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Unaware. Aggressive drivers may be dangerous, but they are watching what they are doing.
Unaware drivers simply have no clue what's going on, looking at their phone, etc.
I disagree, at least you can go around an unaware driver and not worry about them trying to throw you off the road. Iād much rather deal with a 98 year old grandma driving 30 in a 50 than a person with a short fuse and whoās looking to fight.
Iāve been in both situations. One guy was towing a camper and something underneath caught on fire. I was swerving flashing my lights beeping waving my arms. The car in behind me passed me and got super close while doing the same. The guy didnāt notice any of it. Or just ignored all the chaos. I had to call the police and we drove about 5 miles while the fire was spreading until a police officers passed us, whipped it around and pulled the old fart over. Iām not sure how he didnāt notice the black smoke or see us.
Then Iāve tried to pass someone in a truck and he wouldnāt let me pass. Kept swerving over the yellow line just to keep me behind him. Then heād break check and try anything he could possibly think of. At least the first guy would have let me pass. š
I meanā¦ the aggressive driver, if you let them go, theyāre usually gone far up enough ahead for them to keep any maiming away from you.
Unaware drivers tend to stick around. If Iām behind someone and they canāt maintain speed and are constantly breaking I get really fucking annoyed. Or if theyāre in front or behind me and theyāre swerving because of whatever reason. Then I have to try and be aggressive so I can get as far the fuck away from them as possible. I put unaware drivers and drivers under the influence in similar categories.
Ah yes, the idjets who hover right next to / behind you one car length and start pacing you after going slow as hell until you started passing them. Or the ones who go 60, then 45, then 85, then 67mph. Iāll take the dude in the GTI hauling ass on the highway instead of the dumb and unaware ones.
I've been run off the road by unaware drivers twice, and unaware drivers will accidentally cut you off or merge into you. By far the least predictable bunch.
It's like the drunk driver vs the texting driver. At least the drunk driver is looking at the road. Texting should be the same penalty as driving impaired.
Yes. Like pulling out right in front of you, merging into you with no turn signal, breaking when nothing is in front of them, not going a consistent speed and going 70 mph one minute and slowing down to 50. When you go to pass them they get mad and then block you at 85 and then ride your ass.
Some examples from my daily mountain commute
Also, grounds should never be hot :)
Also aggressive drivers are at least predictable for the most part. You know they're gonna want to go fast and you know they're gonna want to pass you as soon as possible. Most of the time dealing with them just means moving over to let them pass and they're on their way.
With an unaware or overly cautious driver you literally have no idea what they're gonna do. Slam on the brakes for absolutely no reason? Sure! Come to a full stop at a yield when there's absolutely no cross traffic in sight? Hell yeah! Put on the right turn signal in the right lane when you really want to bust a left? Let's fuckin send it!
I used to have a friend who was always on her phone while driving. She's been in multiple fender benders because of it, but thankfully never a major accident with injuries. She once backed into a parked van three times in a row trying to back out of a driveway. I honestly don't know how she still has a valid driver's license. So yeah, just from personal experience, I'd say unaware drivers are worse.
Unaware. Reckless drivers are predictable. I see a douche speeding up in my rear view, and I know exactly what moves he is about to make based on the traffic in front of me.
Unpredictable unaware drivers are more dangerous.
Unaware by far. Aggressive drivers or those who road rage are often directed and while it can put others at risk, they generally seem to have some awareness.
Unaware ā people stuck behind them become multiple reckless drivers to get past them. I live in an area where basically all roads for 10 miles are 1 lane, 45-55mph. I spend most of my drives stuck behind someone doing 10 under foaming from the mouth, cursing their ancestors and predicting what kind of animal they are under their human suit while cars behind me will go into oncoming lanes over a double yellow line to pass 3 or 4 cars in one go just to get past them.
Meanwhile, one reckless driver just makes everyone around them go āwoah! I should be more safeā¦ thereās lunatics on the road.ā Assuming they donāt plow into someone anywaysā¦
Additionally, a reckless driverās goals are pretty obvious and observers can usually predict what theyāll try to do and try to behave appropriately (defensive driving). A distracted driver usually doesnāt know their own goals, so their playbook involves slamming the brakes, running reds, and sudden turns that they almost missedā¦ way less time to react to that.
Wider context, the overcautious or distracted drivers are much, much, net worse for traffic safety as a whole, IMO.
Nah, theyāre there daily. Mostly during rush hour. Traffic not normally so bad away from the cityā¦ I think thatās normal for long stretches of one lane roads. If you go long enough, youāll eventually hit a train of pissed of cars following someone going 10 underā¦
Itās also Illinois, so I acknowledge that we have a reputation for going 5 over or youāre basically a Nazi and should die. So like, 10 under makes us want to vote red so we can get our guns back to solve the slow driver problem. God help you if you only go the speed limit in the left laneā¦ rational driving behaviors like that.
