Aggressive Drivers: Getting Worse?

[Mustang_Cougar]

My wife just called me, in what is turning out to be a weekly event, and told me about how some moron almost caused an accident by driving aggressively. I'm not going to run down the list of stupidity that is scaring the s*** out of me, but today's event was pretty typical: Girl in a riced-out Neon passes a long stretch of cars on a two-lane state highway, in a no-passing zone, and barely squeezes into her lane by passing on the shoulder.

I'm getting fed up with this garbage. Twenty-somethings with high-school level driver's ed training do not have the ability to drive so aggressively. Pick me up, put me in Germany, and it's a completely different story. But here in America, where driver's training and traffic code enforcement is way on the back burner, there is no place for it. I don't want to come across as some hot-headed windbag, but one of these days the wrong guy is gonna put me and others in danger and the end result is gonna be a "CNN" moment, if you catch my drift.

This crap won't stop until people start confronting these idiots. I'm not saying put yourself or your family in danger, but I am suggesting you report people, you maybe follow them at a safe distance and call the cops, you shame them at their place of work, etc.

Something's got to change...

 

[shokhead]

If i did that it would be a full time job and the cops dont care anyway.

 

[brianl703]

Invent a device that can beep to wake up a snoozing officer when it detects aggressive driving and they might start to enforce that law.

Until then, forget about it. I've seen officers ignore all sorts of traffic violations. Last one I observed somehow ignored the fact that someone blew though a red light to make a right turn (how did I know that? Because my light was green and they did it right in front of me, and the officer was in the car right next to me..so if I saw it, then the officer should've seen it. Barring a traffic signal malfunction, that other driver had a red light).

BTW, I believe they ought to be saying, instead of "I don't make the law, I just enforce it" they should say "I don't make the law, I just choose when to enforce it".

 

[MarkC]

I notice that kind of driving a lot around Everett. A different kind around Bellevue and Kirkland, mostly dills in BMW's and such just going too fats and changing lanes a lot. But in Everett, it seems like everybody in every type of vehicle wants to drag from the stoplights, cut you off, whatever.

 

[stringsattached]

Have you ever seen "Fried Green Tomatoes"? The scene in the parking lot is great! Sometimes I think if I ever get rich, I'm going to buy a huge yacht of a beater for driving around town, and just smack into whoever cuts me off. Justice served Charles Bronson style. That'll teach em. Seriously though, why do people in parking lots peel around corners like there has been a nuclear holocaust and they are the only survivors? They deserve every penny and more of their high insurance costs...

 

[Pontius Pilate]

i always like the ones that fly past you, or someone else to hurry up to the red light

 

[Auto-Union]

We might see dash cams like cops have. A lil bumper sticker saying you are being taped will stop the madness, esp if a lot of cars have them. Good preventative self-protection and helpfull legal evidence if there is a problem. Of course, an erase button to. PS believe it of not, I had a gun in my face once and followed the guy. Phila cops took him down swat-style.

 

[stringsattached]

Ha ha PP, yeah! You watch them open it up, and then slam on their brakes right afterwards because the stoplight ahead of them is still red. I think the French have a term for that: du masse.

 

[rpn453]

quote:

---

Originally posted by stringsattached:
Sometimes I think if I ever get rich, I'm going to buy a huge yacht of a beater for driving around town, and just smack into whoever cuts me off.

---

You don't need to be rich to do that! My dad used to drive an 1980 Suburban and he got hit about 10 times with it, none of which were his fault. I always got the impression he would just let accidents happen as long as he wasn't at fault. Driving with him backed this up, though I was never actually there when one happened. He'd just take the money instead of fixing it, so it was a good money-maker for him.

 

[Stewart Fan]

quote:

---

Originally posted by MarkC:
I notice that kind of driving a lot around Everett. A different kind around Bellevue and Kirkland, mostly dills in BMW's and such just going too fats and changing lanes a lot. But in Everett, it seems like everybody in every type of vehicle wants to drag from the stoplights, cut you off, whatever.

---

I live in Everett and can't agree more. Its getting to the point where I get ****** off just driving to the store.

 

[ALS]

I have noticed that road rage has gone down around me pretty much. People are in the most part conciderate of others. Could it be that 1 out of every 25 adults in the county has a Concealed Carry Permit?

