posted
I guess this is a good time to use this smiley for the first time:
I am more aggressive in a car than the rest of the time. I guess we feel so invulnerable in our big metal shells. I am usually a courteous driver. I drive at reasonable speeds, I let people in when they ask nicely, etc.
but . . .
I get furious when the person in front of me in a left turn lane doesn't creep into the intersection as you're supposed to. Often this leaves both of us stranded when the red-light comes, when both of us and maybe two more people could have made it through if theidiotonlyKNEWHOWTOMAKEAFREAKINGLEFTTURN!!! What's even worse, though, is when the idiot takes off at the red, and so s/he gets through but I get stranded! Typically all I do when this happens is honk when the next green light or arrow comes around, if the idiot is still there.
When someone cuts me off or will not let me in, I often pass them, force myself in in front of them, and drive really slowly. I speed up when they try to pass me so that they can't do the same to me.
I routinely flip the bird at anyone who honks at me.
I can one up those of you who hit the brakes on tailgaters: on several occasions when I was younger, I downshifted, causing the same effect but without the telltale brakelights!
When someone making a turn creeps too far out into my lane, taking up some of my space, I slow down (once I'm past the point where they could go in front of me) as if I'm terribly terribly afraid of scratching my car. This allows all the people behind me to catch up, thus ensuring that the idiot will still be trying to make his/her turn several hours from now.
Sometimes when I see someone do something particularly aggressive and stupid, like risking their car and mine to get in front of me so they can be 10 feet closer to the red light, I raise my hands so they can clearly see them in their mirrors and I applaud. If I could, I would hold up a sign saying "9.6" or something.
I get quite angry when I feel that a reckless driver is endangering my kids' lives. These are the times I will call the highway patrol or something like that.
But the king of it all, the most genuinely irrational I ever get--and this is really quite bizarre, but it just is--is when I go out of my way to let someone in and THEY DON'T THANK ME!!! Sometimes I will get in front of them and drive slowly, but on at least a couple of occasions on the highway I have gotten in the lane next to them and matched their speed until they were forced to take an exit they did not want.
Wow. I really sound like a nut. I wonder if this blows your whole personality-type hypothesis to shreds . . .
I feel I must reiterate that I'm not like that all the time! I guess the problem is when you're the creative type, you can come up with all sorts of evil ways to vent your anger when it comes. Posts: 13680 | Registered: Mar 2002
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quote:I get quite angry when I feel that a reckless driver is endangering my kids' lives.
Ic, man, I don't mean to be rude, and you know I'm your buddy, but do you honestly not see the irony in this sentence?
Posts: 4534 | Registered: Jan 2003
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But let me add in my defense that I am the most aggressive when my family is not in the car with me. The most I'll ever do when they are in the car is honk at one of the red light idiots or call the cops on a reckless driver. Oh, and also the slowing down when someone is poking into my lane thing. But none of these things is really reckless, imo.
Of course, this brings up an interesting tangent . . . around whom are we aggressive, and what does this say about us? Am I less aggressive with family around because I don't want to endanger them? Why am I less concerned when it's just me . . . after all, they still need me, right? Am I simply less inhibited when I am by myself? Which me is the real me? Am I pretending the rest of the time when I am less aggressive? Am I simply too spineless to stand up for myself when I am not in a massive car, when I might actually get my a$$ kicked?
posted
Stupis bicyclists. They should stay on the sidewalk where they are less of a risk to themselves or anybody else. And when they are on the street, they should follow the same laws as the rest of us: stop at red lights and stop signs, don't pass cars between lanes when they are stopped at a red light, etc.
I never do anything about it when bicyclists are idiots, which is essentially always. The potential for the idiot actually getting hurt is just too great.
posted
Don't know about Florida, but in California bicyclists and motorcyclists have to obey traffic signs and lights, but they are allowed to pass more or less whenever they feel like it. Of course, the flipside is that if they get in an accident while doing so, it's automatically their fault.
Posts: 4534 | Registered: Jan 2003
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posted
When I am honked at, I holler, "Hello!" and wave cheerily. I assume that every honk is a compliment.
When someone cuts me off, I mutter and huff.
When someone is driving dangerously close to my side (as if about to sideswipe) I yell "hey..hey..HEY!" (The closer they get, the louder I get)
When someone is tailgating me, I drive Exactly the Speed Limit. That's what they get for being @$$holes. My dad is a tailgater, and I hate that he does that. Bad, bad Poppy.
Posts: 1545 | Registered: May 2002
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posted
I hate how drivers in South Carolina all drive 10 mph below the speed limit in the right lane, annd 20 mph above the speed limit in the left lane. Where can the people who drive a reasonable speed drive? In the left lane, we get tailed by maniace. In the right lane, we have to fume behind idiots.
posted
I used to get terrible road rage, with erratic behavior, flipping off, etc. Now I usually try to take other people's driving insanity in stride.
This thread reminds me of a stand-up bit I saw years ago. The comedian says: "So I'm driving around with my two-year-old, and I cut somebody off. Hey, it happens--but the guy I cut off totally freaks, he comes roaring after me in the other lane, honking and flipping me off repeatedly. --I--, --I--. So my kid is like 'Daddy why does that man keep going "one!one!" at us?' I tell him I don't know, son, you just go "one!one!" right back. So now I've got my two-year-old giving this guy the finger. Shut him down completely! He just looked confused and drove off."
Posts: 6316 | Registered: Jun 2003
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posted
This one time, I was driving down to Louisville, to see a skate competition, from Cincinnati, thats about a 2 hour drive I think. Im out in the middle of the country, but its hilly country, and we're coming up on a up hill, pretty steep and all.
Well, there is a semi truck in the right lane, and just two lanes going my way. meaning, I would be in the left lane to pass him. Im cruising at about 90, but its in the middle of the country, NO ONE is around. Just as I am coming up to the truck this A$$ that was behind the semi decides that now is a good time to pass the semi, hes going about 45, Im going 90. He gets in front of me, so i have no where to go, with the semi on my right. And he doesnt pass the semi, he just stays the same speed. He does this for at least 15 minutes, going 45. The whole time, im on his butt, trying to get him to move out of the way. When he finally does move, i pass him, and very unchristian-like, I give him the bird, and cut close to his car.
Then, an hour later, as I am coming in to louisville, there is deadstop traffic on all the highways, the competition is held at the "fire over louisville" festival, where EVERYONE was going. So im sitting in stuck traffic, and the guy, who had a buddy in the car, both around 30-40, me, only being 19 at the time, they both get behind me, and then in the middle of the expressway, get out of the car. They come up to me, and start yelling at me, and trying to hit me while im in the car. I couldnt believe it. I yelled at them, of course, but i couldnt fight them, they wouldve killed me. oh well, I hate them guys. Posts: 879 | Registered: Aug 2000
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posted
Wow, that is scary. I had a recent incident, but it was nowhere near as bad:
I came upon a guy doing 55 in a 65. In addition, he was yelling at his wife (yes, yelling) and LOOKING AT HER while he was yelling instead of looking at the road. He was also drinking something out of a can. I started passing him (legally), and he sped up. I decided I didn't want to stay behind him, so I got up to 72 MPH and got around him.
He immediately became my bumper's best friend, until I was able to pass another car.
3 miles down the road, I get pulled over by a highway patrol. Apparently, this guy had called 911 on his cell and told them that I was probably drunk, passing illegally, and driving very very very fast (I only exceeded 65 when I passed him).
The UHP actually asked me if I had been drinking!
While the UHP had me pulled over, this guy stopped and just layed it on thick. His arms were flailing, and I thought I witnessed spittle dripping down his mouth.
Anyway, I fought the ticket (for illegal passing). Neither the arm-flailing-wife-yeller or the UHP showed. Neither of them even responded to letters from the court. So it was dismissed (without prejudice, unfortunately). I have to wait a year to be absolutely sure that I'm off. Posts: 524 | Registered: May 2003
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posted
Wow. Screw all the personality threads. This one's the best!! Icarus, I must say that your detailed account of personal road rage reactions was quite enlightening and made me laugh a LOT. I'll have to remember that downshifting thing. Posts: 6415 | Registered: Jul 2000
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posted
I'm overly fond of the bird, but have yet to stop the car and get out. But someone'd have to scratch my paint or something to get me that angry.
Posts: 3293 | Registered: Jul 2002
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posted
You know, I'm baffled by road rage. I'm certainly guilty of the occasional bout of road FRUSTRATION, but have never felt the need to demonstrate it to another party. In fact, those times when I've somehow ticked off another driver, I've always been somewhat confused by their angry reactions; I mean, what do they really hope to accomplish by getting visibly upset about things?
posted
I drive fast. Actually, I speed less than most of the people around me, but it drives me crazy waiting for people to get past me at an intersection. They always trickle by one at a time, with the next car showing up just in time to keep me from turning. It drives me crazy when people dawdle along at ten miles below--if they really have nowhere to go, why are they driving? It drives me crazy when people take forever to get moving when the light turns green. I always seem to be first out of the intersection, nearly before anyone else even moves, so if I'm behind someone it seems to take forever.
