My kid’s just finished the classroom part of driver education and it prompted a discussion of crazy things we’ve seen other drivers do.
The craziest thing I saw, many years ago now, was I came up behind a guy driving a Ford Ranger pickup and could see through his rear window that he was doing tricep extensions with a dumbbell in his right hand. I was more surprised as I passed to see he was shaving with an electric razor in his left hand. I don’t really know how he was steering.
Kiddo said they were told personal grooming was the fourth leading cause of accidents.
Seen too much shit.
People driving and: texting, watching movies, reading with books or newspapers pinned to the steering wheels, working on a laptop with those steering wheel laptop holders, applying makeup, shaving. Sometimes more than one of these things at a time.
The cellphone video/text/surfing is a multiple times a day occurrence. People drive with their phones in their hands and use them all the damn time.
Seen two people deceased, one hit while attempting to cross a busy road well away from a crossing area, another thrown from the car after rolling it because they’d clipped a car while they were speeding and weaving through traffic.
People backing up in breakdown lanes on freeways to make an exit. People crossing multiple lanes rapidly, cutting off other cars, to avoid missing an exit. People OUI weaving in a lane. People nearly coming to a full stop in traffic to avoid missing an exit or turn.
Yeah, think that’s most of it. I’m sure I’ve forgotten some. I’m sure I’ll see more tomorrow.
working on a laptop with those steering wheel laptop holders
Remember when they were an onion-style joke to begin with?
Shoutout to that influencer who was pulled over for drinking Raising Cane’s dipping sauce while driving, cuz someone thought it was Jell-O shots and called 911 on him.
I remember seeing an article years ago about a person who baked a bunch of cellphone shaped cookies, got pulled over while holding it, and then ate it once the cop came to the window.
I’ve always wondered what would happen if you drove along drinking a 0% alcohol beer, and got stopped. Feels like the police would arrest you just for being a PITA.
I once got pulled over for drinking a can of Arizona sweet tea. Drove past a speed trap while taking a drink. They lit me up, and I was confused as to why because I wasn’t speeding.
Cop gets to my window and immediately asks if I’ve been drinking. Not even a “do you know why I pulled you over” or a “how are you tonight?” Just straight to “are you drunk?” I was confused, (and a little offended,) but answered no. He shined his flashlight into my car and asked what was in my cup holder. I turned the can around so he could see the label, and went “Uhh… Tea?” He deflated, have me a curt “have a nice evening” and turned on his heel to head back to his cruiser.
He 100% thought it was a beer can, and had hyped himself up for the easiest arrest of the evening.
Ha, so the lesson there is decant your beer into a tea can and you might get away with it…
(Not really, please people don’t drink and drive)
I was with my uncle (ca 1990) when he confidently took an offramp and got onto the I5 freeway going the wrong direction in an RV.
Bad enough with the wrong way, but in an RV is so much worse!
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I had the same thing happen in Greece. He then proceeded to not see the light turn green and continued to rant while it was green and we weren’t moving.
Having a slap fight with the passenger in the back seat. On the highway.
Was also in a car where the driver was rolling a joint while steering with his knee.
Cops on laptops/phones while driving on the highway and getting a pass literally every time they’re driving distracted and kill or injure someone.
Every single year in my city someone gets smoked by a cop car/SUV, and the internal investigations always determine via CCTV + phone activity logs that yes their officer was on their phone/laptop, yes they were speeding, yes they went through a red light, yes they failed to have their 🚨 on, but… No, they’re never found guilty and the whole internal investigation is the furthest thing from transparent to the public.
A DEA agent near me recently hit and killed a mother on her bicycle after running a stop sign. He was given qualified immunity.
Should be given something else
The 2 most ridiculous ones I’ve seen are
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Reading a newspaper with a flashlight in his mouth
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Eating a gallon of ice cream
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I watched a guy eat a meal while driving a van.
In itself that’s not crazy, but it is when you’re holding a knife and fork, and you’ve got a plate of…something on your car dashboard.
Similar, here.
Stopped at lights on drive into work next to a woman at the wheel, spooning down her breakfast from a bowl.
Someone, I told at work asked if you could get into trouble for this…maybe not the first time, but, yes, if you’re a cereal offender.
I’d like to picture him with an oversized napkin stuffed into his collar as well.
Someone curling their eyelashes while driving 65mph
that’s wild i’m scared to curl mine with both elbows on the table. One wrong move…
I’m the same way, I wouldn’t even try it if I was a passenger in a car
exercising while driving is a classic technique for keeping yourself awake
I encourage everyone to shave with a straight razor while doing tricep extensions as part of the morning commute, or you’re just going to be too sleepy weepy :)
Saw a dude driving down the wrong side of the free way once.
I had to pull off the road a bit and almost into the ditch on the highway to avoid someone who misjudged his passing distance and was still using my lane.
I signaled in the hopes he would see it and not zig to my zag.
He passed right in with the car he was passing, I edged the ditch a bit and then we all continue on our way.
I was a ways down the road before the chemical dump and realization. Had to pull over, of course.
I’ve been known to have “British moments”. When I saw the bit in Arrested Development, I cried laughing.
police SUV tearing ass around a busy strip mall parking lot at night with its lights off
not just the police lights, also the headlights and running lights.
thing was completely dark while the cop was driving super aggressively, ran a stop sign too
Just last week, a car had missed their turn on the motorway, so decided to REVERSE up the hard shoulder.
I’ve seen elderly folks do that a few times. Not on the shoulder, but still in their lane, backing up into oncoming traffic. (Yes, I did spend some time living in Florida.)
On Sunday there was a crash blocking an Autobahn. 50 cars turned around and drove back to the nearest exit, on the emergency lane kept free for the ambulance.
I see this shit far too often. It makes me wonder if they’re aware their gps can get them rerouted without having to risk their or anyone else’s necks.
Reminds me of a saying I heard: “Good drivers sometimes miss their turn. Bad drivers never miss their turn.”
I can’t agree more. I always say if you miss a turn or get in the wrong lane then “own your mistake and go around”
Too many times I see someone got in the wrong lane so they turn on their signal and wait or just plow over to the lane they wanted and cut others off. Nobody understands the solid white line. If it’s sold white you can’t cross it!
Late '70s, on a winding paved backroad heading into town, a smaller car coming in the opposite direction lost traction (a light, misty rain had just gone through) and rolled twice in a field before landing upright.
My buddy and I quickly pulled over and ran towards the car to make sure everything was alright.
They drove off before we got to them…
Ok…I want THAT car!!! Forget airbags, and modern safety standards. This dude rolls his car TWICE and just drives off.
Ya, iirc, it was something like a Datsun or Toyota compact car, which were a lot smaller and fragile than today’s compacts.
This is one of those events that you chalk up to pure luck.
…until you get in a collision and the car crumples up and squeezes you out like red toothpaste.
Cars like that don’t crumple up, you just bounce around inside till you die
I was on a highway doing around 60 when the car in front of me suddenly spun around in a 360 and stopped. Luckily they were some distance in front and there was no other traffic. When I passed, it was a teenage boy in the passenger and his grandmother driving. She was yelling at him and reaching down between them trying to do something. I think he had pulled the e-brake just to see what would happen.
Dude let the intrusive thoughts win.
