What is it with the little cars? Do they really want to get squashed?

[John316]

What is up with these little vehicles? I don't think some of these drivers have all their marbles. Today going through LA (not even rush hour traffic). A little idiot decided to dive over in front of us (we were maintain our distance) to try to make an exit. The problem was the exit was backed up. This feller decided to stop in our lane. It took full service brake application (I am glad our brakes are in top notch condition), jakes, and transmission retarder, to barely stop in time. And, I am telling you, we were all glad that we had our seatbelts on. Otherwise there would have been an issue.

Of course, that was probably the longest time we have sat on the air horn. If we wouldn't have had the distance in front of us, we would have squashed him. That guy should be really blessed that our brakes were functioning so well.

Do people like that think that if they cut in front of a large bus, and stop, do they really think that we can stop as fast as them? Do they really realize that they are the real losers? 

That just shows how we need to have really good driving habits. I think it all comes down to good driving habits, and having your coach in good condition.

Anyways, sorry for the rant.

God bless,

John

[HighTechRedneck]

In my opinion the problem is that too many car drivers don't think, period.  They relagate driving to the reflex part of their brain and the rest of their mind is doing something entirely different.  Then all of a sudden they realize "oh, there's my exit", and whoosh, without the slightest awareness of their surroundings or conscious thought of the dangers, they make their move.

Often times it works for them because of the skill and alertness of other drivers, and other times it results in their final 15 minutes of fame on the evening news.

[RJ]

John -

Many drivers, when they climb behind the steering wheel, end up sitting on their brains. 

Saw it time and time again as a professional driver.

Still see it running around town on a daily basis with my current business.

And if you would have stopped in Fresno on your way down the Valley, I'd have told you some good war stories about idiot drivers over a Pepsi.

Glad you avoided having to use the energy bumper on the front of your MCI.

FWIW & HTH. . .

[John316]

Yup, Mike, you are right...Beats me...lol.

RJ, we would have loved to stop by. But, I-5 is SO much better then 99...sorry . I am sure we will be in your neck of the woods sometime. I am sure you have seen your share of the drivers. The guy that wanted to check out our bumper (really badly), didn't have all his marbles in one place. I am not sure where he left them, but they weren't in the car with him.

God bless,

John

[JackConrad]

   Most driver's have never driven anything larger than a standard sized car and do not have a clue how much distance is needed to stop a heavy vehicle. They think all vehicles can stop in the same distance as their small car.  Another reason to maintain a big gap in front of you.  Jack

[robertglines1]

Your preaching to the chior..Glad you didn't swap paint...safe driving....Bob

[Chopper Scott]

It just goes to prove that not all of this country's idiots are elected!!!

[belfert]

I have had cars squeal their tires to pull out in front of my bus.  They don't want to be behind a "slow" bus you know.  It is going to cost them a lot more than an extra 15 or 30 seconds when my bus demolishes their car.

I don't like being behind city buses either, but I sure as heck am not going to pull out in front of one either.  The stupid traffic engineers around here designed roads where only one lane of an interstate continues on.  I've ended up not getting over into that lane during rush hour a number of times because I simply won't pull into a trucker's buffer zone.  There is a reason why he (or she) is not riding the bumper of the vehicle ahead of them.  Many drivers don't understand this.

[MattC]

It's a shame that it would have hurt your bus to take that set of genes out of the pool.  They are no doubt defective.

Just think Southern Pacific train horns and a HUGE reservoir tank.  Muahaha

[PCC]

As i have said many times, let them sit in the driver's seat of a rig, or a bus, just for a moment to see why they need to have a little more respect for our size. Mind you, some of them do it on purpose, believing you have good insurance.

When I work with the students, they get to sit behind the wheel of the bus we are converting (in a vacant lot) while the bus is just rolling at idle - then they alloy the brakes. When they feel the weight, and the time needed to stop, they have a different perspective about pulling in front of big vehicles in their own roller skate.

Glad you were kept safe through this one - someone you almost met's life must have another purpose, I guess !!

[PP]

Before I add my 2 centavos to this thread, just let me say that I feel sorry for the victims involved in the vehicle accidents where brakes fail and accelerators stick, but how does someone manage to call 911 and talk for almost 10 minutes with a dispatcher and no one considers putting the vehicle in NUETRAL? Is it just me?   I had a dumptruck accelerator pedal stick one time going through a small town where I grew up many years ago. I was just a young kid, but even then, I had sense enough to jam it out of gear (didn't even use the clutch) and turn off the ignition to save the engine. Someone said not all idiots are in office, SO TRUE!
will

[Len Silva]

Vnfortnately (I jvst lost the yoo on my keyboard - v=yoo), no matter how stvpid they were, yov wovld have been charged in the accident, and wovld have been fighting the charges for years.  Glad it was all OK.

[John316]

Aren't you glad that yovr is "Len" and not "Yvri."

I am sorry, I covldn't read yovr post withovt chvckling. How did you loose yovr key? Check yovr keychain. lol

God bless,

John

[John316]

Il could be worse. I losl my...key. I can'l figure oul how lo phonelicly say il. lol

God bless,

John

[HighTechRedneck]

That is a very sad trvth Len.   (tip for U - hold down the alt key and type 085 on the numeric pad to get a upper case 'U" or alt 117 to get a lower case "u", assuming your keyboard has a numeric pad)

Back to the sad truth.  That has been the case all along that the one hitting from the rear is at fault.  But I wonder if that might be getting a closer look by law enforcement lately. It seems like a lot of signs going up on the interstates cautioning against lane changing into the buffer space in front of trucks.  If the laws are changing, it sure would be nice to see some people getting pulled over and ticketed when officers see them do that.