Maybe we need to look beyond just stupid drivers, at stupid and abusive rules and policies effecting drivers. Policies like jumping speed limits up and down irrationally so frequently that drivers are so busy reading signs so they don't miss a speed change that they are reading instead of driving............. Is this any different from driving with a book propped on the steering wheel or watching a movie?? I encountered this north of Spokane on the secondary highways.......... and witnessed draconian enforcement......though I was never pulled over while passing through. A driver's primary responsibility is to DRIVE, and driving does not mean simply operating the steering wheel and brakes. It means total situational awareness. It means watching what is taking place ahead as well as behind you, and in traffic traveling the other way. It means anticipating what might happen over the next hill or around the next corner. It means noticing the dog chasing a deer, and anticipating that that deer will jump in front of the car 2 cars in front of you, making space and preparing for evasive action when the wreck happens. It means watching for subtle signals that someone is going to do something unexpected, noting where that driver is looking and knowing that he is going to so something other than what he's signaling. It means not passing someone who is in the right lane rapidly gaining on another vehicle, thus placing yourself in his blind spot when he decides to change lanes. It means seeing traffic on the on ramp and giving the guy ahead of you in the right lane room to change lanes. It means judging from the trajectory and speed of a car coming from an intersecting road that he isn't going to stop at the light or stop sign. It means noticing that the girl in the car ahead of you is dealing with 3 young children alone while driving and not paying attention or is talking or texting, and taking extra precautions. It means keeping a safe distance behind the car in front of you... one car length per 10 mph. It means being prepared if the brakes or other system do not work.
Huge amounts of garbage information on signs does NOT make for safe driving.
I encountered a signage situation during rush hour in KC Missouri as I was coming in from the north, headed for St Louis that was absolutely outrageous a number of years ago. The signs for HWY 70 were all on the right side, but the exit was on the left and none of the signs indicated this....... Driving a truck pulling a trailer, alone, and before GPS, I managed to piss everybody off by forcing my way across the highway.... it wasn't very nice, but I wasn't going to try to figure out how to get back to 70 with a truck and trailer just because some jackass didn't have brains enough to at least put "exit left" or put the signs on the left!
Another outrageous practice is leaving "men working" and other construction signs up long after the job is done, and slowing traffic down to absurd speeds many miles in advance of construction.
I've several times ended up behind pilot cars where the idiot driver was constantly speeding up and slowing down creating an accordion effect behind them.
Construction is irritating but necessary......... At least make it as painless as possible for the traffic. It often appears that they don't give a damn!.
Near Livingston, Mt. The highway department put up fancy electronic signs to alert people to conditions in the pass........... Probably half a million dollars worth. These signs have NEVER displayed accurate information when I've seen them, and are usually displaying something stupid like "click it or ticket", or "buckle up it's the law", or "watch for changing road conditions". If it says "low visibility, snow packed and icy"..... the road will invariably be dry and clear with good visibility.
And then there's Oregon.... the worst state in the union to drive in with speed limits designed to put drivers to sleep. Interstate 84 is posted 80 through most of Idaho and drops to 65 in Oregon........Ever try driving from Pendelton to Portland at 65 on a highway designed for 100 mph traffic? Are drivers that fall asleep at the wheel safer than drivers traveling 80? Worse yet turn off at Ontario and take 20 or 26 through miles and miles of open country on 2 lane highways with broad shoulders and good visibility...... at a snail's pace of 55!! Still worse, highway 95 south to Winnemucca and parts south. The state cites "safety considerations", yet nearly all the accidents are from drivers falling asleep at the wheel an drifting off the highway! Time for Oregon to wake up and smell the roses!! Clearly someone in the highway dept is asleep at the wheel! (morons!!). At one time they were even enforcing school zone speeds 24 hours a day 365 days a year
Then there are the states that enforce the speed limit during a pass...... You are driving the 55 mile speed limit in Oregon for example and come upon someone traveling 45. You pull out to pass, and you are not allowed to exceed 55 while passing??? It's the law here too.........but they wouldn't dare enforce it. It not only does not make sense, but it creates a hazard.
It's not just idiot drivers that are the problem.........it's idiot bureaucrats too.
H.W.
