Fantasy Websites

[99 44/100% pure]

Yeah, I know, you're thinking you were going to get some erotica here, but I'm thinking on a broader scale. As a casual user of 'that thar Intarweb' I often think of sites I'd like to see, and would readily participate in, but which don't seem to exist.

The one that's been on my mind lately is:
www.assholedrivers.com
This site would have a way to plug in to your region and post or read about some of the more flagrant AssholeDrivers ™ in the area. Posters would be encouraged to submit as much identifying information about the AssholeDriver ™ , including make, model and licence of vehicle, description of driver, location and direction, and details of the AssholeDriving Event.

If enough people participated, perhaps the AssholeDriver would learn about his/her notoriety and change his/her evil ways. At least it would allow people to vent. I can think of a few entries I'd make to such a site.

What interesting websites do you folks wish existed?

[SteveDallas]

I love that idea. Just this morning dropping my kids off on my way to work, I was almost nailed by somebody backing out of their driveway without the benefit of looking to see if anybody was coming.

A former cow-orker and I once dreamed up a system where every car would have a large display on top with a number. Other drivers would be able to "zap" your car when you did something stupid, and the number would increase by 1. While even a very conscientious driver might be carrying around a 2 or a 3, when you see somebody up in the double digits, you know they're trouble. The only wrinkle was, there'd be no good enforcement mechanism to guard against punitive zapping, or zapping for bad reasons. (I'm sure I'd get zapped by impatient drivers on Lincoln Drive. I "only" do 45 or 50 in the 25MPH zone, and I get passed a lot.)

Yeh. Same with me, I speed, but I don't <b>speed</b>.

I was on 270 this weekend and - russotto can attest to this - the drivers are just fucking nuts. I was pacing traffic in the right lane (which is where I was) and I was doing 80-85.

[99 44/100% pure]

in looking around at sites that may fit the bill for me, I found this one, which allows for a privatized version of what SteveDallas was talking about -- in this case, a way for strangers to let you know how badly your teen/crazed spouse/addled parent is driving.

In addition to wanting a site where we can publicly shame AssholeDrivers, I am seriously thinking of purchasing one of those scrolling message boards (complete with cigarette-lighter power adapter, of course) which would allow me to post such messages as:

"BACK OFF, ASSHOLE"

"CONGRATULATIONS, YOU WIN THE 'WORST FUCKING DRIVER OF THE DAY' AWARD"

and, my personal favorite,

"PULL OVER, GET OUT OF THE CAR SLOWLY WITH YOUR HANDS UP"

[99 44/100% pure]

I just looked, and those scrolling electronic boards can be had for about $200, plus modifications to make them usable in a car. Oh, well, it'll have to go on the list after get AC fixed, kids' camps, cat food, etc.

The guy that got me started on this thread this morning was a Supreme Jackass&trade; in a Cadillac Escalade (Ess' - ca - laid lat. 'I am an asshole, lookit me driving this bigass car') who decided that now that the US Supreme court has overturned sodomy laws, he was gonna buttfuck me right through the windshield. We were going 65 mph in pretty heavy traffic, and he was so close I couldn't even see his license plate.

Yeah, his $54,000.00 deal entitles him to ram his 5641 lbs. up anyone's ass who dares to get in His way.

Jackass.

[xoxoxoBruce]

YOU SOUND LIKE A BUNCH OF FUCKING VIGILANTES!

[99 44/100% pure]

Originally posted by xoxoxoBruce
YOU SOUND LIKE A BUNCH OF FUCKING VIGILANTES!

No, honest, I'm just a soft-spoken, pleasant, suburban mom who has HAD IT UP TO HERE WITH ASSHOLE DRIVERS.

[russotto]

I think there already are "asshole driver" websites. I know there have been in the past; whenever I hear of one I always check for my car, haven't found it yet, alas.

Dave, when traffic is doing 80-85 on I-270, you should be exalting in it, not complaining about it. Because the alternative is usually stop-and-go. (of course, stop and go on I-270 tends to be 0-65-0 with little warning)

Last car to try to sodomize my Miata (at 75mph on the Schuylkill Expressway) was so close, all I could see in the rear view was the Ford grille. So I tried to shake him, speeding up and slowing down and scraping him off with a quick dodge right and left into a small gap.

Then the guy in the Ford Crown Victoria turned on his red and blue flashing lights. Oops.

[bmgb]

Back when I went to a real college, I learned about the "Fundamental Attribution Error."

Many of us occasionally make mistakes when we drive (well, at least I do). When we make a mistake, we think along the lines of, "Oops, that was stupid. If only I didn't have so much on my mind...."

The principle of the Fundamental Attribution Error is that we will attribute others' mistakes to internal factors (eg "What an asshole") rather than external ("that person must be having a bad day").

I try to remember this when I'm driving, and it helps me keep a cool head.

But, sometimes I think, "no... that guy really is an asshole!"

Everyone that does stupid shit on the road is an asshole. Lives are in the balance. Whether or not you're having a bad day is irrelevant; doing anything but focusing on driving is inexcusable.

Speed isn't the issue; there was a recent article that compared German drivers to those of the United States. Germany has a much lower death rate in vehicles than the US, despite the fact that they're zipping along at 140mph on the autobahn. The difference is that they pay attention and don't make any sudden movements.

Dad was telling me yesterday about how one of his friend's friends is paralyzed because he was driving down the road, dropped a cassette, took off his seatbelt to get it, lost control of the car, flipped it, went half-way out the sunroof and got crushed. I told him "Well, that sucks for him, but I don't feel the least bit sympathetic. He did something stupid and he paralyzed himself. Better him than someone who <b>wasn't</b> doing anything stupid." He agreed with that logic.

So yeah, I'm all for empathy and all, but not when it comes to driving. In the two days I've been driving by myself, I can't count the number of times where I've had to dodge someone, apply the brakes in a rather urgent manner, etc. Because they're not paying attention? That doesn't fix the broken collar bone or the severed arm I manage to avoid.

Let's not make excuses for fucking assholes, shall we? You can't focus on driving? Get off the fucking road.

[ Edit - The I key on my keyboard is dying and I left one out. ]

[xoxoxoBruce]

Let's not make excuses for fucking assholes, shall we? You can't focus on driving? Get off the fucking road.

That is the bottom line. People take driving for granted like walking, and you don't have to think, it's an automatic function. When they come out of their personal fog to see another car close by they freak. If they had been paying attention, no car could get close without them knowing about it.
Oh dear, that man is driving agressively. Yeah well maybe he knows what the fuck he's doing....and what you're doing better than you do. Maybe he "works" at getting from point a to point b instead of treating driving as a minor distraction in life.
If you watch the drivers around you, it's pretty easy to see which one's you can trust to be close and which ones should be kept away. The guy behind you is too close? Well instead of watching him in the mirror how about watching the road ahead so you don't have to panic brake and get rearended.
In 1908 there were 2 cars registered in Illinois. They had a head on collision. Theres something like 250M cars now, so pay attention.