Aggressive Drivers: Getting Worse?
- Thread starter Mustang_Cougar
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i really love the ones that are turning right at a red, but wait till it turns green to go... or when it does turn green and they are turning right they sit there and keep looking left as if someone is coming, like a stop sign....
also the ones where they are turning right and traffic is going straight, and it's a red light... there is a one and a half car space for them to turn right but they act like they cant fit in and insist on waiting till the driver in front moves forward...
the other day (apparently it's pretty common according to my g/f) we were going to grandma's and it was a red light, and the lane was one which was wide enough for two card because it crossed a main drag, so people could go right or straight and this lady in a jeep decided to sit right in the middle of the wide lane so no one could turn right until she went straight....
edit: had to add this one...
another irritating one is where someone is trying to turn right out of a business or driveway and someone is turning left into it.... when the person who is entering crosses the street and is blocking traffic YOU CAN GO... i.e they are blocking oncoming traffic so if a car was coming, they would get hit and block you from getting hit.... but people insist on waiting and holding everyone up....
also the ones where they are turning right and traffic is going straight, and it's a red light... there is a one and a half car space for them to turn right but they act like they cant fit in and insist on waiting till the driver in front moves forward...
the other day (apparently it's pretty common according to my g/f) we were going to grandma's and it was a red light, and the lane was one which was wide enough for two card because it crossed a main drag, so people could go right or straight and this lady in a jeep decided to sit right in the middle of the wide lane so no one could turn right until she went straight....
edit: had to add this one...
another irritating one is where someone is trying to turn right out of a business or driveway and someone is turning left into it.... when the person who is entering crosses the street and is blocking traffic YOU CAN GO... i.e they are blocking oncoming traffic so if a car was coming, they would get hit and block you from getting hit.... but people insist on waiting and holding everyone up....
Americans are being taught by the car mfrs and advertising agencies that a 'proper' car is a living room, not a vehicle.
You should relax and have every comfort of home.
You should be insulated from the road, and whatever happens there doesn't really concern you. It's YOUR car, darn it, and you have better things to do while driving then, well, drive.
You should relax and have every comfort of home.
You should be insulated from the road, and whatever happens there doesn't really concern you. It's YOUR car, darn it, and you have better things to do while driving then, well, drive.
What about the stupid people that move up 3 feet everytime the car in front does in a traffic jam?
THAT is something I will NEVER get. "Move up because the other car did, irregardless that there's 193 cars in front of me and the jam"
THAT is something I will NEVER get. "Move up because the other car did, irregardless that there's 193 cars in front of me and the jam"
pontius, you'd like this:
A "T" intersection, where a supermarket parking lot is the "leg" of the T and the two "arms" a state highway.
People had been cutting down the breakdown lane, stopping, and turning right on red into the supermarket.
Engineers saw this and decided to fix the intersection. They didn't have enough money or land to add a second right-turn only lane so they...
put in a 8" high curb to keep people out of the ditch, and
put a 2 foot wide swatch of "bumpy concrete" on the double yellow line.
Now there isn't enough space for people to slither by and turn right. So we all have to sit there wasting time and gas if the first person at the light is going straight.
A "T" intersection, where a supermarket parking lot is the "leg" of the T and the two "arms" a state highway.
People had been cutting down the breakdown lane, stopping, and turning right on red into the supermarket.
Engineers saw this and decided to fix the intersection. They didn't have enough money or land to add a second right-turn only lane so they...
put in a 8" high curb to keep people out of the ditch, and
put a 2 foot wide swatch of "bumpy concrete" on the double yellow line.
Now there isn't enough space for people to slither by and turn right. So we all have to sit there wasting time and gas if the first person at the light is going straight.
I live in a country area and it seems road racing has been pretty bad the past couple of years. Just a few months ago 4 kids in a 3000 GT (oldest being just 16) were doing 80+ in a decreasing radius turn. There are now 4 crosses next to the turn. The guy they head-on'd was hurt but I think is OK now. He was in a 10,000lb log truck. I did all the same stuff as a kid and don't deserve to be here except by the Grace of ***. But, in 1983 there were 1/3 the cars on the road as there seems to be today. The back roads are just as crowded as city roads now.
I think aggressive driving comes from one thing - people today are not disciplined growing up and have no manners at all, plus the fact that most of them coming up think the world revolves around them and what anyone else does or thinks is irrelevant. If you smack little johnny for something here come the child welfare workers to put you in jail and take him away...
I have lived in london where the population density is much greater than anywhere in the US, even new york city and did not have problems with aggresive driving, manners etc...they socialize their children to live elbow to elbow.
