I made a bunch of mistakes on my driving test, but they passed me anyway since my mom made me take my test on my 16th birthday and the instructor felt bad for me. I proceeded to get into 2 car accidents in my first year driving. I got pretty good at it eventually, and haven't had any major issues since then, but I definitely would've benefited from a bit more practice before being given free rein.

Drove into work today behind the worst driver I seen in months. Couldn't stay in the lane and randomly hitting the brakes. Not a drunk, just a boomer with a disabled tag. I assume she was blind.

Hilarious that you're getting downvoted. People are so damn uptight.

Those are some heavy calculations you're doing.

I feel like this is a phenomenon that should have a name, but I don't know what it is...

As you get older and more experienced, you get better at driving. The average driver, though, generally does not get better because of turnover due to age on both ends. This means that from your relative perspective people seem to be getting steadily worse at driving.

Of course there is day to day fluctuation, and some factors (e.g. cell phone use) may have large impacts, but I'm convinced that most of what we feel is connected to the former effect.

In my city, some people don't even have license plate numbers, let alone, liability insurance.

I feel the distracted driving is a large impact that reverses that effect you describe. Maybe trust is the wrong word, but I trust a teenager texting before an 80 year old. 80 year olds will slow down to 5mph and drift over lines to text. They're fucking horrible at it and they don't see it that way. These days teens have multitasked on their phones for 5-10 years before they were able to drive. Maybe they don't understand the rules of the road as well yet, but they're a lot more present while distracted.

Haha I always do look too. But I don't know why. Like what will I even do with this information?

in fact those are the only calculations i ever did

And don't let me conch you making up lies again.

Sorry for not enjoying the casual sexism!

I took my first driving test in the dead of winter, the day after a massive snow storm. At one point the tester told me to take a right turn onto a side street, but the street we were on had been plowed while the street I was supposed to turn onto hadn't and the entrance to it had like a 4' high snow bank from the plow across it. I charged into it anyway and I got through the bank but I ended up skidding into the wrong lane until I could correct. The tester deducted 5 points for my turning into the wrong lane, which really pissed me off given the situation. I guess I should have said "fuck no I'm not turning into a fucking snow bank".

This tester was notorious for failing teenagers on their first test no matter what, but this event was all he could deduct for and he had to pass me. Looking back on it, I'm glad such a hard ass tester actually existed, because there's really nothing like that any more. It seems like today's testers just wet their finger and stick it under your nose to make sure you're breathing, and pass you.

I mean, a typical shitty fast food lunch costs $15 these days, which is about four gallons of gas or 100 miles of driving with a moderate-mileage car. Gas is still pretty cheap relatively speaking.

I used to drive between Philly and DC a lot for work. I just don't think that stretch can be beaten for the combination of sheer incompetence and utter insanity. Some places are more insane (e.g. Houston) and some places are less competent (like Ohio or Arizona), but not both.

So you're saying there are more negative consequences to hating on public transit than no public transit!?

It's literally sexist to deny it. Women are demonstrably worse at spacial tasks than men. Like ... controlling a vehicle in 3D space.

It would also be sexist to say every woman drives worse, or every guy drives better, but it is also sexist to deny where the averages lay.

Sure buddy, that must be why car insurance is more expensive for men than for women.

Yes, because men do dumber stunts, not drive worse when they're trying. The stats don't lie.

I'm not aiming to justify bigotry, but to point at the OBVIOUSNESS of someone looking at drivers who are performing poorly. That will statistically lean towards more women deivers. Insurance only looks at what they have to pay out on. Like some dumbass taking a corner too fast and wrecking multiple vehicles is going to more likely be a guy than a woman, but someone blowing a stopsign or screwing up their lane command because they were distracted by something else is more likely a woman.

I'm sorry reality doesn't agree with you, but it also doesn't agree with your moronic assumptions in what I think, either.

Feel a real sense of superiority

I took my motorcycle test about 5 years after i had been driving a car. It was just an obstacle course since i had plenty of driving experience already. I did everything perfectly and come back pleased with my performance.

The tester says i failed because i blew the first stop sign and walked to go inside. I ignored the fist stop sign because it was about 2 feet from where i started. I was in complete disbelief. She got to the door and came back and said kidding but that I did lose points because of it and any other mistakes would have pushed me over.