Senseless deaths -- what are YOU going to do about it?

[marticus24]

I've been hearing about that accident all over since it happened. It's really a shame, particularly for those that were NOT in control of the car. That driver was an IDIOT, yes an IDIOT, and as heartless as this may sound, he deserved his fate. Unfortunately though, none of the passengers deserved that same fate, nor do the families of ALL of those affected, including the engineer of the train and his family.

Scott, well said, I agree. I was just talking to my wife today about how idiotic, rude, careless, and self-centered people are when driving. I've always thought it was just metro detroiters, but I'm sure it's everywhere.

And to your call to arms to call people out... I've always done so and usually get similiar reactions, like the bird. Case in point: car full of kids run a red light in a residential area when my light is green. I luckily hadn't started moving yet, but had I been in a hurry or not paying attention, I would've smashed them. So, I honk my horn to say "hey WTF"... and then I get flipped off by both back seat passengers and the driver. Case in point #2: I'm driving down I-75N at 7AM to get to work around 16 mile, just the other day mind you, and I'm cruising along in the right lane, going about 75'ish, slowing to make the exit coming, and somebody in the center lane decides that because they just turned on their blinker for a split second, and that the space in front of me was open, that it was OK to get right in front of me going about 50. I had to brake hard as to not hit him. I again, honk, and promptly get the bird.

I don't know what it is these days, but people seem to think they can do whatever they want, break whatever lawas they want, be careless, rude, and inconsiderate, and then when you call them out... YOU get the bird. It's frustrating.



Sorry for the rant, this is just a sore topic for me since I drive a lot. Again my thoughts are with the families of those kids and the engineer.

[lafountain]

Agreed. I almost unfortunately had a personal experience with a cell phone driver today. I was riding my bicycle home from work and was at a 4 way stop sign. I was stopped with another vehicle as we waited for the car to the right to go, and after it did we started to go and I had to stop right in the middle of the road as the next car after the one that just went through decided to ignore the stop sign due to being on the phone. I saw the car not slowing down, so I stopped and the car flew right in front of me, had I not been paying attention, it could have been very ugly for me.

[Zabo]

Originally Posted by marticus24

I don't know what it is these days, but people seem to think they can do whatever they want, break whatever lawas they want, be careless, rude, and inconsiderate, and then when you call them out... YOU get the bird. It's frustrating.

Oddly enough, attitudes like that are illegal on the Autobahn. It's part of the German driving culture..

I wonder if anything like that would fly?

Originally Posted by lafountain

Agreed. I almost unfortunately had a personal experience with a cell phone driver today. I was riding my bicycle home from work and was at a 4 way stop sign. I was stopped with another vehicle as we waited for the car to the right to go, and after it did we started to go and I had to stop right in the middle of the road as the next car after the one that just went through decided to ignore the stop sign due to being on the phone. I saw the car not slowing down, so I stopped and the car flew right in front of me, had I not been paying attention, it could have been very ugly for me.

Funny thing is that there's a right way to get hit by a car and not get injured. I dunno about you guys, but if I saw it coming, and he had it coming.. I'd do it. I'd let him hit me and take him to court just to teach him a lesson.

And no, I'm not kidding. And yes there is a way to get hit by a car to minimalize injury.

[BOBSS]

[khislop007]

[Thrillz]

Great post.

[third1]

Thanks for the reminder Scott. We all tend to get a little lax in our driving

[GMtothecore]

Very unfortunate for this accident to have happened, but could have been prevented! I drive over 2,500mi per month, and I tell ya....I see it all. I pride myself on being the best driver I can be(not the dangerously overcautious type), and even though some of my friends poke at me sometimes at my driving habits, they know I'm doing the right thing. I'm 24 and still accident free...unlike most of my friends that rib me over my driving and many drivers in my age bracket.

["prima"Donna]

Shame, shame, shame...the public at large has taken the attitude that it's "me first" and "I don't care about anyone but me"...
People seem to have lost all sense of manners and civility...not many people seem to care anymore about other people, they are just so self-centered...
If you point out anything they do wrong, they just yell at you, or possibly worse...
What has happened to this country???...for a short while after the horror of 9/11, people were "good" again, they seemed to be so thoughtful and considerate and I had actually forgotten how good that felt...it ended too soon, and people went back to their usual thoughtless ways...:(
I thought the driving was just the worst where I live on Long Island, NY...no one cares about any traffic laws, and most are not enforced, so there is no fear of breaking the laws...
When I go out driving, I feel as if I'm preparing to "go to war" on the roads...I am NOT trying to make light of the military actually fighting wars, it's just that driving around here, you have to always expect to get hit and drive accordingly...you have to expect people not to stop, to cut you off, not signal, run red lights and stop signs, etc and you have to drive more defensively than ever before...
I knew that I could not ever talk on a cell phone while driving and that was back in '95, way before most people had cell phones and before it was against the law to talk on a cell phone that isn't "hands free"...no one obeys that law, and no one is punished for it...I believe that it is impossible to do safely, and tests have proven that it is still very dangerous to talk on any cell phone and drive, hands-free, bluetooth, period!!!...it is the equivalent of driving while impaired...
Every day in the news, there are more and more senseless, tragic deaths of teenaged, inexperienced drivers and their passengers...and that includes not wearing seatbelts...I will not start my car unless everyone, front and back seat passengers "buckle up"...
I do not let my sons have more than 1 passenger in their cars and that was after they had their license for at least a year...
Sorry for my rant, too, but Scott's "horror story" got me all "fired up"...
What a tragedy...
May God be with all those involved in the accident that Scott speaks of...:(


