Recently, in one of the “Rectal Cavity Driver” threads, someone mentioned one of my favorite new driving habits.
For the last few years, when I am in the slow lane and another driver is attempting to merge without the benefit of signaling, I make it a point to drive near them until they manage to hit the blinkers.
This is especially the case when there is one of the dedicated (someone know the name?) merge lanes that go from one on ramp to the next off ramp. Since I refuse to drive in the slow lane, believing that only sh!theads drive more than a mile in it, this does not occur too often. I just have a lot of fun watching these people brush the cobwebs off their turn signal lever and use it for the first time in years.
Does anyone else do this? I think if everyone did, people would learn to use their signals a lot more often. I have always felt that the refusal to use turn signals is one of the most socially incohesive forms of behavior there is.
Let’s hear about other “corrective” measures that people take to enforce the ABC’s of driver courtesy.
Yeah, I’m a great believer in turn signals. When two lanes are merging into one, say for an accident or construction, I’ll hug the bumper of the car in front of me if the car trying to merge: a) does not use the blinker, or b) has driven as far up the ‘to be closed’ lane before attempting to merge, even though most cars merged earlier, when there was more room and so caused less congestion (I hate this with a passion usually reserved for chocolate). If they use the blinker, I’m really quite nice, sometimes letting several people (over the course of the mile or so given for merging) to go in front of me. Ditto with coming out of parking lots–give me a turn signal, I’ll help you out if I can, don’t, and be stuck there forever for all I care.
Here’s a little theory that anyone with a cheap car can try out. If you’re the one with the cheap car, and the other person has a nice car, don’t let them in, cause they’re less willing to risk damaging their car.
A little off topic, but one of the most annoying things is when people don’t use their turn signals at intersections while making left turns, thus you get stuck behind them and miss the signal. Just one of my pet peeves.
Zenster, I think you are going to DIE if you continue this practice. Think about it:
You are deliberately seeking out idiot drivers
You’re messing with them
Sooner or later, one of these idiot drivers is going to ignore the fact that your car is in their way and will merge anyway, sending you and your vehicle into a fiery tailspin of do- Well, you get the picture.
I think Uncle Darwin is the best “corrective measure” for schmucks who don’t use their turn signals. Yeah, sometimes I drive a little lead-footed, but at least I drive predictably. Turn signals are an integral part of that.
Please be careful. You can’t fix all the bad drivers in the world, but just one of them could fix you for good. So be careful, and stay safe, and keep posting at the SDMB.
I tend to be of the view that the whole objective in driving is simply to arrive at ones destination.
What cars others own, how cool is my music, or this idiot needs the benefit of my superior intellect are not issues that concern me.
Haven’t had any disasters yet but I know plenty with the the above kinds of attitudes who have.
Sounds good in theory, but I would never do it in practice. If I see someone driving like a rectal cavity :D, I stay as far away from them I can. It’s not worth the risk.
I believe that trying to correct other peoples driving errors by also driving like an idiot is dangerous and stupid. The thought that some drivers out there are self righteously playing dangerous games on the road to show everyone else how pathetically they drive just gives me the shivers.
Zenster, despite some great posts from you, I now have a new opinion of you, and it’s not entirely complimentary. Please do not continue this behaviour. This thread has contains my story about a driver trying to teach me a lesson. Unfairly, as I couldn’t do anything about the situation I was in. But of course, some people appoint themselves driving gods, and decide for themselves what good driving is and isn’t.
Drive safe, and get yourself from destination A to B as safely as possible, and leave catching the driving errors to the traffic cops.
So I was driving along on this crisp, clear, Thursday afternoon. Heading down the highway, looking for adventure, all that jazz, and I come up near this tannish sedan. I’m about halfway up to his car in the other lane (I’m right behind his backseat door) when all of the sudden, I notice him getting closer to me. At first I think “hmm…he’s not really doing a good job staying in the middle of his lane.” About a microsecond passes and I think “um…he’s changing lanes here without bothering to look or put on his signal. I really think I should apply pressure to my brake RIGHT NOW!”
So I slam on my brakes and he completes his no signal lane change. One can only assume he sees me at this point, or at least hears my car horn, because he then proceeds to make another no-signal lane change back to his original lane, pass by a truck and get back in my lane all in the effort to avoid me. About 30 seconds pass by and I put over into the far left hand lane to prepare for an exit. I see him right ahead of me now in this lane! I think he wanted to get away from me and, having seen me yet again, thought I was following him. So this guy makes another quick lane change (sans blinker yet again) back into traffic and I exit the highway.
Mistakes happen. But if I nearly got into a wreck because I failed to do something, you can bet your arse that if the opportunity arrose close to 5 times over the course of the next minute to correct the problem, I’d probably go ahead and do it.
THespos, Spider Woman, porcupine, lolagranola, I appreciate all of you being concerned. Please allow me to reassure you that I do not agressively pursue these situations. As you can see from the OP, I eschew driving in the slow lane as a habit. It’s just when someone is being utterly immune to reality, I take a similar stance. Rarely do I even get a reaction. Probably because the other driver thinks that I’m just as oblivious as they are.
Since I have no family, wife or children to come home to, I figure I can afford to take these small chances.
What about just honking the horn if people don’t signal? I know, sometimes that means that you would ride the horn all day, but it’s a lot safer. Zenster, even if you don’t end up dead yourself, you could increase the chances of someone else being killed by the rectal cavity driver (I think it’s safe to assume that RCDs suffer road range more than others and are likely to react badly when someone, justly or not, tries to “teach them a lesson”).
I gotta say Bucky, that people go postal more often if you honk at them. In my case, the other driver cannot tell if you are doing it on purpose or not. They are so oblivious to the situation, that they can only assume that you are too.
