Passing close calls?

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IndyIan

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I'm sure most of us have had them, some even caused by us...
My latest one was yesterday coming home from work, just cruising along at 55mph when an oncoming subaru wagon pulls out to pass a ranger a bit to close to me.
I thought that they would give up on the pass and pull back in, but nope, they decided to stick with it...
I got on the brakes hard and pulled mostly onto the shoulder, the ranger hauled on his brakes too and at about the same time the subaru driver stood on their brakes, subaru's have lots of nose dive on a full abs stop...
It was almost funny as we all had pretty much stopped about 150 ft apart, the young lady driving the subaru put her hand over her face turned into the correct lane and slowly started going again... I didn't even honk as it was obvious she knew she had screwed up, and I was happy that we all had done the right thing and didn't compound her initial mistake.
 
The other scenario that could have likely played out would have been the Ranger accelerating so that Subaru couldn't pass, the Subaru accelerating so that it could, and you would have had to ditch to the right to avoid getting hit head-on. It's good that everyone got on the brakes instead.
 
When the tranny started to go in my Mustang, it would sometimes stick in 3rd gear when you were on the "go pedal" hard, and in the upper RPM range. Only way to get it out was to slow down.

So I was coming down highway 7, pulled out to do a 4-car pass, got to about car #3 and went for 4th.... ruh roh! Dumped the clutch back in and wound it to limiter in 3rd to make the pass. But it was very close. Once I got back down to "traffic speed", it pulled out of 3rd no problem, and back into 5th I went. Freaked me out pretty good.
 
Originally Posted By: barlowc
The other scenario that could have likely played out would have been the Ranger accelerating so that Subaru couldn't pass, the Subaru accelerating so that it could, and you would have had to ditch to the right to avoid getting hit head-on. It's good that everyone got on the brakes instead.


This is far more common than one would think. It is strange behaviour, but I see it all the time when driving in British Columbia Canada (a place with winding mountain roads, low speed limits and very long stretches of no-passing zones). Cars will go 10-20 MPH below the posted limit in the very lengthy no-passing zones, then inexplicably, they will accelerate to at times 30MPH above posted speed limit at the first chance anyone would have to pass legally. Without exaggerating, when you pull out to pass somebody in a passing zone there, he might be going 50 MPH faster than he was going just a mile back. It's not just one or two drivers, but it seems to be about 40% of the drivers in that province. It gets to the point where travelling is so difficult in that province that people choose to vacation south of the border instead of heading west.

Also, nobody ever moves over in Canada to let people pass anymore. I remember it was an everyday occurrence travelling down the highway as a kid with my dad driving.

I have often been curious about the psychology behind these strange behaviours.
 
Originally Posted By: willix
everything is a calculated risk.


Some people's calculators are dumber than others.
 
The worst thing here is spring when they're moving ice fishing shanties around on trailers.

The shacks don't weigh anything, so they aren't a challenge for the trucks pulling them. But they're topheavy so they creep through the corners... then reach the speed limit on straight parts.

I've nearly been clipped by drivers approaching from my behind-left, when the double yellow turns into a legal dotted line. Am busy watching the lane ahead and assuming the driver behind will respect the double yellow and one-at-a-time rules, so am not really watching my rearview mirror with much vigilance.

Also get aggravated following an RV then having some dip behind me pass me then pull into the tiny spot between me & the RV. Uhh, wait your turn.

Around here to get a 50 mph rating most roads get or seem to get wide paved shoulders for that emergency ditch.
 
Originally Posted By: Jim 5
Originally Posted By: barlowc
The other scenario that could have likely played out would have been the Ranger accelerating so that Subaru couldn't pass, the Subaru accelerating so that it could, and you would have had to ditch to the right to avoid getting hit head-on. It's good that everyone got on the brakes instead.


