Why are these assholes in such a fucking hurry?

The BBQ Pit
1

Pet peeve - drivers!

Specifically car drivers! :mad:

What is WRONG with these people? If you see a honking big freight train roaring down the tracks WHY do you go around the gates? Are you in a hurry to die? You want to be first at the accident? What’s the deal? :confused:

People who drive too fast - here in NW Indiana we got streets that resemble cheese graters for the number of holes in 'em. Not only do various road idiots seem to disregard this, they drive 80 mph on this “pavement”! No joke - I’m doing 40 and eating their dust. If you’re doing only the speed limit they HAVE to go around you - even if it’s a two lane road with an on-coming semi on the other side. Said semi also probably going too fast.

Oh - and people who cut off trucks. You get a tank truck with 23 signs on it saying FLAMMABLE and TOXIC and HIT THIS WE ALL DIE IN A 10 MILE RADIUS :eek: and they gotta cut these guys off in traffic. Probably the same shitheads who play chicken with freight trains. Come to think of it, a lot of the trains have cars labeled like that, too. Maybe they like to risk death by chemical spill, I dunno. :rolleyes:

Oh and steel trucks - all those lovely steel mills around here loading up big trucks with those humungo steel coils, the ones dense enough to be made of neutronium. Last time there was a tangle between a steel truck and a train in my neck of the woods the train lost. :eek: And dingbats on cellphones sucking on coffee zip in and out of traffic cutting these overloaded trucks off. :rolleyes: *Hello *- if one of those babies hits you in your swanky sports car you are going to be a grease spot on the pavement.

And SUV’s falling off freeway on/off ramps… Hey, assholes, just because it’s got 4-wheel drive and gets 2 miles to the gallon doesn’t mean you have super-grip tires enabling you to turn at 60 mph without rolling over.

Goddamn, I wish I could fly to work but it costs too damn much to park at Meigs field on a daily basis.

2

Well, Broomstick, I too wish I could fly to work. I was hoping this new “it” invention from Dean Kamen would be some sort of personal helicopter-like fly machine, you know, the “Don’t leave home without it, neatly folds away under your bed” idea. But alas, it was just a damn scooter. :frowning:

While I agree with most of what you write, here, I disagree with what I see as the spirit of it. I do not cut off semis (although I will drop in pretty close if need be… I’m not sure how you’re defining “cut off”). I never race trains or go around the barriers. I do not do 80 in a 40. I do not drink coffee and talk on the cell phone.

But, I am an agressive driver. I will double the ramp speed in my suv, without so much as a tire squeal, because I’m paying attention, I know how to handle a vehicle, and I know how my vehicle handles. I will do this because I heartily disagree with merging into highway traffic at 35 mph. My skin crawls every time I must do this behind someone who, IMO, is so defensive as to be dangerous.

I speed on the highway. I will do 75 in a 70. Maybe even 80, if most of the other cars around me are doing the same and the road/weather conditions are good. To me, it’s safer than trundling along at the speed limit while other vehicles whizz by me. Is this unsafe? I don’t think so. Illegal? Yes, but oh well. Most cops give you between 5-10 mph over the limit on the highways, and I’m fascinated at the mindset of those who will not exceed the posted limit by a single mph.

Now, if your OP was more geared to stupid/reckless drivers, then I’m right behind ya. :smiley:

3

Oh, god forbid…defensive driving is dangerous!

Maybe if people weren’t trying to get to their funeral faster those of us who aren’t genetically incapable of caution wouldn’t be forced to drive as defensively. I appreciate that the universe is expanding and everything, but it’s really not necessary to go twice as fast as your parents did to get to the next town before space-time pushes it farther away.

If it’s possible to get somewhere in 30 minutes at 80 mph, it’s just as possible to get there in 45 minutes at 60 mph.

4

Yeah, those damn drivers get under my skin every day. I usually drive 5 mph over the speed limit and in some rare… very rare cases 10 mph over. Yet people speed by me as if I were sitting still. What is this the auto-bauhn? (sp?)
I get aroused when I see a person who just flew by me doing 80mph in a 55 get pulled over. Ok, a bit of a strech, but It sure as hell makes my day. Of course with as easy it is to get it off of ones record, just means that they can pay up and keep on doing it. Sure wish I had the money for a Traffic court write off and a few 50-150 dollar speeding tickets every month or two. I could finally fly to Athens.

5

“Cut off” - as in, darting in front of. Changing lanes fast enough to generate doppler effects. When switching lanes, pulling in so close in front of the vehicle in the destination lane that there is no way in hell for the driver to stop without hitting you. Turning left despite on-coming traffic, requiring the application of brakes at high squeal intensities. In other words, being a nuisance.

Then you’re not the problem.

BTW - I have nothing against cellphones (own one myself) but there is a time and a place for them. If you can’t talk and drive at the same time don’t do both at the same time. Personally, while I will sometimes answer the damn thing while in traffic I won’t do so while traveling at high speed and/or dealing with bizarro traffic, and my cell has bounced off the floorboards more than once because I dropped it to deal with a more important situation. But most folks on the road seem to think the phone call is more important than accident avoidance.

As I said - you don’t seem to be the problem. And I, too, prefer to be doing closer to 55 than 35 when merging into freeway traffic. That’s not what I’m bitching about. If you can drive X speed and control the vehicle I don’t give a damn - pass me if I’m not going fast enough for you. But just about every other day I pass I-94 on the way to the commuter train and see rollovers sitting in the middle of the “cloverleaf” circles to get on and off the freeway. And that’s in nice weather. Throw a little rain or snow on the road you’ll see more than one at a time.

Running railroad gates isn’t stupid and reckless :confused:

Here’s another one: “dingleberries”, a.k.a. “cling-ons” or “klingons”. You know these folks - drive so close to the back of truck trailers that 1) the’s no way for the trucker to see 'em back there and 2) if the trucker stops they’ll have the top half of their car scraped off on the back bumper of the trailer (which is not an exaggeration - this really does result in decapitation in many instances).

Here’s more: tailgaters. Buddy, if I ain’t speeding up because you’re on my ass, blinking your brights in my eyes, honking the horn and making rude gestures ain’t gonna make me more accomodating. I am NOT risking a ticket for YOUR emergency, whatever the hell it is. Mind you, I’m not a stick-in-the-mud, not-even-1mph-over-posted laggard but I am NOT doing 80 in a 40 zone because some lamebrain has his tail on fire. ESPECIALLY if there is more than one lane going the same direction - go around me you future accident!

6

jayjay: I tried not to imply that defensive drivers are dangerous. Most defensive drivers are just fine. But just as there are stupid and reckless aggressive drivers, I believe the same holds true with DD’s in that they take it to the extreme. The merging thing was an example of that.

This cracks me up! I’ve driven across the country three times, and I made the best time (52 hours total… yeah, this probably qualifies as stupid and reckless :eek: ) with the converse of this in mind (Hmm, if I can just squeak out another 5mph, that’s 4 hours less driving!)

Broomstick: Tailgaiters do suck, although I’ve been guilty of it a few times in the past, but only in the left lane. There’s two outcomes to it… either the tailgaited one realizes he/she’s doing something to piss someone else off and tries to get out of the way, or the person gets pissed/defensive and does nothing to rectify the situation. So if I’m passing people in the left lane and suddenly come up on a moving roadblock because someone is going the same speed as traffic and thus blocking the left lane, I’ll tailgait for a minute or two just to let him/her know someone wants to get by. Often the person’ll move over, or speed up. If not, I’ll back off and wait. Tailgaiting out of anger and anywhere else but the left lane is, for me, just plain dumb.

Still not sure about your definition of “cut off.” It sounds to me like you’re describing people that drop in and go below the speed of the person that’s been cut off, causing him/her to brake. That’s also just plain dumb. If I ever cut someone off, it’s because I’m trying to exploit an opening and the space I’m going to will allow me continue going faster than the general flow of traffic, or whomever I’m trying to pass.

