Tag: Auto Accidents

Life, Safe Driving

Jackass Driving

Anthony Dixon

I know that my Safe Driving Blogs comes over Krass, Blunt and insulting at times. However, over the years I have learned that if you speak to people intelligently and they still act the Fool, you treat them accordingly. Also my goal is to insult you into changing your Driving habits, and so decreasing the Highway Fatality Statistics. Bottom line saving Lives. After fifty years of Driving with two Accidents that weren’t caused by me, I have come to the stark reality that the numbers aren’t going to change. Because very few of us deals with criticism in a positive way, too many of us prefer to have our Egos fluffed, as in blowing smoke. That is why bad Drivers gets behind the Wheel and loose their rationality. Mild Mannered people gets behind the Wheel and Morphs into NASCAR Drivers, and so gave Birth to Road Rage.

Highway Statistics haven’t thought old Dogs any new Tricks. What makes me think that I can. From here on I am focusing my attention on new Drivers, people who don’t want to continue one hundred years of catastrophic Driving conditions. Year after year I have watched the Highway Fatalities steadily rise, even with smart Cars equipped with Sensors antilock braking, self braking and a dozen or more Airbags. None of these safety apparatus is going to bring the numbers down when you Drive like a Jackass. Jackass Driving is a practiced way of Driving, totally ignoring all the safety apparatus on our Roadways, such as speed limits, Stop Signs and running red lights, weaving Rush Hour Traffic, not properly signalling, always Driving like a Pizza delivery Driver or a Taxi Driver.

Driving is supposed to be fun, not a Hair raising event. ( adjective

extremely alarming, astonishing, or frightening.

“hair-raising adventures”

synonyms:terrifying, frightening, petrifying, alarming, chilling, horrifying, shocking, scaring, spine-chilling, blood-curdling, appalling, dreadful, fearsome, nightmarish; )

As the saying goes ” not because you have been doing something the same way forever doesn’t mean it isn’t incredibly stupid”. Albert Einstein said it best ” it’s only a fool that does something the same way, each time looking for different results. If you Drive like a Taxi Driver, having near misses after another, you are doing it all wrong. Trust me I know all about Taxi Driving, that was my first job out of High School.

Driving like a Jackass was how I Booked five Hundred Dollars Daily. Total disregard for safety and my fellow Drivers. Eighteen years old taking home a Grand a week, you would think that I would keep the Job for a good while. After one year of Driving like a Jackass I quit the Job. Smart people are the ones with Foresight, I knew that it would only be a matter of time before I killed someone, crossing four lanes of Traffic and stopping on a Dime to pick up a Passenger. Not even checking my Rearview to see if I was going to get rearended. That my friend is Jackass Driving. Taking half an Hour to cover a one Hour trip to the Airport is how I made a Grand a week and how you killed other people and yourself. I was only eighteen years old running Manhattan’s Streets like my name was Dale Earnhardt.

That one year of Driving like a Jackass honed my Driving Skills to perfection. When I quit Driving Taxi I embarked on a mission to be the most contentious Driver on our Roadways, putting to use all I learned of how not to Drive like a Taxi Driver for the rest of my Life. Having the best Driving Instructor in the World could have been what motivated me to drive Taxi with one year of Driving experience. Driving Taxi in Manhattan was putting the finishing touches on my Driving Skills.  He told me to always Drive like I was the only one out there that knows what I am doing. Advice like that misconstrued is dangerous advice, it creates overconfidence. Overconfidence is one of the Biggest killers on our Roadways. Fifty years later looking back at all the bad accidents that I have witnessed, I realize that they were all the outcome of people driving like a Taxi Driver.

Whatever the reason for them driving with total disregard for their safety and others, boils down to Jackass Driving. I have seen Decapitation from people driving too fast going around a blind Bend when the Traffic was at a standstill. That’s not my way of leaving this World, so I never overdrive, overdriving is driving faster and beyond what you can see, especially at night and bad weather. I admire Engineers and Scientists, they are always looking to improve things. More with the sayings, ” if it isn’t broken don’t fix it”, trust me, the way you Drive is broken. Thrill seeking and Adventurism doesn’t belong behind the Wheel. Sometimes I think that I am the only one privileged to Data on Highway crashes and Fatalities. After years of living in New York and Pennsylvania where the Traffic in the Tri state area can be intimidating.

One day I packed up all my belongings in a Rented Truck and drove to find the Beaches of western Florida. I landed one Mile off the Gulf of Mexico in a place called Tampa. It didn’t take me long to realize that there were something Deathly wrong with the way the Natives Drove down here. Everyone is a Taxi Driver with an Attitude, which compounds the bad Driving. And so the Ambulance chasers become incredibly wealthy. Ambulance chasers are Attorneys who specializes in Auto Accidents. Within four years of living in the Bay Area there were over one Hundred fatalities involving Pedestrians Bicycles and Motorcycles, all ran over by bad Drivers who thought they were cool, driving like Taxi Drivers. My favorite Television Program is watching the morning News at nine A.M.

There is not one Day that goes by and there isn’t five or six Rush Hour crashes, some with serious injuries or worse, no one wants to get up half an hour early and have a safe pleasant trip to work. Remember it is only a fool who does things the same way, looking for different results. I blame two things for the Chaotic Driving conditions in this Area. The Number one reason is No fault Insurance, there is no penalty for Driving like a Fool everyday looking for different results. Traffic Laws don’t provide for long Prison terms for people who take Lives Driving like a Taxi Driver. I have nothing good to say about Taxi Drivers, been there, done that, so take it from the voice of experience, you are doing it all wrong. If Henry Ford could have  perceived what was ahead as far as Highway Fatalities statistics, the Model T would still be on the Drawing Board. Today we have smart Cars and Dumb Drivers, go figure. Like Spock said, totally illogical. I should have started Blogging about Safe Driving the very first year I started Driving. There was one setback, there were no Internet and Blogging was unheard of. Maybe I would have insulted several Generations into becoming better Drivers. Guess what, it’s never too late to start a 🔥.

Life, Safe Driving

One Mile Marker At A Time

Anthony Dixon

One Mile Marker at a Time

When I am taking an eleven Hundred miles road trip, as soon as I put the Trannie into drive, my only focus is on each individual mile ahead of me. From leaving the Driveway to entering my onramp, I Drive each mile individually and meticulously, as if each mile was an obstacle course. If you Drive with that mentally you eliminate  many Accident risks, one of which is clutter Driving. Clutter Driving is fifty cars driving basically at the same speed, also known as a Cattle Driving. This mentally of not believing that someone has to lead and others have to follow at a safe distance, keeps Highway Fatalities statistics high. When I am on a Road trip from Florida to New York, eleven Hundred miles of open Road, every hundred miles I encounter a Clutter. If you use the Roads the way they were designed there would no Clutter. The right lane is for slow Traffic, the middle lane is for moderate Traffic and the left lane is for passing and people on a mission. By getting in the left lane and using it as if it were your own Personal domain creates Clutter, it forces speeders to weave the Traffic. Clutter Driving is everyday Driving for the majority of Motorists using our Roadways daily. Once travelling I 81 in Pennsylvania I came upon a 100 car pileup, they were all travelling in a clutter formation on six inches of Snow.

 

I prove that point each and every day I get behind the wheel, that no one wants to follow. Or even if they decided to follow they follow too closely. I Drive at Truckers speed religiously, ten miles above the speed limit. The reason for that is to avoid Clutter Drivers, they are always in tight formation no matter what the speed limit is. If it’s 25 MPH or 75 MPH they are in tight formation. This is the way they have been Driving for almost two hundred years. If the Traffic pattern is good, I could find a pocket and never change lanes for hundreds of miles. Whenever I find myself in a bad traffic pattern and I make my way to the Front, there is always someone who have been Driving in the clutter formation for miles, who now decides that he also wants to lead. It doesn’t matter if it’s a 55 MPH zone and that I am on a mission from Hell. For instance someone who have been late all week and today he is going to get fired, he isn’t thinking of the ticket or the Accident, yet there always is someone who picks up the chase.

 

That idiotic mentality of not knowing that someone has to lead and someone have to follow is Lame. That is how the Traffic becomes staggered. People don’t believe that the Traffic has to be staggered, as soon as a hole opens up someone barrels through and close it up. staggering the Traffic is the ultimate way to travel, if someone makes a mistake there is always room to compensate. If I am travelling ten miles above the speed limit and someone wants to take the lead I automatically fall behind them, I also reduce my speed so to create distance between us. By not allowing them to pass, you are now engaged in a race, Racing is beyond Stupid. Two Cars doing twenty MPH travelling side by side is slow Drag Racing, two Cars doing seventy MPH travelling side by side is dangerous Drag Racing. When I started Driving fifty years ago, I never thought that I could cover millions of miles without one accident created or caused by me, my secret, my Instructor was always in the Passenger Seat. My goal was to always impress him, not having him sitting there thinking, what an Idiot. That’s why I Drive each mile as a separate obstacle course, somewhat of a Jedi Pilot in a Meteor Storm.

 

Before I continue I must tell you a story about picking up the Chase. A Man travelling on a deserted strip of Road over the speed limit was spotted by a Trooper. The Trooper gave chase, every Time the Trooper got close the Driver speed up. Just about approaching 90 MPH he finally decided to pull over. The Trooper told the Man that his shift was over and if he could give him a good enough reason for his behavior he would not write the Traffic Ticket. The man answered the Trooper telling him that he thought the Trooper was the same one who had stolen his Wife and was bringing her back to him. Needless to say that the Trooper was satisfied with the excuse. Enough with the Humor taking it one mile at a time is serious business, from the moment you touch the Shifter.

 

The other day one of my Neighbors lost her Life. She was the most loving Neighborly conversationl and energetic three years old, she rode her Tricycle up and down the dead end Block daily yet her Neighbor with kids of his own backed out of his Driveway running her over. Now I am rethinking my mile by mile strategy should be inch by inch as long as those Tires are rolling. Whatever the preoccupation is whenever you turn the Ignition, it should be Lights, Action, Camera, because each time you are behind the Wheel your Performance either take Lives or save Lives. I will forever be thankful to my Driving Instructor who told me to always Drive like I am the only one out there that knows what I am doing. He also told me to always know where I am mile by mile, as in who is in front of me beside me and behind me.

 

I have driven this way for fifty years with zero accident caused by me. For fifty years I have made it my business to become the best I can be each mile at a time. Drawing parallels, you live your Life minute by minute day by day, why shouldn’t you Drive each mile in the same fashion, knowing that whatever can go wrong the minute you move the Shifter can and will go wrong, as in my little Neighbor’s case. Driving in a Galavant manner every time you get behind the wheel like Driving is big fun is a Foolish way to Drive. One of the Biggest scare I ever had was Traveling U.S. 19 in the middle of the Day. U.S. 19 from Pasco through Pinellas is one of the most dangerous Roadways in the World. That strip is posted 55 MPH with Stoplights one mile apart and numerous U Turn Lanes, the average speed is 70. As usual I am doing ten miles over the limit, I looked in my Rearview and the closest vehicles are one mile behind me. By the time I took my eyes off the Mirror and decided to move into the middle lane there was another car sharing the lane. That Driver had to gun that Engine at 80 MPH to have caught me, and was now sitting in my Blind spot. Without my Sensors we both would be dead within that one Mile. That is how People loose their Lives, not Driving one Mile at a time. Once again Common Sense rules.

Life, Safe Driving

The Road to Rage

Anthony Dixon

From Discover on Google https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-human-equation/201803/the-road-rage

 

Road Rage

Life, Safe Driving

Staying Alive

Anthony Dixon

Severe Impact

I have been Driving for fifty years, from day one I have made it my business to get better every time I get behind the Wheel. The reason is simple, I love Cars, the freedom they provide, the Technology put into them and the feeling of controlling and maneuvering them in adverse conditions. Like the time I Drove into an Atmospheric Disturbance, wreckage littered The Highway. At the Crest of this Mountain heavy Snow had blanketed the Roadway. Handling the Steering Wheel like a Joystick I avoided rearending a Truck, The Vehicle following me rearended the same Truck. The thrills are long gone, they were taken from me at seventeen when a group of us went party hopping one Saturday Night.The Drivers were two young Men barely twenty who acquired brand new Cars at the same time. Non of us drinking long enough to know how to say when. We stayed at each party long enough to consume two or three mixed Drinks. On the way to the last stop the Drivers decided to Race. We hit speeds of up to 115, when we entered the exit Ramp I glanced at the speedometer, it was showing 90, our car was on two wheels.

That one night crafted me into the most contentious of Drivers on our Roadways. I learned what can happen when you mistreat Horsepower. From that Day on I learned to love and respect the capability of the Automobile. My first car was a Buick Skylark that had seen Better days it cost me six hundred dollars and needed lots of work. Nonetheless I treated it with respect, the Engine and Trannie didn’t know their ages, they ran like new. Why wouldn’t I respect it, the car that allowed me to practice and become a skilled operator. That Car was Built like a Tank, once I got rear ended, the other car went to the Junkyard, I drove home. Back then Cars were crafted from American Steel. The Frame was Built to withstand severe impacts and drive away.