But all I do is snarl to myself and maybe beat on the steering wheel a bit. I've never cut anyone off (deliberately, anyway) or otherwise tried to cause them trouble. Fortunately, my horn doesn't work.
Posts: 1041 | Registered: Feb 2002
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posted
I know Tom...I don't understand why I do the things I do. I've had several people ask me what I hope to accomplish by calling the other driver a name. I don't know! It does make me feel better, but I guess that isn't a good enough excuse. Posts: 6415 | Registered: Jul 2000
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quote:Stupid motorists. The road is meant for bikes!
Yay for Hobbes!
I must speak up for bikers' rights.
Just because we're small and don't take up the whole lane doesn't mean you can drive up next to us when we're stopped at a red light and then expect to get to turn right in front of us!
No! I am a vehicle!
I'm going to make myself a t-shirt with a slow-moving vehicle sign on the back.
Also - if you're making an illegal U-turn, you do not have the right of way. Ever. Even if I'm on a bike and you think I'll move to get out of your way. Nope.
Posts: 8504 | Registered: Aug 1999
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posted
What was that OSC short story called about the crazy road rage guy? I think it was in Unaccompanied Sonata.
Posts: 8504 | Registered: Aug 1999
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posted
Interesting idea about downshifting to frustrate tailgaters. I use the opposite theory: I turn on my car's lights so (at a quick glance) it looks like I'm hitting the brakes when I'm really not. It's amusing when the tailgater buys it and hits his brakes quickly while you go sailing on.
A cautionary tale about hitting the gas at green lights: I used to try to time intersections so I would hit them when the light was turning green, and I could roll on through without hitting the brakes. About 10 years ago I was heading down a one-way street with about 5 lanes, in the far right lane. Red light about to turn green; cars stopped in all lanes except mine (thus blocking my view of the intersection). It was perfect timing as the light turned green and I was the first car into the intersection - except that someone was coming the other way who had run a red light. We crashed and it was not a fun experience. His insurance didn't want to pay, claiming he'd gotten into the intersection before the light turned red for him. I ultimately prevailed, but I've never been able to jump into an intersection the same way since.
Mockingbird (occasional lurker; new poster; long-time OSC fan)
P.S. to Annie: Yep, I was thinking about the same story. It's in the Maps in the Mirror collection under the name "Freeway Games" (originally "Hard Driver"). I think we've collected enough material here for a sequel of sorts.
quote:I turn on my car's lights so (at a quick glance) it looks like I'm hitting the brakes when I'm really not.
I have used the hazard lights for this effect. They're bright like brake lights, and if I turn them off right away it looks like I simply tapped the brakes.
I'm pretty sure right of way in a merge belongs to the lane that continues; that is, usually one lane is absorbed into another. The lane being absorbed does not have right of way, regardless of who got where first. Now, if you have right of way but you go out of your way to make it impossible for someone to get into the lane, that can be ticketed as reckless driving. But I might be wrong . . .
Posts: 13680 | Registered: Mar 2002
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posted
Am I the only one who flashes their lights at stoplights to make them turn when I am the only one at a red light and there are no other cars in sight?
Most lights respond because they have a strobe sensor for emergency flashing vehicles.
posted
Ooooh, cool trick, AJ. I'll have to try it out.
My favorite driving trick: If you're in one of those left turn lanes that responds to a sensor but requires multiple cars (usually 3 or 4) to be in the turn lane before it gives you your own green arrow, you look for the telltale markings in the road that show where the sensor is located. It looks like a big rectangular cut in the asphalt. If you leave a space in front of you and sit right on top of that cut mark, you can usually get the green arrow light to trip.
Posts: 27 | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
Interesting. What I do in that situation is slowly drive back and forth about ten or fifteen feet. I often find that this gooses the light.
Posts: 13680 | Registered: Mar 2002
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posted
Bleh... Minnesota redoes their roads so much that there's no way whatsoever of telling where the pad is. It's terrible.
Posts: 4816 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
I guess I just tend to assume that all idiots and agressives I encounter on the roadways are new drivers - probably because I was so recently one myself.
I used to be nervewracked when driving anywhere. I went from never having driven to driving in a fairly metrapolitan setting - with psycho drivers. ^_^
I kinda revert to a zenlike state, figuring out reasons why people would be speeding, cutting people off, honking, saluting, whatever. I rarely get upset. Even on the most congested days, my drive home only takes 20 minutes, so I feel like it's a little sill for me to get that worked up about it. Even with no traffic, it takes 12 minutes, so it doesn't phase me much.
