Re: Bad driving [Was: Re: Cupholders & Americans]

[Elliott Potter <epotter@abraxis.com>]

PlyBoyDoct@aol.com wrote:
> 
> In a message dated 7/15/99 7:25:41 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
> epotter@abraxis.com writes:
> 
> > Age isn't the judge of how good a driver you are, it's maturity
> 
> I agree, many times over.  But I also want to point out that it depends on
> your skills and reflects.  

I agree, your driving skill and reflexes do come in to play.
Driving skill - one of the few redeeming factors of growing old?  (n.b.
as I'm reading over this before I send it that sounds pretty rude, but
I'm going to leave it in as a fun jab towards anyone over 25...no
offense intended though :)  Sure, after you've been on the road for a
while you begin to get a bit better at judging what you can get away
with.  But a properly trained young driver probably has a better set of
skills to start with, and will probably be a better driver than an older
driver that learned how to drive in the family station wagon in the
church parking lot.

> If somethings jumps in front of you on the road,
> it being a deer or a rock, it takes the skill and your reflects to avoid the
> accident.  Some poeple I know freeze when they spot danger.  IMHO, I think
> that freezing isn't a good tactic for avoiding a accident.
 
That's a common instinctual sort of reaction that happens when people
don't know what to do when they're confronted with a rough situation.
But let me relate a story; this happened last summer.  Driving down a
commercial road, which was thankfully not very busy, going 5 mph over
the speed limit (40 in a 35).  Someone coming out of the parking lot
looked to his right, but not to his left (where I was coming from).  He
pulled out so that he was blocking the middle lane, half of the left
lane, and half of the right lane.  Then he looks over my direction,
where I'm maybe 2 carlengths away.  So what does he do?  Stomps on the
brakes, effectively blocking all three lanes, and throws his hands up to
protect his face.  I ended up having to swerve across 2 lanes to avoid
hitting him.  Though I did get close enough to notice that he was
probably in his late 30's.  He wasn't talking on his phone, or eating,
or anything else.  Just a bad driver.  There are bad drivers of all
ages, and no one can react the right way to every situation.
--
Elliott


> Jason C
> 89 200t10v
> Redmond WA