For Billy

This post is for my good friend Billy. He text me the other day saying "If you need something for your blog, I just watched a woman driving down the wrong side of the road. Good thing there weren't any cars coming!"

This isn't England. Here in the States we drive on the right side of the road. Only on one-way streets is it acceptable to be in the left hand lane. I'm not sure what this person was thinking.

Headlights

Incase you didn't know, there is a new law in Ohio that you must have your headlights on if your windshield wipers are on. Here's a link with more information: http://www.worldlawdirect.com/forum/law-news/33273-new-ohio-driving-laws-starting-2010-a.html

Doesn't the law apply to EVERYONE?! I was driving to the grocery store the other day when it was pouring down rain outside. Even without the law it's common sense to turn your headlights on when it's raining and you have your windshield wipers on. However, even though it might be common sense it is now a law. As I was driving I saw a cop WITHOUT his headlights on. If I didn't have my headlights on I probably would have been pulled over. I don't care if you're a cop, the law applies to everyone.

Are You From Wisconsin?

Funny story- I went to Olive Garden with my family the other day for my birthday. While we were waiting for our food one of the waitresses was walking around to all of the tables asking if anyone sitting at that table was from Wisconsin. We had no idea what was going on until our waitress came to our table. She said that someone with Wisconsin plates had parked so close to another car that they couldn't get into their car. Apparently no one wanted to fess up to their dumb driving.

VERY scary

My dad and I went to the DMV yesterday to get my new horizontal license (yay!) and there was an elderly couple in front of us. If I had to guess an age I would probably say late 70's-early 80's, but I can't say for sure that is completely accurate. In my opinion, they did not seem physically stable enough to be able to drive a car. I know I shouldn't judge, but they seemed to barely be able to walk.

Just wait, here comes the scary part-

As my dad and I are standing there we overhear that the elderly man is there renewing his motorcycle license! I about died when I heard this. My dad and I both looked at each, and then to the lady that was helping us at this point, and all we could say was "holy crap, that's scary". Cheers to the elderly man for still having the will to get on that motorcycle, but I sure as hell don't want to be on the road next to him!

Tips For Dumb Drivers

As a was perusing the internet today I found a pretty funny Facebook group I thought my followers might enjoy.

Tips For Dumb Drivers
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tips-For-Dumb-Drivers/266912427951

Drivers Ed

As I was driving behind a student driver today I realize I could never be a driving instructor. I remember my driving instructor; she was a very interesting lady. I'm pretty sure she was cracked out most of the time and I honestly don't blame her. I can't stand the way half of the people drive out there, but being inside the car with students learning to drive is just scary. If most driving instructors are like mine was, I'm not surprised people drive the way they do. She never really taught me anything. She would pick me up Sunday mornings and we'd drive to Burger King so she could get some breakfast. To be honest, I don't really remember anything constructive that she taught me. My dad was the one that pretty much taught me how to drive. I guess I'm really not surprised that there are so many dumb drivers out there because our Drivers Ed programs probably aren't as helpful as they could be.

Don't Speed Up To Slow Down

My roommate went to visit friends at a college in PA this past weekend and told me a story about her experience driving over there. This is one that I'm sure has happened to many of us and can be really annoying. She was driving on the highway going just above the speed limit. She was following with the flow of the traffic so it wasn't like she was going too fast or too slow. She looked in the rearview mirror and the car behind her moved into the other lane and sped up to pass her. The car then moved back into her lane in front of her and slowed back down causing my friend to hit her breaks.

This has happened to me several times before. I hate when people gun it to get past me, but then they slow down to a speed slower than mine once they get in front of me. What was the point in passing me then?

More Dumb Driver Haters!

There are so many other funny blogs talking about dumb drivers that I have found. It's good to know I'm not the only other one out there that can't stand the way some people drive.

Visit http://dumb-drivers.com for some funny pics of bad driving skills!

Invisible Rope

As I was searching YouTube for some funny dumb driver videos I came across this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUagysCIPU4

If the link doesn't work for some reason, the title of the video is "Dumb Drivers and the Magic Rope!"

I thought my fellow followers could use a good laugh :)

Red Means Go?

