It seems as if everywhere you go, there is a bad driver to good driver ratio that is almost always off the charts. And with these bad drivers comes the frustration of not really being able to do alot except, perhaps, honking your home or muttering words that would put your mother into tears of disappointment.

The other day, I was driving through my apartment parking lot when a pickup truck came flying through the parking lot and swerved to avoid hitting me (though I was on the right side of the road). I was appalled- so appalled that I almost turned right around to go and complain to the people in the management office. As it turns out, the person in the pickup truck had to swerve to avoid me because he (or she) had been trying to avoid a speed bump…a speed bump that was purposely put in place to prevent people from doing what this person had just done: speed.

Battling Road Rage & Frustration

At the end of the day, when you have had to deal with people driving poorly, you have to stop and take a few deep breaths. After all, the last thing that you want to do is launch into your own fit of road rage. Not only is road rage dangerous, but if you engage in this dangerous behavior along with the other drivers who are driving poorly, you are making the roads that much more dangerous for you and other people around you.

Conversely, if you feel like you can’t get out of the office quick enough or if you are having a bad day, etc., slow down for a minute and think about whether or not it is really worth it to speed or engage in other dangerous driving behaviors. Do you really need to cut the person in front of you off? Do you have to change lanes without using a turn signal or run that red light only to get stuck at the next?

The continually rising gas prices are a subject of great concern and debate for many drivers. The prices are so high that there are entire websites dedicated to telling drivers where they can find the best gas prices. Fortunately, you don’t have to go that far in order to save a little money on gas.

If you want to save some money on your gas bill, you can simply make a few changes to your driving habits. One of the best things you can do to conserve gas, in fact, is to simply obey traffic laws. Speed limits were originally put in place largely in order to save gas. When you speed and break the law, you are actually burning off more fuel as well. So, if you want to save some gas money and avoid a costly speeding ticket, stick the speed limit.

Sudden stops and acceleration can also eat up your gas budget. When you are stopped at a light, resist the urge to move out faster than the person next to you and ease into your maximum speed. Gunning the gas and accelerating quickly will only burn up your fuel and it really won’t get you to your destination any faster.

The same concept is true when it comes to stops. Let off the gas and coast into your stop rather than lying on the gas pedal and stopping suddenly.

Lastly, don’t buy into common myths about saving gas. Turning your air conditioner off, for example, won’t help you save gas. Similarly, tests have been done comparing cars with their windows down and with their windows up in order to determine if the increased resistance will have an effect on gas usage – it doesn’t. So, go ahead and turn on the air conditioning and be comfortable while you drive, just drive safely and obey traffic laws and you will be just fine!

Recently, there has been much speculation as to exactly what is going on with the gas prices.  We all remember too well what happened in the summer of 2008 when gas prices pushed record highs of over $4 per gallon.  Could the same thing happen again this summer?

After the gas hike in 2008, prices lowered back down to around $1.65 per gallon.  However, now we are beginning to see an increase in the price of gasoline again.  All this is coming at a bad time for the United States economy where many people are out of jobs as unemployment has reached record highs.  People are worried that if the price of gasoline rises again, it won’t be a matter of being able to afford the high prices or carpooling- they simply won’t be able to afford it.

Some critics are speculating that the steady rise in gas prices is all a part of a conspiracy that has been set in place by the Obama administration.  As many know, Obama has been more than supportive in providing a bailout for the automakers.  Perhaps not coincidentally, Obama was also officially supported by the United Auto Workers Union (UAW) while he was running for president. Given this set of circumstances, the following video may shed some light in confirming what many have feared…

When it comes to sharing the roadways, some people simply don’t get it.  I recently came across an article in which it described a man driving along with his family when he saw a cyclist disobeying the rules of the road.  Rather than just let it go, this guy followed the cyclist in his vehicle until he caught up with the cyclist.  At this point, he chided the cyclist for making other cyclists looking bad by blatantly disregarding street signs and other rules.

At first, the cyclist ignored the driver, but the driver insisted on “harassing” the cyclist to the point where the cyclist jumped off of his bike and “wielded it as a weapon” against the driver.  Now, who’s at fault here?  I can understand trying to help a fellow cyclist out by pointing out all of the rules, but sometimes it’s better to just leave well enough alone.  If you see a cyclist in the roadway disobeying traffic signals, do both of you a favor; be the bigger person and leave any negligence to the police.

If you live in a city like Raleigh, NC, then you probably hate the traffic lights. A lot of the traffic lights throughout the city have red light cameras, which is part of the city’s effort to catch people who violate the law. It seems like a good idea, and in fact, a lot of other cities have also adopted this method of law enforcement as well. However, there are some negatives to this ‘red light’ camera ordeal.

Breaking the Law

Despite the fact that red light cameras are supposed to reduce the number of people who are speeding and running red lights, it has instead caused more confusion and car accidents. Before the invention of red light cameras, when the light turned from green to yellow, many people would (and still do) accelerate to get through the light versus slow down and come to a complete stop. There have also been reports that for the intersections where there are red light cameras, the timing for the yellow lights is actually significantly shorter. This means that you have to make a quick decision to either run the light and possibly get your picture taken OR you can slam on your brakes. If you run the light, the camera snaps a picture of your vehicle and license plate. Some period of time later (perhaps a week or so), you will receive a picture of your vehicle breaking the law along with a fine to pay.

So, what are most people doing? They’re getting into accidents. According to a recent article published by the National Motorists Association,

Short yellow light times at intersections have been shown to increase the number of traffic violations and accidents. Conversely, increasing the yellow light duration can dramatically reduce red-light violations at an intersection.

What do you think about red light cameras? Do you think they work? Send us your comments and stories!

And you thought that passing your road test was hard! In America, people are fascinated by people driving cars really fast. If you think about it, fast cars are a part of our culture. Can you count all of the movies, commercials and TV shows you have seen in just the past month alone that had some sort of fast driving theme to it? I bet you will surprise yourself. You don’t have to sit through the latest James Bond movie to see someone drive a car really fast, however; all you have to do is drive from your workplace to your home during rush hour to see some fast driving action!

Not Everyone’s a Professional…

If you’ve always had a predilection for driving above the speed limit, you’re not alone. We all love watching the cool driving stunts on TV as cars turn corners on two wheels, flip over a dozen times and narrowly escape collisions- all with the driver emerging seemingly unscathed. However, passing your road test doesn’t suddenly transform you into a professional driver overnight. In fact, after passing your road test, you might be a worse driver than before because you no longer pay attention to all of those silly rules of the road. Being a professional stunt driver isn’t easy.

Typically, stunt drivers attend a nationally recognized stunt driving school. While some stunt drivers can actually make a pretty hefty salary, most start out at the bottom. The key to being a successful stunt driver is to start when you’re young and then build up experience. A lot of times, stunt drivers will be doubling for young actors, so they need to sort of look the part. The peak working age for stunt drivers is when you hit your 30s because by then, you would’ve built up a nice little reputation for yourself among your peers.

Driving is dangerous enough as it is, and let’s not forget that the reason we have stunt drivers is because we don’t want our precious actors and actresses actually getting hurt. If you ask any of the stunt drivers if it is worth the money to put their lives on the line for the sake of a two minute driving sequence that keeps movie-goers on the edges of their seats, they’ll probably answer, “yeah, it’s worth it.” Just make sure you don’t try it at home!