Readers have sent in comments that included some of the crazy things they’ve seen drivers do while tooling down the road. Just the other day on Highway 101 I passed a man eating a hamburger with his left hand and talking on his cell phone with the right, leaving me shaking my head and getting away from him ASAP in case he lost control.
I asked local police officers about the craziest things they’ve pulled drivers over for. Here are some:
–An insurance adjuster typing his claims on his laptop while driving between claim inspections.
–Driving while eating a cheeseburger in one hand and reading a book in the other. (Maybe it was the same guy I saw.)
–Driving while taking multiple bong hits.
–Watching DVDs while driving.
–Shaving or applying makeup.
–Driving with a 25-foot light pole sticking out of the back of a Ford Mustang hatchback. Turned out the pole had been stolen in hopes of selling it for scrap metal. The driver and passenger went to jail.
What are the craziest things you’ve seen drivers do? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Holly
Two instances come to mind. The first was while living in Chico, I saw a driver and his passenger snorting cocaine. The second was a woman yelling at her children in the back seat and she was completely turned around facing them while her one arm was on the steering wheel as she swerved down the freeway. Truly frightening.
August 30th, 2010 7:24 am
PTownFan
Was next to a guy on a Harley yesterday that was riding hands free at about 50 mph.
August 30th, 2010 7:26 am
Kimba
When I was in the young child my parents owned a luxury van that we used to take on vacation. They used to switch drivers barreling down the freeway going at least 60MPH. I’ve never forgotten that and always think about how dangerous it was!
August 30th, 2010 7:32 am
Maria
A woman changing her shirt on the Golden Gate Bridge.
August 30th, 2010 7:38 am
JB
I was Highway 80, heading to Sacto for appointments. I noticed a car coming up fast behind on me in the fast lane near Dixon. I moved over, figuring the car was doing 80+. and in a bigger hurry than me.
As the car passed I glanced over to see a women talking on a cell phone and applying eye makeup on with a brush.
Stupid is as stupid does,,,
August 30th, 2010 7:47 am
Brad
There is a guy that regularly comes south from Cloverdale that I see eating a bowl of cereal with a spoon, that takes two hands
August 30th, 2010 7:47 am
Anna
Was driving in the fast lane on 101 in Marin behind a swerving car. When I got alongside him it turned out he was steering with his knees while assembling the different sections of the newspaper getting ready for his paper route. Multitasking 101. Haha. Not funny.
August 30th, 2010 7:49 am
PTownLove
an older gent driving with some type of toy dog on his chest while trying to see over the dog…
another was a mom helping her kid in the back seat change clothes. reaching backwards, trying to steer and look behind her at the same time.
but my favorite, is whe you see someone rocking out in the car, having a great time and singing
August 30th, 2010 8:11 am
Ron
It must have been me,…driving to LA,…and having my cruise control set at 125mph. Record time mind you, no ticket.
August 30th, 2010 8:27 am
be
i saw a man and a woman driving while holding a whiskey bottle in san jose and then chugging it
August 30th, 2010 8:28 am
Maury
I had a friend who claimed to have crawled out his drivers side window, accross the hood and back into the car, while traveling on a boring stretch of California Highway at night. He almost flew off the car, but somehow made it back into the drivers seat without crashing.
August 30th, 2010 8:43 am
SKF
Saw a guy reading porn on his wheel while driving down 116 in Petaluma a couple years ago.
August 30th, 2010 8:46 am
Marie
My grandma was paraplegic and so she had a special car that she drove with the gas and break on the steering wheel. My grandpa used to drive it too and stick his feet out the window to give people a good fright.
August 30th, 2010 8:50 am
Noelle
I’ve seen people shaving on the road before. Not even shaving facial hair, full on shaving their legs on the road.
August 30th, 2010 9:00 am
wickedwillow11
One of the funniest I remember, is an older man looking in his mirror pulling out his ear hairs. I laughed so hard.
