travelover
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2007
- Messages
- 14,328
Mini rant
All this wonderful snow in Michigan has gotten me pondering on how to spot a potentially dangerous driver on the highway. I've come to the conclusion that there are basically two main types of culprits: Aggressive and clueless.
In the aggressive driver class, the truly scary are generally young men in 4x4 pickups and middle aged men (and women) in luxury SUVs. I think the former are juiced on testosterone and the latter are stressed out and trying to squeeze a few extra seconds from their commute. The luxury part seems to stem from an extra sense of entitlement, but maybe I'm just projecting that part. Both are convinced that a 4x4 really does stop faster in snow or ice than a car and if it doesn't, they will not be the ones to die.
The second group are older and/or preoccupied with other issues. Typical vehicle is a full size American van or (around here) a Crown Victoria, either being 10 or more years old. At the risk of being politically incorrect, a handicapped license plate can be a red flag. This groups tends to pull out very slowly and also make slooooooooow right turns. Left turn signal is permanently flashing.
A subgroup of the clueless is the mom on the phone in a minivan or crossover SUV. Usually I can spot these because they have trouble staying centered in their lane.
All this wonderful snow in Michigan has gotten me pondering on how to spot a potentially dangerous driver on the highway. I've come to the conclusion that there are basically two main types of culprits: Aggressive and clueless.
In the aggressive driver class, the truly scary are generally young men in 4x4 pickups and middle aged men (and women) in luxury SUVs. I think the former are juiced on testosterone and the latter are stressed out and trying to squeeze a few extra seconds from their commute. The luxury part seems to stem from an extra sense of entitlement, but maybe I'm just projecting that part. Both are convinced that a 4x4 really does stop faster in snow or ice than a car and if it doesn't, they will not be the ones to die.
The second group are older and/or preoccupied with other issues. Typical vehicle is a full size American van or (around here) a Crown Victoria, either being 10 or more years old. At the risk of being politically incorrect, a handicapped license plate can be a red flag. This groups tends to pull out very slowly and also make slooooooooow right turns. Left turn signal is permanently flashing.
A subgroup of the clueless is the mom on the phone in a minivan or crossover SUV. Usually I can spot these because they have trouble staying centered in their lane.