Had a Road Rage Incident Today...

[wander2039]

Originally Posted By: sciphi

Washing the windshield usually gives them the hint in a non-aggressive manner that won't get you a ticket for reckless driving or inciting an accident or whatever Officers Friendly feels like since you getting rear-ended interrupted their for once quiet patrol. There's a lot of spray blowing over the windshield at highway speeds. Once they hit the windshield wipers, it's either passing or backing off.


If your somewhere were it happens often might be a good idea just to mount another squirter. Had two cars in my lifetime one would squirt clear over the car and hit the one behind and the other was from the tailgate. Always had fun with those.

 

[brianl703]

Originally Posted By: pidster
I'm no traffic blocker and if someone's tailgating ME they must be really fired up.


I've noticed that some drivers, usually female, just tailgate anyone and everyone. Typical example:

I'm on a two lane road. Red light and we stop. Two through lanes at the intersection because the road is 4 lanes on the other side. I get into the right-most through lane and the tailgater gets into the left-most lane behind another vehicle.

Light turns green and I pass both of them. The tailgater is now tailgating the car that was sitting at the light and making no attempt to pass despite the right lane being free and clear.

 

[Drew99GT]

Originally Posted By: brianl703
Originally Posted By: pidster
I'm no traffic blocker and if someone's tailgating ME they must be really fired up.


I've noticed that some drivers, usually female, just tailgate anyone and everyone. Typical example:




I've found that to be the case as well. I've driven with a few people who, if I had been in my vehicle ahead of them, I'd have thought they were purposely out to get me and run me over. On the contrary, they simply are terrible drivers with OCD and perhaps bad vision. Some people, for what ever reason (usually a complete lack of understanding basic physics), will accelerate full throttle to the next red light while staying within an inch of everyone else's bumper. Every time, wherever they go. These same people usually go through brakes every 20,000 miles and wonder why their vehicles don't last very long.

Me on the other hand, I can spot a red light or a light changing several blocks ahead. It's instinct. I can travel down one of our major thoroughfares with out hardly hitting my brakes or having to accelerate just by timing the lights, and many times, will end up ahead of the tailgaters and drag queens. I often times see the tailgaters come up upon a slower car and have to sit behind it, even if it's clear to pass, because they have no clue how to either adjust or use their mirrors. You'll see them with white knuckles on the wheel having to turn their entire bodies around to see behind them, only to find that it's been clear to pass for half a block!

 

[brianl703]

I've found another type of tailgater:

You're in traffic and they're tailgating you. But it's not because they want to go faster--no. That's obvious when you finally get a chance to pass the vehicle in front of you. They do the same, but instead of speeding up, they get right next to the vehicle you just passed and drive at the same speed.

What? Apparently, they just wanted to be in front, and are perfectly willing to drive in a way that keeps anyone from passing them to make sure that they stay in front.

I encountered another driver like this the other day. I passed them, changed lanes, maintaining my speed, and they proceeded to tailgate me (faster than they were going when I was behind them) --but only for about half a mile. Then they found another car to match speeds with and slowed down.

I'm not sure what the cause of this bizarre behavior is--people that want nobody in front of them but are unwilling to drive at a speed which keeps others from wanting to pass them. It's as though they have some compulsion to be a rolling roadblock at the head of line and they get really incensed when someone dares to pass them.

Maybe they too are suffering OCD.

 

[edhackett]

Brian, there is no thought involved. These people are driving with their fish brains. It's just schooling instinct.

Ed

 

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

Originally Posted By: brianl703
I've found another type of tailgater:


Brian nobody should be bothering you in your Police Interceptor.

Due do all the road rage and lunatics out their on the road and I am seriously thinking of getting a Black and White P71 [with push bars,dark windows and a spotlight] myself when I am ready for another vehicle...That way everything I just read on here can be avoided.

 

[brianl703]

Originally Posted By: CROWNVIC4LIFE

Brian nobody should be bothering you in your Police Interceptor.


I don't always drive it. Right now it's parked due to an apparent clogged driver's side cat.

But you're right, I can't recall the last time anyone tailgated me in the Crown Vic.

 

[Spazdog]

I had to work out of town yesterday.

Along the interstate, every couple of miles, signs are posted. "LEFT LANE FOR PASSING ONLY"

So I set my cruise control for 3mph over the speed limit and settle down in the right lane. (yeah, I know....pathetic. But I've gone through literally 100s of speed traps and never even gotten a 2nd look. The trooper knows if he waits another minute or two he can get a bigger/speedier fish. ...besides, 73 is a decent speed. Not mpg killing 85+ fast but not double nickel, "Gawd, will I ever get there?" slow either)

It never fails. I inevitibly end up passing someone who's hogging up the left lane at the speed limit.

I'm sure in their mind, they are doing the speed limit. No one needs to go any faster so they are justified in what they are doing. But what about the signs? How do they justify ignoring the "LEFT LANE FOR PASSING ONLY" signs?

If we had Autobahn style traffic laws, I wonder who would get the citation. Him for clogging the left lane or me for passing him on the right?

 

[Pesca]

Brian, I am not sure we are talking about the same behavior, but I noticed one sort of tailgating that doesn't happen in Europe. I noticed it because that is how I got my first speed ticket in NA:

The tailgating you because I want to go faster but I don't want the speed ticket.

