One of the reasons I don't like to turn on the news.

[RTTBLT1]

While watching my local news this morning, seen this Envoy....These poor people just trying to commute had there lives taken from yet another bone head driver. Sad

http://fox4kc.com/2017/05/12/police...n-platte-city-crash-that-claimed-three-lives/

Stay safe out there everyone. It's dangerous just to leave your home anymore.

Hope everyone is doing well here and have a great day.

 

[Mooseman]

As good and as solid as these trucks are, nothing can protect you from that much devastation. 75MPH and not wearing a seatbelt? Just a stupid reckless person. Surprised he survived his own stupidity. Hope they charge him with manslaughter.

 

[Tiggerr]

Vehicular homicide would be my choice...
I tell you what, I drive for a living and I see so much stupid shite out there it's unreal!!
It's wonder there aren't more fatalities than there already are out there!

Number one issue is situational awareness! No-one pays any attention to anything around them. Mirrors are just another piece of chrome to most people anymore! Never looking behind or beside themselves....

Diver education is seriously lacking in this world! With all the tech we have there should be simulators like pilots use for all types of vehicles so people can get some understanding of what's going on around them and see how their stupidity affects others around them.

People have no clue how close to dying they come everyday!
Cutting in and out of traffic and tailgating are two of the worst!

Never mind diving in front of a semi and hitting their brakes..

I could rant all day about this! Lol!
Been driving semis for 20 yrs...

 

[littleblazer]

I'm forever checking my mirrors because I don't trust anyone. My friends call me paranoid.

 

[Redbeard]

Of the many good lessons I was taught driving was ALWAYS HAVE an OUT - a place you can drive away from injuring other...aka the Ditch etc. Look for the path of least resistance. And watching the youtube crash video's the oncoming traffic lane is not a good choice either! Even if it looks "empty" and clear of any traffic. Thankfully that option was never entered my head either. Accident free for the past 37 years or so. Keep your wits about you as you are driving about today!

 

[RTTBLT1]

I'm forever checking my mirrors because I don't trust anyone. My friends call me paranoid.

Your not alone, my family & friends say the same about me. Its just madness everywhere you go now days.

@littleblazer, don't let anyone make you feel like your doing wrong with your driving habits. Better safe than sorry. We need more drivers on road who pay attention instead we are stuck commuting with people that doesn't care.

Just a couple weeks ago my 06 Impala was rear-ended by a young girl not paying attention...

Suppose to look like this...

And her car, of course it was a ford! ...

The wife was driving the impala and thankfully no one was injured. Just dealing with all the Insurance and body shop stuff.

 

[Tiggerr]

I'm forever checking my mirrors because I don't trust anyone. My friends call me paranoid.

Being paranoid on the road will keep you alive! At least it gives you a fighting chance!

 

[littleblazer]

Don't get me wrong I've had a few close calls, the in the land rover racing the ambulance that almost lost it around a turn that I had to swerve for and I then almost drove into the back of the guy in front of me who stopped because of the ambulance. Had I not been avoiding the other guy I would have saw him but I also swerved for him and came to rest on the shoulder. I've also almost t-boned people blowing stop signs. I always look when I see an intersection that has them on the cross street for that very reason. Stay alert stay alive is what I live by. All of these incidents happened in Lakewood NJ. Look it up and you'll understand. Driving through there as often as I do it is only a matter of time. I don't discriminate but that particular population there can't drive worth a damn.

 

[carshinebob]

This was me nine years ago. I was stopped waiting to make a left turn when I was hit by a new impala doing 50mph. The driver was in his company car, cruise control on, working on his laptop. The damage doesn't look too bad until you realize my spare wheel was broke in half and the third seat was in pieces all over the inside. My drivers seat was touching the second row seat because the floor were my seat was bolted down came up and bent back with the seat. The Impala wrecked all its sheet metal all the way to the dash board and the engine and fire wall were in he dash. Lucky no one was seriously hurt, but I was a sitting duck with no where to go. I've often thought if I was driving a small car it could have been the end of me. ~BOB

 

[Mounce]

Had a wreck when I first got my license and it really opened my eyes. Try to stay more focused and not rubber - neck which is what caused my wreck anyways.

And now I get some kind of kick out of watching crash videos on YouTube so I've seen hundreds of different situations and try to make mental notes of what the scenarios look like and how to avoid.

Worst thing around here is phone usage. It's recently been banned but it's barely enforced it seems. That or just not enough cops to properly enforce it.

 

[Tiggerr]

Had a wreck when I first got my license and it really opened my eyes. Try to stay more focused and not rubber - neck which is what caused my wreck anyways.

And now I get some kind of kick out of watching crash videos on YouTube so I've seen hundreds of different situations and try to make mental notes of what the scenarios look like and how to avoid.

Worst thing around here is phone usage. It's recently been banned but it's barely enforced it seems. That or just not enough cops to properly enforce it.

Honestly when they criminalized the phone use, they made it 1000% worse!
Used to be people would at least look at the phone and road at the same time holding the phone up... now they're looking down trying to hide it and not at the road at all!

If you like ghouling out at dumb wrecks? @littleblazer check out twisted truckers lol
big fun

 

[littleblazer]

I can talk on a phone and drive. I never dare to text though. That's just wrong. No worse than using a cb back in the day.

I like watching the mustang fails on YouTube.

 

[Mooseman]

I can talk on a phone and drive. I never dare to text though. That's just wrong. No worse than using a cb back in the day.

I like watching the mustang fails on YouTube.

I'm sorry but you are a danger to others on the road.

We think we can multi task but we can't, pure and simple. It's a myth, a fallacy. Let me ask you this: how many times were you talking on the phone and you missed a turn or off-ramp?

And a CB is different is because you are not engaged in a long conversation.

'Nuff said.

 

[littleblazer]

I'm sorry but you are a danger to others on the road.

We think we can multi task but we can't, pure and simple. It's a myth, a fallacy. Let me ask you this: how many times were you talking on the phone and you missed a turn or off-ramp?

And a CB is different is because you are not engaged in a long conversation.

'Nuff said.

Yet to miss a turn. How is talking hands free worse than talking to the passenger? Not trying to start a fight or anything as I rarely do it. I usually wait until I get to a job or where I'm going but sometimes I push the little button because it's work related.

 

[Mooseman]

There is a reason it's called the "new impaired" driving. Texting is deadly as your eyes are totally off the road. Talking is distracting no matter the type. It really depends on how engaging the conversation is. Work is definitely not engaging, LOL!

However, laws see it differently. Here, it's $490 + 3 demerit points (and ensuing insurance hike with that). You can't even use it at a stop light or have the screen visible to you while driving (i.e. a phone holder).

People are always resistant to being forced or told what to do. Look at seat belts. The same uproar happened when laws were adopted in the 80's and people refused to follow them. Would you drive without one these days?

 

[littleblazer]

I know people that do actually. Kind of sad. But no matter what, the road is my first priority. Eyes never leave even to adjust the radio or something or anything. It is a very rare occurrence that I do. And when I do I pay particular attention to mirrors and cross streets for the very reason I don't want anything popping out at me.

The law is more or less the same here. I think it's like ticket and points the first time and then the second you lose your licence. Always found it funny that half the times you pull up to a light the cop is on the phone though. Just like how we can't have window tint because it impairs vision but they can have limo tint all around.

 

[Mooseman]

I know that here, cops are exempt. Still doesn't look good though.

 

[$ Khalid ! 9130]

You guys should see what goes on here. People are on their phones as if they are at home. I have seen people video chat on their phones while driving. Its like I need to pay more attention while driving to figure out whos on their phone and to be ready on the horn for as soon as they start weaving

 

[Mooseman]

You know which ones are on their phones. They drive like drunks.

 

[littleblazer]

You know which ones are on their phones. They drive like drunks.

I think they drive worse tbh. Drunks are a smooth sway. People who text jerk all over. It's really scary to watch.

 

[TollKeeper]

I will be the first to admit that distracted driving is an epidemic. As a truck driver, I see other people driving down the roads watching movies, porn, getting a BJ, texting, putting on makeup, shaving, and a host of other things. The only benefit I have ever gotten was getting to see alot of BOOBS! but I digress..

