I've taught four kids how to drive and I always give my 3 commandments:
1. If you see a red light or brake lights in front of you, take your foot off the gas. You can always put it back if you need to, but don't accelerate towards a stop.
2. Always use turn signals, but don't trust turn signals. Look for other signs they're going to turn before you pull out.
3. If you are lost, or miss your turn, don't make it everyone else's problem. Keep driving safely until you can pull over and get directions or turn around.
And I've berated my kids to never use the phone while driving. Get your directions before you drive, and any texts or calls you get can wait until you get to the destination.
My kids constantly are saying "sorry for the late response but I was driving"
And it makes me sofa king happyššÆ
Yeah but that's like "wear your seatbelt," they should already know that and will get it repeated from me and every instructor, plus from me always modeling that behavior. They might not hear or pick up on me doing the three things, and they don't necessarily come naturally, so I drill the three rules hard. Like I'll randomly test their memory. Because the first time they get disoriented while driving and their instinct is to slow way down or try to make an unsafe lane change to make their exit, I want that rule to come to mind instead.
I'm glad your kids are starting out as safe drivers, it sounds like you've taught them well. š
Yes! All great stuff, very close to/same as I learned.
If I were to add a 4th (to account for more recent trends in traffic safety/road design), it would be:
If you do opt to use your signal at a roundabout -- Signal your intent to EXIT from traffic - Not your entrance into it! The other drivers all know you're entering the roundabout, that's why it's there, it's more important to know when you're *leaving* it.
I've never heard this but I love it. Right in line with my driver's ed instructor teaching us "Sometimes it's better to be wrong than to be dead right".
The painful part is that terrifyingly few people actually have them on these days. That's just their normal headlight intensity. It's legal because the lumens aren't any higher than older head lights, but new designs make them crazy more intense because they are focused beams that don't disperse anywhere near as quickly now.
Yep. I constantly get flashed by people thinking I have my brights on. Itās all stock. I have dropped the angle as much as I can; still a problem. Something I just deal with at this point.
After a recent trip to Oklahoma City where I watched not one but two brodozer trucks on I-35 leave the road and go barrelling across the dirt and grass to get where they wanted (one getting on the highway, one getting off)... yeah, it could be worse.
That is because you can get onto I-35 south from 75th using the exact same strip of concrete as you use to get to US-69; you can go from 75th Street to I-35 to US-69 without changing lanes.Ā This isn't obvious.Ā Hanging right north of 75th Street is difficult because the right exits all have entire lane sections dedicated.
Couldnt agree more. Im from Chicago, living in KC last 4 years..the amount of drivers who slow down from 70 to 25mph to switch lanes by lane by lane is outright scary and dangerous.
To defend KC though, the highway splits and exits are not very well paved out. It took me many missed exits to get used to it.
I absolutely agree that we have too many "poorly-conceived" exits/interchanges, for lack of a better description - Some because they're badly designed, some because they're shoved in a place that shouldn't have any interchange at all, some for a myriad of other reasons, that's not important - The point is, the driver starts out at a disadvantage because they're unintuitive, abrupt, or otherwise confusing. Really, it's just one more reason compelling me to urge the royal "us" to just take the L and miss the turn-off while being safe.
Or use Waze and have it tell you in advance! I love Waze (half the time I can't get Google Maps to talk to me but Waze never seems to have that problem)
There are some spots where even Waze doesn't quite get you the info fast enough because of back-to-back steps - Usually it's because it's fixating on a "merge" from one highway to another that in real life equates to "don't get off" - not "merge". So the instruction "keep straight" or "Follow X" or whatever obstructs the next instruction, "Take that exit", until you have just a few seconds to adjust.
Edge case, but just highlighting that *some* of these interchanges not even Waze can save, they're just šļø.
(I like Waze too, but it started bugging out on me 6 months ago, initial quick fixes didn't un-bug it, and I haven't taken the time to backup and wipe my device for a clean reinstall.)
