On Tailgating...

What's one of the easiest ways to guarantee being in a car accident?  Answer:  Ride another car's tail at high speeds towards stopped traffic.

The picture above is of a silver Charger being driven by a driver who decided that getting to the airport to pickup a friend or loved one was worth risking his life. 

I'm sorry, but if you believe that, you deserve to spin-off the off-ramp and crash into a fiery blaze.  The person or persons have landed safely.  You're an off-ramp away from the airport.  Slow the heck down and take it easy.

Well the driver he was tailgating was not having a great morning either and stepped on the brakes hard in front of the charger.  So hard in fact that the car that braked seemed to make a little hop as it abruptly slowed down.  The Charger was dangerously close to slamming into the braking car.

Now you're probably one of those people that likes to tailgate.  I'd suggest there are easier ways to get killed.  Look up "how to commit suicide" on google.  I'm sure you'll find dozens of ways to handle your business.  (Disclaimer:  I am not suggesting anyone kill him or herself, but that if he or she does, to not do it on the road)

Two basic scenarios :

1.  You're risking your life in case the car in front of you has to quickly stop due to some unforeseen event or miscalculated approach.  Slam!  More often than not, you will be held responsible.

2.  The person you are tailgating will take drastic measures to express his or her content at your tail-riding.  Also risky.  Slam!  More often than not, you will be held responsible unless you can prove that the driver who slammed on his or her brakes had malicious intent.  Difficult to prove.  Saying "He just slammed on the brakes" is not enough to prove it. 

Conclusion:  Stay the fudge away!

The faster you are driving, the more distance you must keep between your car and the car in front of you if you care about surviving an unpredictable situation.  If the car in front of you suddenly has a blown tire or loses velocity quickly, you will need space and time to react.  If you are too close, not only will you surely collide with the car in front of you, but are setting yourself up to cause a chain of collisions in which you are the target.  Again, if you do not value your life, please find alternatives.

With love,

the ones who want to live another day.

and the Driving Dude.

DWS- Driving While Stupid

On Tuesday of this week, while driving it to work, a driver in a black Mercedes was caught "Driving While Stupid".

Black Mercedes. Plates:  UCLA SLM.

Be wary of this driver.

In Torrance, CA, while trying to make a left onto Hawthorne coming from Del Amo Blvd heading east, this driver almost ate the center divider while making the left.  I, of course, made a snark under my breath.. something like "Where'd you learn to drive ackhole?" Scoff!

So as I followed I decided to move over to the right lane to avoid this DWS.

Put on my signal light, checked the rearview mirror, the right mirror, lastly the blindspot by turning my head, and switched lanes.  As I was passing this car, I noticed it started to veer ever so slightly towards me. I quickly checked the right lane, and swerved to the right while accelerating.

I looked in my left mirror to my horror.  The Benz was still veering right, already a foot and half into the next lane and quickly swerved back into the lane it was in.

What the heck?  Was this ackhole drunk or stoned or having a heart attack?

Usually if I see a car slightly drifting towards me I give a quick 2-honk warning and most driver reactions are to course-correct.  I did not do that this time and instead took the riskier move of getting out of the way.

The car finally moved behind me and when reaching a red light on an intersection I pumped my brakes as I slowed down to assist this person in seeing my car.

Well the driver decided to swing over to the right hand lane and turn right on Artesia without stopping.  The windows were tinted so I could not tell you what the driver looked like or if he/she was visibly distraught.. but nowadays it could just have been someone updating their FB status.

:|

I checked the license plates:  UCLA SLM

I don't know if it stand for UCLA IS LAME, or  I'M A STUPID DRIVER.

The latter would be my guess.

People, if you're gonna drink or use drugs, stay at home or have someone else drive.  Leave the texting for when you're not driving, or pull over to a gas station and do it. 

And while you're at it, visit ontheroadrageagain.blogspot.com  for more tips to avoid driving like a douchebag.

Driving While Stupid is a major offense in my book.

After the Storm, Pot-holes!

So now that the rain is over, everything's just fine again right?  Well, not exactly.

See, although many love to rev up the engine and maximize acceleration due to a clean and dry road (awesome grip), there is a dangerous foe lurking right below-

Potholes.

Woo hoo!

Yup, those pesky breaks in the road are responsible for damaging suspensions and popping tires.

Potholes are formed due to deterioration of the road. When it rains, the water and traffic helps wash away any loose debris in between the cracks of the road.  Also, once water goes in the cracks, cold weather freezes up the water which solidifies (expanding) and breaking the road even further!

(image from: http://www.carpages.co.uk/news/news-images/potholes_15_06_07.jpg)

Try to avoid them but not at all costs.  Swerving to miss them could be more dangerous than going over them.  Be wary though, speed and potholes are not a good combination.  Try to keep your driving to low speeds at least until you survey your usual traveling roads.  After a few days, you should be able to remember all the potholes that have surfaced and the specially nasty ones.

Adapt your commute route and speed according to what you've learned.  Hopefully, within a few weeks, road crews will fill those potholes up with fresh new asphalt!

If you must go over a pothole, try to do it slowly but don't brake or stop quickly or you might find yourself on the receiving end of a rear-end collision.

**  Want to report potholes in your area?  Just Google:     reporting potholes (nameofyourcity)  Use the Google widget at the top of my blog!!