Yes, It's Another Rant About Other People Driving

The BBQ Pit
1

Note to bitch behind me at intersection leaning on that horn. Hey, guess what - no, I don’t have to turn right on red. It is an option at this light, but NOT a mandate. Especially I am not turning right to accommodate you, because my route takes me straight ahead. I’m sorry if you find that inconvenient, but I’m not changing my route simply because you’ve had too much coffee this morning and thus have no patience left. You’ll just have to wait. Next time, trying leaving 10 minutes earlier or decaf, which ever will calm you down more. Better yet, try both.

OK, I put on my turn signal. We are on a secondary road. Look! Houses to the left! I slow down, still signaling a left turn, in order to pull into my driveway. It does not make me happy to hear your squealing brakes and looming presence in my rear view mirror. Didn’t you see me here? Really? You didn’t see my bright red shiny pickup truck that is three times the size of your car? They let you drive with eyesight that bad?

When I am driving the speed limit down a back road, already 5-10 over the speed limit, I do not have to speed up to please you. No, I really don’t. Tailgating me is not going to “teach me a lesson” or make me speed up or do anything of the sort. Go ahead. Continue to tailgate me as I slow down to the exact speed limit. Oh, don’t get me wrong - I’m not doing it to piss you off. See that small-town cop who needs to fill his ticket quota by the end of the month? No, you didn’t! You didn’t because you’re too busy tailgating me and trying to bully me into being an asshat such as yourself. Ha-ha! Sucks to be you! See, I am still going down the road whereas YOU have been pulled over.

When I am stopped in the middle of the block and there is a big-ass piece of farm machinery put-putting down the road in front of me - like in this song - don’t honk at me. It won’t do any good. Really. You see, my bargain basement Toyota car does NOT have a Magic Phase-Shift Device that would enable me to drive through a massive solid object like said farm machinery. Even if it did, it wouldn’t do YOU any good, would it, since you don’t have one, do you? No, I didn’t think so. Believe me, if I could get out from between you and the farm machinery I would, just because I CAN’T STAND YOUR FUCKING HORN ANYMORE!!!

I swear, this really did all happen to me today. And yes, you read that right - I drove two vehicles today as well, a Ford pickup and a Toyota car.

Feel free to share your own complaints.

2

Hmm. I was thinking about putting in a rant along the lines of “Why do all the assholes on the road drive huge pickups,” but your post put the lie to that already. In this town, if there’s an asshole on the road, it’s either a ricer or a massive Ford or Dodge pickup.

I was driving down a side street to my office earlier, and a truck pulls out of a driveway intending to turn left in front of me. They only just hit the brakes when they realized I wasn’t actually going to stop for them. Then when I got to my driveway and slowed to make a left off the road, the pickup behind me (yes, there were two different ones) refused to slow down and I got a rear-view-mirrorful of truck before I managed to get out of the way.

Even the guys who are still driving H3s don’t act like douchebags around here. It’s just the trucks and ricers.

3

I’ve seen plenty of accidents this week, but only the aftermath. But its obvious from the condition of the cars involved someone was speeding or probably on a cell phone. Probably both.

Of course I’d like to give a shout out to the two morons that went screaming past our PT formation this morning as we conducted a 6 mile run on post. Note its a Post regulation that driving past a troop formation whether they are marching or running you have to drop to about 5 miles per hour.

It was like fucking 0630. If you were supposed to be somewhere on post by then you probably should have left earlier.

4

I think it will be hilarious if one of these days one of these rants vaguely addressed to someone is followed by a rant by the person being addressed.

5

Around here, it’s the white vans that are lethal.

6

Speaking of accidents, this one occurred today in my area. Yeah, that sort of thing bothers me. All too many accidents recently, and I don’t think this week’s heat wave has been helpful as it just makes people more cranky and aggressive.

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Tailgating isn’t a way to tell someone to speed up, the message is “slow down to the point where this following distance is safe.”

8

As to the OP, a while back someone posted a pit thread or maybe just a post in a general driving rants thread about how people shouldn’t drive in the right lane if they’re going straight because they hold up the people that want to turn right. I often think of that post and I never cease to be amazed at how eloquently it expresses the prevalence of narcissism in society today. To think that there are actually people out there getting pissed at me because we’re at a light and I’m going straight and not turning, holding them up from whatever vitally important task they had set out to do… bahahahaha! UnbeLIEVable! It’s just so arrogant!

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Agreed. A month ago I was coming out of a parking lot on Yadkin road, going home. Traffic in the right lane was clear. Yeah, there was a car coming down the lane, but they were like 700 meters away.

The fuckers sped up and when they reached my bumper blew the horn. I could see the lady in the rear vierw mirror cursing.

