How to make people better and safer drivers

gtracer72 · #1 08-26-2002, 09:41 PM

Well, today was my first day of college and my Economics professor told us something fuuny. He said that he knew how to make people ddive safer and better. He said:

Quote:

Put a dagger in the middle of the steering wheel and ban seatbelts

I thought that was hilarious.

Defector · #2 08-26-2002, 09:48 PM

LOL That is SO funny, It is true.

The best way to get people to be better drivers is to make EVERYONE take a professional driver's course. That is what I took, I am a good driver compared to people I know. If EVERYONE had a pro teaching them; thier habits would all be good ones. Since they were tought by professionals

JustJack · #3 08-26-2002, 11:00 PM

I say we should get rid of cars and go back to horses. Sure, we'de all have rickets...but..who cares? Horses rock...

Barb Gordon · #4 08-27-2002, 02:19 AM

hehe, yes they do! I mean, we wouldn't have to really worry about speeding anymore with horses....no more street racing...not more repaving roads! going back to horses would rock, I would so be fore it. And that's an awesome and hilarious line from your proff! That would surely get everyone to drive safer or not drive at all. And even if people attend driving courses, that doesn't mean they'll be better drivers. True, it would probably help matter more, but someone can go through a class and do fine, and then when he's on his own, go back to being a complete idiot/jerk on the road.

~Barb

**TimTwoFace** · #5 08-27-2002, 02:40 AM

Funny this thread should pop up today, because I experienced a terrible, VERY senile driver today. I was running the car wash at work, and he couldn't follow simple instructions like "keep it in park", "put it in neutral", arrow movements, and what colours certain red, yellow, and green flashing lights were.

As a result of not following the instructions, his car was put into drive (instead of neutral), roared through the car wash WAY too fast, and broke a few pieces of his car off. I don't want to even think would could have happened if that were on the freeway or something.

Methinks that we oughta test older drivers above a certain age as to whether they're still safe on the road.

-Tim
(who supports any place that believes in a MINIMUM speed limit)

Psilon · #6 08-27-2002, 03:33 AM

Two most hated words in the english language:
Public Transit
...though Toronto's transit system is very good.

Psycho Fox · #7 08-27-2002, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Psilon2011
Two most hated words in the english language:
Public Transit
...though Toronto's transit system is very good.

yhea but the TTC needs improvment

**TimTwoFace** · #8 08-27-2002, 11:21 AM

Public transit is good, but we need more light rail transportation around; buses only clog up the road even further and aren't ever going to be that much faster, no matter how many bus lanes people build.

-Tim

Psilon · #9 08-27-2002, 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Psycho Fox
yhea but the TTC needs improvment

my bro, said that the Tickets in the TTC make up 15% of their profit but it costs them 12% to produce and maintian the tickets. So the only make about 3%. This was in 1998.

Psycho Fox · #10 08-27-2002, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by TimTwoFace
Public transit is good, but we need more light rail transportation around; buses only clog up the road even further and aren't ever going to be that much faster, no matter how many bus lanes people build.

-Tim

Well we in North America suck at public transit. To us light rail is a mini subway above ground like the LRT. Really that is not the answer the real light rail solution is Street Cars/Trollys. They don't need stations since they act like busses but if traffic gets to be a problem unlike busses all ya got to do is raise the rails and then only trollys can use it.

**TimTwoFace** · #11 08-27-2002, 07:34 PM

I know that Vancouver is doing a good job with our transit system; we just added another Skytrain line (half above-ground, half-subway) and are planning more. We have a commuter rail service, ferry service, mini-boat services, and, of course, buses. It's not perfect, but it's pretty darn good.

I hear that Portland, Oregon, is the model for light rail transit and road-planning in general in North America. I recall it being very nice last time I was there.

-Tim

Magentabeams · #12 08-27-2002, 08:17 PM

Hey, if it works!

I think I am going to write that down.

Sarahanne

Psycho Fox · #13 08-28-2002, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by TimTwoFace
I know that Vancouver is doing a good job with our transit system; we just added another Skytrain line (half above-ground, half-subway) and are planning more. We have a commuter rail service, ferry service, mini-boat services, and, of course, buses. It's not perfect, but it's pretty darn good.

I hear that Portland, Oregon, is the model for light rail transit and road-planning in general in North America. I recall it being very nice last time I was there.

-Tim

On top of a good all around service they need to be synchronized so people are not waiting around for a connecting route. IE when pulling into Union on the GO you should just have to walk down to the subway and they should be there waiting to take passengers from the GO line.

Sandro · #14 08-29-2002, 06:43 PM

Putting a dagger in the middle of the steering wheel and taking away seatbelts would be good but I would also get rid of any driver over the age of 50. That'll help the situation more than anything.

Fish · #15 08-30-2002, 01:13 PM

I was shocked when I got my drivers licence - I am 21 and I come from Denmark in Europe and I never really needed a drivers licence cuz of the awesome bus and train system ( besides I didn't have a car

)

well anyhow - i just went to the drivers licence facility in Georgia, stood in line for 2 hours, answered 20 easier than cake questions, got in my car ( manual drive not automatic thank you) rode around the parking lot, stopping at 3 stopsigns to the entrance of a culle-de-sack, backed up 50 feet, weaved through 4 cones, paralel parked and that was it!!!! No real life driving out in the traffic, no real knowlege of rules testing, and i was allowed to go as slow as I wanted - I never got over 20 miles pr hr. and I passed with 95% (cuz I forgot to use blinkers when I got out of the paralel parking)

As far as I am concerned I could have been the worst driver of all time and they just pass me and send me out in the traffic like that! It truely shocked me that it's so easy! Being 21 doesn't automatically qualify you for going out in the traffic. Seems like younger people get more training and I think it should apply for anybody who has never had a drivers licence before - There should be better check up with your driving history - as I said - being adult doesnt qualify you for driving. Passing a test should be and what I took was not a test.
I have tried other countries drivers' test online and they are harder than hale!!

<>< F I S H ><>

gtracer72 · #16 08-31-2002, 05:23 PM

I was reading in my Autoweek magazine, and they had a column in which readers could write in and tell them how to improve the caliber of U.S. drivers. Here is what one guy wrote,

Quote:

How do you improve the caliber of U.S. drivers? Suspend all traffic laws for one month. By the end of the month, all of the idiots will have killed themselves and Darwinian evolution will have triumphed yet again. (Sept. edition of Autoweek)

wussiewussie · #17 08-31-2002, 06:10 PM

people should get their driver's licenses even later. i'm sorry, but i can honestly wait till i'm 19 to drive if it'll help keep these idiots from driving. all these kids blast their damn alien music going incredibly fast down quiet suburban streets with their souped up cars. they talk about cars all the time and stereo systems and whatnot, but none of them seem to know how to drive responsibly. perhaps the standards should be made harder to get a license. and yes, old people should be checked upon cuz they're so oblivious at times. people from foreign countries should be trained better as well. not to be racist or anything, but i see so many asian people not knowing what the hell they're doing on the road. just a generalization, no prejudice

Sandro · #18 08-31-2002, 09:04 PM

Quote:

How do you improve the caliber of U.S. drivers? Suspend all traffic laws for one month. By the end of the month, all of the idiots will have killed themselves and Darwinian evolution will have triumphed yet again. (Sept. edition of Autoweek)

LOL!

That's good but what about all the responsible drivers? That either means no transportation for a month or risk getting killed.

gtracer72 · #19 08-31-2002, 11:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Sandro885

LOL!

That's good but what about all the responsible drivers? That either means no transportation for a month or risk getting killed.

If having no transportation for a month means getting idiots off the road, then I'm all for it.

Sandro · #20 09-02-2002, 09:02 AM

Believe me, I'm all for it also but there's some bugs to be worked out in the idea. For example, my house is at the intersection of two streets and I have the misfortune of living behind a fairly large high school in my city. I've encountered car tracks in my yard from people taking the "shortcut".

Basically what I'm worried about is, what if that happens while I'm mowing the lawn or something?