Stupid things I see car driver's do when I am riding my bike to work

Stupid things I have seen when riding my bike to work:

1) Dude balancing his cellphone at the top of his steering wheel playing a  video game & not paying attention to the road - UGH - ironically he was playing a car racing video game instead of driving his  real car.  (yesterday)

2) Woman with a bowl of cereal & spoon eating breakfast. (today)

3) Dude shaving.

4) Woman applying make-up.

5) Person reading a book balanced on their steering wheel.

6) People texting.

7) People talking on their cell phones.

8) Drinking your morning bevie or stuffing food in their mouth.

9) Playing with the GPS.
10) Making erratic lane changes across three lanes of traffic on a 1 way road without shoulder checking - Ummm Hello?!

Being a motorcyclist I am acutely aware of my surroundings and who is sharing the road space beside me, in front of me and behind me.  Every motorcyclists I have talked to has a story of some of the dumbest/scariest things they have witnessed on the road by someone not paying attention while driving a car.  Some of these incidents are funny, but some are downright scary because it usually means the motorcyclist has had to take some sort of evasive action because of someone else's lack of judgement.  Tragedy results from incidents such as people chatting on their cell phones because they drift into your lane and don't see you.   I  don't know about you, but I get pretty nervous sometimes when I see the 4,000 pounds of rolling death coming my way and the driver isn't paying attention.

I am not saying all car drivers are bad, on the contrary I see quite a few great drivers who are courteous,  and completely engaged in the act of driving. 

Driving a motorized vehicle is one of the most complex things anyone can do, it requires the driver to process information quickly, make decisions based on that information and act appropriately.  Where things go wrong is when you add some sort of distraction into the mix - i.e. a  handheld cell phone or eating and then your brain does not process critical information that helps you make good driving decisions.

Your car is NOT your office, your kitchen, your bedroom, your livingroom or your bathroom- it is for transportation - DRIVING attentively. The life of most motorcyclists would be less complicated if people just concentrated on driving.

Think about this the next time you get behind the wheel, your inattentiveness could result in someone NOT going home to their loved ones because you just had to take that call or text or slug back that last bit of coffee, or one of the many other things you are doing while driving that takes away your focus from the road and your ability to not make critical driving decisions. 

It is illegal in the Province of BC to use handheld devices  while operating a vehicle.

Feel free to add what you have seen.