Dimwit on the road!!

[Richard]

Can't believe what this idiot did yesterday.

Setup: Added to house, now putting the flagstone walkway back down and need some block material (heavy duty sand) under it. I happen to live 20 minutes away (backhoe speed at 12 MPH ... only 5 minutes away by car ) from a local quarry.

Anyways, happen to live VERY near the quarry so jumped on my backhoe to drive over there and get some block material.

Full sized industrial backhoe/loader, 8 tons weight. Front bucket alone weighs about 1,500 pounds as I recall reading.

The left turn to the quarry is a 'T' intersection off another road and comes RIGHT AT a hard (blind) right bend in the road. Double yellow lines, can't see oncoming traffic kinda thing.

I pulled over so someone could pass me... got much closer to my turn, maybe 200' away and someone else was behind me. Because I was so close I decided to simply go ahead and turn to get out of his way rather than to take more time by pulling over.

Neared my turn, had left blinker on, signaled left turn with my left arm WELL before my turn. It was pretty obvious to anyone with a brain that I was turning left at the road the gravel pit was located.....perhaps that was my destination.

I was at my turn and was just getting ready to turn the wheel to cross the oncoming lane (no oncoming traffic) and I had a little voice in the back of my head telling me to double check the guy in the truck behind me.

I turned around to visually see him slowing down, patiently driving behind me as he knew I was getting out of his way... when all the sudden I ALSO noticed yet another truck. This second truck was passing the vehicle behind me and continued on to pass me.

Mind you... he was passing US on a dual yellow, blind right hand bend in the road as I was signaling a left turn onto the adjacent road.

My front bucket missed this idiot by about 4'

Had I not had the voice to check the truck behind me I would have either had my bucket in the way of this Chevy S-10 sized truck to hit or I would have speared his passenger side.

I'm not sure...but I don't know that the hardened teeth on my bucket would have even noticed the metal skin of that truck.

Fortunately, I had the voice to be 100% sure about the guy behind me, noticed this other idiot who was passing everyone and I had a moment to react.

The rest of my trip was uneventful. Got my 2 tons of block material and now get to break my back putting it down along with my sidewalk.

 

[smfcpacfp]

I was turning right, into my driveway on my motorcycle once. I lived in the boondocks so there wasn't much traffic but there was a guy right behind me. I had my right motorcycle turn signal on and used a hand signal and was going very slow. Just as I was ready to turn I got stung in the ear by a bee that had got into my helmet which was disconcerting enough, but the clown behind decided to pass me on the right!! in the gravel off the road. I was hoping he would hit a tree but no such luck.

Like you I looked once more before I leaped, to my advantage.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

No one cares about double yellows or turn signals when you are on a tractor. I never make a left turn without making sure the cars behind me have stopped as they usually don't. I can be parked with my left turn signal flashing and they don't even slow down, they just blow right by me so I have to stay in the road till the cars stop passing It is common for me to see cars forced to the shoulder also as the cars behind me pass me without caring about the oncoming cars facing them. They just keep going and force the other cars off the road I have no choice but to stay in the lane as I am way to wide 75% of the time to say in the shoulder

 

[smfcpacfp]

No one cares about double yellows or turn signals when you are on a tractor. I never make a left turn without making sure the cars behind me have stopped as they usually don't. I can be parked with my left turn signal flashing and they don't even slow down, they just blow right by me so I have to stay in the road till the cars stop passing It is common for me to see cars forced to the shoulder also as the cars behind me pass me without caring about the oncoming cars facing them. They just keep going and force the other cars off the road I have no choice but to stay in the lane as I am way to wide 75% of the time to say in the shoulder

Sure glad I don't live in New York, Michiganders in the Upper Penninsula pretty much follow the rules unless they are drunk, on their cells, or sleepy.

 

[kevinj]

Sure glad I don't live in New York, Michiganders in the Upper Penninsula pretty much follow the rules unless they are drunk, on their cells, or sleepy.

I wish they followed the rules in lower half!!! I get passed on double yellow at least once a week.

 

[smfcpacfp]

I wish they followed the rules in lower half!!! I get passed on double yellow at least once a week.

We aren't in as big a hurry up here!

 

[milkman]

Try driving for a living and you see all kinds of idiot behavior dozens of times a day. Call it profiling, but you get to expect it from people driving certain vehicles, idiocy is rampant.

 

[Jstpssng]

I wish they followed the rules in lower half!!! I get passed on double yellow at least once a week.

Last time I knew it actually wasn't against the law to pass on the double here in Maine; however it is illegal to pass on intersections blind curves, or other unsafe situations.

Several years ago I was walking up the highway facing traffic when I heard the sound of a horn blowing. I turned around, and stepped into the path of a car which was passing another. It scared me so bad that I threw the axe I was carrying at his back window... fortunately(?) I missed.

 

[Stimw]

Try driving a semi sometime! You will see it all. Like the guy who's lane ended on the right of me, fully marked with signs, so he has to pass anyway and hits my right front wheel so hard that it knocked the steering wheel out of my hand and he keeps going with his left quarter panel crushed! But he got in front of me so in his mind he thinks he won!

 

[aczlan]

Last time I knew it actually wasn't against the law to pass on the double here in Maine; however it is illegal to pass on intersections blind curves, or other unsafe situations.

The state of Maine would like to disagree with you: http://www.state.me.us/mdot/safetyo...s/Maine Transportation Safety Laws August.pdf

As would the US DOT: FHWA - MUTCD - Pavement Markings Tutorial

If passing farm equipment (and I know the road) I have been known to pass on a double yellow, but otherwise, generally if there is a double yellow line there isn't a good enough sight line to safely pass.

If driving or towing farm equipment down the road I have been known to wave people past if it is clear (even on a double yellow) as a courtesy.

Aaron Z

 

[Bird]

If you have more dimwits on the road in your area than we have on I-35E north of Dallas, then you certainly have my sympathy. On second thought, that probably isn't possible.

 

[PILOON]

On my road we have 2 areas, hilly, well trees blind S turns.
Both times I was at or about the legal speed limits and idiot drivers passed me blind going uphill and blew the stops as well.
Again just as they blew by headlights suddenly came up from opposite direction making for very narrow misses.

This well treed country road also has a couple of 4 way stops that traffic NEVER respect.
Everybody is just in such a hurry it seems.

Always seems to be BMW's SUV's or Honda Civics.

Other day the city had a radar speed sign board up and running on main street.
I was pleased to see my speed well within limits when suddenly the posted speed jumped to 120 as a BMW blew by me.

Problem is that if a speed trap had been there, I would probably have recieved his ticket as he'd be well gone.
Happened once like that to me.

 

[Jstpssng]

The state of Maine would like to disagree with you: http://www.state.me.us/mdot/safetyo...s/Maine Transportation Safety Laws August.pdf

As would the US DOT: FHWA - MUTCD - Pavement Markings Tutorial

If passing farm equipment (and I know the road) I have been known to pass on a double yellow, but otherwise, generally if there is a double yellow line there isn't a good enough sight line to safely pass.

If driving or towing farm equipment down the road I have been known to wave people past if it is clear (even on a double yellow) as a courtesy.

Aaron Z

Point taken. As the link states, this is a relatively recent law. (2008)

We also have a new "distracted driving" law going into affect on Saturday. It doesn't prohibit use of cell phones or other hand held devices, but offers pretty hefty fines if they effect your driving. I doubt it will be enforcable, but the intent is good.

so if you drive in our state, you CAN be summonsed for checking out that Blonde who's walking down the road.


Now I just need to get MDOT to change the dotted line to a solid one, where my town road enters the state highway. (It's still illegal to pass on a road intersection)

 

[milkman]

Try driving a semi sometime!

Exactly what I was referring to. Wish law enforcement would do ride alongs with a radio to catch and ticket some of the idiots, they could shut down the speed traps and still make more money.

 

[Bird]

Other day the city had a radar speed sign board up and running on main street.
I was pleased to see my speed well within limits when suddenly the posted speed jumped to 120 as a BMW blew by me.

I like those things and we see them quite often. In fact, I saw one today in a residential area with a 35 mph speed limit and it showed I was doing 32.

 

[Egon]

I doubt it will be enforceable,

It's the law here in Nova Scotia and is being enforced.

Don't affect me as I don't own a cell phone.

 

[Bird]

We also have a new "distracted driving" law going into affect on Saturday. It doesn't prohibit use of cell phones or other hand held devices, but offers pretty hefty fines if they effect your driving. I doubt it will be enforcable, but the intent is good.

One of our new state laws this years prohibits the use of cell phones in school zones unless they're a hands free system. Several cities has already passed city ordinances to that effect, but now it's statewide.

 

[Jstpssng]

One of our new state laws this years prohibits the use of cell phones in school zones unless they're a hands free system. Several cities has already passed city ordinances to that effect, but now it's statewide.

Our law doesn't ban anything; nor is it limited to cell phones.
It merely imposes fines on any activity which impairs your driving. In other words, it is up to the discretion of the officer, which is why I suspect it will fail.

Cell phones are invaluable tools; I would be lost without one and generally find a safe place to pull over to use mine. Yet it is unbelievable how many people still will give loud horn blasts and 1 finger waves as they go by me. Obviously they are a social as well as a safety issue.

 

[Bird]

Cell phones are invaluable tools; I would be lost without one and generally find a safe place to pull over to use mine. Yet it is unbelievable how many people still will give loud horn blasts and 1 finger waves as they go by me. Obviously they are a social as well as a safety issue.

Yes, they are invaluable tools. But there's been a number of news articles saying that using one while driving is as least as dangerous, if not more dangerous than driving drunk. And from what I've observed, I believe it. I see cars all the time that would appear to be driven by a drunk, slowing down and speeding up for not visible reason, weaving in and out of their lane, off onto the shoulder, etc. and in well over 90% of the time, it's a driver holding a cell phone to his/her ear with one hand. Some claim even the hands free cell phones are just as dangerous, but I have some doubts about that.

We have a county run bus service here and I was recently driving along in the middle lane of the 3 lane (each way) Interstate at just about the speed limit and one of the busses was going along in the inside (left) lane about 5 mph slower than the speed limit and just as I got even with the busses back bumper, she turned right into my lane without signalling and I had to hit the brakes hard enough to activate the anti-lock feature to avoid being hit, and thought sure the guy behind me was going to rear end us. Less than a mile farther down the road, she half way changed lanes again to the right, ran another vehicle off onto the shoulder of the road, then swerved all the way back to inside lane. Yep, female driver talking on her cell phone. I did call the bus company and report that one; don't know whether it made any difference or not. And at least she didn't have any passengers in the little bus.

 

[smfcpacfp]

... Call it profiling, but you get to expect it from people driving certain vehicles, idiocy is rampant.

Ok, I have to know, what vehicles?