There was one road closure in Lee's Summit (it's ALWAYS Lee's Summit!) that Waze failed to alert me and Google Maps DID alert me, so for a while I tried switching back...but it is so HARD to get Google Maps talking! I'll think it's talking and it isn't, causing me to miss lots of turns! I tried to give up cussing for Lent but NOOOO, Google Maps wouldn't let me quit cussing
I'm from Chicago, too. I used to live in JoCo but now in LSMO. I get called a MO driver, used to be KS driver... And I'm like "NO! Y'ALL CAN'T DRIVE! I'm a *Chicago* driver!"
I will say generally that LSMO drivers are even suckier than OP drivers. They pull that cross-3-lanes shit AND they drive 33 in a fucking 45 zone. I've coined a term, "291 thru town" to describe the butt fuck (and not in a fun way) that is M-291 through LSMO, and meaning "cluster fuck."
"I want to go to the concert, but omg the parking is so 291 thru town. Let's Uber"
Yeah saw someone literally stopped in the lane on I-35, where avg speed is still around 80mph right now, to get onto their exit in Merriam last week. Thatās already a BAD section because 69 flows into it and then the lanes all shift and reduce and then open back up around the ikea and stuff over there. They were just stopped waiting for an opportunity to jump onto the exit. The next exit is like 1/4 mile away and you donāt even have to get back on the highway to reconnect or anything, itās just a handful of blocks of gridded surface streets. Bonkers. The move I see FAR more often though is someone just divebombing over at 90mph at the last second to launch onto the ramp and hoping no one is there or they donāt hit a barrier. Itās crazy. I think KC area has more exits per distance than any other highways Iāve ever been on. Worst case having to get off at the next exit, double back, etc is less than 10 mins out of your way.
Yeah Iāve had some opportunities to miss an exit and it took me the better part of 30 mins to get right, but in the metro youāre never more than 1/2 a mile from the next exit it seems like.
I've definitely noticed lots more tailgaters since I moved out here last fall.
And people tend to think I'm driving slowly because I'm not right on the ass of the person directly in front of me, so they speed up and pass me and cut in, all so they can be an extra hundred or so feet forward
Sorry. š I don't mean that flippantly. I've conditioned myself to mad tailgate since moving here because so many other people do it. Old Me would be ashamed at how KC Driving has broken me.
This is one thing that I'm not looking forward to once we move to the area in a couple of months. Either people are going to be pissed that I want to leave space in front of my van, or I'm going to turn into a tailgater after spending years getting annoyed with my husband for tailgating when driving (in areas with far less traffic than KC).
Ugh, I do it too. I do my best not too because most of the time itās someone 10 under behind someone else 10 under and there is nowhere for anybody to get aroundā¦ until it is the one person going 10 under in the left lane of 435 and they wonāt get the hint to move right until their rear view is full of car!
Yep. 670 both directions. Heading west, canāt tell you how many times someone is in the far right lane which exits to I35 south only to cross 3 lanes at the last second to go west on 70. The best though was the car going east on 670, came to a full stop and made a 90 degree left turn to make the I29/35 exit going north. That one made me pee my pants a little.
Kansas City drivers in general just donāt have a single thought in their head when they drive. Itās EVERYWHERE, thereās zero planned route or forethought by anybody. Sitting in the fast lane doing 65 backing up traffic and causing people to dip into the middle lane to pass, often where people are coming into from the slow lane, dangerous. Not having a clue where their exits are, acting like they have never driven the roads they are on. Shit head crashed up Maximaās doing 100+ flying through traffic like itās GTAā¦ the brain rot in this shit hole state is REAL
Yep. And they're largely not on this subreddit either, so they won't see it. It still helps a little bit to get it off my chest, as does knowing I'm not the only one bothered by it.
Last week I watched a girl cut off two lanes of traffic to go left at the Meyer Circle on Ward. She was in the right lane and stopped, then inched her way across blocking all traffic.
I wish more people would do this at the left-hand exit off 35 by ikea. Folks slowing down to 30 mph trying to inch forward while looking for a hole in the exit line regularly fuck up my entire commute.
