Gruber
Senior Member
- First Name
- Mark
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2018
- Threads
- 2
- Messages
- 2,309
- Reaction score
- 1,521
- Location
- TN
- Vehicle(s)
- 2018 Honda Civic Sport Touring; 2009 Honda CR-V EX-L
Just a couple of weeks ago I watched literally hundreds of traffic accidents recorded on dash cameras.
Number one cause of accidents is people driving totally distracted and oblivious to their surroundings.
Number two is people who drive way too fast and/or way too thugishly, relative to their skills and road conditions.
Number three is drivers who just don't know how to drive a car and/or ignore the basic rules of traffic.
Stopping very close to the car in front may multiply a bit the damages from a rear end wreck, but it is common and can't be helped. In a crowded urban context, the capacity of the lane is often limited and getting close packed is actually seen as a courtesy to other drivers. Keeping a half car distance would be taken as rude and selfish and cause a worse jam. It's just a tiny problem altogether.
It's amazing how many accidents happen, play out, and finally come to a still without any apparent attempt ever at using the brakes from any of the drivers involved. They seem to wake up (or not) after it's all done. Equally amazing is how many horrific wrecks happen because someone jerked their steering wheel like they were playing in a gokart, while driving at 70 mph. Either spooked by something or trying to sharply get in front of a vehicle in the next lane.
But if we accept the fact that people suck ("people will do what they do," as one prominent politician recently said) the number of accidents is proportional to the quality and quantity of the roads, the quality of traffic engineering, and traffic overload. I believe the US is the country where driving is the easiest and the most stress-free in the world, because of generally good wide roads and relatively disciplined drivers outside of the areas where drug use is popular. Yes, there may be some tiny countries in the north of Europe where driving is also fine, but they are too unimportant to mention.
(Please don't tell me how hellish it is in your neck of the US before driving in other countries. I mean average -- obviously some parts of the crowded US cities are not so great because of traffic, roads, and the rudest people.)
Number one cause of accidents is people driving totally distracted and oblivious to their surroundings.
Number two is people who drive way too fast and/or way too thugishly, relative to their skills and road conditions.
Number three is drivers who just don't know how to drive a car and/or ignore the basic rules of traffic.
Stopping very close to the car in front may multiply a bit the damages from a rear end wreck, but it is common and can't be helped. In a crowded urban context, the capacity of the lane is often limited and getting close packed is actually seen as a courtesy to other drivers. Keeping a half car distance would be taken as rude and selfish and cause a worse jam. It's just a tiny problem altogether.
It's amazing how many accidents happen, play out, and finally come to a still without any apparent attempt ever at using the brakes from any of the drivers involved. They seem to wake up (or not) after it's all done. Equally amazing is how many horrific wrecks happen because someone jerked their steering wheel like they were playing in a gokart, while driving at 70 mph. Either spooked by something or trying to sharply get in front of a vehicle in the next lane.
But if we accept the fact that people suck ("people will do what they do," as one prominent politician recently said) the number of accidents is proportional to the quality and quantity of the roads, the quality of traffic engineering, and traffic overload. I believe the US is the country where driving is the easiest and the most stress-free in the world, because of generally good wide roads and relatively disciplined drivers outside of the areas where drug use is popular. Yes, there may be some tiny countries in the north of Europe where driving is also fine, but they are too unimportant to mention.
(Please don't tell me how hellish it is in your neck of the US before driving in other countries. I mean average -- obviously some parts of the crowded US cities are not so great because of traffic, roads, and the rudest people.)
Sponsored