In your opinion, are most motor vehicle accidents due to a lack of skill, or impatience?

I don’t think it’s either/or but rather a deadly combination of the two.

Lack of attention + “that won’t happen to me” attitude.

So a combination of the 2, I can buy that with a lot of not paying any kind of attention.

@Seek_Kolinahr this happened twice in the last few years on the freeway a cop car went by, looking down at him (the only one in the car, the officer was working on his computer) are they not supposed to set an example for the rest of us?

Oh, and driving while under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.

It can be anything, from lack of skills, inattention, stupidity, impatience to distractions. People forget they’re piloting a 3000 plus pound missile with only the human brain to keep it on track.

@SQUEEKY2 Why should they? If they hit your car they can just say it was your fault and charge YOU with reckless driving. They write the citations, after all.

@Seek_Kolinahr they tried that when one did a illegal uturn in front of a vehicle causing a crash tried to blame the motorist but a few witnesses came forward to set the record straight but that doesn’t happen very often.

They certainly should never be called accidents, always someone at fault.
Normally down to lack of due care & attention, careless bastards.

Impatience.

I witness a lot of impatience because I drive a car that is very slow going after a stop and it won’t drive past 60 mph. My heart races every time I drive because there is always a dumbass who can’t wait to go around me and they decide to pass in a no passing zone.

@KNOWITALL I think that is one of the major contributors ,but skill and attention do play a role as well. BUT IMPATIENCE is a major factor.

Lack of skill and impatience are only two factors, and it’s a long list. Driving drunk, momentary distraction, weather and road conditions, excessive speed, cellphone use, condition of vehicle, sudden blowouts, and many other things—and even if a driver were doing all he right things another driver could cause the accident due to one of the aforementioned.

Certainly it is both, but too often people drive like dogs, thinking they can drive like they are at Daytona, just a couple feet off the bumper of the car in front of them while going 60 mph.

Everything that makes us average humans makes us awful drivers (lack of patience and compassion, poor attention, etc). But we also deal with aches and pains, neck pain, imperfect vision, sleepiness, and average motor skills. Considering we’re driving around a weapon that weighs thousands of pounds, it’s not surprising that driving is as dangerous as it is.

And almost none of us gets into the vehicle with our kids and says to themselves, “I am putting my kids at risk by driving right now.”. We know it’s dangerous, but we aren’t always aware of it.

As we discussed in another thread, I’m looking forward to the day when the human element is taken out of the driving experience.

The Missile I drive is 82feet long and weighs 135,000 lbs think about that the next time you see someone cut off a trucker.

@tom_g I wont what happens when the computer goes all screw ball and out of control what then?

“Candy Cane callin Rusty Nail, that you sugar?”

@SQUEEKY2 All respect to you for sure!! I drive up and down I-44 every day. I’ve seen motorcyclists poppin wheelies in between big rigs, tiny cars cutting off semi’s, all kinds of crazy stuff.

@ucme 10–4 good buddy, I got a smokey on my tail. I forget them all, maybe @Squeeky2 will refresh our memory from Smokey and the Bandit or modern terms…lol

I have to admit that I drive fast and I have a perfect driving record and insurance, etc…but people out on those highways scare me, especially on merges or when there’s a lane blocked off and they’re hauling down the highway at 100 mph.

@KNOWITALL Mine was from Joy Ride & that big ol trucker boy turned out to be a psycho, definitely not a “good buddy”

A combination plus lack of knowledge about the rules of the road (seriously this constantly shocks me) and being distracted. Oh, and let’s not forget stupidity. I can’t tell you how many people during Oprah’s campaign to stop people from texting and driving said, “I didn’t know it was dangerous.” You have to be an idiot, I’m sorry. I am not saying I haven’t done some distract driving myself, but I know it isn’t the safest way to drive. How can anyone think taking your eyes of the road isn’t dangerous? Weren’t they taught in driving school just glancing down at the radio can cause an accident?

Then there are people like a friend of mine who owns a super huge SUV. She likes big vehicles because she is a bad driver. That’s code for when she is in an accident she feels she will be better protected. Here’s the thing, there are so so many blind spots in big vehicles like that. Of course she hits things, it is more likely in big vehicles like that. Hopefully, her new one has cameras and all sorts of alarms go off when she gets close to something. I guess maybe for her, even in smaller, lower vehicles, she still really doesn’t know where she is on the road. The tall vehicles help you see over traffic in front of you, but around you and behind you, look out.

Alcohol and incompetence. Not necessarily in that order.

It’s a mixture, but mostly I think it’s lack of skill.

The last two road accidents I have been in were because of parts falling off of big rigs.
One was one of those chunks of tire with all the steel in it that the car in front of me hit and flung in front of me and the order was similar but a truck mud flap. Both times the traffic was to thick to swerve out of the way.

@Judi Sounds more like mechanical problems more than impatience or a lack of skill,those do happen as well,that’s why the D.O.T has inspections for us big rigs,but they should hold inspections for smaller vehicles as well.

I don’t think our inspections are strict enough.

Motor vehicle crashes (or collisions) are rarely accidents!

Poor vehicle maintenance is a choice. Driving when impaired by drugs, alcohol or inadequate sleep are all choices with sometimes tragic consequences such as serious collisions.

Accidents are very rare. If something occurs that no party could foresee or prevent by more careful driving or NOT driving at that moment, then a crash may result that is at least partly accidental. Anything a driver does while in control of a vehicle that distracts them from that primary task and causes a collision is NO accident because it was preventable.

Please drive safely and give it your full attention. If for any reason you are unable to do so, pull the car over safely and STOP.

Have safe and joyous holidays!

Another thing I have been considering is I believe so many grey and silver cars on the road might add to accidents. They are easier to miss. They look like the road, like cement buildings. I just think with a quick glance it is easier to miss a medium grey car than a black, red, blue or yellow one. If I am right, it is probably a small increase in crashes, but still I think it is a factor. Just a thought.

@Dr_Lawrence Great advice wish the motoring public would do just that.

Incompetence, indifference, ignorance, intoxication.

Skill, but mostly a matter of inattention. All drivers should be required to take a defensive driver’s course, especially new drivers that have just finished driver’s ed.

I agree that it is a lack of attention that is the problem. Between talking, texting, music, and movies being played in the car, paying attention to the road is the last thing on peoples minds :(

I would say it is a combination of the two. There are most certainly drivers that are way too impatient and without the necessary skills to know what they should do in a specific situation.

Showboating combined with just not giving a fuck. People where I live drive 70 mph in the snow/ice all of the time.