bad drivers

[judywatt]

The accident in Santa Monica was horrible, but percentage-wise, younger drivers are probably a much worse hazard to *everyone* .

Half the drivers I see here, I wonder, how in the world did these people ever get licenses to drive? And they aren't over 65, much less 85, most of them.

So I don't know... if they are going to start road-testing people every year over a certain age, I think that age should be 16.

I do the world a favor by not driving. I only wish more people would do the same, whatever their age.

Comments

[poetbear.livejournal.com]

you also have the good fortune to live in one of the areas
that has the best public transportation in the world. here in
the Phoenix area, public transportation is next to non-existent.
oh, we have it, but it is(pardon the expression)piss-poor. actually it's worse than that, but oh well. you also have the good fortune to live in a city which had the(dare i say it?)common sense to confiscate drunk drivers' autos.
that being said, i think you're probably right. of course, if you
go by my theory that 85% of us are complete idiots that make you ashamed of your own species much of the time, you can be much calmer and happier with the situation. just sayin' ***official
end of paul's rant o' the day***~paul

[judywatt.livejournal.com]

I had to laugh when I read that (sorry but I did)... when's the last time you ride SF Muni? The only thing that makes it a "good" system is that the physical size of SF is pretty small. In a pinch, when the bus breaks down or never shows up, you can get off and walk the freaking 7 miles across town. Or take a cab for $25. It used to be a much better system, but the Reagan-Bush years took their toll, and since we're having a re-run of that, well, the system ain't what is used to be.

But whatever... I have gotten in so many debates in other places with people who say they *have to drive everywhere and they have to own a huge minivan or SUV and on and on. The thing is, we set this country up this way, and people set their lives up in ways that make it so they do have to drive everywhere. They literally cannot buy food or go to work without getting in a car and driving there. But it didn't just happen by accident that we have such a crappy public trans system here when we *could have one like they do in Europe.

I didn't know they confiscated drunk drivers' licenses in SF - do they really? I think half the people driving around here don't even have licenses though, no kidding. It's a very dangerous city to walk around in - more pedestrian deaths than just about anywhere in the US, I think. You have to be really really careful at every corner, whether there's a stop light or sign, doesn't matter.

I yell at reckless drivers here all the time. I pretend I'm from NYC for a split second and do that "I'm walkin' here!!" thing in a fake Brooklyn accent at them - wakes 'em right up.

And half the people on bikes are just as bad as the car drivers - I yell at bike riders a lot too. They think they can ride on the sidewalks and the pedestrian paths in the parks, and that stop lights and stop signs don't apply to them. And they teach their kids the same attitude. Sigh.

Re:

[poetbear.livejournal.com]

yes, but you've never seen a really bad
system. i know yours isn't great, but it's
miles(sorry 'bout the pun--no, not really)
better than ours. i think a lot of what is wrong
is that they teach their kids the same attitude.
we went out for dinner tonight, and then to
Starbucks®--i know, it's not SF coffee, but
it's the closest thing we've got! and at each place
there was a small 'offspring' raising hell in a loud
voice, and being told 'there, there' by their mother.
we live in a university town, and bike riders think the same thing here. they also think it makes sense to ride facing the traffic, ignoring the basic
laws of physics. i think maybe the solution lies
in Henry Rollins'(or is it Jello Biafra's) idea of 'a
little bleach in the gene pool!' one thing you can do about bike riders is to 'closeline' them and then
say, 'but officer, i didn't think anyone would be illegally riding their bicycle here!~paul

[mesmereyes.livejournal.com]

I wish I didn't have to drive. Being the only driver in the house puts a toll on me sometimes, and there are mornings that I drive Hubz to work when I'm too tired, and I pray for other doors to open up soon. But I totally agree with you about younger drivers. Their inexperience comes out in the worst ways.

Of course, another problem is the fact that there seem to be more drivers on the road now than ever before, and good grief, cars are getting bigger! I drive my little Toyota and can't see around any of the SUV's that get in front of me. That's a huge problem in itself.

Regardless of all the driving problems, my heart and prayers go out to everyone, including the driver, involved with that horrible accident. Sometimes things just happen. I can't imagine how the families of the 9 people lost are coping.

[poetbear.livejournal.com]

it's not licenses they confiscate, it's cars!~paul