It's raining again. It seems that some people have no concept of matching their windshield wiper speed with the amount of rain that is falling on their windshield. Maybe they're oblivious to the sound of their wipers doing that whole semi-wet rubber skipping across glass. Even if they're not making that noise, they're still going faster than a fat guy towards an open buffet line.
It's just humorous to see somebody's wipers going at top speed while it is barely sprinkling. Which is more intrusive - a little bit of water on your windshield, or wipers crossing your view 100+ times a minute? "I can't see when there's water on my windshield!!" I'm distracted enough by their wipers that I notice them going at top speed when I'm in a different car. At that point it's not the water that's distracting me. These are probably the same people that leave their turn signals on for a few miles after they've changed lanes on the freeway.
Also, do me a favor - if your wipers are on, your headlights should be on as well. Not too tough of a concept, right?
Amen and amen.
Another concern I have is old people driving. My wife has had 3 near-accident experiences with elderly drivers in the last month. They do things like pull out in front of you, run red lights, and go dangerously slow in high-speed areas.
She recommended that a law should be passed that requires people over 70 to have a new drivers test every X years. She thinks every year, I think every 2 or 3. That would probably make the roads safer and reduce frustration for many drivers as our elders are going 25 in a 50 and taking turns at -3mph.
I prefer to leave my wipers off as long as possible. Two major reasons--it drives Nancy crazy, and I don't feel obligated to react to a few drops of condensation. Another reason is we really don't have time in the cockpit (between gameboys, USA Today, and counting all our money) to keep switching the wipers on and off. Amen to the drivers test--pilots have to retire at 60 because their flying skills have declined--but my driving skills will be A OKAY until I'm dead?