August 30th, 2010 9:16 am
John V
So what’s the big deal about shaving…assuming you are using an electric shaver? It requires no concentration, only uses one hand, does not require that you look in the mirror, and generally seems pretty harmless. Yes I have done this myself. What makes me really fume is watching women put makeup on…they adjust the rear view mirror to see themselves, lean towards it to get a better view, and sometimes use two hands…..now THAT is REALLY dangerous.
August 30th, 2010 9:44 am
collinsfriend
Reading a book, the newspaper or a map. Applying mascara is another one. One guy was smoking, ashes dropped between his legs and he rolled his car killing his entire family except himself. It just isn’t worth it. One lady was rear ended and killed by another woman who was painting her nails. Was it worth killing someone for?
August 30th, 2010 9:45 am
Jim
Last week right by the air show, I saw a guy and chick having sex while driving in their VW BUG.
August 30th, 2010 10:00 am
Ramon
Driving while texting, driving while talking on phone, holding phone in one hand and cigarette in other, talking on bluetooth phone while waving both hands around…
August 30th, 2010 10:02 am
taste bud
I was behind a 30 ft. motor home that was veering all over the highway. When I got closer, I could see through the rear window an elderly couple having fun on the full-width bed. The vehicle was really swaying forth and back. The window was fogging up. I passed, noticed the AARP sticker (Always Active Retired People?) and then saw….the motor home was apparently on cruise control. Nobody was driving.
August 30th, 2010 10:04 am
Ed
An old truck driving friend of mine used to open the drivers door and stand on the step to urinate during late night runs down 5
August 30th, 2010 10:06 am
Kim
Woman & son not willing to wait for the light to change to enter Carl’s Jr.
so just got into the on coming lane of traffic to enter.
August 30th, 2010 10:38 am
Ei
Saw that same hamburger guy on 80 – he was driving with his knees.
August 30th, 2010 10:38 am
mich harris
Let’s leave multi-tasking for other areas of our lives, eh?
August 30th, 2010 10:50 am
Warde
Several years back, there was a guy I would see often travelling on a motorcycle, between Petaluma & Sonoma, while lying on his back, steering with his feet.
August 30th, 2010 11:16 am
andrew
Driving saw a women reading a magazine, going like 10-15 mph in a 40 mph zone, turning pages not even looking at the road. I slowed down and drove next to her until she realized i was there. I shook my finger at her saying “bad girl”. I am 35 and this lady must have been in her late 60′s if not 70′s. Age is no excuse!
August 30th, 2010 11:32 am
goodguy
Saw a gal out on Hwy. 12 approaching Farmer’s Ln. a week or so ago take off her sweater and put a tank top on instead.
August 30th, 2010 11:59 am
John B
A guy driving while a female was taking care of him like Clinton got taken care of in the oval office. I have seen that twice in the last year or so. People smoking pot is a very common thing, probably twice a week.
August 30th, 2010 12:46 pm
????
i saw this couple having sexual intercourse while she was blocking his whole view and could not see around her they would not pull over and she was completely naked, it was about just getting dark.
August 30th, 2010 3:17 pm
paul
this is nuts. most people are capable of doing some extra stuff while driving. It is the loss of attention or control that is hazardous. We consider it okay to turn on the radio or whatever music system you have, but shaving is bad, or eating a hamburger.
However, after personal experience, I consider cell phones, even hands free, to be one of the most distracting things you can do besides driving with a car full of rowdy kids.
Honestly, i’ve done pretty much all of what has been described here except make-up and over the hood, and still, cell phones win hands down for most distracting, well except for those last few moments of intimacy. Sex while driving is like riding a bike down half-dome, only dangerous for the last few feet, or…
August 30th, 2010 3:32 pm
char
I agree that the cell phone thing is regularly the stupidest thing I’ve seen……I’ve even been hit by one of those idiots.
Second would be people riding with dogs on their laps.
