Autoblog

Kia driver caught motoring down the highway with hood up

Zach Bowman — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 14:58:00 EST

There's the right way to handle a highway emergency and the wrong way. Driving down the interstate with your hood peeled back onto your windshield certainly falls into the latter category, and yet, the driver in the video after the jump managed to do just that down a few miles of New Hampshire highway.

Peering through the tiny slit formed by the cowl arc, the driver doesn't seem to show any outward signs of distress aside from slightly reduced speed. Thanks to the power of technology, another driver with a similar abandon for safety recorded the spectacle for the internet crowds, at least until law enforcement put an end to the shenanigans.

Here's a tip: if your hood latch happens to give up the ghost while you're rocketing toward the horizon, calmly slow your ride and pull to the shoulder. If you're able, close the hood and continue on your way. If you aren't, do us all a favor and call for a tow. Hit the jump to check out the insanity for yourself.

Continue reading Kia driver caught motoring down the highway with hood up

Kia driver caught motoring down the highway with hood up originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 29 Jul 2011 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Obvious: Survey says nearly one-in-five motorists "unfit" to drive

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Fri, 28 May 2010 15:58:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal, Safety

How many bad drivers can you spot every day on your drive to work? Five? Ten? All of them? We feel your pain, and apparently the alarming truth is that one-in-five motorists - which, for those interesting in the gory details, equals roughly 38 million Americans - are unfit to drive on our nation's highways.

This data is according to a test administered by GMAC Insurance that asked motorists 20 questions taken straight from your local DMV's written driving test. About 20 percent of currently licensed drivers would have failed the test, and the average score of 76.2 percent is down slightly from that of 2009.

Some interesting factoids: Male drivers scored better than females on both average scores (78.1 percent male versus 74.4 percent female) and failure rates (24 percent female versus 18.1 percent male). New Yorkers ranked dead last (70 percent average score) and Kansas drivers ranked highest (82.3 percent average score). Want to know more? (Perhaps not...). If so, click here for a further breakdown from our friends at TheDetroitBureau.com.

[Source: TheDetroitBureau.com | Image: timsamoff C.C. 2.0]

Obvious: Survey says nearly one-in-five motorists "unfit" to drive originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 28 May 2010 15:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Answering the Age-Old Question: Who's the safe driver, man or woman?

Chris Shunk — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 15:27:00 EST

Filed under: Safety

Nice work, guys. When we're behind the wheel, we're apparently a danger to human life. The New York Times reports that a recent study by the Social Issues Research Centre (SIRC) says that men are 50 percent to 100 percent more likely to be behind the wheel in a fatal accident than are our female counterparts. The SIRC theorizes that the reason for the discrepancy is that men just don't like rules.

Not just any rules, mind you. We're talking driving rules. The NYT cites several studies that show men are more likely to drink and drive, run a red light, race other drivers and tailgate. Further, one study showed that men were up to four times more likely to drink and drive as women. We're more aggressive, we're three times more likely to honk the horn, and we're statistically proven to be more likely to take risks.

The authors of all these studies feel that the reason for our aggression and risk-taking has something to do with our DNA. Apparently, the hunter within each of us compels us to value speed, strength and a solid quarter mile run. But men aren't always the worst drivers. One study cited by the Times reportedly showed that women were more likely to get into accidents on a per-mile basis. We'd take a moment to celebrate our lone victory, but with the overwhelming evidence pointing out that we're more dangerous drivers than women, our hypocrisy only travels so far.

[Source: The New York Times | Image: xJasonRogersx CC 2.0]

Answering the Age-Old Question: Who's the safe driver, man or woman? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 29 Mar 2010 15:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

"America's Worst Driver" set to air on Travel Channel

Chris Shunk — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Celebrities

We know some habitually bad drivers, and we're guessing you do too. Problem is, there isn't much we can do to keep them off the road until their license is taken away. Thanks to a new show on Travel Channel, we at least have an opportunity to humiliate them, or perhaps more.

The new program, called "America's Worst Driver," airs Sunday night at 10 PM Eastern and Pacific Time and is hosted by Last Comic Standing Season 3 winner Alonzo Bodden. It looks for the four worst drivers from a city, as nominated by their friends and family, to compete for the dubious title. But there is more than a mean moniker at stake here, folks. The loser from each city, or the worst of the chronically bad lot, will have his or her car crushed (by Carasaurus no less) and replaced with a bicycle and a bus pass. Ouch. The "loser" from each city visited by the show will also be flown to Los Angeles to compete for the title of "America's Worst Driver." The finalists will then compete against one another for the chance to win a new car. Hopefully that vehicle will have plenty of air bags.

The new show has reportedly already shot episodes in New York, Miami, Dallas, Chicago and San Francisco, and the competition reportedly includes a closed course driving test graded by a real live police officer. We don't know about you, but we wouldn't go on any show where there is a one in four chance of having our vehicle crushed. But if we were so bad at driving that we failed a worst driver competition, maybe it would be for the best.

[Source: Travel Channel via Kicking Tires]

"America's Worst Driver" set to air on Travel Channel originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Cybersnitching reports bad drivers on information superhighway

Frank Filipponio — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 19:26:00 EST

Filed under: Safety, Technology

We've all seen them. Drivers so engrossed in whatever else they're doing that they don't seem to remember they are driving, too. Oh, how we've secretly wished there was a cop around to witness these acts and punish the offenders. Well, thanks to the wide availability of affordable cell phone cams, and the accessibility and popularity of the internet, motorists are taking the law into their own hands. Sort of.

A whole slew of websites has popped up where people can report bad driving and vent their frustrations for the world to see. Sometimes with accompanying photos, motorists post the offender's description, plate number, and offending behavior. All of the sites require membership and to avoid unwarranted attacks, they show the name of the reporter, too. Not a place for vendettas, these sitse really are a way for citizens to help keep other drivers accountable. As we all know, it can be easy to think you're alone, isolated in your own car, but when we pilot a vehicle on public motorways, we need to work within the rules so everybody can reach their destination promptly and safely. Of course there will always be a few boneheads that clog everything up, but that's no excuse for road rage or overly aggressive driving. At least that's what our probation officer tells us. Below you'll find a short list of some of these sites. The list is by no means complete, so feel free to share ones we omitted.

Irate-Driver is a relatively small site with just a few reported incidents. Still, it's straightforward and has lots of safety links and other resources.
PlateWire seems to be the largest such site. License plates are displayed and are searchable, but there's a twist. Good drivers and even secret admirers can be listed with thumbs ups and winks.
Caughtya reads more like a blog, with incident reports listed by date.
Bad Driving is a UK-based site that looks a bit like a used car listing service. More pics here than elsewhere.

[Source: KTLA]

Cybersnitching reports bad drivers on information superhighway originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 28 Feb 2007 19:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

VIDEO: Your car won't fit, lady

Frank Filipponio — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 17:33:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Videos

No smartass comments about women drivers, capisce? It could just as easily have been a man at the wheel trying to squeeze 12 feet of car into 10 feet of parking space. While we do admire her determination, we question her depth perception, and her social graces. Perhaps it was a mild case of road rage that apparently leads her to take a swig of amaretto after several passes. We'll probably never know. She still seems to do a better job than the Lexus self-parking system as tested by the guys at Automobile. All we can say is, poor Panda. The YouTube video is after the jump.

Thanks for tip, Adrian!

Continue reading VIDEO: Your car won't fit, lady

VIDEO: Your car won't fit, lady originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 11 Jan 2007 17:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments