What’s the craziest thing you’ve seen someone driving do?
What’s the craziest thing you’ve seen someone driving do?
My kid’s just finished the classroom part of driver education and it prompted a discussion of crazy things we’ve seen other drivers do.
The craziest thing I saw, many years ago now, was I came up behind a guy driving a Ford Ranger pickup and could see through his rear window that he was doing tricep extensions with a dumbbell in his right hand. I was more surprised as I passed to see he was shaving with an electric razor in his left hand. I don’t really know how he was steering.
Kiddo said they were told personal grooming was the fourth leading cause of accidents.
Ooh, thought of another. I once saw a gentlemen driving down the mountain who must not have known that riding his brakes all the way down would cause them to overheat and fail. He was free rolling and honking his horn, weaving in and out to avoid hitting people. Sheer panic on his face.
Fortunately, he had the wherewithal to steer up one of the emergency offramps. I caught up to him a couple mins after he passed me. He was standing, leaning against his car, and just breathing. He was not a white guy, but somehow he still looked so pale. Glad no one got hurt with that one, that could have easily led to one or more deaths if things had happened just a little differently.
Late '70s, on a winding paved backroad heading into town, a smaller car coming in the opposite direction lost traction (a light, misty rain had just gone through) and rolled twice in a field before landing upright.
My buddy and I quickly pulled over and ran towards the car to make sure everything was alright.
They drove off before we got to them...
Driving super drunk. Like, super drunk. I saw the guy getting pulled over and the officer helping him out of the car. The guy literally just folded down to the ground and passed out. I have no idea how he was moving the steering wheel and stepping on gas and brake because he seemed to have no control over his limbs.
I've seen a lot of bad things. But one that has always stuck with me was a guy studying.
I'm not talking about glancing down at a book. He had a textbook propped up on his steering wheel and was using a highlighter to mark in the book.
During morning rush hour (a near-standstill occasionally broken by brief periods of 10mph movement), I once saw a woman eating a bowl of soup/oatmeal/whatever while steering with her elbows.
It seemed to be a regional norm to eat breakfast in the car because a 20 mile commute generally took 1.5-3 hours and often moved slower than a walking pace, but that was the only time I'd ever seen someone eating food that required a dish and utensil.
I was on the beltway one night in a construction zone. They had jersey walls (concrete barriers) instead of cones and barrels to shift traffic. The SUV in front of me had not been weaving or worrying me at all when it drifted into the jersey wall in the left and just ground along it doing about 70. I expected them to jerk the wheel the other way, but they didn't. After a few seconds, they drifted back to the center of the lane. Just as I was thinking good on them for not panicking, they slammed back into the jersey wall and rode it until it ended. Their car was scraped all to hell. They had to have fallen asleep (passed out drunk). The grinding noise of car on concrete and flying sparks were too obvious to not be noticed by a conscious driver. I backed way off and fortunately was nearing my exit.
Drove past a guy on the highway, driving 100kph, wondered why he first drove so slow, then sped up, then slowed again... He was reading a book while driving 🤦♂️ One other guy, driving 80kph hardly could keep the truck on his own lane, so I drove past him. He was filling in some paper forms, while he had a cup of, assumably, coffee in the other hand, and tried to keep the truck going straight with that. Jeez these people...
I was on a highway doing around 60 when the car in front of me suddenly spun around in a 360 and stopped. Luckily they were some distance in front and there was no other traffic. When I passed, it was a teenage boy in the passenger and his grandmother driving. She was yelling at him and reaching down between them trying to do something. I think he had pulled the e-brake just to see what would happen.
Seen too much shit.
People driving and: texting, watching movies, reading with books or newspapers pinned to the steering wheels, working on a laptop with those steering wheel laptop holders, applying makeup, shaving. Sometimes more than one of these things at a time.
The cellphone video/text/surfing is a multiple times a day occurrence. People drive with their phones in their hands and use them all the damn time.
Seen two people deceased, one hit while attempting to cross a busy road well away from a crossing area, another thrown from the car after rolling it because they’d clipped a car while they were speeding and weaving through traffic.
People backing up in breakdown lanes on freeways to make an exit. People crossing multiple lanes rapidly, cutting off other cars, to avoid missing an exit. People OUI weaving in a lane. People nearly coming to a full stop in traffic to avoid missing an exit or turn.
Yeah, think that’s most of it. I’m sure I’ve forgotten some. I’m sure I’ll see more tomorrow.
Was at a red light with a cop behind me. Some guy rolls up behind them, braking just late enough that the front bumper of his car love taps the rear bumper of the squad car.
Both officers immediately jump out and open fire on the poor guy. He was hosed after a couple of rounds. The cops just casually get back in and drive off like it was nothing.
This was in Los Santos btw.
I was riding down the highway and spent time looking out the window as I often do since I'm bad at keeping up in conversations. Parallel to our vehicle is this very highbrow lawyer, who I recognized because I had been to the courts before. Maybe he didn't think he would end up driving so parallel to any vehicle, but there he was, quite visibly texting while driving. Or maybe playing Candy Crush, I don't know. I definitely don't snitch under those circumstances, but my friend's kid, who was in the passenger seat behind me, hears me mutter to myself about the willingness to "if only my hand was forced", takes my camera which I always have with me and takes a picture, and within minutes, it's all over the airwaves. The lawyer's standing did not exist for much longer.
Picked up my daughter from her school parking lot years ago and while waiting at the stop sign to turn back onto the road a car goes by with their back tire smoking. I thought it was locked up from braking, but it was punctured and tearing apart. They made no effort to stop or really even slow down much. They continued on and the tire shredded to the point they were driving on the rim. They kept going and onto an even busier major road, which is when I lost track of them as we were turning the other way.
Was waiting outside the student union one afternoon. Loads of other students about. Student guy drives past slowly in an old Vauxhall Nova or similar, thinking he's pretty cool. Then the front wheel falls off, and starts rolling down the street. The car slams into the road loudly and the guy gets out and starts chasing after the wheel. Didn't end up looking as cool as he'd hoped.
My driving instructor ran a red light, driving with one hand (sometimes even no hands on the wheel for a few seconds), texting and calling while driving.
Surprisingly, when it came to the lessons, he's the strictest instructor I've ever had. Teaching me good habits and forces me following the laws by-the-letter.
I passed my driver's license with max points.
Cops on laptops/phones while driving on the highway and getting a pass literally every time they're driving distracted and kill or injure someone.
Every single year in my city someone gets smoked by a cop car/SUV, and the internal investigations always determine via CCTV + phone activity logs that yes their officer was on their phone/laptop, yes they were speeding, yes they went through a red light, yes they failed to have their 🚨 on, but... No, they're never found guilty and the whole internal investigation is the furthest thing from transparent to the public.
I get that the spirit is what a person has seen IRL, but there's a pretty (in)famous video of a guy having sex with a woman in the driver's seat of a Tesla in self-driving mode.
police SUV tearing ass around a busy strip mall parking lot at night with its lights off
not just the police lights, also the headlights and running lights.
thing was completely dark while the cop was driving super aggressively, ran a stop sign too
There was a vehicle I'd see on my daily commute for awhile. It would run every red light on one of the larger streets in my city, but the driver would slow down to make sure no one was coming.
The unfortunate thing was that due to the timing, I could easily and legally follow about 3-4 seconds behind the vehicle as the green lights are timed and the driver just happened to be a bit ahead of the cycle. I witnessed them more than a few times.
Was back when I was 19 or 20, was hanging out with my buddies from home over the summer while on break
We were at a McDonald's at 1:30 or 2 am. Kid around our age comes screeching into the McDonald's parking lot, going over curbs and everything, sparks flying from two wheels. He had punctured both his front tires and was riding on rims. Turns out one of my friends knew him - he takes a look, looks at the guy, goes "yo man, you probably don't wanna drive on those"
Kid goes "yeah well I really want McDonald's I'm gonna go home after"
My friend goes "you live about 15 min away, you really shouldn't drive."
He gets his shit and starts driving, sparks still going off. Were a little concerned so we follow him. 200 feet later he gets pulled over, so we pull over behind the cop. The cop looks at us and goes "do you guys know this idiot?"
My buddy's like yeah...
Cop says you should get him in your car.
Kid refuses. Drives 8 miles home in rims. Smoke everywhere, most awful sound you've ever heard. We follow him home, I find out he's dumb rich.
We go into his guest house, which was bigger than all of our actual houses, smoke one, then leave.
Flip a car while streetracing on a narrow three-lane highway in the middle of the city, in moderate traffic that was moving 70 km/h ish at most. Amazingly they didn't take anyone else out.
I called 911. They redirected the call to the police station. After I described the incident, I could feel the officer's eyeroll through the phone. It was odd to realize that something so extreme for me was literally just another day for them.
Edited to add:
personal grooming was the fourth leading cause of accidents.
An old co-worker liked telling the story of how he was rear-ended on a very busy city highway. The other driver was a young woman who stepped out the car all distraught and said "I'm so sorry, I didn't see you, I was putting on my makeup!" My coworker was ready to wave off the incident because there was basically no damage to any car but he changed his mind as soon as he heard that.
There was a guy I used to see in traffic who used to play trumpet as he drove. It's been more than 20 years since I saw him and I still think about it from time to time.
I once saw a car driving the wrong way on a one way, make a turn to drive the wrong way on a second one way.
