Posted on 05/29/2011 12:00:23 PM PDT by Excuse_My_Bellicosity
There are variations in driving styles on our roads and most motorists will fall into a distinct characteristic type depending on how they approach the task of driving. As you read through this list, you are likely to recognize yourself or someone you drive with.
Which driving character are you?
Nervous Nick: This driver lacks confidence in their driving abilities and is intimidated by traffic and highway speeds. The “Nervous Nick” will always drive at the speed limit or lower and will not accelerate enough to merge safely with highway traffic. They will display moments of indecision when it comes to driving options such as making left turns and when to proceed and how fast.
The Danger: They cause traffic to “rat pack” around them on highways. This leads to multiple lane changes and drivers becoming impatient and making dangerous choices or lane changes. Driving slower than the “flow” of traffic can cause traffic mayhem behind the slower driver as others must negotiate a way around the slow moving vehicle.
Middle Lane Mike: Will head from the on-ramp directly to the middle lane and plant them selves there no matter how slow they drive or who is sitting on their rear bumper. They are convinced this is the best lane to drive in and they are the safest drivers on the road.
The Danger: Traffic will pass on either the right of left sides of this driver causing traffic flow chaos. Large trucks will sit impatiently on their rear bumper trying to intimidate this driver into moving over. They are in danger of causing a crash or being rear-ended. Vehicles moving slowly in the middle lane are like a rock in a stream. They cause turbulence and in this case traffic turbulence.
Overconfident Owen or Arrogant Andy: These drivers are usually driving in an aggressive manner as they are very sure of their capabilities. They are usually speeding and changing lanes often. This aggressive driver feels they are more important than everyone else on the road. All other drivers are just in “their” way and should not be on “their” road.
The Danger: This driver has the confidence and sometimes even the driving talent that will allow them to handle their vehicle while speeding, but when things go wrong they lack the skills to recover or avoid an incident. This driver has confidence that far out strips their “driving smarts” and they make poor choices in their driving situations. They are usually driving too fast for weather and traffic conditions. They often drive an SUV or other large vehicle that adds to their sense of superiority. This driver will tailgate others and try different means of intimidation to get others out of their way. These drivers have been known to pass on the shoulder and lane hop. During the winter months, they are often found in the ditch.
Bored Bobby or Busy Betty: Usually found talking on a cell phone or chatting with passengers. Their mind will be focused on anything but driving safely. Even though they know the distraction of talking on the cell phone is dangerous, they feel their business is more important.
The Danger: This motorist is not paying attention to driving and invariably will end up crashing or cutting someone off. The “Bored Bobby” is just as dangerous as the other drivers on this list. They are not processing all their driving information that will help them make wise driving choices. They are driving distracted which is the leading cause of crashes. After being involved in a crash, they usually cannot figure out what happened.
Solo Sandy: This driver believes they are the only one on the road. They rarely check their mirrors and have no idea other vehicles are near or beside them. You may see this motorist heading down a highway with the only other vehicle in sight directly beside them or in front of them. Also known as “Blinder Billy” as they appear to have blinders on allowing them to only see directly in front of them.
The Danger: Not knowing what is around you in your driving environment is very dangerous. Each driver needs to know what vehicles are in their immediate vicinity to make intelligent lane or avoidance choices. This driver is often hoping others will yield to their lane changes. If they encounter a “Bored Bobby” or a “Busy Betty” the results are usually costly.
Immortal Ivan: Believes no matter what they do behind the wheel, nothing bad will happen to them. When people die in car crashes, it is always going to be someone else, not them. This driving symptom tends to come in the teenage years and can last into middle age if the driver makes it to that age. Too many car crashing video games can exacerbate the problem.
The Danger: Their fearlessness leads to very poor driving decisions and reckless driving. Many younger drivers and their passengers succumb to this syndrome. If “Immortal Ivan” survives, they often age to become an “Arrogant Andy”.
Dangerous Don or Silly Stevie: These drivers believe they know it all about driving. They have been on the road for a number of years and have survived. To them, their experience means they are the best drivers on the road. All those around them are morons or crazy. For drivers like “Dangerous Don”, their frustration with other motorists can lead to high risk driving and poor decisions.
The Danger: Their survival in many ways was a product of luck and not so much skill. One day that luck will run out and the resulting crash will be anyone else’s mistake and not theirs. They will blame the other driver, black ice or anything else since they could not possibly be at fault. Their closed minds mean they will never learn the skills that could keep them from that future crash.
Smart Susie: The rarest of drivers. Understands that driving is the most dangerous daily task they will face and prepares for it. This driver realizes they need to upgrade their driving skills to be prepared for the perils of driving. They focus on the task of driving and are always making driving easier for those sharing the road with them.
The Danger: There are not enough of these drivers on our roads!
Get a death grip and the wheel and look straight ahead, the hell with everyone else. That is you typical illegal driver.
If you owned a brake shop, you would take down their license numbers and (somehow ;^) obtain their addresses for a little targeted advertising.
And how about the ones who slow down the MINUTE they get on the off-ramp? Hey, you are still ON the freeway, buddy.
I have perfected my BadEye over the years of driving here in Los Angeles. It’s quite withering, haha, and very satisfying.
People often do that because having a vehicle moving up next to them changes their perception of how fast they are going.
#2 should be wrong way drivers on the Interstate. They are annoying and I've run two off the road when I was driving a 18s.
That’s a pretty common thing in Utah. Another thing people do on the merge is that they only get up to 45. Merging into traffic doing 75 when you’re only doing 45 doesn’t work and is dangerous. I’ve crossed a lot of solid lines on the merge when seeing an opening because it’s a lot less dangerous than hanging behind Mr. 45 that’s trying to get me killed. If a rear-ender happens, it’ll be somebody behind him, not him. (And I’m sure he’ll go merrily on, pretending that he didn’t see the carnage in his rear-view mirror. People like that are selectively hard-of-hearing, too.)
Its my NSHO most drivers today exhibit two major faults leading to many of their other actions.
First, they view daily driving as a competitive venture. It isn’t. Its a co-operative one. Unfortuately, the “advantages” of the competitive style are immediately gratifying.
Two, they most generally operate with their eyes at “resting focus”, which in this era of largely indoor living means about 20’. This means every traffic change, construction site, and car suddenly “flash into view” as it penetrates the barrier of their “personal space”.
My pet peeve is drivers’ speeding up as you pass or passing drivers perching in my blind spots for extended periods even as I’m approaching slower traffic in my lane. >PS
Ah, yes. There’s another Utah classic.
I think the use of the third-person plural possessive pronoun has come about as a lexical figleaf, in response to fear of sounding sexist if one makes traditional use of the male pronoun intending it to be generic.
Although various new words for non-gendered third person pronouns have been proposed, none has taken hold. (Neuter, as you imply, doesn’t do it.) So people retreat to the relative safety of the plural instead.
I suppose this is both anecdotal and statistical.
I bought a $2000 first car for my daughter (yeah, yeah, I know, but the abuse was more than my little heart and head could take). She had it 2 weeks when another girl rear ended her.
The other insurance paid me $3300 and totalled it out.
So I marched right out and bought my daughter a $500 tank.
About a month later, another girl, spatially deficient, or just had her head up her ###, pulled out from a side road. T-bone city.
Their insurance paid $1800.
No one got hurt in either wreck.
Minus the $500 for the tank, and that $2100 happy day made for some nice paying on that tuition.
Now she is graduated, employed, buying her own car AND INSURANCE.
I still have the tank. It didn’t get hurt either.
teehee.
I agree. An easy way to spot people with a short attention span is when they’re stopped at a stoplight. The ones with short attention span keep creeping forward a foot or two then stopping as if that is somehow going to make the light turn green. But then they suddenly forget that they’re in a hurry. When the light turns green, everybody in the other lane blows right past them while they’re sitting there messing with the radio or whatever. Weird people.
In the '61s, it was a $62 option. Only it wasn't optional.
No joke. If people are that deathly afraid of the interstate, then don’t use it! They need to stay on the side-streets where they belong. If you just have to do 30 everywhere, that’s your business and it’s all good, just don’t clog up the highways.
Corollary to Nervous Nick: People who ride the brakes or constantly touch their brakes on the highway or even surface streets for no apparent reason. Nothing in front of them, nothing to avoid, no turns made, don’t really need to slow down - but they keep hitting the brakes. Why???
Pretty weird, but I’d like to be their brake mechanic. I’d also like to be the brake mechanic of the guy who drives an automatic with both feet.
No. “His” is genderless in this case and your use of the word “it’s” there is not correct either. No apostrophe, please. (See Rule #2 here.)
http://www.apostrophe.org.uk/
Roger that and it’s (a contraction there!) annoying.
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