stupid drivers, and who are they?!!

[TEE]

how is there so many stupid and bad drivers on the roads? how are these people getting their license to drive like this. there should be a rule to have a road test every 3-5 years so some of these people could be taken care of and off the road.

[thebarber]

its all the maritimers in AB...

[dinamix]

you think alberta drivers are bad ? wait till come down here and see what a shitshow bc winters can be.

this is what i have to deal with ..

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/n...2-b01dcd2f4eff

[thebarber]

sorry, but the further east you go, the worse the drivers...

[mojoyaris]

My wife, from Japan, thinks we all drive on the wrong side of the road..........and she says the Vitz in Japan is a superior car to what we have here............and she thinks my car stinks and it made me a dumb driver.............not stupid, just dumb........

[voodoo22]

Guaranteed that Japanese drivers are on average much more skilled than us Canadians and anyone not thinking so has not driven around Japan. I'm sure the same applies to European drivers as well, but I have yet to travel there yet.

That being said, we're just too selfish here. The most dangerous driving I've seen to this point is the 401 in Toronto, where people think they can go 120 km/h + regardless of conditions.

[thebarber]

Originally Posted by voodoo22

Guaranteed that Japanese drivers are on average much more skilled than us Canadians and anyone not thinking so has not driven around Japan. I'm sure the same applies to European drivers as well, but I have yet to travel there yet.

That being said, we're just too selfish here. The most dangerous driving I've seen to this point is the 401 in Toronto, where people think they can go 120 km/h + regardless of conditions.

theres also being too cautious....like doing 80 on the 401

also ppl out here will slam on their brakes to let people out of driveways and to let people cross the road....

i would say that all in all people out here are too timid....but perhaps its a small-town mentality

[TEE]

right now the road conditions are the best they have been in a while. it has nothing to do with road conditions. these people need to "learn" how to drive again. some people think they're the only ones on the road. they have no courtesy.

[voodoo22]

Originally Posted by thebarber

theres also being too cautious....like doing 80 on the 401

We will never agree on that point and if you did my commute everyday you might think differently as I used to drive a lot differently under different circumstances.

One thing which we can't dispute is people going over 100 km/h are breaking the law. People going 80 km/h are not.

People passing on the shoulder or on the right, going from the express into merge lanes through solid lines to cut in front of traffic, not signaling lane changes, tail gating, weaving in and out, and driving slow in any lane other than the right lane are all breaking the law. People driving 80 km/h in the right lane on a 3 lane highway are not breaking the law.

I can't control how fast those idiotic people on the road want to drive who think the MAXIMUM posted speed limit is a suggestion, but I can control how fast I am going when/if things go wrong.

I choose to greatly increase my statistical chances of avoiding or surviving an accident by driving slower, using proper tires in the conditions (this means winter tires in the winter) and driving defensively, because I know I am not a perfect driver and I need to be vigilant about safety for mine and others sake.

People can be too timid to drive, but that is not the largest problem on our roads. It's the people who are too confident about their own abilities as a driver who think they can control any situation and need not worry about the laws of physics or the highway.

It has even been proven by traffic flow experts that if people drove slower that highway congestion would go away. Instead everyone is speeding up to go no where and clogging it all up. I often do not touch my brakes on my entire 50 km one way trip on the 401. You can think I'm being too cautious, or that I'm too timid, but that's just one more misconception that you share with other people who think they don't have to follow all of the rules on the road.

[thebarber]

touched a nerve? youre too easy, lol.

[devinlamothe]

Originally Posted by TEE

right now the road conditions are the best they have been in a while. it has nothing to do with road conditions. these people need to "learn" how to drive again. some people think they're the only ones on the road. they have no courtesy.

It's sad but true. There was a study done by psychologists and they basically found that people who drive aggressively treat their car as an extension of their living space, and therefore anyone who is getting in their way is just an obstacle and not a real person. This leads to people speeding, crazy lane changing, etc.

I tend to believe this as well, and to give you an example, we are in a suburb about 10 mins down a highway, where the posted limit is 80km/h. Honestly, NO ONE does the posted limit, everyone does about 110km/h. So far this winter, two people have died on this hwy, and a few have been sent to hospital for serious injuries. Do people still speed in the snow and ice? Yes.

All I have to say is W T F.

[voodoo22]

Originally Posted by thebarber

touched a nerve? youre too easy, lol.

Yesterday was definitely one of those days

[MUSKOKA800]

Originally Posted by voodoo22

We will never agree on that point and if you did my commute everyday you might think differently as I used to drive a lot differently under different circumstances.

One thing which we can't dispute is people going over 100 km/h are breaking the law. People going 80 km/h are not.

People passing on the shoulder or on the right, going from the express into merge lanes through solid lines to cut in front of traffic, not signaling lane changes, tail gating, weaving in and out, and driving slow in any lane other than the right lane are all breaking the law. People driving 80 km/h in the right lane on a 3 lane highway are not breaking the law.

I can't control how fast those idiotic people on the road want to drive who think the MAXIMUM posted speed limit is a suggestion, but I can control how fast I am going when/if things go wrong.

I choose to greatly increase my statistical chances of avoiding or surviving an accident by driving slower, using proper tires in the conditions (this means winter tires in the winter) and driving defensively, because I know I am not a perfect driver and I need to be vigilant about safety for mine and others sake.

People can be too timid to drive, but that is not the largest problem on our roads. It's the people who are too confident about their own abilities as a driver who think they can control any situation and need not worry about the laws of physics or the highway.