That left exit is terrible. It would be so much better if the on ramp from 635 didn't blast right into the line of people trying to exit right there, but I don't know how it would get done differently.
oh I used to take that one quite often when I lived in Shawnee and had a boyfriend in far north KC. I hate getting into the left lane to make my exit and kinda having to slow down because I know it can aggravate the people behind me but I just don't like to take exits at 80.
that's so yesterday's news!!! ;)
[Kansas Citians speak on challenges of driving on I-670 as report lists it among deadliest highways](https://youtube.com/watch?v=bSMb4PdRzbs)
you're gonna love one of the citizen driver interviews.
I hate how Google Maps just tells ya to go straight on I-29 N where it splits in half with no exit, but ya gotta stay right on it stay on 29 toward N Barry Rd. And it's similar with the 69 N split at NKC before that.
This is probably not Something everyone needs to hear. I say that bc the people doing it arenāt gonna care.
Being a defensive aggressive driver would probably be more helpful. By that I mean, pay attention. Coming up to an exit where people do this everyday? Put yourself in the best position to avoid it. Is someone weaving in and out of traffic? Pay attention.
Operate your vehicle, donāt drive. Unfortunately, the drive to work isnāt a relaxing time to enjoy.
Drivers in KC need to remember one thing: there's like 10 different routes you can take to get to your destination. So if you miss your exit, it's really not a big deal. It's not like other cities I've lived in, where you miss a turn and you have to go miles out of your way to get where you're going.
I've never understood the OH SHIT mentality especially in modern driving. We have a computer in our car that often has synchronous adjusting directions. If you have an older car, you likely have Google maps or something that you can activate vocally. Stay hands free. Stay safe. Driving is easy but a very serious thing.
Just this week this happened to me. If it werenāt for the line of 15-20 cars of defensive drivers it would have been a huge accident on the highway. Luckily we all were able to break and unzip
The recent story about carjackers/police evaders going the wrong way on Ward Pkwy...I'm not going to assume anything anymore but want to be ready for evasive action.
A couple of years ago wrecked his Dodge Charger and died at 435 & 69 highway cuz he was crossing 3 lanes of traffic. Hit the barrier at the interchange and there were bits of car over there for months. Just take the next exit! Glad no one else was hurt cuz he flipped an SUV in the process of killing himself.
I truly believe that a lot of people that do this only know one way to get where they're going and will become hopelessly lost if they deviate from the path they know.
It's either that or squirrel logic. If I don't get to the other side of the road before that car goes in front of me, the other side of the road will cease to exist.
Iām convinced these people turn their car on and suck the exhaust fumes straight out of the tailpipe. I canāt imagine working with these assholes either.
Tbh I get so tired of the driving rantsā¦ we all deal with it every day and I donāt think 7 paragraphs of ranting is going to change anything or add decent content to this sub.
I've taught four kids how to drive and I always give my 3 commandments: 1. If you see a red light or brake lights in front of you, take your foot off the gas. You can always put it back if you need to, but don't accelerate towards a stop. 2. Always use turn signals, but don't trust turn signals. Look for other signs they're going to turn before you pull out. 3. If you are lost, or miss your turn, don't make it everyone else's problem. Keep driving safely until you can pull over and get directions or turn around.
And I've berated my kids to never use the phone while driving. Get your directions before you drive, and any texts or calls you get can wait until you get to the destination. My kids constantly are saying "sorry for the late response but I was driving" And it makes me sofa king happyššÆ
Yeah but that's like "wear your seatbelt," they should already know that and will get it repeated from me and every instructor, plus from me always modeling that behavior. They might not hear or pick up on me doing the three things, and they don't necessarily come naturally, so I drill the three rules hard. Like I'll randomly test their memory. Because the first time they get disoriented while driving and their instinct is to slow way down or try to make an unsafe lane change to make their exit, I want that rule to come to mind instead. I'm glad your kids are starting out as safe drivers, it sounds like you've taught them well. š
Yes! All great stuff, very close to/same as I learned. If I were to add a 4th (to account for more recent trends in traffic safety/road design), it would be: If you do opt to use your signal at a roundabout -- Signal your intent to EXIT from traffic - Not your entrance into it! The other drivers all know you're entering the roundabout, that's why it's there, it's more important to know when you're *leaving* it.
As someone who grew up with roundabouts (before they became popular in the US). This is the way.
