Have people forgotten how to drive? *RANT*

[cawimmer430]

Sometime ago I was on an Autobahn that had a lengthy stretch which was limited to a pathetic 120 km/h (75 mph). In such situations I always tend to drive 5-10 km/h over the limit, but in this case I was actually driving 125 km/h (78 mph) and on the left ("fast") lane overtaking a bunch of cars that were driving at or below the limit.

I was fast approaching a column of six trucks traveling at 80 km/h (50 mph) on the right ("slow") lane. Behind these trucks was a small economy car, a Fiat Punto - tailgating the last truck. Experience tells me that these drivers tend to be morons and they will spontaneously merge into your lane without signaling. I've have learned to prepare myself and watch them as I am approaching them and about to overtake them.

And surprise, that's exactly what this person - a young female driver - did! She pulled out in front of me - and without using the blinker - when I was what I estimated to be less than 30 meters. The thing is, I was doing 125 km/h and she was barely driving above 80 km/h (50 mph). Even at that "slow speed" I was rapidly closing the short distance and had to slam the brakes!

To make matters worse, this fucking idiot wouldn't accelerate. She was sticking to a speed slightly above 80 km/h which meant she was slooooooooooowly, agonizingly slowly, "overtaking" these six trucks! I slowed down to 80 km/h and kept a safety distance of over 40 meters. At first I didn't want to flash her because the thought occurred to me that she might panic and perhaps slow down even more. I was raging inside and wanted to honk my horn, but that equally may have "shocked her", I don't know I'm just wary of such idiotic drivers.

By this time there was a convoy of cars behind me, impatiently waiting for this stupid fucktard to overtake and get the hell out of the way.

Eventually, EVENTUALLY, she finally overtook the leading truck as she had increased her speed - to around 90 km/h (56 mph). And once she had overtaken the leading truck, I expected her to merge back into the right lane - but she didn't. Just kept going on the fast lane at a pathetic 90 km/h. That's when I lost it and just flashed the fuck out of her. I also drove up a little closer hoping that she'd get the god damn message. Yeah, she got it and finally, FINALLY, moved into the slow lane where she belongs.

When I overtook her I glanced at her car to get an impression of what this idiot looked like. A young girl, looked very nerdy - didn't even look at me, like she was lost in her own world or something. Seemed like she was distracted and she clearly didn't realize what she did and was doing wrong! How the hell did this girl get her driver's license? I should have taken down her license plate and reported her. She's a danger on the road and if she continues to drive like a fucking moron I can see her causing serious accidents in the future - on all kinds of roads.

But you know what really pissed me off? Earlier, before she spontaneously merged into my lane and when I was about to overtake her there were no cars behind me. None. If she was an attentive driver and had situational awareness skills she would have seen that I was rapidly approaching behind her on the left lane. The normal, smart and logical thing to do would be to let me pass on the left, then pull out and overtake the six truck convoy as fast as possible before merging back into the slow lane. Because that's how you're supposed to do it on the Autobahn. Left lane is for overtaking only, and you're supposed to do it as fast as possible. Period.

Unbelievable how stupid these people are. I'm sorry for the foul language but I just had to vent my frustration here.

It just seems to me that so many drivers on the road just have no skill and situational awareness and/or are extremely poor at judging in/oncoming speeds of surrounding traffic. How dumb do you have to be to pull out in front of someone on the Autobahn and then remain at your slow speed!? 


That was just one recent and rather dangerous example in my driving life. The majority of other idiots I encounter tend to be stupid city drivers who don't know what a signaling light is for or are "sleeping" at a green traffic light.

Ugh...

[GoCougs]

Be thankful; we Americanos long for bad driving of that ilk.

If that was the USA, even without you flashing your lights, when you passed, the driver would take extreme offense at your audacity to offend them with your brazenness to pass them, and at a minimum would speed up on you to try to prevent you from merging, passing, taking the exit, etc. A non-zero portion of the time, such behavior would be accompanied by flashing lights and obscene gestures, and every so often, assault (swerving into your lane to prevent you from passing).

[FoMoJo]

The world is full of lousy drivers, ones who straddle lanes, ones who suddenly pull out in front of you when you're overtaking and do all manner of annoying and dangerous things.  Germany may have been less effected by them than most places, but now they're everywhere.  Get used to it or you'll go nuts.

[MX793]

If the worst you have to complain about is somebody cutting in front of you in the passing lane and then not really speeding up to complete their overtake, you're doing pretty well.  I run into that every time I'm on the interstate.  In addition, I routinely see people who run red lights.  In the past week I saw one illegal U-turn at an intersection clearly marked "no U turn", along with several right-on-reds at intersections with multiple signs forbidding the practice.  I've seen two people make left turns from the right lane in the past week.  I saw somebody in a left-turn-only lane decide to go straight through the intersection on a green arrow when the signal for through-traffic was still red and nearly get T-boned by cars from the oncoming lane who were turning left.

