[Flash]

I was just wondering whatever became of good driving skills and/or habits? What I mean is, more and more I see people making turns into the wrong (far not near) lane, failing to signal, tailgaiting, etc. Have people become so lazy that they don't need to do things right, or are they just not taught the correct way to do things?
I will be the first to admit that I am not perfect. I, like everyone, make mistakes. I do not intentionally drive like an a**hole (but I can if I have to!).
What is everyones's opinion on this subject, and do any of you have any remedies?

 

[guido]

Flash,I couldn't agree more,have a cold beverage of your choice on me!

The stunts some people pull out there is truly mind boggling,it never ceases to amaze me!

Wedsnesday morning I was enjoying a few hours of riding before work,second shifter here,& mundanely slowed down & stopped for a red light.I'm last in a line of 5 or 6 cages.Just like a thousand other times.Light turns green,you expect forward progression right? Not this time.I see an old persons hand trying heroically to open the Lincoln in front of me's door.Finally an older lady gleefully informs me her trunk was open & I guess she just had to have it closed that minute. In traffic,as the light was turning green.

I have no patience for stupidity while riding.Being last in line at the light I felt kinda nekkid for a moment or two.In my mind I could see a brain dead soccer mom seeing a green light only &...you get the picture.I then procceeded to gun it & get the hell outta there.

I look in my mirror & guess who's behind me? Yep.Thankfully I was about 2 miles from home.

The two things that scare the bejeesus out of me most are big ole Lincoln Continentals & cell phone idiots!! I know there are dozens of stupid human tricks to look out for but these two really scare me.
Ride safe,ride smart.
guido

 

[guido]

Dealing with it....

The only way you can deal with it is to get into a mental "zone" while on two wheels & never leave it.This only develops with saddle time.Always expect the unexpected, that tenemant on wheels doesn't see you.Ride like your invisible.Ride defensively, I make like every cage out there is piloted by a drunken fool & treat them as such.

I never ride when overtired or in an overly pissy mood.My personal philosophy is not one drop of alcohol while on two wheels.

But sometimes my best defense is my wife.When the testosterone level leaps off the ole macho scale she'll just tell me to chill, it's not worth it! Very wise advice indeed.

Other times her saluting digit will be flying quicker than I can say what the.....! A good passenger knows exactly the proper ettiquette,timing is the key. LOL

Read everything you can about safe riding practices, always try to learn.

Learn from more experienced riders by just watching them.Never feel ashamed to ask questions, if it saves your life or gets you out of a bad situation was it stupid to ask?

Hopefully you'l get many responses from the knowledgable members in here.
guido

 

[JimmyK]

Well there is no remedy for another persons stupidity. There is a cure for it, but who the Hell wants to shoot someone anyway?

One thing to get in the habit of is using not only YOUR mirrors, but use the mirrors of the car ahead of you.

A good rider, who is forced to ride in heavy traffic will always look to place himself in the left side mirror of the cage ahead and on your right. If you can see their head, then they CAN see you but don't assume they do.

Cars that change lanes and cut yer ass off will always say, "I did not see him."

While technically it is their responsibility to KNOW the lane is clear before making a lane change, most people look for cars but do not think about bikes.

Some riders think it is safer to be in the far left of the left lane. That is crap. The safest place is the far RIGHT of the left hand lane. I ride in the left lane as close to the inside line as I can. There is no one on my left to worry about and the person on my right has me in their mirror.

Intersections with unprotected left turn lanes are some of the worst. The guy you are approaching wants to turn left and often does it right smak in front of your ass. Approaching an intersection, with an oncoming left hand turn dude faceing you should be done assuming the bastard is gonna cut you off.

At the end of the day, to hell with the laws of "right of way". If you get hit, you may not be around to see the ticket issued to the other guy.

Y'all be careful out there.

 

[electrified]

i agree with everything said here, but i dont think that is a matter of laziness. I think that most people have a "me,me,me!!" attitude theses day, and dont care anymore about the "next guy" as much as "i'm gonna go over there NOW, and dont give a rats ass how i do it" even if it creats a danger for everybody else. These are the same assholes that blow the horn the milisecond the light turns green only ta speed to the next red light. If you have that much pressure in your life, that .08ths of a second matters, then you should not be behind the wheel to begin with. Im sure we've all seen the asshole backing up on the parkway because they missed their exit and instead of (GOD FORBID) going to the next exit and turning around, decide to create possible 70 car pile up....but as long as he/she gets to where they want, all is good and if thats no bad enough, i've seen this done with CHILDREN in the car. Anyway, I could go off for hours on this subject, but as jimmy k and guido said, i always leave plenty of room when possible because you can always count on 3 things,taxes,death and asshole drivers!!

as Dennis Miller says: thats just my opinion, I could be wrong....

 

[fourhour]

In these parts it seems like everybody is either color blind or just plain ignorant of traffic laws. It took me all of 15 minutes yesterday afternoon to drive my daughter home from a doctor appointment. In that small bit of times I saw no less than 5, count em, 5, drivers run red lights. In two of the incidents, the light was clearly green on my side when they elected to keep going. My pet peave!

 

[HIPPO]

Some people are alive strictly because it is illegal to kill them.

 

[fourhour]

Well said!