Why are people so dumb on the road?

[Crash_It]

In this latest video that I posted I'm almost hit by a dumb driver, so the question is.... Why are people so dumb on the road? Thoughts?


https://youtu.be/bOQpyxJLHlA

[jeffandnicole]

You have a 60 second video.  The first 18 seconds contain nothing.  The last 16 seconds contain nothing.  You only have 26 seconds of substance. 

Whatever dude.

[Max Rockatansky]

Why do people complain about what others do the road?  Seriously, this is a theme as of late on most road groups I'm a part of and it sucks.

[roadman65]

I can answer that.  We are evolving into more intellectual beings and therefore we all think we know more than the person next to us.  If we see a clique that shares our ideals we go along with it hence social media groups.

I can say more, but then it will cross the line of religion or politics as evolution (whether Darwin or just plain evolution) brings out ideals and morals that get people agitated leading to politics.

[Max Rockatansky]

I can answer that.  We are evolving into more intellectual beings and therefore we all think we know more than the person next to us.  If we see a clique that shares our ideals we go along with it hence social media groups.

I can say more, but then it will cross the line of religion or politics as evolution (whether Darwin or just plain evolution) brings out ideals and morals that get people agitated leading to politics.

Yeah but...isn't talking about actual highways and our favorite roads a lot more fun than complaining about other drivers?   The OP could have slanted this in another way like "recently I was in a near accident and got me thinking, what is your thoughts on the skill level of the general driving public these days?"   That might lead to an interesting conversation that could have some potential discussion value.  I mean, I've been in plenty of near misses behind the wheel myself.  Aside from maybe getting upset briefly at the moment or telling my wife about it never once thought it had a ton value here on this forum.  I want to say the only accident related post I ever had was related to Tule Fog and a at-grade intersection on the CA 198 freeway. 

[roadman65]

This is AARoads where even fictional highways get others pissed off!  Many here rant about the craziest things, just as much as we have fun here.

[J N Winkler]

In this latest video that I posted I'm almost hit by a dumb driver, so the question is.... Why are people so dumb on the road? Thoughts?

The relevant part of the video clip in question shows a car in front advancing to and then just beyond what appears to be the end of a driveway that is divided from the street by a rolled curb.  The field of view is too narrow to get a full picture of visibility constraints, but there is what appears to be a guardrail off to the left and possibly tall hedging to the right.  I would not necessarily interpret the action as a near miss.  The driver in front started reversing before he stopped abruptly, but I do not think this means he did not see you.  Presumably he would have seen your headlamps in his mirror since this was occurring under low-light conditions; it is equally possible that he did see you and just doesn't believe in smooth stops.

My usual response, when I find myself in situations such as this, is to ask what I could have done.  The goal here is not to assign fault; rather, it is to avoid being in a position where a short succession of predictable choices (either by the other driver or by me) can result in an accident.  Could you, for example, have hung back further behind the other car?  This would have given you more room to maneuver if the limited visibility had led to the other driver starting a maneuver, realizing he needed to abort it, and reversing back to safety.

Another way of looking at it is this:  yes, fine, other drivers are dumb.  But taking them off the road is not your responsibility (that belongs to law enforcement, the DMV, and other traffic safety stakeholders).  Stupidity often goes together with pride and results in a psychological makeup that is unresponsive to exhortation.  So what are you going to do about it to ensure you are not involved in an accident?

In 25 years of driving I have been very fortunate not to be involved in an accident that totalled a vehicle or resulted in injury to anyone, but I have come to realize that low-speed/low-visibility situations afford fruitful opportunity for property-damage-only collisions.  That is why I have taught myself to reverse into parking spaces to maximize the limited visibility that is available.  The situation shown in your clip is classic low-speed/low-visibility, and I think there are probably multiple countermeasures you can try to shave your risk.

[kphoger]

I just plain don't think what happened is a big deal.  A driver started to back up, saw he/she was about to hit someone, and stopped in time to avoid that.  Big whoop.

[US 89]

Your area has the worst drivers of anywhere, but you're a great driver yourself. This is true of everybody across the world.

[J N Winkler]

Your area has the worst drivers of anywhere, but you're a great driver yourself. This is true of everybody across the world.

There has actually been research into the relationship between driver attitudes and safety that correlates the subject's Likert-scale answers to certain questions (e.g., "Other drivers are bad" and "I am a bad driver"--agree or disagree?) to his or her actual safety record in terms of tickets received, accidents reported, etc.  IIRC, a key finding is that people who think other drivers are bad, but rate their own driving as no more than slightly better than others', tend to have the best overall safety records.

[jeffandnicole]

Your area has the worst drivers of anywhere, but you're a great driver yourself. This is true of everybody across the world.

Bingo.

One of the annoying things I read on these forums...

"In my area no one stops at stop signs" or "In my state everyone goes 70 in a 55 zone"

No...not in your area.  That's in everyone's area.  Never once have a I seen something where "such and such state never gives out speeding tickets because everyone obeys the law".

Maybe you don't see it because you're not in those other areas often, and you only see your home turf, and think somehow your home turf is unique.  It's not. 

[qguy]

The goal here is...to avoid being in a position where a short succession of predictable choices (either by the other driver or by me) can result in an accident. ... So what are you going to do about it to ensure you are not involved in an accident?

= definition of "defensive driving." 

[TXtoNJ]

As mundane as it is, driving is an extremely complex physical activity. Dexterity and visual acuity are not equally distributed among people, nor is quick decision making and the ability to keep a cool head in the face of panic-inducing situations.

A good third of the people on the road would rather not drive because it's too overwhelming for them, but the way we've built our physical environment has made it so this is required of them.

[paulthemapguy]

As mundane as it is, driving is an extremely complex physical activity. Dexterity and visual acuity are not equally distributed among people, nor is quick decision making and the ability to keep a cool head in the face of panic-inducing situations.

A good third of the people on the road would rather not drive because it's too overwhelming for them, but the way we've built our physical environment has made it so this is required of them.

If I could bump this reply an infinite number of times, I would.  Americans' livelihoods depend so much on the use of automobiles that it's absurd.  We need to transition to more equitable, efficient, and sustainable development patterns.