But there was no one in the left lane. They could easily just freaking pass me. Keep in mind I was doing a bit over the speed limit (about 45, the limit was 40). I chose to ignore them, but damn…she must have sped up to 60 or 65 to close the distance that fast. Why not just go around me? What makes this person think that I should just get out of her way when I’m driving legally if not a bit faster than the limit?

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Ya, but in the case in the OP if I had been in the left lane I would have been going the wrong way as it was only a two-lane road! Narcissism indeed!

It’s like people who bitch about farm machinery - you want eat, right? Well, those big honking machines are part of what makes food happen in our modern world.

11

Personally, I can’t see why anyone would be upset by this. What is annoying is when the guy in the left lane pulls over to the right lane at the last minute and then sits at the light intending to go straight. Yeah, he has the right to do it, but he obviously didn’t see my turn signal, or deliberately chose to ignore it so he could be front of the line.

12

Those damned other people should not be allowed to drive.

About 16 years ago, I was struck from behind while waiting to turn left into my company parking lot.

4 lane (2 lanes each way) 45mph road.

Young woman, NOT wearing a seatbelt, busy working on her makeup in the rear view mirror. Plowed into me at 45mph. Drove the rear bumper of my Mazda pickup to the ground. Slammed me into the window behind my seat. Very fortunately, I was standing on the brakes and was NOT thrown into the oncoming cement truck, or I’d have been killed. Messed up my back for a couple of weeks. She bounced off her own windshield and ended up bleeding and bruised.

I found out later that she was charged with careless driving.

13

Since we’re on driving rants…

Racing up past me to cut in front of me so you can slam on your brakes to make a turn. Always makes me wish I were driving a '75 Chevy beater with a steel pipe grill guard.

And while I generally have crap for memory about events in the past… I clearly remember three times in the past 25 years or so where someone has gone racing past me and then a few miles down the road I’ll see them pulled over to the side by one of the state’s finest.

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Isn’t that just the best? It totally makes my day. I was driving along a couple of weeks ago, going about 80 in a 65 mph speed zone (i.e. none too slow myself) somewhere between St Louis and Chicago, and this car goes whizzing past me. Kind of shook my car, it was going so fast. Sure enough, a couple more miles down the road, he was pulled over. Sweet. Warms the cockles of my heart, it does.

15

Three times in the last two days, some numbnuts coming towards me has been on the phone and drifting across the centerline, causing me to have to swerve out of their way. Next time, I’m just gonna plow right into 'em. See if those airbags are all they’re cracked up to be.

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Yesterday an idiot on a cellphone cut me off, ran a stop sign, and swerved into my lane all within the span of 5 minutes. And then she was really puzzled when I greeted her in that special way. Completely clueless.

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Know what I’d like? A massive speaker, mounted to my right side, so I can pull up alongside one of these assholes on their cellphone, push a button, and blast out “Put the phone down and drive” at about 10**6 decibels. Loud enough so it will go right through their window. Loud enough to shatter their window.l

18

I always thought those LED runner signs would be nice on both the front and rear windshield to send other drivers your thoughts. If someone is tailgating, you could send a message that you don’t appreciate it, and it would show up in red letters on your back windsheild.

Alternatively, after passing an especially cute driver, you could send your phone number :slight_smile:

19

Reminds me of the little red sports car that passed us on the PA Turnpike during a snowstorm one December. A few minutes later, there were the State Troopers and the little red sports car, now with its rearend bashed in. Driver must’ve spun 'round, ended up facing the wrong direction, and slid into the cliff face.

20

As stated in my other thread, I don’t enjoy cars that switch lanes into an empty one at a red, so they won’t be accelerating behind another car when the light turns green. A little pointless, since it’s their right, but still annoying.

I highly enjoy making life frustrating for the drivers who weave in an out of traffic. Every once in awhile, a driver will drive up to my bumper, intending on changing lanes. If traffic thick enough, and I have enough time, when they start moving to the next lane, I can move with them, and maintain my speed.

I can even defend myself - hey, I couldn’t see your turn signal since you were trailing so close. Not that you even had the signal on, of course…

As for my feel-good story: In Canada, we have a toll highway called the 407, that runs through some major cities in Southern Ontario. Since the other highways in the area are toll-free, the 407 is usually very empty, and makes for a nice drive.

On one such night, a driver blew past me, easily going 140 (km/h, 87 mph). I later saw the car pulled over by the side of the road by the police, as I passed him going 100.

Not five minutes later, I saw the same car blow past me again at 140.

I later saw the car pulled over by the side of the road by the police, as I passed him going 100.

I didn’t see the car again :slight_smile: