Issue With Drivers On The Street

bobinfaith

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Hello brothers and sisters;

When we see an accident on the road we pray and ask the Lord to anoint the officers while tending to the victims and keeping them safe on the road.

Yesterday while my wife and I were driving on the freeway to Church and there was an accident between two vehicles. The California Highway Patrol and Fire truck were blocking the 1st and second lanes. There usually isn't a lot of traffic on the freeway during Sunday mornings so we figured the two cars were speeding or using their electronics.

Here's my issue. A vehicle is a luxury and was originally meant to get us from point A to point B. It seems drivers develop this power behind the wheel and feel the need to speed while driving. I noticed many vehicles today have a workstation on their dashboard - cell, speaker phone, monitor and other features which to me are distractions from driving defensively. In either case I feel people just don't seem to learn.

Again, a vehicle is a luxury that is intended to get us from here to there. But it seems drivers want more.

What can we do as drivers to help eliminate these accidents on the freeway and side streets?

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

God bless you all.
 
Dear bobinfaith, as you indicated there are multiple reasons people are driving badly.

Statistically, the number one cause of car accidents is not drunk driving, speeding, or running a red light: It is distracted driving.

Distracted driving includes anything that takes our attention off the road. Many have their attention on their cell phones, texting, changing songs, and talking on the phone, also eating food, assisting kids in the backseat, applying makeup and picking up items that fell on the floor … all while piloting a 2 ton vehicle at speed.

Also, although I don’t see this listed separately in the statistics, my years of driving have convinced me that drivers are much more aggressive now than in the past.

Whether this translates to speeding, road rage or aggressive driving it all stems from selfishness and a sense of entitlement that are systemic in society and are antithetical to Christian beliefs, intentional or not.

So, maybe the master of Chaos is behind all this.

What’s to be done?
Besides prayer, I’m not sure.
 
Hello brothers and sisters;

When we see an accident on the road we pray and ask the Lord to anoint the officers while tending to the victims and keeping them safe on the road.

Yesterday while my wife and I were driving on the freeway to Church and there was an accident between two vehicles. The California Highway Patrol and Fire truck were blocking the 1st and second lanes. There usually isn't a lot of traffic on the freeway during Sunday mornings so we figured the two cars were speeding or using their electronics.

Here's my issue. A vehicle is a luxury and was originally meant to get us from point A to point B. It seems drivers develop this power behind the wheel and feel the need to speed while driving. I noticed many vehicles today have a workstation on their dashboard - cell, speaker phone, monitor and other features which to me are distractions from driving defensively. In either case I feel people just don't seem to learn.

Again, a vehicle is a luxury that is intended to get us from here to there. But it seems drivers want more.

What can we do as drivers to help eliminate these accidents on the freeway and side streets?

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

God bless you all.
Bob, it cannot be stressed enough that good drivers DRIVE DEFENSIVELY. Whenever I observe another driver acting inconsistently or erratically, I either drop back far behind the driver or speed up to get ahead and stay ahead. It's difficult or impossible to determine if a weaver is a texter or a drunkard; in any case, that driver presents a potential danger. During my military career, I drove more than a million miles on three continents without becoming involved in an accident, and defensive driving was the key to that successful record.
 
Bob, it cannot be stressed enough that good drivers DRIVE DEFENSIVELY.
Dear BibleLover,
Very good point.

My years of riding a motorcycle helped ingrain this in me as you never win when you’re riding a bike and have an accident.

We had a defensive driving acronym they hammered in us back then when on two wheels: SIPDE

SIPDE:
Scan
Identify
Plan
Decided
Execute

Thank you for this reminder.
 
Bob, it cannot be stressed enough that good drivers DRIVE DEFENSIVELY. Whenever I observe another driver acting inconsistently or erratically, I either drop back far behind the driver or speed up to get ahead and stay ahead. It's difficult or impossible to determine if a weaver is a texter or a drunkard; in any case, that driver presents a potential danger. During my military career, I drove more than a million miles on three continents without becoming involved in an accident, and defensive driving was the key to that successful record.
I Agree 101%. I have been driving for 65 years and to this day I have never been in a wreak or received a speeding ticket. I probably should not post that...........tomorrow will be the day!
 
Bob, it cannot be stressed enough that good drivers DRIVE DEFENSIVELY. Whenever I observe another driver acting inconsistently or erratically, I either drop back far behind the driver or speed up to get ahead and stay ahead. It's difficult or impossible to determine if a weaver is a texter or a drunkard; in any case, that driver presents a potential danger. During my military career, I drove more than a million miles on three continents without becoming involved in an accident, and defensive driving was the key to that successful record.
What did you drive in the military"?
 
