Inconsiderate Drivers (share your stories, etc.)

nyccarguy

I'm on the Long Island Expressway on Sunday afternoon heading west. There's 4 lanes (3 + a carpool lane). I'm behind a Ford Expedition in the left lane for about 2 miuntes (He's driving 60mph). I move over 2 lanes to the right lane and squeeze myself back into the center lane and mashed the gas. I look back in my rear view mirror and what do I see? In the laft lane was that Ford Expedition, In the Middle Lane was a Lincoln Navigator, & In the right lane was a Chevrolet Suburban all travelling at the same speed.

alfox

I think some huge proportion of drivers (maybe 50% during rush hours) don't have a clue where they are - they just zone out and drift along as if they are alone in the world. The fact that they are (or worse, aren't) passing another car, or riding next to someone, or blocking the left lane - it's all just beyond their cognizance. They're passengers in their own cars!

Considering that some are also real morons, with no driving sense even when they are paying attention, and then mix in a few slot car drivers and speed racers, and it spells a miserable ride for the few of us who know what we're doing and care about it.

Scary.

keith24

these idiot morons:

3 lane interstate, merging down to 2 at the interchange of it and another interstate. Right lane goes east on 40, left lane goes west. Here's the scenario:

Lane 1 is the far right lane, to exit & go east on I-40
Lane 2 is the "middle" lane, to exit & go west on I-40
Lane 3 is the far left lane that merges into lane 2.

Now, if traffic is backed up in Lane 2 to go west (for whatever reason), WHY do some people feel that they can change to Lane 3, pass most of the bottleneck, and then merge back over?
I'm not talking about both 2 & 3 backed up, and "zipper merging" at the end. That would actually keep traffic moving at a relative pace.

This is just blatant, "me first", "Idon'thavetimetositintraffic", moron mentality. 9 times out of 10, the people that are doing this are the ones causing the traffic to back up! I do my best to let cooler heads prevail, but there are times that I just lose it!

For the record, if L2 & L3 are both backed up, I'll be courteous & let the "zipper merge" happen. Thats only fair.

However, if I'm in L2, at the end of L3, & someone decides that their time can't be spent sitting in traffic, they WILL NOT, UNDER MOST ALL CIRCUMSTANCES,just don't cut me off at the last minute. Simple as that. I don't slow to let them in, nor do I keep enough distance between me & the car in front of me for them to occupy.

Let 'em wait in traffic just like everybody else trying to get home.

keith

verozahl

I do believe there is a new law in Michigan that makes such moves illegal.

alfox

I wanted a pod of Zuni rockets mounted on either side, to eliminate people who drive like that. Now I'd settle for a brain ray gun charged with a blend of 25% common sense and 75% manners. That should take care of most of 'em.

And maybe one pod of rockets for the few remaining nitwits.

:-D

dave330i

Zero multiplied by any number is still zero.

alfox

I guess you're right, Dave.

Sigh!

eharri3

How on relatively clear roads 1 driver will cruise right next to another for an extended period of time. Totally stupid, staying right in someone else's blind spot for miles at a time. Then when cars behind want to pass they're forced to change lanes twice instead of just once. I dont know how to get the message across to people: Highways have multiple lans so there can be safe speed differentials. IF you find yourself sitting next to another car matching speeds for a long time, you should probably be in the same lane as them.

alfox

If you're the driver, and you "...find yourself sitting next to another car matching speeds for a long time" you may have a bigger problem than being in the wrong lane. People who are passengers in the car their driving scare me.

ghulet

Someone pulled right out in front of me (twice forward, once backing up) when there were no other cars behind me. With the one backing up, I had to stop, wait for him to (very slowly) finish his three point turn-around, then sit while he waited for the parallel spot he was pulling into (I couldn't go around him initially because of traffic in the other direction). All because he couldn't wait five seconds for me to pass him. Jerk.

