Bad Drivers

[desiree.nielsen]

I'm not sure exactly where to post this, but I'm really freaked out with all the bad drivers out there right now.

So yesterday I was driving in Petaluma with my daughter and we were making a left turn at a green light. Another car ran a red light going straight onto the street I was turning into. If I'd been going straight instead of left or if I'd been more in the intersection than I was my car would have been hit which is also the side of the car that my daughters seat is on. I had to pull over to cry, and breathe for a while before I was able to drive again. Today after replaying all the possible scenarios in my head (some pretty graphic and terrible) I'm FREAKED OUT about getting in the car and driving. I'm hoping that I can relax and get over it. With the wet roads, the holiday rushing and just straight up disregard for the law people are really not driving well right now, and I am considering giving up driving unless I really really need to.

Also with the story of the Sonoma family of four that were killed recently I'm just wigged out about the way people drive. I see people running reds ALL the time, not mention all the other ways people drive recklessly.

ANY support here for me would be much appreciated...other than driving carefully myself (which I do) I don't really know how to handle this since its so out of my control how other people drive.

[Maritza]

How frustrating!!! I am glad you and your daugther are OK, that must have been very scary for you :hug

Bad drivers make me very angry:steam I wish they would understand that ANY motor vehicle is a deadly weapon.
I always have to drive defensively no mater where I am driving, either here in the US or in another country. The other thing is, I don't care if the light is green, I won't just cross it unless I make sure and see that all the cars on the other sides have stopped.
I get very irritated with drivers that tailgate you:beathorse I think that is as irresponsible as a DUI or being on the phone/texting while driving.

[jellybeanmichelle]

How frustrating!!! I am glad you and your daugther are OK, that must have been very scary for you :hug

I get very irritated with drivers that tailgate you:beathorse I think that is as irresponsible as a DUI or being on the phone/texting while driving.

:yeah :hug:hug:hug

If I'm the first car at a light, I always wait that few seconds before I go, for those red light runners. :nono

I hate people who tailgate me!!! Especially on the windy parts of the road I drive. There is a reason why it's 25mph on those curves. (License plate frame says: The closer you get, the slower I go)

And what bugs the crap out of me is those that don't use their turn signal. It's a pet peeve of mine.

Oh and don't get me started on the people who drive 30mph in a 50mph with one lane in each direction. Let's just say my blood was boiling Saturday night coming back over the hill. People were honking, including me :bag to try and get the person to pull over. To make matters worse, when the car finally did go down a different road (10 miles later)....no turn signal to say they were turning left. UGH!!!!!!!

[L and F's Momma]

:hug:hug:hug:hug
I am so sorry... I can totally understand why you wouldn't want to get in the car again. My mother and younger brother were in a bad wreck when I was in high school. My mother was hurt pretty bad, my brother, just bruised up. I had a really hard time driving for a long time and I still am a VERY cautious driver. I wish I knew how to tell you to get back in the car, but I can't. I think about it a lot, still and it's been 16 years.

I get soooooo angry about stupid drivers. It's like they don't realize that they are inside of a very dangerous weapon!

BTW, yesterday, this idiot drifted over in my lane and I had to slam on my breaks so that he wouldn't hit me (and thank goodness the person behind me was paying attention!!!). Now, I do drive an F'ing tank of a vehicle and this guy was in a little tiny car but still.... Later on, down the road a few more blocks, he did it AGAIN! This time, I honked my horn and ended up passing by him. When I looked over, he had a LAPTOP open in the passenger seat and was messing with it!!! I had to pull over and stop for a minute, too- I was shaking so bad.

[jellybeanmichelle]

If you get the license plate, you can call the police to report the bad driver.
I see the signs along the 101.

[Theresa]

I'm so sorry that happened. Those replay of the scenarios can be tough to deal with too. Thankfully all was well. :hug

[momtoM&D]

:hug I know, people are horrible!If it makes you feel any better, at this time of year there are a lot of DUI checkpoints - we were stopped at one on College near 101 the other night. The people in front of us were directed into a parking lot, I'm assuming to do a further check. There's no way to get all the idiots off the road, but it makes me feel a little better knowing they're at least getting some of them.

[surmick]

That is terrible! I usually find alot of rude drivers more than bad drivers. Turning your blinker on while you are getting into the other lane...DOES NOT COUNT!!!

Stupid people.

[Lynette]

My favorite is when someone pulls some jackass manuever and I honk or throw my hands up in a "WTF?!" kind of motion and they look at me like I'M the bitch :banghead

Unfortunately, the world has more than its share of morons and when you become a mom and have something precious to lose, it is scary to leave the house and risk one of those morons taking that precious thing away from you. BUT, you can't live in fear either. Now, I am not above a nice titanium bubble to stick the kid in ;) but we all just have to do our best with juggling our kids' safety with not teaching them to be fearful which can be just as crippling of course.

Being a good driver is the best defense and watch out for morons!

[ladybish]

I'm so sorry you had to deal with that!

Dh and I and the kid were waiting for a space at Safeway, when, once that car had moved out of it, a car heading down the aisle from the OPPOSITE direction (and these are the angled spots - not straight) flipped around and into it, and got mad at me for starting to pull into it!

[desiree.nielsen]

Thanks everyone. <3

It makes me crazy to look around see all these people being so careless. Not just in cars either. Bicyclists and pedestrians even. I almost ran over a bike guy the other day cause he pulled out in front of my car from the lane that had the red and crossed over so he could turn on the next street, luckily I was watching him and knew he was going to be an idiot and slowed down, but when I gave him the ol' "WTH?" look he flipped ME off!! REALLY?! And of course he wasn't wearing a helmet. Or what really gets me is the new crosswalk lights on Washington and Keller st (the Phoenix theater intersection) the kids just push the button and go, they don't even wait to make sure the cars are actually stopping...agh! I mean, come on.

Respect yourselves, respect others, be safe and share the road.

[Christyn95]

I'm so sorry you had to go through all that. I've had times where I've just had to pull over and take a breather and/or cry. DH was just telling me that sometimes when he can't get ahold of me at home or on the cell phone, he sometimes thinks the worst and goes through all the scenrios in his head of living w/o me and taking care of Morgan himself. :( I think about it a lot on my way home from work, down S101 between Bicentennial and Hwy12 b/c there are always idiots out there. I constantly think about how I'm going to tell someone to call Morgan's DCP to tell her I was in an accident, or my DH for that matter. I think about it most when my cell phone is dead, or forgot it at home. :(

I had a major idiot behind me on Saturday and I had Morgan w/me. I was pulling on to S101 from RPX and this idiot in a HUGE lifted pickup truck was tail gating me that if he was any closer he would have impregnanted me!! His grill seemed to be right in my back window AND he was NOT looking straight ahead, he was constantly looking to the left, so he could make his move to get in the fast lane...meanwhile speeding up closer and closer to me!! I entered the freeway at 40mph b/c the person in front of of me was going that slow. I was just waiting to get rear-ended. He finally got over, but he really tailgated each person he was behind. I kept wanting to call the CHP, but I didn't get a good look at what type of truck it was...only that it was a young guy late teens-early 20's and the truck was black. :( The whole incident made me SO mad and disgruntled as I made my way to my parents house in Novato. :( Grrrr!! Inconsiderate IDIOTS!!!