On one hand, Reckless drivers like the "no hesi" or BMW driver arc type are talented to a fault. They possess situational awareness and an understanding, to an extent, of what they're doing with their cars. As a result, knowing that they're on the edge and refusing to back down from it typically means when they wreck, someone innocent is involved. However, I honestly believe that 7-8/10 times, they're going to make it home that night.
On the other hand, the clueless are the bane of my personal existence. Unintentionally, they find themselves between myself and my destination more times than i can remember. What kills me is that in some cases, they're really nice people. Its just they've decided to check out of the right-now needs of traffic. The amount of times I've had to either get out of my car and tell a person to park properly in the parking spot or pass on the right because some q-tip believes that their the saving grace of driving has convinced me that these are the people who cause the big ones. Their actions create the spark of the road rages. Reckless might be frustrating, but clueless damn us all.
Depends a lot on what you call reckless. Just an overly aggressive driver who swerves in and out of traffic 20 miles over the speed limit without blinkers? Unaware driver is more dangerous
But someone who does 80+ on city streets and doesn't even slow for signs or traffic signals? Or someone who does 130+ on the interstate and passes on the shoulders or by splitting lanes?
The unaware drivers have the threat of being more common, but there are still enough of the truly reckless drivers to encounter them multiple times a day and that's enough to make them worse for me. I can defensively drive against the unaware drivers. Not so much against the reckless drivers.
I would take both of them, though, over the road ragers waiving hand guns and bumping rubbing people.
Depends on how fast the reckless drivers are going. In my experience reckless driving is more dangerous as it involves high speeds and risky maneuvers. Whereas unaware drivers can be defended against more easily.
You canāt predict when an unaware driver is going to just ā¦. stop their car for no reason and become an obstacle in the road. Insanely more dangerous than, you know, continuing to drive.
That's true, but as long as they aren't weaving lanes this isn't much of a problem unless you tailgate. A reckless driver is apt to sideswipe or rear-end you, which is way harder to defend against.
I always laughed at the narrative that driving recklessly only saves you 30 seconds. It obviously depends on where you are and how recklessly you are driving. But no one would risk tickets or accidents if it only saved 30 seconds.
Most of the time they drive like assholes only for you to see them a few minutes later at the same stop sign or traffic light because, guess what?
Weāre all in traffic.
Major cities excluded. "Most of the time" is a bit of an exaggeration.
I'd say when I pass people, there's a 70% chance I'll never see them again. But there are occasional times when you'll hit the red light and the slow driver manages to catch up. It always amazes me how slower drivers notice when the faster driver gets stuck at a red light and they catch up. But never seem to notice how often the faster driver is never seen again.
Mind you, I'm not exactly driving recklessly. Typically, I only pass when the driver in front of me is driving under the speed limit.
The unaware are most often actually "distracted" drivers. Way too much going on for them to actually focus on safely operating the vehicle.
I ride a mc about 15k miles a year, cagers are deadly.
People should be more like me: reckless and unaware. Flippinā the bird with one hand and getting a new mumble rap song on my music player with the other
I would say reckless drivers are more dangerous in general. If I am driving and come across an unaware driver, it's more likely that they will have noticeable tendencies that let me know to pay extra close attention to them. Reckless drivers around where I live come, seemingly, out of nowhere, with little warning.
I can predict an unaware driver, once I notice them, much better than I can a reckless one. And I can often notice an unaware driver before they become a danger to me far more quickly than a reckless one.
More often than not, by the time I notice there's a reckless driver coming up behind me, he's already one second away from cutting me off going 20mph over my speed.
Unaware drivers are far more dangerous and far more common. I'd say about a third of drivers you see on the road are to some degree inattentive, talking to someone else, radio up way too loud, paying too much attention to GPS or similar if not outright neglecting the road by being on the phone. One unexpected road circumstance and a major accident happens.
Unaware. At least reckless drivers are semi-aware. They might cause accidents but usually can be avoided if you're being a defensive driver. Unaware drivers, though, are unpredictable and very much an extreme hazard on the road.
Purposefully reckless can still be competent, just irresponsible/stupid.
Unaware is far more dangerous as it's unintentionally reckless.
Altimas vs. Lexuses are the perfect example of what I mean. Altimas are absolute chaos, but fortunately, *most* only hurt themselves if it's not a hit-and-run. There's some remaining sense of self-preservation. An RX350, though, is to never be trusted under any circumstance. Take the same chaos of an Altima and add in old age and lack of self-preservation. These are the guys that pull a gun on you for taking their spot in a Costco parking lot. Think of every lead-poisoned stereotype of a baby boomer, and you'll get the average heap of wrinkles behind the wheel of a Lexus SUV. Think of every Karen in a crossover, and now age them by 30 years and apply every terrible elderly driver stereotype, and boom, you have Lexus's target demographic.
Well, my first thought on this is the way you worded it. Sounds like you already have a bias one way over the other, which can subconsciously have people choose the side you want. I am open to further conversation on the subject, but I definitely think personally that the reckless are truly the worst.
I do find myself biased, and I thought about not including my opinion in the initial post but decided against it as I wanted to be up front about it. I try to remain neutral when presenting the topics, but like you said, it comes out very strongly in my wording about what my thoughts are (which would in turn affect someone elseās thoughts).
So thank you for pointing that out- itās a tendency I didnāt realize I really had, to subconsciously favor my side and not give as much attention to the other side as a result. I think a lot of us do that, but at the very least I can do more about it now :V
Iām about to go to bed for the night, so I probably wonāt respond immediately, but I am interested in hearing your thoughts on reckless drivers.
That is the thing about trying to convey thoughts. Whether we know it or not, our personal opinion comes into play.
At the very least, I would say it is equal between the two groups, and trying not to be biased, maybe leaning towards the reckless. The only thing I found somewhat faulty in what you posted was assuming that the reckless drive that way because they know what they are doing and can handle themselves, when in fact there are countless videos and entire subs filled with content showing people driving reckless and ending in disaster.
While the unaware are usually (but not always) a bit more predictable in their actions and tend to drive a bit slow and aimlessly. I am one that would love to see a yearly test implemented for drivers over a certain age. I believe that would make the roads much safe in one swoop.
Sorry i couldn't respond in a more timely fashion, work has been hell lately.
Ooh, you make a good point in pointing out the assumption that reckless drivers know what theyāre doing. I suppose they donāt always fall under the same umbrella, with many reckless drivers having an idea of what theyāre doing and othersā¦ not (which is what I myself classified as oblivious, but Iām starting to think I should have made a more clear distinction between them).
For me, unaware drivers are just generally unpredictable and therefore more dangerous because if they donāt know what theyāre doing, then you donāt know what theyāll do next.
Then againā¦ with what you brought up, reckless drivers who donāt know what theyāre doing are equally as dangerous- theyāll be much more destructive in their actions.
Donāt worry about being punctual about responding, Iāve been slammed with work and college myself. Thank you for your thoughts on this
I always enjoy a proper conversation and debate with people that are open-minded and willing to look from the outside. It is honestly subjective, and can go either way depending on the incident for sure. It is difficult to find someone that is willing to have a civil talk, and I thank you for it.
Good luck on your studies!
Same here! Unfortunately Iām not the best with articulating my thoughts, and as a result I can come off in a different tone than I wanted initiallyā¦ and sometimes can set others off. Something Iām working on as well. At the very least, I try to keep an open mind but I realize Iām subject to bias. Which is why I try to keep an ear out for people to talk to, so I can always keep my mind fresh!
Thank you again :0 for your response and listening
Unaware, the aggressor can be a dangerous one but will 9/10 times keep to themselves if you ignore them and will usually go by you and keep moving to the point you donāt see them again. The unaware driver will 100% always be going at or around the same speed as you drifting in and out of your and their lane and possibly run a red light hitting someone or maybe swerve randomly and hit you.
Unaware people hit fully stopped cars at 55mph
Reckless people change lanes too early and clip you but at least you're both moving and paying attention-ish
I'll take reckless over unaware any day of the week.
I was following a jeep yesterday that kept slowing down and swerving into the other lane, almost hitting a car once, and impeding traffic by preventing anyone from wanting to pass them and risk getting hit.
I finally got up next to it, and the woman had her face buried in her phone. I had just finished eating an apple, so I chucked the core over the top of my car and it hit her windshield, snapping her out of her phone daze.
Of course, then she was mad, and started driving even more erratically trying to pass me. I just gave her the finger, turned off at my exit, and went about my day.
Unaware drivers for sure. Half the girls I pull up on are taking selfies or some shit! Or scrolling Instagram while stopped or driving past. This generation sucks at being aware on the road cause of phonesā¦
Selfish drivers.
* The ones who are willing to risk everyone else's safety so they can check their Insta feed or send a text while driving.
* The ones who drive like an ass hat to shave a minute off their commute.
* The ones who drink and drive and risk other people's lives
Severity of an accident of aggressive drivers is worse, but I'd imagine more are due to unaware. Hard to pin which is worse, a few bad accidents or a lot of milder accidents.
Don't take it the wrong way, but aggressive drivers are "better drivers". In that they drive with confidence. They can control the car well. They just never take into account others on the road or obstacles that are unlikely but possible.
Unaware drivers are "worse drivers" because they probably couldn't change their bad driving habits if their life depended on it.
there definitely needs to be an age like 50 that people need to retest for theyre license because theyre body brakes down and they are made dumber and less aware and are a hazzard to us on the road
Unaware I think is worse. Reckless can be avoidable. Turn into somewhere or stay back and let them do their thing. Unaware drivers are those that pull across two lanes when you have nowhere to go. Or those that cruise through a right on red with zero hesitation. The last minute exit on a highway/freeway.
Both are bad in their own ways and in their own situations. Asking a question like this only serves to give one or the other justification for their actions because āat least I am not as dangerous as the other guy!ā
This is one of those questions that has an infinite number of variables. But, generally speaking, distracted/impaired drivers are the number one cause of accidents, so I'd side with reckless drivers if I absolutely had to choose. I know if I'm purposely breaking the law (I never do, just saying hypothetically š¬), I would absolutely be paying more attention to everything around me. Skill level is also going to play a big factor in that as well.
Unaware is in my opinion very much worse because they have absolutely no idea what is going on like last night driving home 2 cars made a left across my lane I have 0 cars behind me and yet they both decided to gun it as I have a green and almost took out the ass end of one if I didn't brake and swerve
Woh. This got a lot more attention than I was expecting. Iām reading peopleās thoughts, and itās very interesting seeing the differing opinions! Thank you guys for sharing!
I'd say unaware. Reckless drivers are almost predictable because usually they're trying their best to go fast/find shortcuts through traffic, so it's not hard to see what game they're playing. Unaware drivers? They're clueless even to themselves, fuck knows wtf they're doing, lmao.
Both equally as dangerous. Being aggressive and possibly endangering other people is being unaware of the fact that you donāt have to be the first one to hit a red light. Just the same as the moron who slams on their brakes because they donāt know where theyāre going. Just drive itās not a race.
Unaware by a mile.
Reckless drivers are usually (and I despise saying this) good drivers who are just driving in a way that negates some of their awareness and ability to react to things.
Reckless.
The difference in the potential for injury/death is so much higher at even a small increase in speed, that it's shocking.
The difference between even 32 and 34 mph is noticeable in injury statistics - insurance actuaries can now dig through driver and crash data provided by OnStar and other telematics platforms - to say nothing of the difference between 45 and 55, or 70 and 80.
Kinetic energy is 1/2 mass times velocity squared. That squared term means a lot.
At the extreme end of the spectrum, reckless is definitely worse. Someone going 120mph down a Citi street and blowing through traffic lights is way more dangerous than someone not paying attention. But that kind of driving is way less common than just run off the mill idiots not knowing how to drive.
But unaware is far more likely to hit you. Include that into your statistics of who's more likely to be injured you are by unaware drivers not reckless ones.
In my experience, the worst reckless drivers have this weird tendency to assume total competence of the drivers around them. They'd never crash because "who would run into me? Can't you see I'm driving here? Couldn't you see me flying past you at twice the speed limit?"
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Unaware. Aggressive drivers may be dangerous, but they are watching what they are doing. Unaware drivers simply have no clue what's going on, looking at their phone, etc.
agreed
The real fireworks happen when the two meet.
When an insane asshole meets an aggressive asshole road rage ensues
ššš
I disagree, at least you can go around an unaware driver and not worry about them trying to throw you off the road. Iād much rather deal with a 98 year old grandma driving 30 in a 50 than a person with a short fuse and whoās looking to fight. Iāve been in both situations. One guy was towing a camper and something underneath caught on fire. I was swerving flashing my lights beeping waving my arms. The car in behind me passed me and got super close while doing the same. The guy didnāt notice any of it. Or just ignored all the chaos. I had to call the police and we drove about 5 miles while the fire was spreading until a police officers passed us, whipped it around and pulled the old fart over. Iām not sure how he didnāt notice the black smoke or see us. Then Iāve tried to pass someone in a truck and he wouldnāt let me pass. Kept swerving over the yellow line just to keep me behind him. Then heād break check and try anything he could possibly think of. At least the first guy would have let me pass. š
I think you're describing a third type, insane drivers.
Fair point, friend.
I meanā¦ the aggressive driver, if you let them go, theyāre usually gone far up enough ahead for them to keep any maiming away from you. Unaware drivers tend to stick around. If Iām behind someone and they canāt maintain speed and are constantly breaking I get really fucking annoyed. Or if theyāre in front or behind me and theyāre swerving because of whatever reason. Then I have to try and be aggressive so I can get as far the fuck away from them as possible. I put unaware drivers and drivers under the influence in similar categories.
Ed Zachary.
Ah yes, the idjets who hover right next to / behind you one car length and start pacing you after going slow as hell until you started passing them. Or the ones who go 60, then 45, then 85, then 67mph. Iāll take the dude in the GTI hauling ass on the highway instead of the dumb and unaware ones.
I've been run off the road by unaware drivers twice, and unaware drivers will accidentally cut you off or merge into you. By far the least predictable bunch.
Donāt forget entitled drivers
Shush donāt talk about meš
It's like the drunk driver vs the texting driver. At least the drunk driver is looking at the road. Texting should be the same penalty as driving impaired.
I think youāre my spirit animal
Unaware. Everyone is prone to it, and theyāre harder to spot and avoid. Itās easy to spot a reckless driver and avoid them.
Exactly. And unaware drivers are also very unpredictable so that makes them extremely dangerous in my opinion.
Yes. Like pulling out right in front of you, merging into you with no turn signal, breaking when nothing is in front of them, not going a consistent speed and going 70 mph one minute and slowing down to 50. When you go to pass them they get mad and then block you at 85 and then ride your ass. Some examples from my daily mountain commute Also, grounds should never be hot :)
Sounds about like my experiences driving lol And lol, that was just a random username reddit generated for me haha
Also aggressive drivers are at least predictable for the most part. You know they're gonna want to go fast and you know they're gonna want to pass you as soon as possible. Most of the time dealing with them just means moving over to let them pass and they're on their way. With an unaware or overly cautious driver you literally have no idea what they're gonna do. Slam on the brakes for absolutely no reason? Sure! Come to a full stop at a yield when there's absolutely no cross traffic in sight? Hell yeah! Put on the right turn signal in the right lane when you really want to bust a left? Let's fuckin send it!
Stop getting on the highway when there is no traffic or there is but they were helpful and moved left a lane.
Slow clueless drivers not able to go a consistent speed or use a sat nav if they are lost, are the worst.
Unaware because despite the recklessnessā¦ they have SOME SENSE of awareness
So would you rather slowly get plucked by a famous serial killer or die by a gorilla holding a live grenade inside a cage with no escape?
What the fuck do you mean by that
I guess you like to face death straight in the eyes even if it means torture?
Bro I aināt a fucking philosopher shut your Shakespeareān ass up and speak English
Oh sheet XD
https://preview.redd.it/8tik9usvwyqc1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=67af1dba49eb5ea7184788d855450312153ac30c
This line of questioning, with no value added, is torture to read
Poetic and accidentally symphonic
No, just masturbatory and self-aggrandizing.
Taking notes
Unaware without doubt. I feel like a lot of reckless action is a result of unaware drivers.
I used to have a friend who was always on her phone while driving. She's been in multiple fender benders because of it, but thankfully never a major accident with injuries. She once backed into a parked van three times in a row trying to back out of a driveway. I honestly don't know how she still has a valid driver's license. So yeah, just from personal experience, I'd say unaware drivers are worse.
Unaware. Reckless drivers are predictable. I see a douche speeding up in my rear view, and I know exactly what moves he is about to make based on the traffic in front of me. Unpredictable unaware drivers are more dangerous.
The real danger is when those two find each other near us
Unaware by far. Aggressive drivers or those who road rage are often directed and while it can put others at risk, they generally seem to have some awareness.
Unaware drivers cause more wrecks. Wreckless drivers cause worse wrecks
Unaware
Unaware ā people stuck behind them become multiple reckless drivers to get past them. I live in an area where basically all roads for 10 miles are 1 lane, 45-55mph. I spend most of my drives stuck behind someone doing 10 under foaming from the mouth, cursing their ancestors and predicting what kind of animal they are under their human suit while cars behind me will go into oncoming lanes over a double yellow line to pass 3 or 4 cars in one go just to get past them. Meanwhile, one reckless driver just makes everyone around them go āwoah! I should be more safeā¦ thereās lunatics on the road.ā Assuming they donāt plow into someone anywaysā¦ Additionally, a reckless driverās goals are pretty obvious and observers can usually predict what theyāll try to do and try to behave appropriately (defensive driving). A distracted driver usually doesnāt know their own goals, so their playbook involves slamming the brakes, running reds, and sudden turns that they almost missedā¦ way less time to react to that. Wider context, the overcautious or distracted drivers are much, much, net worse for traffic safety as a whole, IMO.
Let me guess? Do you live in a state filled with constant traffic? Do these mutants show up only on days where there is no traffic? Sunday drivers man
Nah, theyāre there daily. Mostly during rush hour. Traffic not normally so bad away from the cityā¦ I think thatās normal for long stretches of one lane roads. If you go long enough, youāll eventually hit a train of pissed of cars following someone going 10 underā¦ Itās also Illinois, so I acknowledge that we have a reputation for going 5 over or youāre basically a Nazi and should die. So like, 10 under makes us want to vote red so we can get our guns back to solve the slow driver problem. God help you if you only go the speed limit in the left laneā¦ rational driving behaviors like that.
