bad drivers

One example that pissed me off today was a guy in an SUV. I was turning left on green, but there were a bunch of cars turning left in the other direction obstructing my view of oncoming traffic. Of course, this moron could see perfectly from his SUV, so he assumed I wasn't going because I couldn't see. So he honked. He did this for about two minutes straight until the other cars turning left cleared out and I could see. This guy either must have:

• Thought I could see. It was pretty obvious that I couldn't. Why would I be standing there if I could?
• Thought he was telling me "It's all clear, go." Yeah, like I'm going to trust my life to a complete stranger.
  People should learn to be more considerate on the road. Driving in heavy traffic is annoying enough already without the jerks.

Back when I was in college, I had a 1985 Audi 4000S - my first car. I loved that car. Power windows, Power door locks, power sunroof, etc.

Anyway, here I am driving on Shady Hills Rd., in Pasco County Florida on my way to Tampa. I reach the end of Shady Hills, and I have to turn left on to State Road 52. Imagine a simple T-shaped intersection. Shady Hills ends at SR 52, and you can turn either left or right. There's a traffic light there. The traffic light is green, and turns yellow just as I pass into the intersection. It's raining, albeit a very light drizzle.

SMASH! (I remember saying "Shit!" aloud during impact.)

A seventeen year-old in a 1984 Cadillac decides he's going to be a man, and run the red light. With his girlfriend in the car. In the rain. He plows into my front left quarter panel, smashing the engine compartment in. My engine is still running, my radio is still playing ('Frozen' by Madonna), and my air conditioning is still pumping.

*I AM PISSED*

I get out of the car (unscratched), and the driver of the other car gets out too. "What the HELL was that?!" I yell. I lean on my car, heart pumping. I look over at the Cadillac, and notice his girlfriend in the car. I ask if they're both okay, and he tells me yes. Rain is pelting me in the head, and I look at my battered car. "My engine is fucked!" I say, but the other driver just apologizes profusely, while looking around stupidly. The police arrive, he admits to his mistake, and is cited for the accident. He drives away with a broken headlight and a dented bumper. My car ends up totaled. Nobody is hurt.

After the accident, I found out the other driver's mother started changing the story. She told her insurance company that he hit my car because the roads were slippery and he couldn't stop in time. Bullshit. He already admitted to the cop what he did. They were still liable anyway. Good.

I paid $3806.66 for that car, and it was worth every penny. Insurance companies could care less, however. Prudential took my car, paid me $1100.00, and told me to take a hike. The accident wasn't my fault, it was DOCUMENTED as an accident that wasn't my fault, and the bastards dropped my policy anyway.

3 lessons to be learned here:

• Always wear your seatbelt. God knows what would have happened to me if I didn't have it on. It would not have been good.
• Bad drivers are out there! I was powerless to prevent this accident. Don't think that you are solely in control of every situation.
• Prudential Sucks! I would rather have fixed and kept my nice Audi, than have to replace it with a Ford Tempo because my insurance company was a bunch of sleazy, money-hungry bastards.

Bad drivers come in two general categories. There are careless drivers and reckless drivers. These categories can be further broken down. Here are some examples:

Careless Drivers

Inexperienced Drivers : These are generally recently licensed teenagers, or people who for some reason have never really learned how to drive. They generally drive with a certain lack of confidence, and are somewhat easily distracted. They may have little appreciation for how important it is to keep eyes forward on the road, and may not check their blind spots (or use their turn signal) while changing lanes. If possible, it's best to pass them, otherwise keep plenty of distance to minimize getting into an accident in the event that they rear-end someone. Inexperienced drivers tend to get in rear-end and sideswipe collisions the most. I once had a carload of teenagers (being a teenager at the time myself) nearly run me off the road into a snowdrift by simply failing to check their blind spot and yield properly. About a month after I first got my license, I rear-ended someone myself, and quickly learned how important it is to "live in the moment" while driving; the present is all that matters, pay attention, because your life is literally at stake!

Elderly Drivers The stereotype that older people cannot drive has some basis in reality, but is not necessarily true in every case. There are some people who are way too old to be driving. Often they may use their turn signal, then fail to turn it off, but I've also had this happen with more median aged people as well. In every close call I've had with an elderly driver, it was a matter of them not checking their blind spot. Elderly drivers tend to drive at the speed limit or less; some drive ridiculously slow. If possible, pass them up, it should be easy. If not, don't harass them, they'll just go slower to piss you off.

Reckless Drivers

Irrational Speed Demons : I say "irrational" because I myself speed, and think that there is a time and a place for it. In my home state, there is technically only one absolute speed limit -- 75MPH. Sure, there are speed limit signs everywhere proclaiming 25 in a residential, 45 on main streets, 55 on highways, etc. But technically, you have the right to argue in court that the conditions were safe for you to drive whatever speed you were going. I personally think it's foolish to speed on anything with a speed limit of 35 or less. If it's that low, it's usually because there are many people present, and people can show bad judgement and it's your responsibility not to kill them for it. Vehicular homicide is no fun.