[AutobahnSHO]

Yeah Germany has no contest against how bad they are here....

[giant_mtb]

Take a chill pill, Wimmer, Jesus.  Greta Thunberg really has your asshole all up in a bunch, hey?

[cawimmer430]

Be thankful; we Americanos long for bad driving of that ilk.

If that was the USA, even without you flashing your lights, when you passed, the driver would take extreme offense at your audacity to offend them with your brazenness to pass them, and at a minimum would speed up on you to try to prevent you from merging, passing, taking the exit, etc. A non-zero portion of the time, such behavior would be accompanied by flashing lights and obscene gestures, and every so often, assault (swerving into your lane to prevent you from passing).

Damn, that sounds really extreme. I have not encountered such behavior here [yet], and hope that I never do, but based on how the lack of driving skill and driving manners I am encountering these days it's probably only a matter of time before some true wackos start causing a scene.

[cawimmer430]

The world is full of lousy drivers, ones who straddle lanes, ones who suddenly pull out in front of you when you're overtaking and do all manner of annoying and dangerous things.  Germany may have been less effected by them than most places, but now they're everywhere.  Get used to it or you'll go nuts.

I would like to claim that I have witnessed the steady decline in driver quality here. It is my impression that around the early 2000s that people still actually knew how to drive. The traffic flowed better.

These days the traffic flow on the Autobahn is often hampered by these idiots who pull out at slower speeds and just don't accelerate, or use the middle lane on a three-lane highway at speeds that are barely faster than the trucks on the right lane.

[cawimmer430]

If the worst you have to complain about is somebody cutting in front of you in the passing lane and then not really speeding up to complete their overtake, you're doing pretty well.  I run into that every time I'm on the interstate.  In addition, I routinely see people who run red lights.  In the past week I saw one illegal U-turn at an intersection clearly marked "no U turn", along with several right-on-reds at intersections with multiple signs forbidding the practice.  I've seen two people make left turns from the right lane in the past week.  I saw somebody in a left-turn-only lane decide to go straight through the intersection on a green arrow when the signal for through-traffic was still red and nearly get T-boned by cars from the oncoming lane who were turning left.

Running a red light is severely punished here.

But this was a dangerous situation. Remember, I was doing 125 km/h and she pulled out at a speed barely above 80 km/h. In the end I was actually more pissed off at the fact that she could have let me pass, then pulled out to overtake the trucks. Even if she was driving barely 80 km/h, it would then have become the problem of those behind her, not mine, as I would be far ahead in front. Out of sight, out of mind.

But the truth is that I encounter such situations quite often. Usually the spontaneous lane changers are not that slow, though.

[cawimmer430]

Take a chill pill, Wimmer, Jesus.  Greta Thunberg really has your asshole all up in a bunch, hey?

[Soup DeVille]

Damn, that sounds really extreme. I have not encountered such behavior here [yet], and hope that I never do, but based on how the lack of driving skill and driving manners I am encountering these days it's probably only a matter of time before some true wackos start causing a scene.

You need to take a cross country driving trip in the US.

We have such sights to show you.

[shp4man]

Rush hour traffic is usually insanely crowded here, but the majority of drivers are reasonable and predictable.
But on the weekends, the people who shouldn't be driving come out, blocking lanes, cutting people off with no turn signals, trying to do 90 miles an hour in the slow lane and 45 in the fast lane.....
Gotta watch 'em.
This is why I sold the motorcycle.

[GoCougs]

I see bad driving all around.

On commutes, the typical aggressor is the left lane camper who won't move, and when one goes to pass on the right, said left lane camper speeds up to block - happens 75% of the time.

On weekends/nights, the typical aggressor is a pickup truck, usually a slow-ass smokey terrible-sounding diesel with aftermarket rimz in which the owner thinks is a sports car.

At all times, it's common that people simply pull out on you, expecting you to slow down.

Also, every day I see people driving in the dark with their headlights off.

[veeman]

If the worst you have to complain about is somebody cutting in front of you in the passing lane and then not really speeding up to complete their overtake, you're doing pretty well.  I run into that every time I'm on the interstate.  In addition, I routinely see people who run red lights.  In the past week I saw one illegal U-turn at an intersection clearly marked "no U turn", along with several right-on-reds at intersections with multiple signs forbidding the practice.  I've seen two people make left turns from the right lane in the past week.  I saw somebody in a left-turn-only lane decide to go straight through the intersection on a green arrow when the signal for through-traffic was still red and nearly get T-boned by cars from the oncoming lane who were turning left.

I routinely ignore "no u turn" signs because they're only necessary during high traffic times like rush hour.  At 10 pm on a road with light traffic where the perpendicular lanes are clear, there's no reason not to take a u turn.   "No left turn" out of a business parking lot I always ignore if there's light traffic and I have clear views.  I also generally ignore "no right turn on red" if there's light traffic and I have clear views of all lanes.  Generally I have very little confidence in those who determine which traffic signs go where. 

