In article , Frank ess
wrote:

Ken Lucke wrote:
In article , just bob
kilbyfan@aoldotcom wrote:

"Pudentame" wrote in message
...
RichA wrote:

Recent study on the news the other night. You are twice as
likely
to die in an accident
with a small car than a large one, internal compensation devices
(airbags) nothwithstanding.


OTOH, my own experience indicates a smaller, more nimble vehicle
allows the driver avoid accidents he might not be able to avoid in
a larger, heavier, less maneuverable automobile.

I'm not worried about me being able to get out of the way, I'm
worried about the teenagers, alcoholics or both who I never see
coming.


Ayup. It ain't how good you are, it's how bad they are. The lowest
common denominator is the one you have to worry about here, 'cause
they can come from nowhere when you don't even have the time to
react, let alone defend.

It's like handing Joe Luser off of the street a DSLR in auto-program
mode and saying "go take some pictures" and handing a
photographically
skilled individual the same camera and saying "photograph me a
masterpiece", then comparing the results. 50% of it is the
workspace
between the ears, 40% of it is meaningful experience, and the last
10%
is just dumb luck. Most "drivers" on the road in this country today
rely mostly on the last 10% to get them through. The way I see some
"drivers" "drive", I wonder how they have lived as long as they
have.

As I noted elsewhere, a majority of it is a problem of people not
being taught how to _drive_ properly, but rather how to "operate a
motor vehicle" and how to pass the "drivers'" license test.

Then there are the "just plain stupid" variety, like the lady I saw
the other day, doing about 25 in a 55 zone, and when I finally got
room to pass her (5 miles & 10 minutes down the road), she waa
READING A F*^^&*KING BOOK while she was "driving".

See he
http://home.san.rr.com/fsheff/incars.htm


Yep - I think I know some of those people. At least, I think I've been
behind them :^)



And you can always tell when the cell phone's in use by the cocked
angle of the head from behind. Why do people think they have to "lean
into" the phone? [probably for the same reason that they think a) that
they have to shout into it because they can't hear it well so
naturally, neither can the person on the other end*, and b) that the
rest of us are interested in the least in listening to their half of
the conversation in places like supermarkets and restaurants - i.e.,
stupidity, or lack of consideration for others]




* I'm reminded of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal [c.f. Douglas
Adams], the most mind-numbingly stupid creature in the universe... as
any HHGTTG aficianado should know, it is so stupid that it thinks that
if YOU can't see IT, then IT can't see YOU, and so the way to escape
being eaten by it is to put your towel (you do have it with you, don't
you?) over your head.

--
You need only reflect that one of the best ways to get yourself a
reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go about repeating
the very phrases which our founding fathers used in the struggle for
independence.
-- Charles A. Beard