Are you a good driver?? I ask this just to see if my theories are true or not. PLEASE be honest!!

I consider myself a good driver, Im sure other people that see me drive dont because sometimes I appear to be driving reckless or just plain crazy. But I know the limits of my vehicles and I like to push them to that limit.

Same here, I know what I can do in my car safely, and always have control of my car.

I'd say 99% of the people who drive consider themselves good drivers. Only about 1% actually realize if they are bad drivers. What a person's criteriea is for being a good driver varies greatly. There are plentyl of people that have little to no control of their car or are drunk, high, etc that refuse to believe that they suck at driving. Everyone seems to think that anything bad that happens on the road is the other person's fault whether it's true or not. Personally, whenever I get in my car I assume that everyone else on the road has barely adequate skills of driving and wil not be paying attention. With that attitude I feel I have become a better driver, and I have avoided several wrecks. Before I felt that way, I was a danger to pretty much everyone else on the road, because I was careless, couldn't really control my vehicle, and the vehicle really wasn't all that safe to drive.

I'm a good driver because I have a certificate saying I successfully completed my court-ordered defensive driving course last Sunday.

All I have to say is that I've been driving a trans am for the past 4 years...now a LS1...I race and like going fast.

I have been pulled over probably 15 times but Ive never got a ticket (knocking on wood) or been in an accident. Thats good in my book.

-Doug

NOW THATS FUNNY!!!!!!!! ROFLMAO

What kinda poll is this. I tried to post "NO" and it won't let me! I just wan't to be the only @sshole to post no because ofcourse everybody will post "YES" or WON'T INCRIMINATE.

Anyways on the street, I'm not the safest driver to other because I am impatient to incompitance. If I'm cut-off, Oh revenge is sweet.

Well........ i CAN control my own car.. But to old folks im a bad driver.. Maybe because im 17 in a V8 Red car

"Personally, whenever I get in my car I assume that everyone else on the road has barely
adequate skills of driving and wil not be paying attention"

That's the way I am too, everyone should be, I'm not worried about my driving, it's everyone else I'm watchin' out for!

What're your theories Shrp1?

If I can fly down the road in a 40 zone going 60 and weave with precision through cars in a gliding matter that looks 'good' not reckless, and avoid accidents, take turns fast without losing control, by all means am i a good driver?

Or are you wanting to know if we all 'obey the law'. Well I am a lousy driver if that's the criteria, but that's not how i judge being a "good driver".

I believe being a good driver comes with experience, I'm a lot wiser now that I'm 22 than when I was 17 and thought I was a good driver then too.

Have you been to a real driving school? If not, your immediate answer should be no. If yes, you probably know enough about what a good driver is to make an honest assessment of your own driving skills.

So, then the question begs.

IF you "THOUGHT" you were a good driver when you were 17 but now know you werent, will you feel the same way when your 30 about your skills now??


My theory is "MOST" people are adequate drivers, BUT MOST think they are good/excellent drivers.

I would consider myself a good driver. I have been told I drive slow by lots of people, I have never been in an accident, accept when a stupid kid in my school pulled out of a spot into the front of my car! I have never gotten a ticket, never been pulled over, and

never street raced!!!!

I know, but I would rather do my racing at the track, get a timeslip, and spend the extra money to do it legally. Maybe when I get older I may, but for now I would rather keep my liscense than lose it. I have too much good things going for me to get a ticket, lose my car, crash, or worse, kill someone else!

"IF you "THOUGHT" you were a good driver when you were 17 but now know you werent, will you feel the same way when your 30 about your skills now?? "

Shrp1 - I didn't say I know I was bad at 17, now that I'm 22, I just know I'm a better one with more experience. And yes by 30, I'll be even better.

Nic - I don't think you got my point. I was referring to what is his/her definition of a good driver, whether I can pull off maneuvers safely/correctly or obey the law. Did you fork out $$ to have someone tell you how to assess your own skills?

I'd say yes since I've been driving for 22 years and have only been in 1 accident that was my fault and I didn't even hit another car, it was a tree that I tagged with a 11 second 406'' nitroused 73 nova that decided it wanted to get up close and personal with it other than that even after years of street racing....no accidents

No, and I also checked no on the survey. I've been driving for almost 5 years now and know I don't have the experience to claim to be a good driver.

Anyone that thinks they know how to control their car should go participate in an autocross. That is the fastest way to see if really can control your car, and it's fun. Almost everyone that comes in without any similar track experience gets their ego laid down real fast. They go really slow, eat a bunch of cones, or find themselves facing the wrong way before they know what's happening. I know my first experience with it was very humbling, and I wasn't even the worst driver out there! I still know I have a lot practice to go before I feel that I can really control my car and start winning, but I do believe that I'm above average when it comes to controlling it in emergencies, and in proper decision making to avoid hitting anything. So far, I've acted quickly and correctly every time I've needed to to avoid an accident. I try and keep well aware of everything happening around me, but I do have my slip-ups. You might assume that my attitude of assuming that evreyone else on the road sucks at driving is funny, but I can assure you that if it wasn't for that, my car would have been a crumpled heap a long time ago.

DING DING DING BINGO thats how I drive. Theres a BIG difference in driving dumb and driving to your own limits. I know what my car can do, and I know what I feel safe doing in my car.

