Okay my daily dose of Road Rage.....(long rant).
03-28-2003, 09:02 AM
#31
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Good job detective
Out of my 1700+ posts, most of which are helpful or at least provoke discussion, you managed to find one where I was upset with someone. Who wouldn't go bail out his friend from jail because he got woken up too early.
03-28-2003, 09:47 AM
#32
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Road rage sucks-even talking about it we become ragaholics. I had a good one once (long-bored at wrk
couple years ago, was alone driving my girlfriend's 9-3 Viggen convertible (now THERE's some turbo FUN) into my dad's suburban neighborhood. There's a Passat wagon on my a$$ as I pull into the development. This guy will not budge from my bumper & is making moves like he's going to pass me. Keep in mind, this is a tree-lined street w/cars parked on both sides & little kids playing, barely room for 2 directions of traffic, plus I have family living there. I'm feeling bad even going 30 in a 25, just to appease this a-hole.
I hated to pull over & let this jerk go flying through the neighborhood unchecked, including past my dad's/sisters' house (there's a thru-street he was probably going to take, but it requires driving through the community). But I pulled over because he was really dangerously close to my gf's bumper. At this point, I was pretty annoyed. I signaled, then jerked the car to the curb lane & stopped to let him pass. As he did and I pulled back onto the road behind him, I flashed the Saab's hi-beams. Just one flash--no horn, no blinding, tailgating, etc.
Upon my hi-flash, the guy immediately SLAMS on his brakes & pulls over. Hops out of his car as I'm slowly driving by. I stop in the road, & he's stomping up to my gf's passenger door, RAGING: "YOU GOT A F'ING PROBLEM?!?! WHAT'S YOUR F'ING PROBLEM?!" I say, "You seem to be in such a hurry, I mean there's little kids playing in this neighborhood & you're tailgating me & trying to fly through here?" I was polite, though I was super-pissed at this jackass.
Actually I was kinda worried/intimidated at this point, as I'm in my gf's pride & joy car & this guy is acting seriously hostile. C'mon - he's driving what I consider a family wagon & is suddenly hopping around screaming at me & verbally assaulting me in a serene neighborhood street! Not sure if I'd cut him off on the highway earlier or if he just had a bad day (Orioles lost AGAIN) or if some mistress in a Saab dumped him (hell, could've been my gf, she was kinda sketchy anyway...), but this guy was FREAKING OUT!
He just screams some more "YOU GOTTA F'IN PROBLEM - CUZ I'LL GIVE YOU A F'ING PROBLEM!!!" & I just say "no problem," he hops back in his car, does his best to peel out & drives off down the cut-thru road at probably 40 mph. I continue the 1/4 mile to my dad's driveway & that's that.
But man was I kicking myself in hindsight - why didn't I get his plate # to call the cops?! Why didn't I REALLY lay into him!?! WHY wasn't I a tougher guy & get out of the car, do me best to kick his ***!? (I swore to myself that, had I been in my car at the time - Jetta GLX, I'd have stopped, grabbed the Club I always kept in the back seat, and at least had some protection as we went toe-toe yelling. Ridiculous - 2 guys in their 30's going at it because of tailgating!
There are surely morals to this story, like that ANY driver can turn into a giant d1ckhead on any given day, and you should always get a plate #. There are many different ways I could've handled the situation; I chose what I felt was the most cautious (& yes, lame) option, given what I was driving and where I was, and yet STILL was really shocked by the jerkoff's reaction. Not to mention pretty disgusted with myself afterwards for not having come up with all the quick retorts I'd thought of after the fact! You always gotta be careful.
That's why my normal policy is to just get ahead of all other traffic. I do my best to not do all the more offensive of the "aggressive" driving tactics - you'll never catch me passing on right & not signaling, and if someone comes barrelling up my a$$ when I'm going as fast as I can, I'll generally get over as quickly as I can. (Still, I find this rarely happens on a highway
Just not on 25mph neighborhood roads.
I hated to pull over & let this jerk go flying through the neighborhood unchecked, including past my dad's/sisters' house (there's a thru-street he was probably going to take, but it requires driving through the community). But I pulled over because he was really dangerously close to my gf's bumper. At this point, I was pretty annoyed. I signaled, then jerked the car to the curb lane & stopped to let him pass. As he did and I pulled back onto the road behind him, I flashed the Saab's hi-beams. Just one flash--no horn, no blinding, tailgating, etc.
Upon my hi-flash, the guy immediately SLAMS on his brakes & pulls over. Hops out of his car as I'm slowly driving by. I stop in the road, & he's stomping up to my gf's passenger door, RAGING: "YOU GOT A F'ING PROBLEM?!?! WHAT'S YOUR F'ING PROBLEM?!" I say, "You seem to be in such a hurry, I mean there's little kids playing in this neighborhood & you're tailgating me & trying to fly through here?" I was polite, though I was super-pissed at this jackass.
Actually I was kinda worried/intimidated at this point, as I'm in my gf's pride & joy car & this guy is acting seriously hostile. C'mon - he's driving what I consider a family wagon & is suddenly hopping around screaming at me & verbally assaulting me in a serene neighborhood street! Not sure if I'd cut him off on the highway earlier or if he just had a bad day (Orioles lost AGAIN) or if some mistress in a Saab dumped him (hell, could've been my gf, she was kinda sketchy anyway...), but this guy was FREAKING OUT!
He just screams some more "YOU GOTTA F'IN PROBLEM - CUZ I'LL GIVE YOU A F'ING PROBLEM!!!" & I just say "no problem," he hops back in his car, does his best to peel out & drives off down the cut-thru road at probably 40 mph. I continue the 1/4 mile to my dad's driveway & that's that.
But man was I kicking myself in hindsight - why didn't I get his plate # to call the cops?! Why didn't I REALLY lay into him!?! WHY wasn't I a tougher guy & get out of the car, do me best to kick his ***!? (I swore to myself that, had I been in my car at the time - Jetta GLX, I'd have stopped, grabbed the Club I always kept in the back seat, and at least had some protection as we went toe-toe yelling. Ridiculous - 2 guys in their 30's going at it because of tailgating!
There are surely morals to this story, like that ANY driver can turn into a giant d1ckhead on any given day, and you should always get a plate #. There are many different ways I could've handled the situation; I chose what I felt was the most cautious (& yes, lame) option, given what I was driving and where I was, and yet STILL was really shocked by the jerkoff's reaction. Not to mention pretty disgusted with myself afterwards for not having come up with all the quick retorts I'd thought of after the fact! You always gotta be careful.
That's why my normal policy is to just get ahead of all other traffic. I do my best to not do all the more offensive of the "aggressive" driving tactics - you'll never catch me passing on right & not signaling, and if someone comes barrelling up my a$$ when I'm going as fast as I can, I'll generally get over as quickly as I can. (Still, I find this rarely happens on a highway
Just not on 25mph neighborhood roads.
03-28-2003, 10:28 AM
#33
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Nanotech
Don't ask me why I'm choosing to respond to you but in all fairness, I read his story when he first posted and after you said he made edits. The story hasn't changed, it's the same story that I read about yesterday or whenever it was posted...sorry dude.
03-28-2003, 11:11 AM
#35
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It's pointless to argue if he did or didn't, only the mods can say for sure
But the caps stuff is all new, trust me.
Doesn't matter. Normally I don't go off like that, but it's one of the most frustrating driving habits I'm familiar with. Blocking people from passing you just so you can stay in front. It's arrogant, and extremely dangerous given the mentality of the average driver today. It's just asking for trouble.
I was probably out of line for the dick comment, but he did ask for feedback, good or bad. If someone blocked me from passing them just for the sake of staying ahead, I'd call them a dick too.
Doesn't matter. Normally I don't go off like that, but it's one of the most frustrating driving habits I'm familiar with. Blocking people from passing you just so you can stay in front. It's arrogant, and extremely dangerous given the mentality of the average driver today. It's just asking for trouble.
I was probably out of line for the dick comment, but he did ask for feedback, good or bad. If someone blocked me from passing them just for the sake of staying ahead, I'd call them a dick too.
03-28-2003, 11:18 AM
#36
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Nano, you are still missing the point. If you tried to pass me on the right when your lane was
going to end in about 20 or so yards, AND there is obvious traffic ahead on a ONE lane road then I would have done the same. The point is, everyone in this area drives this same road home each day and they know that people like to get one car ahead in traffic on a one lane road for no apparent reason. This is out in the country, so it's plain stupid because traffic doesn't move that fast.
You are probably just saying what you are saying because you are probably that person who speeds up in the right lane before a lane ends just to get in front of one car. That's fine but do it fast and safely. This person did not however do that and tried it at the last possible moment before his lane ended. As for the blocking, there is NO LEGAL PASSING IN THE SHORT PASSING SHOULDERS unless a car is turning left in front of you.
And by the way, I didn't change my story at all to make myself look good. I still did absolutely nothing wrong. Like I said before, I typically let people pass me on the right if they do it in a timely manner and there is NO traffic ahead. The traffic on this road usually travels at about 45MPH because of bottlenecking.
You are probably just saying what you are saying because you are probably that person who speeds up in the right lane before a lane ends just to get in front of one car. That's fine but do it fast and safely. This person did not however do that and tried it at the last possible moment before his lane ended. As for the blocking, there is NO LEGAL PASSING IN THE SHORT PASSING SHOULDERS unless a car is turning left in front of you.
And by the way, I didn't change my story at all to make myself look good. I still did absolutely nothing wrong. Like I said before, I typically let people pass me on the right if they do it in a timely manner and there is NO traffic ahead. The traffic on this road usually travels at about 45MPH because of bottlenecking.
03-28-2003, 12:08 PM
#38
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Very well, my apologies. I misunderstood the situation.
I read it very carefully though, and I'm still convinced you added more detail to the story after the fact.
I do pass people in the right all the time, which is completely legal where I live. Like you say, doing it when the lane is ending and you don't have the space is wrong, I avoid that.
However, ask yourself, why did the pickup truck driver seem so upset with your behaviour? And also, by blocking the guy from cutting you off, did you add to or subtract from the inherent danger of the situation? I'd argue that you are adding to it, specifically to your own danger. I acknowledge the "pride/teach him a lesson" mentality is there for everyone, but given the choice between having a dangerous driver ahead or behind me, I'll pick ahead every time.
I do pass people in the right all the time, which is completely legal where I live. Like you say, doing it when the lane is ending and you don't have the space is wrong, I avoid that.
However, ask yourself, why did the pickup truck driver seem so upset with your behaviour? And also, by blocking the guy from cutting you off, did you add to or subtract from the inherent danger of the situation? I'd argue that you are adding to it, specifically to your own danger. I acknowledge the "pride/teach him a lesson" mentality is there for everyone, but given the choice between having a dangerous driver ahead or behind me, I'll pick ahead every time.
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