The Wednesday thread and a few incidents the past couple days have brought to the forefront of my mind another traffic-related hate of mine: Thic Drivers. No, that is not a typo, it's a term I actually coined specifically because of how much I dislike these people. It stands for Three Invisible Car Drivers.
Basically, those people who feel the need that the cushion between them and the car in front of them has to be wide enough to fit a sixteen wheeler comfortably. As if there were three more, invisible cars that only they can see and have to accommodate for, which led to the term. I good sign of a Thic Driver is seeing them brake for no reason or because that car WAY AHEAD OF THEM also braked.
As if to add to the irritation factor, it's almost always the same type of people doing this too. It's either the elderly (bonus points if they're hunched over their steering wheel - which is a thing I never got, is it like putting up your hands on a roller-coaster to make it seem like your going faster?) or, and this is what always gets me, DISTRACTED DRIVERS. Nitwits who are so self-important and "busy" that they're talking on their phones and the like while driving. I even saw one guy WRITING DOWN NOTES ON A NOTEPAD as I passed him, what the hell.
I've gotten into a debate with a guy once on this, and he likened it to holding his fiance's hand and talking to her while driving - he said he does that just fine and has no problems. That was his only real defense for it - no real defense against the fact that said fiance can see what's going on in the car with you, or the difference in holding a hand to holding a phone to your ear. And that's not even getting to the fact that it's illegal in various states, whether you can do it or not!
I've seen this so much that I can actually look through the back window of the car in front of me and I can TELL if they're distracted. Like, I can tell the difference of a head silhouette that's looking forward and one that's looking down at their lap (or, more precisely, at the phone they're looking at). And it's even easier if they're actually holding the phone up to their ear.
Of course, the opposite end of the spectrum is no better. The people who ride your ass even if you're going 10-15 over the speed limit. Nope, you're not going fast enough for this jackass and he's going to be right on your bumper until either YOU change lanes or there's juuuuust enough space for HIM to change lanes and peel on past you. And I always seem to get these guys when I'm wondering if I'm going too fast (or I just see one blow past me in lighter traffic, bonus points if it's a cop car without its lights on). It's like the world telling me "Nope, you're fine, everyone else just drives like maniacs."
Basically, those people who feel the need that the cushion between them and the car in front of them has to be wide enough to fit a sixteen wheeler comfortably. As if there were three more, invisible cars that only they can see and have to accommodate for, which led to the term. I good sign of a Thic Driver is seeing them brake for no reason or because that car WAY AHEAD OF THEM also braked.
As if to add to the irritation factor, it's almost always the same type of people doing this too. It's either the elderly (bonus points if they're hunched over their steering wheel - which is a thing I never got, is it like putting up your hands on a roller-coaster to make it seem like your going faster?) or, and this is what always gets me, DISTRACTED DRIVERS. Nitwits who are so self-important and "busy" that they're talking on their phones and the like while driving. I even saw one guy WRITING DOWN NOTES ON A NOTEPAD as I passed him, what the hell.
I've gotten into a debate with a guy once on this, and he likened it to holding his fiance's hand and talking to her while driving - he said he does that just fine and has no problems. That was his only real defense for it - no real defense against the fact that said fiance can see what's going on in the car with you, or the difference in holding a hand to holding a phone to your ear. And that's not even getting to the fact that it's illegal in various states, whether you can do it or not!
I've seen this so much that I can actually look through the back window of the car in front of me and I can TELL if they're distracted. Like, I can tell the difference of a head silhouette that's looking forward and one that's looking down at their lap (or, more precisely, at the phone they're looking at). And it's even easier if they're actually holding the phone up to their ear.
Of course, the opposite end of the spectrum is no better. The people who ride your ass even if you're going 10-15 over the speed limit. Nope, you're not going fast enough for this jackass and he's going to be right on your bumper until either YOU change lanes or there's juuuuust enough space for HIM to change lanes and peel on past you. And I always seem to get these guys when I'm wondering if I'm going too fast (or I just see one blow past me in lighter traffic, bonus points if it's a cop car without its lights on). It's like the world telling me "Nope, you're fine, everyone else just drives like maniacs."
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