:I told you'll drivers here in Atlanta were insane...one nut caused a 24 vehicle pileup over a sofa. Heck, if you think that's crazy, you should be here when it snows

I'll 2nd that Perry. I visit Atlanta every so often and if your not doing 85 on 85, your going to find 3000 lbs of steel up your butt!

Not to take away from your great State, but us South Carolinians have the highest fatality rate on the highways in the Country.

Miss Mary · #20 Postby **Miss Mary** » Tue Jul 22, 2003 8:28 am

Perry - LOL! My memories of Atlanta......

1. Driving thru there on our way to Indian Rocks Beach, FL, Christmas break 1999, middle of the night. Our kids were little then and not used to car trips. So they slept and we took turns driving. Here it was 2 a.m. and I counted 7 - yup, 7 - lanes across in the downtown area on I-75! I could only imagine driving thru there in rush hour.

2. Driving thru Atlanta, daytime, on our way back from Florida, few years ago. We were this time on your circle freeway - forget the # - traffic came to a dead halt. Turns out a huge truck carrying windows lost it's load. Glass everywhere - and I mean everywhere! What a mess. That tieup set us back a few hours. People were driving way up onto the grass areas far to the edge of the emergency lane, which had glass too. We were all wide awake for that ordeal - no napping!

3. Snow - I've heard Atlanta drivers freak out at snow. Well, guess what - we have something in common with you all. Cincinnatians tend to do that too!!!

Stupid drivers.....

Stupid drivers.....

Who is online