I am a calm and rational driver

The BBQ Pit
21

Heh, I always get a kick from reading your post Scylla and this is no different. I might not believe in your polictical side, but your driving habits mirror mine.

I will admit though that sometimes I’m that asshole driver who passes on the right and gets between 2 cars, especially when the second driver (in this case you) aren’t agressive enough to flash/honk or just ride “mr left lane impeding asshole” driver. I tend to get as close as possible (say, 1 car lenth) and ride his ass or back off (to allow my lights to clear his rear window) and give him a dozen high beam flashes.

I normally don’t do anything more than this but yesterday I bent my own personal driving rule. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of being behind a truck (one of those 5 ton moving-type trucks) who was purposely blocking the left lane by keeping in the shadow of a tractor-trailler. I passed on the far right came back into the left lane and gave him a big dose of ABS+FDB Braking down to 25 mph. This did 2 things. 1, it made him violently slow down, and 2, it allowed the 60 other cars in behind him able to pass. I dropped it to 2nd and left him in my dust.

Sure, I’m gonna get some flaming over what I did (and hey, I ain’t proud of it) but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

22

It’s nice that I now have a name to put to the asshole driver who tailgates me on the way to school.

That’s it; from here on out, I’m taking Rte. 11.

Robin

23

If I hear one more person say, “Say that to me when one of these assholes has a gun” I’m going to…shoot someone. Something tells me that the chances of someone shooting someone else in an incidence of road rage is as rare as getting stuck by lightning. Sure, it happens but the odds of it happening to you are significantly in your favor. It’s like the furor over stranger abductions of children. Anyway…

I’ve given up on analyzing others’ driving predilictions. The other day I was crusing along at about 75 at the head of a line of cars, all of whom were content to cruise at 75. A car pulls from an intersecting road at the lovely rate of 40 mph. I slowed down, as did everyone behind me, and I gave him a qucik light flash to remind him that he wasn’t the only one on the road. Perhaps he didn’t see us, I say.

He proceeds to BRAKE CHECK me. OK, whatever. At the next opportunity, where the road splits to two lanes, I pull into the passing lane, and proceed to pass. He moves his car over to block both lanes to keep anyone from passing him. Lucikly I can outaccellerate most cars, so I succeed in passing him.

My motto now is to put as much distance between freaky-ass drivers and myself as I can, whatever it takes. seems safer.

The other amusing thing was th guy in front of me, stuck in a traffic jam, raging at all the cars. I could see him beating the dashboard, tearing hi hair, etc. He couldn’t stand being stuck in the line of 100 cars waiting for a turn. The funny thing is that, during that time, that road usually has 400 cars waiting. This was an especially light day. :smiley:

24

badmanawrote:

Mr. LLIA may be an asshole but you are dangerous. Tailgating is stupid and potentially deadly no matter the situation.

Let the guy pass in his own damn time; as long as he’s passing and gets over as soon as he’s completed his passing maneuver, be happy. That way, no one gets hurt.

And point two: The left lane is for passing only. Get your ass out of the lane if you’re not passing!

25

You…you…you’re my soul mate!!

:smiley:

26

I wasn’t going to post this last week; I figured there had been too many car / road rage threads of late. I was driving along at 7:00AM on my way to work. I should tell you first that work is East of me and that the morning in question was a true “Severe Clear” day.

Now, for those who don’t know, when the sun first rises and is very low & bright on the horizon, only a fool doesn’t drive carefully (and with the darkest pair of sunglasses RayBan makes). Cut to that Wednesday, where I’m driving on a mile long two-lane bridge with traffic, doing maybe 40. Cut to rear mirror were a gal in a Honda SUV is riding my ass. Now I, like Scylla leave stopping room in front of me. (Hey, just because I’m smart enough to bring black RayBans doesn’t mean everyone did. I’m sure there are a few blinded 'Mr. Magoo’s out there.)

