On driving, and warning signs that another driver is going to try to kill you.

[theweaselking]

Other people on the road are *dangerous*. So everyone develops early warning signs - filters they use to guess which of the other people on the road is going to do something stupid, and who they must pay extra attention to.

So, I want to know what *your* filters are for figuring out which other drivers are about to do something incredibly stupid. Note that behaviours like tailgating, swerving, racing up a lane that will end and trying to force your way in at the front, turning without signalling, etc are not on this list, because those are all behaviours that *show* dangerous stupidity, right now, not behaviours that warn you of future dangerous stupidity.

[Poll #1471612]

Comments

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

There's a small trick in the question. Quebec drivers are notoriously bad, but Montreal drivers are incredibly unsafe even compared to other Quebecers. Thing is, it's hard to tell a Montreal driver from a normal Quebecer, except in one way: the island of Montreal is the only place in the country where right-turn-on-red is illegal - so if you see a Quebec plate stopped at a red light, waiting to turn right, and they don't go racing through it? MONTREALER. Watch out, they're going to fucking kill you.

[ursulav.livejournal.com]

You missed one of mine, probably because of the country--the #1 sign down here in the Southeast is if they've got a confederate flag anywhere on their car. Beyond that, my sense of danger signs increase in proportion to amount of patriotic signage, although since the only thing that's ever actually slammed into me is a deer, this is only based on emotion and swerving.

[reyl.livejournal.com]

I would rather drive in Montreal than here. Because in Montreal you *know* they are going to cut in front of you. Here it is some wild guessing game because people don't *show* you where they are going. They are too tentative. They play this stupid "I'm more polite than you" game, look like they are going slow or letting you in, then randomly speed up and cut you off. In Montreal an aggressive driver is aggressive period. Here, they can change at any moment.

Also you forgot the biggest fucking one, YAKKING ON CELLPHONE. Second to that, Eating Burger.

[reyl.livejournal.com]

Also, if I still lived in Montreal, I'd say taxi driver. Back when I lived there, the taxis were the scariest vehicles on the road. Moving to Ottawa seriously restored my faith in the profession. Taxi drivers here seem pretty decent (although my basis for comparison may be skewed).

[jsbowden.livejournal.com]

It was tough to choose between diplomats and taxis for most reliable idiot, because they drive like they stole it, but diplomatic plates win because they don't have to worry about the little things like being prosecuted for doing something stupid and killing you.

[gothpanda.livejournal.com]

oh! oh yes, a confederate flag or a pro-life bumper sticker, those are on my list. That and a Kentucky license plate, those people drive like they are in a hurry to get to their own funerals.

[winterlime.livejournal.com]

If there was a "You're in China" option, I would've picked that in a heartbeat.

I've been to NYC more times than I count. I go to school just outside Boston. The worst drivers I've seen before look like absolute angels compared to the average driver in Chinese cities. I was terrified of having an accident literally nearly every moment I spent in a vehicle there.

[sandchigger.livejournal.com]

I just bundled 'pro lifer bumper sticker' and 'gun nut bumper sticker' in with the religious bumper stickers.

[gothpanda.livejournal.com]

And now, for something completely different. I thought this might make an excellent Ohio vs. Florida post:

Lottery hoax causes riot at Ohio coat store

[dolston.livejournal.com]

Lane positioning. Most drivers will tell you what they are planning to do even though they are too stupid to signal. Kind of like someone touching their nose when they are bluffing. It is a tell but one that has proven to be quite reliable.

Another warning sign is the person leaving too much space when stopped at a stop light. Means they are scared. Scared drivers tend to act like scared animals when surprised.

[sleary.livejournal.com]

For me: old man wearing a hat driving a car with a handicap plate. Those guys have no concept of lanes.

[heavenscalyx.livejournal.com]

Add the Massachusetts license plate to the list.

I mean, New York City drivers are aggressive. Washington DC drivers are mean. But Massachusetts -- particularly Boston -- drivers are plumb crazy.

[graethorne.livejournal.com]

Being in Florida. The elite of the terrifying drivers go there to age...

Also: you forgot Blue Hair...

[athelind.livejournal.com]

I wound up checking SUVs, after some thought. It's the Cheap, Easy answer, but after considering it, I realized that I instinctively avoid them/exhibit extreme caution around them because they are, by their very presence, hazardous. They're difficult to see around, which makes it difficult to ascertain what EVERYONE ELSE ON THE ROAD is doing. Moreover, if they get in an accident with a NON-SUV, that greatly increases the chances of injury for the driver and passengers of the other vehicle.