And I’m totally behind you with the accident thing. Every time I’m sitting in gridlock, I know that someone somewhere did something stupid enough to cause an accident and ruin the day for thousands of other people. :mad: Ugh.

7

Oh, God, yes. These people drive me crazy, and I see them all the time. My dad’s a trucker, and one of his friends was once involved in the type of accident you describe. Decapitation of the driver of the car; there was a little kid in the backseat who might’ve survived, I don’t remember.

8

Rednecks call that “drafting” and will tell you, in a sly sticking-it-to-the-man voice, that it gets them better gas mileage. These are inevitably the same people that don’t wear seatbelts because they prefer to be “thrown free of the vehicle.”

9

Shhh, Manda…let natural selection do its job…

jayjay (who was perhaps slightly unjustifiedly irate in an earlier post of this thread…)

10

Excuse me? I’m doing something to piss someone off when I’m being tailgated? Does that mean if I get mugged it’s somehow my fault because I was there and had money in my wallet?

Hey, if someone has to go somewhere in that much of a hurry I’m more than happy to get out of their way, if I can. Sometimes, I can’t. Yeah, I notice the bumper rider. If I was going to speed up I would - as I said, blinding lights and horns are not going to change my mind.

If you find it annoying that I’m being a law-abiding citizen then youhave the problem. If I’m having some sort of car trouble that compells me to drive hideously slow I put the blinkers on to let those around me know I’ve got a problem, but otherwise it’s the speed + 5 max unless I have to avoid an imminent accident. Deal with it.

Ya know, Flyboy, I think we’re broadly in agreement here.

Yeah, that’ll do.

Ya know, Darwin Award wannabees like that make me glad, once again, that I am a woman and therefore do not have to “prove what sort of man” I am. I’ll escape the draft and buckle my belt and most likely live longer. Those rednecks would get even better gas mileage if they drove cars instead of 4x4 pickups and SUVs, anyhow.

11

This is the left lane we’re talking about here. As in the fast lane. As in the dipsquat doing 35-40 in a 45 mph zone needs to get his ass out of the fast lane, because he isn’t going fast unless compared to a bicycle. This happened to me tonight, in fact, and irritated me no end. I didn’t tailgate too much, though, I’m not about to sacrifice both our safety to make a point. Yeah, 5 mph ain’t that big a difference when you’re sitting at the computer thinking about it, but when you’re behind the wheel you generally want to go at least the speed limit, especially when you’re in the fast lane, and you can feel how much slower you’re going than you could be. It’s rather aggravating to see the other two lanes to the right passing you up quite easily, and you’re not even going the speed limit.

12

Well, it actually does, sometimes significantly so. It’s also dumb as all fuck, but it DOES improve mileage.

As for the OP, amen, preach on, brother. Although, you might want to lay off the anti SUV stuff, considering recent events :slight_smile:

13

And what current events are those?..

Hey, it ain’t the SUVs I inherently hate (last time I was out vehicle shopping I seriously considered one, but wound up with a pick-up instead) - it’s the drivers.

What compells people to buy honking big vehicles with lousy gas mileage and the ability to rock-climb and a sticker price approaching that of a small house when all they are going to do with it is drive the kids around and go to the mall? Isn’t that what mini-vans are for?

Really, the soccer mom with an SUV or mini-van full of kids is becoming as stereotypical as a pick-up truck with 150 Mexicans crammed into the bed. (Although, to be fair to the Mexicans around here, it’s usually dumb white trash I see doing that)

Here’s another pet peeve with driving: fucking idiot commuters, a sub-species of road idiot who’s natural habitat is the freeway. If some guy alone in a car/SUV/other mechanical conveyence is yakking on a cell, sucking down a quart-sized over-priced Starbucks “coffee”, and reading the Wall Street Journal who the hell is driving the car? No one is, of course, which is why we have so many fucking rush hour accidents, and so many involving multiple cars. No one is looking where the hell they’re going or paying attention to what’s going on around them.

And personal grooming in cars {{{shudder}}}. Ladies, put the goddamn lipstick and mascara on BEFORE you leave the house, OK? Men, if you have to pick your nose or ears, fine, but don’t lovingly examine your “find” in minute detail while swerving in and out of traffic you morons. I once saw a guy applying deodorant while driving - man, if your life is so fucking stressed-out and over-scheduled you either are doing your basic toiletry on the road or needing a “boostershot” of anti-BO before you even start work you need to seriously reconsider some of your lifestyle choices.

Grooming commuters - now there’s fertile territory for a rant. And not just in cars. I ride a commuter train to work and what goes on is unbelievable. Not just the women who apply nail polish while rocking back and forth and getting jostled by straphangers, nuh-uh. There’s a guy on the 6:45 out of my station that shaves on the train! I mean, he brings a portable razor and sits there, in public, diswhiskering his mug. That’s right - this shithead doesn’t leave the bathroom sink full of hair, he leaves it on the guy next to him, the seat, and the floor! Come on - there a fucking bathroom on the train he could use for this but NOOOOOOOOO!

14

Speaking of 4x4 pickups and SUV’s, yesterday, fatherjohn saw an interesting vehicle - a Ford F350 4x4 with a crew cab and a cap over the truck bed. A truly frightening hybrid between an SUV and a pickup truck.

The sun was at the right angle for fatherjohn to notice (throught the smoked glass) that (except for the driver), the crew cab was empty. Further, the truck bed was empty, at least over the rails.

[sarcasm mode on] No doubt the driver was on his way to pick up 3 or 4 workers and a ton of equipment. [sarcasm mode off]

15

You are correct that as a general rule, traffic moving slower than the speed limit should remain in the right lane. However, I am routinely tailgated while driving in the left lane doing the speed limit. If the speed limit is not fast enough for the jerk behind me, he is the cause of the problem, not me. When you intentionally tailgate someone, you are doing something that is 1-illegal, and 2-dangerous for both you and the person you are tailgating.

The following is not addressed to Broomstick, but to my fellow morning commuters. Here’s a thought: If you have to speed, tailgate, speed up to get through yellow lights, weave through traffic and tailgate to get to work on time, maybe the problem isn’t the others who are going slower than you. If you cannot get to work on time without doing these things, do the rest of us a favor, and leave a few minutes earlier.

By the way, most accidents at intersections are caused by people who speed up to make the light when it turns yellow, and end up running a red. If you can stop when the light turns yellow, stop.

16

As a matter of fact it IS, when taken to extremes, which I am confident Broomstick was talking about in the OP. Maybe it’s just me…Maybe I just have superhuman ability not to take things out of context. ( Yeah, Yeah…like that comment won’t come back to bite me in the ass. I know, I know. )
When the little blue-hairs with cataracts take the wheel and creep up/down the entrance ramp at 30mph to merge with a thick stream of 70+mph traffic, and then pull a panic stop at the end of the ramp, even when they have a dedicated lane, (and believe me…THEY DO IT) maybe it IS defensive, but it’s also fucking dangerous.

Consider the second guy in line. Car number two’s driver is shifting attention back and forth between the car in front, and over his left shoulder to assess the pattern and flow of traffic on the highway he’s about to merge into.

Imagine looking forward…(all systems go)…looking back…(There’s my opening)…then looking forward again and “OH SHIT!” the car in front is almost stopped and you’re right on top of them.
I’m not talking about tailgating here.
You are (according to the D.O.T.) on an acceleration lane.
You are increasing speed to match the flow before heading out onto the highway.
You are following at a reasonable distance. ( think 2 second rule )
You spend ¾ of a second looking back, but the instant you do, the driver in front panics. For that ¾ of a second, you are still accelerating.
You look back to the front, and suddenly the car in front is much closer, decelerating hard, and you are going even faster than you were ¾ of a second ago.

Well Broomstick, you were doing pretty good right up to there…If you are cruising in the left lane, causing gridlock, even at 65mph, then you probably are pissing someone off.

Not buyin’ it. But if you are still cruising along mindlessly in the passing lane, it may mean you have to actually accelerate above the speed limit for a few seconds, or even slow down to find a hole, in order to show a little courtesy.

There is a reason for this. You are supposed to be leaving that lane open for maniacs who can’t get there fast enough. After all, there are cops and laws, and traffic courts to deal with them. In this state,(KS) if you get caught cruising (even at the speed limit) in the left lane, it is a ticketable offense.

[gameshowbuzzersound]ZO-O-O-ONK![/gameshowbuzzersound] Awwwww, Sorry, Wrong answer. [descendingtrombonesound]WAH-WAHH-WAAHH-WAAAAAHH![/descendingtrombonesound]
“What have we got for 'em Jay?”

Nice save, Broomstick.

17

Technically, in Texas you aren’t supposed to just cruise in the left lane, even if you are going the limit or over - it’s to be used for passing only. Doesn’t seem that it’s enforced, and it remains the ‘Speeders Lane’.

I hate tailgaters. I will usually shake them by slowing down until they pass. If they are being really obnoxious about it and they look like they are probably insured, I might slam on my brakes, or drop speed by downshifting. If you hit someone from behind in my state you are automatically at fault, you are supposed to leave enough space that even if the person in front of you stands on the brakes you should be able to avoid hitting them - if you can’t you either have not been maintaining your car to legal standards or you were following at an unsafe distance.

I’m not really an aggressive driver, I just like to infuriate assholes.

18

Hey, if you want to go the speed limit, that’s your own business. If you insist on going the speed limit in the left lane, and that’s not actually the prevailing speed on the road, and because of this traffic backs up behind you, then you’re just doing it to make a point. And so it is your fault if someone tailgates you.

Around here, no one drives the speed limit. 2 lane highways, and the right lane is 5 miles over and the left lane is 15. So when you do drive the speed limit, you’re going to be slower than the rest of traffic. So at least have the decency to stay in the right lane so people can pass you legally.

19

  1. I do not insist on traveling no faster than the speed limit, the law insists that I travel no faster than the speed limit. I simply choose to obey the law. The fact that the person tailgaiting me has chosen to ignore the law in no way obligates me to do the same.

  2. If I am travelling the speed limit, and traffic backs up behind me, doesn’t that make the speed I am travelling the prevailing speed on the road?

  3. The left lane is for passing on highways and freeways. On these roads, I concede that all traffic should remain in the right lane except to pass. Although this was not clear, I was referring to municipal roads. On municipal roads, even 4 lane roads, the left lane garners no special status as a fast lane or a passing lane. And the frequent stops, lights and signs, make speeding of little value in saving time anyway.

  4. I have often heard the argument that “no one goes the speed limit” but it clearly is not true. I go the speed limit. Read the thread–many people go the speed limit or below, otherwise there would be no complaints about slow drivers.

  5. Perhaps the problem is that you don’t understand what the words “speed limit” mean. The speed limit is the maximum speed a person may legally drive. If you drive faster than this, you are breaking the law. I think I learned when I was, oh 4 or 5, that two rights don’t make a wrong. Think of it this way: the fact that other people, even a lot of people, break the law does not mean that I should break the law, even if said law is inconvenient to me.

  6. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a law-and-order absolutist. There are circumstances in which breaking the law is justified, to wit: when doing so is a moral imperative, and there is no other legal or moral option available. I don’t think making good time qualifies as a moral imperative, and a legal, reasonable option to speeding is available most of the time: leave a little earlier, and allow more time to get to your destination.

20

I’m sorry, but there is NO excuse for aggressive and dangerous behavior like tailgating. Tailgating endangers yourself and others and serves no point other than to let the person in front of you know that you disapprove of the way they are driving.

If you don’t think you could stop in time to avoid hitting the person in front of you if they should need to slam on the brakes, then YOU are the bad driver.

I often find myself driving at or below the speed limit in the left lanes - many of the highways in this area have left exits. I’m not going to risk a ticket or worse by driving over the limit, even if some asshole is riding 10 inches off my rear fender and flashing his lights at me.