Well, some one did the unthinkable: they cut in front of me. Oh well, guess it’ll take me 15 extra feet to get to work. Well, the SUV Dolly on my tail proceeds to go Ape Shit. She’s a-screaming, she’s a-cursing, she’s flippin’ me the middle finger, she’s flippin’ me two fingers, Hell, she’s flippin’ me her fist (which I assume would hurt). It was a hell of a show; wish I’d had a camcorder.

Well, seeing as I wasn’t sufficiently validating her point of view, Miss Honda, SUV decides to tailgate me and drive her car wildly from left to right & back again. Her wildly contorted face ruined the effect of her hairstyle and Anne Klein clothes: yes, things had turned Ugly. Still, knowing that God and The American Bar Association were on my side (Oh, like you’ve never hedged your bets) I maintained a proper speed despite her. By now, she was Really pissed and with me able to see the veins throbbing in her forehead I knew she was pretty close. And no blushing bride was ever that shade of red.

And that’s when she moved into the lane next to me. Once there, she tried her bullying tactics on the Monte Carlo to my right, the driver of which promptly turning sheet white. But wouldn’t you know it? Being on a two lane bridge that arcs, by this point, I’d passed mid way, and the downward angle meant we could all see & resume speed. My lane sped up and her lane was being left behind. And that’s when sanity left her. On a two lane per direction bridge that was narrow as is, she powers onto the shoulder and starts trying to pass people. And she’s doing it; she’s just about even with me, albeit there’s one row of cars between us.

But you see, here’s where fate intervened. The shoulder at the end of the crossing, narrowed to the extreme, as a concrete support took up most of the lane. Her SUV wasn’t going to fit around it, being a Honda, it wasn’t going through it, and so her only choice was to try to merge back into her lane. In front of a line of traffic. Traffic that she had just all passed on the right. Now, I really would have liked to have stopped to see how this story ended. But I’m a responsible driver…and I had to get to work. :wink:

27

It’s taken me a long time - but I’ve come to realise that there are an infinite number of fuckwit drivers, so although my testosterone may still whisper “go on, teach him a lesson” I know infinity minus one is still a pretty big number, and, at that exact moment, another dipshit will somehow be managing to pass his driving test.

It isn’t worth me raising my blood-pressure to get “even” with one of the endless supply of shit-for-brain drivers.
(Having said that, I know someone who dealt with a road-rage idiot by getting out a chainsaw and starting it - the idiot got back in his car and left pretty quick)

28

gesticulates wildly It pleases me to see Tolkienisms in everyday use, especially this one which I have ALWAYS held quite dear.

This Year’s Model I swear I’m not stalking you on the boards, but I must second your opinion of I25 and clarify a bit for those unfamiliar with the Denver-Greeley grand prix–There are actually 2 ‘speed limits’ on this 50 odd mile long stretch of road:
Right lane is 53 mph, left lane is 85. The cops say it’s suposed to be 75, but they can’t enforce the left lane too well because it’s just too dangerous for them to to get from the right-hand median to the fast lane, and impossible for them to accellerate to the fast lane speeds from the inside shoulder. The drive is swift, brief and terrifying.

As for the OP, I can’t say for sure how much of Scylla’s declarations of being a defensive and all-around mellow driver are heartfelt or delivered with some cheek. But I CAN say that I’ve settled my share of fatality auto claims, and damn near EVERY one of them involves someone assuming the role of “politeness enforcer” and intimidating the jackass. Said enforcer or someone who just happens to be in an adjacent lane is usually the guy who ends up on the kitchen table, while the jackass goes on home and watches FRIENDS or whatever. Well, drunks do quite a bit of damage to themselves as well, and usually on th stretch of I25 noted above.

The business about camping out on a Miata’s rear bumper with your Durango is bad news. If anything happens and you DO end up rolling over the car ahead of you and that person gets hurt, the courts really won’t care who STARTED the altercation. It’ll come down to YOU had the last clear chance to make the situation go away but continued to allow a dangerous situation to exist. You’ll learn a lot about homicide proceedings if there are any witnesses to the incident. Even worse, if Mr. Miata gives you a brake test and you have to make a sudden lane change, you’ll hurt someone who probably had nothing to do with the whole business. And from the cases I’ve seen, the tailgater and the jackass who caused the accident never stick around to see how the little Honda fared as it got crumpled by the semi to it’s right. Who’s the Ass now?

