Driving in the rain today....so much fun!

[Catwoman2965]

So today I drove to my parents (400 miles) in PISS POURING rain and fog, with zero visibility, and I was amazed at how many people couldn't be bothered to put their lights on! Um, first of all, wipers and headlights= the law, second of all, even those cars WITH their lights on I couldn't see once they got more than 10 feet in front of me!

I was scared for most of the first 4 hours of the drive, as I wasn't sure if I would hit a car in front of me, or be smashed into from behind! And then had to drive over my FAVORITE bridge on 95S - in MD, the Millard E Tydings bridge; you know its bad when the signs say "bridge subject to cross winds!) Fortunately, about halfway through my trip, the sun came out, and I was able to continue on with no problems.

What is it with people????

[mariamousie1]

My mom is the worst to drive with. Not that she's a bad driver, but she's very vocal to other drivers. Whenever I drive with my dad and someone cuts us off or something he goes "Too bad Mom's not here to call that guy a ****!" One time we saw someone holding a baby on her lap while she drove, and another time a woman was brushing her teeth at the wheel . Once an old lady rear-ended us in a parking lot while we were getting out of the car and my mom really let her have it. I could go on and on...

[BookstoreEscapee]

Damn, if I saw someone driving with a baby on their lap I'd get their plate number, call the cops, and tell them what road we were on.

Last week we saw someone putting on her makeup at a red light.

I was driving to work one rainy day (not pouring or anything, but intermittent wipers were definitely called for and the sky was pretty dark). In my approximately 12 mile drive, I counted 52 cars that had no lights on. Including a school bus.

That's one thing I loved about my old car. If it was dark enough the lights came on automatically. So if you were driving at dusk or if it was cloudy enough you didn't have to worry about them. And if it was fully dark they came on about 30 seconds after you started the car or when you took it out of park (whichever came first).

[mariamousie1]

I should mention this- I was once driving with my mom and some guy was driving behind us and flashing his lights, and my mom goes "What the hell is this twit doing?" and it turned out to be my dad. My brother and I were in hysterics and my mom told us not to tell dad, a promise I was unable to keep. Hey- 300th post!

[ArenaBoy]

Heavy rain I can understand going slow in (Learned that the hard way) but with light rain if it's a drizzle or something along those lines people seem to go 20-25 miles under the limit as if it's snow. Annoys me big time, not so much when it's raining enough to fill a bathtub in a matter of seconds.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Heavy rain I can understand going slow in (Learned that the hard way) but with light rain if it's a drizzle or something along those lines people seem to go 20-25 miles under the limit as if it's snow. Annoys me big time, not so much when it's raining enough to fill a bathtub in a matter of seconds.

That drives me nuts, too. I've been in rain so bad I couldn't see the car 2 feet in front of me (and just getting off the Delaware Memorial Bridge...no where to go; that was fun), but when it's barely spitting and you need the windshield wipers once every 5 minutes, there's no reason you can't go the speed limit!

[crazylegs]

but when it's barely spitting and you need the windshield wipers once every 5 minutes, there's no reason you can't go the speed limit!

Unless of course its the first rain in a long time so its going to be greasy out there due to dust on the road.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Unless of course its the first rain in a long time so its going to be greasy out there due to dust on the road.

OK, I may have to concede that point. Actually, when it first starts to rain is when it's slickest because any oil on the road hasn't washed away yet.

[protege]

That drives me nuts, too. I've been in rain so bad I couldn't see the car 2 feet in front of me (and just getting off the Delaware Memorial Bridge...no where to go; that was fun), but when it's barely spitting and you need the windshield wipers once every 5 minutes, there's no reason you can't go the speed limit!

Ah, that bridge. It's always fun in the rain. But, it's even *more* fun when you're coming over the bridge, and the car in front of you decides to destroy its engine... My mother and I had that happen...and when the steam/smoke started, I was like "Holy shit! His engine blew up...get the hell away from him!"

But here though, I'm always amazed about how weather brings out all the idiots. Just yesterday, I got to sit in bumper-to-bumper traffic on I-79 (near Washington, PA) because some dumbass managed to flip his rig getting onto I-70. I can see doing that coming down the hill (into the curve) too fast, but getting onto the highway? What gets me, is it wasn't even that bad--just drizzle!

[blas]

People do that all the time to me. I HATE IT. Lately I've been calling where I live Seattle because it's been known to rain for up to 2 or 3 weeks on end. Naturally, it will rain from sunrise to sunset.

People need to have their lights on when visibility is low and rain is pissing fast. I need to see the person in front of me's tail-lights to know that I'm far enough away from them.

[Andara Bledin]

Heavy rain I can understand going slow in (Learned that the hard way) but with light rain if it's a drizzle or something along those lines people seem to go 20-25 miles under the limit as if it's snow. Annoys me big time, not so much when it's raining enough to fill a bathtub in a matter of seconds.

OK, I may have to concede that point. Actually, when it first starts to rain is when it's slickest because any oil on the road hasn't washed away yet.

Bingo!

Here in sou Cali, that's pretty much every time it rains.

People around here just can't seem to figure out what the hell to do when it's foggy. It was foggy and drizzly the other morning, and I was afraid we were going to have another one of THESE going on. (only the number should be just below 200, not 100. and can you imagine what it would have been like had it been a weekday and not a Sunday?)

^-.-^

[Pezzle]

That drives me nuts, too. I've been in rain so bad I couldn't see the car 2 feet in front of me (and just getting off the Delaware Memorial Bridge...no where to go; that was fun), but when it's barely spitting and you need the windshield wipers once every 5 minutes, there's no reason you can't go the speed limit!

Del Mem Br in the rain sucks, so does the Free Bridge into PA (Trenton Makes the World Takes). In fact, I dare say it's worse.

[iradney]

UGH, here when it rains, it's like instant idiot - just add water. People drive FASTER even though the roads are slick. And of course, they have less braking time, which results in fender benders. And of course, they have to close a lane of traffic because these idiots couldn't drive 10 kph slower and have a longer following distance. I personally prefer to be 5 minutes later than be in an accident.
And people wonder why I LIVE in the slow lane.

[Andara Bledin]

I always joke that they get hit with a drop of rain and instantly go into panic mode, shouting, "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" because that's exactly how they seem to drive.

^-.-^

[Kogarashi]

Apparently wipers+headlights is not the rule everywhere. I asked a police officer in Utah about this while I was in college, and it would seem that it's not illegal to drive in the rain without headlights on out there. I do know it's the law in NY, though (they've got the signs along the Thruway announcing this, for one).

I was driving along I-70 (I think) in some very thick fog once, doing a decent speed for the conditions, I thought. Not so fast that I couldn't cope with the other occasional traffic around me. I nearly rear-ended some guy doing like 15mph through the fog, with no lights on. All I saw as I was driving along was this black thing suddenly materialize on the road ahead of me, and I barely had enough time to hit the brakes and merge over a lane. And they were just putting along without any taillights to clue in drivers behind them.