verozahl

Heading east on I-696. Straight, no police, concrete on all sides. Mr. GM employee has to LLC in his Buick going 70 (speed limit). Maybe trying to figure out how to get his OnStar to work? Another reason why people who aspire to work for GM need a little introduction to reality... you too could be some idiot old middle-aged grumpy accountant whose major fun in life is LLCing because you can't be bothered to get out the way of other cars during rush hour... especially imports.

pat84

Cruise control may result in cars matching speeds for extended periods in different lanes. On rare occasions, I like to think I am not always surrounded by total idiots.

alfox

To some extent that may be true, especially with some of the sloppy cruise controls out there. Every GM cruise control I've ever used loses about 3 mph going up hill. Since the passengers driving the car don't pay any attention to things like the speed the car is choosing to go, they zip and sag through traffic, passing here, then slowing down there - a real annoyance.

The ones that really bother me, though, cannot be explained by cruise control, unless they consciously reset it when they got next to me. They come up from behind, gradually gaining on me until they get into my blind spot. Obviously they are running at a higher speed than me. Then they match speeds, and drive there seemingly forever. If we're going uphill I will give them the benefit of the doubt, and assume they are just asleep on cruise control, and not mindlessly (or worse deliberately) manually matching speed. But when we top the hill, and they stay there, right in my blind spot, I get annoyed.

What's up with that?

pat84

I know, it does appear deliberate, especially since they hem you in to a slower moving car ahead by hanging in your right blind spot. I think these are a sort of lemming, not really people driving. Another lemming trait is when you go to pass them, they accelerate, starting to pace you, It's as if it had turned into a race. Or they pass you, get in front and then slow down. Lemmings for sure.

alfox

I don't mind the "Take-No-Prisoners-I'm-Goin'-85" types as much. You know where they're coming from, and where they're going. I try not to mess with them, and usually they don't mess with others.

daysailer

I don't know whether these events were inconsiderate or just plain stupid, but on my way to work this morning I encountered two would-be kamakaze drivers within the space of perhaps two miles. First, I was traveling no more than 60mph in a 55 in the middle lane of 3 with no cars close behind when a car pulled into the rightmost lane, no problem. As I neared him, closing rapidly (he made little effort to accelerate), he moved into my (center) lane and I moved to the left lane. I am nearly "on" him when he moves to the left lane directly in front of me. I swerve to the right and blow the horn so that he knows I'm there (I'm in a white MPV with lights on, he must be blind), but the idiot swerves BACK to the center lane, at which point I can go only to the far right lane to avoid a collision and must do so at the limit of the MPV's transient response (thankfully there were no other cars nearby).

A couple of traffic lights later, I am proceeding through an intersection (still 3 lanes- I am in the left with cars to my right and behind) after the light turns green when a pickup appears to my left, proceeding rapidly through the median on red attempting to turn in front of me. I lay on the horn yet he does not slow and barely misses me as I brake and crowd the car to my right while risking a collision from the rear.

I was very glad to arrive at work in one piece!

target3

Previously I gave some reasons (which I thought to be valid - one being getting stuck in the right lane behind some slow drivers) to stay in the left lane during heavy traffic. This morning during rush hour, driving to work, I blast by a lollygagging Lexus and get ahead of him by 200 yards. In the left lane, I decide to take the "nice and considerate" approach and move over. As I approach slower traffic from behind, this guy in the Lexus speeds up, gets alongside me for a second to look over at me or something, then speeds up a couple of car lengths. Now I am thinking "OK, now I can move over into the left lane and get by this slow traffic." Then the moron decides to get on his cell phone, and of course slow down, thus completely blocking traffic.

Am I going to move over in that situation ever again? Only if I have to exit. Do I care if I am "inconsiderate" towards these drivers? Nope. Am I trying to slow people down? Nope, I will be cruising at 70-75 if traffic allows it.

ghulet

Now that it's (temporarily) balmy here in Chicago, all the runners, bikers, walkers and roller-bladers are out in full force. Half these people are on cell phones and totally oblivious to all traffic around them. I can't tell you how many people walk in front of my car and look at ME like I'm the idiot. Anywho, I have been mindful of these seasonal hazards and have managed not to run anyone down yet this year.

