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Driving you crazy By Randy A. Salas
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | (MCT) When was the last time you were cut off by another car? How about being annoyed by a driver weaving in front of you while talking on a cell phone? Stuck behind a snail in the fast lane? Vent your frustration and anger at one of these online forums devoted to tales of bad drivers. Naturally, profanity and adult situations abound. And if you're thinking, "Hey, that stuff never happens to me," you're probably one of the notorious people whose bad-driving exploits these sites are immortalizing for others to see. ___ www.platewire.com At PlateWire, people who have had run-ins with bad drivers post the offender's license-plate number and an account of their experience. The fast-growing site was started by a Virginia commuter, but has sections for each state and plans to go international. Incident report: "You drive like you think you're Mario Andretti. It drives me crazy when you pass me every time especially in the NO passing zone by the hospital in Hastings, MN. But NO, you like to floor it. Yet it's funny that by the time you get to work in Eagan, MN, I'm right behind you. That's right; I seem to work at the same place as you." ___ www.aboveaveragedriver.com Above Average Driver recognizes good and bad drivers from around the country. Of course, we're concerned today only with the latter, who make for much more entertaining reading. See the most recent Bad Guys reports, including car details and license-plate number, using www.startribune.com/a2193. Incident report: "We're all sitting at the light, so Mr. Mitsu runs up the turn-only lane and reaches the front just as the light turns green and cuts everyone off." ___ www.roadragers.com/search RoadRagers.com not only documents awful driving but seeks to prevent it, too, by offering safety tips, a quiz and discussion forums. The site doesn't seem to be updated regularly or as active as others, but there are many reports in the archive with damning accounts of highway shenanigans. Incident report: "This driver crossed the white line on an on-ramp from behind us, then sped up very quickly and then had to brake dangerously to avoid hitting everyone else that had to merge. When I mouthed "slow down" to the driver, she gave me the universal one-finger sign of distaste. Funny part was, she was needing to take the exit that joined to this on-ramp, requiring her to cut off the traffic she just passed to get right again." ___ www.startribune.com/a2188 Our next site has a domain name that shouldn't be printed in a lighthearted feature in a family newspaper, so I've created a shortcut to it. Suffice it to say that it's a phrase you surely have muttered under your breath as you try to find a parking spot in a crowded lot, only to find some schmo parked over the line or an SUV crammed into a compact space. The site provides slips that you can print out and leave on the offending driver's car. You check boxes next to qualifying violations, such as "two spots, one car" and "that's a compact?" Violators are directed to the Web site, where they can find out more about the error of their rights of way. The site includes a "work in progress" photo gallery of notable offenders. ___ www.startribune.com/roadguy Colleague Jim Foti, a self-professed "transportation geek," covers driving around the Twin Cities in his Roadguy blog. One of his thriving categories sums up today's sites nicely: "Moron Patrol." Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Randy A. Salas is a columnist for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Do you have a favorite Web site or a question about how to find something on the Internet? Send a note by clicking here.
The joy of Bob Ross © 2006, Star Tribune Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. |
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