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Stupid Drivers
© Copyright 1999, Jim Loy
We all see a lot of stupid drivers. Sometimes you shake your head.
Sometimes you are forced to wait. Sometimes you almost run into them. Sometimes
you do run into them.
Here Main Street is four lane with a center left turn lane for much of
its length. And people will be part way in and out of the left turn lane while
waiting to make a left turn. And I have to stop behind them. Rarely, they don't
even enter the left turn lane. I was once driving 65 mph on a US highway, and
the car ahead of me pulled into a left turn lane (signalling left). As I
approached, the car swerved to the right before turning left. I imagined myself
flying off into the wheat field. That is an example of an extra wide turn that
some people make. In town, I have often seen cars signalling left, move into
the parking lane on the right before turning left. That has nearly caused
disaster when they didn't signal.
The people ahead of me at a red light are sometimes extra stupid. Today
one of them was stopped a full car length behind the cross walk. This was one
of those intersections with car detectors under the pavement. There is a good
chance that the light would never turn green because the cars would never be
detected. It did turn green, perhaps because of cars in the other lanes. Some
cars actually stop in the cross walk, and often slowly roll through the
crosswalk as the light approaches green. I thought that maybe these drivers
wanted a head start, like a drag racer; and that they would accelerate with
burning rubber when the light turned green. Not usually. This person who wants
a head start is often the slowest at accelerating, taking three or four blocks
to achieve the speed limit.
There are a lot of drivers who never budge (waiting for on-coming cars)
from their position behind the cross walk in a left turn lane, when the light
turns green. Some of them don't get to go at all, through the entire green
light. And then they either go or don't go during the red. It is perfectly
legal (and recommended in the driver manual) that you get out into the
intersection while waiting for a chance to make a left turn. That way, in the
worst of traffic conditions, two or three cars get to go before the red.
Here in town, you may wait for many minutes behind someone making a left
turn at a stop sign, onto a busy street (often four lane) during rush hour.
They need to find another route. They could probably get where they were going
faster by making a right-left-left-left-right.
If the cars ahead of you are stopped, and making a left, you can legally
pass them on the right, if there is room enough on the pavement, and if it is
safe. Many people seem to think that that is not an option.
Slow drivers cause accidents, although they are seldom the ones killed
or cited. A friend of mine would apparently feel justified to die in a fiery
crash trying to pass a slow driver, because it is not his fault. Of course the
law is not on his side. Montana is a big place, and we often have long
distances to travel. I recently was behind a 35 mph driver (good traction but
low visibility because of snowing) for about 50 consecutive miles. I was behind
him/her for over an hour. That was exhausting. Here in town, I occasionally am
behind someone driving 20 in a 25 zone. I even complain when people drive the
speed limit. Here in town there is an extra-long block, and if you drive 25 in
the 25 zone, you will probably not make the next light. 30 works just
right.
Many people do not signal. They often say that they signal when someone
is around who would benefit from their signal. Well, I find that this judgment
call is often in error. There is a driver or pedestrian ahead (that maybe you
didn't even notice), who would have crossed the street if he/she had seen you
signal. The driver behind you can better judge what to do if he/she knows that
the reason you slowed down is to turn. That bicycle rider that you don't see
passing you on the right won't be run over. I signal.
And then there is loud music, which makes my car vibrate, and which
drowns out my tape player. That probably has not caused any accidents. But it
is still a sign of stupidity. I made up this bumper sticker: Thanks for
sharing your stupid music.
Also see Four-Way Stops
(Simplified).
Addendum #1:
I drove down town to pick up a package. And I found a parking spot about
a block from the Post Office. I signalled right, and stopped alongside the car
that was ahead of the parking spot, and shifted into reverse. And the driver
behind me drove right up to about a foot from my bumper, so I couldn't back up.
I suspect that another car came up behind him. I do not give in to idiots like
him. I sat there waiting for him to move; I was going to wait all day. He
honked several times. Eventually, he passed me with squealing tires.
On US 93, South of Ronan MT, I was rapidly approaching a slow (about 30
mph for at least half a mile) car from the rear. I started to pass and the car
started a left turn, with no signal. We both came to a stop on the highway. He
let me continue my pass.
Last winter, I saw a car with about three feet of snow on the top. The
car came to a stop at a red light, and about 200 pounds of snow slid off the
top and covered the windshield. The lady had to get out, in the middle of a
busy four-lane street to shovel snow off her windshield. I think that was
stupid (and funny) as can be.
Addendum #2:
I encountered a lady parked in a right turn lane. She was reading a
newspaper, and there were about ten cars behind her signaling right. I told
someone that I wished I knew this lady's name, so I could publish it here. It
was suggested that her name was Parker. Not bad.
Speaking of parkers, I walked through a parking lot, and counted seven
cars with their sun shades (the ones that cover almost the entire windshield)
up, and facing north. The sun is south, here in the Northern Hemisphere. They
are getting little benefit from their sun shades. And many of them show the
"Need help, call police" side. That should be illegal, when you don't need
help. Besides, these sunshades usually have a glossy side and a "Need help,
call police" side. The glossy side reflects the sunshine much better, and cools
the car better.
Today in a line of vehicles behind a stop sign, I saw a lady pull up to
within a foot of a city snowplow. And her car got sanded, not very badly I'm
afraid. The sign on the truck said to say back 50 feet. I'm going to get me one
of those sand sprayers.
On the highway, where nobody can pass, it should be a crime to hold back
more than seven or eight vehicles. They should be able to push you off the road
(or call in an air strike).
I was following a car that drove all the way through town (about three
miles) with the brakes on. I eventually thought that the car had especially
bright tail lights. But just at the far end of town, the driver took his/her
foot off the brake to accelerate. Here in Montana, in the winter, people set
their idle to keep the cold engine from dying. But driving great distances with
the brakes on seems stupid to me.
Addendum #3:
Every winter I see a car or two, driving at night, with the headlights
completely blocked with snow. I suppose they wonder why it is so dark out. Well
this winter, there seems to be an epidemic. I've seen dozens of them. Are they
getting stupider, or is there just more snow?
Addendum #4:
Tonight, I nearly had an accident. A driver was in
front of me on a busy street, and was stopped, apparently going to turn, maybe
left, maybe waiting for the car coming from the opposite direction in the other
lane. The stopped car was not signalling and edged over to the right curb,
stopping a bicycle trying to pass on the right. It soon became obvious that she
was turning left, apparently into the gas station on the left. However, she was
not going into the gas station, but was trying to make a U-turn (see diagram on
the left, where I am in the blue car, and she is in the red car). She was
actually backing up as I went around her. I had no clue what she was trying to
do, until I saw her backing up. She backed in front of a motorcycle which
stopped and honked. And she completed her U-turn, no harm, no foul.
I have witnessed people backing out into a busy street, and blocking
both lanes of traffic. And those people had a parking lane that they could have
backed into instead. Actually, backing into a busy street (or highway where it
is probably illegal, but I have seen that too) may occasionally be necessary,
as it may be the only way to get out. But you try to avoid it, and you wait for
your chance to perform this maneuver, don't you? Well, some people just blunder
right out there. I haven't seen any collisions during this process,
yet.
See StopDriving.org, a
bulletin board about bad drivers.
I guess the worst drivers of all are those who pull out in front of
speeding cars. Many of those have died in the process (or in the hospital).
This is one of the leading causes of death on the highway.
Several times, I have seen cars stopped on a busy street so the drivers
could talk to each other. Once, a long time ago, this was on a U.S. highway,
and I drove between them on my motorcycle.
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