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Situational Awareness Driving

Yes a good article but focused to much on mirrors, I do agree many people don’t have their mirrors adjusted correctly or use them for that matter.
BLIS the new blind spot monitors built into many vehicles has given many an excuse not to do a proper head check.
I’m fortunate with my Super Duty to have outstanding mirrors but situational awareness is more then mirrors, you need to leave space between you and those in front so you have that “out” and know where your going and make sure you’re in the correct lane so you don’t have to do that last second lane change to take that turn or exit.

Thanks for Sharing @michael.ed
 
HayesGreener said:
Defensive driver training is apparently not being taught either, judging from the number of Kamakaze drivers I encounter on a daily basis
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They say you can get practically anything you want from ebay or amazon. I suspect that's where the kamankaze drivers got their licenses. Also I bet we'll eventually see that the speed limit sign give way to speed suggestion signs. It would appear on the interstates that's now how people roll.
 
TEXASforLIFE said:
I thought that posted speed was a suggestion already :unsure: ;) :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
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Everyone driving slower than me is an idiot.

Everyone driving faster than me is a moron.

:LOL:

OK, more seriously......

Keystone19250 said:
BLIS the new blind spot monitors built into many vehicles has given many an excuse not to do a proper head check.
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What I find even more concerning is that many of these same individuals have not taken the time to properly review their vehicles' Owner's Manuals so as to have sufficient/proper understanding of the behavior and limitations of these modern driving aids.

As my screen-name/handle would suggest, I also like cars a little 😁 , so I also participate in a few automotive Forums.

In just the "home" community of those who own my make/model, the number of posts where drivers -oftentimes those who've driven the vehicle already for quite some time- come to ask about or, worse yet, vent about the "problems" they encountered that are actually instead the vehicles' many driving aids and warning systems working PROPERLY....it's staggering.

"RTMFM."
 
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^ :ROFLMAO: LOL, no harm done - I was merely parroting what @TEXASforLIFE in-turn joked about.

I'm surprised you haven't heard this one, before?

But really, isn't this an accurate statement? When was the last time that any of us asked precisely those very same questions: "Where's that moron flying off to?" or "Why doesn't that idiot mover over?" 😅

Even for those of us who are safe drivers who also shy away from any form of road-rage, when's the last time that this thought crossed our minds? ;)
 
TEXASforLIFE said:
I thought that posted speed was a suggestion already :unsure: ;) :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
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Well in Kentucky there is no speeding enforcement on the highways except for an area on route 71 leading into the city of Louisville, the same state trooper has run speed enforcement in that area for years in unmarked mustangs. Route highway 264 is a posted 55 speed limit, everyone does 65-75 and faster, if you drive 55 you become a hazard to everyone. 90% of drivers don’t use turn signals. And it’s the first state I’ve lived in that leaves smashed vehicles on the side of the road “highways” for WEEKS before having them removed.
 
I drive a 7500 pound super duty truck more or less at the speed limit. So what would possess a driver to turn in front of me where I have to hard brake to avoid hitting them. Is it that so many people cannot judge speed and distance, or just don't give a damn and presume I am going to stand on the binders, or just stupid? Or a death wish? One of life's great mysteries. I must climb the mountain to ask the Dalai Lama. While there I also want to know why I sometimes miss the High 1 on the skeet field....
 
HayesGreener said:
I drive a 7500 pound super duty truck more or less at the speed limit. So what would possess a driver to turn in front of me where I have to hard brake to avoid hitting them. Is it that so many people cannot judge speed and distance, or just don't give a damn and presume I am going to stand on the binders, or just stupid? Or a death wish? One of life's great mysteries. I must climb the mountain to ask the Dalai Lama. While there I also want to know why I sometimes miss the High 1 on the skeet field....
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Try driving a Freightliner M2 pulling a 24' float with a backhoe on it through the city of STL. People do dumb crap in front of me so often that I expect it out of everyone and usually I am not disappointed. In the city, cops are pretty much in the throngs of the Ferguson effect. As a result most cars have 4 year old expired temp tags, at least one donut tire, sometimes they are rolling on a flat or two, never stop at stop signs often run stop lights and regularly do 70 down residential city streets with 15 MPH speed limits. And they do it with impunity. Only in very specific, rare cases are police allowed to chase them.

By the way, there were 22 people shot in the city of STL over the weekend.
 
I will state idiot and/or moron when people pass you and your going the posted limit and then drive 5mph lower that makes me drive slower. Most everything is 75 in Texas and that's fast enough, but impeding progress just pisses me off! Driving a semi in LA freeways sucks and the lanes are barely wide enough.
 
So, here's my question - and please understand, everyone, that I'm not suggesting that I'm better either by asking this question or in suggesting that I am any better at staying true to the words of the traffic codes just because I am asking it.....

Why is it that we feel it's OK to speed a little or to run that yellow (or maybe it's now orange? or how about jumping the green? - ever notice how one or the other is much more prevalent in certain areas?)? or roll that stop sign?

Why is it that we don't steal just a little?

Or rape just a little?

For those of us who are concealed handgun/weapon license or permit holders, it's statistically demonstrable that we are even less likely to commit violent crime than police officers. Ostensibly, this would suggest that we're a law abiding bunch, no?

So why is it that we still do a silly grin when we arrive almost late for our firearms training class, and laugh about how fast we had to drive to make up for the fact that the barista at Starbucks screwed up our morning brew?

Again, I'm not suggesting that I'm better just because I ask this question.

There's times I obey - there's a part of my morning commute each day where I stick to the PSL of 20 MPH through a school-zone. This is even as the soccer mom who is dropping off her child at the very school whose active zone was it that I was obeying was tailgating me so closely that I could see the coffee stain on her blouse.

OK, I was nice, there, but I sped +5 through the other surface streets of my commute, ostensibly following the flow of traffic, where the PSL is 35 (you can do the math of that percentage - the difference is not insignificant). And later in the afternoon, I'm even worse.... I - along with virtually every motorist I share another stretch of the road with - routinely were +15 to +25 in 35 posted areas.

That school zone, for those who may live in the area (Cleveland Heights, Ohio) and would like to drive through to experience themselves, is on Fairmount Road between S. Taylor and Lee Roads. It encompasses two crosswalks (one with a guard at peak hours), a "car line," and a school transportation drop-off/pick-up zone. You know how folks love to give you the stink-eye as they pass you when you're driving too slowly? They -NEVER- turn to look at me, when they pass me speed through this active zone....maybe because they know they're doing something they're not supposed to? :p

That stretch of roadway that I drive most afternoons, where I'm often at a minimum of +15 over the posted 35 MPH limit? Woodland Avenue between Buckeye and E. 55th. Drive the speed limit, and prepare to not only be stared at, but to be sworn at and likely even shot at (yeah, no, this is actually not a joke - Google Map Street View that length of Woodland ;), and those more internet savvy can undoubtedly pull up the crime reports or just the news stories of recent incidents on/near that route). At +20 of PSL, prepare to be passed, multiple times....

So here I am - confessing to breaking at least one set of traffic laws.

Yet, why didn't I shoplift that candy bar from the counter at the gas station? :unsure:
 
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In my years in a municipal police department it was apparent that the single greatest threat to lives and property was traffic. The first harmful event in a traffic crash is often not apparent: speed. The cause of the crash may be that someone failed to yield the right of way, but excessive speed diminishes your ability to avoid the crash. 20 mph over the limit and you have used up your reaction margin. Speed also significantly increases the injuries resulting from the crash. Speed, failure to yield, disobeying traffic control devices, improper lane changes, failure to maintain an assured clear distance are the primary causes of crashes. A driver who puts two or more of those moving violations together in a single event on a regular basis (which is the definition of aggressive driving) will eventually result in a crash. Add distracted drivers to the mix and you have the formula for disaster. In a traffic fatality investigation for a week or so afterward we would interview multiple commuters in the same place and time the crash occurred, and often found witnesses who told us they had seen the person who caused the crash do the same thing every day during their commute.
 
Bassbob said:
Try driving a Freightliner M2 pulling a 24' float with a backhoe on it through the city of STL. People do dumb crap in front of me so often that I expect it out of everyone and usually I am not disappointed. In the city, cops are pretty much in the throngs of the Ferguson effect. As a result most cars have 4 year old expired temp tags, at least one donut tire, sometimes they are rolling on a flat or two, never stop at stop signs often run stop lights and regularly do 70 down residential city streets with 15 MPH speed limits. And they do it with impunity. Only in very specific, rare cases are police allowed to chase them.

By the way, there were 22 people shot in the city of STL over the weekend.
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If I had to drive through STL I would prefer to be in a Freightliner......
 
Scanning your mirrors is a must, and even though everyone promotes defensive driving, I like to promote offensive driving concentrating on your personal safety as well as the saftey of those around you. Clear intersections quickly. Make turns as fast as possible. And for God's sake step on the gas if you pull out in front of someone.
 
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