This is far more common than one would think. It is strange behaviour, but I see it all the time when driving in British Columbia Canada (a place with winding mountain roads, low speed limits and very long stretches of no-passing zones). Cars will go 10-20 MPH below the posted limit in the very lengthy no-passing zones, then inexplicably, they will accelerate to at times 30MPH above posted speed limit at the first chance anyone would have to pass legally. Without exaggerating, when you pull out to pass somebody in a passing zone there, he might be going 50 MPH faster than he was going just a mile back. It's not just one or two drivers, but it seems to be about 40% of the drivers in that province. It gets to the point where travelling is so difficult in that province that people choose to vacation south of the border instead of heading west.

Also, nobody ever moves over in Canada to let people pass anymore. I remember it was an everyday occurrence travelling down the highway as a kid with my dad driving.

I have often been curious about the psychology behind these strange behaviours.


I have seen this almost weekly for decades. I originally (Naively?) thought it was a lack of awareness on their part, but after passing and attempting to pass them at twice the legal limit or more I am convinced they just want to mess with you. A couple of 'em have tried to run me off the road, and to be fair, I halfheartedly tried to scare a couple of them too.

Another "Interesting" thing happens when I am pulling a trailer or have something on the truck that's not tied down really well and I am going slow. The tailgater jerks can't seem to get close enough to me. And I mean on all roads! I have been going down the interstate with only one car besides me on the road and he's so close I can't see his lights. I don't know what is going on with these people but when something does actually come off the truck/trailer I hope its big and deadly. BTW its not just me, others I've spoken with have identical issues. I wonder if it's a local phenomenon?
 
Originally Posted By: Jim 5
.....This is far more common than one would think. It is strange behaviour, but I see it all the time when driving in British Columbia Canada (a place with winding mountain roads, low speed limits and very long stretches of no-passing zones). Cars will go 10-20 MPH below the posted limit in the very lengthy no-passing zones, then inexplicably, they will accelerate to at times 30MPH above posted speed limit at the first chance anyone would have to pass legally. Without exaggerating, when you pull out to pass somebody in a passing zone there, he might be going 50 MPH faster than he was going just a mile back. It's not just one or two drivers, but it seems to be about 40% of the drivers in that province. It gets to the point where travelling is so difficult in that province that people choose to vacation south of the border instead of heading west.....


Had this happen in PA once, I was third in line of about 6 cars, car #1 was playing the creep-along-until-passing-is-legal-then-punch-it game. We came on a long stretch of passing zone and there was no oncoming traffic in sight; Car #2 had enough, he gunned it and when he got even with car #1, he waved out the window in a "follow me" manner, cut in front of car #1 and hit the brakes to slow him down and let the parade that formed pass. Then he caught up with us, passed us and went on his way.

I laughed my behind off after that and to this day, if I didn't see/experience it myself, I'd never believe it.
 
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I was behind a driver going 10MPH under the limit (50MPH limit, they were going 40MPH), then went to pass him/her and this idiot sped up almost 30MPH. Since mine IS faster than theirs I got in front of them (at 70MPH) and slowed right back down to the speed limit (still faster than they were going before I passed).

Then their high-beams came on and they started riding my butt. No problem, we'll slow down some more until we're going the same speed we were going before I passed you.

After a couple of miles of this they pulled off because someone else was tailgating THEM. I love it.
 
I was going the speed limit on a very twisty lakeside road with cottages on all sides, and was getting tailgated by an impatient 18-wheeler. The guy first tails me really closely, then on come the lights. Next the engine revving. Then the horn. There's no place to pull over since it's cottages or cliffs on all sides. Finally he (and it was a young he) gets fed up, comes a foot away from my bumper, and then pulls to pass on the double-yellow around a turn. And tries to run me into a cliff since he started back over before his trailer was halfway past me. Thankfully the brakes on the Buick worked miracles. After that came a 911 call and reading the numbers off his truck when I legally passed him going very slowly up a hill on a larger highway. I sure hope karma catches up with him.

Not the first 18-wheeler that's been a yahoo to me for going the speed limit through a twisty road or construction zone. The other recent aggressive truck in a construction zone I managed to call the trucking company through a friend of a friend, and saw when the dispatcher reached him. That truck went from aggressive to docile in a heartbeat.
 
