Comments on: The Devil’s Dexterity http://www.howwedrive.com/2011/03/11/the-devils-dexterity/ Just another WordPress weblog Thu, 24 May 2012 04:34:27 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Matthew http://www.howwedrive.com/2011/03/11/the-devils-dexterity/#comment-28839 Matthew Thu, 30 Jun 2011 09:03:53 +0000 http://www.howwedrive.com/?p=1706#comment-28839 OMG - they do that here in the northeast of Brazil too!!! There are rotting bus carcasses, left where they initially burst into flames, that lay along roadsides. The highway police have checkpoints where gathered wreckage accumulates for years. The accidents here are horrific and quite regular yet the population seems to insist on taking huge risks - attempting passes or other in the most impossible conditions. They seem bent on total destruction and it crosses class definitions - except that the wealthier, who have a penchant for driving expensive crew-cab pickups, drive faster and more recklessly than all of the rest. Roberto DaMatta (Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at the University of Notre Dame) just launched a book in Portuguese titled, "FÉ EM DEUS E PÉ NA TÁBUA: Ou como e por que o trânsito enlouquece no Brasil," where he tries to put some understanding behind the cultural elements that have led to the manner of driving in Brazil. It will be wonderful if this book is some day translated to English. OMG - they do that here in the northeast of Brazil too!!! There are rotting bus carcasses, left where they initially burst into flames, that lay along roadsides. The highway police have checkpoints where gathered wreckage accumulates for years. The accidents here are horrific and quite regular yet the population seems to insist on taking huge risks - attempting passes or other in the most impossible conditions. They seem bent on total destruction and it crosses class definitions - except that the wealthier, who have a penchant for driving expensive crew-cab pickups, drive faster and more recklessly than all of the rest. Roberto DaMatta (Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at the University of Notre Dame) just launched a book in Portuguese titled, “FÉ EM DEUS E PÉ NA TÁBUA: Ou como e por que o trânsito enlouquece no Brasil,” where he tries to put some understanding behind the cultural elements that have led to the manner of driving in Brazil. It will be wonderful if this book is some day translated to English.

]]> By: Tony Sonna http://www.howwedrive.com/2011/03/11/the-devils-dexterity/#comment-28456 Tony Sonna Fri, 20 May 2011 17:17:21 +0000 http://www.howwedrive.com/?p=1706#comment-28456 This is sort of off the main topic but.. When I went to Nigeria for work on the way from the airport I saw two accidents so I can attest to the severity of the accidents.. The first one we missed by minutes, there was a crowd around the driver that was pinned inside the car slowly dying. They where trying to make his last minutes comfortable. The other one was a car that flipped over and landed on top of another car.. That one looked like it happened earlier in the day.. While I was there I also saw a lot of wrecks just sitting on the side of the road.. But the funny thing is that I see more beat up cars in Los Angeles ( Where I live) then i saw in Nigeria.. Go figure... This is sort of off the main topic but.. When I went to Nigeria for work on the way from the airport I saw two accidents so I can attest to the severity of the accidents.. The first one we missed by minutes, there was a crowd around the driver that was pinned inside the car slowly dying. They where trying to make his last minutes comfortable. The other one was a car that flipped over and landed on top of another car.. That one looked like it happened earlier in the day.. While I was there I also saw a lot of wrecks just sitting on the side of the road.. But the funny thing is that I see more beat up cars in Los Angeles ( Where I live) then i saw in Nigeria.. Go figure…

]]> By: Chet Skwarcan http://www.howwedrive.com/2011/03/11/the-devils-dexterity/#comment-27458 Chet Skwarcan Fri, 25 Mar 2011 13:13:39 +0000 http://www.howwedrive.com/?p=1706#comment-27458 Along these lines...Robert Wunderlich, the international president of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), declared at a recent presentation I attended at Purdue University that he chose to go cell-free while driving. In fact, he has been driving cell-free since March of 2010. He admits the risk is debatable when considering handheld vs. hands-free, but asks, "Is it worth any risk at all?". His voice message states, "I'm either driving or away from the phone". Of course someone like myself is very careful so no big deal. But if I ever see you driving and talking or texting...well, that's just plain stupid. Along these lines…Robert Wunderlich, the international president of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), declared at a recent presentation I attended at Purdue University that he chose to go cell-free while driving. In fact, he has been driving cell-free since March of 2010. He admits the risk is debatable when considering handheld vs. hands-free, but asks, “Is it worth any risk at all?”. His voice message states, “I’m either driving or away from the phone”. Of course someone like myself is very careful so no big deal. But if I ever see you driving and talking or texting…well, that’s just plain stupid.

]]> By: Colorado Kid http://www.howwedrive.com/2011/03/11/the-devils-dexterity/#comment-27212 Colorado Kid Mon, 14 Mar 2011 17:43:19 +0000 http://www.howwedrive.com/?p=1706#comment-27212 I find that the signs with fewer accidents are the ones associated with short time periods. Under the calander Allstate used in the linked article Sagitarius covers only 6 days (so if they account for 7% of crashes they probably are overrepresented, since 6 days is less than 2% of the year). Virgo spans 46 days. Hmmmmm. I find that the signs with fewer accidents are the ones associated with short time periods. Under the calander Allstate used in the linked article Sagitarius covers only 6 days (so if they account for 7% of crashes they probably are overrepresented, since 6 days is less than 2% of the year). Virgo spans 46 days. Hmmmmm.

]]> By: Tom Armstrong http://www.howwedrive.com/2011/03/11/the-devils-dexterity/#comment-27115 Tom Armstrong Fri, 11 Mar 2011 15:47:50 +0000 http://www.howwedrive.com/?p=1706#comment-27115 Between reading this post and the one prior to it, I rode my bike to work. Nothing unusual about that--I enjoy my roughly thirteen-mile commute by bike far more than I do when I drive it. What was notable in the context of this post was that during my ride, I saw a woman feverishly thumbing her phone/texting device while sitting at a stop light. Since I was at the head of the next lane, I got to see how she reacted (rather than responded) to the change of the light--she was still fiddling with the device as she drove away. Her plate was from Indiana (I live in Kentucky, but there is LOTS of cross-river traffic here), and had the inscription "In God We Trust" on it. Plainly she believed that her god (in which I disbelieve) would protect her while she did things like pay attention to text messages instead of paying attention to her driving. Between reading this post and the one prior to it, I rode my bike to work. Nothing unusual about that–I enjoy my roughly thirteen-mile commute by bike far more than I do when I drive it.

What was notable in the context of this post was that during my ride, I saw a woman feverishly thumbing her phone/texting device while sitting at a stop light. Since I was at the head of the next lane, I got to see how she reacted (rather than responded) to the change of the light–she was still fiddling with the device as she drove away.

Her plate was from Indiana (I live in Kentucky, but there is LOTS of cross-river traffic here), and had the inscription “In God We Trust” on it. Plainly she believed that her god (in which I disbelieve) would protect her while she did things like pay attention to text messages instead of paying attention to her driving.

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