Posted on 05/29/2011 12:00:23 PM PDT by Excuse_My_Bellicosity
Unfortunately, it 's a felony in California to brandish a firearm at another driver. Had to look that one up just in case. ;-)
ML/NJ
>>Tops on my list of offenders. A few years ago on I77 south there were two of them, one in each lane running 55 or so that kept all the traffic from getting anywhere for about 20 miles.<<
I had that happen to me in eastern Montana on I-90, and they actually got down to 50. Just the three of us for as far as you could see. I passed them on the shoulder and I actually ended up being chased by them. My speed reached 140. I assume this speed because my speedo only goes to 120, but it was way past that, and my governor kicks in at 140. I did that speed for quite a few miles before I felt safe enough to back off and leave the highway. They were both in Jeep Grand Cherokees with a 105 MPH governor. At least that is my educated guess. I would slow down to 100 from time to time and they would catch up with me, so I’d step on it again.
I was in a Chrysler 300M with the “performance package” btw. I still have that car. It’s still a very nice drive, but the AC heat exchanger finally bit the dust.
I envision being on a driving range and they’re the golfball. Thwap! 300 yards.
If you want to know the trifecta of the worst driver on the road is the elderly, Asian woman.
>>There’s lots more but you already know. right?<<
My wife and I have a running joke: When I’m driving, all we talk about is driving. I can be a Smart Suzie mixed with a few of the others at the same time. What you described as “Smart Suzie” is something I do all the time. OTOH, I’m guilty of a lot of the “bad” stuff mentioned on this thread.
That’s because most cops are men and are less willing to give tickets to women.
I was recently the only car at a double left turn lane (on the right side lane) and had a Trans-Am pull up behind me, then change to the inside lane since he apparently couldn’t stand to be behind anyone.
So I bet myself that he was destined to make a right turn at the next intersection and would plan on passing me. Yup, he was being an ass and was planning to gun it, then swerve into my lane. Which he did, but it was BEHIND me. Nice little drag race. I hate jerks.
Tailgating is aggressive behavior.
I watch these tailgaters in the passing lane, tailgating someone 9 cars from the front. What good does that do? At best, the jerk could only hope to get the driver he is tailgating to tailgate, too.
So, now the onus for road rage is on the driver who has crossed paths with a person who can’t control him/herself? Um, yeah.
People who don’t use their turn signals. I can be waiting to pull out of a parking lot. or onto another street, and car after car will turn without signaling. I coulda pulled out a buncha times, but, Nooooooooo! I gotta wait!
I'll get by you. Even if it means 35 over.
Today's vehicles are so good....70 is yesterday's safe 55.
Drivers that annoy me:
1. People who slow down two miles before the exit because they are afraid of missing it, creating a jam.
2. People who partially block the oncoming lane when they are stopped waiting to make a left turn.
3. People who refuse to use a center turn lane at all, or leave their ass end sticking out, interfering with traffic that isn’t turning.
4. When a light turns green, people who refuse to move until the car in front of them is well ahead. This is especially bad in left turn lanes with a short green and cars are forced to wait through multiple light cycles because people won’t move when they have the chance.
5. People who drive side by side for miles preventing anyone from passing.
When I learned to drive 45 years ago, they told us to move out into the intersection on green and wait for oncoming traffic to pass. This allowed one or two cars to get through even in fairly heavy traffic. (Obviously this applies to normal situations, not a gridlock scenario.)
Now it seems younger people stay behind the crosswalk until traffic passes. The light often goes red just about then, so they don’t turn. It’s a whole lot of fun to sit behind them in medium-heavy traffic through 2 or 3 traffic lights.
Also, when did they start teaching people to drive 25 on freeway entrance ramps and then turn left when they run out of room? Then they step on the gas gently if they are still alive.
>>Neither makes them happy, only stopping you does.
<<
And that right there is the thing in a nutshell. The mindset actually shocked me.
BTW, I liked this line: “A fast car defeats these types of people...”. When I am in my 5 speed Scion xB, I know I don’t have the power to do anything about it and either do nothing or may attempt to use “surprise momentum”. I remember back in 1974 I was in my gutless Vega GT in a 45 zone on a two lane road, and a guy in a 67 GTO with the jacked up rear end and “drag racing slicks” passed me and proceeded to do 30 MPH. Every time I tried to pass him he would speed up. I finally backed way off, got it up to 70, and passed him. His acceleration was not omnipotent against momentum.
Funny epilog. I had like the first set of 60 series BF Goodrich Radial TA’s on that car. The guy chased me for a couple of miles and I turned off on a sidestreet at speed. He tried to follow, slid across the road and jumped the ditch, embedding his car into a ten foot dirt embankment.
Interestingly, I did the same thing to a carload of thugs in downtown Renton a year before that. This time it was a 63 Ford Galaxy 500. I turned. They slid across the intersection, jumped the curb, took out a stop sign,and slammed through the concrete parking lot barriers of the Black Angus parking lot.
I was chased by the cops once in a 1963 Rambler classic with five of my friends in it. We only got away because I knew the streets. That was in 1972. I’ve taken driving very seriously my whole life.
The most important skill I’ve picked up is being able to spot likely speed traps. It is something you sort of learn through osmosis, I think. It amazes my wife when we are on a road that we’ve never been on and I will say, “boy, this looks like a great place for a speed trap” and, sure enough, there is either a cop there or there is someone pulled over a little ways down the road. It doesn’t happen every time, but it sure happens a lot.
“Actually what you’ll do in an emergency is jam both feet to the floor at the same time. “
Not me! Learned to drive on a go kart over 50 years ago. Raced too. Then into stick shift sports cars. Left foot braking is a natural for me, and ain’t no way I’m gonna push both pedals at once.
It should be a $50 fine to fire at a driver like that, which can just be mailed in. On the 3rd offense, then you have to go before a judge, but they normally just dismiss it.
Well, then you get the ones who DO use their turn signals, but DON'T turn, or the ones who signal left and turn right. One of them almost nailed me once.
I agree.
I especially hate being the one in the passing lane, not blocking it but in the process of passing someone, but I'm not going quite fast enough for Aggressive Alfred (or Alfreda) there behind me.
If no one is in front of me, then I'm going as fast as I feel is safe (and that is usually at least a bit above the posted speed limit). If there are vehicles in front of me, then I am most definitely going as fast as I feel is safe. I am not going to tailgate the person in front of me. That is definitely not safe.
This is most especially annoying when the vehicle we are all trying to pass is an 18-wheeler. Believe me, I am getting around that vehicle as quickly as I can. I am not going to speed up because Aggressive A behind me is riding my back bumper!!
>>If you want to know the trifecta of the worst driver on the road is the elderly, Asian woman.<<
Good way of putting it. And you are very correct on that one.
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