I've seen two people clearly on phones hit each other as they were accelerating at a stop light, and then keep going. Fortunately the really only screwed up their front quarter panels from what I could see.
I've seen someone use an entry ramp to pass on the right.
I've seen someone who missed their exit try to still make it by driving through the grass, it didn't really work.
I've seen several impromptu street races, the best was a hellcat and some crotch rockets.
The craziest was probably a pickup truck with a huge load of straw bails that had caught on fire.
About 3 months ago on my way home picking up burgers for my bro and i. On a major route and this sketch pedo van (early 90s white ford econoline rusted out and ratty as hell) busts out of a side street, almost hitting one person, slams on their brakes, slides over 2 lanes into oncoming traffic passes me and 2 other people before cutting someone off as an oncoming car almost hit them head on, the. Makes a left hand turn on a red light at the next intersection.
This could have been in a movie except somehow no accidents happened in my view. Fucking crazy.
Besides that a few years ago at 3 lane traffic circle on one side of an overpass to our largest highway(settle down, its only 3 lanes each way!)hear someone absolutely gunning it over the overpass. Comes into view, brand new metallic blue BMW M3 goes the wrong way into the traffic circle (everyone stopped because we all heard it coming) loses control, spins like 480° almost hits the retaining wall in the middle of the circle then proceeds to gun it back over the overpass they came from.
I blame drugs
Having a slap fight with the passenger in the back seat. On the highway.
Was also in a car where the driver was rolling a joint while steering with his knee.
Downtownish Winnipeg road, three or four lanes in each direction: buddy pulls a hard left turn without signalling, from the rightmost lane, across all the lanes of traffic.
I brought it up on the bar later and the local guy was like "Yeah that's called a Winnipeg Swing"
When I was younger I stopped by QFC and got a cup of chicken noodle soup. For whatever reason, I just couldn't wait to eat it when I got home. I straddled straddled wheel with my elbows while eating it with a spoon while on the highway going 60. I am not sure if I should be alive at this point.
I was rear ended while waiting to make a left turn on a rural highway. We got out and look at the car behind us. The windshield is completely splattered in red. It was two guys eating chips and a bowl of salsa.
A guy in a convertible shaving with an electric razor.
Turning right from the left turn lane when the lights turn green, in front of the cars going straight and right.
I guy undertaking on a sidewalk outside a school, over the speed limit.
Me and a few other drivers were parked by an unmanned gas station (late night near airport pickup that charged per minute from entry) - anyway, an early '00s renault hatchback swings into the station, pulling a U-turn before three unmarked police vehicles with sirens on surround it.
Officers step out and walk over, having a chat with the driver for a bit. Then, the driver steps out and the other passengers start to come out, one after another. After a little bit, there are twelve adults have exited this little hatchback along with a bunch of luggage. Driver is arrested shortly after.
Never seen anything like it before or after.
Pittsburgh has some of the worst drivers I've ever seen. Running red lights and waiting for yield signs to turn green is the norm there. I've seen at least 5 accidents caused by a Pittsburgher stopping at the end of an entrance ramp to a highway.
Unfortunately my car was finally sent to the body shop after 7 years dodging people, and 3 months from leaving the city by a lady who decided to make a left turn from the right lane. Luckily I always have a dashcam running, no one was hurt and the police wrote her a ticket. This lady was a high level Karen, and went ballistic when I asked if she was ok after she crashed into me. Best part was when her husband showed up 10mins later and apologized to me for his, "dumbass wife" who just knocked the mirrors off his truck.
In the car: lady fully putting on mascara in a rainstorm
With a car: also raining, guy speeding doing 100 in a 65 with no lights on. Wife pulls the car onto the highway and he almost hits us, jerks left and 360s in this long, slow (in my memory it's slow, probably happened in like 4 seconds) spin and comes to a dead stop facing perfectly forward and in the dirt of the median. Watched him turn on his lights and start to pull forward before we were out of sight
Of course I've seen people shaving, reading a book, playing flute, playing violin, but the best is a woman who looked like Jocelyn Wildenstein in a top $$$ Mercedes drinking a Corona beer from the bottle, I'm pretty sure it was her.
The 2 most ridiculous ones I've seen are
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Reading a newspaper with a flashlight in his mouth
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Eating a gallon of ice cream
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FaceTime.
He must have been training for the Over The Top arm wrestling competition.
Back when I was working out in some national park we had to travel to, I was teamed up with this young guy who would pick and eat wild mushrooms. He would also just eat onions like apples, which I've learned is a thing with onions grown with certain sulfur levels or whatever, but like damn. Dude was a different kind of animal.
I've climbed out of the passenger window across the roof and back through the window of the door for the seat behind the driver while my friend was driving us around once.
E: oh yeah this friend didn't have his license at the time either