One of those ricers tried to run over me a while back and got in front of me and hammered his brakes so i would run into him. I drive a 29 year old car, went to his side and just kept moving over on him till he ran up on the curb...think it messed up the alignment on his car a little bit.
Dan
I have lived in london where the population density is much greater than anywhere in the US, even new york city and did not have problems with aggresive driving, manners etc...they socialize their children to live elbow to elbow.
One of those ricers tried to run over me a while back and got in front of me and hammered his brakes so i would run into him. I drive a 29 year old car, went to his side and just kept moving over on him till he ran up on the curb...think it messed up the alignment on his car a little bit.
Dan
There's also the stupid people that stop 50 feet short of the car in front of them at a light and suddenly realize it half a minute later and move up.
I never was able to figure out what it is that makes them suddenly able to determine they're too far back when they couldn't before.
Of course aggressive/stupid driving is getting worse. It's because of:
1) lack of proper driver training
2) lack of enforcement of anything but speed limits
And the big one:
3) Overpopulation! Overcrowding!
Experiments have shown that animals, even social ones, who are forced into overcrowded conditions begin to behave erratically and aggressively toward their neighbors. Homo sapiens is the only animal who voluntarily does this to himself.
There are too d**n many people on the roads, in the stores, in the malls, on airplanes. It's making us all crazy.
-- Paul W.
1) lack of proper driver training
2) lack of enforcement of anything but speed limits
And the big one:
3) Overpopulation! Overcrowding!
Experiments have shown that animals, even social ones, who are forced into overcrowded conditions begin to behave erratically and aggressively toward their neighbors. Homo sapiens is the only animal who voluntarily does this to himself.
There are too d**n many people on the roads, in the stores, in the malls, on airplanes. It's making us all crazy.
-- Paul W.
yeah... i just sit there, i was taught for my class a drivers license that you need to stay back enough just in case the car in front of you breaks down, you can go around without backing up an 80 thousand pound semi truck over someone's car to make room to get around... problem? most people honk if you dont move up that 3 feet... they act like the 3 feet is gonna get them closer to where they are going or something.
couple more, coming from a class a'er....
99% of the time at a red light in a semi you have to wait till it's green to make a right turn, because you cannot move the truck fast enough to get out of the way of oncoming traffic.... people don't understand this in a car, because afterall, they didn't even read the class C book... so they honk and i guess they believe operating a vehicle of that magnitude is like a suburban or escalade... just whip it around the corner on red...
and at a freeway onramp, you know during the morning or evening commute when it's packed they have the traffic signal on....2 cars per green? another one that gets me is when the semi truck takes off (a combination vehicle, which counts as 2 vehicles) a 4-wheeler has to take off behind them, then when the truck is merging at 35mph the 4 wheeler gets po'd about the slowness and can't get in, either gets run off the road or smashed trying to get around the truck
I remember an editorial I read that said a lot of troubles started with the law change that allowed turning right on red. They argued that it was the start of the slippery slope..... more and more people don't stop before turning red, and pretty soon they don't stop for red at all, etc. I thought it had some merit. I fear that I will be rear ended when I stop at a stop sign, as so few do these days.
They do, however, stop for yield signs.
I was actually quite pleased with some of the driving I saw this morning. There was one stupid person, but I'll explain that later.
There's a construction zone on I-75 near me that reduces it from 3 lanes to 2 for a short distance. This morning, everyone merged early, including "la stupida", and traffic flowed surprisingly well through that zone. Normally around here, it's wait until the last second and every man for himself type of crap and things get really jammed up.
This stupid person, though, pulled up along side me as I was turning out of my subdivision! I couldn't believe it! She completely ignored my horn, but as it turned out, I was able to turn before her, anyway. I still thought it was incredibly rude.
There's a construction zone on I-75 near me that reduces it from 3 lanes to 2 for a short distance. This morning, everyone merged early, including "la stupida", and traffic flowed surprisingly well through that zone. Normally around here, it's wait until the last second and every man for himself type of crap and things get really jammed up.
This stupid person, though, pulled up along side me as I was turning out of my subdivision! I couldn't believe it! She completely ignored my horn, but as it turned out, I was able to turn before her, anyway. I still thought it was incredibly rude.
I have a corner lot on a four way intersection and all have a stop sign. 99.9% never stop and most of them are speeding. The crazy thing about it is that most of the drivers who are speeding and not stopping are local people who live in the next streets over. If Im out in my yard I yell at the people and they give me the finger and yell back at me and continue on. I have even had them turn around and go faster thru the stop signs just to really try to **** me off. Used to be where my kids and neighbors kids could ride their bikes or walk along the side of the road. now its getting to dangerous for them to do so. You would think when there are 10/12 kids playing football or other games on my front lawn people would have enough common sence or curtisy to stop. **** I can be mowing my lawn and watch people throw trash out the window at the intersection, and its not just the young crowd that does it. Unbelievable.
