Some drivers need a good talking to!
Honk twice if you like peace and quiet. I brake for garage sales. None of these are of my opinion, I’ve just noticed them on bumper stickers. I’m not a fan of bumper stickers and never really have been. I don’t like the glue residue they leave on the vehicle and some people really try to read them while they’re driving behind you. Wouldn’t that mean they had to get very close to your vehicle, thus risking a possible rear crash? Maybe an electronic message board would be a better idea.
With our driving society getting more aggressive each year, I sometimes wish there was a way to send a message to other drivers that what they’re doing is dangerous to me and my passengers. While I was driving along the freeway recently with my two sons as passengers, I had a driver tailgate me so close that if I had to brake even moderately hard, he would have crashed into our vehicle. I was in the right hand lane and was about to take my exit, so as I entered into the exit lane, he sped past me and cut in front of me so he could be first in line. I saw him at the next red light by the way.
I wondered if an electronic message board would have done anything about his poor driving decisions. Maybe a large message that said “I have 2 young kids in the vehicle and you’re risking their life by tailgating me” would make him think. Or maybe not. Would the message board become too big of a distraction? Maybe so. So how do we get the message out to drivers that their driving is dangerous to them and their passengers as well as to the general public? Talk to them as a friend. Send them links to articles to make them think about their driving. Show them a better way to do things. Show them another driver who drives just like them to make them aware of what it looks like to other people.
There was a time when I was a judge on Canada’s Worst Driver that multiple people had nominated the same friend to be on the show. Most of this one driver’s friends were afraid to be in the vehicle with her. The scary thing was even after all these people nominated her to be on the show, this bad driver kept saying she wasn’t a bad driver. What could her friends do to try to convince this bad driver to change?
There are many people who are driving poorly but aren’t aware of it. It’s time to talk to our friends and family about their driving skills before someone gets hurt. Maybe they’ll actually take you seriously. The only way a bad driver can begin to change their ways is to admit they need to change. I’ve said many times to many people, I can only teach you if you want to learn. Do you know someone who needs to learn?
You’re right — bad drivers do not realize they are bad; many believe they are as good or better than the average driver. Would a message board help? Likely not, though I have occasionally wanted one, too.
Two weeks ago I had a driver tailgating me for about 6 blocks. He was less than a vehicle length while we were moving, and much less than a metre when stopped. I finally tired of this, and as we approached yet another traffic light (in a 60 km/h zone) I swerved into the left turn lane to let him go past.
He went past and stopped centimetres behind the next vehicle, then got out of his vehicle and began shouting at me, repeatedly asking me, “Are you stupid in the head?”
He got back into his vehicle and drove away when the light changed. Sadly, this isn’t all that unusual a situation. I have had quite a few drivers sound their horns and gesture at me simply because I actually stopped at a stop sign; why they would think a vehicle with a Driving School sign on the roof would roll a stop is beyond me.
I’ve found that bad drivers are usually the most defensive about their skills. No one likes to admit they are bad at something, but we need to get over that, especially with regards to driving! Being a bad, aggressive or distracted driver puts everyone on the road at risk.
The problem with talking is that people want to feel they are better and often this means speeding and how i overtook another driver. Its rare for anyone to have discussion that is contributing to safety.
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I don’t understand what they’ll gain by driving so close. I thought one a lesson years ago.
I was on the highway passing in the left lane and someone was tailgating me flashing their lights for me to move over. Right lane was slower and as I was passing them, an opening wasn’t available right away. I noticed a particular car in the right lane ahead and saw the perfect opening a few cars behind that car.
I moved over safely and the other driver promptly floored it, honked as he passed by, flipping me not noticing the car I had noticed. He passed by that car at a high speed. He sure noticed it when that car pulled up behind him and turned on his lights to stop him.
Not sure what he was charged with considering the noise and hand out the window flipping the bird, but I’m sure he had lots of explaining to do.