People do stupid things from time to time (I know I do). Most of the time, those stupid things are done when no one else is around. However, it seems that many people acting stupid while on the road. It is as if the asphalt is making people dumber.
You can find people driving without regard of rules on the road on any day — changing lanes without signalling, cutting in front of others, tailgating (maybe they are trying to take advantage of the air current of the car in front of them), driving too fast (or too slow), two (or more) cars driving parallel with each other (thus blocking the traffic). It seems that many believe that getting into a car gives them a license to do whatever they want. Sometimes I see people drive so badly that makes me wonder how they obtained their driver's licence in the first place. (Okay, I know it is not easy to pass a driver's test — it took me four exams in two provinces to get the full licence. Then again, maybe that is because I am a bad driver myself). I'm not even going to talk about people driving drunk.
In this part of the world, snow and ice are things we have to navigate on. One would expect that people living here are capable of driving in winter without incident, but in every year, the number of accidents spikes upward on the day of the first snowfall. It seems that the snow is actually amnesia dust and people forget how to drive in the snow when they (or their cars) come in contact with the falling snow. When drivers get out on the snow-filled road, they often drive as if they are driving on a dry road in the summer. And don't forget the cars travelling around with a foot of snow on the roof. You just can't predict when a large chunk of it will fall off that car and fall right in front of the vehicle you are in. It would be quite scary if ice flies straight towards the vehicle you are in. I don't think I need to describe what could happen if an ice missile flies towards you when you are driving.
Often in the winter, one can distinguish one lane from the other by following the tire tracks. Yes, it seems that the lane markers have disappeared under the snow. If one gives it some thought, it shouldn't come as a surprise. After all, the lane markers are painted white. WHITE! To be fair, you need to paint the lane markers with a colour that contrast that of the road surface, but can't you paint those markers with a colour that does NOT blend in with snow. We (in Canada and the US) already use yellow lines to divide the two directions of traffic. Why don't the civic planners think of the possibility of snow blending in with the lane markers when they decide on how to divide the lanes?
There are many people who disregard the rules while walking on the street. Often people cross the road wherever they want. It is not uncommon to find people crossing a street when the traffic lights are only a few steps away. Many others cross the street when the lights show a red palm or "Don't Walk". And don't forget every motorists' favourite — those who appear from behind parked cars and run across the street, forcing the motorists to slam their brakes.
There are ways to fix some of the problems stated above. For the lane marker problem, one (unrealistic) way to fix this is to place heating ducts under all lane markers so that the markers are not covered in snow/ice. We can also install lights under the lane markers so that people can see where the markers are. As for the pedestrians, a loudspeaker could be installed at every traffic light and blast out the words "Don't Cross" when the red light is on. We may also try installing lasers at crosswalks. If a pedestrian tries to cross during red light, an alarm would be turned on. We can also use a barrier at the pedestrian crossings so that people can't cross the road when the red light is on (unless they walk around the barrier, but they would become pedestrians of the first type). With advances in technology, maybe technicians can install IQ test machines into the every car and a motorist cannot start a car unless he/she passes the IQ test (all right, one can pass the test and act like a raging bull on the road. I'm just making suggestions here).
There is no way to avoid bad drivers/pedestrians, unless you stay in your home at all times. However, we can do our part to keep the number of bad drivers/pedestrians down by not acting stupid on the road. Most of the above suggestions are not feasible, so the best way to keep bad users of the roads remains being alert at all times.