Some of you might recall my posts on my close calls. One involved a truck driver tossing beer bottles out his window at me. One bottle dented the vehicle I was driving. This, of course, ended when my hand extended out the window with a Beretta attached to said hand.

We all had a 45 minute "chat" with Volusia county's finest. Odd thing about that was he was the one that called 911.

They apparently agreed that drinking beer while driving was bad, throwing bottles was bad, driving me off the road was bad, him being hopped up on something (unconfirmed) was bad, but me deciding to consider to shoot him was worse. They didn't arrest me but confiscated my CCW and one of my weapons (I had 2 in the car).

The Volusia county DA office tried (twice) to convict me of a crime, didn't notify me of either court date, sent me the wrong police report (my info was blacked out, his info wasn't - including his SS #, company, home address, etc.), and tried to keep my gun and CCW license for over 2 years. I got my CCW permit back by calling the licensing office and requesting a new one.

After a dozen of so phone calls to the DA office, I had given up and wrote my gun off until I read a news report on how the sheriff and the DA office hated each other. Now I knew who to contact and I emailed the sheriff. I had my gun returned to me within the week and an apology written to me. He was a nice guy and I sent him a response back to thank him for caring.
 
Originally Posted By: robshelton
Originally Posted By: Jim 5
Originally Posted By: barlowc
The other scenario that could have likely played out would have been the Ranger accelerating so that Subaru couldn't pass, the Subaru accelerating so that it could, and you would have had to ditch to the right to avoid getting hit head-on. It's good that everyone got on the brakes instead.


This is far more common than one would think. It is strange behaviour, but I see it all the time when driving in British Columbia Canada (a place with winding mountain roads, low speed limits and very long stretches of no-passing zones). Cars will go 10-20 MPH below the posted limit in the very lengthy no-passing zones, then inexplicably, they will accelerate to at times 30MPH above posted speed limit at the first chance anyone would have to pass legally. Without exaggerating, when you pull out to pass somebody in a passing zone there, he might be going 50 MPH faster than he was going just a mile back. It's not just one or two drivers, but it seems to be about 40% of the drivers in that province. It gets to the point where travelling is so difficult in that province that people choose to vacation south of the border instead of heading west.

Also, nobody ever moves over in Canada to let people pass anymore. I remember it was an everyday occurrence travelling down the highway as a kid with my dad driving.

I have often been curious about the psychology behind these strange behaviours.


I have seen this almost weekly for decades. I originally (Naively?) thought it was a lack of awareness on their part, but after passing and attempting to pass them at twice the legal limit or more I am convinced they just want to mess with you. A couple of 'em have tried to run me off the road, and to be fair, I halfheartedly tried to scare a couple of them too.

Another "Interesting" thing happens when I am pulling a trailer or have something on the truck that's not tied down really well and I am going slow. The tailgater jerks can't seem to get close enough to me. And I mean on all roads! I have been going down the interstate with only one car besides me on the road and he's so close I can't see his lights. I don't know what is going on with these people but when something does actually come off the truck/trailer I hope its big and deadly. BTW its not just me, others I've spoken with have identical issues. I wonder if it's a local phenomenon?


I'm probably a little too cautious and prefer not to pass.

My Z4 and wife's A6 have enough power to quickly accelerate and pass the car before the other driver realizes that I'm passing. Even then, if the other car is doing speed limit, I will prefer not to pass as the risk of something going wrong outweighs the perceived benefit of getting in front of some other car.
 
I tried passing a gasoline tanker in Oklahoma while storm chasing last year. He pulled out from the station right ahead of me. I started to pass him and he really started getting up to speed. Darn thing basically matched my speed and my Corolla couldn't do it - I tried till the last minute when a car crested the next hill and he and I both had to jam on the brakes to avoid collision. The trucker never took his foot off the go pedal.
 
Originally Posted By: bigmike
Some of you might recall my posts on my close calls. One involved a truck driver tossing beer bottles out his window at me. One bottle dented the vehicle I was driving. This, of course, ended when my hand extended out the window with a Beretta attached to said hand.

We all had a 45 minute "chat" with Volusia county's finest. Odd thing about that was he was the one that called 911.

They apparently agreed that drinking beer while driving was bad, throwing bottles was bad, driving me off the road was bad, him being hopped up on something (unconfirmed) was bad, but me deciding to consider to shoot him was worse. They didn't arrest me but confiscated my CCW and one of my weapons (I had 2 in the car).

The Volusia county DA office tried (twice) to convict me of a crime, didn't notify me of either court date, sent me the wrong police report (my info was blacked out, his info wasn't - including his SS #, company, home address, etc.), and tried to keep my gun and CCW license for over 2 years. I got my CCW permit back by calling the licensing office and requesting a new one.

After a dozen of so phone calls to the DA office, I had given up and wrote my gun off until I read a news report on how the sheriff and the DA office hated each other. Now I knew who to contact and I emailed the sheriff. I had my gun returned to me within the week and an apology written to me. He was a nice guy and I sent him a response back to thank him for caring.



It takes a real village idiot to call a cop when they are doing something wrong. Throwing a glass bottle out of a moving vehicle is illegal, having it hit another vehicle can be treated as a felony in some jurisdiction because the act can and often cause people to crash. I wouldn't have pulled a gun though but I know exactly how you feel. I fight the urge to pull one whenever idiots do something stupid on the road that put my family in harm way.

There are times I thought about laying in my front yard at night with a rifle because I have idiots driving through the neighbhorhood at night and toss their empty bottles out in my yard. People don't realize how dangerous it is for homeowner to have glass bottles in the yard. A mower will bust it and spread broken glasses all over the yard, which will be bad for kids or anyone who actually want to walk on their own property. I normally spend 30 minutes checking to make sure there is nothing in the yard before I mow the grass. I fight the urge to scare these idiots when they toss the next bottle. In simpler time, it would be perfectly legal to blow their tires out but we live in a world where illegals and inbreeds have more rights than hard working Americans.
 
The best way to get a driver to speed up is to pass him on a two-lane.
Ay least half of them decide that we are racing.
Select the proper gear and go.
Unless they are driving something really fast, or you are driving something really slow, they won't be able to stop you.
I never intiate a two-lane pass without plenty of clear room in the left lane.
To do otherwise is lunacy, and not every piece of road where passing is allowed is really a safe place to pass.
 
Originally Posted By: brianl703
I was behind a driver going 10MPH under the limit (50MPH limit, they were going 40MPH), then went to pass him/her and this idiot sped up almost 30MPH. Since mine IS faster than theirs I got in front of them (at 70MPH) and slowed right back down to the speed limit (still faster than they were going before I passed).

Then their high-beams came on and they started riding my butt. No problem, we'll slow down some more until we're going the same speed we were going before I passed you.

After a couple of miles of this they pulled off because someone else was tailgating THEM. I love it.


I had a similar situation with a Civic in Quebec while driving back from the East Coast.

Wife and I were cruising along at about 120Km/h and we come upon a Civic with purple interior glow like crazy doing about 110Km/h. I pull out and pass him, pull back in. He starts tailgating me.

Then he pulls out and passes ME, then slows down to 110Km/h again.

He does this about three times (we are on a 4-lane highway), and we are in the Mustang.

The next time he pulls out to pass me... It isn't happening. I wrapped the speedo and put several football fields on him before slowing back down to my 120Km/h.

Well he catches up to me FINALLY as his exit is coming up. And he gives US the finger!!!????????

What a waste of skin. No idea what goes through the heads of people like that.
 
The other day I pulled into the left lane on the interstate doing about the speed of traffic to let somebody merge. This car comes flying up behind me and gets right on my bumper as I let the merging car complete their merge and get some distance in between me and itself before moving back over. The whole time this car behind me is riding my bumper. So I put the turn signal on, let it go a few times, then slowly merge back right to let them pass. The passenger yells out a four-letter word as they go past. Yahoos...
 
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