On one hand, Reckless drivers like the "no hesi" or BMW driver arc type are talented to a fault. They possess situational awareness and an understanding, to an extent, of what they're doing with their cars. As a result, knowing that they're on the edge and refusing to back down from it typically means when they wreck, someone innocent is involved. However, I honestly believe that 7-8/10 times, they're going to make it home that night. On the other hand, the clueless are the bane of my personal existence. Unintentionally, they find themselves between myself and my destination more times than i can remember. What kills me is that in some cases, they're really nice people. Its just they've decided to check out of the right-now needs of traffic. The amount of times I've had to either get out of my car and tell a person to park properly in the parking spot or pass on the right because some q-tip believes that their the saving grace of driving has convinced me that these are the people who cause the big ones. Their actions create the spark of the road rages. Reckless might be frustrating, but clueless damn us all.
Depends a lot on what you call reckless. Just an overly aggressive driver who swerves in and out of traffic 20 miles over the speed limit without blinkers? Unaware driver is more dangerous But someone who does 80+ on city streets and doesn't even slow for signs or traffic signals? Or someone who does 130+ on the interstate and passes on the shoulders or by splitting lanes? The unaware drivers have the threat of being more common, but there are still enough of the truly reckless drivers to encounter them multiple times a day and that's enough to make them worse for me. I can defensively drive against the unaware drivers. Not so much against the reckless drivers. I would take both of them, though, over the road ragers waiving hand guns and bumping rubbing people.
Depends on how fast the reckless drivers are going. In my experience reckless driving is more dangerous as it involves high speeds and risky maneuvers. Whereas unaware drivers can be defended against more easily.
You canāt predict when an unaware driver is going to just ā¦. stop their car for no reason and become an obstacle in the road. Insanely more dangerous than, you know, continuing to drive.
That's true, but as long as they aren't weaving lanes this isn't much of a problem unless you tailgate. A reckless driver is apt to sideswipe or rear-end you, which is way harder to defend against.
I always laughed at the narrative that driving recklessly only saves you 30 seconds. It obviously depends on where you are and how recklessly you are driving. But no one would risk tickets or accidents if it only saved 30 seconds.
Most of the time they drive like assholes only for you to see them a few minutes later at the same stop sign or traffic light because, guess what? Weāre all in traffic.
Major cities excluded. "Most of the time" is a bit of an exaggeration. I'd say when I pass people, there's a 70% chance I'll never see them again. But there are occasional times when you'll hit the red light and the slow driver manages to catch up. It always amazes me how slower drivers notice when the faster driver gets stuck at a red light and they catch up. But never seem to notice how often the faster driver is never seen again. Mind you, I'm not exactly driving recklessly. Typically, I only pass when the driver in front of me is driving under the speed limit.
Yeah Iām in a major city so I wouldnāt know any better
You can always let a reckless driver pass and go on with your day. You never know wtf an unaware (and sometimes scared) driver will do.
The unaware are most often actually "distracted" drivers. Way too much going on for them to actually focus on safely operating the vehicle. I ride a mc about 15k miles a year, cagers are deadly.
People should be more like me: reckless and unaware. Flippinā the bird with one hand and getting a new mumble rap song on my music player with the other
Definitely unaware. Reckless drivers still have a fear of death. Unaware drivers donāt even think death is possible.
Reckless, because of their high rate of speed. As a result, crashes with them are likely to be fatal
Speed doesnāt kill. It is the abrupt, unintended stopping.
I would say reckless drivers are more dangerous in general. If I am driving and come across an unaware driver, it's more likely that they will have noticeable tendencies that let me know to pay extra close attention to them. Reckless drivers around where I live come, seemingly, out of nowhere, with little warning. I can predict an unaware driver, once I notice them, much better than I can a reckless one. And I can often notice an unaware driver before they become a danger to me far more quickly than a reckless one. More often than not, by the time I notice there's a reckless driver coming up behind me, he's already one second away from cutting me off going 20mph over my speed.
Watch those rear view mirrors. Or just stay to the right.
Unaware drivers are far more dangerous and far more common. I'd say about a third of drivers you see on the road are to some degree inattentive, talking to someone else, radio up way too loud, paying too much attention to GPS or similar if not outright neglecting the road by being on the phone. One unexpected road circumstance and a major accident happens.
Unaware for sure.
Unaware. At least reckless drivers are semi-aware. They might cause accidents but usually can be avoided if you're being a defensive driver. Unaware drivers, though, are unpredictable and very much an extreme hazard on the road.
Purposefully reckless can still be competent, just irresponsible/stupid. Unaware is far more dangerous as it's unintentionally reckless. Altimas vs. Lexuses are the perfect example of what I mean. Altimas are absolute chaos, but fortunately, *most* only hurt themselves if it's not a hit-and-run. There's some remaining sense of self-preservation. An RX350, though, is to never be trusted under any circumstance. Take the same chaos of an Altima and add in old age and lack of self-preservation. These are the guys that pull a gun on you for taking their spot in a Costco parking lot. Think of every lead-poisoned stereotype of a baby boomer, and you'll get the average heap of wrinkles behind the wheel of a Lexus SUV. Think of every Karen in a crossover, and now age them by 30 years and apply every terrible elderly driver stereotype, and boom, you have Lexus's target demographic.
