Today as I was pulling onto the highway, I saw a Prius bouncing off the lane lines. When I passed the car, I looked over to see the driver playing with a Rubik's Cube. 
Today as I was pulling onto the highway, I saw a Prius bouncing off the lane lines. When I passed the car, I looked over to see the driver playing with a Rubik's Cube.
Wow, old school.
My dental hygienist suggested I floss while driving. She said another one of her patience did that every day!
singleslammer wrote: Wow, old school. My dental hygienist suggested I floss while driving. She said another one of her patience did that every day!
Good news - new study out says flossing has no proven benefits. Mostly I just see people texting. When I commuted to downtown Chicago I saw lots of folks reading books or the paper, doing make-up along with the phone thing.
Fully autonomous cars can't get here soon enough.
Like I have noted before, it's the transition period before fully autonomous cars that is potentially the most dangerous. Clearly there are people who think the lane departure features can be used like a self-driving car, but they are very much mistaken.
If I ever see someone doing this, I will see exactly how long I can hold my hand on the horn while driving near them (being next to them would seem to be a bad idea).
Watched a guy in my parking lot at work on Friday, put the car in reverse, stare at the screen on his dash and back out. No checking the windows or mirrors. It frightens me how quickly people depend on technology when it comes to driving.
Whereas my wife I would love to figure out how to permanently turn off the rear view camera on her car. It's really bright and very distracting at night.
-Rob
aircooled wrote: Like I have noted before, it's the transition period before fully autonomous cars that is potentially the most dangerous. Clearly there are people who think the lane departure features can be used like a self-driving car, but they are very much mistaken. If I ever see someone doing this, I will see exactly how long I can hold my hand on the horn while driving near them (being next to them would seem to be a bad idea).
I have tried the horn on many occasions w/little or no affect. Some just continue playing with phone as if they don't hear while others look around for the source of the annoyance.
My friend was telling me about her son's 4x4 and 5x5 Rubik's Cubes.
I watched a student get in, start car, back out, and head for the exit of parking lot while reading text messages. He hit the right side curb, jumped it and hit a metal sign post embedded in concrete. After hitting the sign, he applied brakes, backed up, drove off the curb and proceeded as if nothing happened. This is what is coming at us/family/friends on a daily basis.
singleslammer wrote: Wow, old school. My dental hygienist suggested I floss while driving. She said another one of her patience did that every day!
I've seen that! It's terrifying. You can't floss with just one hand unless you have one of those pick things. This girl did not.
oldtin wrote:singleslammer wrote: Wow, old school. My dental hygienist suggested I floss while driving. She said another one of her patience did that every day!Good news - new study out says flossing has no proven benefits.
Bull. If you saw the hunks of crap that come out of my teeth when flossing, you'd re-evaluate that statement.
outasite wrote: I have tried the horn on many occasions w/little or no affect. Some just continue playing with phone as if they don't hear while others look around for the source of the annoyance.
You have the wrong horn.
There's a reason I call the horn in the Freightliner "The Voice of God".
Your horn needs to say "I'm not asking, I'm telling."
I went to an accident once where the driver was injured when her airbag thrust the her ceramic mug of hot soup into her chest. When she came to get her things from the car she was sporting a neat scar from the spoon.
Even with upgraded horns in the Jeep (stock 2 tone plus a set of old 4 tone Cadillac horns), I usually get one of 2 reactions from people when I use it: People either totally ignore it and continue to do something blatantly unsafe or almost hit me, or they get flip me off and start screaming as if I have no right to blow my horn at them...
rob_lewis wrote: Watched a guy in my parking lot at work on Friday, put the car in reverse, stare at the screen on his dash and back out. No checking the windows or mirrors. It frightens me how quickly people depend on technology when it comes to driving.
I see this a lot. I was recently in an Acura whose backup screen had a label to the effect of: "This thing doesn't show you the side view." It's disturbing that people need to be told this.
I need to practice wielding a mace while riding my motorcycle.
Decades ago a trucker told me he'd witnessed someone practicing banjo while driving down the interstate.
Pre cell phone era: South Dakota I-29: Young girl, all windows down, both feet out the drivers window, seat tilted back, one hand resting on bottom of steering wheel as she passed.
I have seriously contemplated making myself a couple of signs, white with black lettering and about 16" x 10" that read "FOCUS ON YOUR DRIVING, NOT YOUR GODDAM PHONE". one to leave in the propped in the rear glass, the other to keep on the passenger seat to just hold up at the side windows as needed for the shiny-happy-drivers to read.
With the phone thing, if I'm sitting in traffic and someone next to me is on their phone, I occasionally will pick up the CB mic. They usually drop their phone really fast when they notice... Or if I'm at a traffic light and they're clearly distracted, they have a 1/2 second to have their foot off the brake before they get a horn tap. If they're not obviously distracted, they get a few seconds.
Good news - new study out says flossing has no proven benefits.
Tell that to my bloody gums. Honestly, what happened to good research?
I did a couple of hours on the freeway yesterday, and it's remarkable how oblivious the slow-left-laners are to the fact that they are creating a hazardous situation. It doesn't excuse the fact that the guys passing on the right should slow down, but the resulting weaving is a lot more likely to cause carnage than if everyone would just set up shop in the appropriate lane.
petegossett wrote: Decades ago a trucker told me he'd witnessed someone practicing banjo while driving down the interstate.
I wonder if it was the same guy I bought a banjo off of a few years back. This guy liked to play while driving and eat sticky candy at the same time- it took a while to get the banjo cleaned up...
outasite wrote: Pre cell phone era: South Dakota I-29: Young girl, all windows down, both feet out the drivers window, seat tilted back, one hand resting on bottom of steering wheel as she passed.
In 2008 dropping my then fiancee at the cleveland airport. Passed a guy with pillows on the dash and both feet on the dash, head back, pillow under his head driving down I-77 at 80 mph.
You weren't in DC this morning, where you? Passed this on my way in to work.
For the record, it wasn't my pic, I lifted it from a news article!
rob_lewis wrote: Watched a guy in my parking lot at work on Friday, put the car in reverse, stare at the screen on his dash and back out. No checking the windows or mirrors. It frightens me how quickly people depend on technology when it comes to driving. Whereas my wife I would love to figure out how to permanently turn off the rear view camera on her car. It's really bright and very distracting at night. -Rob
Well, now there's a technology dependence on aux cams. It's a standard feature so that beltlines can go up, and A,B,C pillars can get wider. I'd argue that in many current vehicles, not enabling it would diminish safety.
I'm not a fan of backup cams either, but it's pretty hard to see out of many new cars. Too much glass would create a glare problem seeing your smartphone. 
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