My kid’s just finished the classroom part of driver education and it prompted a discussion of crazy things we’ve seen other drivers do.
The craziest thing I saw, many years ago now, was I came up behind a guy driving a Ford Ranger pickup and could see through his rear window that he was doing tricep extensions with a dumbbell in his right hand. I was more surprised as I passed to see he was shaving with an electric razor in his left hand. I don’t really know how he was steering.
Kiddo said they were told personal grooming was the fourth leading cause of accidents.
Having a slap fight with the passenger in the back seat. On the highway.
Was also in a car where the driver was rolling a joint while steering with his knee.
While stopped at a red light, a taxi casually got onto the right sidewalk and drove on it to get to the front of the line.
I’d give an A for dedication to customers I guess.
Next we’ll be learning taxis are amphibious.
Just last week, a car had missed their turn on the motorway, so decided to REVERSE up the hard shoulder.
Reminds me of a saying I heard: “Good drivers sometimes miss their turn. Bad drivers never miss their turn.”
I can’t agree more. I always say if you miss a turn or get in the wrong lane then “own your mistake and go around”
Too many times I see someone got in the wrong lane so they turn on their signal and wait or just plow over to the lane they wanted and cut others off. Nobody understands the solid white line. If it’s sold white you can’t cross it!
I see this shit far too often. It makes me wonder if they’re aware their gps can get them rerouted without having to risk their or anyone else’s necks.
I’ve seen elderly folks do that a few times. Not on the shoulder, but still in their lane, backing up into oncoming traffic. (Yes, I did spend some time living in Florida.)
On Sunday there was a crash blocking an Autobahn. 50 cars turned around and drove back to the nearest exit, on the emergency lane kept free for the ambulance.
I was with my uncle (ca 1990) when he confidently took an offramp and got onto the I5 freeway going the wrong direction in an RV.
Bad enough with the wrong way, but in an RV is so much worse!
I was on a highway doing around 60 when the car in front of me suddenly spun around in a 360 and stopped. Luckily they were some distance in front and there was no other traffic. When I passed, it was a teenage boy in the passenger and his grandmother driving. She was yelling at him and reaching down between them trying to do something. I think he had pulled the e-brake just to see what would happen.
Dude let the intrusive thoughts win.
one morning I was headed to school and I witnessed this one car driving a little erratically while on the highway, I managed to get past them but kept an eye on my rear mirror, less than a minute later they slammed into another car causing a crash.
In case you didn’t realize, this is why the safest place is behind erratic drivers.
I’ve seen a lot of bad things. But one that has always stuck with me was a guy studying.
I’m not talking about glancing down at a book. He had a textbook propped up on his steering wheel and was using a highlighter to mark in the book.
Pittsburgh has some of the worst drivers I’ve ever seen. Running red lights and waiting for yield signs to turn green is the norm there. I’ve seen at least 5 accidents caused by a Pittsburgher stopping at the end of an entrance ramp to a highway.
Unfortunately my car was finally sent to the body shop after 7 years dodging people, and 3 months from leaving the city by a lady who decided to make a left turn from the right lane. Luckily I always have a dashcam running, no one was hurt and the police wrote her a ticket. This lady was a high level Karen, and went ballistic when I asked if she was ok after she crashed into me. Best part was when her husband showed up 10mins later and apologized to me for his, “dumbass wife” who just knocked the mirrors off his truck.
In the car: lady fully putting on mascara in a rainstorm
With a car: also raining, guy speeding doing 100 in a 65 with no lights on. Wife pulls the car onto the highway and he almost hits us, jerks left and 360s in this long, slow (in my memory it’s slow, probably happened in like 4 seconds) spin and comes to a dead stop facing perfectly forward and in the dirt of the median. Watched him turn on his lights and start to pull forward before we were out of sight
I was rear ended while waiting to make a left turn on a rural highway. We got out and look at the car behind us. The windshield is completely splattered in red. It was two guys eating chips and a bowl of salsa.
Someone curling their eyelashes while driving 65mph
that’s wild i’m scared to curl mine with both elbows on the table. One wrong move…
I’m the same way, I wouldn’t even try it if I was a passenger in a car
exercising while driving is a classic technique for keeping yourself awake
Seen too much shit.
People driving and: texting, watching movies, reading with books or newspapers pinned to the steering wheels, working on a laptop with those steering wheel laptop holders, applying makeup, shaving. Sometimes more than one of these things at a time.
The cellphone video/text/surfing is a multiple times a day occurrence. People drive with their phones in their hands and use them all the damn time.
Seen two people deceased, one hit while attempting to cross a busy road well away from a crossing area, another thrown from the car after rolling it because they’d clipped a car while they were speeding and weaving through traffic.
People backing up in breakdown lanes on freeways to make an exit. People crossing multiple lanes rapidly, cutting off other cars, to avoid missing an exit. People OUI weaving in a lane. People nearly coming to a full stop in traffic to avoid missing an exit or turn.
Yeah, think that’s most of it. I’m sure I’ve forgotten some. I’m sure I’ll see more tomorrow.
working on a laptop with those steering wheel laptop holders
Remember when they were an onion-style joke to begin with?
police SUV tearing ass around a busy strip mall parking lot at night with its lights off
not just the police lights, also the headlights and running lights.
thing was completely dark while the cop was driving super aggressively, ran a stop sign too
Downtownish Winnipeg road, three or four lanes in each direction: buddy pulls a hard left turn without signalling, from the rightmost lane, across all the lanes of traffic.
I brought it up on the bar later and the local guy was like “Yeah that’s called a Winnipeg Swing”