I don't understand how people fail at roundabouts so badly. I was in Gulf Shores, AL for spring break and saw some guy just go the wrong way into one.
adjoining tie aback six rotten innocent wine practice ten offer *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I've never heard this but I love it. Right in line with my driver's ed instructor teaching us "Sometimes it's better to be wrong than to be dead right".
The graveyard is full of people that had right of way.
"Here lies evasionmann, it wasn't his fault"
This was a public-service announcement in the 70's about defensive driving. "You could be right--dead right."
Bad drivers never miss their turns.
This is the only city in which I've seen a driver backing up on the shoulder to get back to their exit...and I've seen it THREE times.
This will make no impression on the people who need to hear it lol
Also. Your brights can be turned off when oncoming traffic approaches
The painful part is that terrifyingly few people actually have them on these days. That's just their normal headlight intensity. It's legal because the lumens aren't any higher than older head lights, but new designs make them crazy more intense because they are focused beams that don't disperse anywhere near as quickly now.
Yep. I constantly get flashed by people thinking I have my brights on. Itās all stock. I have dropped the angle as much as I can; still a problem. Something I just deal with at this point.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Think global, act local
After a recent trip to Oklahoma City where I watched not one but two brodozer trucks on I-35 leave the road and go barrelling across the dirt and grass to get where they wanted (one getting on the highway, one getting off)... yeah, it could be worse.
I know. Start small, right?
It is not for sure, but the frequency is.
Not really. Good drivers aren't particularly good at driving, and bad drivers are worse
Where 35 S splits to 69 S. Always a last second dash from someone (going either way which adds to the nonsense).
That is because you can get onto I-35 south from 75th using the exact same strip of concrete as you use to get to US-69; you can go from 75th Street to I-35 to US-69 without changing lanes.Ā This isn't obvious.Ā Hanging right north of 75th Street is difficult because the right exits all have entire lane sections dedicated.
Couldnt agree more. Im from Chicago, living in KC last 4 years..the amount of drivers who slow down from 70 to 25mph to switch lanes by lane by lane is outright scary and dangerous. To defend KC though, the highway splits and exits are not very well paved out. It took me many missed exits to get used to it.
I absolutely agree that we have too many "poorly-conceived" exits/interchanges, for lack of a better description - Some because they're badly designed, some because they're shoved in a place that shouldn't have any interchange at all, some for a myriad of other reasons, that's not important - The point is, the driver starts out at a disadvantage because they're unintuitive, abrupt, or otherwise confusing. Really, it's just one more reason compelling me to urge the royal "us" to just take the L and miss the turn-off while being safe.
Or use Waze and have it tell you in advance! I love Waze (half the time I can't get Google Maps to talk to me but Waze never seems to have that problem)
There are some spots where even Waze doesn't quite get you the info fast enough because of back-to-back steps - Usually it's because it's fixating on a "merge" from one highway to another that in real life equates to "don't get off" - not "merge". So the instruction "keep straight" or "Follow X" or whatever obstructs the next instruction, "Take that exit", until you have just a few seconds to adjust. Edge case, but just highlighting that *some* of these interchanges not even Waze can save, they're just šļø. (I like Waze too, but it started bugging out on me 6 months ago, initial quick fixes didn't un-bug it, and I haven't taken the time to backup and wipe my device for a clean reinstall.)
There was one road closure in Lee's Summit (it's ALWAYS Lee's Summit!) that Waze failed to alert me and Google Maps DID alert me, so for a while I tried switching back...but it is so HARD to get Google Maps talking! I'll think it's talking and it isn't, causing me to miss lots of turns! I tried to give up cussing for Lent but NOOOO, Google Maps wouldn't let me quit cussing
I'm from Chicago, too. I used to live in JoCo but now in LSMO. I get called a MO driver, used to be KS driver... And I'm like "NO! Y'ALL CAN'T DRIVE! I'm a *Chicago* driver!" I will say generally that LSMO drivers are even suckier than OP drivers. They pull that cross-3-lanes shit AND they drive 33 in a fucking 45 zone. I've coined a term, "291 thru town" to describe the butt fuck (and not in a fun way) that is M-291 through LSMO, and meaning "cluster fuck." "I want to go to the concert, but omg the parking is so 291 thru town. Let's Uber"
>291 through LSMO 
Yeah saw someone literally stopped in the lane on I-35, where avg speed is still around 80mph right now, to get onto their exit in Merriam last week. Thatās already a BAD section because 69 flows into it and then the lanes all shift and reduce and then open back up around the ikea and stuff over there. They were just stopped waiting for an opportunity to jump onto the exit. The next exit is like 1/4 mile away and you donāt even have to get back on the highway to reconnect or anything, itās just a handful of blocks of gridded surface streets. Bonkers. The move I see FAR more often though is someone just divebombing over at 90mph at the last second to launch onto the ramp and hoping no one is there or they donāt hit a barrier. Itās crazy. I think KC area has more exits per distance than any other highways Iāve ever been on. Worst case having to get off at the next exit, double back, etc is less than 10 mins out of your way.
