another problem that no one here has mentioned is that people just dont realise that big trucks dont drive like cars, they speed up going down hills and slow down on the way up and they have huge stopping distances, i have driven with so many people who rush up to overtake as the road train climbs a hill, which they dont even realise is there, only to swear about dangerous truckies as the whole 40tonnes comes rushing down the hill after tthem. spatial awarness might be crucial in town or on small roads what is really needed is an ability to predict the movement of not only large trucks but all cars. for example if you are driving along and a someone is a X5 or Q7 come up behind you you can be almost certain they are going to pass you at the most dangerous opertunity. people should recognise this

I don’t think automated cars are the way to go. Instead, I think it should be much more difficult to get a license. In Minnesota, drivers under 18 have to take a cursory two-week driver’s education course before they take the test, at least. I was shocked that in Arizona it was so easy to get a license.

In Phoenix, which has an extensive, and huge, highway system, I have few complaints. I can only say that there’s too many cars on the road not going fast enough. In fact, let me amend my previous statement: If a few weeks were added to driver’s training, including a week on proper use of the left lane, and there was more extensive driving course tests, I would be happy.

You can watch (and hear) locomotive horns in action at . HornBlasters

All I want to say is that with freedom comes responsibility, and liberty does not mean free-for-all: when you look at people’s driving situations, for instance, Japan, where streets are narrow beyond belief, and acquiring a driver’s license is difficult unless you take the driver’s ed course, you will probably find that there are enough people on the road in the U.S. that take the driving privilege they have for granted.

We are all sharing the road. We should look out for each other so we don’t kill each other. Didn’t they teach about sharing in Kindergarten? Amen.

We refuse to change our laws. We won’t modify our behavior.

Our government education stresses sports prowess and “feelings” and “self dignity” and other politically-correct happy horseshit over the real education that we will desperately need in the coming decades, just for our survival.

Not until driving becomes too expensive for the average person, that is. Could it happen? Odds favor “yes,” I think. Peak Oil, or the polar opposite, the bankrupting of the economy by the global warming religion, the upcoming freshwater wars, a military conflict with China, Russia, or the Middle East, etc.

I think SOMETHING will happen in the next 20 years or less. Something so big, so huge, and so all-encompassing, that it will dictate a major change in how we view and use petroleum-based transportation.

The adaptable ones will be using more and more mass-transit, and riding bicycles for the rest of it.

I hope it doesn’t happen in my lifetime, because whatever it is, I think we will all be poorer in so many ways. But we’re heading blindly into this, so completely unprepared…

Out here in California we have something called “Botts Dots” embedded in the road to serve as lane dividers.

We have those on the interstates and toll roads in Florida too. We call it “Driving by Braille.”

The technology is getting better. DoD now has robot vehicles running open courses. I think self- driving automobiles are just a few years away, and they will be mandatory, at least in high speed situations, shortly after that. I think it is a good thing

Thanks for the kind words, but that isn’t actually what I’m saying.

On the contrary, I see that most drivers are fairly aware, or at least aware enough. The problem isn’t with their awareness, but with their rudeness.

People who cut you off generally know that they’re doing it. They cut you off not because they don’t know you’re because, but because they don’t care. They want to go RIGHT NOW, and silly rules about rights of way and common courtesy aren’t going to prevent them from going when they damn well feel like it.

The left lane hogs know that they are slogging. If they aren’t intimidated by the notion of driving faster, then they are enjoying their roles as self-appointed traffic cop, actually taking pleasure in slowing everyone else down. It’s deliberate, purposeful behavior.

The drivers who drive straight from the right turn lanes know exactly what they’re doing — after all, they did it in order to cut in front of the line of cars behind which they would have otherwise had to wait.

Drivers who don’t signal know exactly what they’re doing. But it’s tough to make those spur-of-the-moment questionable lane changes if you incorporate turn signals into your impetuous driving style, so you’re better off not using them at all.

Myopia is not the issue here. Awareness of the road is not the problem — these people are absolutely, utterly aware of what they are doing. The behavior is a reflection of dysfunctional, deliberately rude and purposely aggressive personalities who put themselves above everyone else. They are so fixated on their own sense of importance that it’s just another manifestation of their character. They are just that much bolder in the car because they’ll never have to face the repercussions.

Sadly it is completely voluntary to improve one’s driving abilities beyond the bare minimum for licensing. I happen to spending my free time lapping road courses, spatial awareness and situational awareness at speed are critical elements in a moderately dangerous activity/hobby. If maintaining well honed driving skills is anything like maintaining the human body then regular exercise is required. My opinion is that tracking once in a while challenges my skills, exposes weaknesses or areas in need of improvement along with practicing vehicle control at elevated speeds.

I believe that if used correctly the skills gained and or refined during HPDE (high performance drivers education) can yield a driver with a much higher level of vehicle control. Unfortunately it takes time, money and a willingness to learn to develop real skill. This of course means most people would decline such training as it is expensive and requires some actual effort. Then there is that whole risk of personal injury and property damage… its not for everybody… but isn’t that the point? Driving is a privilege not a right.

First, I have lived in Colorado. I saw just as many freaked out slow drivers from Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. While those states are closer than Texas, I would bet more Texans are visitors.

