I don't have a license quite yet, but merging onto the freeway seems the scariest.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on June 24, 2020, 05:26:21 PMI don't have a license quite yet, but merging onto the freeway seems the scariest.
I doubt it will seem scary once you have done it multiple times and become accustomed to the give and take. This is true of other critical maneuvers such as permissive left turns and moving out to overtake on two-lane roads.
The things that are still scary even to experienced drivers tend to have more to do with ice/low-traction conditions in general (if not encountered often enough to rehearse skills), expectancy breakdowns due to design failures, and roads not maintained to a minimum level of good repair.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on June 24, 2020, 05:26:21 PM
I don't have a license quite yet, but merging onto the freeway seems the scariest.
Are you talking scariest in the generic sense or the direct sense?
Your example I would consider a generic sense. More direct would be, say, a car approaching you head-on in your lane (or their lane, that's probably scary as well), a large animal running right into your path, being at a stop and realizing the knucklehead behind you isn't choosing to stop.
In the generic sense for me, I'd still say extreme weather, such as torrential rain or moderate to heavy snow.
If we want to talk about "fears", then mine is getting into an accident far from home that disables but doesn't total the car. Adjusting auto insurance claims, that was the single biggest pain in the ass for someone to deal with it.
A distracted driver crossing the center line worries me the most. There was quite a spate of accidents like that in SW Oregon. Now not so many. Perhaps the message is getting through about driving the vehicle being Priority One.
Wish I was the one teaching you how to drive Roadgeekteen. My youngest brother as a child never paid attention to cars, highways and how they worked. Despite that, my training of him resulted in his becoming a superb driver who never got a ticket or in an accident during his early years of driving. Just like in D&D, you need to build up experience points with the first few levels being where it is easy to be killed. Once the experience level is up there, finding ways to get into trouble when driving lessen considerably.
Rick
When a hill is so steep that 1st gear barely does anything to slow your descent. That's not a normal day to day thing but it can be unnerving if you haven't experienced how to preserve brakes on some massively steep mountain road before.
As a fellow sixteen year old, the scariest part of driving is passing on a two-lane road. Merging onto a freeway is fine IMO, and I actually find it fun to merge into heavy traffic. Passing on two-laners is terrifying though, I hate it. If I can see far enough, I'm fine with it, but the problem is that PA (can't speak for other states) dashes the center line when you have NOWHERE NEAR enough room to pass. Because of that, you really have to judge for yourself, and misjudging that is my biggest fear on the road.
I don't know if that will go away with time, though... I've only had a full license for about three months.
The highest-risk maneuver I have to make routinely is backing out of a space in a crowded parking lot. It's not "scary" as far as personal injury to me, but the possibility of hitting another car or, worse, somebody who's walking whom I fail to see, makes that pretty risky. When practical, when spaces are head-to-head without any barricade in between, I'll pull through to the second one so I can exit the space by going forward.
Hardest: parallel parking
Scariest at first:
(1) Freeway merging - but this gets much easier with time, as mentioned.
(2) Turns, especially the first few sharp ones. You'll learn the play of the steering wheel quickly, but it does vary from car to car.
Scariest long-term: winter weather, especially when it's snowing while roads are completely snow-covered. Make sure to leave lots of extra distance, because having to stop quickly is not a good recipe.
As for passing on 2-lane roads, it is inherently a bit dangerous, but just don't do it unless you're double-triple-extra sure you have the space, and don't be afraid to hit the gas while passing.
Encountering people driving without headlights at night or in bad weather.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on June 24, 2020, 05:26:21 PM
I don't have a license quite yet, but merging onto the freeway seems the scariest.
Hint: Merge at speed, say like 65-75 mph, and you'll slip right in. Merge at 35-40 mph, and of course it's gonna be scary.
Scariest situations are always those involving other drivers.
Merging onto a freeway is fine, until the car in front of you is barely hitting 40 and no one has left the right lane open for a big line of merging cars.
Being stopped on a steep hill is fine until the car in front of you starts rolling backwards while trying to accelerate. And of course the car behind you has pulled up so far that they've left no room for a roll.
Some drivers love to weave in and out of traffic at very close distances solely to get a car length or two in front of you at the next traffic light. Risk-reward is not taught in driver's ed.
Worrying about where the 53-foot trailer you're pulling goes when you make a turn or take a curve.
Oh, if you're just driving a car? Waiting at an unprotected crossing of two-way traffic (usually cases where you're at the end of a driveway or at a stop sign, and traffic on the intersecting road doesn't have a stop sign or traffic signal). The general rule is to look left, then right, then left, but sometimes you'll feel like you're waiting forever for a good gap.
Maybe that one isn't the scariest for everyone, but you wouldn't believe how many times I've thought to myself, "Dammit, I should have taken that one" when I thought the cross-traffic was going faster than it actually was. Better safe than sorry, though, so it's better to get a good sense of how traffic is moving than to just take what might at first glance seem like a good chance without having checked both directions thoroughly.
Oh, another piece of advice that hasn't been covered yet: never follow too closely! If you do follow too closely and the vehicle in front of you suddenly brakes, you might be able to brake in time to avoid hitting it, but the driver who's following you too closely will have even less time to brake, and you should expect that people will always follow you too closely. So don't get into the habit.
Quote from: nexus73 on June 24, 2020, 06:01:15 PM
A distracted driver crossing the center line worries me the most. There was quite a spate of accidents like that in SW Oregon. Now not so many. Perhaps the message is getting through about driving the vehicle being Priority One.
Wish I was the one teaching you how to drive Roadgeekteen. My youngest brother as a child never paid attention to cars, highways and how they worked. Despite that, my training of him resulted in his becoming a superb driver who never got a ticket or in an accident during his early years of driving. Just like in D&D, you need to build up experience points with the first few levels being where it is easy to be killed. Once the experience level is up there, finding ways to get into trouble when driving lessen considerably.
Rick
You haven't known terror until you see someone coming head on at you in the wrong direction on a freeway!
The first question that I ever answered on a DMV practice exam (I think that I first saw it when I was about 10) was "Your are driving along and your right wheels get off the roadway onto a soft or depressed shoulder. You should:" The answer is "Steer straight ahead while slowing". OK, fast forward about 20 years and I get my left wheels off the road onto a soft median. What do I do? Do I steer straight ahead while slowing? Nope, I brake and turn the steering wheel to the right and spin 105 degrees. Fortunately, I was mostly in the median during the turn, didn't hit anything, and nobody hit me. But, I needed a change of clothing afterwards.
I agree with others, the scariest part of driving is the sort for which you haven't prepared. Both my mother-in-law (probably got her license before I was born) and step-daughter (just got her license a year ago) avoid driving on the freeway, if they can. I live in the Bay Area of California, so I don't particularly like to drive in snow and ice. I'll guess that there are some East Coast people who are afraid to drive in high winds. My Ex- was afraid to drive on two-lane roads where passing was permitted. My wife isn't afraid of driving in any conditions that I am aware of (she'd probably avoid volcanic dust and lava, but I think most sane people do).
I got my permit today; freeway driving is going to be fun (not!). This is also a person who's never driven a car before, never even a go-kart. I can't wait to encounter the countless idiots who somehow passed their tests.
Tricks I've learned from this forum and personal observation are:
-Never, ever follow too closely; it's okay if someone slips between you because you can react to them. You can't react if the guy in front of you brakes out of nowhere.
-Avoid cities as a new driver, if possible. Learn freeway rural driving; there's no need to hone your chops on the Arroyo Seco Parkway.
-Snow and ice sucks, especially if you slide. Oddly enough the best way to stop sliding is to turn in the direction of the slide.
-Stay with the flow of traffic, even if that flow is 80+ mph. You're going to get caught faster if you don't follow that flow.
-Four way intersections suck. If you're unsure, let the people who arrived before/at the same time as you go first.
-Never trust people who wave you through. Always, always check your surroundings.
-Pass on a two lane road if you are absolutely sure you can completely pass.
I'm still unsure on how to deal with short merges or stop sign merges - those sound like death wishes.
Quote from: Brandon on June 24, 2020, 09:26:59 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on June 24, 2020, 05:26:21 PM
I don't have a license quite yet, but merging onto the freeway seems the scariest.
Hint: Merge at speed, say like 65-75 mph, and you'll slip right in. Merge at 35-40 mph, and of course it's gonna be scary.
Well, that's just it. New drivers aren't used to driving high speeds, so it's inevitably going to feel either scary slow or scary fast until you get the hang of it.