Something like 35% of the gun permits issued are to women. To think $19 and 20 minutes of your time, you walk out of the Sheriffs office with a carry permit.

 

[outrun]

Phila cops took him down swat-style

I am happy you that you survived and were able to have the scum ball bagged. Felony stops are entertaining to watch from our TV room. It is always nice to see Cops really going after true and evil bad guys. However, I am sure from the LEO's perspective Felony stops cam be scary. You never know what these scum bags are going to pull on you or the innocent granny driving by.

 

[ScottB]

Good thread.
The other night I was driving home on the 10FWY in downtown LA.
This ricer (I drive a SCION, but I'm not a ricer) with three cholos inside tried to race me. I was not interested and then he got ****** off and started swerving at me and cutting me off.
I held back on any action as there were three of them inside - and they appeared to me to have spent some time in the state hotels...
After they got no rise from me, they went on to antagonize another Nissan. They really started to get out of control, and I was about 5 seconds from calling 911 to get the CHiP there. I didn't do it because I simply did not want to get involved with these a-holes.

It sux, and seems to be worse lately. LA has tons of illegals, and I notice the gang-banger types seem to do this a lot on local freeways.
Makes me want to carry a .50 S&W.

 

[Razl]

In RI, you can dial *77 from a cell phone to reach a dispatch trooper if you see a suspected impaired (drunk/drugged) driver. I called once on a lady that forced several cars off the road, driving extremely erratically. I think she was very high on something. About 3-4 minutes after my call, I saw 3 troopers surrounding her car on the left lane.

I'm not sure if the police respond to *77 for speeding drivers (I've never been reported

).

 

[brianl703]

quote:

---

the gang-banger types seem to do this a lot on local freeways.

---

Guess I can look forward to this type of crap here in the DC area in the next few years.

As goes California..goes the whole nation..or something like that.

 

[outrun]

not sure if the police respond to *77 for speeding drivers

Lest we open old thread wounds lets not go down that direction. Speed is relative. Erratic driving is a different subject in entirety.

 

[MarkC]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Stewart Fan:

quote:

---

Originally posted by MarkC:
I notice that kind of driving a lot around Everett. A different kind around Bellevue and Kirkland, mostly dills in BMW's and such just going too fats and changing lanes a lot. But in Everett, it seems like everybody in every type of vehicle wants to drag from the stoplights, cut you off, whatever.

---

I live in Everett and can't agree more. Its getting to the point where I get ****** off just driving to the store.

---

Yep, my...friend lives there and I drive her home sveral times a week. Never fail to be cut off, filpped off, nearly rammed, or challenged to drag by practically anything on wheels.
I do enjoy once in a while dusting off a Honda with a wing the size of an F-15 on the back and a coffee can-sized exhaust pipe once in a while, but I try not to descend to that level very often.

 

[JHZR2]

it certainly is getting worse... my solution? Ill be moving to where I only have a 12 minute commute, so I limit my interface with these idiots.
Other than using different roads, exits, etc., Ive found no good way of getting by these idiots without an incident.

One of my biggest peeves is when I honk the horn because of the erratic driving being too close to me, and then they want to have me pull over to the shoulder and fight... Or, they get in front and SLAM on their brakes. Fortunately my saab has some of the best brakes Ive ever used.. and the jerks arent exactly in porsches. Ive been lucky, but sick of it.

Ive had to use 911 more times than I like to remember because of the way that people drive and how they are endangering me with their aggressiveness.

JMH

 

[chas3]

in the metro area there have been some big campaigns about "agressive driving" and new laws to target these drivers. its fairly stupid since the old laws were just fine (everything is reckless if i say it is). but now the citizens are happy because the politicians have done something.

the new campaign seems to be "slow down". of course, people dont seem to be able to apply this logically. when they say slow down, they mean slow down to the speed limit. not driving 35 in a 45 in the middle/left lanes. since the traffic lights are timed to the speed limit, this just creates more backups and more "aggressive" drivers are we trying to keep the speed limit.

if i drive right at 45mph i can get 10 lights in a row going down rt 1. just a little slower and i get every single light.

 

[John K]

I agree it is getting worse. The other thing that aggravates me is the lack of any lane discipline on the freeways. Most people pass on the right because it is the only open lane. Doesn't matter if there are signs about slow traffic keeping to the right or not, people just don't do it. Grrr.