And that's usually right before having to get onto an interstate highway or other such roadway where the other traffic is moving at least 50 miles an hour.
Idiots!
kkat - yes, that is another big thing, throwing trash out the window. What is with people? Everywhere you go there are trash recepticles that you can use with just a little planning! No one seems to care! Make an eyesore, and someone else has to pick it up. No excuse for it. Like to pick it up and follow them and leave it in their yard.... But I'm sure that wouldn't faze them in the least.
This kind of behavior is happening (and its not just in driving; its in all our activities) because the majority of people in this country have become self-centered, lack what used to be called common courtesy, are convinced that they and their interests take precedence over everyone else and their interests, and are unconcerned about the lives, interests, and safety of others. Its all me, me, me, and to h... with everyone else. You can also see this in the constant demand for people that their rights be recognized -- the right to this, the right to that, the right to the most asinine things, ad infinitum and ad nauseum. At the same time, they ignore the responsibilities that go along with those rights. They aren't willing to be responsible for anything. It has long been recognized by political theorists that rights are balanced by and accompanied by responsibilities. As stated in Article II, section 3, of the Constitution of the State of Montana:
"Section 3. Inalienable rights. All persons are born free and have certain inalienable rights. They include the right to a clean and healthful environment and the rights of pursuing life's basic necessities, enjoying and defending their lives and liberties, acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and seeking their safety, health and happiness in all lawful ways. In enjoying these rights, all persons recognize corresponding responsibilities."
Note the last sentence.
You also see this reflected in the proliferation of commercials that say "You deserve it". We're told that we deserve this, that, and the other thing, tho often many people don't deserve it, for the simple reason that they didn't earn what they're told that they deserve. My favorite is the people with lousy credit ratings that are purely their own fault because they have steak tastes on a hamburger budget and buy, buy, buy, and are then told by the commercials that they deserve the credit card, product, or whatever, that the commercial seeks to sell them.
I grew up in the 50's. I was in college throughout most of the 60's. The difference in people's interactions with each other and how they treated each other in those two decades is the difference between night and day. It was in the 60's that this self-centeredness began. I realize that a lot of good occurred in the 60's, and that a lot of necessary and positive changes were made, but I've come to believe that on the whole, the 60's were a disaster for the future of this country and it would have been better for us if the 60's had been more like a continuation of the 50's.
"Section 3. Inalienable rights. All persons are born free and have certain inalienable rights. They include the right to a clean and healthful environment and the rights of pursuing life's basic necessities, enjoying and defending their lives and liberties, acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and seeking their safety, health and happiness in all lawful ways. In enjoying these rights, all persons recognize corresponding responsibilities."
Note the last sentence.
You also see this reflected in the proliferation of commercials that say "You deserve it". We're told that we deserve this, that, and the other thing, tho often many people don't deserve it, for the simple reason that they didn't earn what they're told that they deserve. My favorite is the people with lousy credit ratings that are purely their own fault because they have steak tastes on a hamburger budget and buy, buy, buy, and are then told by the commercials that they deserve the credit card, product, or whatever, that the commercial seeks to sell them.
I grew up in the 50's. I was in college throughout most of the 60's. The difference in people's interactions with each other and how they treated each other in those two decades is the difference between night and day. It was in the 60's that this self-centeredness began. I realize that a lot of good occurred in the 60's, and that a lot of necessary and positive changes were made, but I've come to believe that on the whole, the 60's were a disaster for the future of this country and it would have been better for us if the 60's had been more like a continuation of the 50's.
Camoflauge society. Sociopathic traits are accepted and even admired.
John K - I've seen this especially near those signs that say $1,000 fine for littering. Just look on the ground near those signs - people use that place for 90% of the trash thrown out.
Love it when people driving 50mph in a 70mph zone - I cut around them a little going 70, they get ****** and pass me at 90mph only for me to pass them a few minutes later doing the same thing.
I try and make it a point to be nice on the freeway. Move left for trucks merging or needing to move a lane - same for cars. Get a lot of blinks and waves. People notice it when you are nice. Vise Versa too
jmacmaster - nice post. Although I was born in the 80s I'll agree with you 100%
Love it when people driving 50mph in a 70mph zone - I cut around them a little going 70, they get ****** and pass me at 90mph only for me to pass them a few minutes later doing the same thing.
I try and make it a point to be nice on the freeway. Move left for trucks merging or needing to move a lane - same for cars. Get a lot of blinks and waves. People notice it when you are nice. Vise Versa too
jmacmaster - nice post. Although I was born in the 80s I'll agree with you 100%
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