Driving Like an Idiot

Everywhere I go lately I seem to come across motor vehicle accidents. The other night I was leaving a BBQ at a colleagues house and happened to pass an ambulance loading an injured motorbike rider into the back. This by itself was not particularly remarkable. However, I was quite amazed when less than a kilometer down the road I saw the full accident scene with the firefighters and ambos extracting someone from a car that had rear-ended a bus. From the damage it apparent that the bus whilst stationary had been hit by the car going full throttle.

Once again this was far from one of the most unsettling things I've seen lately. Whilst on holiday in another state some colleagues and I were driving along a winding road through the snowy mountains. When all of a sudden an ambulance came screaming up behind us on that narrow stretch of mountain road and passed us like we were standing still. Further up the road we reached a horrific accident where one car had crossed the centre line and been T-boned by an oncoming car.

The accident was a heap of twisted metal and broken glass pretending to be two cars. The front of the oncoming car was completely destroyed and parts of it littered the road. However, the worst part was the car that was hit from the side. The impact was centred upon the front passenger's door which had been pushed into where the centre console would sit. Surrounding this abomination of twisted steel and glass were all the emergency services, paramedics trying to stabilise the occupants of the car, firefighters trying to free the trapped occupants and police diverting the traffic and trying to keep the voyeurs moving.

As soon as our car cleared the area controlled by the police and rounded the bend we were being tailgated by a ute. The driver of which proceeded to overtake us on the wrong side of the road as soon as the first straight stretch of road appeared. This amazing act of idiocy caused all four budding doctors in the car to remark on the callousness of this person. This individual was able to witness such a horrific accident and then drive with a flagrant disdain for the safety of either themselves or other road users.

These events have got me wondering how many road deaths occur in this country not due to fatigue, driver error or mechanical failure but simply due to idiocy. Although I believe that idiocy needs to be defined in a driving context. Thus I define driving like a moronic troglodyte as any instance that includes the following:

1. Driving callously at either excessive speed or with maneuvers that show a reckless disregard for life and limb. [Think drifting through suburban streets or riding a motorbike in a prolonged wheelie past other vehicles and pedestrians. We get it you've got a motorbike and you're a tool. Congratulations!].
2. Driving under the influence of alcohol/drugs/oral sex. [yes that last one does happen]
3. Ute surfing [In this case the guy in the back is technically dumber than the driver, but they're both aiming for Darwin awards].
4. Driving a car that is exceedingly unroadworthy [I'm not talking about a broken tail light, more along the lines of the driver's seat being a milk crate and having a snorkel system hooked up to a mask (think fighter plane style) because there is and exhaust leak that fills that passenger cabin]

I just don't comprehend how some people fail to think that what they're attempting is a bad idea. Do they have no concept of danger? Do they just not think about the potential consequences of their actions, or are these "brilliant" individuals more concerned with the potential bragging rights that certain stunts may afford them?

In all fairness my motor vehicle record is far from sparkling. I have once been ticketed for speeding, and have once crashed my car in a single vehicle MVC. Although the MVC was due to driving in dangerous conditions (Massive rain) and was shortly after getting my licence. As the police put it, "You just weren't ready to be driving in this kind of weather yet son." Sure I made an error in judgment. I thought that I could drive in extremely heavy rain, which was fine until there was water washing across the road. At that point I think my driving skills were fine but I was severely let down by my boating skills. It would appear that I lack the ability to sail a car, which I found out in the split second between having no connection between the tyres and the road and having a street lamp make itself my new hood ornament.

Whenever I see an accident these days I wonder as to the cause. What was the catalyst for this potentially fatal chain of events? Was this the regrettable product of idiocy fueled by alcohol, drugs, testosterone and teenage arrogance, or something more benign but equally tragic? Were a young man's last words, "Hey guys check this out", as he obliterated himself and his friends? Or did a tired/inexperienced driver make a simple control/judgement error leading to a tragic outcome?

Regardless of the cause of an accident the ambulance officers, nurses and doctors provide proper care and attention to all accident victims. I just wish they didn't have to deal with as many accident victims and the families of these victims due to the significant number of people who fail to think.