Reminder: good drivers sometimes miss their turns/exits and it is A-OK

[Anonymous]

A woman was stopped, probably trying to get out of the express lanes of 495. And now she's dead.

Or, if you're about to end up in the EX-pass lane, better to incur a fine than end up dead. But they probably should never have been in the left lane to begin with.

I see drivers doing dangerous shit like this all the time - stopping because they're in the wrong lane and about to miss their exit turn, or in a place they don't want to be. Lingering in the merge/striped area. It is so incredibly stupid and dangerous.

The right and only answer is to keep going at a normal, steady state of speed, and then take the next exit and turn when it is safe to do so.

A good driver sometimes miss their turn. A bad driver doesn't.

https://annandaletoday.com/more-details-emerge-on-beltway-crash/

[Anonymous]

I agree and have been saying this for years. If you make a mistake driving and miss a turn, don't just stop and put everyone else in danger or inconvenience everyone else. I can't believe how often I see this. Keep going, turn around and get back on track. It's infuriating and dangerous.

[Anonymous]

I have seen some insane stuff people do when they miss their turn. Maybe it could be emphasized more on driving tests.

[Anonymous]

I tell my teenage driver this every single time we get on the highway.

[Anonymous]

I was just talking about this with DS when we watched a car nearly cause a multi car accident because they realized they were about to miss their exit. It's a highway. Keep driving, get off at the next one, and turn around. I will never understand why people cut over, stop, or do other stupid things instead of just being a normal human.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I tell my teenage driver this every single time we get on the highway.

Same. Stay steady, hands on wheel, don't turn your head furiously--just scan with your eyes, and be predictable. THEN you can start to find the next exit, a right hand turn, or a place to pull over. The stupid stuff I see is so gdam dangerous.

[Anonymous]

And I dont understand why it happens when most people are following GPS. It will recalculate

[Anonymous]

"people won't let me in" is such a poor excuse. If you're about to miss your turn or exit or are in the wrong lane, SO WHAT.

Miss your turn and exit. Plan better next time. Better to be late and safe, than endanger yourself. Or worse, endanger other innocent people.

I feel bad for all the other people involved in this accident.

[Anonymous]

Ive rarely if ever seen drivers stopped on highway because they missed an exit. What I’ve seen plenty of including last week drivers pulling over and stopping on the shoulder or on the exit ramp in heavy rain. This is incredibly dangerous. In low visibility conditions you are risking other drivers ramming you. Turn on your blinkers and keep moving or get off at the next exit entirely

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ive rarely if ever seen drivers stopped on highway because they missed an exit. What I’ve seen plenty of including last week drivers pulling over and stopping on the shoulder or on the exit ramp in heavy rain. This is incredibly dangerous. In low visibility conditions you are risking other drivers ramming you. Turn on your blinkers and keep moving or get off at the next exit entirely

I have definitely seen people stop on the highway for being in the wrong lane at a split/exit. I've seen it several times on GW Parkway, too. I can't get over how stupid and selfish some people are. In a Reddit comment, someone found the GPS point where the woman was stopped. It seemed like she was trying to get in the regular lanes at the Express split.

I'm so glad no one else died, but their lives are all going to be permanently altered by this selfish person.

I will never, ever understand how or why people think it's worse to get a fine or miss a turn than put yourself and others in such incredible danger.

[Anonymous]

Wholeheartedly agree, OP. These instincts are also what cause people to run red lights, take corners at too high a speed, turn into pedestrians, etc. It's this desire not to be inconvenienced and rarely has anything to do with time pressure -- most people would have zero consequences if they got where they were going 5-10 minutes later as a result of driving safely.

I learned to drive from a driving instructor, and something he really drilled into me is that the time benefits of speeding or engaging in this kind of reckless drivings is incredibly minimal. Might earn you a couple extra minutes. At most, maybe 15 minutes. Is your life or another person's life worth even 15 minutes? No, never.

I wish more people received this lesson when they learned to drive, and were reminded of it often. The risk of this behavior is NEVER worth the reward. The reward is negligible, if it exists at all.

[Anonymous]

At 60, driver's licenses should be revoked unless they pass yearly tests. This woman sounded like she should not have been driving. At all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At 60, driver's licenses should be revoked unless they pass yearly tests. This woman sounded like she should not have been driving. At all.

The mistake this lady made wasn't due to age. There are people of all ages doing incredibly dangerous stuff like she did.

I do support re-testing people as they get older, but that has nothing to do with the idiocy involved here.

[Anonymous]

Keep your eyes open and look ahead. You should be able to see a stopped vehicle in time to maneuver around it if you focus on driving instead of checking your phone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I tell my teenage driver this every single time we get on the highway.

Me too!

Apparently, it's not covered in Driver's or Behind the Wheel.

I've also modeled missing my turn or not being able to get over to the turn lane so my teen has a visual that it's NBD.