Everyone thinks they're good?

[BryanP]

In another thread someone said to me:

Kinda like how everyone thinks they're a great driver...

I wonder how many people really do believe that.  At traffic school (for a speeding ticket acquired when I was a teenager) the question was asked "How many people in this room think they're a better drive than most of the other people on the roads?"  I was one of maybe 3 out of over 50 who didn't raise their hands.

Me, I don't consider myself to be a particularly skilled driver.  Nor am I a crack shot.  To listen to some people on gun boards (or the guy who sits near me at work) you'd think half the people out there were sub-MOA shooters.   Now me, the only proof I have of driving skill is the fact that in 25 years of driving I've never been in an accident on this continent.  I don't attribute that to skill, just to a combination of being careful and lucky.

So give it up people - how many of you are obviously better than the rest of us?   

[coppertales]

I have been driving since 1957 with no tickets or wrecks.  I have been riding motorcycles since 1958 with no tickets or wrecks.........I have not caused any wrecks either......The reason is simple, I am not a wealthy person, never havebeen, so if I break it or get a fine, it really hits the wallet....chris3

[Balog]

I'm probably above average, but I say that based on a very low view of the average driver. :D

I shift decently well, and am paranoid about checking mirrors and blind spots etc.

[CNYCacher]

I think it's safe to say that most people on this board are above-average shooters.

[280plus]

I once raced my GMC Van against a guy in a Porsche from Albany to Boston and won. So I'm at least better than that guy.  

[Racehorse]

I think that when evaluating your own skill at any given task, it's natural to inflate your own capability in your mind. No one likes to admit that they just suck at something.  Additionally, the reward system in our society is usually set up to reward an inflated self appraisal, especially in the workplace. In reality, my performance is probably average or slightly above, but I can't just say that in a performance review or I get treated as if my performance were really far below average.

[makattak]

I think that when evaluating your own skill at any given task, it's natural to inflate your own capability in your mind.

That's TOTALLY untrue, I have an uncanny ability to dispassionately rate my own skills!

[BryanP]

That's TOTALLY untrue, I have an uncanny ability to dispassionately rate my own skills!

And you're damned good at it?   

[xavier fremboe]

I'm reminded of an old thread about banning cell phone use while driving...

[charby]

I'm reminded of an old thread about banning cell phone use while driving...

That is like opening pandora's box.

[Perd Hapley]

I'm reminded of an old thread about banning cell phone use while driving...

That is fascist.  Banning driving while using the cell phone on the other hand, is just fine. 

[mtnbkr]

I'm pretty average as a driver and shooter.

I've been in one semi-serious accident.  I can't blame my driving though, the brakes failed.  But it did cause a whole line of cars to bump each other (with the first couple getting damaged).  Otherwise, my driving record is pretty boring.  I try to be watchful, not to speed excessively, and not take unnecessary risks.

As a shooter, I'm ok on paper.  I can shoot sub MOA groups off a bench with no wind, but I can't offhand, nor can I dope the wind.  However, I do have one benefit over other shooters when it comes to hunting.  I don't get "buck fever".  I'm calm and steady until AFTER I make the shot (or choose not to take it), then I fall apart in a bundle of nerves.  I also shoot better at 3d targets than paper.  At 5yds, I can barely get on the paper at all with a handgun, but at that same distance or longer, I'm murder on 3d targets like cans, bowling pins, etc. 

Chris

[xavier fremboe]

That is fascist.  Banning driving while using the cell phone on the other hand, is just fine. 

I often wonder of the color of the sky in your world, fistful.   

[tokugawa]

"Careful" IS a "skill".  "Judgement" is a "skill".  Etc.   

[Harold Tuttle]

I drove in DC for almost 20 years and I am still breathing...
My main uber skill is seat of the pants navigation decisions
that result in correct destination acquisition and being able to read
traffic flow patterns for optimum transit rate.

In DC, you are either on game and aggressively working the flow,
or you are stuck in the plod.

Most people didn't seem to have any idea when or how to punt the commute and pick other options.

I drive a stickshift and have yet to seriously nerf up a vehicle by my own action.
Others have attempted to kill me with their cellphone distracted minivans,
but i have twarted their attempts thru vigilance and avoidance.
I try to keep a safety bubble around me. I use my mirrors and my turn signals.
I listen to the mechanical muses and honor them with anointments of Mobil1 and filter changes.

In these ways, I have found myself "better" at automotive transit.

[roo_ster]

I am a worse driver than I used to be. 

I had a string of vehicles that were of above-average in the handling dept and rewarded good & brisk driving.  During the summers I drove work trucks up to & including 2-ton dumpers with trailers.  I could toss a vehicle around at its limits and I could also drive moderately, but with a heightened sensitivity to safety concerns.

The last 12 years I have driven a 4 cyl compact pickup that neither rewards good drive nor requires the attention that a big truck & trailer does.


The only wreck that was my fault was caused by my failure to take the local conditions into account and resulted in only the vehicle I operated being damaged.  It was also before I could legally drive...

I have had a few tickets, all for speeding, not for reckless driving or such.  The last one of those was in 20010 or 2001.

Not sure where that puts me relative to other drivers, but my insurance rates are darned low so my insurer thinks I am relatively low risk.

[Perd Hapley]

I often wonder of the color of the sky in your world, fistful.   

Fascist. 

[RevDisk]

I am not a good driver.  I could never do any fancy or foolhardy activities in a regular car.  I am a paranoid driver.  My "first car" was a HMMWV.  Didn't own my own vehicle until I was 24.  So I learned to drive like everyone is trying their best to kill me.  When I drive, I don't try to be an excellent, highly skilled driver, I try to avoid being killed by idiots.  I really do miss other folks paying for the vehicle, gas, maintenance, insurance, etc. 

I'm ok at shooting.  If I can see a target, I can shoot it.  Unfortunately, I have pretty bad eyes.  Even with contacts, my distance shooting with irons isn't the greatest.  My personal record is 29 out of 30 rounds through a moving coffee can with an AK on full auto at 20m, standing unsupported.  Dime groups it ain't, but not all shooting is bench rest. 

[Jocassee]

I like to think I'm a decent shot...of course, this is coming from a guy in the "real men don't use scopes or bench rests" crowd. 

Did I mention my overpowering humility as well?

[Perd Hapley]

I knew I would be a poor driver, so I didn't even try until I was almost nineteen, and could no longer avoid it. 

I was right.

[HankB]

I've had a driver's license for over 35 years - no tickets, no at-fault collisions, no wrecks.

I was once rear-ended when waiting for the green at a stoplight.

So either I'm pretty darned good behind the wheel . . . or pretty darned lucky.

I'm certainly not a "world class" shooter like the guys you see pictured holding trophies in the gun rags or cranking off 12 shots from a revolver in under 3 seconds, but when shooting in local competitions I've always finished above the middle of the pack. When I was shooting trap regularly in the company league, I took several "High Gun" trophies. (With only a couple of hundred amateur shooters, I was not a big fish in a small pond - think something more along the lines of a minnow in a puddle.) And on my last Texas CHL qualification, I scored a perfect "250" . . . though I did let a few rounds stray into the 9-ring at 15 yards.     (In the 50 round TX qualifier, anything in the 8 ring or better is scored as a "5")

And I haven't frozen or muffed a shot when hunting dangerous game.

So I think I'm solidly above average. My biggest failing is practice - I don't get nearly enough.

[Monkeyleg]

I got my temp driving permit when I was fifteen, and until I got a job as a photographer at age 27, just about every job I'd worked was as a driver. I love driving, and I love cars and motorcycles.

I'm certain that I'm an above average driver, but not as good as I was when I was younger, and certainly not as good as someone who's had training.

With a lot of practice I got to be a decent shot. Not a good shot, but good enough that I wasn't embarrassed to have other people see my targets. After having been away from the range for so long, I'm certain that my skills have deteriorated to the laughable level.

[French G.]

I'm an above average driver, said without conceit. I grew up in a house with a race car driver who drove big trucks. I've had the mental side of driving pounded into me since I could talk. On the car control side, I drove a race car for several years, waiting to get back in one. So in the hands, feet, ass, department I'm okay. 100+ mph on dirt makes the daily drive seem pretty slow. My race car was an underpowered budget class, but still, 400hp in 1800lbs of car is a bit better than what we typically street drive.
  Never had a street wreck except for getting drilled in the rear while sitting at a stop light. I had enough time to see it coming in the mirror and release the brakes which helped ease the hit. One really hard shot in a race car, just a cracked breastbone from the belts flexing my chest. Enough exposure to that stuff makes you realize you do not want to wreck a street car much.

 My driving downfall? I was trained there is a right and wrong way to drive. I have observed that people, by and large, use their cars as emotional conduits. So, I take pretty good offense when people air out their disrespectful natures. I personnally try to drive down the road and not cause anyone else to change lanes, get on their brakes, etc. I get pretty pissy when people think my following distance is something they should whip around me and jump in. I don't like people in the left lane doing 50. I won't tailgate or brake check, but I will close up holes and when I get to the text messager doing 50 and have to pass them on the right I will move into their lane while passing with not much room to spare on their front corner. Usually sharpens them up a bit. I try not to get to aggressive anymore, but I have parked a few people who sorely deserved it.

Shooting, I'm above average, I tend to believe the USPSA classification system. When I was doing it, it said I was 65%. I shot in a few major matches and shook out at the same percentage against the champs. I can manage about 92% of available points in Highpower. Neither makes me great, but I've observed a not so great IPSC B shooter is way ahead of what passes for shooting. Everybody at public ranges looks at me like I'm afflicted because I don't sit at the funny little bench to shoot.

In short, I'm not great at driving or shooting, there is just a huge amount of really bad people doing it.

[Lee]

By today's standards, I probably suffer from low self esteem, so I have always assumed I suck at everything and try to improve.
However, I grew up trying to emulate the "Duke Boys" and Steve McQueen, driving big V8's way too fast on curvy county roads...so I can't say I haven't met a cornfield or ditch before...but I did pretty well once I grew up.

[BlueStarLizzard]

Driving: hmmmm... pretty crappy actually, i would say. but i am careful and i mind my speed on roads that cops populate, so i have had very few accedents (three: fail to yeild right of way when i was 16, totalled my car and got a concussion. ran over a womens foot in a parking lot, although i am halfway convinced that was a scam cause if it happened the way she said it did i think my bumper would have hit her beofre my wheel went over her foot :-? . and i rear ended a truck the other week) and no speeding tickets. i drive like a little demon on the backroads where i live but i'm not crazy fast like some people.

Shooting: with rifles i'm good prone, kneeling and sitting. off-hand is not so great (never was). my best prone target was scored 50xxx. i never pulled off all x's. i had the silly NRA Marksman and Master Marksman awards within one month of joining the shooting club when i was 13. i'm pretty good with crappy iron sights on the SKS shooting at soda cans.
with pistols there is definate room for improvement in my mind. i can do good solid combat groups with pretty much every pistol i've ever shot. but i can not consistantly make good single shots. i shoot too fast, its always been my problem with everything.