Quote from: Ketchup99 on June 24, 2020, 07:04:39 PM
As a fellow sixteen year old, the scariest part of driving is passing on a two-lane road. Merging onto a freeway is fine IMO, and I actually find it fun to merge into heavy traffic. Passing on two-laners is terrifying though, I hate it. If I can see far enough, I'm fine with it, but the problem is that PA (can't speak for other states) dashes the center line when you have NOWHERE NEAR enough room to pass. Because of that, you really have to judge for yourself, and misjudging that is my biggest fear on the road.
I don't know if that will go away with time, though... I've only had a full license for about three months.
PAian here
I agree with you on PennDOT and passing zones too short in general
After all of these what-you-REALLY-need-to-be-scared-of posts, the OP is never going to want to drive! :-D
Quote from: noelbotevera on June 24, 2020, 10:09:58 PM
I got my permit today; freeway driving is going to be fun (not!). This is also a person who's never driven a car before, never even a go-kart.
I was in the same situation. It takes some getting used to, but it will all become instinctive before you know it!
Quote from: noelbotevera on June 24, 2020, 10:09:58 PM
I'm still unsure on how to deal with short merges or stop sign merges - those sound like death wishes.
My recommendation would be to practice on long, lightly used ramps first. Once you have some experience with merging in front of/behind other drivers, and adjusting your speed as needed, you'll get used to it, and able to do it with less space.
As for stop sign merges - that's where you need a lead foot! But fortunately there are not too many of those around.
Quote from: webny99 on June 24, 2020, 07:49:53 PM
As for passing on 2-lane roads, it is inherently a bit dangerous, but just don't do it unless you're double-triple-extra sure you have the space, and don't be afraid to hit the gas while passing.
True story. I was coming up behind a car doing 47 (limit 55) on a two-lane road, parents in the car. I pulled out and had plenty of space, and pushed it to around 65 - not even that fast - and my parents freaked out - "drive the speed limit!"
Pretty sure if I ever drove the speed limit while doing a pass like that, I'd either die from another car's grill or from all the electric impulses yelling "faster!" being ignored while I toodled along at 55.
Quote from: qguy on June 24, 2020, 10:23:42 PM
After all of these what-you-REALLY-need-to-be-scared-of posts, the OP is never going to want to drive! :-D
Could be worse. My Dad used to beat it into my head every conceivable thing that could go wrong driving when I got my license...or how I would kill someone. Oddly he was chill as could be when he taught me to haul materials and pull stumps with the S10 when I was 9.
Scariest part of driving? Suddenly noticing the black Dodge Charger sitting in the median break when you're tooling past at 85 in the left lane.
For me the scariest part is changing lanes on a busy highway, especially to the right. This requires looking at the right side mirror, the window over your right shoulder, and in front of you (so you don't crash if anyone slows down).
Getting on a highway seems scary at first, so practice on a diamond interchange, where all you gotta do is step on the gas until reaching about 60 - 70.
Quote from: Ketchup99 on June 24, 2020, 10:57:39 PM
Quote from: webny99 on June 24, 2020, 07:49:53 PM
As for passing on 2-lane roads, it is inherently a bit dangerous, but just don't do it unless you're double-triple-extra sure you have the space, and don't be afraid to hit the gas while passing.
True story. I was coming up behind a car doing 47 (limit 55) on a two-lane road, parents in the car. I pulled out and had plenty of space, and pushed it to around 65 - not even that fast - and my parents freaked out - "drive the speed limit!"
Pretty sure if I ever drove the speed limit while doing a pass like that, I'd either die from another car's grill or from all the electric impulses yelling "faster!" being ignored while I toodled along at 55.
Yeah, I was taught the other way, get out of the "wrong lane" as fast as you can. I had a 1996 RAV4 4-cyl which I generally liked, but when I moved to Tahoe and had to drive on mountain roads a lot I felt like Fred Flintstone when trying to accelerate. The 2012 RAV4 is a V6 and that thing responds instantly when I hit the gas pedal. 35 to 90 in a couple seconds, which you need when you want to pass an RV and only have 1000 feet to do it.
The driving on ice and snow some have mentioned: I had almost never done any of that until I moved here. It's quickly and easily learned and isn't scary with a little experience. The most important part of that is, leave plenty of space ahead and never have to stop quickly. If you try to jam the brake pedal through the floor the only thing that will happen is your antilock brakes telling you you're an idiot. Slower speeds and gentle taps on the brakes deal with the worst winter conditions.
Quote from: Roadrunner75 on June 24, 2020, 11:02:06 PM
Scariest part of driving? Suddenly noticing the black Dodge Charger sitting in the median break when you're tooling past at 85 in the left lane.
Yes.
The part right before the crash
Quote from: gonealookin on June 24, 2020, 07:12:42 PM
The highest-risk maneuver I have to make routinely is backing out of a space in a crowded parking lot. It's not "scary" as far as personal injury to me, but the possibility of hitting another car or, worse, somebody who's walking whom I fail to see, makes that pretty risky. When practical, when spaces are head-to-head without any barricade in between, I'll pull through to the second one so I can exit the space by going forward.
I haven't actually looked up the statistics, but I've long intuited that the highest risk for PDO collisions is in parking lots. This is why I park nose out whenever possible, even when I have to reverse in: visibility is better backing in than backing out because sightlines are longer and there is less likely to be a person or object in a space being backed into than in the aisle. If you can park by driving past the space and then reversing through a 90° angle, you also minimize tire scrub and wear and tear on hydraulically assisted power steering. The advantages do tilt back toward nosing in if the lot requires it (common with meter parking) or you are being closely followed (a common problem in parking garages where all parking is accessed from a path that does not branch).
Quote from: stridentweasel on June 24, 2020, 09:50:34 PMOh, another piece of advice that hasn't been covered yet: never follow too closely!
Pretty much every driving system I have seen stresses the importance of maintaining a space bubble not just for collision avoidance, but also better visibility. I also find it helpful for limiting use of my brakes to modulate speed.
Quote from: corco on June 24, 2020, 11:58:09 PM
Quote from: Roadrunner75 on June 24, 2020, 11:02:06 PM
Scariest part of driving? Suddenly noticing the black Dodge Charger sitting in the median break when you're tooling past at 85 in the left lane.
Yes.
Just having a cop behind you even when you're not doing anything that could get his attention can be nerve wracking.
Making a left turn onto a busy high-speed expressway without a traffic light.
I find the most anxiety-prone areas to drive through for me are construction zones, due to Oklahoma DOT's inclination to put substantial lengths of temporary Jersey barrier right up next to the edge lines, which, along with the narrower lanes common to work zones, induces a "Luke Skywalker attacking the Death Star" feeling no matter how many times I go through it. ODOT work zones also tend to feature alarmingly short merge areas, where you have a few dozen feet to either merge or plow into the wall.
I have gotten into two accidents in such work zones, mercifully both PDO, and only to my car (both involved me rear-ending someone ahead of me making a false start when attempting to merge).
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on June 25, 2020, 01:06:24 AM
Just having a cop behind you even when you're not doing anything that could get his attention can be nerve wracking.
That's the situation that led to the last time I pulled over. Notice very obvious OHP cruiser driving behind me...look down at speedometer to check to make sure that I was under the speed limit...look up to see myself coasting through a red light...whoops...
Fortunately the trooper thought it was the most hilarious thing ever.
Regarding driving on the highway, my dad had me on the Beltway and I-395 within a week or two of getting my permit, and we were in his 1982 Accord with a 5-speed to boot. He insisted I should NOT strictly adhere to the speed limit on there lest I get blown off the road. (I used that example once in law school when the criminal law professor doubted whether there could be a conspiracy to commit something as trivial as speeding.) The experience of being on the highway didn't scare me at all, but the first time I tried to downshift from 5th to 4th did because I almost went into 2d instead, which would have been a very bad thing (I shoved it back into 5th when that happened).
That makes me think of something else I think is scary for new drivers but becomes second nature with experience: Learning how to start moving on an uphill without rolling back uncontrollably when driving a manual shift. (My dad didn't teach me the "handbrake trick" until after I'd learned how to get moving without it because he didn't want me to rely on that as a crutch. Good thing, too, as my first car had a manual with a pedal-operated brake, and I've also driven a rental car with a 5-speed and a button-operates brake. Both of those brakes were useless for the "handbrake trick.")
Definitely agree with what others are saying about merging onto a freeway at full speed, and following the freeway's prevailing speed versus the speed limit. The scariest merges for me are always the ones where I'm stuck behind a car lumbering down the onramp at 40 mph while traffic is flying by in the right lane at 70+!
Quote from: Ketchup99 on June 24, 2020, 10:57:39 PM
Quote from: webny99 on June 24, 2020, 07:49:53 PM
As for passing on 2-lane roads, it is inherently a bit dangerous, but just don't do it unless you're double-triple-extra sure you have the space, and don't be afraid to hit the gas while passing.
True story. I was coming up behind a car doing 47 (limit 55) on a two-lane road, parents in the car. I pulled out and had plenty of space, and pushed it to around 65 - not even that fast - and my parents freaked out - "drive the speed limit!"
Pretty sure if I ever drove the speed limit while doing a pass like that, I'd either die from another car's grill or from all the electric impulses yelling "faster!" being ignored while I toodled along at 55.
Had the exact same reaction from my parents the very first time I did a 2-lane pass :-D
I also agree with the "get it over with as fast as possible" approach to 2-lane passing - even if I can clearly see that no one is coming for a while, spending any amount of time in the other lane always has a disconcerting feel to it. Usually my approach is I fall back slightly from the car I'm following when I know I have an opening coming, then gun it while still behind, pulling out once I've caught back up and going at a speed fast enough to get it over with quickly (and then afterward, ease off the gas and gradually come back down to whatever speed I want to cruise at).
Quote from: 1995hoo on June 25, 2020, 07:42:07 AM
Regarding driving on the highway, my dad had me on the Beltway and I-395 within a week or two of getting my permit, and we were in his 1982 Accord with a 5-speed to boot. He insisted I should NOT strictly adhere to the speed limit on there lest I get blown off the road. (I used that example once in law school when the criminal law professor doubted whether there could be a conspiracy to commit something as trivial as speeding.) The experience of being on the highway didn't scare me at all, but the first time I tried to downshift from 5th to 4th did because I almost went into 2d instead, which would have been a very bad thing (I shoved it back into 5th when that happened).
Conversely, I was told to "not exceed 55" the first time I was taken out onto the beltway. As you'd expect, I was quickly getting blown off the road, and pushed it closer to 60-65 despite parental protest :rolleyes:
Quote from: 1995hoo on June 25, 2020, 07:42:07 AM
That makes me think of something else I think is scary for new drivers but becomes second nature with experience: Learning how to start moving on an uphill without rolling back uncontrollably when driving a manual shift. (My dad didn't teach me the "handbrake trick" until after I'd learned how to get moving without it because he didn't want me to rely on that as a crutch. Good thing, too, as my first car had a manual with a pedal-operated brake, and I've also driven a rental car with a 5-speed and a button-operates brake. Both of those brakes were useless for the "handbrake trick.")
My dad took the opposite approach, and taught me the handbrake start from the getgo when I was learning manual on a 5-speed 1999 Accord (mostly because I was petrified of rolling backward and not hitting the gas in time).
Most newer manual cars (if you're lucky enough to find one anymore!) that no longer have a handbrake (including my 6-speed 2018 Civic, which has an ebrake button) have a "brake hold" button you can toggle on/off. It basically does the handbrake start for you, automatically holding the brakes until you give enough gas, then releases automatically.
Quote from: jmacswimmer on June 25, 2020, 09:37:43 AMDefinitely agree with what others are saying about merging onto a freeway at full speed, and following the freeway's prevailing speed versus the speed limit. The scariest merges for me are always the ones where I'm stuck behind a car lumbering down the onramp at 40 mph while traffic is flying by in the right lane at 70+!
If I have to follow a slow driver down an on-ramp, I generally hang back to give myself more room to maneuver.
I've long suspected the slow-driver problem results partly from a spread of opinion as to how to address failure to merge. For example, one of my mother's old college friends told me that when she was coaching her children on how to drive, she told them that if they could not merge by the time they reached the end of the on-ramp, they were to stop. This made sense for their local neighborhood, where the nearest freeway interchange was (at the time) a partial cloverleaf at the point where a freeway segment with full paved shoulders gave way to a four-lane divided boulevard with barrier curbs at the edges of the traveled way. But, as a general rule, I consider the shoulder to be recovery area if it is full-width and continuous.
I also think a contributing factor is lack of comfort with wide throttle openings. I don't have that problem, but then I actually perform regular oil changes (you realize how few people do so when you see how black the oil spots in parking lots can get), and I use the thickest in-spec ATF I can find so that the transmission will shift under heavy load without banging.
For me personally, I rarely find it difficult to find an appropriate spot to merge. Lack of confidence tends to snowball, so if you just (a) make your intentions clear from the outset, and (b) don't be afraid to use the entire merge area, even when others don't, you shouldn't have major problems with merging beyond the first few tries.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on June 24, 2020, 05:26:21 PM
I don't have a license quite yet, but merging onto the freeway seems the scariest.
I got my learner's permit in rural Kansas, so traffic was no big deal. However, my first introduction to real city driving was Denver at rush hour. At an on-ramp, I saw the traffic and came to a complete stop on the ramp.
One word of advice: Keep moving. Merging from a dead stop is a LOT harder than merging from even 30 mph.
Quote from: J N Winkler on June 25, 2020, 11:45:01 AM
Quote from: jmacswimmer on June 25, 2020, 09:37:43 AM
Definitely agree with what others are saying about merging onto a freeway at full speed, and following the freeway's prevailing speed versus the speed limit. The scariest merges for me are always the ones where I'm stuck behind a car lumbering down the onramp at 40 mph while traffic is flying by in the right lane at 70+!
If I have to follow a slow driver down an on-ramp, I generally hang back to give myself more room to maneuver.
I've long suspected the slow-driver problem results partly from a spread of opinion as to how to address failure to merge. For example, one of my mother's old college friends told me that when she was coaching her children on how to drive, she told them that if they could not merge by the time they reached the end of the on-ramp, they were to stop. This made sense for their local neighborhood, where the nearest freeway interchange was (at the time) a partial cloverleaf at the point where a freeway segment with full paved shoulders gave way to a four-lane divided boulevard with barrier curbs at the edges of the traveled way. But, as a general rule, I consider the shoulder to be recovery area if it is full-width and continuous.
I also think a contributing factor is lack of comfort with wide throttle openings. I don't have that problem, but then I actually perform regular oil changes (you realize how few people do so when you see how black the oil spots in parking lots can get), and I use the thickest in-spec ATF I can find so that the transmission will shift under heavy load without banging.
I accelerate more gradually than most drivers, so I usually enter the mainline of the highway at around 5-10 mph under the speed limit. Some people following me can't handle that and barrel around me at the first opportunity. Funny thing is, my cruising speed is usually 5-10 mph above the speed limit, so I often end up passing them later anyway.
When I'm behind a slower-moving vehicle on an on-ramp (such as a heavy truck), I hang back doing 20 mph for a while, letting the gap between us increase. Then I accelerate on the last half of the ramp, so that–assuming traffic is clear enough–I can merge at a normal-ish speed and even pass the truck right away. This avoids two things: (1) multiple slow vehicles entering traffic at the same time, and (2) passing someone at well below the speed limit.
The scariest part of driving? Being on the same roads with people who would rather play with their cell phones than pay attention to what they're supposed to be doing.
Quote from: renegade on June 25, 2020, 04:10:53 PM
The scariest part of driving? Being on the same roads with people who would rather play with their cell phones than pay attention to what they're supposed to be doing.
As someone just learning to drive, I can't imagine ever being confident enough to text and drive.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on June 25, 2020, 04:26:49 PM
Quote from: renegade on June 25, 2020, 04:10:53 PM
The scariest part of driving? Being on the same roads with people who would rather play with their cell phones than pay attention to what they're supposed to be doing.
As someone just learning to drive, I can't imagine ever being confident enough to text and drive.
It's easy. You just have to resign yourself to one of the following:
(a) Not knowing what's in front of you while driving, or else...
(b) Your text message having wacky, unintended words in it because you weren't looking at your phone. :spin:
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on June 25, 2020, 04:26:49 PM
Quote from: renegade on June 25, 2020, 04:10:53 PM
The scariest part of driving? Being on the same roads with people who would rather play with their cell phones than pay attention to what they're supposed to be doing.
As someone just learning to drive, I can't imagine ever being confident enough to text and drive.
I'd say the same and I've been driving since 1989.
Wondering if you're going to get the hell outta Cincinnati alive.
Looking at Google Maps while driving, on the other hand........... All right, everybody, fess up!
Quote from: kphoger on June 25, 2020, 04:43:54 PM
Looking at Google Maps while driving, on the other hand........... All right, everybody, fess up!
Not I, but then the two cars we take on longer trips have built-in sat-navs. I have sometimes panned the map around when stopped at a red light or in heavy traffic (such as on I-70 between Hancock and Breezewood to see if any of those back roads would get us to Bedford in time for our dinner reservation....and they did).
A few weeks ago I was heading back home from a day hike on a secondary highway - the type that's wide enough for two-way traffic, but not by much, and that doesn't have a centerline or shoulder. About 200 feet from a solid left-hander (maybe 35 mph cornering speed), as I'm tapping the brakes to get through the corner, two logging trucks come barreling around the corner, driving right down the centerline instead of on their side of the road (lots of folks in trucks or larger vehicles do this, which annoys me, but the part that terrifies me is that they still do it around blind corners). Normally it's not an issue, but the trucks were FLYING - as in, I'm pretty sure half of the trailer wheels became airborne, and the trailers were definitely leaning quite heavily towards me. And I was in the perfect position to get crunched by a tipping trailer full of timber if they had tipped over. I dove off the right side of the road into what little shoulder there was and spent the next ten minutes breathing heavily...
I also nearly spun my car out last fall going over a blind hill on a secondary road - I braked for the hill but not enough (was probably only going 40 mph entering), and I got some air because the hill had a ridiculously tight radius and I couldn't see how tight it was on approach. Laid a lot of rubber trying to slow the car down and control it.
So I guess my answer is blind corners and hills. And deer.
edit: Location #1 - https://goo.gl/maps/m3tFP7oLDNcsSgxSA and location #2 - https://goo.gl/maps/hfzm8t1dYHpeDg5g8
A scary part of driving - and I bet no one here is thinking about it now due to the calendar - is driving on snow or ice.
You may think you know what you're doing, but chances are you'll drive too fast or too slow for conditions.
Driving too fast is obviously an issue - you get on a slippery section of roadway and you can't control your vehicle. You will overreact, hit the brakes, and slide into something.
Overall it's better to drive slower, but this still presents an issue if someone is coming up behind you and doesn't realize how slow you're driving, and the same result happens.
You will also think that everyone else is driving too fast or slow for conditions, and become annoyed. And being annoyed while driving doesn't do you or anyone else any favors either.
Regarding ice, I was heading home from college for winter break in the mid 90s on the NJ Turnpike and my '79 Pinto Wagon was all over the road with the ice every time I went over a bridge. I was taking it relatively slow and cars were zooming past me. When I finally got to the bridge over the Rancocas Creek, I found the results of that overconfidence. Cars were scattered in every direction across the bridge and people were out walking around inspecting damage. The little brown Pinto slowly weaved around all the cars and I was on my way.
Quote from: kphoger on June 25, 2020, 04:43:54 PM
Looking at Google Maps while driving, on the other hand........... All right, everybody, fess up!
Google Maps, no. Paper maps, I've done a few times.
Quote from: jeffandnicole on June 25, 2020, 05:48:31 PM
A scary part of driving - and I bet no one here is thinking about it now due to the calendar - is driving on snow or ice.
I have a surefire method for handling driving in snow and ice. I have a contact saved in my phone that I dial, then press 0 for an operator, and say "Hi, this is Scott Nazelrod. I'm not going to be at work today..."
I would say driving on an interstate highway and taking a picture and posting it on this site. So without further ado.(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200626/633fbfa5f0fd6991ae46a0b91af21ca4.jpg)
I think the scariest thing about driving is driving around all these semi truck drivers that don't know how to drive on a highway.
Quote from: kphoger on June 25, 2020, 04:43:54 PM
Looking at Google Maps while driving, on the other hand........... All right, everybody, fess up!
I have a mount for my phone at eye-level that allows me to go hands-free with Google Maps. Very helpful when doing delivery runs around the city (in ever-shifting traffic).
Quote from: kphoger on June 25, 2020, 04:43:54 PM
Looking at Google Maps while driving, on the other hand........... All right, everybody, fess up!
Mostly just as a passenger, not a driver. Lesson learned (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=27140.msg2511568;topicseen#msg2511568) on that score!
I've done it to find my way around a neighborhood, especially big, confusing ones, but usually while stopped at an intersection.
It isn't the scariest part of driving, but it's tangentially related.
One of the toughest things for me was, after a year of driving on my own, still making smart decisions when nobody else was in the car with me. Being a young driver with new-found freedom can lead to tempting situations.
Quote from: kphoger on June 26, 2020, 10:29:23 AM
It isn't the scariest part of driving, but it's tangentially related.
One of the toughest things for me was, after a year of driving on my own, still making smart decisions when nobody else was in the car with me. Being a young driver with new-found freedom can lead to tempting situations.
This. Especially with windier roads with lower limits around here, I've had to tell myself several times not to pass a car going 60 in a 55 on a two-laner... I will admit that I did it one time, had to push it to near 80, and resolved never to do it again because it freaked me the hell out.
Quote from: kphoger on June 26, 2020, 10:29:23 AM
One of the toughest things for me was, after a year of driving on my own, still making smart decisions when nobody else was in the car with me. Being a young driver with new-found freedom can lead to tempting situations.
Great, great point. I had the same problem. I did a lot of stupid and potentially dangerous stuff during my first year of driving on my own every day, but I also learned a lot of important lessons. I'm much more chilled out now: I don't get as mad about left lane hogging, passing on the right, or micro-passing.
There is still one location where I will use an acceleration lane to pass and get ahead of slow people in both lanes. I do it less than I used to, but it still happens.
Quote from: Ketchup99 on June 26, 2020, 11:30:45 AM
This. Especially with windier roads with lower limits around here, I've had to tell myself several times not to pass a car going 60 in a 55 on a two-laner... I will admit that I did it one time, had to push it to near 80, and resolved never to do it again because it freaked me the hell out.
That can be scary, but let me tell you, road rage can be a lot scarier if you or another driver (or both) flies off the handle. It's more important to remain calm, cool, and collected at all times, than it is to necessarily always do the safest and most cautious thing.
Quote from: Ketchup99 on June 26, 2020, 11:30:45 AM
Quote from: kphoger on June 26, 2020, 10:29:23 AM
It isn't the scariest part of driving, but it's tangentially related.
One of the toughest things for me was, after a year of driving on my own, still making smart decisions when nobody else was in the car with me. Being a young driver with new-found freedom can lead to tempting situations.
This. Especially with windier roads with lower limits around here, I've had to tell myself several times not to pass a car going 60 in a 55 on a two-laner... I will admit that I did it one time, had to push it to near 80, and resolved never to do it again because it freaked me the hell out.
Two passing stories:
Years ago I got stuck behind a line of cars on a two lane road. I finally found a long downhill section and I pulled out and passed maybe 6-7 cars (impressive in my Pinto wagon to get up to that speed) before I had to force my car back into the line. I then pulled back out and got around the final 5 cars or so and finally passed the hearse at the front of the pack........
More recently on Route 70 in the NJ Pine Barrens (2 lane road) I pulled out to pass 4-5 cars that were moving slowly. As I rapidly approached the second car, he suddenly pulled out right in front of me to pass the cars in front of him. To avoid hitting him, I pulled all the way over into the oncoming shoulder and passed him on the far left (good thing it was a wide paved shoulder). We were three cars wide all going the same direction on a 2 lane road.
Don't be afraid to pass cars on a 2 lane road. Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do. In time you'll get better at judging distances and a paved shoulder on the opposite side always helps! It's also a good place for the oncoming traffic to bail when you come right at them!
Quote from: webny99 on June 26, 2020, 11:44:30 AM
That can be scary, but let me tell you, road rage can be a lot scarier if you or another driver (or both) flies off the handle. It's more important to remain calm, cool, and collected at all times, than it is to necessarily always do the safest and most cautious thing.
I learned to chill out on the road the hard way.
One morning, on the way to work, I got frustrated with a left lane hog on the Interstate, and I did a stupid jerk maneuver to tick him off (not proud of that). The other driver then decided to chase me down. With me being in front, no evasive action on my part could shake him. I only got away by going past my exit (diamond interchange), then driving the wrong way down the on-ramp.
That day was a turning point for me.
Quote from: kphoger on June 26, 2020, 12:01:52 PM
Quote from: webny99 on June 26, 2020, 11:44:30 AM
That can be scary, but let me tell you, road rage can be a lot scarier if you or another driver (or both) flies off the handle. It's more important to remain calm, cool, and collected at all times, than it is to necessarily always do the safest and most cautious thing.
I learned to chill out on the road the hard way.
One morning, on the way to work, I got frustrated with a left lane hog on the Interstate, and I did a stupid jerk maneuver to tick him off (not proud of that). The other driver then decided to chase me down. With me being in front, no evasive action on my part could shake him. I only got away by going past my exit (diamond interchange), then driving the wrong way down the on-ramp.
That day was a turning point for me.
I think that's actually the aspect of driving that scares me the most: someone trying to chase me down because I either inadvertently or intentionally pissed them off. Especially with the crazy roadrage headlines you see every now and then... :wow:
Over time I've tried to remind myself that doing the aggressive stuff to get around a left-lane hog or micropassers isn't necessarily worth it. Sometimes I have to check myself if, say, everyone on the beltway is doing 55-60 and I want to go 70. Usually it works out better if I just chill out, ease off the gas, and go with the flow versus trying to weave around and possibly pissing people off along the way.
Quote from: kphoger on June 26, 2020, 12:01:52 PM
Quote from: webny99 on June 26, 2020, 11:44:30 AM
That can be scary, but let me tell you, road rage can be a lot scarier if you or another driver (or both) flies off the handle. It's more important to remain calm, cool, and collected at all times, than it is to necessarily always do the safest and most cautious thing.
I learned to chill out on the road the hard way.
One morning, on the way to work, I got frustrated with a left lane hog on the Interstate, and I did a stupid jerk maneuver to tick him off (not proud of that). The other driver then decided to chase me down. With me being in front, no evasive action on my part could shake him. I only got away by going past my exit (diamond interchange), then driving the wrong way down the on-ramp.
That day was a turning point for me.
Yeah, I think I recall you recounting that previously on this forum. Scary stuff! :-o
I've never gotten involved in anything quite like that. I'm sure I've recounted this as well, so I'll spare the details, but I did get a rock (or small hard piece of something... not 100% sure) thrown at my car. It wasn't for retaliating against a left lane hog, though. It was for me refusing to let them in to an exit ramp after they tried to schmooze past a 1.5 mile line of slow/stopped traffic and cut in at the last second.
Quote from: kphoger on June 26, 2020, 12:01:52 PM
Quote from: webny99 on June 26, 2020, 11:44:30 AM
That can be scary, but let me tell you, road rage can be a lot scarier if you or another driver (or both) flies off the handle. It's more important to remain calm, cool, and collected at all times, than it is to necessarily always do the safest and most cautious thing.
I learned to chill out on the road the hard way.
One morning, on the way to work, I got frustrated with a left lane hog on the Interstate, and I did a stupid jerk maneuver to tick him off (not proud of that). The other driver then decided to chase me down. With me being in front, no evasive action on my part could shake him. I only got away by going past my exit (diamond interchange), then driving the wrong way down the on-ramp.
That day was a turning point for me.
Not having done this since I was in my late teens/early 20s (we did a lot of stupid things then), but a good way to shake a driver chasing you down on a freeway at least is to lead them in the left/middle lane, passing another car on the right (or preferably a large truck) as you approach an exit. Just as you clear the car you are passing on your right (and with the chasing car right on your tail), you suddenly swerve across to the right in front of the car on your right and up the exit at the last possible second. They are blocked by the car/truck for the moment, and are forced to stop and back up if they want to keep the pursuit.
But I like the wrong-way ramp maneuver or any method to step it up one notch above what they are willing to do.
Fortunately, I matured and have curbed the road rage in my old age. It helps to: Not have a bunch of your friends in your car egging you on, not having some of those same guys playing car tag with you in their own cars, owning a newer car you are making payments on, and having your wife and kid in the car!
Even using your windshield washers on the freeway can elicit a rage response. Again, being faithful about maintaining a space bubble helps with this, not just because it puts you further out of the reach of other drivers with hair-trigger tempers, but also because it generally tends to reduce the likelihood of abrupt maneuvers that can ignite road-rage incidents.
New entry. I was driving from Williamsport to State College today, and it started raining. Wipers on. Then it started raining heavier. Wipers all the way. Then the sky opened up. I never really realized the meaning of "sheets of rain," and I always thought it was hyperbolic. Turns out, it isn't. Normal rain feels like the sky is exercising some restraint, but this didn't. I slowed down from 70 to around 55, turned my lights on, and kept going. It then proceeded to get worse. I slowed it to around 45-50 and punched the hazards, leaning all the way forward to try to make out what I could have the road. Nobody else put on headlights, which was a concern. I was waiting for an exit - so that I could get off the road - but there wasn't one for a while. Then it started coming down even heavier. At this point visibility was literally zero, and so I pulled off into the shoulder, put the car in park, and took a deep breath. I sat there for about five minutes waiting for it to end, and it didn't. But I forgot to take into account the fact that I had to pull back onto the road... and when I couldn't see cars that was a major problem. I rolled down the window, stuck my head out to look behind me (visibility was better that way) and found an opening and pulled the car onto the highway again. I don't think I've ever accelerated a car that fast - I was stuck between the three bad options of a) accelerating in a shoulder that barely fit my car, b) pulling onto the road and accelerating slowly, meaning I'd be driving ~30mph on the highway for quite a bit, or c) pulling onto the roadway and flooring it, risking hydroplaning. I chose option C. My hazards were flashing, and I kept my foot hard on the gas until I hit about 45, when I let up a bit and coasted to around 52. Lo and behold, I did hydroplane, but got out of it okay... the scariest part wasn't the hydroplaning, but driving in no visibility. Ultimately the sky cleared up, and I made the last half-hour drive relieved to be able to drive 80 without any problems.
I'd like to retract my post on two-lane roads that I made last week... this was the first serious weather I drove in and it was both oddly calming - it cleared my mind of everything else - and also terrifying. Suicide passes, you can pick whether to pass... you can't pick the weather.
I'm scared about merging onto a roundabout (haven't yet).
Quote from: CoreySamson on June 27, 2020, 10:31:03 PM
I'm scared about merging onto a roundabout (haven't yet).
From my experience, that isn't that bad. It seems scary at first but it ends up being pretty intuitive.
From my experience:
-Driving without corrective lenses. I had to do go from Stockbridge, MA to my home in South Windsor, CT without my contacts because one of them fell out. It was at night with periods of sleet and freezing rain. It was the most nerve-wracking drive I've had to date
-Running out of room in a passing zone because of oncoming traffic. That said, the most satisfying thing about driving is passing multiple vehicles in a passing zone.
-Wheel lock-up. This is becoming rare as non-ABS cars disappear, but I've owned two without it and it's scary trying to steer after losing traction and nothing happens. Slow down early and learn how to pump the brake pedal.
-Running your fuel level down to E and panicking about possibly running out of gas.
Quote from: Ketchup99 on June 27, 2020, 10:27:39 PM
New entry. I was driving from Williamsport to State College today, and it started raining. Wipers on. Then it started raining heavier. Wipers all the way. Then the sky opened up. I never really realized the meaning of "sheets of rain," and I always thought it was hyperbolic. Turns out, it isn't. Normal rain feels like the sky is exercising some restraint, but this didn't. I slowed down from 70 to around 55, turned my lights on, and kept going. It then proceeded to get worse. I slowed it to around 45-50 and punched the hazards, leaning all the way forward to try to make out what I could have the road. Nobody else put on headlights, which was a concern. I was waiting for an exit - so that I could get off the road - but there wasn't one for a while. Then it started coming down even heavier. At this point visibility was literally zero, and so I pulled off into the shoulder, put the car in park, and took a deep breath. I sat there for about five minutes waiting for it to end, and it didn't. But I forgot to take into account the fact that I had to pull back onto the road... and when I couldn't see cars that was a major problem. I rolled down the window, stuck my head out to look behind me (visibility was better that way) and found an opening and pulled the car onto the highway again. I don't think I've ever accelerated a car that fast - I was stuck between the three bad options of a) accelerating in a shoulder that barely fit my car, b) pulling onto the road and accelerating slowly, meaning I'd be driving ~30mph on the highway for quite a bit, or c) pulling onto the roadway and flooring it, risking hydroplaning. I chose option C. My hazards were flashing, and I kept my foot hard on the gas until I hit about 45, when I let up a bit and coasted to around 52. Lo and behold, I did hydroplane, but got out of it okay... the scariest part wasn't the hydroplaning, but driving in no visibility. Ultimately the sky cleared up, and I made the last half-hour drive relieved to be able to drive 80 without any problems.
I'd like to retract my post on two-lane roads that I made last week... this was the first serious weather I drove in and it was both oddly calming - it cleared my mind of everything else - and also terrifying. Suicide passes, you can pick whether to pass... you can't pick the weather.
I hadn't even considered torrential downpours when I first posted in this thread, but I definitely agree with this. It's happened to me several times, but the absolute worst one I drove thru was on I-95 heading northeast out of Baltimore. Visibility dropped to near zero, and everyone slowed down to 15-20 mph. Luckily I was a couple miles away from the Maryland House Service Plaza when it started, so I limped along to there and then waited it out in the plaza parking lot. The downpour continued for a good half hour, by which point the parking lot resembled a pool :wow:
On the bright side, I got a free carwash at least!
Quote from: CoreySamson on June 27, 2020, 10:31:03 PMI'm scared about merging onto a roundabout (haven't yet).
It is dead easy since you don't actually merge. Modern roundabouts are designed so that you have a binary decision as to whether to enter or to wait for another vehicle to pass, unlike the case with the old rotaries where the design assumed entry by merging at speed regardless of whether the priority rule favored traffic already in the circulatory carriageway.
Quote from: Ketchup99 on June 27, 2020, 10:27:39 PM
New entry. I was driving from Williamsport to State College today, and it started raining. Wipers on. Then it started raining heavier. Wipers all the way. Then the sky opened up. I never really realized the meaning of "sheets of rain," and I always thought it was hyperbolic. Turns out, it isn't.
I treat my windshield with a silanizing compound (Rain-X or similar) so that if I move at speed, raindrops will simply roll off without my having to use the windshield wipers. However, it has been my experience that rainfall intensity is now more likely to spike at higher levels than I can remember encountering back in the nineties when I started driving. This leads to conditions that are (as you discovered) very nervous-making, with good reason--I've ridden out such spikes only to get further down the road and see vehicles spun out.
I generally take things fifteen minutes or so at a time since I've found these spikes rarely last longer than that. The key is to do what you did--maintain visibility and slow down so you don't hydroplane.
Quote from: RobbieL2415 on June 28, 2020, 12:57:05 AM-Running your fuel level down to E and panicking about possibly running out of gas.
My personal trigger for worrying about running out of gas is not the needle getting to E, the low-fuel light coming on, or (on cars equipped with trip computers) range remaining going down to zero. Under all of these conditions, there is always some reserve capacity left. This said, any of them will prompt me to set the bar quite high for passing up an immediately available refueling opportunity in favor of one further down the road (rule of thumb: gas not guaranteed in the next town unless it is the county seat or has at least 1000 population).
Running out of gas at least once takes out a lot of the fright--I've done it about four or five times over the course of my driving career--but it does represent an unplanned inconvenience. One time I had to buy a gas can just to carry the gas needed to get the car running again. Another time I had to hitchhike to the nearest station, borrow a gas can, and hitchhike back (second ride was with a young woman who wanted to be sure I knew she had a gun, in case I tried any funny stuff).
Frankly, the scariest part of driving for me lately is being on the emptied city freeways (due to the coronavirus) with the increasing number of idiots who think it's an open invitation to live out some repressed fantasy of driving 90+ mph while weaving in and out of traffic, with several near-misses.
Around here, you can do 80 mph on most freeways without weaving at all. There's not much traffic, and everyone always keeps moving (especially since the start of the pandemic). I don't get the needle up to 80 very often, though, because (a) cops and (b) mostly 55 mph limits.
Not sure about 90 mph though... can't think of many roads or daylight hours where I'd feel comfortable with that except for the Thruway.
The absolute scariest is backing out in a parking lot.
I traded paint with a car today because we were both in our blind spots at the same time. Parking lot design also tends to be abysmal, so that helps.
Quote from: CoreySamson on June 27, 2020, 10:31:03 PM
I'm scared about merging onto a roundabout (haven't yet).
Other than an old, large rotaries, you should have already slowed down to about 15 mph before getting to the roundabout. At such a slow speed, it's no big deal at all.
Quote from: J N Winkler on June 28, 2020, 12:30:18 PM
Quote from: RobbieL2415 on June 28, 2020, 12:57:05 AM-Running your fuel level down to E and panicking about possibly running out of gas.
My personal trigger for worrying about running out of gas is not the needle getting to E, the low-fuel light coming on, or (on cars equipped with trip computers) range remaining going down to zero. Under all of these conditions, there is always some reserve capacity left. This said, any of them will prompt me to set the bar quite high for passing up an immediately available refueling opportunity in favor of one further down the road (rule of thumb: gas not guaranteed in the next town unless it is the county seat or has at least 1000 population).
Running out of gas at least once takes out a lot of the fright--I've done it about four or five times over the course of my driving career--but it does represent an unplanned inconvenience. One time I had to buy a gas can just to carry the gas needed to get the car running again. Another time I had to hitchhike to the nearest station, borrow a gas can, and hitchhike back (second ride was with a young woman who wanted to be sure I knew she had a gun, in case I tried any funny stuff).
Spoken by someone who's never run out of fuel in a diesel vehicle, I assume. NEVER run rout of diesel.
Quote from: Bruce on June 29, 2020, 12:52:31 AM
The absolute scariest is backing out in a parking lot.
I traded paint with a car today because we were both in our blind spots at the same time. Parking lot design also tends to be abysmal, so that helps.
In Mexico, I often have to back out of the driveway shown below. The driveway inside is parallel to the street, and the wall blocks any view of traffic. I can't usually back in, for practical reasons I won't bother getting into. As such, I have no idea if any traffic is coming when I back out. Even after having done this probably more than 20 times, I'm still a little nervous every time.
(https://i.imgur.com/rYh9ZJk.jpg)
Running out of new things to see. Scares the hell outta me.
Quote from: cjk374 on June 29, 2020, 04:21:05 PM
Running out of new things to see. Scares the hell outta me.
Are you really in danger of that happening, though?
Quote from: cjk374 on June 29, 2020, 04:21:05 PM
Running out of new things to see. Scares the hell outta me.
There's millions of miles of roads, you could live 200 years and still not run out of roads.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on June 29, 2020, 04:52:03 PM
Quote from: cjk374 on June 29, 2020, 04:21:05 PM
Running out of new things to see. Scares the hell outta me.
There's millions of miles of roads, you could live 200 years and still not run out of roads.
Roads ≠ Things to see
First, let's eliminate all the mileage with nothing to see...
Quote from: kphoger on June 29, 2020, 05:02:53 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on June 29, 2020, 04:52:03 PM
Quote from: cjk374 on June 29, 2020, 04:21:05 PM
Running out of new things to see. Scares the hell outta me.
There's millions of miles of roads, you could live 200 years and still not run out of roads.
Roads ≠ Things to see
First, let's eliminate all the mileage with nothing to see...
Like Kansas? :poke:
I'll actually bite on what cjk stated because for me, it's not running out of things to see as much as it is becoming failed to be impressed by new places I'm seeing because I've seen the same stuff already in other places. For example, the mountains on I-90 in Montana I saw last week were neat, but no different than the ones in Colorado I became bored with from seeing the last two summers.
Forests? River drives? Lakes? I have all that, maybe they're just bigger in Oregon.
Quote from: kphoger on June 29, 2020, 05:02:53 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on June 29, 2020, 04:52:03 PM
Quote from: cjk374 on June 29, 2020, 04:21:05 PM
Running out of new things to see. Scares the hell outta me.
There's millions of miles of roads, you could live 200 years and still not run out of roads.
Roads ≠ Things to see
First, let's eliminate all the mileage with nothing to see...
Looks like we just took much of the great plains out of the equation. How about the fear of running out of places within day trip distance?
Quote from: ozarkman417 on June 29, 2020, 06:27:26 PM
Looks like we just took much of the great plains out of the equation. How about the fear of running out of places within day trip distance?
Come to upstate NY! 20 years and I haven't run out of day trips yet. :)
Quote from: GaryV on June 29, 2020, 06:06:53 PM
Quote from: kphoger on June 29, 2020, 05:02:53 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on June 29, 2020, 04:52:03 PM
Quote from: cjk374 on June 29, 2020, 04:21:05 PM
Running out of new things to see. Scares the hell outta me.
There's millions of miles of roads, you could live 200 years and still not run out of roads.
Roads ≠ Things to see
First, let's eliminate all the mileage with nothing to see...
Like Kansas? :poke:
I-70 west of Salina, yes. But I-35 through the Flint Hills is gorgeous. Plenty of old route alignments in Kansas to geek out over, too, such as US-40. One of the prettiest drives I've ever done was
this stretch (https://goo.gl/maps/vvMovmKpziCiDj2f8). Below is a picture of an old K-96 alignment that I took back in 2012.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1092.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fi410%2Fkphoger%2FMay%25202012%2FRural_1.jpg&hash=234af1071299be9d68fe134139886fa73609ac75)
In general, I think most people who say there's nothing to see in Kansas haven't spent very much time off the Interstate.
I drove a similarly fun road in Texas one time, now if only I could find it...
This area has plenty of fun drives too, from this (https://www.google.com/maps/@43.3287224,-76.6715778,3a,72.5y,226.24h,85.66t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s7apj_KfBVF2ZjKVosu-LDQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3D7apj_KfBVF2ZjKVosu-LDQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D299.76794%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656!5m1!1e1) to this (https://www.google.com/maps/@42.6732461,-77.3739753,3a,75y,8.39h,86.2t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sBiBH3n8h5O984yaiazWfpg!2e0!7i3328!8i1664!5m1!1e1) to this (https://www.google.com/maps/@42.9474607,-76.9015577,3a,75y,178.39h,79.12t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sjNxmDSP2Gf2tPLCIjm_GKQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!5m1!1e1). I think every state has classic country roads that are beautiful in their own right, even if there's no Rocky Mountains in the background... Except maybe Rhode Island.
Quote from: cjk374 on June 29, 2020, 04:21:05 PM
Running out of new things to see. Scares the hell outta me.
This is serious in the age of COVID. As I clinch everything in a certain radius, the distance I have to travel in order to get to something new increases and increases. Since March, I've been trying to stay within the state border for as long as lockdown goes on, because my state is proving to be effective at lowering the number of infections. (Now that some nearby states around us are trending downward we've reopened some things, though, I might consider some other northern states.) Keeping myself confined to one state or the local region can only be entertaining for so long...
Quote from: kphoger on June 26, 2020, 10:29:23 AM
One of the toughest things for me was, after a year of driving on my own, still making smart decisions when nobody else was in the car with me. Being a young driver with new-found freedom can lead to tempting situations.
I'm just starting to drive on my own, and at the point I'm at I don't see myself taking any big risks because I lack confidence as it is. Not only that, but I'm having to get used to a car ten years older than the one I trained in. You don't appreciate the backup camera until it's gone..
Quote from: ozarkman417 on July 01, 2020, 01:20:31 PM
Quote from: kphoger on June 26, 2020, 10:29:23 AM
One of the toughest things for me was, after a year of driving on my own, still making smart decisions when nobody else was in the car with me. Being a young driver with new-found freedom can lead to tempting situations.
I'm just starting to drive on my own, and at the point I'm at I don't see myself taking any big risks because I lack confidence as it is. Not only that, but I'm having to get used to a car ten years older than the one I trained in. You don't appreciate the backup camera until it's gone..
You also don't appreciate the backup camera if you spent most of your years driving without one. In late 2018 I got my first car with a backup camera and I still haven't been able to train myself to use it regularly. I still look over my shoulder. You never know if it's like the movie "Speed" and they've tapped into the camera and are showing a prerecorded backup video rather than a live feed! :sombrero:
Quote from: Roadrunner75 on July 01, 2020, 01:27:35 PM
Quote from: ozarkman417 on July 01, 2020, 01:20:31 PM
Quote from: kphoger on June 26, 2020, 10:29:23 AM
One of the toughest things for me was, after a year of driving on my own, still making smart decisions when nobody else was in the car with me. Being a young driver with new-found freedom can lead to tempting situations.
I'm just starting to drive on my own, and at the point I'm at I don't see myself taking any big risks because I lack confidence as it is. Not only that, but I'm having to get used to a car ten years older than the one I trained in. You don't appreciate the backup camera until it's gone..
You also don't appreciate the backup camera if you spent most of your years driving without one. In late 2018 I got my first car with a backup camera and I still haven't been able to train myself to use it regularly. I still look over my shoulder. You never know if it's like the movie "Speed" and they've tapped into the camera and are showing a prerecorded backup video rather than a live feed! :sombrero:
The only car I've driven with a backup camera was a rental we took to Minnesota in December. It didn't take very long for it to be completely covered in winter road grime, so it was worthless for the whole trip.
Having been a passenger in a couple of cars with one, I don't think I'd have an easy time gauging the distance between my car and the obstacle behind me. I'd much rather just turn around and use my eyeballs.
Speaking of winter driving...
One of the scariest parts of driving is finding oneself on a road so icy you have zero control over where your vehicle goes.
I remember driving a box truck on
this road in Centralia, IL (https://goo.gl/maps/bh52kBQQH2Fuiutx5), on a very icy day. As you can see in the GSV, the road has open ditches, and the road surface is mound-shaped for drainage. Cars were off the road all over the place that day. The police were at the intersection, so I had to stop. While I was at a dead stop with my foot on the brake, my truck started sliding to the right toward the ditch. Fortunately, I was able to go again just at that moment, and I was able to round the corner. Rollover avoided!
Later, I was talking to a co-worker about the incident. He said that his route had him over in Chester, which lies along the Mississippi River. While he was heading back into town after delivering to the prison, he couldn't stop at a stop sign (I'm guessing
this one (https://goo.gl/maps/9c1pYNM4P5M9PDrP7). With his foot firmly on the brake, his truck was sliding into the intersection. If I'm right about the location, it's the intersection of two state highways.
Mud can be just as scary. One time when I was in high school, I decided to take
the fun route (https://goo.gl/maps/SZJKtH3NLo2JiSAb8) from K-117 back home to Atwood. I was in a 1995 Toyota Corolla, and it had recently rained. The second curve after leaving Herndon is steeply banked, and my car started sliding down into the bottom of the bank as I was rounding the corner. Fortunately, I was able to keep from getting stuck in the bud at the bottom, turn around, and take the paved roads home instead. This was before cell phones were ubiquitous, too.
Heh. We have one car with a backup camera (my wife's TLX) and I've quickly come to love it. It did take some effort to overcome the instinct to turn my head. I should note her car has the "proximity sensors," or as my father called it, the "parking sonar"–the thing where it beeps to let you know you're getting close to the obstacle. That helps with gauging distance. It also has a sensor that detects traffic coming across your path, and it's even beeped for pedestrians at the grocery store parking. I'll also hit the button to change the camera angle to look straight down if I pull straight through two parking spaces or if I park the car at the rear of the row of parallel-parked cars around the corner (there's a line where the "No Parking" sign is, so I use the vertical camera view to get the bumper right at the line).
But then, I should also note that while my TL doesn't have a backup camera, I don't turn my head to back out of our one-car garage at home–I use the sideview mirrors instead because they make it easier to see the sides of the garage door and the edges of the driveway–so that probably makes adjusting to using a camera a little bit easier.
My wife is a couple of years older than I am and so she's driven for longer, yet yesterday when she drove her other car (an RSX), she commented on how much she missed the backup camera. So you can get used to it! My mom, on the other hand, inherited my father's Volvo S90 last year and refuses to look at the screen at all when the backup camera is on. She doesn't "trust" it.
I have never actually driven a car equipped with a backup camera, and can still count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I have been a passenger in one.
The backup video feeds I have seen have all been taken through a fisheye lens, so there is considerable distortion. I've also never been able to establish how sensitive they are to low obstacles like curbs and parking stops that don't threaten the bodywork but can pose a hazard to the exhaust.
Since I routinely reverse into parking spaces and have robust procedures for doing so that involve driving past and backing through a 90° angle, I tend to regard backup cameras as tools that are helpful rather than essential, even for cars where DLO is constrained by pillar airbags and rearward visibility is therefore mediocre. I tend to think backup cameras come into their own when you cock the car opposite the desired space and back through at a shallow angle, which I don't like to do because it leads to bad tire scrub (the steering wheel has to be turned while the car is stationary, or almost so), but is probably the least socially awkward way to reverse into a parking space when someone else is riding your tail in the lot. (Driving past the space gives the other car an opportunity to steal it; if you position your car astride the space so the other car can't get in and then wait for it to go past before you start your maneuver, that is a good way to start a road-rage incident.)
Quote from: J N Winkler on July 01, 2020, 02:46:00 PM
I have never actually driven a car equipped with a backup camera, and can still count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I have been a passenger in one.
The backup video feeds I have seen have all been taken through a fisheye lens, so there is considerable distortion. I've also never been able to establish how sensitive they are to low obstacles like curbs and parking stops that don't threaten the bodywork but can pose a hazard to the exhaust.
Since I routinely reverse into parking spaces and have robust procedures for doing so that involve driving past and backing through a 90° angle, I tend to regard backup cameras as tools that are helpful rather than essential, even for cars where DLO is constrained by pillar airbags and rearward visibility is therefore mediocre. I tend to think backup cameras come into their own when you cock the car opposite the desired space and back through at a shallow angle, which I don't like to do because it leads to bad tire scrub (the steering wheel has to be turned while the car is stationary, or almost so), but is probably the least socially awkward way to reverse into a parking space when someone else is riding your tail in the lot. (Driving past the space gives the other car an opportunity to steal it; if you position your car astride the space so the other car can't get in and then wait for it to go past before you start your maneuver, that is a good way to start a road-rage incident.)
On the other hand, angling in is
apparently (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=27140.msg2512407#msg2512407) a good way to have an accident.
Quote from: kphoger on July 01, 2020, 03:08:15 PMOn the other hand, angling in is apparently (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=27140.msg2512407#msg2512407) a good way to have an accident.
I'm really sorry to hear about this one--dealing with insurance is a ton of hassle even under the best of circumstances.
I can't say I've encountered that particular failure mode, but I have had a few close calls where someone turned into my path from a location I could not check because of blocked sightlines. There was also another near miss where someone else and I tried backing 90° into the same space, from opposite directions.
When I reverse in, I generally hit my blinker as I approach the space, before I drive past it. Then, once I have passed it and brought my car to a smooth controlled stop (meaning I feather the brake pedal so the dive response is imperceptible), I pause a second or two after I move the lever into reverse, until I can feel the drive axles wind up as the transmission engages. Then I do a final mirror check. This tends to build in enough time for another driver to figure out what is going on and respond accordingly.
When the target space is to my left and I am in an aisle that is wide enough to accommodate two cars side by side pointed in opposite directions, I stay right and try to treat the backing maneuver as a left turn, which it effectively is, only in reverse. This has worked well. I tend to have more difficulty in lots where the aisle is "car and half" width. Besides the added problems due to visibility lessened still further, I had a near miss several years ago where I initiated the maneuver and had to abort because a woman in a car coming from the other direction wanted to jump the gap and would not be denied.
In cases where I have had a car come "out of nowhere" just as I was about to back left into a driveway from the street (blinker and reverse light on), I have aborted by turning the blinker in the other direction, putting the transmission in Drive, and pulling forward to park at the curb and wait for the other car to pass.
Quote from: J N Winkler on July 01, 2020, 04:40:17 PM
dealing with insurance is a ton of hassle even under the best of circumstances.
I've found that, if you provide good details about what happened and are up front about anything that was your own fault, agents are very appreciative and the process isn't bad.
What I didn't know the first time I had an accident (a few years ago) is that there's no point in getting a repair estimate immediately after the accident. After dealing with the police, I drove a few blocks to a shop and had an estimate done, then I called my insurance agent and mentioned the quote, and the agent said that was a good thing. Then I went to a couple of different shops to get quotes, and finally one of the mechanics told me it was pointless: insurance would send out their own adjuster and do their own numbers. So all that running around for no reason! (It ended up being totaled out anyway, and I took the check to buy a replacement car.)
A police cruiser on your rear bumper for 20 miles on a 2 lane.
Quote from: MikieTimT on July 01, 2020, 04:59:20 PM
A police cruiser on your rear bumper for 20 miles on a 2 lane.
...in a foreign country.
I was once leading a caravan of three vehicles on a stretch of desert highway in Mexico, doing about 105 km/h with a speed limit of 80 km/h. A
federales cruiser came up behind us and stayed there. 105 was about the normal flow of traffic, so I didn't slow down. He stayed back there for several miles, then eventually passed us. It sure freaked out the other drivers following me, though!
Quote from: kphoger on July 01, 2020, 04:55:53 PMQuote from: J N Winkler on July 01, 2020, 04:40:17 PM
dealing with insurance is a ton of hassle even under the best of circumstances.
I've found that, if you provide good details about what happened and are up front about anything that was your own fault, agents are very appreciative and the process isn't bad.
What I didn't know the first time I had an accident (a few years ago) is that there's no point in getting a repair estimate immediately after the accident. After dealing with the police, I drove a few blocks to a shop and had an estimate done, then I called my insurance agent and mentioned the quote, and the agent said that was a good thing. Then I went to a couple of different shops to get quotes, and finally one of the mechanics told me it was pointless: insurance would send out their own adjuster and do their own numbers. So all that running around for no reason! (It ended up being totaled out anyway, and I took the check to buy a replacement car.)
I was thinking more in terms of an accident forcing you to absorb imperfectly compensated economic losses to go from 100% (before accident) to 100% (after accident, to the extent that this is possible). The insurance will cover part of it sans deductible, but you are out time spent liaising with your own insurance, the other driver's insurance (if another car is involved), the police (if they are called), the repair shop, etc. and this is typically not compensated.
Our experience with loss claims on auto insurance, albeit with a company that underwrites only for members of a specific occupational group, has been that the insurer prefers the estimate to be obtained from a body shop it nominates. The stated benefit to the insured is that this ensures the repairs are of high quality. We have found that this allows the insurer to take charge of the repair process and save some money by specifying parts of "like kind and quality" in lieu of OEM parts. To be fair, I have never observed a LKQ part that was clearly inferior to the OEM equivalent, but with control of the process entirely in my hands, my personal default is to spend the little extra for OEM.
The hassle factor is part of the reason I try to drive with a mindset of continuous improvement--I look not just at "near misses," but also incidents where I felt the chain of events unfolded in a less than satisfactory way, and ask myself what I can do to ensure better outcomes if similar situations recur. It is also why I park nose-out whenever possible; parking lots are where my risk of "paint trade" PDO accidents are highest, and the majority of my close calls have involved backing out of a space under conditions of limited visibility.
Quote from: J N Winkler on July 01, 2020, 05:39:06 PM
Our experience with loss claims on auto insurance, albeit with a company that underwrites only for members of a specific occupational group, has been that the insurer prefers the estimate to be obtained from a body shop it nominates. The stated benefit to the insured is that this ensures the repairs are of high quality. We have found that this allows the insurer to take charge of the repair process and save some money by specifying parts of "like kind and quality" in lieu of OEM parts. To be fair, I have never observed a LKQ part that was clearly inferior to the OEM equivalent, but with control of the process entirely in my hands, my personal default is to spend the little extra for OEM.
A few years ago someone slid on ice at a traffic light into the back of the RAV4 I had at the time and smashed up my rear bumper and lights. Their insurance company accepted responsibility right away and routed me to a "preferred" auto body shop that works directly with them and a few other insurers (I know I had a choice). It seemed like a McDonald's of body shops (although it wasn't a chain like Caliber) and I was a little worried, but the repairs looked fine (as far as I could tell) and they did it really quick. A few years later that same RAV4 got taken out again while my wife was driving and it did end up at Caliber (via the other guy's insurer) but that time it was totaled.
Quote from: gonealookin on June 24, 2020, 07:12:42 PM
The highest-risk maneuver I have to make routinely is backing out of a space in a crowded parking lot. It's not "scary" as far as personal injury to me, but the possibility of hitting another car or, worse, somebody who's walking whom I fail to see, makes that pretty risky. When practical, when spaces are head-to-head without any barricade in between, I'll pull through to the second one so I can exit the space by going forward.
My drivers ed & truck driver ed teachers said dont back up
if u have a choice. I pull thru car parking too the problem is if the parking lot have 1 way aisles.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on June 24, 2020, 05:26:21 PM
I don't have a license quite yet, but merging onto the freeway seems the scariest.
That depends on the type of ramp. If it is a shorter clover leaf ramp with no acceleration lane, hope for the other drivers to move to the left lane so the right lane is clear.
If it is a straighter ramp such as a diamond or a slip ramp, they are very easy as long as they are long enough for you to accelerate.
99.9% of the time the traffic will see you entering the highway and they will move to the left lane.
A terrifying example is going over a hill on a two lane road only to see a bucket waiting for you to run over it. Fortunately the bucket was empty.
It landed in the center and dragged unless I pulled over to free it. There was no damage to car. But there was plenty of damage to bucket!
Quote from: J N Winkler on July 01, 2020, 05:39:06 PM
I was thinking more in terms of an accident forcing you to absorb imperfectly compensated economic losses to go from 100% (before accident) to 100% (after accident, to the extent that this is possible). The insurance will cover part of it sans deductible, but you are out time spent liaising with your own insurance, the other driver's insurance (if another car is involved), the police (if they are called), the repair shop, etc. and this is typically not compensated.
Fortunately for me, I've never been out any time–at least time from work.
With the first accident I had, a few years ago, it was on a day off (on my way to the mechanic, ironically). Our vehicle was still driveable, even though the front end damage bent the frame and required me to tie the hood down. While the car was at the shop, we borrowed a car from friends at first. Then my mom drove me 150 miles west, while my in-laws drove 150 miles east to meet us, where I picked up my wife's sister's car for us to use for a while. After insurance totaled out our vehicle and I then sold it to them, we drove my sister-in-law's car up to Kansas City on a week-end to buy a replacement vehicle. My wife and I then drove separately down to Branson to drop the borrowed car off. We didn't have to pay for lodging, because my mother-in-law works in hospitality and got us a free room. Next morning, we headed home together in our new vehicle. All of that happened on week-ends, when I wasn't working.
When I had the accident two months ago, I was coming home from work. The vehicle was perfectly driveable still. After dropping it off at the body shop early one morning, I had a friend pick me up and drive me to work. I came in maybe one hour late, hardly worth mentioning. When they were done working on it, my co-worker drove me down after work to pick it up. In between, she drove me to and from work. Other than walking down the grocery store once for a couple of items, my family had no errands to run in between.
So my total fringe losses included about one hour of PTO at work, plus some extra gasoline to drive Wichita-KC-Branson-Wichita. Barely tops $100.
Plus, my insurance company just informed me they're working to reimburse us for the deductible.
Quote from: kphoger on July 02, 2020, 09:57:16 AMFortunately for me, I've never been out any time–at least time from work.
What I am getting at is the concept of pure economic loss (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pure_economic_loss), which is much broader than time off work (paid or not). Your leisure time has value, and when it is spent dealing with the aftermath of an accident, that is a taking.