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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

I did this too when my kid was first driving. With GPS there is zero excuse to ever do this.

Sometimes GPS is the problem. I can't tell you how many times my GPS has told me to travel in the HOV lanes down 395, when the lanes aren't allowing traffic the same direction that I'm going. And the exits are different between the regular lanes and the HOV lanes, so it's constantly trying to convince you to get into the HOV lanes even though it's IMPOSSIBLE.

So GPS does not solve all problems. Being too reliant on it is tricky too. But this area, particularly 495 in VA is complicated driving and sometimes mistakes get you killed. Driving is dangerous.

This is not the fault of GPS. They have an "avoid tolls" setting that is very easy to toggle. What you describe is 100% user error.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

I did this too when my kid was first driving. With GPS there is zero excuse to ever do this.

Sometimes GPS is the problem. I can't tell you how many times my GPS has told me to travel in the HOV lanes down 395, when the lanes aren't allowing traffic the same direction that I'm going. And the exits are different between the regular lanes and the HOV lanes, so it's constantly trying to convince you to get into the HOV lanes even though it's IMPOSSIBLE.

So GPS does not solve all problems. Being too reliant on it is tricky too. But this area, particularly 495 in VA is complicated driving and sometimes mistakes get you killed. Driving is dangerous.

This is not the fault of GPS. They have an "avoid tolls" setting that is very easy to toggle. What you describe is 100% user error.

Avoid-tolls is a workaround for a problem that from the description sounds like a fault in Google’s map database.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

I did this too when my kid was first driving. With GPS there is zero excuse to ever do this.

Sometimes GPS is the problem. I can't tell you how many times my GPS has told me to travel in the HOV lanes down 395, when the lanes aren't allowing traffic the same direction that I'm going. And the exits are different between the regular lanes and the HOV lanes, so it's constantly trying to convince you to get into the HOV lanes even though it's IMPOSSIBLE.

So GPS does not solve all problems. Being too reliant on it is tricky too. But this area, particularly 495 in VA is complicated driving and sometimes mistakes get you killed. Driving is dangerous.

This is not the fault of GPS. They have an "avoid tolls" setting that is very easy to toggle. What you describe is 100% user error.

My GPS has told me to go down canal rd when it is one way; driving is complicated and people need situational awareness and not depend on the mapping software, period.

[Anonymous]

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

Same. We tell them it’s okay, just keep going. Your gps will reroute you. Don’t panic and keep moving forward. It’s okay to be late.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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

+1 I literally made my teen practice taking random exits and then finding the signs that indicate how to get back on the highway. After she’d done it at 3 or 4 different exits, she said she’d never realized how easy it would be. Now she really understands that it’s no big deal and she knows what to do.

That is a great idea. We’ll have a new driver in the house soon. I’m going to keep this one in mind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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/

That stretch of 495 can be especially hard to navigate. You’ve got cars coming from three main routes merging together (the beltway, 95 north, 395 south) and the HOV lanes starting and multiple lanes on the right merging left. I do it regularly and have to take the Braddock exit and it’s nerve-wracking every time.

[Anonymous]

I can not believe the people that are blaming the woman. The reason why she stopped does not matter. She was rear ended by another vehicle. That vehicle is at fault. You give enough distance so that you yourself can stop or move over. How is this any different from a car just stalling in the middle of the road? The other vehicle flipped multiple times which leads me to believe that they did not even attempt to slow down at all and was not paying attention. A shame that this woman is dead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can not believe the people that are blaming the woman. The reason why she stopped does not matter. She was rear ended by another vehicle. That vehicle is at fault. You give enough distance so that you yourself can stop or move over. How is this any different from a car just stalling in the middle of the road? The other vehicle flipped multiple times which leads me to believe that they did not even attempt to slow down at all and was not paying attention. A shame that this woman is dead.

SHE CHOSE TO STOP. DEAD IN TH LANE. OF A HIGHWAY.

I honestly cannot believe you DON'T think she's 1000% to blame.

Her vehicle didn't stall. She stopped to try and get out of the express lanes.

Please surrender your driver's license if you think this is remotely acceptable under any circumstances.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can not believe the people that are blaming the woman. The reason why she stopped does not matter. She was rear ended by another vehicle. That vehicle is at fault. You give enough distance so that you yourself can stop or move over. How is this any different from a car just stalling in the middle of the road? The other vehicle flipped multiple times which leads me to believe that they did not even attempt to slow down at all and was not paying attention. A shame that this woman is dead.

SHE CHOSE TO STOP. DEAD IN TH LANE. OF A HIGHWAY.

I honestly cannot believe you DON'T think she's 1000% to blame.

Her vehicle didn't stall. She stopped to try and get out of the express lanes.

Please surrender your driver's license if you think this is remotely acceptable under any circumstances.

DP. You have no idea what happened there Sherlock. But even if she was at fault for stopping the vehicle that slammed into her is equally if not more at fault for not stopping or maneuvering around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can not believe the people that are blaming the woman. The reason why she stopped does not matter. She was rear ended by another vehicle. That vehicle is at fault. You give enough distance so that you yourself can stop or move over. How is this any different from a car just stalling in the middle of the road? The other vehicle flipped multiple times which leads me to believe that they did not even attempt to slow down at all and was not paying attention. A shame that this woman is dead.

SHE CHOSE TO STOP. DEAD IN TH LANE. OF A HIGHWAY.

I honestly cannot believe you DON'T think she's 1000% to blame.

Her vehicle didn't stall. She stopped to try and get out of the express lanes.

Please surrender your driver's license if you think this is remotely acceptable under any circumstances.

DP. You have no idea what happened there Sherlock. But even if she was at fault for stopping the vehicle that slammed into her is equally if not more at fault for not stopping or maneuvering around.

Where did you learn to drive?

[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

Why is it dangerous to get over on the shoulder? If you truly can't see what you're doing and you can get out of the travel lanes, that seems like the safest option. Driving when you can't see is dangerous too.
Obviously don't block lanes, even partially.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can not believe the people that are blaming the woman. The reason why she stopped does not matter. She was rear ended by another vehicle. That vehicle is at fault. You give enough distance so that you yourself can stop or move over. How is this any different from a car just stalling in the middle of the road? The other vehicle flipped multiple times which leads me to believe that they did not even attempt to slow down at all and was not paying attention. A shame that this woman is dead.

SHE CHOSE TO STOP. DEAD IN TH LANE. OF A HIGHWAY.

I honestly cannot believe you DON'T think she's 1000% to blame.

Her vehicle didn't stall. She stopped to try and get out of the express lanes.

Please surrender your driver's license if you think this is remotely acceptable under any circumstances.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can not believe the people that are blaming the woman. The reason why she stopped does not matter. She was rear ended by another vehicle. That vehicle is at fault. You give enough distance so that you yourself can stop or move over. How is this any different from a car just stalling in the middle of the road? The other vehicle flipped multiple times which leads me to believe that they did not even attempt to slow down at all and was not paying attention. A shame that this woman is dead.

SHE CHOSE TO STOP. DEAD IN TH LANE. OF A HIGHWAY.

I honestly cannot believe you DON'T think she's 1000% to blame.

Her vehicle didn't stall. She stopped to try and get out of the express lanes.

Please surrender your driver's license if you think this is remotely acceptable under any circumstances.

DP. You have no idea what happened there Sherlock. But even if she was at fault for stopping the vehicle that slammed into her is equally if not more at fault for not stopping or maneuvering around.

Where did you learn to drive?

In California but don’t worry any driving school in DMV will be able to teach you the basics when you are old enough

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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

+1 I literally made my teen practice taking random exits and then finding the signs that indicate how to get back on the highway. After she’d done it at 3 or 4 different exits, she said she’d never realized how easy it would be. Now she really understands that it’s no big deal and she knows what to do.

That’s a good idea.

I’ve talked to my teens about driving safely and correcting later - including using this particular accident as an example for my teen who’s about to take the drivers’ test - but we’ve never actually practiced.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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

Why is it dangerous to get over on the shoulder? If you truly can't see what you're doing and you can get out of the travel lanes, that seems like the safest option. Driving when you can't see is dangerous too.
Obviously don't block lanes, even partially.

Cars next to the shoulder are going 30-40 mph, they can’t see their lane clearly, they often look for blinking lights ahead for direction so they might head straight at you and realize the mistake when it is too late. Get off the highway completely at the nearest exit is the safest option imo.