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“Ever since then I’ve hated driving door-to-door with other vehicles in the rain, much preferring to hang back or go around them.”

My rule is always leave a way out, and know who is nearby behind you. Has saved my butt more than once knowing I could make a lane change fast without looking. (Yes - one time was a car that just ‘stopped’ at 70 mph. The 18-wheeler behind me barely missed him too.)

I’ll show off to my kids and say stuff like “See that van and truck up ahead? Pretty soon a white sports car is going to zip in from the right in between them.” 30 seconds later it happens. I watched the sports car zipping back and forth behind me, and figured out there next few moves.

I’m not so sure they use their mirrors that much though. Hopefully in time.

Not sure why people do it, but some folks just love to dash through traffic looking for people to cut in on. I got tired enough of that, that I sprung for a Mustang GT just to stop that crap. Doesn't always work: just today someone managed to pull that stunt on a busy 4-lane connector street. He got away with it because he was driving a V-6 Acura TL and hammering it, and I didn't see him coming in time. Right up my right-hand side and knife in, just in front of me.

Next traffic light, he used the cross street as a passing lane to whip around someone on the left-hand side, just missing the "lane closed/merge right" barrels on the other side of the intersection. His personal motto had better include the words, "no regrets", because none will be lavished on him by people who know him, I'm sure, including his old lady who was riding in the Death Seat.

Annoying as it is, I've had to put up with a lot less of it since I've become, over the last 25 years, sensitized to being overhauled in my blind spot by white Lexuses, Acuras, Jags, Bimmers, and Benzes: The "management class" exercising its sense of prerogative and precedence. If I were a cop I'd set up in an old 70's beater (Dodge Polara 440 Magnum six-pack, low-profile light kit and Scientific Atlanta laser gun) in the breakdown lane at a Houston cloverleaf "merge right/left" junction, and ticket all the white Lexi etc. running the blocked-off lane and then knifing into the other lane "improperly"/"unsafely".

Houston should be glad I never ran for municipal court judge; I'd bring back the guillotine. =8^o