Another absolute biggest jerk encounter

[slo town]

My wife and I were driving home after an overnight Christmas visit with our oldest son and his family. Part of the drive home is on a two lane mountain road. There were 3 or 4 cars in front of us going at a decent pace, about 10 mph over the speed limit. This entire road has a double yellow. No passing. We were at the end of the queue about 3 or 4 car lengths behind the car in front of us.

I noticed a green Kia Soul speed up behind us and get just a few feet behind us. Jerk. The next thing I know, about 30 seconds after he appeared, he passed us on the dirt shoulder and forced his way between us and the car in front of us! Not wanted to get sprayed with rocks I slowed.

Then he proceeded to pass those in front of us (remember, we‘re all going about 10 over the speed limit), choosing between the dirt shoulder and oncoming lane (double yellow). His last pass was almost like a game of chicken with the oncoming car. Brakes lights flashed in front of us, horns blared, etc.

Had that guy crashed he was going to face an angry mob. But no such luck.

Scott

 

[tyman]

Should have called it in as a suspicious under influence.

 

[AutoMechanic]

I don’t like people like that. That is the only bad thing about more rural mountain roads and stuff is people drive like idiots. Glad nothing happened to anyone or anything.

 

[02SE]

He could have been an inconsiderate jerk. Or maybe there was an emergency which wasn't obvious, and an ambulance or police would have taken much longer to address.

Whenever I encounter these types of drivers, I do my best to get out of their way, because even if it's just jerky driving, I don't want to be near someone driving that aggressively.

 

[wemay]

You are probably right, "a jerk", but often times folks may have an emergency in progress and time is of the essence. I go through this thought process to keep my own sanity and not attribute all apparent recklessness to careless behavior.

I remember when i was a Police Officer and would get a call to respond that required lights and sirens. I would be on my way, maneuvering through traffic at stop lights etc. At some point another unit (Police Car) would reach the destination prior to me and radio all en route to slow down. All the cars that made way for me now see me turn off the lights and sirens and i imagine through their stares are thinking...."what a jerk! He just wanted to get past the traffic."

Not the same thing but worth thinking about.

 

[AutoMechanic]

You are probably right, "a jerk", but often times folks may have an emergency in progress and time is of the essence. I go through this thought process to keep my own sanity and not attribute all apparent recklessness to careless behavior.

I remember when i was a Police Officer and would get a call to respond that required lights and sirens. I would be on my way, maneuvering through traffic at stop lights etc. At some point another unit (Police Car) would reach the destination prior to me and radio all en route to slow down. All the cars that made way for me now see me turn off the lights and sirens and i imagine through their stares are thinking...."what a jerk! He just wanted to get past the traffic."

Not the same thing but worth thinking about.

Lol I’ve seen many do that. My mom used to call and report them for cutting off their lights and sirens unless she seen multiple turning around or something lol.

 

[wemay]

@AutoMechanic Exactly Lol

 

[surfstar]

Guy was totally a jerk - I see that all the time.

Also, CA travel and gathering restrictions were violated. Call it a tie. *shrug*

 

[slo town]

He could have been an inconsiderate jerk. Or maybe there was an emergency which wasn't obvious, and an ambulance or police would have taken much longer to address.

Whenever I encounter these types of drivers, I do my best to get out of their way, because even if it's just jerky driving, I don't want to be near someone driving that aggressively.

You know, I almost added a comment about the emergency situation. The driver was heading away from the nearest medical facility.

That said, if someone has an emergency situation, like their wife delivering a baby on the front seat (!), flash your lights and honk your horn. Most people would assume you had some kind of emergency going on and wold let you past without delay.

Scott

 

[Rand]

probably drugged up. man those people can drive like they are on high on something........

 

[JC1]

I know we want instant revenge on these type of people. Sometimes it's better to back off and hope Karma hits that driver before he/she makes it to their destination. They'll probably get it eventually. Unfortunately, there are never cops around when they need to be.

 

[Trav]

The world is saturated with em.

 

[JT20]

My wife and I were driving home after an overnight Christmas visit with our oldest son and his family. Part of the drive home is on a two lane mountain road. There were 3 or 4 cars in front of us going at a decent pace, about 10 mph over the speed limit. This entire road has a double yellow. No passing. We were at the end of the queue about 3 or 4 car lengths behind the car in front of us.

I noticed a green Kia Soul speed up behind us and get just a few feet behind us. Jerk. The next thing I know, about 30 seconds after he appeared, he passed us on the dirt shoulder and forced his way between us and the car in front of us! Not wanted to get sprayed with rocks I slowed.

Then he proceeded to pass those in front of us (remember, we‘re all going about 10 over the speed limit), choosing between the dirt shoulder and oncoming lane (double yellow). His last pass was almost like a game of chicken with the oncoming car. Brakes lights flashed in front of us, horns blared, etc.

Had that guy crashed he was going to face an angry mob. But no such luck.

Scott

A lot of these people drive with the knowledge that the other person doesn't want to have an accident.

 

[JT20]

 

[Dave Hess]

I think some people actually want trouble and drive like a jerk.

 

[Wylie6G72]

Common theme: I am the only one on the planet.

 

[JT20]

Common theme: I am the only one on the planet.

Very Californian.

 

[Wolf359]

Boy that was really nothing. Stuff like that happens every day. Every single day I see at least 3-4 cars driving around without their headlights on at night.

 

[slo town]

Very Californian.

Depends on where your at. I grew up in Silicon Valley. My parents moved there in 1958 when I was 5. Raised my own family and had a successful career up there. My family moved from Silicon Valley in 2000. I worked remotely until my retirement. When I go up to Silicon Valley to visit family and friends, it's a mad house on the roadways. But where we live in the Central Coast, it's mellow in comparison. I always kiss the ground when I get back home.

But I hear ya, California is not the place it used to be.

Scott

Edit: I used to work with this whacked out PhD nutcase who used to do animal studies before getting into the computer business. I'll always remember what the he said years ago; "Even friendly lab rats chew each other's legs off when the cage gets too crowded".

 

[JT20]

Depends on where your at. I grew up in Silicon Valley. My parents moved there in 1958 when I was 5. Raised my own family and had a successful career up there. My family moved from Silicon Valley in 2000. I worked remotely until my retirement. When I go up to Silicon Valley to visit family and friends, it's a mad house on the roadways. But where we live in the Central Coast, it's mellow in comparison. I always kiss the ground when I get back home.

But I hear ya,

Scott

I kind of want to visit Charming lol