I did, however, have one 'close call'. I was driving south on Lake Shore Drive last night at about 12:45 and almost hit a (presumably) homeless guy pushing a cart in the right lane. Mind you, there is no shoulder on most of Lake Shore Drive, it's quite dark out, the speed limit is 45 and most traffic is moving along at 50-60 (LSD is a notorious speed trap, otherwise everyone likely would go 70). Also, there are several paved bike and/or pedestrian trails on both sides of LSD that run parallel. I have to assume this guy wanted to get hit.

a_l_hubcaps

I was riding with my dad on the highway today, and we came up behind a guy in an Oldsmobile Alero who was apparently very drunk. He was changing lanes without signalling, driving in the shoulder, cutting people off, etc.

I called the police on my cellphone and gave the guy's plate number and location, and they said they had already received several complaints about him and a patrol car was on the way. I didn't get to see him be pulled over, because just after I called, he decided to slow down to 25 mph. Traffic was swerving all over the place trying to avoid this guy going 25 down the center lane. Unbelievable.

-Andrew L

haspelbein

I finally realized why people in urban areas need SUVs.

Last Saturday I was withdrawing some cash at my bank, and as usual on Saturday mornings, it was rather busy. To exit the bank's parking lot, one had to maneuver through a driveway lined by flowerbeds.

At this time, about 5 cars were ahead of me, trying to merge from a stop at the end of the driveway into busy traffic. This was obviously not fast enough for a Toyota SUV. He proceeded over the curb, and through the flowerbeds, onto the street. I almost couldn't believe my eyes.

eharri3

Another one of those useless, left lane blocking, traffic snarling, accident causing a-holes. The guy's cruising listlessly in a Grand Cherokee while holding a heated conversation on a cell phone and of course probably thinking to himself as one driver after another shoots dirty looks at him, "Screw them all. They can go around." IT is at times like this that I am reminded of a big part of the reason why our politicians will never have enough faith in our driving abilities to raise speed limits. God I miss Europe... come up on someone on the fast lane and they either got over immediately or picked up speed until they could. People jumped out of your way RIGHT NOW, not when they were good and ready, not when they finished their cell phone conversations or their day dreaming or their Super Whoppers.

black_tulip

LLCs are a nuisance of course, but I find LLBs(left lane bullies) equally obnoxous. Quite often I run into this scenario. 65 mph speed limit. A long string of tightly packed cars in the right lane following a truck doing 60. I am in the passing lane doing 70 and passing them all. Here comes Mr LLB at 120 mph and gets glued to my bumper. I will move over at the earliest opportunity but at least give me the courtesy of allowing a few seconds to complete my pass. I do my part. I wait before before pulling into the passing lane if I see a faster car approaching.

wale_bate1

Oy! Got THAT right BT!

The one that gets me is the [non-permissible content removed] that glues his nose to your fanny on a two-lane twister when there's 20 cars in front of you!

Happens to me occasionally since my commute is over a hill and through a canyon. I admit it freely: I use BrakeCheck from time to time...

ghulet

The other day I was on Belmont between Sheffield and Clark (one of the busiest streets in a densely populated neighborhood). Traffic, natch, was barely moving, there was a long line of traffic in front of me trying to get through an intersection. The cab behind me is honking, flashing his lights and generally acting like an idiot. It's not like there was anywhere I could go. It really irritates me that people in a hurry would chose to be on a busy street during rush hour. If you're in THAT big a hurry, find another street (there are many 'alternative' routes).

PF_Flyer

Just a reminder that the Town Hall chat is on tonight (5-7pm Pacific/8-10 pm Eastern). Hope you can join in on this week's topic: Inconsiderate drivers! Share your stories.

http://www.edmunds.com/townhall/chat/newsviews.html

PF Flyer

Host

Pickups & News & Views Message Boards

dave330i

Hate to tell you this, but doing 70 in the left lane while the speed limit is 65, will get you run over. The average left lane speed in CA is 80 mph.

black_tulip

And I bet the speed limit is still 65 or 70, right? I wish you guys would work towards legalizing the 80 mph instead of just practicing civil disobedience. I don't mind doing 80-100, just don't want a ticket.

Where I am(NC), you can get a ticket for doing 80 in a 65 AND could get your license revoked for 30 days if you are caught doing >15 mph over the limit in a 55+= zone

dave330i

I'm willing to bet that average left lane traffic flow in your area is 75-80 mph. If you're not willing to drive to the flow of the lane, why bother changing into that lane in the first place?

artoo

Probably because he wants to pass the people in the four right lanes who're all doing 70 mph and refusing to pass each other.

I don't mind people who're going slower than me in the left lane -- as long as they're passing other cars. If they are, I'll wait patiently for them to finish passing, then wait patiently for them to move over into the right lane after they're done passing. If they still haven't moved over after thirty seconds, I'll go around them.

It's the people who camp in the left lane without passing, causing rolling roadblocks, that I object to. Violently. Or the ones who are passing, but at a rate which can be measured only with scientific instruments I can't afford and can't pronounce the names of. A fellow this morning camped in the left lane took almost three minutes to pass the car in the next lane over. That's ridiculous.

cheers,
Phil

seminole_kev

was when I was sitting at a stop light waiting to continue straight ahead. The light turns green and I start to go. Well a woman in an Econoline van slowly runs her red light to my left trying to turn to head the same way as me. Well she stops short of my lane, so I continue on. Then she decides that she can make it. Almost hits me, so I honk the horn and swerve around the nose of her van poking in my lane. OK, not a big deal, but... Then she lays on the horn honking at me! argggh, you F'd up, not me. So I return with the finger and, of course, recieve it in return.

The thing that pissed me off was not the fact she almost hit me. It was just that she had the gall to lay on the horn in return to me giving a resonable "you're about to hit me honk". This was after having to endure a really crappy drive around the city, so I was about in the mood to get out and start punching people about the head.

dave330i

This happened to me couple weeks ago. I was on 156N (2 lane HWY) where right lane was flowing at ~60 while left was going ~70. A lady in a Blazer decided she wanted to pass the 4 cars in front of her, so she moves over to the left lane. Want to guess at what her passing speed was? It was ~62 mph. Technically she was passing slower traffic. In reality she created a rolling road block for the next 5 miles.

seminole_kev

I know what you're talking about. Drives me nuts. Especially when I'll knock myself out trying to get out of someones way in the fast lane. Tractor-trailers seem to be the worst at the 1 mph difference over taking.

alfox

just don't have any sense of what's going on around them. Bet she thought she was doing fine, and has never understood the concept of the flow of traffic.

pjyoung

It's cruise control. Somebody gets on the open road, sets the old cruise control and their foot never touhes the gas pedal again. Had it happen to me the other day...a gal gets on the freeway (rural), I'm going 75 in the right lane, she gets in the left lane and sets her cruise control for about 75.5 and just rides my blind spot. I dunno, maybe I'm wrong and she just wanted someone in front of her to run the "front door" (although 5 over on a rural interstate here won't get you a second look from a cop) because after I had enough, I hit the gas, took my car up to 100 mph got a good distance in front of her, slowed back down to 75 and about 10 minutes later, here she comes right up to the blind spot and holding. Do these people not know that the accelerator still works, even if the cruise control is on? Why speed up to catch me if you're only going to sit in my blind spot again - pass me if you want...I'm not gonna race, but DON'T SIT IN MY BLIND SPOT!!!!!!!

black_tulip

I think you are missing the point. I have every right to be in the passing lane for brief periods of time while passing someone. And I think it is common courtesy to allow me to complete my pass without tailgating me the whole time.

tboner1965

That safe passing is done at 10-15 MPH faster than the car you are passing.

So, according to my training, passing at 0.5MPH faster than other traffic is unsafe.

