Look, honestly, Americans are horrible drivers compared to the rest of the world. Why? Our license tests are way too easy.

 

Had my own bike at 11 yrs an old Viliers

 

imo you should try to do this with any vehicle. That was one of the first things I learned when I started driving

 

I am a Motorcycle driver to. Tip to Survive: Drive it like you are invisible, all others on the road dont have a clue about driving and are drunk.

I had a near-fatal crash the first week i owned the S2000, because on old Farmer with a toyota landcruiser just dont see me and cut my road.
A friend of mine in the passenger saet, also a seasoned biker, said: "This guy just dont see us. Small, low car, silver color, on silver-gray pavement, sun goes down.... " And he was right.
Since this time, i often drive with the lights on and be more cautios then before.
Knock on Wood, nothing happend since this.

 

A camera will certainly prove who was at fault -- but you still crashed. Your fault or someone else's is still a crash. Camera won't prevent anything but if you plan to crash much it may help getting the car repairs paid for.

-- Chuck

 

I'm fairly well traveled... and really don't agree with this. Parts of any first world country are good and parts are bad for driving skills. But spend time in some parts of the world and you'll probably start thinking there's no driving test at all.

 

Yes I also treat my S like a motorcycle when I'm driving. Its also relates to objects on the road. You have to be very careful about not hitting object on the roadway. Don't ask how I know.

 

There are plenty of people out on the roads that are distracted or simply aren't paying as much attention as they should be. But sometimes even those drivers who are making an honest effort at watching out for others are potentially going to miss seeing a small car like the S2000 for a number of different reasons. Do your best to be seen, but never assume that others can see you. Driving as if you're invisible to others is the best way to proceed. Whether I'm driving the S or riding my motorcycle I always try to treat the situation as if no one else on the road can see me.

None of this does any good if you yourself are not paying attention. More than once I've actually had people make eye contact with me and still go on take over the space my motorcycle was about to occupy in a matter of seconds. Things like pushing me out of the right lane to make a freeway exit from the middle lane or running a red light just before I entered an intersection. Some people just don't care as long as they have the weight advantage. Had I not been paying attention under such circumstances I seriously doubt that I'd be here typing now.

 

I've had the same experience of having a person make eye contact, then proceed as if my S didn't already occupy the space. I guess they see the size of the car and figure I'll move aside to keep from being overrun.

As others have mentioned: lights on, keep your head on a swivel and assume that the other driver will do something that will impact you.

 

I've experienced this as well for many, many years onbthe bike, and more recently with the S.

My conclusion is that a certain segment of the population has no real ability to judge time vs distance. They can't track a moving vehicle with any accuracy. Instead they just judge by how big the object is. If its big its too close to pull out. If its small, its farther away, and safe to pull out. This of course assumes all vehicles so assessed are roughly similar size and velocity. Thus anything outside the 'normal' range is grossly misjudged.

Big or slow moving vehicles are are treated too fearfully, and smaller or faster moving vehicles too recklessly.

The worst is when they're waiting, and waiting, and waiting, then pull out right when you get close (this happens because they are trying to figure out what you are.)

This all happens in the subconscious. They know they're not supposed to pull out if there is danger of collision. But lacking the ability to judge time and distance, their subconscious has done the best it can, and has come to associate larger appearing objects with being too close and too scary, and smaller appearing with farther and safer.

These people have no idea this is what they're doing, and when they get in inevitable accidents that are their fault, they will feel like 'he came out of nowhere', and 'he must have been flying', when you're really just a smaller vehicle traveling at normal speed.