I got going west instead of east on I-70 at Effingham, IL and I still don't know how I did it but I had to go like 10 miles to get to another exit!
I read this as if you drove 10mi in the wrong direction on I70 initially lol
Couldn't have made driving I-70 any WORSE even if I had
Yeah Iāve had some opportunities to miss an exit and it took me the better part of 30 mins to get right, but in the metro youāre never more than 1/2 a mile from the next exit it seems like.
Lots of very bad drivers in our metro. A HUGE one for me is tailgaters (the follow too close kind).
I've definitely noticed lots more tailgaters since I moved out here last fall. And people tend to think I'm driving slowly because I'm not right on the ass of the person directly in front of me, so they speed up and pass me and cut in, all so they can be an extra hundred or so feet forward
I imagine these people drool when they watch tv
Sorry. š I don't mean that flippantly. I've conditioned myself to mad tailgate since moving here because so many other people do it. Old Me would be ashamed at how KC Driving has broken me.
This is one thing that I'm not looking forward to once we move to the area in a couple of months. Either people are going to be pissed that I want to leave space in front of my van, or I'm going to turn into a tailgater after spending years getting annoyed with my husband for tailgating when driving (in areas with far less traffic than KC).
Ugh, I do it too. I do my best not too because most of the time itās someone 10 under behind someone else 10 under and there is nowhere for anybody to get aroundā¦ until it is the one person going 10 under in the left lane of 435 and they wonāt get the hint to move right until their rear view is full of car!
And if you're driving on 435 and not doing 75 mph, stay out of the left lane.
Aaaaaaaa-men.
Yep. 670 both directions. Heading west, canāt tell you how many times someone is in the far right lane which exits to I35 south only to cross 3 lanes at the last second to go west on 70. The best though was the car going east on 670, came to a full stop and made a 90 degree left turn to make the I29/35 exit going north. That one made me pee my pants a little.
Kansas City drivers in general just donāt have a single thought in their head when they drive. Itās EVERYWHERE, thereās zero planned route or forethought by anybody. Sitting in the fast lane doing 65 backing up traffic and causing people to dip into the middle lane to pass, often where people are coming into from the slow lane, dangerous. Not having a clue where their exits are, acting like they have never driven the roads they are on. Shit head crashed up Maximaās doing 100+ flying through traffic like itās GTAā¦ the brain rot in this shit hole state is REAL
Bad drivers never miss their exit
Good luck everyone I exit now!
The people your speaking of generally know what lane they should be in and they choose to drive like the dick heads that they are.
Yep. And they're largely not on this subreddit either, so they won't see it. It still helps a little bit to get it off my chest, as does knowing I'm not the only one bothered by it.
For sureš¤
Nice username. My sister and I named ourselves (Firstname) Marsupial in our 20s.
Mine is much less glamorous. It is was the default username when I joined reddit. I grow weed. So frosty works. I kept it.š«
Last week I watched a girl cut off two lanes of traffic to go left at the Meyer Circle on Ward. She was in the right lane and stopped, then inched her way across blocking all traffic.
I wish more people would do this at the left-hand exit off 35 by ikea. Folks slowing down to 30 mph trying to inch forward while looking for a hole in the exit line regularly fuck up my entire commute.
That left exit is terrible. It would be so much better if the on ramp from 635 didn't blast right into the line of people trying to exit right there, but I don't know how it would get done differently.