Too much time in the passee's blind spots I suspect.

Add it todays impatient drivers and you have the formula for potential disaster.

TB

black_tulip

Let me quote from my original post(#324):
A long string of tightly packed cars in the right lane following a truck doing 60. I am in the passing lane doing 70 and passing them all.

70-60=10.
I guess I pass tboner's test!

wale_bate1

I can't stand when I see someone coming up on the left, and I stay put to let them get by, and then they dog it and take five minutes to make it past. Meanwhile, I've ended up on the bumper of the car in front of me that I was going to pass before the wave of consideration overtook me!

Grrrr...

scotian

wale_bate1

Optimist!

dave330i

I don't know the full detail around your incident, but this is what I usually run into. Passer will usually check to see if his got enough room, but don't check how much faster left lane traffic is traveling.

Something similar to this happened to me Monday night. I was going 80 on the left lane, while slightly ahead of me a Maxima was doing 65 on the right lane. The Maxima notices several cars coming on the on ramp, so he changes lane in front of me, and I end up braking (btw, there weren't any cars behind me).

If the Maxima had checked our difference in speed, and waited a few seconds to change lanes, I would have passed him, and everyone would have been happy. With the Maxima impeding me, I ended up passing him on the right.

black_tulip

Let me quote once again from my post #324:
I do my part. I wait before before pulling into the passing lane if I see a faster car approaching.

Looks like you did not read my post fully before retorting. Anyway, I agree you should move into the left lane only when you are not going to cut someone off.

tboner1965

But to look, most people would have to put the phone down, argh.

TB

verozahl

!!! WHAT makes you think you're so important that they have to put down their phone?! !!! \(>_<)/

lol. It would be funny, except for that fact that's the way they think...

tboner1965

I'm usually in an 87 LeSabre, and I don't lift for inconsiderate drivers, LOL.

TB

alfox

"it's not driver awareness... It's cruise control"

I agree that people who mindlessly allow cruise control to drive their car can be annoying, but the problem is not the cruise ciontrol. It goes back to being aware of what's going on outside the windshield. If a person with a (typically GM) sloppy cruise control allows his car to sag 3 mph going up hill, and roll 3 mph faster going downhill, what he's doing is letting his speed yo-yo 6mph. When that happens in traffic, it sets up a lot of these situations where people pass at +.5 mph, instead of a safe 10mph differential.

I use cruise on the highway all the time, but I also understand that I am supposed to be driving mo car, and I am responsible for what it does. The cruise control in my VW happens to be very accurate, but in the Dodge it varies based on terrain. I know this, and if it matters to traffic around me I compensate for it. The point is, driving is an active concept - the driver has to drive the car. The same thought process can be applied to cell phones, coffee mugs, passengers, and other potential distractions. Priority #1: DRIVE THE CAR!

eharri3

Never will, either, not even in long trips on rental cars. I've been shopping for my next truck and dealers are always suprised when I sit in a demo model and go through a list of things I wouldn't want on one I ordered, and I always ask specifically for a non cruise control model.

wale_bate1

I'm with you on CC.

Unfortunately, in almost every car I've purchased, it's wrapped up with other options I want in a package.

I've tried it a couple of times on I-5 South to the House of Mouse (the VW unit IS quite good), but for me, I just don't see the need. You can keep the trip computers and compasses too!

Enough distraction and driver insulation out there already...

verozahl

There are times to use cruise control, but my every-two-week (on average) trip between Ann Arbor and Auburn Hills and back again is NOT one of them. Buicks LLCing in rush hour, left lane, with cruise control on. Yes, they are GM employees. As clueless in the road as they are in the office.

bigzheng17

on highway, right line is going to be closed, most people already merged left and lower theri speed. then there comes a guy dashing from the not-yet closed right line, then right before the road block, change line right infront of you, despite his rear bumper is only a feet or less away from your front bumper. i never let these guys in.

or the same situation except both line were clogged up, and some one was dashing from the shoulder or even on the grass.