Learn How to Drive/Passenge/Pedest

[DownInFlames]

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

I do 200 km of highway driving a day just to get to work and back. I love the ######s that pull out onto the highway in front of you causing you to slam on your breaks to avoid crashing into them at 100 kph. I usually get one of these frackers everyday but the other day as it was snowing and icy I had THREE idiots do this.

I can't stand how ignorant people are about road safety and other drivers on the road. It's like as soon as they turn onto the highway the world now revolves around them. These morons have no concept of their actions and how it makes everyone behind the them either has to slam on their breaks or slow down to 60 kph for 2 km until the ###### hits cruising speed.

People, if you pull out onto the highway and the person behind you has to apply their breaks you have made an unsafe turn onto the highway and you should punch yourself in the batteries.

What highway? I drive as much as you do and this rarely happens to me. I'm always looking far ahead anticipating what people are going to do. I think I've had to slam on the brakes once or twice in 15 years.

[algernon]

I love the ######s that do 200 km of highway driving a day just to get to work and back.
I can't stand how ignorant people are about road safety their actions towards mother earth.

I understand not wanting to live in Edmonton, but 10 hours a week commuting? Are you effing crazy? What kind of existence is that?

You should punch yourself in the batteries.

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz

But there definitly does seem to be a pretty strong correlation between between talking about how good someone is at driving/how bad everyone else is/how they are safer speeding than doing the speed limit, and stories about how other crappy drivers almost caused accidents that could only be avoided by the story teller's smart thinking/keen driving skills.

This is called the Dunning-Kruger effect, and its been observed and measured.

In essence, people with weaker skills in a given task are more likely to overrated their ability, while those with superior skill are more likely to underrate their ability. The interesting part is that the worse you actually are, the more highly you tend to overrate.

I too drive lots for my job, a minimum of 2x what a normal 9-5'er does, and often 3x in a day. I certainly don't see or experience the number of near misses of the more "advanced" drivers here either.

[Rhettzky]

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

I too drive lots for my job, a minimum of 2x what a normal 9-5'er does, and often 3x in a day. I certainly don't see or experience the number of near misses of the more "advanced" drivers here either.

I don't get it. Half the people in this thread brag about their driving skills and then go on to say that people who think they have these skills are usually crap drivers.

I also don't get this sentiment... "I drive way more then the average driver, therfore, my skills are better." We have a secretary at work that has been at her job for 17 years and she is a terrible secretary. Doing something crappily for large amounts of time does not make you an expert.

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by Rhettzky

I don't get it. Half the people in this thread brag about their driving skills and then go on to say that people who think they have these skills are usually crap drivers.

I also don't get this sentiment... "I drive way more then the average driver, therfore, my skills are better." We have a secretary at work that has been at her job for 17 years and she is a terrible secretary. Doing something crappily for large amounts of time does not make you an expert.

I didn't claim either. I'm saying that I'm on the road a ton, and don't see any of the near miss, brake-slamming events of the drivers on here who claim to be superior, even though I'm exposed to more road time than the average driver, and therefore should. I made no claim either way about my skill, which certainly falls, along with everyone else, somewhere in the massive average part of the range.

It's like the people claiming to be super skilled are a magnet for near-miss and brake slamming events.

[algernon]

My largest peeve is the mouth breathers who impact freely flowing traffic, whether it be from improper nutrition in the womb, or phone use.

Protip: If you cause another driver to use their brakes, you are driving poorly, both from a courtesy and defensive driving point of view.

[Burninator]

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

I do 200 km of highway driving a day just to get to work and back. I love the ######s that pull out onto the highway in front of you causing you to slam on your breaks to avoid crashing into them at 100 kph. I usually get one of these frackers everyday but the other day as it was snowing and icy I had THREE idiots do this.

When I was younger our family took a trip to the Maritimes and on a 100kph highway there was someone that backed out onto the highway and didn't even look. We had to swerve to avoid t-boning them. Our families reaction went from gasps of impending doom to all out rage at their idiocy.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by pylon

Keep em comin, I don't care. Some funny stuff actually.

I was just making relative comparisons. I have been lucky enough to have the opportunity to experience some driving and riding clinics that 99% of people will never get a chance to do, by default of where I have worked, and it was certainly an eye opener. Being in a Porsche GT3, flat out, with a professional driver on an international race track certainly changes your perspective on driving "skill". There isn't a scary ride scarier than what those guys are capable of doing with a performance car.

The neat thing is, when you go to combined events put on my a manufacturer, where the drivers give you track and street demo's, These guys are some of the most mundane obedient drivers the second they hit a public roadway.

I don't for a second think I am the worlds greatest driver, but I certainly have learned a ton of performance driving techniques that most people would never learn, simply by being in the right place at the right time and investing a few bucks. At one point in time motor sports was one of my first loves, so much so I saved for a year to spend 5 days at the Skip Barber open wheel clinic. Make fun of me all you want, but the stuff you learn there, isn't the stuff they teach you at the AMA, and a ton of it can carry over to improve your everyday driving skills.