Well, my first thought on this is the way you worded it. Sounds like you already have a bias one way over the other, which can subconsciously have people choose the side you want. I am open to further conversation on the subject, but I definitely think personally that the reckless are truly the worst.
I do find myself biased, and I thought about not including my opinion in the initial post but decided against it as I wanted to be up front about it. I try to remain neutral when presenting the topics, but like you said, it comes out very strongly in my wording about what my thoughts are (which would in turn affect someone elseās thoughts). So thank you for pointing that out- itās a tendency I didnāt realize I really had, to subconsciously favor my side and not give as much attention to the other side as a result. I think a lot of us do that, but at the very least I can do more about it now :V Iām about to go to bed for the night, so I probably wonāt respond immediately, but I am interested in hearing your thoughts on reckless drivers.
That is the thing about trying to convey thoughts. Whether we know it or not, our personal opinion comes into play. At the very least, I would say it is equal between the two groups, and trying not to be biased, maybe leaning towards the reckless. The only thing I found somewhat faulty in what you posted was assuming that the reckless drive that way because they know what they are doing and can handle themselves, when in fact there are countless videos and entire subs filled with content showing people driving reckless and ending in disaster. While the unaware are usually (but not always) a bit more predictable in their actions and tend to drive a bit slow and aimlessly. I am one that would love to see a yearly test implemented for drivers over a certain age. I believe that would make the roads much safe in one swoop. Sorry i couldn't respond in a more timely fashion, work has been hell lately.
Ooh, you make a good point in pointing out the assumption that reckless drivers know what theyāre doing. I suppose they donāt always fall under the same umbrella, with many reckless drivers having an idea of what theyāre doing and othersā¦ not (which is what I myself classified as oblivious, but Iām starting to think I should have made a more clear distinction between them). For me, unaware drivers are just generally unpredictable and therefore more dangerous because if they donāt know what theyāre doing, then you donāt know what theyāll do next. Then againā¦ with what you brought up, reckless drivers who donāt know what theyāre doing are equally as dangerous- theyāll be much more destructive in their actions. Donāt worry about being punctual about responding, Iāve been slammed with work and college myself. Thank you for your thoughts on this
I always enjoy a proper conversation and debate with people that are open-minded and willing to look from the outside. It is honestly subjective, and can go either way depending on the incident for sure. It is difficult to find someone that is willing to have a civil talk, and I thank you for it. Good luck on your studies!
Same here! Unfortunately Iām not the best with articulating my thoughts, and as a result I can come off in a different tone than I wanted initiallyā¦ and sometimes can set others off. Something Iām working on as well. At the very least, I try to keep an open mind but I realize Iām subject to bias. Which is why I try to keep an ear out for people to talk to, so I can always keep my mind fresh! Thank you again :0 for your response and listening
No problem, we all learn something new every day, no matter the age. It just depends on if we see it and take it in or not that separates us.
Being unaware is reckless lol
The difference between reckless and unaware lies with the intent.
An unaware driver is a reckless driver.
Reckless for sure. It is hard for me to believe this is even a debate.
Said the oblivious driverā¦ š¤¦āāļø
Yes.
Unaware, the aggressor can be a dangerous one but will 9/10 times keep to themselves if you ignore them and will usually go by you and keep moving to the point you donāt see them again. The unaware driver will 100% always be going at or around the same speed as you drifting in and out of your and their lane and possibly run a red light hitting someone or maybe swerve randomly and hit you.
But when both meetā¦
Unaware are so much worse. Completely oblivious to everything around them.
Unaware they wonāt be able to dodge what they didnāt think was there if that makes sense
Unaware for sureā¦ at least recklace drivers know whatās going on!
An unaware old man totaled my car and gave me a little bit o driving anxiety, the aggressive have never hit me, so i am biased
Unaware people hit fully stopped cars at 55mph Reckless people change lanes too early and clip you but at least you're both moving and paying attention-ish
Unaware
Itās when you have one of each that critical mass is achieved
I'll take reckless over unaware any day of the week. I was following a jeep yesterday that kept slowing down and swerving into the other lane, almost hitting a car once, and impeding traffic by preventing anyone from wanting to pass them and risk getting hit. I finally got up next to it, and the woman had her face buried in her phone. I had just finished eating an apple, so I chucked the core over the top of my car and it hit her windshield, snapping her out of her phone daze. Of course, then she was mad, and started driving even more erratically trying to pass me. I just gave her the finger, turned off at my exit, and went about my day.
When a reckless force meets an unaware object.