My first Car, Buick Skylark

Today’s Automobile is totally entwined with Technology, from manually cranking the Engine to Remote start. Sometimes I feel like a Kid when I press a Button and a voice comes over my Bose Speakers telling me to say a Command, I say Navigation and it ask me for the Destination. Today’s Automobile has the Soul of an unmanned Satellite, with little to no protection. As a result of Greed Car Manufacturers have chosen the cost-effective routes in building Cars. The result, very expensive Garbage on four Wheels. 1988 I bought a brand new inexpensively manufactured car, today the Brand sells like crazy. I believe that it was around then that Styrofoam and Plastic was introduced to fabricating Bumpers. One day while sitting in park, a Van backed into me while Parking. The damage was extensive, to the tune of twenty seven hundred Dollars. That’s what you get when they are made with cheap materials. Can you imagine the Devastation impacting at sixty MPH, I would not be here today telling you that they need to be driven carefully. No matter how much you spend they are nothing but inexpensively manufactured Death Traps.

The Car I Drive today cost me thirty five Thousand Dollars, Remote start, heated seats, Sensors all around, WiFi and a Computer that Talks to me, it also tells me if the car needs Windshield Washer fluid. Nonetheless an inexpensively Manufactured Junk. Being an Avid Do it yourself Mechanic since I was a Teenager, I do all the work on my Vehicles. Doing my first Oil change on this Vehicle, I Jacked it up and crawled under it. What I found blew me away. The Engine and the Transmission was made from Aluminum, so was all the Front end Parts. FYI, Steel bends, Aluminum shatters. To my surprise one of the most Technologically crafted Cars was nothing but a Heap.

The Speedometer says 170, If I took this Car on a Racetrack to Road test it and I made a Mistake, I would not be Towed away, instead I would be swept up. Now we get to the Crux of it all, knowing all that I know about these Inexpensively Manufactured Death Traps why would I go testing Fate when I sit in an unprotected Console, kicking the Gas Pedal like I was on a Test Track. Knowing that if I crashed it People would be Talking about me that he was a good Man. I have tried every approach to get your attention that operating a Vehicle mindlessly is nothing short of hurrying your Demise and others. Seems that my words have fallen on Deaf Ears, so I have decided to take you the Reality Route.

The Auto Industry is like the Gun Manufacturing industry, they are not concerned with Collateral Damage, their goal is to sell their products. How you use them is all on you. The Automobile should come with a Disclaimer just like a Pack of Cigarettes. ” Please operate safely, may cause injury or Death”. In my Mind is a Video on re-play of two young men Racing on the Vanwycke Expressway colliding at 80 MPH, the Roadway was Littered. The two Cars were Brand New inexpensively Manufactured Cars, they disintegrated on impact. If not for my expertise I would be part of the Calamities.

The Flashbacks keep me safe and sound every time I get behind the Wheel, knowing that they are not built to withstand severe impact. Having confidence in your abilities is good but how can I have confidence in a Vehicle that was made to do 170 yet built with Styrofoam Plastic and Aluminum. The only two accidents that I had in fifty years of Driving was caused by careless overconfident Drivers, why shouldn’t I always be mindful of the Dangers. I am an enthusiast and an Avid Mechanic, before I take my Car on a 2200 miles Road trip I change the Oil upon return I do the same whether it’s needed or not. Why? I am sort of a Technocrat, I love Automotive Technology, I love Today’s Automobile even if it’s made inexpensively and unsafe.  Today’s Automobile is not Built to withstand Impacts, that’s why you have anti- locking Brakes and your Computer breaking for you. In conclusion when I Drive them I use the utmost of Mindfulness of the way they are Constructed, and so should you.

P.S. Happy Motoring, Drive like your Life depends on the way you Drive.

Life, Safe Driving

” I Got This”

Anthony Dixon

The New Driver

When I signed up for Driving Shool at seventeen, my goals were to learn all I could from a seasoned Pro. That way when I passed the Road test and received my Drivers license, I would have the Tools I needed to stay alive and save Lives. The average Driver is issued a License and ultimately believes that as a result of being issued a License, he knows how to Drive. Nothing could be more remote from the truth. All it means is that you have demonstrated the basic knowledge in the operation of a Vehicle. The smart Drivers such as myself uses the basic skills from day one, and on a daily basis we hone them to save Lives. I have been Driving for fifty years with zero accident caused by me, one caused by a mindless Drone driving a Jag, the other by faulty Brakes on a Truck that was recently issued an Inspection Sticker.

The Driver of this Maserati killed himself and his two young Sons, his Wife severely injured.

 

 

The average Driver from day one develop a Boneheaded attitude that “I got this”. Also far from the truth. Months ago in my Neighborhood two Spoiled irresponsible Teenagers were given Mustangs for Graduating High School. Just Graduated High School means that they couldn’t be Driving more than over a year. That isn’t enough time behind the Wheel to develop the Boneheaded attitude that you got this. Those two Morons decided to Race each other over a Bridge. By the time they exited the Bridge onto a street posted 45 MPH. It was too late for the young Mother , pushing a Stroller with her Infant across the street, They both Died. In an earlier Blog I stated that there were over 35,000 Fatalities on our Roadways in one year.

Those aren’t just numbers they are Flesh and Blood, people with Loved ones left to Grieve, from your carelessness and Callous attitude towards Driving. No you don’t got this, if you did the numbers wouldn’t be so great. Nowhere else in Life do seemingly intelligent People become Jackasses than behind the Wheel. The other Day travelling McMullen Booth Road , I looked in my Rearview to see this Vehicle riding me aggressively. At the stop light I allowed Her to pass me, on the rear Bumper was a Sticker of her Alma Mater, Ohio State. I live in Florida so I get to observe them all. I said to myself College doesn’t teach intelligence, that was someone who think they “got this”.

From here on I only Address the New Drivers who do not want to Drive like their Parents or their Grandparents. I have learned that the old Adage is true, ” you can’t teach an old Dog new Tricks”, because ” they got this”.They have been doing it all wrong for a hundred years, the Statistics says so, but you can’t tell them that, because they tell themselves” I got this”. I will tell you what they all have, it’s a Royal Bitch Attitude about and towards Life and it manifests into their Driving. It’s a shame everyone wasn’t as fortunate to have my Driving Instructor. He told me when you get behind the Wheel, loose the Attitude, the childish behavior and the Ego Trip.

In Tampa I have encountered the worst of Drivers in over fifty years and millions of miles Driving East West North and South. They all have that Bitch Attitude, which isn’t conducive to safe Driving. They all drive too fast, change lanes too many times on a one mile stretch of congested traffic, cut you off within one Car length. You blow your Horn to show disgust in their behavior and they are ready to shoot you. Eighteen to eighty five they all possess the Attitude. In my daily commute I try to be a shining example, I space myself properly, travel no more than ten miles above the speed limit to stay ahead of the clutter. Yet there is never a day that someone isn’t sitting on my Bumper drafting.

Roadside Graves

The other day I am crossing the Bayside Bridge, as usual I try to stay away from the clutter Drivers who all do the same speed Limit, travelling side by side gazing in each other’s vehicles. That’s not good Motoring, good Motoring is staggering the Traffic. That kind of Driving brings out the Idiots, they weave the Traffic like their Name is Dale. Well anyway crossing the Bridge twelve Noon on a Saturday in a Resort Town on a Gorgeous afternoon. The Traffic was Bustling, I looked back in my Rearview Mirror to see someone Driving their Top of the Line inexpensively manufactured Japanese Heap at speed in excess of 100 MPH. When I was halfway across the Bridge all the Traffic behind me had just entered the span, in a flash the Speedster had passed me and was weaving the Traffic ahead of me at the same speed.

And you wonder why I call People Idiots. Once I was traveling a hundred yards behind two Cars racing at eighty five, they came into the middle lane simultaneously, slammed together and disintegrated. There wasn’t one solid piece of anything that remained, Skeletal and all. After observing something like that why would I not aspire to be the very best Driver on the Road, knowing that one Idiot die everyday, taking innocent people with them, while another is Born who will continue the mayhem and leave the World the same way in Bits and pieces. That is not the way I see my Departure. I see myself sitting up in my Bed sipping my best Brandy saying goodbye to the one I have loved for the better part of my years. Everyday I pass the Roadside Graves and know that someone never made it Home to their loved ones, I curse the Maniacs I share the Roads with Daily. Their Lives doesn’t matter and neither do yours and mine, because to them life is cheap and meaningless, and the Automobile is just a fun Toy.

Below is the link to my Local News Station

Video showing a Hit and Run that put a Teenager in a Coma for over forty Days

https://www.fox13news.com/news/392312021-video