This is my accident back in 07, in a hard driving rain. I was the lead vehicle in a 5 car pile up. I was driving about 10 mph on a interstate going around a 2 car accident that was blocking the middle lane, and half of the fast and slow lane. I was driving a 06 Subaru B9 Tribeca, the car behind me was a OLD Honda CRX, and then comes the car that caused it all, a mid 90s Mercury Mountainer, who never hit his brakes, and they guessed was doing 10-15 over the posted 65mph speed limit.

The driver of the Merc? a 13 year old girl who took mommys car out. Mommy couldnt stop her, she was in jail, and no daddy in the picture.

The rear trunk surround of the honda is touching the drivers seat, it was so hard of an impact.








I was the only one able to drive my car home. And of the rest, who didnt leave by ambulance.

The moral of the story... Drive the car, and road. If your not, your gonna die!

 

[shovenose]

Here's my observation: Even talking on the phone hands-free makes a huge difference to driving style. I have a friend who was an EMT and frequently drove Ambulances at high speeds no doubt while talking/distracted, and still today when I'm driving with him in a regular car, he often talks on the phone when driving. He is convinced that he isn't distracted, but I can totally tell, as the passenger, how different his driving is. Not staying centered in the lane, inconsistent speeds, slower reactions to other cars cutting him off, etc. and that's hands-free talking, not texting and looking at the phone. People call me all the time when I'm driving and even though I have Bluetooth, I tell them, I can't talk, I'm driving, I'll call you when I get home. People don't understand...

Now, that doesn't mean I never use my phone and drive. I frequently use my phone for navigation, but that's what a phone mount is for, it's no different than a GPS. I will admit that I may or may not text or read emails when in the drivers seat, but if I were to do that I would would always do it when stopped at a red light... I know that's not much better but if I'm driving, all I'm doing, is driving. Now, messing with the music/radio, I definitely need to work on that...

 

[$ Khalid ! 9130]

Now, messing with the music/radio, I definitely need to work on that...

Don't we all

 

[Mooseman]

The problem with using the phone to talk, hand held or hands free, is when you're engaged in a long conversation unlike a short work communication. You get engrossed in the topic and a lot of times, emotional. That's when you lose all concentration on driving. I've seen one guy, while talking on the phone, almost hit a median sign at a lane split, driving straight towards it instead of just picking a lane, then having to back up towards incoming traffic and make the turn.

And please don't tell me that doing anything at a red light is any better. I've seen people stopped at a red light go through an entire cycle, missing the green and moving on the amber because they missed the green. And then doing it again at the next light. That or they get honked to death (which could turn into a beating) to get them to move. And they wonder why road rage is on the rise.

 

[littleblazer]

Changing the radio station is muscle memory at this point lol. I spent like ten minutes sitting in a driveway (waiting for a pool to drain) looking at the gate and just raising my hand to adjust. Same with the hvac and rear wiper eyes don't even leave the road to make adjustments anymore. Meanwhile I have friends that almost die trying to change the volume level... even with steering wheel controls....

 

[Mooseman]

Meanwhile I have friends that almost die trying to change the volume level... even with steering wheel controls....

That's the problem I have in the Saab as it is an Android unit with all touch buttons, including the volume. The one I just installed in the TB has buttons so it's much easier.

But yeah, that's another thing that hasn't been helping. Auto makers making controls so complicated, you have to read the manual and can't just "reach" for a particular control. That reminds me that I was once bumped from behind at a red light. Driving a new Ford truck, this woman inched into me while she was futzing with the radio and her phone. No real damage but I just tore a strip off of her. She could have just as easily done the same to a pedestrian.

 

[littleblazer]

That's the problem I have in the Saab as it is an Android unit with all touch buttons, including the volume. The one I just installed in the TB has buttons so it's much easier.

But yeah, that's another thing that hasn't been helping. Auto makers making controls so complicated, you have to read the manual and can't just "reach" for a particular control. That reminds me that I was once bumped from behind at a red light. Driving a new Ford truck, this woman inched into me while she was futzing with the radio and her phone. No real damage but I just tore a strip off of her. She could have just as easily done the same to a pedestrian.

That's one of the reasons I got a standard double din. Once you go away from physical it's very hard to control. What's even more annoying is they lock out the screen once it's in drive so the passenger is out of luck for control lol.