So the rest of the world isn't allowed to have an opinion on driving until they've sat in a porche with Skip Barber (a professional driver I assume)? I guess all our hockey opinions are worthless as well, unless we've played shinny with Iggy?

When I was a kid I took five piano lessons from a pro. I guess that makes me the best piano player in the CP community?


Anyway, here's a new rant for a new day... People that refuse to put down their #$%@#$&^&$%$#%^ cell phones to perform a maneuver like a left turn or exiting a parking lot. You're stuck behind this a-hole, watching their haed go back and forth, hand plastered to the ear, big giant space a-coming.....wait for it.....GO! GO!....... Then they'll lurch forward three inches and hit the brakes because the opportunity dried up.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by Burninator

When I was younger our family took a trip to the Maritimes and on a 100kph highway there was someone that backed out onto the highway and didn't even look. We had to swerve to avoid t-boning them. Our families reaction went from gasps of impending doom to all out rage at their idiocy.

Clearly that's your dad's fault. He should have anticipated that. He should have seen the driver's head in the window and known full well that he was going to back onto the highway. Either that, or else your dad drives too much. Either way, his fault.

[The Yen Man]

Originally Posted by Torture

Maybe they're trying to tell you to stop tailgating them.

Trust me, I don't tail anyone, especially not those guys. I leave enough room in case sporadic braker decides to slam on the brakes for no good reason.

It's not really an annoyance more than just an observation. I just laugh at how moronic those guys look on the road. It's like they're driving granny style, they can't judge the speed in front of them, and so they gas too much, brake, gas, brake, repeat.

[algernon]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

Trust me, I don't tail anyone, especially not those guys. I leave enough room in case sporadic braker decides to slam on the brakes for no good reason.

It's not really an annoyance more than just an observation. I just laugh at how moronic those guys look on the road. It's like they're driving granny style, they can't judge the speed in front of them, and so they gas too much, brake, gas, brake, repeat.

I often see this behaviour on the Calf Robe bridge, causing slow downs and congestion for no reason.
If I was the boss, I'd outlaw automatic transmissions. This would limit the phantom breaking syndrome, and remove poorly trained drivers who can't drive stick.

[JustAnotherGuy]

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

I do 200 km of highway driving a day just to get to work and back. I love the ######s that pull out onto the highway in front of you causing you to slam on your breaks to avoid crashing into them at 100 kph. I usually get one of these frackers everyday but the other day as it was snowing and icy I had THREE idiots do this.

I can't stand how ignorant people are about road safety and other drivers on the road. It's like as soon as they turn onto the highway the world now revolves around them. These morons have no concept of their actions and how it makes everyone behind the them either has to slam on their breaks or slow down to 60 kph for 2 km until the ###### hits cruising speed.

People, if you pull out onto the highway and the person behind you has to apply their breaks you have made an unsafe turn onto the highway and you should punch yourself in the batteries.

You are driving on the highway and you see a car that is waiting to turn onto the highway. What do you do?

1. Continue driving as you were and compleletly ignore them?
2. Continue driving while keeping an eye on them as you move over to the left in your lane?
3. Safely change into the left hand lane?

I can only assume you are doing option 1.

[Pinner]

All too often people create their own problems, ie: not backing off or changing lanes. They exaggerate the situation to have an excuse to get mad and relieve stress from a different situation in their day/life.

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by algernon

remove poorly trained drivers who can't drive stick.

Wait, so you're automatically a poor driver if you can't drive stick? Wow.

[The Yen Man]

This is just my opinion, but I think driving stick shift forces people to be more aware of their surroundings. Automatic cars often cause people to go on "autopilot" more often.

Of course, if you already suck driving automatics, then I would not want you driving a manual car and panicking because you don't know how handle stick shift.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Mazrim

Wait, so you're automatically a poor driver if you can't drive stick? Wow.

Pretty much.

[Coach]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

This is just my opinion, but I think driving stick shift forces people to be more aware of their surroundings. Automatic cars often cause people to go on "autopilot" more often.

Of course, if you already suck driving automatics, then I would not want you driving a manual car and panicking because you don't know how handle stick shift.

I agree. I feel like driving stick is a very good skill for a person to know, but obviously not necessary as you can always have an automatic car. But i do indeed think it helps a person be more aware of what theyre doing while driving.

[algernon]

What Yen man said.
Driving with a manual transmission allows for more control through down shifting, and keeps your head "in the game".

I'm sure there are Professional Drivers (Maybe even the legendary Skip Barker) who can't drive standard, though.

[Mazrim]

I drive stick, and I hate the condescending attitude stick drivers give people who drive automatic. I've seen bad drivers in all shapes and forms, and knowing how to drive a standard doesn't seem to stop kids from using their cell phones while driving or make them drive properly in snowy conditions.

The assumption that every person who drives automatic is bad is pretty narrow minded, although I shouldn't be surprised given this whole thread.

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

This is just my opinion, but I think driving stick shift forces people to be more aware of their surroundings. Automatic cars often cause people to go on "autopilot" more often.

Or, it could be that automatic transmissions reduce driver workload and fatigue, allowing them to be more attentive to road conditions.

Either argument is BS and you know it.