August 30th, 2010 4:15 pm
JB
Interesting that so many people have identified driving with kids in the car as being as dangerous as talking on a cell phone. I totally agree; in fact, I think it’s more dangerous, because it so frequently inspires the driver to turn all the way around and face the back seat. And yet, oddly, I haven’t seen one single proposal to criminalize driving with children in the car. We seem content to wait for people driving with kids to do something that’s dangerous or reckless and THEN we give them a ticket; it doesn’t occur to us to just give them a ticket for having kids in the car in the first place. The idea, presumably, is that (a) sometimes it’s really NECESSARY to drive with kids in the car, and (b) it actually CAN be done safely; it’s just that sometimes it isn’t. Any reason why we don’t apply the same logic to cell phones?
And then there are cheeseburgers. There’s an entire industry which makes millions and billions of dollars selling hand-held food to people who are, in fact, driving cars at the very moment they purchase it, and who clearly, clearly intend to eat it while driving. One of the leading players in this industry used to advertise that it “takes two hands to handle” its flagship product. If we’re going to give people tickets for talking on cell phones while driving even if there’s no evidence whatsoever that they’re doing anything dangerous, shouldn’t we do the same thing for people eating cheeseburgers? We could post a cop outside the exit of every fast-food drive-through, and we’d solve the fiscal problems of every municipality in the state.
August 30th, 2010 6:49 pm
John V
I agree that cell phone usage can be very distracting, especially if trying to carry on any sort of in-depth conversation. For some reason, distraction is not nearly as bad when the person you are talking to is in the car with you. While I hate using cell phones while driving, I do it sometimes, but try to keep the conversation very brief and simplistic…like “I will be 30 minutes late; talk to you later.”
My personal major beef is with drivers that have dogs on their lap so the dog can stick its head out the window. Apparently this is not illegal. If I was in charge, I would put every one of them in jail for a few days, and put the dog in the pound for twice as long (as punishment to the person, not the dog.)
August 30th, 2010 9:09 pm
Adam
Have you guys seen the youtube video of the guy riding his motorcycle, texting with both hands and stearing with his feet on the handle bars? That is crazy.
August 30th, 2010 9:56 pm
suzie
Was driving north on the freeway & noticed the car in the right lane kept swerving & decided to pass him. While passing him I noticed he was trying to take a picture with his cell phone of the air balloon floating over the vineyard on the other side of the freeway.
August 31st, 2010 6:28 am
JG
People driving with dogs on their laps drive me nuts. Why isn’t that illegal?
I’ve been almost hit by many people attempting to smoke a cigarette and talk on the phone at the same time.
And applying makeup is ridiculous. Either do it at home, or PARK THE CAR. Why is that so hard?
September 1st, 2010 8:52 am
Andrew
Greetings from England! Was driving on a road where the national speed limit does not apply (60mph safe speed). There were queues all the way up the road, and several cars doing U-Turns in the road. Then I saw why – an idiotic father going at 5MPH–that’s right, 5, so he could play with his daughter. I overtook him and he waved the ‘W****r’ sign at me.
May 15th, 2011 5:12 am
Colleen
I was turning left into my driveway and a car was coming the other way, so I had my blinker on waiting for the car to pass so I could turn into my driveway. The car behind me beeps real loud and flys around me on the left side almost getting into a headon collision with the car I was waiting for to pass. We both just shook our heads and said how stupid people are. REally, you are that much in a hurry to almost get into a head on collision?
August 17th, 2011 6:04 am
Jim Walton
My wife and I were driving to work this morning in our van so we were able to get a birds-eye view of a small car in the lane next to us. This lady was eating cereal out of a large bowl. She wasn’t even trying to steer with her pinky finger with bowl-holding hand. I thought she might have been steering with her her legs but she was kind of skinny so her legs could no have been large enough for it to reach the steering wheel. By the way, this was on the freeway going about 60 miles an hour.
December 7th, 2011 9:39 am