# What do you do when some bully tries to force their way into your lane? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 22, 2015, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-some-bully-tries-to-force-their-way-into-your-lane/720574 "2015-05-22T07:18:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2015, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-some-bully-tries-to-force-their-way-into-your-lane/720574/21 "2015-05-22T14:07:48Z")
> [@Kimbosquee](#): > > What do you do when some bully tries to force their way into your lane? > > …If and/or when this happens/ed to you, what would you have or have you done? > A. Do what I did and let them slide in front of you to avoid a collision or because you’re more passive like me > A2. A + exact some form of revenge after they manage to bully their way in > B. Keep them out at all costs and even move off to the side if you have to (wish I had done this) because there is no way in hell that’s happening > C. Something else (post shortened) I’m suddenly reminded why auto insurance companies offer a discount to drivers who manage to reach the age of 25. Do you know what the deductible is on your auto insurance? $1,000? $500? $250? Someone else is going to pay it, so it doesn’t matter? SAFE driving is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, then it doesn’t matter. Would you be as interested in playing chicken with 4,000lbs vehicles if you knew it was going to cost $500, or $1,000 every time you lost? And what do you get if you win? A chance to drive a rental car? Play stupid games - win stupid prizes. ---
**Author:** ![Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ac8455/32.png) [@Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Your_Great_Darsh_Face)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2015, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-some-bully-tries-to-force-their-way-into-your-lane/720574/22 "2015-05-22T14:18:57Z")
Before you get into a tussle with an asshole driver, make sure he isn’t doing the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2015, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-some-bully-tries-to-force-their-way-into-your-lane/720574/23 "2015-05-22T14:24:59Z")
I can’t be bothered to read that giant wall of text. Is the TL;DR version basically: “Some A-hole cut me off so I was an A-hole back to him. Can I get some validation guys?” ? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Angry\_Badger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b38774/32.png) [@The\_Angry\_Badger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Angry_Badger)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2015, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-some-bully-tries-to-force-their-way-into-your-lane/720574/24 "2015-05-22T14:25:36Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > …do an upper-decker in his toilet… C’mon now, that’s just going _too_ far. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2015, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-some-bully-tries-to-force-their-way-into-your-lane/720574/25 "2015-05-22T14:44:20Z")
Thanks, but I already get to see 30 minutes of shit drivers every morning and evening, and all day on weekends. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2015, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-some-bully-tries-to-force-their-way-into-your-lane/720574/26 "2015-05-22T15:08:51Z")
Noone’s mentioned a “Chicago sunroof”? ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2015, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-some-bully-tries-to-force-their-way-into-your-lane/720574/27 "2015-05-22T15:16:40Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > PS And is it any surprise that this person was driving a BMW? Not that assholes can’t drive anything, but my confirmation bias has clearly demonstrated that this sort of behavior is endemic among the Beamers, the Benzes, the Lexi, and for some reason the Nissan Altima drivers of the world. But maybe that’s just me (and DC in general). I recently had the pleasure of telling my husband about people’s perception of BMW drivers. He is the textbook example, but had never heard that it was “a thing”. We googled “BMW drivers” and I laughed my ass off at that first page of results. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2015, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-some-bully-tries-to-force-their-way-into-your-lane/720574/28 "2015-05-22T15:19:01Z")
> [@Kimbosquee](#): > > If and/or when this happens/ed to you, what would you have or have you done? Pretty much anything except this: > [@](#): > > I just threw my hand up in frustration. About a minute later, I had the bright idea to turn on my brights and leave them on so he could enjoy the pretty lights in his rear view mirror. It was my little way of getting “revenge”. I did turn them off as we passed the backed up oncoming traffic and then turned them back on again. It’s dangerous, which makes it much worse than dick-merging at low speeds. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2015, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-some-bully-tries-to-force-their-way-into-your-lane/720574/29 "2015-05-22T15:23:31Z")
I was just going to say “Shoot him” but **Scumpup** set the bar way higher. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2015, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-some-bully-tries-to-force-their-way-into-your-lane/720574/30 "2015-05-22T15:26:08Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Thanks, but I already get to see 30 minutes of shit drivers every morning and evening, and all day on weekends. Yes, but are you classy enough to post a drivecam video to YouTube, join a message board, and then whine about said shit drivers? Huh? I THINK NOT! ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2015, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-some-bully-tries-to-force-their-way-into-your-lane/720574/31 "2015-05-22T15:27:42Z")
> [@The\_Angry\_Badger](#): > > C’mon now, that’s just going _too_ far. 🙂 It should be reserved for people who do the chat & cut. ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2015, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-some-bully-tries-to-force-their-way-into-your-lane/720574/32 "2015-05-22T15:29:22Z")
I suggest pulling the AK off the gun rack mounted on the back window of your truck cab and lighting up the bully’s bumper and rear tires. As you drive by, give several hearty middle finger salutes and fling a can of piss disguised as Miller Lite through the open passenger window. That’ll learn him. …or just let the dude in and have a happy day. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2015, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-some-bully-tries-to-force-their-way-into-your-lane/720574/33 "2015-05-22T15:29:38Z")
Good driving is not about “everyone on the road should play fair and if you don’t you’re gonna have me to contend with, asshole”. Good driving is about “I am going to try to play fair and I am also, in addition to that, going to try to make my driving inconvenience the smallest number of other drivers possible”. Going around “punishing” various licensed idiots for their bad driving behaviors is dangerous. Not just to you and the idiots, but to the rest of us. People like your above-described BMW driver, if blocked from completing their ill-gotten merge, tend to do abrupt things trying to do it anyway and/or horn their way into some other tiny space. Or, annoyed by your brights in their rear-view mirror, they stand their vehicle on its nose to teach you a lesson, and maybe you rear-end them or, more likely, you stop in time but someone in the chain of tightly packed cars behind you doesn’t. Which, umm, enlarges the category of licensed idiot drivers if you see what I mean. Be a good driver. Be _nicer_ than the other guy. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2015, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-some-bully-tries-to-force-their-way-into-your-lane/720574/34 "2015-05-22T15:35:21Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > I recently had the pleasure of telling my husband about people’s perception of BMW drivers. He is the textbook example, but had never heard that it was “a thing”. We googled “BMW drivers” and I laughed my ass off at that first page of results. It’s not just me who thinks BMW drivers are like that! [There’s some evidence that they really are worse drivers, too, it’s not just prejudice.](http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2013/08/13/bmw-drivers-really-are-jerks-studies-find/) When I went to the OB earlier this week, I parked my car next to two BMWs in the parking garage. I thought, “I hope I get my car back in one piece”. Fortunately, I did. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2015, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-some-bully-tries-to-force-their-way-into-your-lane/720574/35 "2015-05-22T15:48:19Z")
Use a bright green laser pointer and shine it into his mirrors, reflecting it back into his eyes ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2015, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-some-bully-tries-to-force-their-way-into-your-lane/720574/36 "2015-05-22T15:50:05Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > I recently had the pleasure of telling my husband about people’s perception of BMW drivers. He is the textbook example, but had never heard that it was “a thing”. We googled “BMW drivers” and I laughed my ass off at that first page of results. Even funnier is the Google Image Search for “BMW drivers”. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2015, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-some-bully-tries-to-force-their-way-into-your-lane/720574/37 "2015-05-22T16:11:27Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > I recently had the pleasure of telling my husband about people’s perception of BMW drivers. He is the textbook example, but had never heard that it was “a thing”. We googled “BMW drivers” and I laughed my ass off at that first page of results. The one time I ever dinged a car–a time I learned an important lesson about how to parallel park–it was a Beemer, and I was all OH SHIT. But the owner called me that night using the number I left on the note, and he was not only civil, he was almost pathetically grateful to me for leaving a note, thanking me repeatedly for treating him decently. In terms of interaction with someone whose car you dinged, it could not have been pleasanter. So I may have a skewed perception of BMW drivers. As to the OP, however, :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2015, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-some-bully-tries-to-force-their-way-into-your-lane/720574/38 "2015-05-22T16:33:45Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Also, use all lanes before a merge in zipper in. Don’t get into the lane WAY back and then complain about people going to the front and then merging in. There is a backup because people like you don’t let people merge. Quoted for truth! Traffic flows more smoothly if people use the available space and merge at a similar speed near the choke point. Please note this does not apply to morons who use a turn only lane to skip a lineup of traffic, merging back in at the last second. They’re morons, you still let them merge because the punishment only holds up those trying to turn in their turn only lane but still…morons. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2015, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-some-bully-tries-to-force-their-way-into-your-lane/720574/39 "2015-05-22T16:50:40Z")
I do my best Otto impression, yell “Asshole” and drive on. Life’s too short. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2015, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-some-bully-tries-to-force-their-way-into-your-lane/720574/40 "2015-05-22T17:41:55Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > Yes, but are you classy enough to post a drivecam video to YouTube, join a message board, and then whine about said shit drivers? Huh? I THINK NOT! I confess I am not. But the OP apparently makes something of a habit of it, I discovered. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-some-bully-tries-to-force-their-way-into-your-lane/720574.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-some-bully-tries-to-force-their-way-into-your-lane/720574.md?page=3)