Idiot drivers

[Robert_in_NY]

I know this topic gets brought up once or twice a year so I thought I would remind everyone to be careful when you are approaching a tractor on the road. Slow down and pass when you have a safe chance.

Just yesterday I pulled out of the driveway onto Rt 20 and had to drive down the road 150 yards with a 4 row corn planter. In that 150 yards, I had 5 cars pass me and run 4 oncoming cars off the road. I even had a school bus run a car off the road the other day as I was taking the disc down the road.

 

[DieselPower]

Yep, everyone is in a rush these day's. If it takes me all day to safely pass a tractor fine, it takes all day. I'm not going to put a tractor operator on oncoming trafic in danger just to get around them.

On the flip side. When I am driving down the road on a tractor I try to keep a close eye on what nut's I have behind me and if they are trying to pass. I also try to pull off the road if I get a chance and let traffic by.

 

[KAB]

This is a good reminder. The other day I was travelling through Middlefield OH and there was a tractor on its side (in front of the Co-op) after apparently being hit by a minivan.

If I find a news report I will post it.

Kurt

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I also try to pull off the road if I get a chance and let traffic by.

I do this still but now only for the tractor trailers as it is a lot harder for them to pass. They shut down State Route 5 and detoured the traffic onto State Route 20 which is the road I live and farm on so now I have twice as much traffic to contend with. I am only on the road for about 2 miles until I turn on to a county road but it is crazy now. When I pull over to let a truck by (and I can't just pull over anywhere) I end up sitting there a few minutes until traffic clears up enough to let me back on. I really can not wait until they reopen Rt 5.

 

[DieselPower]

I got hit about 8 years ago on one of my JD's. Didn't even really hurt the paint that much on the tractor. Opened up the mini van like a tin can though. I was on a back road and a lady comming the other way was dead in the center of the road, crested the hill, sun in her eyes (so she said) and side swiped my rear wheel hub. It removed the LF fender and most all of the sheet metal on the left side of the van. I had a few paint chips on my wheel hub, oh, and a seat cover and some new underwear for me.

 

[gbick]

My idiot-driver pet peeve is those who must first swerve left to make a right turn, and vise-versa.

 

[pennwalk]

I couldn't agree with you more. People are driving like idiots now days. It is almost like they don't care if the cause an accident. I made the mistake of coming back to the barn by way of the road. I just had a short way on the shoulder thank goodness. People don't even slow down. I hate mowing by the side of the road for the same reason. Has anyone mulched the 6 feet next to the road?

Chris

 

[scott_vt]

Afternoon Robert,
I see quite a few tractors on the road on RT# 22 very eastern part on NY along the Ma and Vt border. Im willing to bet 30 years ago, those tractor operators hardly ever saw a car, never mind being hit by them ! Im sure it was the same in your neck of the woods back then !

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I don't know, I am 29 and I can't remember yesterday let alone even 20 years ago. This road has always been busy as a lot of people drive towards Buffalo for work every day. The nice part was Rt 5 took about half of the traffic so now it is packed again until they finish the bridge.

Of course I always get the nice people that tell me how to drive and the ones that show me their IQ as the only reason I am on the road is to slow them down

I can deal with the idiots behind me but I get tired of watching oncoming cars being run off the road every time I pull an implement down the road. I know it is only a matter of time until there is an accident and even though I would not be at fault I would still feel bad. I keep thinking an escort would help but then the idiots would just pass the escort and me and force more cars off the road. What I need to do is talk to some of my cop friends and have them set up down the road where they can see what goes on. Maybe they can make a few of these drivers day

 

[George2615]

Yep, everyone is in a rush these day's. If it takes me all day to safely pass a tractor fine, it takes all day. I'm not going to put a tractor operator on oncoming trafic in danger just to get around them.

I agree that everyone is in a hurry. When it comes to passing a slow moving vehicle people should be patient and only do so when it is safe. I also live on a 40 MPH posted road and maybe 2 of every 50 cars going by my house do the limit. Neighbors have small kids and are afraid to let them play in the front yard. Police won't waste their time setting up radar on our street unless someone gets hit or worse.

It also amazes me that everyone complains about the price of fuel / gas today but they seem to forget that when they are on the highway. When I do the speed limit on the highway, 99 out of 100 cars will pass me. Apparently they must not realize that their MPG at 75-80 is much less than at 65.

A neighbor of mine bought a new car that is rated to get 30MPG highway. He stopped by one day and asked me to look at it before he takes it back to the dealer since he is only getting 18-19MPG. I saw nothing wrong with the car so I went for a ride with him on the highway and found he drives at 75-80 MPH, does jackrabbit starts, and waits until the last minute to brake. I told him he has to learn to drive like there is a raw egg under his throttle pedal that he can't break, keep it at the speed limit, and anticipate braking well in advance and his mileage would come up.
So far, he is up to 25-26 MPG. (still has some lead in his foot).