It has even been proven by traffic flow experts that if people drove slower that highway congestion would go away. Instead everyone is speeding up to go no where and clogging it all up. I often do not touch my brakes on my entire 50 km one way trip on the 401. You can think I'm being too cautious, or that I'm too timid, but that's just one more misconception that you share with other people who think they don't have to follow all of the rules on the road.

I'm sure people drive with reckless abandon in Ontario simply because our police dwell on speeding only. I'll bet 99% of OPP tickets are written for speeding while not a kilometre passes without seeing drivers who are too lazy/inconsiderate to use their signals for turns and lane changes, making double/triple lane changes, making left and right turns clear across multiple lanes, usually with no signal, yakking on phones and texting, obstructing the PASSING lane etc, etc, etc...
The only time we hear of any other infractions being ticketed is when they have the long weekend blitzes on the 400 series highways (do they still have those since the camera loving Cam Woolley retired). Too bad they ignore the chaos that goes on the other ~355 days of the year.
I agree we also badly need re-testing every 10 years of so. This should be followed by unanimous video surveillance and immediate licence suspension those who pass then return to their sloppy driving habits.
Driving is a privilege, not a right. Far too many abuse the privilege.

[thebarber]

i agree w/ retesting

i agree that i treat the car as an extension of my person, so get out of my bubble when i drive

i also recognize that i can drive like an asshole too.

i also have a wife and kid on the way...so ive made a concerted effort to stop drive like an dumbshit w/ the wife and kid (who isnt born yet) are in the car....playin it safe....but its a tough transition

[voodoo22]

Originally Posted by MUSKOKA800

I'm sure people drive with reckless abandon in Ontario simply because our police dwell on speeding only. I'll bet 99% of OPP tickets are written for speeding while not a kilometre passes without seeing drivers who are too lazy/inconsiderate to use their signals for turns and lane changes, making double/triple lane changes, making left and right turns clear across multiple lanes, usually with no signal, yakking on phones and texting, obstructing the PASSING lane etc, etc, etc...
The only time we hear of any other infractions being ticketed is when they have the long weekend blitzes on the 400 series highways (do they still have those since the camera loving Cam Woolley retired). Too bad they ignore the chaos that goes on the other ~355 days of the year.
I agree we also badly need re-testing every 10 years of so. This should be followed by unanimous video surveillance and immediate licence suspension those who pass then return to their sloppy driving habits.
Driving is a privilege, not a right. Far too many abuse the privilege.

Those are really good points.

[voodoo22]

Originally Posted by thebarber

i agree w/ retesting

i agree that i treat the car as an extension of my person, so get out of my bubble when i drive

i also recognize that i can drive like an asshole too.

i also have a wife and kid on the way...so ive made a concerted effort to stop drive like an dumbshit w/ the wife and kid (who isnt born yet) are in the car....playin it safe....but its a tough transition

It takes time to change. Took me many years to adjust my driving style and moving to Ontario took the adjustment one step further. You can actually feel danger on roads around here and see people in accidents every single day. Today I drove around 3 accidents on my way to work. I'm sure at least one of them was fatal.

Seeing and living through stuff like that makes you change, but IMO only gradual change is sustainable, overnight change will see you bounce back to your bad habits eventually.

[TEE]

Originally Posted by devinlamothe

It's sad but true. There was a study done by psychologists and they basically found that people who drive aggressively treat their car as an extension of their living space, and therefore anyone who is getting in their way is just an obstacle and not a real person. This leads to people speeding, crazy lane changing, etc.

I tend to believe this as well, and to give you an example, we are in a suburb about 10 mins down a highway, where the posted limit is 80km/h. Honestly, NO ONE does the posted limit, everyone does about 110km/h. So far this winter, two people have died on this hwy, and a few have been sent to hospital for serious injuries. Do people still speed in the snow and ice? Yes.

All I have to say is W T F.

wow thats crazy. some people need to think more about the road conditions and react to them properly. i dont see a need to speed that drastically in conditions as bad as that.

[Pars]

Not in my area, it's 365 days and one wrong move and the Toronto police is on my ass. I've got 6 Starbucks surrounding my house that are about 2 min drive away. If i'm not passing a police cruiser on the way to Starbuck, I'll end up meeting them in the line-up for coffee (luckly, It's not a police line-up).

I think Toronto, specifically the Markham/Scarborough area have the worst drivers and the police presents in that area is scares. Go figure.

If the world was a perfect place, there wouldn't be any bad drivers, we just need to learn to keep our cool and keep our distance. Personally, speeding/speeders don't annoy me. In fact, I like being passed by a speeder and am quick to get out of their way.....less chance for me to get pulled over when there's someone going faster.

The really annoying drivers are the ones who are going slower then the rest of the traffic and hogging the left lane. In those situation, I'll just hang back and watch the entertainment while someone tries futilely to get them to move and wait for an opening. Then there's the people who are going too fast for conditions. In the city area, when the road gets slick, I'm the one who's passing everyone, but up north, in the snow country, I'm either mid pack or slower. Which is alright since I'm around drivers who are experienced. Not so in the city, if they're trying to pass me, I put them in the idiot category and give them lots of space. If it's a two wheeler, I'll go down on the accelerator and leave them behind (I don't want the idiots trying to pass me and then spinning out in front of me or side swiping me). If it's another 4 wheeler, I'll back off and let them pass and then get them to clear the way for me. Especially in very heavy snow where my lighter SUV won't cut through the snow as well a heavier SUV, but around the turns, I'm just as nimble as the cars, and got the traction control and 4 wheel drive in reserve if I overdue it.