For me, it was a big PU, tailgating me so close that I could only see his grille in my mirror. Not understanding what was happening, I started accelerating a bit in order to keep a safe distance from him, without succeeding of course, and then we crossed a stationed police car who asked me to pull over to give me a ticket.
I asked him why my follower did not get a ticket too and he told me that he had to record his speed in order to give a ticket, so he can only do the first car. He did not care about the tailgating of the other car, was too happy to ticket me without too much protest (was there for less than 3 months).
That is why when you travel between Montreal and Toronto, you usually see speeders going by band of several cars... which is quite dangerous as you can imagine, especially when they catch someone overtaking a truck or a slower car.

For those who wonder for the difference with Europe: Over there they use photo traps, so everybody gets his picture by mail with the associated ticket.

 

[NJC]

It amazes me that this isn't MORE road rage. Constant constant CONSTANT traffic congestion and accidents wear a person down. Add work/family/money/life stress and there's good energy potential. And no, I haven't battled any fellow motorists ... yet.

 

[opus1]

Originally Posted By: Eric Smith
Originally Posted By: sciphi

Washing the windshield usually gives them the hint in a non-aggressive manner that won't get you a ticket for reckless driving or inciting an accident or whatever Officers Friendly feels like since you getting rear-ended interrupted their for once quiet patrol. There's a lot of spray blowing over the windshield at highway speeds. Once they hit the windshield wipers, it's either passing or backing off.


If your somewhere were it happens often might be a good idea just to mount another squirter. Had two cars in my lifetime one would squirt clear over the car and hit the one behind and the other was from the tailgate. Always had fun with those.
LOL, I did this to someone last week. They were camped out in the left lane and would not move over despite no traffic on the right. I pulled around them got back in the lane and hit the squirters. A couple of seconds later, their wipers come on but at least they got the hint and pulled over.

 

[Kestas]

I had an incident some time back in heavy freeway traffic. I had to queue into the left lane two miles in advance to make an exit. I guess some guy thought I cut him off. He passed me on the right, then got in front of me, and started making gestures of how stupid I am (twirling his finger around his ear). The kicker is that a mile later he immediately started on another motorist for the same thing.

I'll never forget him. His license plate read MR BEAN.

 

[bigmike]

Another reason to ride the bus!

 

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

Originally Posted By: bigmike
Another reason to ride the bus!


If Florida had mass transit like NYC more people would...Now with budget cuts alot of bus service is being eliminated in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties.

 

[kaboom10]

Gee they just shoot at each other around here in metro Detroit. I'm 64 and still drive like I'm in my 30s. I would like a pair of bull bumpers for Christmas. lol

 

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

Originally Posted By: kaboom10
Gee they just shoot at each other around here in metro Detroit.


Looks like everything I see on Detroit 187 is true.

 

[bigmike]

Originally Posted By: CROWNVIC4LIFE
Originally Posted By: bigmike
Another reason to ride the bus!


If Florida had mass transit like NYC more people would...Now with budget cuts alot of bus service is being eliminated in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties.


That's really unfortunate. Public transportation usually bleeds money. I'm one of the lucky ones here. My bus stop is about 1/5 mile from my house. 40 minute ride to work. I take it about 50% of the year and it saves a good deal of money. It isn't for everyone though!

 

[Jim 5]

Originally Posted By: brianl703
I've found another type of tailgater:

You're in traffic and they're tailgating you. But it's not because they want to go faster--no. That's obvious when you finally get a chance to pass the vehicle in front of you. They do the same, but instead of speeding up, they get right next to the vehicle you just passed and drive at the same speed.

What? Apparently, they just wanted to be in front, and are perfectly willing to drive in a way that keeps anyone from passing them to make sure that they stay in front.

I encountered another driver like this the other day. I passed them, changed lanes, maintaining my speed, and they proceeded to tailgate me (faster than they were going when I was behind them) --but only for about half a mile. Then they found another car to match speeds with and slowed down.

I'm not sure what the cause of this bizarre behavior is--people that want nobody in front of them but are unwilling to drive at a speed which keeps others from wanting to pass them. It's as though they have some compulsion to be a rolling roadblock at the head of line and they get really incensed when someone dares to pass them.

Maybe they too are suffering OCD.


I think you are right. The most convenient thing in the word for some to do is to drive slowly or at exactly the speed limit in the fast lane. This way, they are unlikely ever to have to touch the brakes to de-activate their cruise control. If they are a rolling road-block they don't ever have to deal with the inconvenience of changing lanes and going around the people going slower than THEY want to go. In fact, many of these people also think they are doing some kind of public service "I'm going the speed limit and other people shouldn't be breaking the law anyway" - I've actually heard people say it.

It's these left-lane vigilantes that sometimes have me daydreaming about opening up my sunroof and reaching for the trigger on my twin Vickers machine guns Sopwith Camel bi-plane style, making my daily-driven freeway look like the road between Baghdad and Kuwait at the start of the first Gulf War. Just kidding of course, no psychosis here!

 

[sciphi]

When I do that fuel-saving stuff that tends to really cheese other drivers, I at least do it in the right lane on a multi-lane road, and not when traffic is nuts. On a two-lane road, it's when nobody's around. Pretty easy to find around here.

Yet even when I'm doing the speed limit or slightly over when needing to hustle down a two-lane road, every once in a while there's the passive-aggressive yahoo who will ride my bumper yet not pass when they can. Somehow they want to go fast, yet don't want to get caught. And if we flash around a corner to find a slow-moving tractor or farm truck, they're up my tailpipe. The windshield washer trick works only sometimes, as they're not receptive to hints.