Quote:
Originally Posted by Barefootsies
It's hard enough for them to eat, drink a fowtie, smoke, and swat at a kid in the back seat at the same time.
 |
This is probably the issue this whole discussion revolves around. These are the people who need to be aggressively cited for distracted driving. Realistically they shouldn't even have licenses. The system we currently rely on has obviously failed us.
They need to go through intense remedial training, and the requirements for driving need to be raised considerably.
Really what I'd like to see is that everyone is required to pass a driving test for vehicles in every performance category, so they have a vivid, crystal clear understanding of the safety involved on the road. Firstly, drive a Ferrari at the limits. Know the limits they're capable of. Handling limits, braking limits. They need to understand that when one of these vehicles passes them while driving their Honda Odyssey with 12 kids crammed in the back, with their passive-aggressive "Baby On Board!" sign clipped in the rear window, they're not "putting their families at risk" by passing at a rapid speed. I bet they'll be much more inclined to practice lane courtesy when they know what that guy in the Ferrari is capable of doing.
Then they'll be required to drive an economy car at the limits. And then a motorcycle. The better you can put yourself in the shoes of the other person on the road, the better you can anticipate their actions, and respect them, without getting your panties in a wad.
I want people to have an amazing understanding of how quickly you're able to take a turn, without being fearful of losing control of your car. Here in the Bay Area, when I'm turning left at a major intersection... It's not an uncommon occurrence for the person in front of me to be going less than 5mph through the intersection when our light turns green. It's like they're literally afraid of their car. They are so fearful of exceeding the performance threshold of their vehicles turning capabilities, they create MAJOR congestion by doing things just like this.
People have zero concept of what it means to drive efficiently. We need an aggressive training program in place that requires people understand what it means to be an effective driver, before they're issued licenses.