Second, as for Austin, there are a couple of things involved here. The fact that someone is driving in Texas, or even has a TDL, is not evidence of how Texans drive. The majority of drivers in Austin (and the larger Texas towns) are NOT TEXANS. They moved here, got a license without a test, and started screwing up the place (not that we test folks like we used to, it used to be a real challenge).

I can remember before Native Houstonians were so outnumbered. Thirty years ago we drove bumper to bumper at 70 mph. They even had an editorial on it in one of the Buff Books. People let others in when they put on a blinker. It was a real team activity to get EVERYONE where they were going as fast as possible. Those who did not play along were sometimes shot.

Ah, the good old days.

But really, the mix of everyone in the country’s bad habits is what has likely happened to most large cities. So many of us move so much, and then too many of us pick up others’ bad habits.

Lastly, Dynamic is correct about the driving is a privelege thing. I hate that old myth too.

“You’d be surprised…”

Sign me up for the automated car. This is the daily driving reality for me – A 12 mile round trip commute, through suburban areas with speeds ranging from 25 to 45 mph. No twisties, not even the slightest of curves, lots of stop lights. I leave at 5 am and return at 2pm, so no rush hour to deal with. Why the hell should I even want to be awake for this commute? It doesn’t matter how much one loves driving, it’s absolutely impossible to have any driving fun on my daily commute. I’d much prefer to snooze, or read.

I believe the main reason people don’t pay attention to their drivnig is because 98% of the time it’s such a damn bore. Go straight, stop. Go again. Turn 90 degrees. Go a little way, stop………

Maybe we could have our current (joke) driving tests coupled with the requirement to use auto pilot at all times, and then a real driving test for those who want a special license to drive “off the wire”.

I also have to comment on “Drving is a priviledge”, because it just sticks in my craw. Apparently this is the only thing most people remember from Driver’s Education. It doesn’t really matter how many times this is reapeated, it just aint true – Driving is NOT a priviledge. If it were, it could be withheld or denied for any reason at all, or even for no reason at all.

Driving is a right, and just like all other rights (even the ones specifically spelled out in the Constitution) it is limited. The limits are 3, and they all have to do with public safety (in a nominal sort of way). 1. You have to pass the eye exam. 2. you have to pass the written exam. 3. You have to pass the road test. Do all 3 and there is no basis on which you can be denied a driver’s license.

Of the 3 exams, the eye exam is both the most mentally challenging, and requires the greatest physical coordination.

A friend of mine is getting his masters in civil engineering/city planning, and he says that stuff like this is done *intentionally* to get drivers to slow down. So any time you drive through an area that suddenly gets narrower (or appears narrower) than it’s supposed to be in the city, odds are someone did it intentionally to get drivers to slow down. Amazing how that works.

Point conceded, Mr Wilkinson. Pulling anyone over in rush traffic is rough.

A new enforcement plan would be nice for rush traffic. Perhaps mobile video enforcement and tailing the (alleged) offender to a safer location/road… I understand cops’ disgust with the situation. But complete disarmament is not the answer.

If you can do those three, they give you a TX license.

Pretty much dead on. As a fellow Austinite, I simply can’t understand the sinkhole that is Mopac. I have been on 35 between Parmer and 71 roughly 3 times in the last 6 years.

The roads were clearly designed to handle 1970s traffic levels, but they were also clearly designed by someone who gave drivers far, far too much credit.

And the Texas license test IS a joke, and the people who take it treat it like one. Drivers are shitty everywhere, but my 5 mile commute can be a death-defying journey, especially in my Miata. I’d rather drive 5 miles in NYC, and I don’t think it would take much longer, either.

No, it’s when smart cops stay as far as possible from the road. The single most dangerous thing I do in EMS is go play in traffic. When we get a Thruway call during rush hour, we know we’re going to be at serious risk. We’ve only had one person killed in our small-town ambulance corps, and that was a 20-year-old woman, brand-new EMT, hit by an out-of-control car during rush hour.

At seven in the morning and four in the afternoon, all the smart cops say, “Have at it, you jerks, the road is yours. I’m not going to widow my wife just to ticket a speeder…”

My wife would GLADLY take an automated car, and for the times I need to suffer through the congestion around here to get into the big city, I would, too.

(Am I the only person left in Washington state who passes when safe on two lane roads rather than suffer the piousness of these slow-pokes? I ALWAYS get a headlight flash when I do so, like passing is now illegal.)

(P.S., cops don’t mind when you do the speed limit. No need to slow down to 10 MPH UNDER the limit when you see a police car.)

Of course, I’m an above average driver :)

If you can do those three, they give you a TX license.

Apparently, in my experience, this is true of all the states, not just Texas.

By the way, we do have to parallel park (between two flimsy rods) and drive around with a DPS officer directing the testing driver.

Driver training and testing should be much more rigorous and a license should cost more than $20. Of course, you would then have people raising hell about how that is unfair to minorities and the poor.

Driving in Texas is like a visit to Darwin’s waiting room.

I can’t imagine what the road test here is, but this is my best guess:

1 – identify car key

2 – insert car key in ignition

3 – start motor

If you can do those three, they give you a TX license.