I'm not sure what we as drivers can do to eliminate accidents as they can happen to anyone but we can all as drivers drive safely.

I know when I am driving I don't have any radio or anything on that's distracting me, and I keep to the speed limit, and don't use my phone, keeping eyes on the road, and keep a safe distance from other cars on the road. Also always indicate 3 seconds before turning/switching lanes.

Also praying helps.

We need a lot of patience on the road and respect our cars as passenger vehicles not like toys/racing cars on a race track. There ARE race tracks designed for the purpose of car racing and if speed IS your thing you should join one of those rather than be on the public road endangering everyone else.
 
Statistically, the number one cause of car accidents is not drunk driving, speeding, or running a red light: It is distracted driving. Distracted driving includes anything that takes our attention off the road. Many have their attention on their cell phones, texting, changing songs, and talking on the phone, also eating food, assisting kids in the backseat, applying makeup and picking up items that fell on the floor … all while piloting a 2 ton vehicle at speed.

Bob, it cannot be stressed enough that good drivers DRIVE DEFENSIVELY. Whenever I observe another driver acting inconsistently or erratically, I either drop back far behind the driver or speed up to get ahead and stay ahead. It's difficult or impossible to determine if a weaver is a texter or a drunkard; in any case, that driver presents a potential danger. During my military career, I drove more than a million miles on three continents without becoming involved in an accident, and defensive driving was the key to that successful record.

I Agree 101%. I have been driving for 65 years and to this day I have never been in a wreak or received a speeding ticket. I probably should not post that...........tomorrow will be the day!

The 8 Most Common Causes of Florida Car Accidents:
  • Speeding. Failing to obey a traffic control light. ... Texting while driving. ... Drunk driving. ... Driving while high. ... Bad weather. ... Falling asleep behind the wheel. ...Animals.

I'm not sure what we as drivers can do to eliminate accidents as they can happen to anyone but we can all as drivers drive safely. I know when I am driving I don't have any radio or anything on that's distracting me, and I keep to the speed limit, and don't use my phone, keeping eyes on the road, and keep a safe distance from other cars on the road. Also always indicate 3 seconds before turning/switching lanes. Also praying helps. We need a lot of patience on the road and respect our cars as passenger vehicles

When BibleLover mentioned driving the M-151 Jeep and humvees in parts of Europe while serving in the military. If I'm correct the M-151 jeeps were high speed but could roll over if not driven with care, defensively.

When my Dad was stationed at Rhein Main Air Force Army Base in Germany, he purchased a used Volkswagen Beetle to drive to the base. On the autobahn I think his Beetle could only
floor 55 miles an hour while the other vehicles passed him by going as fast as 100 miles per hour. YIKES!

Major shared that he has been driving for 65 years since the Volkswagen Beetle was introduced. lol! He has never received a ticket or been in an accident. That is very impressive, Major.


I feel the installment of the radio could have been the driver's first distraction and through the years many other features increased distractions as rtm3039 shared and because of this more accidents vary today.

The responses given in this topic is encouraging and equates to driving defensively, praying and patience - watch out for the other guy.


 
As a new driver I’m always so on edge when i drive and my instructor says it good thing. I used to be so scared to get behind the wheel and I have gradually just simmered to being just cautious and constantly checking everythig…I think it’s a balance of being focused yet relaxed enough to go with the flow…we need our wits about us…

It’s a struugke today to stay focused.

Why this is is personal maybe
 
As a new driver I’m always so on edge when i drive and my instructor says it good thing. I used to be so scared to get behind the wheel and I have gradually just simmered to being just cautious and constantly checking everythig…I think it’s a balance of being focused yet relaxed enough to go with the flow…we need our wits about us…It’s a struugke today to stay focused. Why this is is personal maybe

Hello Via;

Your instructor makes a good point and it's about staying focused and driving defensively. The more we drive the better we get at navigating.

When driving defensively early in our driving becomes a good habit and then we can actually enjoy driving.

I noticed in the UK and Japan the steering wheel is on the right and in the US it's on the left side. I wonder if in some countries the steering wheel is in the center?
 
Hello Via;

Your instructor makes a good point and it's about staying focused and driving defensively. The more we drive the better we get at navigating.

When driving defensively early in our driving becomes a good habit and then we can actually enjoy driving.

I noticed in the UK and Japan the steering wheel is on the right and in the US it's on the left side. I wonder if in some countries the steering wheel is in the center?
Your humour is beyond compare.

In Europe I believe there are ways of driving us round the bend.

I have no use how they do this.

Via Dolarossa: remaining in the middle of everything.😁
 
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