I hate it when people run red lights. I think just about everyone learns that red means stop way before they even learn to drive. It's not fun when you have a walk sign and as you go to step out into the street somebody goes through the light. I understand when it's yellow about to turn red that you usually can make it. When it is clearly red I'm pretty sure you're supposed to stop. I'm just waiting to get hit while crossing a street on my way to class.

It also sucks when you're driving and another driver goes through a red light. I've had to slam on my breaks so many times because of this that I have gotten to the point where I wait a while until I know for sure no one is going to hit me!

Doesn't The Law Apply To Everyone?

It amazes me how many times I've seen cops not following traffic laws. Just the other day I saw a cop turn his flashers on, go through a red light, then turn them off. I can't even count the numbers of times I've seen this happen.

I remember when I was younger and my dad, my friend and I went to the movies. On the way home from the movies there were two cops flying down the street with their flashers on. The flashers turned off as soon as they pulled into a Dunkin' Donuts. My dad joked that they were just racing to see who could get to the donuts first.

As funny as the joke may have been, it may or may not have been true. I wouldn't be surprised if cops take advantage of having flashers, and being able to get away with running red lights as long as they turn them on.

Pick a Lane!

I hate when people can't seem to stay in their own lane. I don't know how many times I've had to honk at people because they start to drift into my lane. Just yesterday someone started drifting into my lane and I had to slam on the breaks. Of course they realized they were drifting and swerved back into their lane real fast. One of these days I might just let them hit me. Maybe I'll be able to get a new car out of it if they do!

Are You Asking To Die?

I can't say that I've ever been a fan of motorcycles. I hate when one is driving near me, but what bothers me the most is when the rider is not wearing a helmet. Being in a motorcyle accident is a lot different than being in a car accident. On a motorcycle, you don't have a dome of steel surrounding you. The chances of surviving a motorcycle accident seems to be a lot less than a car accident. Not wearing a helmet is NOT a smart thing.

A friend of mine was telling me how they knew someone that was killed in a motorcycle accident. He was just taking a ride around the block and never came back. We always hear these stories and never think it could happen to us.

Riding without a helmet is like not wearing your seatbelt, only a lot worse. Don't be a dumb driver- drive safe!

For more statistics and motorcycle accident study findings: http://www.motorcycle-accidents.com/pages/stats/html

Drunk Driving

Do I even have to say this is dumb driving? It amazes me how many people are willing to get behind the wheel after having several drinks. Is it really worth risking your life? Is chancing getting into an accident really worth it just to make sure you get home? There's a big chance you might not actually make it home. It's your business if you're willing to put your life at risk, but don't put others at risk too.

There are many ways to make sure you can have a fun time without having to worry about driving home. Always make sure you have a designated driver that you can trust. If you go somewhere and get drunk, but you didn't expect to drink that much, call a cab or a friend to come pick you up.

Don't be another one of these statistics: http://www.alcoholalert.com/drunk-driving-statistics.html

Story Time!

I'm sure you have all had experiences with those dumb drivers. I would LOVE to hear your stories! I know I'm not the only one who gets annoyed with the way other people drive! Do other drivers made you mad? Feel free to take out your anger and share your stories on here!

Parking Lots

Parking lots are not a fun thing for me. There are too many people walking around, and too many dumb drivers all in one area. It seems to me that too many people are concerned thinking about what they are there for and don't pay attention to all of the other people around them.

As a pedestrian, I'm always waiting for someone to back out and hit me. There have been numerous times when a car is backing out of a spot and I can see that the person behind the wheel isn't looking. I would rather not get hit, so I usually say something. Maybe next time they'll look where they're backing up.

As a driver, I just hate dealing with other driver's. I can't stand when people don't know how to park. It's especially annoying when the parking lot is crowded and there are three of four spots that could be available, except someone is taking up two spots.

The only car accident I have ever been in was in a parking lot. I was backing out of a spot and noticed another woman pulling out in the lane behind me, but a few spots down. Well I stopped incase she didn't see me. I'm not sure where that woman learned to park, but she hit the gas and flew out of the parking spot, hitting me. I was not a very happy person. The woman basically floored it backwards and straight into me. Luckily my car was fine, and since the woman realized it was her fault we just let it go.

Refresh Your Mind

I've been looking over the Digest of Ohio Motor Vehicle Laws a lot lately, so I thought I would put a link on here for anyone else who would like to do so.

http://publicsafety.ohio.gov/links/hsy7607.pdf

Reading through it has helped to refresh my mind, but also makes me more irritated. I think it should be required that you retake your drivers test every so many years. I gaurentee a lot of people have forgotten half of the Ohio traffic laws since they started driving. A lot of stuff can especially slip your mind once you get to be my grandma's age. I love my grandparents dearly, but they're part of the reason I think it should be required to take the driver's test every so many years. I'm not sure if it would really keep people from driving like idiots, but at least it would refresh their memory of how they SHOULD be driving.

Stop or Go?!

I have come to notice I have a lot more conversations with my friends about people's bad driving, thanks to this blog. Today one of my friends and I talked about one of the things that really annoys us both: intersections with stop signs. We find it extremely frustrating when someone else gets to the intersection at the exact same time as you. It's not so bad getting there at the same time as someone else, it's when it takes what feels like a lifetime going back and forth waving each other to go, and stopping and going until someone finally just speeds away.

My mom came home one day really annoyed because of a situation like this. The only difference in her situation was that the other driver was already stopped at the stop sign way before my mom got there. When my mom got to the stop sign she waved the other woman on. The other woman was there first so obviously she had the right of way. Well the lady waved my mom to go so my mom went thinking the woman wasn't going for a reason. As my mom started to go the woman starting swearing at her out her window and then proceeded to speed away! I guess waving my mom to go meant she didn't want her to go first?

Bad Driving Killing The Environment

You read it right, bad driving habits aren't helping with the popularized "green" movement. A recent experiment quantified the connection between bad driving and gas emissions.

Are you an aggressive driver? Are you one of those drivers constantly tailgating others, hard breaking and speeding? Well it turns out not only are you potentially harming other drivers on the road, but you're harming the environment as well.

Don't believe me? Check out the article from the LA Times: http://articles.latimes.com/2009/feb/02/nation/na-less-aggressive-driving2

CNN Blames Genetics?!

According to CNN.com, having a certain gene may cause you to be a bad driver. A study found that people with this certain gene performed 30% worse on their drivers test.

Check out the article. It's pretty interesting: http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/10/29/bad.driver.gene.index.html

Use Your Turn Signal!

Turn signals aren't built in cars as decoration. I don't think engineers put them in the cars and think "these flashing lights will look pretty". The purpose of turn signals is to let other drivers know that you intend to turn, change a lane, etc. The whole purpose of it revolved around safety. I think this guy says it best in this YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dptHYMrdcIY


It's a simple concept: when you intend to turn, switch lanes, pull into a parking space, etc., use a turn signal. It doesn't take any more effort than a flick of the wrist. You could be saving yourself, or others, from getting into an accident or getting a ticket from a cop.

They Passed Maneuverability?

I'm going to assume this person didn't have a passenger in his car. If he/she did, I would have loved to see him/her get out of the passengers side.

Really?

My dad is full of stories, so I'm sure I will be sharing many of them on here. When I was 16 and preparing for my driver's license, he told me a story about his co-workers son. When the son was taking his driver's test he ran over a Stop sign. He obviously didn't pass.

Really? How does that happen?

Not Everyone Can Be So Lucky

After posting that last blog I thought of another story my friend told me last year. While driving back to school from winter break he was going 80+ on the highway. You would think he had bad luck when a siren went off and a cop pulled out behind him. Well, thinking he was smart he sped up and got off the nearest exit ramp. As the cop sped up to follow him as he pulled off the exit ramp, the cop hit ice and the car spun out. Needless to say my friend ended up lucky in the end and didn't get a ticket.

Don't be that idiot. Not everyone has that kind of luck. If a cop puts his sirens on, don't try to out-run him... it usually doesn't turn out good in the end.

The Need For Speed

So my dad's cousin once told me a story that I thought I would share on here. One time while he was driving on the highway he happened to look in his rearview mirror and saw some idiot behind him flying down the highway. As he continued to keep looking in his rearview mirror, this guy kept getting closer and closer, swerving between all of the cars. As soon as the idiot got up next to him my dad's cousin looked over to realize it was his brother.

Don't be the idiot that someone actually knows. There's nothing worse that being a dumb driver and later having someone point it out to you.

Petal to the Metal... At Least to the Speed Limit!

According to an article on CNN.com, in several states you can be pulled over for driving too slow. I think this should be a required law for EVERY state. I don't know about you, but I know one of my biggest pet peeves is when the person in front of me is going way under the speed limit. Granted, most of the time this seems to happen the person seems to be on their cell phone not paying attention, but it happens more often than it should.

Close to my parents house there is a pretty sharp curve that is marked on the road. This curved is marked with reflected pillars and flashing speed limit signs that say 30 mph. If there is a flashing sign that says 30 mph, do you think that means the original speed limit was 25 mph or under? Are the flashing lights there telling you to speed up when you get to the sharp curve? NO! The sign is telling you to slow down, meaning you should have been going faster than 25 mph to begin with. The worst is when this one person is going 10 mph under the speed limit, so the huge train of cars behind them has to go even slower.

Please, for all of our sakes, go the speed limit. Those signs are there for a reason.

The Plain Dealer Agrees

Incase you didn't get a chance to pick up a Plain Dealer today and see the front page, be sure to follow this link: http://www.cleveland.com/frontpage/index.ssf/2010/03/the_plain_dealers_front_page_f_275.html


The Plain Dealer hits home with my blog with their front page article titled "Dangers of drivers who talk or text on phones coming under attack"

Just Surge and Merge!

While thinking about a comment on my previous blog about Clevelanders not knowing how to merge, I thought about the one thing that annoys me the most when it comes to merging. This would be the on-ramp. I don't think it sank into very many peoples minds when they were told during Drivers Ed that you have to ACCELERATE when you get onto the on-ramp.

The other day I was getting on 71 to drive to Cleveland. The person in front of me on the on-ramp refused to go any faster than 35mph. I don't own the nicest car, so I really have to be up to the speed limit by the time I go to merge. I can't just gun it once I get up there otherwise my car would probably break down.

What bothers me the most in these situations is that I know everyone already on the highway is probably swearing at me in their own cars because I'm going a lot slower than they are once I merge. I don't want to be that person that is pissing everyone off. I know I personally can't stand those people. Unfortunately, there are times when you get stuck behind someone who just has a hard time putting their foot on the gas petal.

In the Digest of Ohio Motor Vehicles it even says "when you enter the on-ramp, accelerate. If your car is moving 30 miles per hour, it will be nearly impossible to merge with traffic moving twice as fast."

America's Worst Driver

I'm guessing it isn't just a Northern Ohio thing-- Today I saw a commercial for a show on The Travel Channel called America's Worst Driver: http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Americas_Worst_Driver

I'm not sure if I'm relieved to know that it isn't just people from Ohio that can't drive, or if I'm more worried to know that anywhere in the world that I drive I will witness dumb drivers like this. I'm interested to watch this show and see if these people drive any worse than the people I'm already witnessing drive. This week is Chicago- I'm hoping it makes Cleveland drivers look better than they really are.

Now don't get me wrong- I wouldn't call myself the world's best driver. However, I can't say I understand how some of the things I witness actually happen. I often wonder how some people managed to pass their drivers test.

Don't Use Your Phone and Drive

I honestly don't know what is worse: talking or texting on your phone while driving, or drunk driving. Just the other day I had to swerve off the road because some guy started veering into my lane while talking on his phone. My dad says in those situations he likes to get as close to the center line to scare the crap out of them. I prefer to just lay on my horn and use other graphic ways to get them to realize how stupid they're being. I will admit that there are times when I wish I had the guts to just let them hit me- getting a new car because some idiot couldn't wait until he got to his destination to talk on the phone doesn't sound like a bad idea. I find it utterly ridiculous that it has gotten so out of control that cities have started making it illegal to use your cell phone while driving. I think it would be common sense to keep your eyes on the road.

Timesonline.com wrote an interesting article about the dangers of texting while driving compared to drunk driving. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/driving/news/article4776063.ece
As if it's not bad enough worrying that some drunk guy is going to hit us while driving, now we have to worry that someone staring at their phone is going to hit us too.

I think I could rant for hours about all of the stupid things people do while they drive. I guess I'll save that for my other blogs.