Distracted drivers

[Gunslinger808]

Man this is just unbelievable, on my way to the shop today I was watching to see what people behind the wheel were doing.
A full 90% were otherwise occupied doing everything but driving, and that's not a exaggeration.
Out of 30 I counted, 12 were on cell phones, 5 were eating, 5 were paying more attention to the passenger than the road, 2 were texting, 1 was reading (book not a map), 1 was smacking her kid in the back seat, and 1 was doing who knows what, looked like he had either dropped something or was performing an unnatural sex act on himself.
I mean these folks are doing this at 70+mph on the highway, no wonder my insurance rates are going up.
Idiots

ETA:
Of course I'm an idiot too, after all I was distracted by watching the other drivers.

[Guantes]

Nothing new to that, I see it even up here. I saw one the other day with a cell in one hand and a Starbucks in the other with a pinky around the wheel.

When you consider that most of them are barely competent even when paying attention, it does give you pause. I consider their driving ability equivalent to the gun owner who puts one box through the gun and puts it away in the drawer and figures they can shoot. One benefit is that it keeps you sharp watching out for them.

[David Williams]

Was riding my bike down I-10 inside of Houston the other day, heavy traffic but flowing at about 60-70mph.

I passed a lady holding her cigarette out her window with one hand, texting on her blackberry device with the other, and holding the steering wheel with her knee.

[Brownie]

They're just practicing their multi tasking.:eek:

Sometimes thats going to beat the snow birds out here who can't do anything but keep their eyes on the hood of their car till they hit someone/something just a foot in front of the grille.:rolleyes:

[DocH]

I was transporting a prisoner to another county a few years ago and passed a woman in her fifties.She had a novel lying up on the steering wheel reading it and driving with the other hand. Where were her eyes? ON THE BOOK. I couldn't believe it.The prisoner even commented.

I profile. If I see a blond woman,late thirties to mid forties,driving a Tahoe,I pull over and stop and let her have the road. They'll kill 'ya!:eek:

[Gunslinger808]

If I see a blond woman,late thirties to mid forties,driving a Tahoe,I pull over and stop and let her have the road.
My wife, and a picture of her ride, you done it now, just wait till she sees this thread!:D :

[Brownie]

Thats a great picture of Annarchy Kevin.

BTW-The open house Xmas party this year is Saturday Dec 15th, starts at 7pm. Hope you two can make it again this year.

[Gunslinger808]

Wouldn't miss it, give me a chance to catch up with you and Val.
Not to mention the usual gang like Beagles.
Need us to bring anything special?
I know you've always got it covered but I gotta ask.

[DocH]

OOPS!:o Yep.They'll kill ya.:D

Psst.Don't let her look.

[Gunslinger808]

Naw, your good with her.
Heck she's one of the first ones to complain about "bubble headed women drivers".

[RAM]

There are some crazies out there. A couple months ago I saw a woman (don't remember the hair color) with a cigarette in the left fingers and a coffee cup (cigg and cup both smokin/steemin!) in the right hand was lunch: sandwich then baby carrots then sandwich then celery, etc, etc! At least the cell phone was hands free, or she was just talking to her self!

I would have videoed it but I can't figure out the video thingie on the cell phone while I'm driving, I guess I'm retarded! :eek:

[Brownie]

There's a lot to be said for a woman who can multi-task guys;)

Takes practice, but some of them get pretty good:D

[Annarchy]

I profile. If I see a blond woman,late thirties to mid forties,driving a Tahoe,I pull over and stop and let her have the road. They'll kill 'ya!:eek:
LOL, I'll change lanes to get away from them myself. :eek:


Psst.Don't let her look.
Too late. :D


We saw an elderly man in his 80's or 90's on a cell phone, he was slowing down traffic next to the fast lane, causing people to swerve to miss him. He really seemed oblivious to his surroundings.

Scarry stuff out there.

[DocH]

Hi,Ann. Whew! Glad to know I'm not gonna get "chingunned'.:D

[RTBRANE]

When I was patrolling the Bay Area freeways during morning/evening commute times, I figured out that a minimum of 40% of the drivers were on a cell phone. That's not counting those reading maps, books, magazines, newspapers, looseleaf papers, laptops, and texting!

Phones are so distracting that I have witnessed drivers hitting large debris when they had no vehicles beside them, and a 100+ yds of sight line before hitting it. The surprised look as their vehicle hit/bounced over it, demonstrated they weren't seeing anything smaller than their own vehicle, if that.
Really bad news is that it has been calculated that 1600 people die per year due to cell phone distraction here in the US.

BTW, those Tahoes seem to tip pretty easy. I righted several stock wheel/tire Tahoes that fell over during maneuvers at freeway speeds. Most just slide after falling on the side. Usually don't even break the glass! Chain axle to axle (full 20ft chain), second chain middle of loop to truck bumper, get the slack out, dump the clutch and bring it up to the balance point and ease it past, let it drop on its own. Most get driven away, unless driver/passengers were not belted in.
With newer cars, most occupants walk away from crashes. Only those unbelted, or involved with big rigs, typically get transported to hospital.
Unless you really need the ground clearance, I would drop most SUV's about two inches with the springs. My old '86 4WD Bronco sat 2" lower than stock, and handled like a sports car.

Will

[I-want]

Last week I almost got killed on the way home from work on my motorcycle because a lady decided that reading a novel was more important than focusing on the road and almost ran me off the side of the freeway. when I honked at her to get her attention she had the nerve to give me the finger.:eek: :mad: