Look both ways (Page 2): I live about a mile away from some senior citizen high rise apartment towers that are located across the street from a grocery store, restaurants, dollar...

grillmaster5062

I live about a mile away from some senior citizen high rise apartment towers that are located across the street from a grocery store, restaurants, dollar stores, etc. The towers are between 2 traffic lights about 1/4 mile apart. We end up losing a senior or 2 every couple of years because they try to cross the road with their walkers, scooters, etc. right outside the building rather than going to the crosswalk at either light. Senseless, really. Those scooters can't move fast enough to outrun traffic going 40 mph or so.

foathog Loc: Greensboro, NC

My driving credo is..."assume everyone else is a stupid moron." It hasn't failed yet.

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

People drive so crazy anymore - and with road rage increasing, I too am thinking about getting a dashcam. People don't stop at stop signs, think they have the right-of-way on a right-turn-on-red situation, etc. And tailgating - holy crap - people on I-95 here follow ten feet behind you at 75 MPH! Along with the dashcam I would like to get a device that drops a stop-stick behind the car!

Carl D Loc: Albemarle, NC.

I always look both ways after my light turns green, to many idiots out there running red lights.

Flyerace Loc: Mt Pleasant, WI

I've witnessed too many vehicles running lights. We have a nearby intersection controlled by lights. It even has left turn lights for those waiting to turn. I have had vehicles run right through the intersection and be totally surprised they hit someone. I watch like a hawk. You can usually tell that someone is not going to stop. The worst is when a semi doesn't. When they hit cars, the spin all over the place and hit other cars.

MontanaTrace

jerryc41 wrote:

I recently finished a money-saving 6-hour online safety course given through my insurance company. In NY, there are no laws concerning right of way. However, drivers must yield right of way. Confusing? Definitely. Generally, the car on your right at a 4-way intersection has the right of way, but it's not a law, so a collision would be blamed on the car doing the hitting. So right of way is a courtesy more than a law.

My point isn't as much about having "right of way," as driving with that belief and not driving defensively. However, even when being cautious of those that would run the stop sign or red light, it's not always possible to avoid a violator, that can take your life.

John_F Loc: Minneapolis, MN

jerryc41 wrote:

I recently finished a money-saving 6-hour online safety course given through my insurance company. In NY, there are no laws concerning right of way. However, drivers must yield right of way. Confusing? Definitely. Generally, the car on your right at a 4-way intersection has the right of way, but it's not a law, so a collision would be blamed on the car doing the hitting. So right of way is a courtesy more than a law.

In Minnesota, the traffic laws are careful to say "shall yield right of way." That is not saying who has right of way, but people do make that assumption. I have never heard of anyone being ticketed for failing to yield, tho.

Marionsho Loc: Kansas

jackm1943 wrote:

Yesterday, about two miles from my house, a 75 year old man was killed in a car accident. A large dump truck ran a red light at about 45 mph but the old man pulled out into the road and got t-boned on the driver's side. He was wearing a seat belt but they can only do so much. My point is, please everyone, look both ways before pulling out onto any road. Don't just assume, because you have a green light, that no one is coming.

I'm sorry to hear that, Jack.
After reading the replies, I really need one myself.
Just think how much better drivers using dash cams will drive.
I know I would. Wouldn't want to have video evidence hit the net of what I might have done (thinking bonehead stuff)LOL
I might point out that motorcycles are very difficult to see, so maybe we should all look REALLY hard, not to miss spotting a bike.
Marion

MontanaTrace

Marionsho wrote:

I'm sorry to hear that, Jack.
After reading the replies, I really need one myself.
Just think how much better drivers using dash cams will drive.
I know I would. Wouldn't want to have video evidence hit the net of what I might have done (thinking bonehead stuff)LOL
I might point out that motorcycles are very difficult to see, so maybe we should all look REALLY hard, not to miss spotting a bike.
Marion

I watch drivers (four wheels or more) take away the right of way from two wheelers. Safe, defensive driving, by the latter, is a matter of life and death.

Marionsho Loc: Kansas

MontanaTrace wrote:

I watch drivers (four wheels or more) take away the right of way from two wheelers. Safe, defensive driving, by the latter, is a matter of life and death.

dragonswing Loc: Pa

I was hit on the side by a lady running a stop sign. She told the cop she had stopped but did not see me. I was on the main road--only the side roads had the stop signs. She could not explain why she hit me with such force that I was pushed past the stop sign of the opposing side. Then she had the nerve to say if I hadn't been on the road, she would not have hit me. Go figure!!

jackm1943 Loc: Omaha, Nebraska

I am very gratified to see the interest this post has generated. My thanks to everyone who has responded. I especially like the comments about defensive driving. I took a 5 day defensive course back in the '60's from the Kansas Highway Patrol (it was either that or a get serious traffic ticket for reckless driving). The main thing that I remember is that they taught left-footed braking for cars with automatics, which has saved me from accidents more than once. You don't have to ride the brake, I have 85k miles on my car and the original brakes are still just fine. Another thing they taught is to try to look to see if the other driver sees you at intersections.
JackM

David Kay Loc: Arlington Heights IL

jerryc41 wrote:

I think this is the one I have. They're all very ... (show quote)

Jerry, does that record all the time the car is moving or only when sensing emergency braking or fast cornering?

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

John_F wrote:

In Minnesota, the traffic laws are careful to say "shall yield right of way." That is not saying who has right of way, but people do make that assumption. I have never heard of anyone being ticketed for failing to yield, tho.

Yes, Right of Way is a strange concept. According to the online course, you do have to yield RoW in NY, but the law doesn't say what it is. I'm afraid that common sense is involved, and you know how well that works.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

David Kay wrote:

Jerry, does that record all the time the car is moving or only when sensing emergency braking or fast cornering?

It begins recording as soon as the car is turned on. Every few seconds, it saves the data to the micro SD card. It's better to have a short accumulation time - like five seconds, rather than twenty. When the card is full, it records over itself.