The point
of my site is to provide some comic relief to the
frustration and stress that many of us experience
as a result of daily driving in big cities. I
started the site as an alternative way to vent my
own frustrations --
I needed something to help me lighten up. I used to get really
worked up when someone cut me off or
whatever. Now,
I just shrug and think, "That will make some good
footage," and let it go. With few
exceptions,
almost all
of the feedback I've received has been very positive,
with people appreciating the
humor, so I've kept
the site going. I've always found laughter -- at
myself as well as others -- very
therapeutic.
That's what
this site is about (laughter, not therapy), and I hope
you enjoy it too.
Q: Do you consider yourself a perfect driver?
Heavens, no. I've been guilty of doing almost
everything on my site at one time or another. The
only
things I can honestly say I've never done are parking in
a space reserved for the handicapped, reading
a book or newspaper while driving, and driving illegally
in an HOV lane. Oh, and I've never painted
yellow lines over dead animals either (see July '98 'Tard of the Month). Also,
note that I actually posted
a picture of my own vehicle for 'Tard of the Month (Aug.'98) after a minor fender
bender. I don't think
anyone is a perfect driver. I know I'm certainly
not a perfect driver, and don't pretend to be.
Q: What is a 'rubbernecker'?
"Rubbernecker" is the term the
people around here use to describe those who slow down or stop to look
every time there is an accident on the side of the road. They obstruct
the flow of traffic while they twist
their necks around to keep looking at the wreck -- hence the term
'rubberneck'.
Q: Are you aware that the term "Tard" is politically incorrect?
Yes, I am. "Tard" is a shortened slang for
"Retard," and I think that it's a good way to
describe how
some people
drive nowadays -- they drive like they're mentally
retarded (or impaired, disabled,
challenged, whatever).
It also doubles as a convenient acronym for the name of
my site: The Atlanta
Roadways Digest. If my
usage of that term offends you, too damn
bad, I don't care. Actually, that's
not entirely true. I do care. I'm not out to hurt anybody.
At the same time, though, I can't please
everybody. There will always be someone out there who will find fault
with me, no matter what I do,
so I'm not going to bend over backwards to be sensitive to everybody's
emotional sensibilities. And to
be honest, I think it's quite funny that some people get all bent out of shape
over the usage of this word.
Can't people
take a joke anymore? This website is about bad driving, after all.
It's not like I'm trying
to promote rounding up mentally retarded people for circus shows or
something! Anyway, if my use of
this word bothers you, just remember, nobody is holding a gun to your head forcing you to visit
this site.
By all means, feel free to send me
a nasty
note to tell me what a bad person I am if you feel inclined to
do so. I mean, personally, I would think that all those websites
out there that promote hatred, abuse and
violence to women, children, minorities, animals, etc., etc. are much
more deserving of scorn and moral
indignation. But if you feel that flaming me is time well spent,
then have at it. Just remember though --
it'll make
me dig my heels in even deeper. In fact, I
once
considered changing the name of my site to
"Atlanta
Roadways Experience" and use ARsE for the
acronym. That way, I could have an Arse of
the
Month, etc. But then I started getting
complaints
about my usage of the word "Tard" from these
whiny, thin-skinned, 'you hurt my feelings poo-poo on you' types who
even went as far as to ask my ISP
to shut this site down, so now I'm determined to stick with
"Tard" just out of spite. You see,
I'm stubborn.
I don't believe in backing down -- it would be so . . . un-American.
Speaking of being an American, my
ISP refused to do anything to my site -- they even sent me a note
informing me of the complaints that they
had received, and said that they reviewed my site and saw nothing wrong
with it and went on to say that
they will defend my right to free speech. Makes me want to break
out in a chorus of God Bless America!
Q: Isn't it dangerous to take pictures while driving?
