If that Escalade in the lane next to you looks like trouble, it probably is
Guess I struck a nerve with my Judge Away column in the October issue, because i have been inundated with dozens of like-minded warnings from other road-warrior types. Check out these stories from the front lines (most sobering of all is the last one - from a guy at the NHTSA, no less):
"If you look at nearly EVERY Buick on the road it's some bluehead that more than likely should have given up the keys long ago. If you come up behind a Buick and don't see a driver's head, that's a dead giveaway! Is GM on the same distribution list as AARP and Social Security??"
"I 'judge' the cage I am coming up on and then maneuver around as they are normally oblivious to what's near them. Head tilted to one side, cellphone; putting on makeup; reading, eating, drinking, arguing with passenger- the list goes on. An exception may be a bumper sticker saying 'Look out for motorcycles- they are everywhere'?
but even then you have to hope they didn't buy the cage with the sticker already on it !!"
" I wanted to cover one driver you forgot, and to me the worst of the worst - the 20-something female. She is completely consumed with herself all the time, and is almost always on the phone when behind the wheel. I have had this driver 6 feet from my rear tire at 75 mph, even though she could have gone left or right to pass me.
I have had them change lanes in front of me with only feet to spare as they cut through traffic. You have to watch your mirrors because they almost always come up from behind. I have spent my life either working traffic, motorcycle cop, or traffic safety, and to me this driver is one of the few things on the road that really scares me."