The Diversity of People's Thinking
by
Janice Kamm
Subject: Daily gripe: dust bowl
Date: 2/27/00 2:37 PM Hawaiian Standard Time
Traffic going home was backed up for miles. Must
have been a bad accident. NOPE! There was a bit of dust blowing from a farmer's
field across the road. NO, people were not blinded by the dust as visibily was
just fine, they were just rubbernecking to see what was causing the dust.
Comment
Yes, I can relate to this person's gripe. I have been caught in
traffic, which was backed up for miles, and I too had thought that there was a
major accident, but there wasn't. It was merely people rubbernecking at
either a police officer who had pulled over a driver for some reason, or
someone who was stalled on the side of the road. It is especially
frustrating here in Hawaii because our highways are congested almost throughout
the entire day, not only because of lousy on and off ramps, but also because of
single occupant cars. Therefore, when people rubberneck here in Hawaii it
makes traffic, which is already bad, worse. I say in order to stop the
rubbernecking, the police should put up a screen or something, so it would
decrease the amount of rubbernecking, and people won't stop and look to see
what's going on, but then again I don't know how feasible that is.
Subject: Daily gripe: Maryland lawmakers are
loonies?
Date: 2/29/00 3:53 AM Hawaiian Standard Time
Maryland has a proposed bill to make it a felony
to go more than 10 mph over the limit. Well, from what I have seen at rush
hour, then 100% of Maryland drivers who commute are felons.
Lets hope they regain their sensibilities and
reject such an asinine [ law. ]
By the way, the law is meant to go after
aggressive drivers, which number less than .01% of the population. By
aggressive I mean those who tailgate at 6 inches, cut others off too close and
who generally are driving more like 20 or more over the limit. In other words,
they are driving "like a bat out of hell". Obviously such a law is
more about politics than about saving lives, since so few people really drive
like that.
Virginia's law says that at about 20 mph over
you get a reckless driving charge which carries more points and a lot higher
fine. Virginia's law is appropriate. Maryland's proposed law is insane
Comment
Wow! I couldn't believe that Maryland has proposed a bill to make
speeding a felony. What is this world coming too? You know there is
a problem if a state needs to pass a law to scare people from speeding. I
don't know, I have been brought up in a way to be respectful on the road and to
try not to speed because it not only endangers my life but also the people
around me. There have always been aggressive drivers, but it seems like
the number of aggressive drivers are increasing, which is scary because it
shows that people are becoming more self-centered, thinking about their own
needs and wants and not the consequences of their actions.
This person has a very harsh view about this law, although aggressive
drivers are few in numbers, this number is steadily increasing. Yes,
perhaps this is to catch the aggressive drivers who are driving "like a
bat out of hell", but unfortunately these bats are becoming greater in
number. The bottom line is that something needs to be done about
aggressive drivers because lives are on the line, no matter how few it may
be. He may think this law is a matter of politics and not saving lives
but I believe it is both. Maybe making speeding a felony is not the
answer, but I don't see anyone else suggesting ideas in controlling the rise of
aggressive driving (besides Dr. Driving that is.).
Subject: Daily gribe: rain and headlights
Date: 2/28/00 3:55 PM Hawaiian Standard Time
Many states have headlight laws for rain, fog,
etc. Basically, if your windshield wipers are going, your lights should be on,
law or no law.
Well, several times now I have seen the
following: Some butthead is driving slower than the rest of us in the rain in
the left most passing lane on an interstate. Traffic in both cases was backed up,
causing a dangerous situation.
After finally passing this butthead on the
right, I looked back in my rear view mirror and what I saw was that everyone
had their headlights on except the butthead.
I could just imagine this butthead thinking,
"Now I driving at a safer speed than all those other people passing me on
the right." But butthead is blocking the passing lane, and to make matters
worse is the only one out there in the rain without his headlights on!!!!
This has happens almost every time it rains.
Comment
This person obviously thinks that his norm is, or should be the norm for
everyone else. I was not aware of a "headlight law". I
did not know that it was, or is mandatory for your headlights to be on if your
windshield wipers are on. I do not know exactly what the law is in this
case, but this person should not be getting so upset about another person not
having his/her headlights on. Yes, perhaps the individual was driving a
bit slower, but maybe it was because he/she was driving more cautiously then
normal since it was raining.
Everyone has their "comfort" zone while driving, and some may
drive slower then others when it is raining, but that doesn't mean that they
are an idiot for driving what they feel is a safe speed under those particular
conditions. I do agree that this person should have had his/her
headlights on, especially if there was low visibility, but perhaps this
individual was not aware that their headlights were off. Perhaps what
Walt should have done was to inform the occupant in the car that his/her
headlights were off, but then again that in itself could have caused a
dangerous situation.
Subject: Re: Daily gribe: rain and headlights
ÝDate: 2/29/00 6:58 AM Hawaiian Standard
Time
My experience is that the people who 'forget' to
turn on their headlights are the same ones that are tailgating, speeding
excessively, fail to use their turn signals, etc.
And might I add to Walt's gripe the idiots driving around in semi- darkness without their lights on, or only their parking lights. Sure, they might be able to see where they're going, but no one can see them!
Comment
I do not believe timothy has come to a logical conclusion, what he says
contradicts what Walt had said in the previous article. Personally, I've
experienced that people who do not have their headlights on are going slower
then normal while in low visibility conditions because they are driving more
cautiously. I don't think it is right for us to stereotype people who
drive without their headlights on as reckless, because this may not be the
case. Perhaps, we take more notice of these people because of the fact
that they had forgotten to turn on their headlights, thus we are already
calling them an idiot for not using their headlights and are now more aware of
any driving flaws they may show, like forgetting to signal or tailgating.
Again, I do agree that it is a potentially dangerous situation for
everyone if an individual doesn't have their headlights on, because as timothy
points out, "they might be able to see where they're going, but no one can
see them!" And on the road everyone has to be aware of their
surroundings and one cannot be aware of what's around them if they cannot see
them. I think we all need to be a little more cautious of what we assume
to be 'little' things, like turning on our headlights and signaling.