Whoever you are, I would just like to say thank you very much for pulling out in front of me yesterday on the highway between Milford and Elmsdale – causing me to go in the center median. When th police arrived, I sat in their car to keep warm. Another accident happened right then and there as I was in the car. The van and the car came inches from the cop car!!! I would also like to share with you that I have a 3 year old little boy and a husband at home. Your lack of skill to drive that big bad 4×4 could have taken that all away in an instant. The other lady that you almost hit as you were coming out of the median had her 7 year old daughter in the car with her – they were on their way to the IWK!!! It was very manly of you to stop and see if everyone was okay -moreso, it was even more heroic of you to stop once you realized at the very last second you had cut me off causing me to go off the road. I am thankful to GOD that I am able to be typing this right now. And it should be a very, very proud read for you too. Advice for you – If you can’t handle it – PARK IT!!!!
—A respectable motorist just trying to get to work on an ICY Monday morning!!!
This article appears in Mar 5-11, 2009.
A lot of the time, if you have an awareness of your surroundings, you’ll see these things coming. First they tend to speed up and get right close to you. Look at what the driver is doing. Are they looking in their mirrors? If they are, then you should anticipate that they’re looking for an opening to get into your lane. Next, look at their tires. Are they turning or getting closer to the lane markings? If so, they’re already on their way into your lane. Let go of the gas pedal and look for an escape route.
DO NOT brake. Your car will have slowed down enough that if they do cut you off, all you have to do is turn your car into the direction that they came from. Most of the times, there will be enough room that they will get in front of you, but you will then have moved into the other lane, to occupy the space that they had come from.
The last thing you want to do is slam on your brakes or swerve. That’s how a loss of steering occurs and instead of going where you want to go, you usually end up in the ditch or into the median. Be aware of your surroundings and what other drivers are/will do.
That’s all well and good, and most drivers are deemed to have that “awareness”…but you can’t watch EVERYONE at once, ESPECIALLY on busy highways, and some people move in / out so fast that you don’t have a chance. I’m a very observant driver with exceptional peripheral vision, and more often than should be, a bastard will suddenly jerk into a lane without even checking their mirrors, or drifting over enough to notice their intention. I do agree that a sudden jump on the brakes is usually the reason a fender bender can become a serious accident though. It’s better to bump him in the rear and try to hold steady than to hit the brakes, lose control and cut off other traffic or worse.
Come on, if this driver was in the median wouldn’t you pay extra attention. You do not have to watch every one, just the ones that look like fuck-ups. No contact with your vehicle was made, you put yourself in the ditch. I think this is an over re-action on the OP’s part, not a good driver.
The rest, well the rest does not really matter.
Scott, get your learners license and then we’ll talk about how you don’t have to pay attention to traffic while driving
Agreed Kay..and yes Scott, you DO have to try to watch everyone. It just can’t always be done.
Furthermore, the ones who DON’T “look like fuckups” could have a “fuck up” pull out in front of them, which then screws YOU up and it can happen in an instant.
No, you don’t have to watch everyone. You just have to watch the ones that are in beside you or the ones that have sped up to get beside you. People behind you can’t cut you off, and people in front of you can’t cut you off either as they’re already in front of you.
I have driven in NYC, LA, Toronto, Montreal, and many other major cities in the world and have never ever been cut off. People will drive aggressively (NYC cab drivers), but you have to expect that. If there is enough space between you and the car in front of you, expect the car beside you to try and get into that spot. Drive with that mindset and you’ll never feel like you’ve been cut off if it happens.
One of the first things you learn in Drivers Ed is how to use your peripheral vision to stay safe. Every driver who’s not stuck behind a big-assed truck or waiting for a train to pass should be aware of the road, it’s driveways and, of course, oncoming traffic… all as far as they can see… right to the horizon. If you’re driving with your eyes on the ass end of the car in front and are aware of what’s beside you what will you do when you encounter the car that’s been driving on the wrong side of the highway for a mile? What about the bulky piece of garbage that’s left on the highway a few miles up? Keep watching the car in front of you with faith that it will swerve? What if it doesn’t? If you’re not aware of ALL traffic you’ll notice your life is over only once it’s over… you won’t even see it coming.
Kay,
Why would I need to be aware of a car that’s driving on the wrong side of the road when it’ll hit any number of cars in FRONT of me 1st? That piece of garbage or what not..well, all you have to do is pay attention to the cars in front of you as they’ll most likely to swerve or do some maneuver to avoid it before you even come near it. You don’t need to watch the car in front of you as it is not the one that will cut you off since it’s already in front of you! You need to pay attention to the ones beside you or the ones that have sped up to get beside/ahead of you in the lane next to you.
You constantly scan the roadway ahead of you for any potential dangers and to be aware of what’s ahead. But if you’re worried about people cutting you off, you only have to be aware of what’s beside you, in the other lane, not what’s in front of you.
I don’t think she meant that the car in front will cut you off…um…obviously. I think she was referring to ( and I was definately referring to..) someone in front of THEM cutting THEM off (especially if they don’t have the skills or instinct to react appropriately), and in turn me having to then decide whether to hit the brakes and hope not to hit the car in front of me, swerve to the side, or whatever.
onlythetruth, do you even have your drivers license? Take the drivers ed. You need it.
Kay,
If I didn’t have my license, then how have I driven in NYC, LA, Toronto, Montreal, Houston, and many large mega cities around the world?? I have my motorcycle license as well. Have you driven in any of these cities? Or do you just drive in Halifax, where you have the occasional 5 minute traffic jam?
Until you’ve actually obtained multiple licenses and have driven in harsher environments, you don’t have the awareness that I’m referring to. Believe me, I’ve been in many situations that the OP described, but by being aware of my situation, I was able to escape without any harm or damage.
Like I said, if you notice someone speeding up very quickly and passing, be prepared for them to cut off other drivers, especially if there is an exit approaching. Drive a motorcycle on a regular basis and you’ll understand what I mean by driver awareness.
I have awesome insurance so I hope onlythetruth is focused nice and tight on my ass and the neighboring car when I hit the brakes for the dog you’ll never notice about to run across the street. Whatever. I’ll be bracing myself while watching you with my peripheral vision out my rear view mirror
kay wonders how anyone drives with their head in their ass.
Haha. I can be your witness because I’ll be watching from my peripheral as well. lol
just to put an end to this whole “vision” theroy – The SUv that was in the ditch that I did see was blocking my view of the pick up truck that came flying out of the ditch. I was approaching heading south towards airport. I could see the PS side of SUV in ditch when I came around the corner – It was what was directly on the other side of her vehicle (DS) that came flying out from the DS of her (almost hit her DS). The pick up truck. The only way I would have saw that truck is if I had X-ray vision.
Sounds like a crappy situation :-S. That is the point I was trying to make earlier- that while you try to see everything, you CAN’T, and accidents do happen. You can be the best driver in the world ( like onlythetruth, apparently )but if some asshole comes flying out of nowhere…well..not always much you can do. Glad you are ok.
So now a clearer picture of what happened is presented. Well, in that case, it’s a whole different story. I think everyone assumed that the pickup came flying up and then just cut you off. There was no mention of an SUV on the side of the road with a pickup truck hiding somewhere.
Kay, nice try with the dog story. Last time I checked, dogs don’t get hit on the highway. Deer and others yes, but dogs, rarely. Please use a more realistic example when trying to defend your side.
It doesn’t take much to scan the road ahead and also drive. It’s something every motorcyclist does. Do you ride a motorcycle? I doubt you do as you probably wouldn’t survive very long with your lack of driving skills. Nowhere did I mention that you are to be on the tail of the person in front of you, so get your ass out of your head and learn to comprehend what others write. Have you driven anywhere other than in the Maritimes? The answer is probably no as well. With the way you drive, you’d be driven off the road in any major city in the world. I’m talking about cities with more than 4 million people.
“the answer is probably no…” you’re an idiot.
*rolls eyes again*
Obviously the answer is no since you still won’t answer the question or any of the other ones I’ve asked you. Keep taking all the drivers’ ed classes you want, but until you’ve actually driven any type of motorized vehicles in any of the cities I’ve mentioned previously, it just means you have zero driving skills whatsoever. Your remarks are typical of someone who has “book” smarts, but a total failure in real life smarts.
Seriously buddy?
Well, I can’t speak for Kay, but I have driven in several major cities- I’ve driven coast to coast twice, having driven in Vancouver, I lived in Calgary, Toronto, California from LA up the coast to San Francisco (crazy driving there), and Florida. I’ve never had an accident. In fact I’ve never even scratched a car in 18 years. And I attribute that to paying attention like both I and Kay discussed. Because there were certainly times if I hadn’t been trying to watch everyone, I would have gotten creamed. And “until you’ve actually driven any type of motorized vehicles in any of the cities I’ve mentioned previously, it just means you have zero driving skills whatsoever.” is bullshit. You’re cool.
Yes, seriously! Driven across Canada? You got to be kidding me. What’s the population density of Canada? Given that, how many cars would be on the TransCanada Highway at a given time? The most congested part would be the 401 in Toronto, and you can clear that within an hour. The rest of the time you’re on cruise control trying to not fall asleep due to boredom since there’s only probably just you and one other car once in a while.
Calgary, not on par with Toronto, NYC, or LA, so again, doesn’t count. Driving in Southern California is nice, but I didn’t find them to be maniacs. Try driving in the heart of NYC. Manhattan is chaotic, but like I said, you don’t need to watch everybody. Just watch the ones beside you as they are the ones that will cut you off. The ones in front don’t cut you off, and the ones behind you can’t as there’s way too much traffic for them to speed up to get beside you and cut you off. Yes, you pay attention to everyone, but you don’t have to be on the lookout for everyone.
People are very predictable when you know what to pay attention to. Once you’ve learned what to pay attention to and have experience driving amongst them, you’ll understand what I’m saying. What I’m saying is not bullshit, it’s the truth. I think it’s something you and Kay can’t understand.
Nice backhanded compliment with the “you’re cool”, but tha’ts ok. You can keep defending Kay all you want. Btw, your argument in stating that you’ve never scratched a car in 18 years means nothing. I could drive my car down the street and back for 40 years and not make a scratch either. Old people make the same argument you do. Just because you’ve driven that many years without an accident doesn’t make you a good driver. It just means you’ve been lucky and haven’t been in an accident. I’m sure Michael Schumacher’s driving record isn’t 100% clean, but does that make him a bad driver? Would you say you’re a better driver than him because you haven’t scratched your car in 18 years?
I think onlythetruth should take his driving “skills” and ESP back to the “other” side of the border. You’re an asshole! You actually think you know something about anybody here. I’ll bet you think your shit don’t stink too, huh? (typical American). I’ve been driving stick for many years and I’ve driven in many busy cities. Few are more dangerous than Toronto probably because it’s so dam close to America, fucktard! Between immigrants just learning how to drive in the congestion of the 400 series highways and all the fucking Americans trying to be “cool” in our country… yeah, some of the rudest, angriest and most aggressive drivers and you’re one of them, onlythetruth. And you’re right, people are very predictable. Go home.
Now I’m just amused. “Calgary, not on par with Toronto, NYC, or LA, so again, doesn’t count. Driving in Southern California is nice, but I didn’t find them to be maniacs.”…clearly you skipped the part where I said I’ve driven in both Toronto AND LA. As well as San Fran.
Anyways, this is boring me now, as you seem to like to one-up everyone. You saying “my driving is better than yours because I’ve driven in more cities” IS bullshit. If I’d said I’ve driven in New York, you’d probably come up with some other city to continue to belittle everyone else’s skills and intelligence. Borrrring.
So you two can’t come up with anything better than to just hurl insults? You haven’t answered any of my questions and yet you still are under the impression that it’s your way or the highway.
I was countering the argument that kay brought up and has yet to still address. Your argument about 18 years of experience still holds no water either. I never said my driving was better than anyone else’s other than kay since kay seems to believe that reading driver’s ed material makes one a superior know it all driver, even if you have very little driving experience.
Btw kay, I don’t know how you get the impression that I’m an American and that I’m superior. From all your name calling and swearing, it appears that you are the rude, angry and aggressive one. Wow, you drive a stick? Am I supposed to be impressed? How about you take that one further and get on a motorcycle? Of course you haven’t done that, but you’re still such a super duper driver.
Maybe you two should get in a car and go for a drive. I’m sure everyone will be happy watching you to bicker while hogging the left hand lane all the way up Magazine Hill doing 60 km/h with a mobile speedbump sticker on your bumper and a baby on board sign attached to the rear windshield. Watch out for those stray dogs and cars driving in the wrong direction while you’re at it.
*yawn*
I didn’t insult you at all. lmao Except maybe the “you’re cool” comment. And that wasn’t meant to be an insult, I was simply implying that if you are so much better than everyone else, regardless of situations they’ve face and things they’ve done, then you MUST be cool 😛
And I’m not one of those mobile speedbump people, but thanks. Oh, and thanks for confirming the “one up” comment I made- “Wow, you drive a stick? Am I supposed to be impressed? How about you take that one further and get on a motorcycle? “
LOL.
I’m done with this post now.