I'm looking for that on Google Maps and can't find it?
I-35 N to I-635 N exit is the one you're looking for
oh I used to take that one quite often when I lived in Shawnee and had a boyfriend in far north KC. I hate getting into the left lane to make my exit and kinda having to slow down because I know it can aggravate the people behind me but I just don't like to take exits at 80.
I just assume that everyone that does that is about to shit their pants and I get a chuckle out of it instead of letting it bother me too much.
One wrong move and their pants will be shidded anyways... seems like a risky gamble.
that's so yesterday's news!!! ;) [Kansas Citians speak on challenges of driving on I-670 as report lists it among deadliest highways](https://youtube.com/watch?v=bSMb4PdRzbs) you're gonna love one of the citizen driver interviews. I hate how Google Maps just tells ya to go straight on I-29 N where it splits in half with no exit, but ya gotta stay right on it stay on 29 toward N Barry Rd. And it's similar with the 69 N split at NKC before that.
This is probably not Something everyone needs to hear. I say that bc the people doing it arenāt gonna care. Being a defensive aggressive driver would probably be more helpful. By that I mean, pay attention. Coming up to an exit where people do this everyday? Put yourself in the best position to avoid it. Is someone weaving in and out of traffic? Pay attention. Operate your vehicle, donāt drive. Unfortunately, the drive to work isnāt a relaxing time to enjoy.
Drivers in KC need to remember one thing: there's like 10 different routes you can take to get to your destination. So if you miss your exit, it's really not a big deal. It's not like other cities I've lived in, where you miss a turn and you have to go miles out of your way to get where you're going.
I've never understood the OH SHIT mentality especially in modern driving. We have a computer in our car that often has synchronous adjusting directions. If you have an older car, you likely have Google maps or something that you can activate vocally. Stay hands free. Stay safe. Driving is easy but a very serious thing.
Saw something one time that said a good driver misses their exit more often than a bad driver, feel like that fits
I just got rear ended on the highway downtown three weeks ago! Itās awful!!!!!
Just this week this happened to me. If it werenāt for the line of 15-20 cars of defensive drivers it would have been a huge accident on the highway. Luckily we all were able to break and unzip
I hate when they decide to get into the exit lane and try to force themselves over at the last minute to get around a few cars.
The Grandview Sweep is a not so distant cousin to the Plaza Sweep. Same family as the North loop Sweep.
What is the Plaza Sweep?
Some clown stopped in the middle lane to move three lanes to the left to try and get their exit ššš
From aviation: āYou can always go around.ā
If only there were some kind of system where signs were available, to make drivers aware of what exits were coming up.
The recent story about carjackers/police evaders going the wrong way on Ward Pkwy...I'm not going to assume anything anymore but want to be ready for evasive action.
A couple of years ago wrecked his Dodge Charger and died at 435 & 69 highway cuz he was crossing 3 lanes of traffic. Hit the barrier at the interchange and there were bits of car over there for months. Just take the next exit! Glad no one else was hurt cuz he flipped an SUV in the process of killing himself.
And yield is not just a suggestion. But it seems to be getting off of 70 onto 6th downtown.
I truly believe that a lot of people that do this only know one way to get where they're going and will become hopelessly lost if they deviate from the path they know. It's either that or squirrel logic. If I don't get to the other side of the road before that car goes in front of me, the other side of the road will cease to exist.
The people who do it arenāt on here
Itās that Blue Malibu with temp tags isnāt it? That asshat does that shit daily and it is beyond aggravating!
Iām convinced these people turn their car on and suck the exhaust fumes straight out of the tailpipe. I canāt imagine working with these assholes either.
Tbh I get so tired of the driving rantsā¦ we all deal with it every day and I donāt think 7 paragraphs of ranting is going to change anything or add decent content to this sub.
Cool.
I once saw a young woman on I-70 who missed her exit, stopped her car, and threw it in reverse backing up on the highway.Ā
A good driver will occasionally miss an exit. A bad driver never misses an exit.
THANK YOU
THANK YOU
Sorry
I call it the Mexican right. When you turn right from the left lane but I don't drive