I'm pushing 36 and with my experience, I can outdrive anyone on an auto-X course (ran it for years) but, I'm so frikin jaded on the street by incompetent people that I have become probably one of the worst impatient drivers you will ever come across. Age, only in my experience, makes this worst.

What makes me fast on the track is the sole fact that I can take any car, drive it, then make adjustments to what ever settings to suit MY driving style, and then run fast. There are alot of good drivers that could be great if only they understood how to setup a car to go faster.

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"A great driving engineer with older tecnology will generally beat an average driver with the latest technology"

Ditto

Same here... I have no formal driving training, and I don't have 20 years experience. Hence, I can't really say I'm better than a large majority of the population. Granted, I take driving more seriously than a lot of people seem to (you'll never see me driving with a cell phone in my hand), which is important, but anyone can do that. I'd love to go to a real driving school at some point, but I can't really spare the time or money right now, so that will have to wait.

And as far as assuming everyone else on the road is a moron- I always do, and I'm proven right on a regular basis. It's amazing how little ability people have to anticipate what's going to happen on a highway.

I said no.

Only because i have been in one accident and i am now kind of scared of driving. I know this makes me a little more of a threat on the road because i drive OVER cautiously. That is all i have to say.

No accidents. Speeding tickets have been low on empty roads. I only missed one point on my driving test. Never driven under the influence of anything. Saved myself from many accidents due to terrible drivers.

It's very easy to consider yourself a good driver if you take into consideration all of the horrible drivers you see cutting people off, running into things, and violating tons of laws purposely/by accident. At school I saw about five fender benders last year; I know none of these kids can drive worth a damn.

Just expect the other drivers to do the dumbest thing in every situation, and more than not they will!!

I think I'm a good driver. NOT a racecar driver though. I'm always aware of my surroundings.

agrees on all accounts with mcconahay37, autocross will immediately show you wether or not you're a good driver, at least as far as control of the car goes. the first time I went out, I had three runs, first 2 ended up facing backwards. next one did pretty good but wasnt all that fast. kinda to be expected though for the first time. oh yeah, and street tires and autocross do NOT go together. I know. I'll be the first to admit that Im not a spectacular driver, but like a few of yall have said, I know the limits of my car, I know what I can do to safely push it to those limits and not cross them, and I know what to do if I should go past those limits and end up in trouble. Im 18, been driving for 3 years now (learners permit at 15 here in Texas) and as far as Im concerned, everyone else on the road is a raging imbecile who has no idea what they are doing. with that im mind, Im always completely aware of whats going on around me so that if some fool does decide to cross that yellow dashed line, Im going to know exactly what to do. so from that standpoint, Im a good driver. does that mean I know how to drive a drag race? no way, Ive still got a lot to learn in that area, but Im improving. its just a matter of time and experience. like hovrbord98 said, theres nothing more fun than blasting through traffic with ease, you just have to be mindful that not everyone else on the road expects to you be doing that. ok, stepping off the soap box now.

Tristan

If you're good at driving like an a$$hole does that make you a good driver? NO! Weaving in and out of traffic however skillfully does not make you a good driver.

Can you apex corners properly?
Can you recognize a corner that needs a double or single apex?
Can you tell the difference between a corner that drives faster at the bottom or the top?
Can you heel toe drive?
Can you power shift?
Do you know the difference between driving a synchronized and unsynchro'd trans?
Do you know the different driving characteristics of front/rear drive cars?

These are all things that make a good driver. I'd say most drivers drive well enough to get to work and know to slow down under bad conditions. 1% probably knows how to properly race a car. The rest are the most dangerous people, those who "think" they are good drivers and "know" the limits of their cars.

road racing in scca will teach you great car control and the ability to "read" how a car is handling. i've been through GM's advanced driver's training course at the proving grounds, waterford hills road racign school and have instructed for a corvette club at waterford hills. i now race my spitfire nationally. never crashed on the street but i do have a few speeding tickets. i say not too bad for a 21 year old.

oh yeah, i have a chauffeur's license and can heel and toe downshift and hit my apexes, double, single, late or early.

i used 2 be the most stupid driver, never the worst. racing straight im pretty good with the stick as for daily driving im about average. i used 2 get into accidents with my RS all the time, and this time i crashed my red one but im sure u dont wanna hear excuses. was my fault

I clicked yes, only because I know I am a lot better than most drivers out there. I am in no way saying I am a great driver, I've had 2 accidents, one was when I wasn't paying attention (I was only getting some groceries!), the second was the result of finding out what "over the limit of the car/ driver combination" results in. Thankfully both were single car incidents and no one was injured. Very humbling experiences, expensive too. I have however raced in many autocrosses and actually won one outright. Most of the time though, I was upper-mid pack, usually behind a few miatas, an MR2, vette, Integra type R, well you get the idea. Oh, this was in my stock (except for the 195/50R15 Kumhos), automatic, SOHC neon. I am hoping that I can move up the rankings with the GTA. Also, ever since getting the GTA, I have slowed down a lot, and have become a much more cautious driver. I have had a few people comment on my shift in driving style, which kind of surprised me. It must be the disappearnace of that 4 cyl inferiority complex.

Later,
Steve

I will admit that I am 17 years old and I dont pay attention at all. I have been pulled over 4 times since I have had my license, but luckily my dad is a cop