Phoenix84
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Post by Phoenix84 on Aug 5, 2015 17:23:25 GMT -5
Surveys have shown that the majority of people think they're above average drivers, which is obviously statistically impossible.
So I ask you, what do you think makes someone a "good" driver?
And do you think you're a good driver? Why or why not?
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quince
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Post by quince on Aug 5, 2015 17:59:14 GMT -5
Obey traffic laws, adjust to traffic conditions, don't drive under the influence or sleep deprived, don't drive distracted. Do what is in your power to be safe for yourself and those in your environment.
I am not a good driver, because I have anxiety issues that make it hard for me to handle high volume traffic. I think I'm not too far below average. Never been in an accident or had a moving violation, don't drive distracted or inebriated, don't drive ridiculously under the speed limit unless dictated by heavy snow or fog. Have successfully adjusted to black ice, deer, skidding, crazy drivers around me, stupid college kids who think that just people don't WANT to hit them, it makes them immune to cars.
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cktc
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Post by cktc on Aug 5, 2015 18:28:41 GMT -5
I like quince answer for the first question I'm a decent driver. Sometimes I think I'm a terrible because a split second could have resulted in an accident, those moments where I miss that someone was driving in my blind spot, or don't anticipate other drivers' lane or speed changes as quickly as I would like.
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Knee Deep in Water Chloe
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Post by Knee Deep in Water Chloe on Aug 5, 2015 18:36:42 GMT -5
I'm not a good driver.
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msventoux
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Post by msventoux on Aug 5, 2015 20:00:21 GMT -5
Pay attention to the road, the other vehicles and potential hazards that may enter the roadway (animals, kids, etc.) Don't drive recklessly, tailgate, and always pay attention to what traffic around you is actually doing, not what you think they should be doing. Adjust your speed and driving according to conditions, know where the blind spots are on your vehicle and always be mindful of them.
I'm a decent driver. I try to pay attention to what goes on around me and don't text or talk on my cell when driving and try to keep other distractions to a minimum. I drive too fast in the summer sometimes and too cautiously in the winter sometimes. I've yet to be pulled over or get in an accident. The couple of close calls I've had were genuinely not my fault as the other drivers were driving extremely recklessly and almost caused accidents with multiple other people.
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Phoenix84
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Post by Phoenix84 on Aug 5, 2015 21:36:46 GMT -5
I think I'm average at driving in most situations, but probably below average in other situations.
I have below average eyesight, which is usually fine in the day time, but my night vision can sometimes leave something to be desired. After dark in an unfamiliar area, and especially in bad weather, I'd say I'm below average.
I'm also not a great city driver, since I haven't done very much of it.
But I manage to make it through most of the time, and otherwise consider myself competent.
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weltschmerz
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Post by weltschmerz on Aug 5, 2015 23:04:31 GMT -5
I'm a great driver! (Except for the excessive speeding)
I learned how to drive on black ice. Someone who was...ahem....connected....asked me if I'd be interested in driving getaway cars. No, thank you.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Aug 5, 2015 23:32:07 GMT -5
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Aug 5, 2015 23:35:02 GMT -5
I'm a great driver! (Except for the excessive speeding)
I learned how to drive on black ice. Someone who was...ahem....connected....asked me if I'd be interested in driving getaway cars. No, thank you. Wonders if she should visit Welts, if visiting Canada. Connected, you say, ... eek.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 6, 2015 3:56:27 GMT -5
I'm from Massachusetts. Need I say more? I am a "Masshole" and proud of it!!! I don't like speed limits or pedestrians.
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chiver78
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Post by chiver78 on Aug 6, 2015 4:07:18 GMT -5
I'm from Massachusetts. Need I say more? I am a "Masshole" and proud of it!!! I don't like speed limits or pedestrians. ...or tourists. (I'm from the Cape ) sent from my electronic distraction
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cael
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Post by cael on Aug 6, 2015 7:54:26 GMT -5
I'm from Massachusetts. Need I say more? I am a "Masshole" and proud of it!!! I don't like speed limits or pedestrians. preach!! Seriously though, I think I'm a pretty good driver. I taught DH and several friends to drive, without losing my mind, peeing my pants, or letting them wreck my car: I follow the laws, can parallel park, know how to merge onto and drive on highways effectively and navigate Boston traffic, and my reaction time is quick and I have good reflexes. I learned my lesson on checking my Masshole rage when I rear ended a guy 4 years ago (it was a pretty soft hit - he didn't gun it through a yellow like he should have ). And besides that minor accident, no speeding tickets or other moving violations ever for me. My no-speeding-ticket luck will eventually run out though...
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cael
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Post by cael on Aug 6, 2015 7:55:05 GMT -5
Oh and I drive like a boss in snow.
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Green Eyed Lady
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Post by Green Eyed Lady on Aug 6, 2015 8:03:54 GMT -5
I have good driving skills but I don't think I'm necessarily a good driver mainly because I'm inpatient. People driving in the left lane like they are going to church on Sunday, two semis driving side by side so you can't get around, people who cut you off just to slam on their brakes to turn.....stuff like that makes me want to blow them up with a rocket launcher. Not a good attitude if one wishes to be thought of as a good driver.
If I were the only person on the road, I would be a good driver because there would be nobody to get mad at!
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chiver78
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Post by chiver78 on Aug 6, 2015 9:46:29 GMT -5
I'm from Massachusetts. Need I say more? I am a "Masshole" and proud of it!!! I don't like speed limits or pedestrians. preach!! Seriously though, I think I'm a pretty good driver. I taught DH and several friends to drive, without losing my mind, peeing my pants, or letting them wreck my car: I follow the laws, can parallel park, know how to merge onto and drive on highways effectively and navigate Boston traffic, and my reaction time is quick and I have good reflexes. I learned my lesson on checking my Masshole rage when I rear ended a guy 4 years ago (it was a pretty soft hit - he didn't gun it through a yellow like he should have ). And besides that minor accident, no speeding tickets or other moving violations ever for me. My no-speeding-ticket luck will eventually run out though... I cut my teeth on driving a stick while a student at Northeastern. between a co-op in RI that had me living on the "hill" in Providence where Brown is, and driving around campus.....yah. I can parallel park a stick on either side of the street, and stop and go on hills no problem. oh, and I can also drive like a boss in the snow. sometimes with no road lighting too, as I learned this past winter.
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GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl
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Post by GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl on Aug 6, 2015 9:49:17 GMT -5
I, too, live and drive in Massachusetts. However, *I'm* a good driver because I have managed to dodge Empress, Chiver, Dem, and Cael all of these years.
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chiver78
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Post by chiver78 on Aug 6, 2015 9:50:13 GMT -5
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yogiii
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Post by yogiii on Aug 6, 2015 9:53:05 GMT -5
Well I commute down towards Boston in the wee hours before the plows are even out, so I'm a good driver though I wish I wasn't so experienced
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Aug 6, 2015 10:03:27 GMT -5
I think I am a decent driver. In snow it is debtable since we lately haven't gotten a whole lot of snow so I haven't had a ton of practice in recent years. I consider myself a good driver in snow compared to the guy next to me who was TEXTING in the middle of a blizzard on unplowed roads. I do have some anxiety problems which makes interstate driving hard. I wouldn't be able to do driving to Colorado like my dad does and DH is the one that drives to Des Moines. I can do short distances on the interstate. I'm usually able to find a back route that takes me across the South O bridge or down Dodge which makes life easier.
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cael
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Post by cael on Aug 6, 2015 11:20:49 GMT -5
Two of my best friends having driving anxiety and never go on the highway. I don't want to say they're *bad* drivers... well, one of them is, lol. The other one is good technically speaking but is a hesitant driver, which can be bad. Luckily around here, you can get anywhere via back roads. If I can avoid driving into downtown Boston I'll take the T instead, but sometimes you just can't avoid it and even if I get a little aggro, I'll do it. It's the cost of parking downtown that kills me I got my license at 18 - I wasn't very confident driving until after high school graduation, but luckily I got over that. I drove from UMass back home every single weekend to work while I went to school there, so I got tons of highway experience real quick that way! DH (boyfriend back then) lived on a main-ish street where I had to parallel park to visit him so I learned that - plus he didn't drive until I taught him, so I was designated driver for a long time. I love road trips, but I'm getting sick of the drive to NJ to see the in-laws.... I want to drive somewhere different!
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swamp
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Post by swamp on Aug 6, 2015 11:22:57 GMT -5
I'm average. I drive too fast, I tailgate, I'm inpatient.
However, I rock in snow, and I also am pretty good at ice slide recovery when you don't realize it's there.
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sesfw
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Post by sesfw on Aug 6, 2015 11:55:42 GMT -5
I think I'm a smart driver.
I'm a speed limit driver and hate tail-gaters. Only accident I was ever in I was T-boned by a red light runner. I was OK but didn't do my car any good.
Learned to drive a stick shift and had one until my present truck. My left knee went out so now drive an automatic. Got my license at age 18, can parallel park, drive defensively, not impatient, let others do their thing if that makes them happy.
I can drive in snow with my 4x4, hate driving on ice but have done it a lot. Glad I live in an area that doesn't have snow. Our trips to Flagstaff in Dec is with my truck ...... just in case.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Aug 6, 2015 11:59:56 GMT -5
Nope, my driving sucks but I'm ticket and accident free. Plus, nonny nonny boo boo, I CAN parallel park even on a curved area! I'm a Florida driver what more can I say? But I am courteous. I don't block driveways to businesses and I let people merge in. I also know what a crosswalk is unlike some a-holes in Michigan who think it's for them to speed up in!