To a degree, yes. However, there are a few
things I should mention. I do not hold the
camera up
to my eye to take a picture. I just point and
shoot. Sometimes the pictures turn out,
sometimes they
don't. I don't worry about wasting film
because I use a digital camera. This is
admittedly not 100%
safe 100% of the time. If I think a particular
shot is dangerous, I don't take it, and can tell you that
there are many great shots that I have allowed to get
away for safety reasons. Notice, for instance,
that I have no pictures of people cutting me off --
that's because it'd simply be too dangerous to take
pictures while trying to avoid a collision.
Update (8/15/98)
I no longer use a still camera as my primary
tool. Instead, I am now using a video camera
which I
mount on a tripod that is fixed in a stationary position
inside my vehicle (in the rear passenger area).
I just let the camera record continuously as I drive,
then extract still photos from the tape using a video
capture device on my computer. This is
obviously much safer, as I no longer need to manually
operate
anything (besides the car) while driving. As
an added benefit, I am now able to offer RealVideo®
video
clips of the driving idiocy I encounter
daily. I will, however, continue to use the
digital camera for non-
moving shots such as bad parking jobs and handicapped
parking violations, as well as some moving
shots where I consider the risk to be minimal.
I did, but now that I'm no longer updating this website, I no longer take submissions.
Q: Why do you scramble the license plates of other drivers?
Actually, with the exception of pictures in the
Handicapped Parking Violators section, I make no effort
to scramble or conceal anyone's license
plate. In most of my pictures, the tags are
simply out of focus.
Q: Okay, then why do you scramble the tags of Handicapped Parking Violators?
I deliberately scramble the tags in this section
because, unlike other sections, in this section there is
a
reasonable possibility that I simply didn't see the
permit, as some people lay them flat on their dash,
sometimes under a pile of papers. Given this
possibility, I prefer to extend the benefit of the doubt
and conceal the tag numbers. In the other
sections, it's pretty clear cut -- the subject
was improperly parked, or hogging the left lane, or
whatever -- it's much more cut and dry.
Q: How do you afford going through so much film?
As I mentioned above, I use a digital
camera. Digital cameras do not use
film. The image is stored
electronically on a memory card, which I download
directly into my computer. As for the video
camera, the tapes are reusable.
Q: Do you just drive around looking for stupid people on the road?
No, not really. In fact, I do my best to
avoid them. Nonetheless, they seem to do a
pretty good job
of finding me.
Q: Do you ever worry
about someone going irate at having their picture taken
and trying to run you off the road to kill you?
No, not really. I try to be discreet when
taking someone's picture precisely because I don't want
to
provoke a road rage incident, and I have yet to encounter
any such problems while taking pictures.
Q: What is your view on using a cell phone while driving?
I don't have a problem with it so long as one doesn't
allow it to interfere with one's driving. Now,
different people have different capabilities when it
comes to multitasking. Some people manage
driving and talking on a phone without any problems,
while some people can't handle it at all. I
think
it's up to each of us as individuals to know what our
limitations are, and act accordingly. You
know,
that politically unfashionable concept called
"personal responsibility"? I do not
think it is possible to
make a blanket statement that no one is capable of using
a cell phone and driving safely at the same
time. Some people are very capable of doing
so. For example, police officers are used to
handling
multiple tasks while driving -- entering information into
their computers, talking on the radio, operating
radar equipment, etc. So I think one's level
of experience has a lot to do with it. Again,
it's up to
individuals to know their limits and exercise good
judgment. But that's probably a bit too
idealistic,
so maybe they should go ahead and ban
them. But they should also ban putting on
makeup while
driving, reading while driving, looking at maps while
driving, and a whole host of other distractions.
Then the problem becomes figuring out where to draw the
line. Should we ban eating and drinking
while driving as well? Scary as it may be,
there are some people who can't even handle drinking a
soda while driving. I personally don't like to
use my cell phone while driving. I do it every
once in
a while when I absolutely need to, but if the matter can
wait until I get to wherever I'm going, I'll wait.