What aggravates me the most are drivers who will try to move over and get in front of you if there's a gap larger than fricking one foot between you and the car in front.

Why would you just not let them pass you, better to have the idiots in front of you than behind you endangering everyone because you think you're the pace car of the highway...

I'm Italian. That's all it takes to be said.

Argh.
Half the people should get their licenses taken, the rest is just too confident and leave (as in this video) no room for errors. Their's or someone else's is irrelevant.

Being a father of two, this video really made me grind my teeth.
The guy playing the father really have some emotions to show.

Even though both my kids are under 3 I dread the day they get their license.
I'm so afraid of the generic "Others"...

Master covered it pretty well - it's the chain reaction.

I remember once going through the grapevine on the way to Los Angeles on I-5 when everyone was going ~95 MPH (it's a 65 zone). What would happen should somebody doing, say, 110 came up & shot across lanes? Everyone would hit the brakes because at 95 an accident is pretty likely to end in death.

Or driving normal speeds on a heavy traffic day and somebody in lane #3 out of 4 or 5 hits their brakes. How many cars do you think will hit their brakes as well? All or nearly all of them. I've seen braking in lane #5 affect people in lane #2 even when the braking is 500-1000 feet ahead and only 1 car is braking.

I've also seen one car cause a traffic jam on 3-lane roads or big rigs who are restricted to lanes 3 & 4 causing a huge backup due to the bottleneck.

Shoot, spend some time at the Eastbound I-580 to I-680 junction (here). The dedicated exit lane & the #4 lane are almost always backed up and this causes a backup for miles in all lanes. There's always some jerk who can't wait so they wait until the last second to go from lane #1 or #2 over to #4 to make the exit. There are so many accidents at this junction. I think people realize this because as soon as someone gets twitchy everybody hits the brakes.

That satellite shot must've been a few years ago on a Sunday morning on a holiday weekend - the traffic is rarely that light during daylight hours.

So, if you're ever in the SFBA and have nothing to do, go cruise 580, 880, or HWY 101 and you'll see what I'm talking about all day long.

We'll, you're assuming that someone who's speeding is also driving recklessly, but if the person you're referring to had been doing the limit or going with the flow of traffic he'd have the same effect.

Most people who speed do it safely - 75-85 in a 65, for example, not weaving in & out of traffic too much, etc. The big problem is people who impede the flow of traffic, either by obliviously driving in a passing lane or simply going slower than the flow of traffic. On interstates and other limited-access highways it's imperative that everyone maintains a minimum speed, but there are always people who don't use the merge lane to accelerate to the flow of traffic and force everyone else to slow down or change lanes to accommodate them, or who simply drive more slowly than is safe. Up here the minimum speed on the interstate is 45, but if you're doing 45 in good weather then you are a hazard to everyone else on the road and have no business being on the interstate (or maybe behind the wheel at all.)

Obviously it's possible to speed to an unsafe degree, but even if someone's flying along at 110 and nails someone else who pulls out to pass, isn't the 2nd person equally at fault for unsafe passing? I see a hell of a lot more people cut other cars off to pass than I do people driving at such a high speed that they're automatically a danger to others. People who weave in & out of traffic? Hell yes, but they're dangerous at whatever speed they're driving. And obviously when you have THAT many cars in such a small area (or road systems never intended for the volume of traffic) you're looking at a special set of problems. But most of us don't have to deal with that degree of crowding on the road.

Part of why I try to let more traffic pass before entering a highway these days. Speed judgement. With the limit at 70, plenty are doing 85, even more if they are "alone". Sitting at a stop sign with cross traffic doing 85 or 95 mph, particularly at dawn/dusk, sometimes hard to be certain.

Speeding in and of itself does not equal recklessness. It's well known that most people who drive fast are much safer drivers than those who don't. They are more aware of their surroundings, are constantly looking to see who's going to try to ruin their day, and are constantly aware of their escape routes.

A friend of mine has raced most of his adult life. We were doing a 3-digit speed that shall remain nameless and I was completely relaxed because I knew that he was in total control, very aware of his surroundings, and was a very safe driver. Then there's the time my mom was driving us somewhere in her new sports car and said "this doesn't feel like 85 does it?" whereupon I nearly pooped my pants because I was seriously scared (she's a lousy driver).

What I was referring to was someone making a sudden, drastic move (a "no margin for error" kind of move). I call these people twitchy because they're easy to spot before they make their move (they tend to shift around in their lane, tailgate, thread the needle, etc.).

One example of this is driving home one night in the #4 out of 5 lanes, some guy in the #2 lane suddenly swerves into #3 into a too small of a slot at about my 10 o'clock. I immediately start slowing to get away from him (foot off the gas). He starts the twitch and I nail the brakes (making sure no one was too close behind me) and sure enough he does his little swerve maneuver and promptly does a nice little spin (2.5 or 3.5 turns - can't remember). Granted this is an extreme end result but it's that twitchiness that triggered my alarm bells.

So, people shooting across lanes (I think it's called a lane sweep) rather than proceeding gracefully tends to put people on edge.

And I completely agree on the other driver can be at fault concept. If I had 1/10th of a cent for every time I've seen that in my 29 years of driving I'd probably be a billionaire.

A bonehead move happened to me on my way home this evening (and I saw it coming ) - someone didn't clear his/her blind spot. You'd be amazed at how many people can't see a Honda Pilot - even during daytime w/ my lights on. The "funny" part of that is having one's lights on fools the brain into thinking you're closer than you really are and yet people still pull out in front of me. And the best part is a lot of them freeze when they realize they're about to get creamed and go slow instead of flooring it.

Oh, and let's add in personal responsibility. So many people screw up and can't handle it and transfer the blame to the other driver. Many years ago, my home from work was a straightaway followed by a 90 degree shift to get on the freeway (no opposing traffic). This turn could be taken on the inside lane at about 45 or so in my sedan at the time. One time, some guy must have thought I was racing him and tried to beat me around the corner on the outside lane. He went off pavement and nearly wrecked. I went on my merry way thinking 'what an idiot.' Next thing I know this guy is trying to run me off the road on the freeway. I guess he thought I somehow caused his near-accident even though I never came close to him.

Going back to speed & safety, I heard of a recent study that said the biggest factor in accidents is speed differential - one party going significantly faster than the other party. The actual speed isn't a significant factor.

On a street with timed lights, a cluster of cars can run at the optimum speed
and hit all the greens. Now, get one yoyo to slide their way to the front,
then accelerate, and he'll hurtle up to the light before it turns, so he'll
have to brake, then when the light turns, he'll be slow or stopped, and will
take time to accelerate, causing all the optimally travelling cars to have to
slow down, then the timing for the pack is lost, and some of them don't make
the next light. Meanwhile the guy still doesn't get it, and rushes to the next
light and the process repeats.

Great video, I'm going to show it to the stepdaughter, who's about to get her licence.

My biggest aggravations when it comes to accidents I've witnessed are when you have someone who could have avoided a collision by swerving or maybe by simply concentrating on other than mashing the horn.

I had to do it many times when I drove a no-brakes, no handling, slow steering '70s musclecar so someone driving a vehicle that doesn't respond like a schoolbus full of sumo wrestlers should be able to manage.

Fellow SHQ'rs...

You have posted replies of some very serious experienced ... experience's! .. for want of better grammar.

This clip hit home to me as a similar scenario happened some 8 month ago.
Was nearly T-boned and only just missed by a Bee's D*ck.
My 7 year old son was in the back seat ... similar to this vid.

Some hot-rod wanker went straight through a give way sign on cross-road at about 120Kph.

Foresight, I to think saved me and my boy, but upon reflecting back, still to that day and ever since ... it must have been a higher power than me.
I'm not too shabby ... but, I 'aint that good.

Thought's were to chase the said vehicle ... but then it occurred to me... My boy is in the back seat, let it go.

I am in a small country community ... It will show up one day.

However, to me, this vid paint's a simple picture ...

Never trust another Driver's ability.

And ...

Never be that 'Driver' that should not be trusted.



Be safe

Truer words never spoken.

I don't trust any of those drivers farther than I could nudge them with my pinkie. And I always drive in as predictable a manner as I can, even if my speed is different from others.



The Jedi Master