Irrational Speed Demons don't understand that it's unnecessary to ride someone's ass. If the traffic in front of you is going 35, you won't be going any faster than 35, whether you are five inches or five blocks away from the car in front of you. It makes no difference! So why not stay a few car lengths away, especially at high speeds? I constantly see people on the highway driving so fast and so close that they could easily be killed if traffic were to halt for any reason...and it does, sometimes. Shit happens. Be prepared. Especially while driving in snow, or driving in rain. Don't be an aggressive driver when it won't get you anywhere, and don't even think about it in bad conditions. You'll only make everybody else nervous, and they'll probably just go slower. And if you get tailgated by an Irrational Speed Demon, just go slower. Generally they will get the point. If they happen to be driving in an SUV with blinding headlights, flip your rearview mirror to cut it down to size. If they get more aggressive, there's no traffic in front of you, and it's safe enough to do so, pull to the shoulder and let them pass.

Confident Teenage Punk Drivers : Generally they have recently obtained a license, but are experienced enough to feel confident driving at high speeds. They are often Irrational Speed Demons, and may or may not be equipped with a car that is far too powerful to be trusted in their hands. Usually they are not as aggressive as stressed-out "I wanna go home" adult males driving oversized pick-up trucks, but they tend to blast annoying music loudly and may or may not be driving a car equipped with an aftermarket muffler or merely an exhaust tip designed to make their car sound as obnoxious as possible.

Defensive Driving

Your best bet when handling any case is to simply understand the concept of defensive driving. The best defensive driving strategy is simply a matter of keeping yourself aware of everything around you. Crazy, unexpected things can happen while driving, and everything can change in a fraction of a second. Use your mirrors and check your blind spot while changing lanes. Use your turn signal, and don't tailgate. Whether or not you believe in karma, the best way to drive is to drive cooperatively. Don't be antagonistic or oblivious. Be aware!

In the USA, there are two North-eastern cities, which are rivals on many counts, and who are considered to have some of the worst drivers - Boston and New York City. In an effort to both expound upon and narrow-down lordaych's very accurate and thourough write-up, I'd like to discuss my theories on these two notorious groups of drivers.

Simply put, the main difference between the driving abilities in these cities is such: New Yorkers are generally highly skilled drivers, they are just choosing to be assholes because....er....I don't know why. (Though, I'd be rude too, if I had to live in such an unpleasant place.) Bostonians behind the wheel are a whole other animal - the main hinderance these folks have is they just don't know how to drive. I'm not trying to pick on Boston drivers (I am one), but I can speak from experience that the driving exam in Massachusetts is a paltry excuse for a licensing exam.

New York City Drivers
I am convinced that NYC drivers (at least those that are actually licensed) are completely capable drivers - they must be to deal with driving in that city - they just choose, or are forced due to the stress of living in such cramped conditions, to be jerks. They will cut you off, forget what a "directional" is, and pretend they don't understand rotaries, just to name a few of their inconsideracies. In short, these drivers are controlled, educated maniacs.

Boston Drivers
Bostonians have an unsaid code when it comes to driving: "If I don't see you, you're not there. And I'm only looking straight ahead." This can account for much of the bad driving you will encounter in and around this city. However, the rest of the assholes on the road have an excuse (as flimsy as it is): we in Boston are not taught nor are we required to prove during our license exams that we can do such things as parallel park. Now this is crucial, as most all parking in and around Boston requires you to parallel park at some point if you want to avoid the outrageous fees garages charge. So, instead of even attempting to park correctly, many people just double-park next to another correctly-parked car, or they'll just stop in the middle of the road and put their hazzard lights on (and sometimes not even do that). These people have never been properly trained on how to conduct themselves behind the wheel of a car and they'll be damned if they're going to start learning now! Boston is one city which, in many cases, fears change. The city's old, it's crumbling, and damnit, we like it that way! So don't even try telling a Boston driver that perhaps he or she wants to refresh him or herself on the rules in the Massachusetts Driver's Manual. Trust me. I mentioned it to a crazy bitch this morning who got out of her car at a red light to yell at me for leaning on my horn when she quite obviously cut me off while I was getting off a rotary. She went ballistic. She even told me that if she'd had a gun she'd shoot me. What a pleasant way to start your day.

In computer technology, bad drivers are drivers that are poor performing, unreliable, buggy and/or lacking full support of the respective hardware's features.

Bad drivers are the bane of Linux use. This is not a fault of Linux itself, but rather with the hardware companies unwillingness to release their own drivers or provide enough technical information so proper drivers can be written. The most frequent problem with bad drivers under Linux isn't instability or bugs, it's lack of full support of the hardware's features. Most hardcore Linux users will not buy hardware that is known to have bad Linux support.

The problem isn't limited to Linux, Windows has more than its fare share of bad driver problems. This problem is most prevalent in video hardware; with new products being released on faster timetables, many get released with incomplete drivers. It has become generally accepted that the driver disk included with your video card is only good for the bundled software - the drivers on it are already ancient. Many hardware vendors realize this and it perpetuates the problem - they just assume by the time the hardware has been produced, boxed, shipped and sold, they'll have fully tested drivers available on their web site.

Some companies simply cannot produce good drivers at all. When S3 was still a player in the graphics card arena, the cards all suffered from VERY bad drivers. Many popular games had visual glitches or crashed, and to this day there are no GOOD drivers for the Savage4 or Savage2000 based S3 cards.