And driving a vehicle that is an inherently hazardous to EVERYONE ELSE AROUND YOU? THAT'S dangerously inconsiderate.

It's more egregious down here in Silicon Valley than it is up in places that actually get, you know, WEATHER. In the middle of Wisconsin, there's a REASON for a 4WD vehicle.

(Oh, and you left out "Coyote in the driver's seat" -- see icon.)

[ikkarus01.livejournal.com]

My original choice for "most reliable" was Taxi, but then I gave it a bit more thought. Here in NYC, taxi drivers are legitimately deranged and scary as hell, but it's surprisingly rare to see them actually get in an accident. They're more like fighter pilots in one long, harrowing dogfight.

So it's the SUV that wins "most reliable" dangerous idiot for me. Special consideration goes to any SUV driven on the Long Island Expressway. They make up a unique breed of stupid that isn't found elsewhere.

[zastrazzi.livejournal.com]

Anyone driving without their lights on, unless it's full daylight, is a roadtard. Overcast? Lights on. Snowing/raining/fog/enough road spray to require windshield wipers? Lights. Fucking. On. Even in broad daylight, having your lights on (actual full lights, not the parking lights which don't turn on the *back* lights) reduces your chance of being in an accident by 30%. 30.

Another give away for me is someone driving 10km/h or more under the posted limit when driving conditions are safe. A scared/tentative/over-cautious driver is one of the most dangerous things you can find on a road. I'd rather deal with a lead footed jerk than a scared driver. He's predictable, the fearmonkey not so much.

[negumi.livejournal.com]

Living in DC Diplomats are the second most dangerous thing after asian women, which was not on the list. But I hit diplomats anyways because they are quite insane.

[jsbowden.livejournal.com]

We're not mean, we're just pissed off after having wasted the last several hours sitting in traffic.

[dgg.livejournal.com]

>Quebec plates AND does not turn right on red light despite opportunity<

Actually...Well I don't know how the law is in Ontario but in Quebec, police do give tickets out to people who honk at someone to turn on a red light. By law, turning right on a red is the driver's prerogative (regardless if he is aware he can turn or not). Just because he can turn on the red, doesn't mean he absolutely has to.

[eatsoylentgreen.livejournal.com]

these are all bad reasons to suspect someone.

I saw cell phone here, and that's pretty good. I've seen people texting too, that's really bad.

Jerks in SUVs are worse than other jerks, but most SUV drivers are careful.

The taxi drivers around here will drive fast, and get there first, but they are also professionals, hyper aware, and with fast reflexes. And you can play chicken with them, and they will back down, because they're professionals. I'd bet that, per mile, they're safer than you or I.

Old men drive slow. They can be clueless about stop signs and/or right of way, and I've even been hit by an old man going 15 miles per hour through a red light, but otherwise, slow and steady gets it done.

I watch for tailgaters, people who drive fast in the right lane (and especially those who don't let people in!)

In the morning, about 2/3 of the professional trucks (not semis, but like electrician's vans, landscapers trucks, plumbing, masonry people) drive as fast as possible, because time is money to them, and often they're fairly young men.

Young men are bad. Young black people of both genders are worse, on average, but not as a rule.

But it's generally the adrenaline junky drivers that are the worst.

[dgg.livejournal.com]

None of my filters are on the list, so I'll add a few of mine.

If forced to chose, I go with taxi because they are notorious here for not signaling.


My filters include:
Driver who insists on staying in my blind spot.
Dump trucks.
Driver talking on a cell phone
Driver in front of me who taps the brakes for no apparent reason
Driver that seems to inch too closely to one side of his lane
Driver blocking the intersection causing grid lock (Gods how I wish the cops would give out tickets for that).

Mind you I have driven here in Montreal long enough to see all kinds of crazy things. Like the dude who pumped two of those "sex dolls" and fastened them in his car so he could drive in the car pool lane.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Prerogative, yes - but Montrealers outside Montreal won't turn right on red even when there's ample opportunity to do so *and* when they've been psycho asshole drivers both before and after.

[rimrunner.livejournal.com]

Ah, you must live in Seattle. No?

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

"Pro-life" is "religious".

Confederate flag, I hadn't thought about. We dont' get those up here. I'd probably lump it in with Chinese-made "support the troops" sticker.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

We don't have handicap plates up here. If you're legal to park in the handicapped spots, you have a sign for your dashboard.

But Old Man In A Hat is dangerous. Old man with no hat, fine. Old woman in a hat, fine. Young anyone in a hat, fine. Old Man In A Hat is dangerous.