Spoken like a guy who has a chip on his shoulder. Both these highly educated and professional women have spent years analizing statistics, speaking with Police Officers, reviewing interviews with clients who have been in accidents, commissioning and reading studies (including medical and physiological), speaking to fellow actuaries in related fields. You are just some guy who rolls through stop signs and endangered others.
Yeah, yeah. If I had a dime for everyone I know who claimed to be a good "proactive" driver that I regularly observed doing stupid things. LOL, I'd love to be able to hire a 3rd party to clandestinely observe your driving for a few hours.
I thought this conversation was about YOUR ticket? Apparently we can, as obviously you are a flawed driver as you have a ticket.
Yes, you do! As a "good driver who is proactive instead of reactive" should you not be observing parked cars, pedestrians, bicyclers and anything else that's a potential problem?
Quoting an insurance company who's existence is predicated on charging people premiums in order to make money is not the best way to prove your case. Why not quote drug dealers when trying to discuss drug policies and law enforcement? I known actuaries, what they do, and the complexity of their calculations. But sorry if I don't trust the overall conclusion based on the source and who they work for.
Honestly, I would happily be your guinea pig for a few hours. This is what the individual will conclude. I don't follow all the rules - I go over the speed limit, just like I'm sure many people do. I have other driving flaws too I'm sure. However, they are all minor and the overall assessment would be a very good driver who is aware of the surrounding vehicles/pedestrians/cyclists and proactively avoids situations.
Yes, you are supposed to observe anything that is around you but there is a point where you can't pay attention to every single thing, especially if it's nowhere near you. I'm not going to pay much attention to parked cars on the other side of the road that aren't moving and I'm not going to be driving by. You have to watch a parked car if you are passing it.
Bottom line, it's like a speeding ticket. Police are trying to control a behavior that may lead to an accident. But just because one speeds, doesn't make them a bad driver, especially if they are blocking the flow of traffic.
Here's the irony - I go around with friends/family members who are cautious drivers but in actuality appear afraid. It's very annoying and I let them know it and they occasionally get angry as a result. However, if they are late for a train or an appointment, guess who suddenly "HAS" to drive? I tell them no, they can drive, and they turn around and beg me to get them where they need to go because they know I'll be aggressive enough to get there as quick as possible but will still do so safely.
Let's just agree to disagree. You are going to provide a bunch of reasons that for you makes one a bad driver. I'll argue a bunch of reasons that makes one a good driver. There's no right answer. And face it, a driver who follows every single letter of the law when driving is not necessarily a good driver, and one who doesn't follow every single rule is not necessarily a bad driver.