Road Warriors

The Wall Street Journal ^ | Monday, June 2, 2003 | BROCK YATES

[presidio9]

Orange alert: American drivers are demented, speed-crazed, food-swilling, cellphone-gabbing, lane-jumping, road-raging sociopaths. Forget those Middle Eastern loonies; you face a greater threat from the guy next to you on the freeway in that Chevy Malibu. Any moment now he's likely to punch the throttle, take a bite of an unwrapped Twinkie, hit some numbers on his Nokia, toss you the bird and bunt you into the tall grass.

[LizardQueen]

and the worst are 19 year old girls.

I've noticed the same thing - they drive like bats out of hell, talking and tailgating at the same time. 90% of my most recent near-misses have been with young girls.

Worst thing I've ever done while driving: made myself a tuna salad sandwich (with lettuce and mayo, on rye). I was driving cross country by myself and was on a really empty and boring road in rural Minnesota and got hungry. Drained the tuna out the window, got the lettuce and mayo out of the cooler in the passenger footwell, mixed it up and made myself a sandwich, all on a piece of cardboard in my lap.

Young and stupid, I was....

LQ

[babyface00]

Virtually every car made in America before the 1980's qualifies under 1 (d and f, and quite a few e), and most up into the 90's and today. And that's not counting trucks and SUVs.

I'd guess at least half the American made cars prior to 1980 (probably more) qualify under 3 and 4.

[wrbones]

I thought so, too.

I would think a comparision in total population vs deaths by auto would've been better, with a percentage comparison on a year by year basis. (That's not said very well, but I'm not an English major or statistician, either....)

[ctlpdad]

Asians with New Jersey MD plates

[RRWCC]

Yep, Then just think, We could compile statistics on how many "criminals" we have arrested because banning these terriable and deadly autos have made our streets safer!

[RobbyS]

It would help if one had to be able to drive before getting a driver's license. That seems not to be the case in Texas. Germans are required to go to driver's school--for a goodly sum--so they know how to handle their cars well even at break-neck speeds. Americans, especially our immigrants from the south are such poor drivers that they forced even liberal Montana to impose speed limits on their roads. Without the idiots the rest of us could safely drive over 100mph on western interstates. Sure would make Kansas fly by faster.

[elbucko]

Driving in public needs to be banned and it needs to be tightly regulated on private property.

Yes, we need to stop the carnage. Some civil liberties may be sacrificed, but if just one life is saved it will be worth it.....;^)

[Conspiracy Guy]

There are incredibly stupid people driving on American roads. MADD wants to claim only drinking causes accidents. I could train my Labrador Retreiver to drive better than most of the sober people I find myself surrounded by everyday on the way to and from. I am extremely cautious and avoid the obvious traps but it is the greatest risk I take on a given day. I don't know what the answer to the problem is, but one cannot deny the exisistence of a problem. People like yourself are fully aware of the danger, the rest can only pray and be as wary as possible.

[elbucko]

The worst are Asians. Really

I agree. It's called "DWA"; Driving While Asian. Anybody for All Nippon Airlines?

[Conspiracy Guy]

Lived in Kansas for 3 long years. There aren't any standards for driving. Each state sets their own. Normally I believe in states rights but without some national standards should a person be allowed to drive outside their licensing state? I've driven in at least 50% of the the US states and I see some common traps that drivers cause. Use of the left lane seems to be a matter of personal choice most places. Merging from entrance ramp to fast moving traffic seems another tripping zone for most. Yeilding to anything seems to be like asking someone to give up a kidney. Following distance Ha! I want a bumper sticket that says "If you can read this,you're in my glove box. Leave my gun alone!"

[SJSAMPLE]

Might be a little off-color here, but I'll give it a shot:


How bad are Chinese drivers?





















They're so bad, a Chinese family moved into my neighborhood, and the MEXICANS started buying insurance.

[LittleJoe]

This stat isn't very helpful, or is it just me?

This stat is probably the only reliable stat possible. As soon as you widen the statistics to take other variables into account, you're getting into spin.

If you truly want to see highway stats improve, spend gasoline taxes on road repair and improvement itstead of the nonsensical BS these funds are being spent on now.

They say modern cars are safer. They aren't. The Viet Nam war gave us our improvement in safety figures, not seatbelts, speed limits or drunk driver enforcement.

You are much safer in a 1964 Chevy, even without your seatbelt on, than you are in any car built today.

[LittleJoe]

Driving in public needs to be banned and it needs to be tightly regulated on private property

This is exactly where we're headed.

[RobbyS]

Riding a person's right read bumper in the blind spot. I cring when I see them doing this to an 18-wheeler. He can't see them. they can't see his blinker and sometimes he has to move to the right lane.(I'm thinking about a truck in the middle lane of a six lane road.)

[LittleJoe]

Americans, especially our immigrants from the south are such poor drivers that they forced even liberal Montana to impose speed limits on their roads. Without the idiots the rest of us could safely drive over 100mph on western interstates.

Don't blame others for the cowardice your politicians showed when they caved in on this issue. Speed limits on the open highways do not improve safety. That fact has been proven many times in the past. Again, you have government and special interest groups using Urban Myth to pass laws that kill people. They do this in the interest of "safety".

[Conspiracy Guy]

I do not doubt it.

[Conspiracy Guy]

You said.(I'm thinking about a truck in the middle lane of a six lane road.)

In many places the person in a truck,s right rear blind spot is passing on the shoulder.

[astounded]

No question - the least common denominator in American "society" is the Department of Motor Vehicles. There truly are too many very stupid humans in our country, and they all drive. I submit that many, if not most, of these are the same ones who watch "Survivor" and all the other "reality" TV shows. I guess they like to see themselves on TV. These are the guys in the banged up S10 or Ford Ranger PUs with the baseball cap placed backward on greasy, stringy hair, or the ditzy 22-year old broad putting on makeup, all the while "driving" 75mph in the left lane simulatneously talking on her cell phone. I see vast numbers of stupid events every day in my commute and I stay the hell out of the way as much as I can - try to make myself as small as possible - scary! I think we should mandate an IQ test or some other test proving a modicum of intelligence before issuing a driver's license.

[Conspiracy Guy]

I have a Ranger but I don't wear a hat when I drive and my hair is short and clean. I could write a book on what needs to be done both in education and enforcement. But no one would want to read it. Every time somebody decides to fall asleep and cross amedian we decide it's time to put up median barriers. Wouldn't it be better to educate people that asleep is no way to drive?

[IowaHawk]

Nah, just purge the roads of 17-year old ricetards.