p.s. Scott, thank God you are ok...I can't imagine how scared you must have been..................:(

[Doc]

Sorry to hear about the train accident. They need to make the crossing guard rails block both sides of the road because there's always some idiot who thinks he's super driver and tries to "beat the train". Only way to prevent it is to block all lanes so there's nowhere to 'get around' the gate.

Phone use in a car by the driver should be banned period, unless it's a vehicle emergency or an accident. It's the distraction of the conversation that causes the problem, not holding a phone... bluetooth doesn't make any difference really. People yakking on the phone instead of paying attention to their driving is one of my pet peeves.

The loss of common values and common decency is going to continue; it's a side-effect of over-population. When there's too many people, life becomes cheap and competition for space and things leads to aggression. Leading by example is good but you also have to be careful. There was a case in SoCal not too long ago of a guy who cut off a driver in a really bad way on the freeway, the driver he cut off honks of course and the guy who's in a pickup truck starts doing the road rage thing. He follows the car he cut off for quite a ways, follows him off the freeway, follows him into a parking lot and gets out. Turns out the guy he had cut off and was following was an off-duty police officer. The guy flies into a rage and even though the officer pulls his gun and warns the guy to back off, he charges him anyways. The officer had no choice but to fire and killed him. They had it on surveillance video from the parking lot. If this guy hadn't been a police officer, who knows what that maniac (big muscle guy driving a pickup truck) would have done to him or someone else.

Lead by example but also be wise and be careful.

[stovt001]

Absolutely agree. And you're right, the problem is people becoming lax in their driving habits. The cause is our attitudes towards driving. The ability to travel freely is taken as a right, and the ability to travel by personally driving a car is assumed as granted. Driving has lost its status as a skill and a privilege. Hence, it has become "routine", a "necessary evil". The population takes driving for granted. And like anything else that becomes part of the routine, shortcuts are taken, attention is diverted. If we actually treated driving as a skill, and the responsibility of controlling a two ton machine hauling precious human cargo at high speeds among similar machines with similar cargo and speeds, and actually made it a privilege for the select group who were talented enough to do it right and responsible enough to take it seriously and give it their full effort and attention, we'd solve these problems. Traffic would be reduced, as would accidents, insurance costs, and driving frustrations. The government must crack down on the licensing process and only allow people to drive if they are exceptionally skilled and responsible. In so doing, traffic laws should also be relaxed to reflect the skill of the licensed drivers. Of course this will never happen, as citations, licensing and registration fees are serious revenue sources, and politicians pander to the electorate by pretending they are all worthy of being drivers.

[TFord]

I refuse to use my phone while driving, and if its more than a 1 hr drive I might bring my head piece. I say "if its important they'll leave a message".

In the last 6 years Ive drove well over 200K miles, many cross country trips included. Once I was in savannah, GA just crusin and all of a sudden I feel a warmth on the left side of my face and neck. I look left and there's someone merging into me, and we're literally side by side by side. I had to yell, and at the same time hit her car with my hand (yeah she was that close). Of course she was on the phone. At the light my now wife had to stop me from getting out the car. In texas some guy came over on me, while making eye contact ran me off the road...people kill me sometimes....What I hate more are the people that want to go 10-15 miles under the speed limit, or who get in front of you and do it!!!

[TAG UR IT]

Oh my....

Agreed on all counts, Scott.

And, funny you mention putting on make up. We had a lady cross a center median a few weeks ago because she was busy putting on make up. Well, since she wasn't looking, the road curved to the right and she (being in teh left lane) missed the right turn. She hit the center median, got airborn, and struck the vehicle approaching in the opposite direction....head on....but a few feet higher....

needless to say, one driver was killed instantly.


PEOPLE....



WE, the LEO's on this site, have all seen many, many deaths from auto accidents. The worst part is seeing the young ones die. This is not something that should happen to ANYONE of ANY AGE. It really is SENSELESS.

Which brings me to one MAJOR POINT...

WEAR YOUR SEAT BELTS!!!

[slowerthanu]

When people start to pay attention and take personal responsibility, I will be out of a job.