Left lane campers suck.  There is no attempt by any jurisdiction to ever ticket anyone who left lane camps but I think that's because the speed limits on highways in the US is kept too low.  Someone who is driving the speed limit in the left lane is by definition a left lane camper. 

[r0tor]

I get more bent out of shape with people blasting through parking lots and driving around you while backing out of a spot.

[CaminoRacer]

Also, every day I see people driving in the dark with their headlights off.

Or their high beams on. I swear I see 3-4x more people with their lights off or their high beams on than I did 5-10 years ago. I think there are a couple reasons.

1. dashboard are always lit up now, so you don't have the visual reminder to turn your lights on like you used to, when the gauges would be impossible to read without your lights on
2. replacing headlight bulbs has gotten very complicated and expensive, involving bumper removal, hundred dollar bulbs, etc. so people just turn on their high beams to cover up their burnt out low beams. 
3. bright DRLs light up the road just enough to fool them into thinking their actual headlights are on
4. dashes are too complicated and people are too dumb to know what the symbols for headlights or high beams are

[NomisR]

Or their high beams on. I swear I see 3-4x more people with their lights off or their high beams on than I did 5-10 years ago. I think there are a couple reasons.

1. dashboard are always lit up now, so you don't have the visual reminder to turn your lights on like you used to, when the gauges would be impossible to read without your lights on
2. replacing headlight bulbs has gotten very complicated and expensive, involving bumper removal, hundred dollar bulbs, etc. so people just turn on their high beams to cover up their burnt out low beams. 
3. bright DRLs light up the road just enough to fool them into thinking their actual headlights are on
4. dashes are too complicated and people are too dumb to know what the symbols for headlights or high beams are

But you see it on people with newer cars that have auto headlights..

[CaminoRacer]

But you see it on people with newer cars that have auto headlights..

Yeah, those ones are always head scratchers. Maybe they don't know how to use the knob and mess it up? Or they're too stubborn to use the auto feature for some reason? and then forget to turn their lights on like an idiot

[NomisR]

What annoys me most about cars with the highbeams is the fact that they're the ones that drive UNDER the speed limit.. so they end up high beaming the entire freeway.

[FoMoJo]

But you see it on people with newer cars that have auto headlights..

Yeah, those ones are always head scratchers. Maybe they don't know how to use the knob and mess it up? Or they're too stubborn to use the auto feature for some reason? and then forget to turn their lights on like an idiot

People get used to leaving the switch on auto and not even bothering to think about headlights off or on.  In my case, I had taken the car for service and they turned to light switch to off.  The next time I was driving at night, people were flashing there lights at me and only then I realized that the switch had been turned off.  In the city, there are so many lights you really don't notice whether the headlights aren't on.

[CaminoRacer]

People get used to leaving the switch on auto and not even bothering to think about headlights off or on.  In my case, I had taken the car for service and they turned to light switch to off.  The next time I was driving at night, people were flashing there lights at me and only then I realized that the switch had been turned off.  In the city, there are so many lights you really don't notice whether the headlights aren't on.

In new Chevys, there isn't an actual "off" position that the knob can stay in - you flick the knob to the left but it retreats back to the resting center auto position. So if you turn off the auto headlights it will default back to auto when you turn the car on again. Seems like a good way to do it.

[giant_mtb]

On (newer) GM vehicles, the headlight knob has a mechanism such that if you turn it to Off to defeat the automatic lights, the switch automatically returns to Auto so that next time you turn the car on, the lights are already back in Auto mode.

[shp4man]

Only 25% of Americans, when asked to find Iran on a world map, could do it.
Now I ask you, how many do you think know what that little blue bright light symbol means? I had one person tell me the "Santa Claus" light was on. Turned out it was the airbag light.   

[Laconian]

Santa Claus light?! Ha!

[giant_mtb]

How does one even get Santa Claus from the airbag light...??

[Laconian]

The city I work in (Bellevue, WA) features prominently in "Worst Drivers in the USA" listicles. It breaks my brain to see people try to turn left into traffic circles, stopping at an intersection with their noses halfway across the perpendicular lane, missing green lights completely due to distraction/inattention, and all of these sins are committed by huge huge huge luxury SUVs.

[Laconian]

How does one even get Santa Claus from the airbag light...??

Dude sitting down with a massive gut, or carrying a bag of toys on his back.

[shp4man]

Ho..Ho...Ho!   

[FoMoJo]

In new Chevys, there isn't an actual "off" position that the knob can stay in - you flick the knob to the left but it retreats back to the resting center auto position. So if you turn off the auto headlights it will default back to auto when you turn the car on again. Seems like a good way to do it.

Yes, a good feature.  About time.

[NomisR]

Something Toyotas should implement because I notice their drivers are the most frequent offenders of no headlight