I don't know -it takes a lot to ruffle my feathers.
-- metaphorical feathers, I mean. I haven't had feathers in YEARS.
posted
I don't know if flashing lights at a light is more or less illegal than rolling back and forth or if it is illegal at all. Try it sometime though if you have opportunity, I'd say it works about 80% of the time. (Even on lights that also have road sensors, it is an overide mechanism)
posted
I used to be really quite aggressive and was prone to fits of verbal abuse at the idiots around me. Of course, it was always their fault. Right?
But, since I have matured some (read-had children) I have calmed somewhat. However, I really mellowed out once we moved out here to North Carolina. Interestingly enough, Utah drivers are quite often ridiculed for being really bad. However, I would argue that North Carolina drivers are 100x worse. Yes, in the year I have been out here my wife and I have been in more near accidents or such (honestly not our fault ever this time) than either of us had ever been in in 10 years of driving in Utah. My parents came out to see the new addition a while back and my father agreed. Really scary. Now when things happen, I just shake my head and expect the worst.
Posts: 240 | Registered: Jun 2003
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posted
I drive over 100 miles to and from work every day.
I have lots of road stories.
I'll share two, one for me, one for a warning.
The only time I ever got close to actual road rage, I was driving down a city street at a good, but legal clip--35 to 40. Up ahead was an intersection with a designated left turn lane for oncoming traffic. It had its own light. My light was green. I know for a fact that means oncoming left-turning traffic light is on Red. (no yellow, no imaginary orange, just red.)
I highway repair truck comes towards me, pulling a stinking trailer of tar. Suddenly he whips into the left turn lane and makes an illegal left turn against his red light, forcing me not only to slam on the breaks, but then to drive through his trail of smelly tar smoke.
But what threw it over the edge, what got my dander up, the guy in the passenger seat flipped me off.
That is wrong. You drive, do something totally idiotic and rude to other drives, you get flipped off. Someone almost kills you, you get to flip them off. You don't get to almost kill someone and then flip them off.
Thats being rude and down right greedy.
Warning Story for tail lights.
My brother drives a pickup truck. He sometimes pulls a trailer with electronic brakes. There is a manual button that gooses those brakes when necessary. My brother discovered that when the trailer is not hooked up, and you play with that switch, it turns you brake lights on without braking the truck.
One day, while driving down the highway, some lady starts tailgating him. He decides to try out this switch, and hits the brake lights.
The woman behind him saw the lights come on and slammed on her brakes, skidding uncontrollably into three other lanes of traffic.
Luckilly no accidents occured. My brother drove on thinking how close he came to killing a bunch of people, and not just the tailgater.
Posts: 11895 | Registered: Apr 2002
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posted
I don't care what anyone says. I bike isn't a vehicle if it can't keep up with AT LEAST the minimum speed which NONE of them do. A CAR would get a TICKET for driving fifteen miles an hour and holding up ALL TRAFFIC. A CAR would get a ticket for going ahead after the light is red. A CAR would get a ticket for driving all over the road and ignoring those little white dashes that designate different lanes. What's up with this "Give a bike five feet" crap? That's half of my lane! I'm supposed to put my car half way into the other lane and put myself in danger because they can't go fast enough to actually be a part of traffic rather than holding it up?
Posts: 6367 | Registered: Aug 2003
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I'm with Tom! If I ever come to visit any of you, I'm definitely going to insist on driving!
I don't get road rage. The most I ever get is road indignation, and that's pretty rare. Nine times out of ten, I just assume that the person driving erratically is having a bad day, or a baby, or has a wasp loose in their car, or something. I give them a wide berth if possible, but that's about it.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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posted
This whole post reminds me of my trip to India .
My driving, and tolerance for other foibles in the civilized driving world has greatly increased. How bad is someone cutting you off compared to:
quote: On a standard two lane road you will have three cars, a bus, and a three wheeled scooter all passing a pair of bicycle rickshaws despite the tractor pulling a wagon as oncoming traffic. Horse traffic, pedestrians, cows all fill the road, with equal rights to be their. The right of way goes to whoever has the biggest horn, and the cows seem to be well equipped for this ruling.
In the US, a honked horn is a sign of anger, of audio violence. Honking is considered a threat and an insult. In India, it is mobile conversation.
In the US you pass in passing lanes or face police fines. In India, you make passing lanes.
In Dehli, half the stop lights are no longer legal after 9pm. In India fault falls to people who stop, not to people who refuse to stop. In India they drive on the left side of the rode, as in England, but this too is optional depending on the crowds.
The only thing that keeps people from being killed at ridiculous rates in Indian traffic is the fact that speed never exceed 40mph. How can you drive faster when an oxen drawn wagon my be in you lane around the next curve.
I flew half way around the world, at altituded where breatable air is so thin you would suffocate before falling to your death, and it did not bother me. I was in Amit’s car for half an hour and wanted to run screaming--accept running in traffic, though common, would have been just as suicidal as staying in the car. At least in the car some steal protected me.
posted
A friend of mine returned to his birthplace of India about 10 years ago to marry his wife. Sadly, he never returned because he was killed in a head-on collision somewhere outside of Delhi.
Posts: 2848 | Registered: Feb 2003
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posted
Thanks for the warnings about hurrying out of an intersection. However, I am not trying to race--I just want to get where I'm going, and somehow the other people always end up lagging behind.
And I do watch for people running red lights--I'm not careless. I do occasionally do stupid things. Most of them are linked to having to drive when tired, due to working nights.
Posts: 1041 | Registered: Feb 2002
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posted
Ok guys....my head almost exploded today...the guy, in front of the guy in front of ME...(got that?) SLAMMED on his brakes...the guy in front of me SLAMMED and then I (who had plenty of room, don't you dare accuse me of tailgating) had to SLAM. The problem was, I didn't realize how serious the slammage was until I was too close, so I SLAMMED too late...and HIT the guy in front of me. Luckily, I was almost to a stop and just nudged him forward a bit, but it still scratched up his paint on his bumper and my insurance premiums will STILL go up....
Oh, and the killer!! The guy in front of the guy in front of me?? The PERPETRATOR??? He just drove off and left the other two cars that were trading insurance information because of HIS stupid @$$ stunt. ARGHH!!!
Posts: 6415 | Registered: Jul 2000
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quote:I don't get road rage. The most I ever get is road indignation, and that's pretty rare. Nine times out of ten, I just assume that the person driving erratically is having a bad day, or a baby, or has a wasp loose in their car, or something. I give them a wide berth if possible, but that's about it.
Me too, Noemon. Occasionally I'll have very sarcastic (one-sided) conversations with them in the privacy of my own car, such as "Do you think perhaps you could go a little slower? I'm afraid we might pass an ant or two," but that's only when I'm in a bad mood.
Usually, I take the tactic of resolving to look out for other people on the road. Psychologically, it's satisfying: if someone is trying to leap in front of me, I can be in charge of "helping" them achieve their intended destination quicker. It makes me happy instead of pissed, and I can amuse myself by telling myself outrageous stories of how I just helped them save the world, etc.
posted
I'm so glad to be enriched by my fellow jatraquero! Let me tell you a story!
Yesterday, I was driving my brother home from his tutoring. There's a junction of two major freeways right by my house. Basically, I go sailing off of one freeway and onto the exit ramp of the other one without changing lanes. So, if people need to get onto the same exit ramp, they must watch behind them and do it quickly as to mesh with traffic. I came around onto the ramp, not speeding. Yea, in fact I was only in 4th gear and doing just fine. A big white truck...no, he doesn't cut me off. He just starts to SLOWLY drift into the lane in front of me. Obviously, he didn't know I was there and by then I was too close to stop, so I honked my horn to alert him of my presence and drove on by him. I did nothing wrong!!
Well, he was pissed off anyway. He did move over onto the lane behind me and stayed right on my bumper. As you have all read earlier, this bugs me to no end. But, I used the downshifting trick that I learned on this very thread (which wasn't even illegal because it was an exit ramp and I had to slow down anyway) and it made him SO MAD that he started pointing angrily and shouting things that I couldn't hear. He got off the ramp with me and I was afraid he might follow me home, but he got in the lane next to me and a little behind. We had to wait at a red light, so he had lots of time to yell out his window. And man, did he yell. Thankfully, he drove away, but not before he called me some of the most atrocious names and flung 4 letter words everywhere. I just ignored him, though the temptation to --|-- was very strong!!! I wanted to be a good example to my 17 year old brother.
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Often this leaves both of us stranded when the red-light comes, when both of us and maybe two more people could have made it through if theidiotonlyKNEWHOWTOMAKEAFREAKINGLEFTTURN!!! What's even worse, though, is when the idiot takes off at the red, and so s/he gets through but I get stranded! ![[Evil]](graemlins/evil.gif)
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Shut him down completely! He just looked confused and drove off."
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Luckily, I was almost to a stop and just nudged him forward a bit, but it still scratched up his paint on his bumper and my insurance premiums will STILL go up....