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Knee Deep in Water Chloe
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Post by Knee Deep in Water Chloe on Aug 6, 2015 12:50:04 GMT -5
My insurance company thinks I'm a good driver..does that count? I put on a fair amount of miles for work. I am required by work to take a drivers safety class (with commentary drive) annually. I'm generally safe, know how to stay out of trouble and get out of trouble (ice, snow, rain). All that being said about once a year I have one of those bonehead days, when I become that person who does stupid things (lane changes without noticing cars, pulling out when not completely safe...basically the things that will make you honk and flip someone off). On those days my goal is to get where I'm going and make someone else drive. Once a YEAR? Seriously, that's if I only do that twice a week, it's a good week for me.
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lexxy703
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Post by lexxy703 on Aug 6, 2015 13:04:08 GMT -5
I am a good driver around town but I am a very tense nervous driver on the interstate. Too many cars moving soo fast switching lanes. I'm positively twitchy when I have to drive very far like that.
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GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl
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Post by GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl on Aug 6, 2015 14:32:52 GMT -5
I've got the driving in/on snow and on ice thing down. I was actually happy about our record snowfall this past winter. We were renting on a heavily-treed country lane in my rural suburb. Both DSs got a Ph.d. In driving in snow before they even left high school--a life skill if there is one.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 6, 2015 17:21:24 GMT -5
Surveys have shown that the majority of people think they're above average drivers, which is obviously statistically impossible.
So I ask you, what do you think makes someone a "good" driver?
And do you think you're a good driver? Why or why not? It is not really statistically impossible. People can and and do have different ideas on what makes a good driver. I think people who drive the speed limit on highways are wrong, they think me driving 10mph faster then the limit is wrong. Out of that sample of two we both think we are the better driver and are both right according to our understanding of what is a good driver.
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elsee
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Post by elsee on Aug 6, 2015 20:08:53 GMT -5
I feel like I'm a pretty good driver, but also pretty bad in some ways. I'm not afraid to drive at all and have no anxiety unless it's winter during a really bad storm (and then my anxiety is usually about the drivers around me that are riding their brakes, speeding because they have 4WD, and/or not increasing their following distance).
I grew up driving manual transmissions and learned to drive on icy, snowy roads and frequently traveled the interstate down a very steep and windy canyon. So I feel like I can handle most road conditions well, but I do have a lead foot and am impatient and get annoyed at people who don't know how to use the left lane properly (use it to pass, and then move back over to the right). Drives me crazy! That, and people that don't know how to merge onto the freeway. You have a mile long on-ramp around here, so don't merge right at the beginning when you're only going 50 mph. It slows the entire flow of traffic! The point of the on-ramp is to get up to speed and then merge.
Speeding is my worst habit, but I don't speed in neighborhoods - only main surface streets and highways/freeways and only in good weather. I'm ashamed to admit it, but I do sometimes tailgate when I'm behind a slowpoke in the left lane that has an open lane to their right. I don't text or look at my phone while driving, and can't stand it when I see other drivers doing it - especially if I'm a passenger in their car. I use my turn signals, always check my blind spots before changing lanes, frequently check my mirrors, and am aware of the traffic around me. I don't run red left turn lights like everyone else around here does. Seriously, at least two cars will run the red at pretty much every intersection, holding up the opposite traffic when their light turns green. So frustrating and dangerous.
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bobosensei
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Post by bobosensei on Aug 7, 2015 0:59:40 GMT -5
I feel like I'm a good driver because I am 33 and have never had an accident. But I will say that since living in Germany for 6 years I have a hard time adjusting back to the interstate in the US when we are home. It is going to be hell for a long time when we move back home. Having people passing on all sides and going slow in the passing lanes makes me nervous now.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2015 9:04:22 GMT -5
I'm from Massachusetts. Need I say more? I am a "Masshole" and proud of it!!! I don't like speed limits or pedestrians. preach!! Seriously though, I think I'm a pretty good driver. I taught DH and several friends to drive, without losing my mind, peeing my pants, or letting them wreck my car: I follow the laws, can parallel park, know how to merge onto and drive on highways effectively and navigate Boston traffic, and my reaction time is quick and I have good reflexes. I learned my lesson on checking my Masshole rage when I rear ended a guy 4 years ago (it was a pretty soft hit - he didn't gun it through a yellow like he should have ). And besides that minor accident, no speeding tickets or other moving violations ever for me. My no-speeding-ticket luck will eventually run out though... especially since you just cursed yourself here. You are far braver than I am. I let my friend drive my dad's car after she had just got her license and let me tell you, that imaginary brake got a lot of use. Hugging the curb on Highland Ave. on the way to Salem Willows is a very scary thing. OMG!! I had to keep yelling at her to drive in the street. You do know that navigating Boston traffic just means ignore everyone else and do what you want, right? At least it seems that way whenever I drive in. Which is only twice a year, thank God.
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