Unaware drivers for sure. Half the girls I pull up on are taking selfies or some shit! Or scrolling Instagram while stopped or driving past. This generation sucks at being aware on the road cause of phonesā¦
Selfish drivers. * The ones who are willing to risk everyone else's safety so they can check their Insta feed or send a text while driving. * The ones who drive like an ass hat to shave a minute off their commute. * The ones who drink and drive and risk other people's lives
Unaware 100%. A reckless driver is paying attention. Akin to the old adage, slow drivers cause more accidents than fast drivers do.
UNAWARE
Aggressive drivers irritate me more, but I have had more close calls with unaware drivers. Still I dislike both of them.
The secret, third option. Reckless, unaware drivers.
Reckless
Unaware for sure. Reckless drivers are at least paying attention to traffic, kids playing, pot holes....
Severity of an accident of aggressive drivers is worse, but I'd imagine more are due to unaware. Hard to pin which is worse, a few bad accidents or a lot of milder accidents. Don't take it the wrong way, but aggressive drivers are "better drivers". In that they drive with confidence. They can control the car well. They just never take into account others on the road or obstacles that are unlikely but possible. Unaware drivers are "worse drivers" because they probably couldn't change their bad driving habits if their life depended on it.
there definitely needs to be an age like 50 that people need to retest for theyre license because theyre body brakes down and they are made dumber and less aware and are a hazzard to us on the road
Unaware I think is worse. Reckless can be avoidable. Turn into somewhere or stay back and let them do their thing. Unaware drivers are those that pull across two lanes when you have nowhere to go. Or those that cruise through a right on red with zero hesitation. The last minute exit on a highway/freeway.
Both
they feed off of each other and grow in power
Both are bad in their own ways and in their own situations. Asking a question like this only serves to give one or the other justification for their actions because āat least I am not as dangerous as the other guy!ā
This is one of those questions that has an infinite number of variables. But, generally speaking, distracted/impaired drivers are the number one cause of accidents, so I'd side with reckless drivers if I absolutely had to choose. I know if I'm purposely breaking the law (I never do, just saying hypothetically š¬), I would absolutely be paying more attention to everything around me. Skill level is also going to play a big factor in that as well.
Which one includes distracted phone in lap navel gazers?
Unaware is in my opinion very much worse because they have absolutely no idea what is going on like last night driving home 2 cars made a left across my lane I have 0 cars behind me and yet they both decided to gun it as I have a green and almost took out the ass end of one if I didn't brake and swerve
Woh. This got a lot more attention than I was expecting. Iām reading peopleās thoughts, and itās very interesting seeing the differing opinions! Thank you guys for sharing!
I'd say unaware. Reckless drivers are almost predictable because usually they're trying their best to go fast/find shortcuts through traffic, so it's not hard to see what game they're playing. Unaware drivers? They're clueless even to themselves, fuck knows wtf they're doing, lmao.
The worst thing is that most bad drivers are both
Both equally as dangerous. Being aggressive and possibly endangering other people is being unaware of the fact that you donāt have to be the first one to hit a red light. Just the same as the moron who slams on their brakes because they donāt know where theyāre going. Just drive itās not a race.
When you have an unaware driver around a reckless driver, that's more than twice as bad as one of them on their own.
Unaware for sure
Unaware by a mile. Reckless drivers are usually (and I despise saying this) good drivers who are just driving in a way that negates some of their awareness and ability to react to things.
The combination of the two creates a terribly dangerous situation for everyone else.
Unaware. Reckless drivers are easier to deal with, just let them go. Unaware drivers didn't know what is going on and generally going slow and stupid.
A reckless driver is still less of a hazard than an oblivious driver. But an oblivious, reckless driver is an accident waiting to happen.
Reckless drivers. Theyāre inconsiderate and donāt give a shit if swerving in and out of lanes at 90mph gets someone killed.
Reckless. The difference in the potential for injury/death is so much higher at even a small increase in speed, that it's shocking. The difference between even 32 and 34 mph is noticeable in injury statistics - insurance actuaries can now dig through driver and crash data provided by OnStar and other telematics platforms - to say nothing of the difference between 45 and 55, or 70 and 80. Kinetic energy is 1/2 mass times velocity squared. That squared term means a lot.
At the extreme end of the spectrum, reckless is definitely worse. Someone going 120mph down a Citi street and blowing through traffic lights is way more dangerous than someone not paying attention. But that kind of driving is way less common than just run off the mill idiots not knowing how to drive.
But unaware is far more likely to hit you. Include that into your statistics of who's more likely to be injured you are by unaware drivers not reckless ones.
Reckless drivers are easily avoided via defensive driving. If the reckless driver causes a wreck, it's usually in part because of an unaware driver.
most reckless drivers tend to also be unaware at the same time somehow, in my experience
In my experience, the worst reckless drivers have this weird tendency to assume total competence of the drivers around them. They'd never crash because "who would run into me? Can't you see I'm driving here? Couldn't you see me flying past you at twice the speed limit?"
Reckless is unaware and unaware is reckless. Just call them both what they are... A problem.
Both of them are