If you think you need to whip in and out of traffic & be rude, you should not drive.
If you think you have the right to “punish” someone who drives that way, you should not drive. Driving is tricky enough without an egotistical prick playing games with an inconsiderate jerk. In my opinion, the prick, in this case Scylla should be ashamed of himself for letting his overfed nuts goad him into putting other people’s lives at risk.

If someone cuts you off, let it go and keep their dangerous habits ahead of you where you can monitor them. You’re not in a road race, you’re trying to get someplace alive. if you doubt me, see if you can do a ride along with a cop or EMT sometime. Fatal werecks happen a lot more often than you think. For a REAL good time, play the ghoul at your local ER and see who comes in for a brief hiatus on their way to the basement.

29

You know, no driving rant thread is complete without the “tail gating is dangerous!” being thrown in.

Driving is dangerous. I don’t hold that tailgating is a very dangerous activity when compared to all the other fucking dumb ass driving out there.

Hey, like I said, I ain’t no angel but when I drive but I drive without impeding anyone. This has allowed me to drive without EVER being tailgated because when I’m not in a rush, I stay right. I do the limit with my cruise control on and I signal every lane change. If I see another car hanging beside me blocking traffic (and a lot of people do) I pull away to create a space for passing vehicles.

When I’m in a rush I tend to be in front, and the only way to tailgate my ass is if you’re willing to follow me at 160 km/h even on ramps (out of the years of doing this, only 2 or 3 drivers have been able to keep up with me).

30

“Overfed nuts”?

31

overfed nuts…sounded good. :slight_smile: I picture a couple of obese, testosterone-pumping oysters riding shotgun & flooding the driver’s brain with neanderthal impulses to dominate all other drivers.

32

Sorry for the multiple post, btu I just couldn’t let it go badmana. I sheepishly agree that I was a bit preachy, but I’d like to be specific on my attitude about tailgating. I don’t think it’s so much dangerous, especially compared to the assinine behavior that usually inspires it, as it is dumb. Dumb because most rear-end accidents just result in a bit of roadside embarassment with little or no bodily injury; but the negative results of tailgating are ENTIRELY preventable by the perpetrator. They bringin’ dat shit on themselfs. That’s dumb.

33

We do not allow you refugees from elsewhere to bring your rude behaviors with you. Matchka is right on…Whether you started the problem or ended the problem, your actions are assessed.

34

I’m hoping most people understand that the OP is not to be taken literally, and that the point of the thread is a complaint against the behavior and attitude of the “Me” in the OP.

Right?
[sub]or did I blow it again[/sub]

35

No, Scylla, you didn’t blow it. Your OP had me in stitches.

So did the comments by the nuff-nuffs who took it all too seriously.

Geez peoples…grow a sense of humour will ya’s?

:stuck_out_tongue:

36

and my point was to pit refugees who bring bad habits with them. I drive a 64 Ford 4x4 with a drop hitch that sticks out like a ram. Everyone stays away from me. And yes, Scylla, I have driven like you. HEH HEH HEH

37

Pretty oblique, but I was hoping that was the case.

or did I blow it again Interesting choice of words given the handle of the OP of this thread.

38

That would have been very clever of me, if I had done that on purpose, wouldn’t it?

39

Hell, Scylla, I thought you were parodying a few “I love to tailgate” posts.

40

I think a saner approach would be for everyone to have coaxially mounted paint guns mounted under their hoods, linked to the horn button. When you hit the horn, you’d also splatter 'em. After a time it’d be real easy to spot the spotted assholes.

BTW Mr. Gelding Sir, if’n you was to blast them from point blank range with high explosive, wouldn’t that tend to halt your foward progress?:smiley: