Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!

Inconsiderate Drivers (share your stories, etc.)

1430431433435436478

Comments

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,096
    Who can say...

    Although with the way local traffic enforcement is prioritized, the inebriated party might be the one who claims authority.
  • andres3andres3 Member Posts: 13,729
    Is it OK to use 911 to report suspected drunks driving on the road?

    Given the way law enforcement wastes tax payer dollars generating revenue by way of incompetent traffic enforcement; I don't see how even 10 billion 911 reports would waste their time anymore than they already waste it waiting behind a bush with an expensive laser gun.
    '15 Audi Misano Red Pearl S4, '16 Audi TTS Daytona Gray Pearl, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
  • jjackson12jjackson12 Member Posts: 46
    >>I'll just go around, or call him in as a suspected drunk.

    >Just curious, how many calls have you made on "suspected drunks"?

    Who can say...


    You can.
    How often do you make calls about "suspected drunks" when someone doesn't drive the way you like?
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    I've called on crazy reckless drivers---like one doing 90 mph while making a three-lane swerve, then coming back over the 3 lanes again, and almost creaming a motorcycle, who went on his toes and did a horrible wobble but did not fall.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,096
    edited August 2013
    I can, doesn't mean I will :P Maybe once, maybe once a day, maybe never, maybe weekly...

    It's not about what I like, it's about what is right. It's pretty moot though, eventually everyone will have dashcams, and petulant old men who obstruct traffic as one last power trip will receive a public shaming.

    Why are you so hot to trot on this? Are you an obstructor afraid of being called in?
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,096
    You can call it in, but I doubt it results in increased enforcement. You know how it is, follow the money, etc.

    Actually, I know someone who got pulled over because someone had reported a reckless driver that was vaguely similar looking. No citation given, of course - not sure what they can do with hearsay other than harrass. But as we both know, obstructors deserve harassment and more. Call in LLCs too :)

    Indeed, it is hard to waste the time of a traffic enforcer, they are really wasting it all the time to begin with, around here mostly enforcing underposted limits on wide open straight roads. When salaries/benefits, pensions, and equipment are factored in, it is undoubtedly an insane expense.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,096
    edited August 2013
    Speaking of public shaming, this guy needs to be called out and named

    The spoiled entitled diplomatic corps, not surprising.
  • andres3andres3 Member Posts: 13,729
    http://www.businessinsider.com/map-heres-where-the-worst-drivers-in-america-are-- 2013-8

    Guess the NW isn't all that bad. Of course, accidents is just one major measure of bad driving. A LLC causing the average commute to double simply from their actions is just as bad in my book.
    '15 Audi Misano Red Pearl S4, '16 Audi TTS Daytona Gray Pearl, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
  • eliaselias Member Posts: 2,209
    edited August 2013
    my lifetime total of calling cops on other drivers is probably about 50, maybe averaging 2 times per year, with more during the years of 60k miles/year, and after 1992/cellphones of course!

    it helps to know who/how to call, but you can always call state cops and they will transfer you
    accordingly as necessary.

    state road -> then call state cops.
    non-state road -> call the local jurisdiction, sheriff's office or town.

    you don't have to call 911 to reach cops.
    you can call the dispatcher switchboard or non-emergency cop business phone # in most towns, and you can call the business/non-emergency/barracks number for the state cops too.

    never - LLCs, I never call them in, since I'd be on the phone constantly if I did!

    never - MLCs.

    never - speeders, including motorcyclists weaving or doing 150 mph or doing wheelies, each of which i see every summer.

    once - vehicle driving 80 mph on rims leaving a huge trail of sparks. it was so loud! state cops asked me to follow him to see which interstate direction he took and said it was OK for me to speed to keep up. I declined - told them the truth which was I was scared to do that. I thought a burning piece of his car could fly off and go through my windshield , plus it was truly scary/weird. I called them back 15 minutes later to verify that the caught the guy, which they did verify.

    sometimes - vehicles travelling below the minimum speed (45).

    sometimes - stopped/abandoned vehicles on side of road if they don't have one of the orange stickers yet.

    once - vehicle upside down on its roof on other side of I-80 a hundred miles from nowhere, passengers stuck inside, a few drivers stopped/clustered around.

    usually - inability to stay in lane; repeated lane violations. i've called this one probably 20 times over the years, usually on a back-road not the highway.

    usually - insanely aggressive drivers like the guy in 1992 who chased me for an HOUR all around north-boston rush hour through 3 different towns and two highways.

    never - moderately aggressive drivers. else would be on phone all the time.

    never - tailgators. else would be on phone all the time.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Motorcycles doing wheelies or running at 150 mph are generally self-correcting problems.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,096
    edited August 2013
    Tailgators, I like that.

    Yesterday got behind a 90s Maxima with rear end damage that looked like it struck a pole going about 25mph in reverse. It was driving slowly but unsteadily, with poor reaction times. I went around - young driver of the fairer set, phone to her ear. I couldn't believe it!

    I've never been tempted to call in idiots on bikes either - as was said, those problems eventually work themselves out.
  • hammerheadhammerhead Member Posts: 907
    People here call in for the most trivial stuff.. speeding. 1 bad lane change. We all make mistakes! LEO dispatch puts the information out, because they're obligated to, but seldom if ever does anything come of it.
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,132
    A few miles SE of Columbus (OH).

    Driver honked after being cut off.
    TExas pickup/trailer eventually shot back.
    Illegals with gun being handed over to the government. Wonder what'll happen there...

    "No one was injured, and the pickup exited at Rt. 22. Deputies stopped the truck and found a loaded, .45-caliber, semi-automatic handgun in the trailer.

    "Three men, all from Dallas, were charged. They also are in the country illegally and have been referred to federal immigration authorities, Sheriff Dave Phalen said."

    No one was injured, and the pickup exited at Rt. 22. Deputies stopped the truck and found a loaded, .45-caliber, semi-automatic handgun in the trailer.

    Three men, all from Dallas, were charged. They also are in the country illegally and have been referred to federal immigration authorities, Sheriff Dave Phalen said.

    http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/09/02/rt--33-road-rage-involv- ed-gunshots.html

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,096
    edited September 2013
    Today saw a phone holding woman in an X5 going slower than every other car on the road, a phone holding taxi driver make a 3 lane change to the left with his right signal on, and a phone holding E60 5er driver sit forever at a red light, them barely make it through.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,096
    BMW stereotypes reinforced today. First one - late model 535i pulls into the left lane of a busy 4 lane 30-35mph arterial, CRV in front of him is going maybe just under the limit as there's a (long) red light a block or two ahead, and lots of traffic. BMW driver gets close, then floors it, flies around on the right (hitting the gas so hard the car lets out black smoke), but then his lane slows down and the CRV goes past on the left, never really having sped up. And 5er never uses a signal. Funny.

    Then saw a F30 328i pull out of a parking lot, turning left. Street has a cement barrier in the middle, so what does the driver (dark tinted windows of course, for extra douchiness) do? Drives on the wrong side of the road for a block, then cuts across 2 lanes, once again not using a signal. What is it with that brand?
  • xrunner2xrunner2 Member Posts: 3,062
    A BMW? See BMW's all the time. 300 series labels, 500 series labels on the cars. Never saw a BMW with a F30 label on it. Is that "union" made?
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,132
    edited September 2013
    >What is it with that brand?

    Saw a beautiful red-brown Z3 with top down at the gas pump at local quick market/coffee stop. High school kid with shiny new BMW. Kid's hardly old enough to shave. Even has vanity license plate: TODY 12, for example.

    image

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,096
    All German built cars are made by that group, as the developed world has better worker-management relations than pseudo-capitalist areas.

    F30 is the chassis/platform. A 328i could be a few different styles, going back to the mid 90s. The F30 is the latest 3 series.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,096
    Z3 went out of production in 2002, however - it might have aged well, but they can cost no more than any other old used car. Rare color for one anyway.

    Maybe 12 was his age? A more flamboyant fan of the brand would have parked it at the pump blocking the lane and a few other pumps.
  • andres3andres3 Member Posts: 13,729
    if someone invented a hacking device where you could take over the driving controls of an adjacent (or most often, a vehicle directly in front of you).

    How often would I use it to move a vehicle appropriately and correctly right to allow faster traffic to pass?

    How often would i use it to floor their accelerator to "push" them forward and onward?

    Too many times.
    '15 Audi Misano Red Pearl S4, '16 Audi TTS Daytona Gray Pearl, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,132
    I looked at Z4 vs Z3 and I'm not sure what it was. Maybe color charts for certain years would show what it was based on a short time span they offered the reddish brown. Really pretty, but I would guess the car originally was purchased by a lady because of the color.

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,096
    BMW has had a few red/burgundy shades over the years that have been popular among that set. My cranberry red X5 was definitely a soccer mom car and color.

    Speaking of iffy drivers, I am in Florida right now, and the place never disappoints. Haven't seen any wrecks or anything too insane, but the speeds on highways and obliviousness on suburban roads is amazing - it's like at home, but at 2x speed. One can be going 72 in a construction zone 60 and be passed by a steady stream, or set the cruise at 65 in a 55 and be the slowest car. Yesterday I spent some time on a 70 interstate, set the cruise at 75 as the gas guzzler I was driving would be too thirsty at anything more - and was slower than maybe 80% of the vehicles on the road, passing only semis and a few real slowpokes.
  • ronsteveronsteve Member Posts: 1,190
    Sunday evening I was driving a 4-lane arterial in suburban Louisville (where there aren't many of those). This road was 2 lanes in each direction with a shared center left turn lane and a 45 mph SL.

    I was in something of a knot of cars that didn't really get separated at a light, doing 50-52mph in the left lane. And no, I don't get too bent out of shape about lane discipline on a road like this.

    A current-generation F-150 was practically in our trunk (I was driving the Jetta) and then cut off a car in the right lane as he moved over to get a whole half a car length in front of me. Eventually both lanes started moving faster ahead of me, and I did slip over to the right lane behind the F-150, still going just over 50 mph. I was a little surprised to actually see a signal from the F-150 as he moved to the left lane. The car in front of him was still "only" going 55, so he used the center left turn lane to pass.

    Of course, about a mile and a half down the road, he managed to make a light that I didn't, but got stopped at the next one. I think he made his left to enter the Watterson about 2 seconds before I reached that intersection. Now that's some ROI (return on idiocy) right there.
    2015 Acura RDX AWD / 2013 VW Jetta 2.5SE
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,096
    Back in the land of the slow, and the differences between the second world wild land of crazies and here are apparent. First is the aforementioned slow. Was on the highway earlier, and it was a plodding parade - even the far left lane was only going about the limit, and the right lanes were going well under - no volumes or incidents, just slowpokes. In FL, I saw many volume roads where the right lane carried traffic at 10-20 over with zero enforcement. Far fewer tailgaters here, but seems like just as many phone holders, so those primary enforcement laws are really making a difference vs FL where there are apparently no distracted driving laws (freedom!). The untouchable group of "traffic engineers" who does such a good job might do it better there, as light changes seem to let traffic clear better. Less aggressive lane changes here. Both places seem to have a diverse group of motorists, but different groups - maybe a little more fresh off the boat in the PNW,which creates a unique set of challenges. All in all, I am happy just to be able to drive without the AC always on :)
  • xrunner2xrunner2 Member Posts: 3,062
    Here I am this afternoon driving on a 2 lane U.S. numbered highway and approaching a crossroad where I want to make a left turn. Slow down, have my turn signal on and am waiting for a Dodge minivan on the U.S. highway coming toward me wanting to make her right turn on the crossroad. Stop there. Let it go first. A woman with a cell phone in her right hand driving very slowly to the intersection and then turning slowly at it through it with cell phone in right hand apparently steering the minivan through the turn with her left hand. I make my turn, of course without a cell phone, and follow her for a while with cell phone to her stupid head until she turns left on a side road.

    How do we get these people legally to be banished from roads?
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,096
    I think many slow turners are phone yappers.

    Speaking of that, it's another PNW thing - slow cornering. Some here nearly stop when making simple residential street turns, as if going 10-15 is too much.
  • ronsteveronsteve Member Posts: 1,190
    In retrospect, I probably should have LLC'd...

    On the Gene Snyder this morning, traffic was light to moderate and I was doing about 72mph. Lost a little bit up a hill, but didn't hold anybody up as I passed a semi, who had his hazards on but wasn't going that slowly. I cleared him before the crest, and passed some other slower traffic after cresting the hill. Once the right lane was clear, I moved right and settled in.

    Down a long, gradual hill, the truck had picked up enough speed to pass me, and just before the bottom I moved left to pass a slower vehicle. Then came the climb, up to the Billtown Road exit and this truck was down to 58 mph by the time we crested it. He passed a couple other semis up the climb, but at a glacial pace.

    When I passed him, I did open the sunroof so I could tell him he was #1. Next time, I think some pre-emptive LLCing might be in order.
    2015 Acura RDX AWD / 2013 VW Jetta 2.5SE
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,096
    On foot this morning, crosswalk crowders were a typical driver of a box truck, and a little old lady in a Forester. I bet the latter could produce a nice insurance settlement if she erred.

    Phone yappers were an older woman in an ES, and an older guy in an E-class - I know the latter has standard bluetooth, so there's no excuse - needs to be a harsh penalty.
  • eliaselias Member Posts: 2,209
    edited September 2013
    "there's an app for that".

    dude, check the ifone store for the Valentine V1 app, even if you don't have a V1 with the bluetooth dongle - install the app just to check out the Tholian Web demo mode.
  • eliaselias Member Posts: 2,209
    edited September 2013
    eh. maybe LLCing would have been appropriate in this case...
    but you can be sure the witnessing bigrig drivers talked some particularly-annoying trucker-lingo over channel 17 at the rookie drivers expense,
    and all forgotten after they all got their next good driving view of a fantastic seatcover.

    10-7
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,096
    edited September 2013
    First commute back in the first world today - man this place is slow. The highway near my hotel in FL was posted at 50, I could be going almost 70 and be passed, as local crime was so high that cops had real things to do. Not here, where going 5 over feels like unrestricted Autobahn.

    On foot today, dealt with some negligently managed traffic controls (thanks, you brave and hardworking "engineers" who deserve fat pensions when you retire before real workers). Two notable phone yappers were women in a late model Lexus LS and one in a brand new GL63 -both of which have standard bluetooth. So far past time for wealth based fines - if success is based on logic and responsibility and intelligence, why is so little seen from a certain segment on the road?
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,096
    edited September 2013
    Today saw a guy have a close call in a crosswalk vs a Mercury Milan. Also had to wave my arms to get the attention of a spoiled airhead holding a phone in a G55 (seriously) who was sitting and not looking both ways at the crosswalk where I wanted to cross - I wouldn't trust her as far as I could throw her. Probably 80% of the phone yappers today were women. Also saw a guy in an early 00s stock Civic coupe weaving and driving aggressively...due to local traffic controls, after a mile or two he had a whole car length on me, congrats!
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited September 2013
    Maybe you should invest in one of those little fog horns for your walking/jogging adventures. One toot and the space cadets would jump the curb and run you down for sure.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,096
    Might not be wise to give me something I can throw at the local oblivious SUV brigade :)
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    I'd recommend one of those blinding chrome mirror helmets you could aim at traffic, but you never get sunshine, so ....
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,096
    Exactly, sunshine? Even though it was nice today...just baked the little brains of the idiots.

    Maybe I can just get a tiny camera and put it all on youtube, and list the license plates and cars.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Just move - pedestrians have it easy in Orlando or Atlanta LOL.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,096
    I prefer what is still the first world, for now anyway.

    Although I like the faster traffic flow on open roads in those places, it's like slow motion here.
  • andres3andres3 Member Posts: 13,729
    Listing the license plates, make, and model of the offending cars on the road that display poor driving is a great idea! Maybe have a ranking system from 1 to 10 for the severity of the roadway offense.

    Get millions of users to provide millions of input data and you can aggregate and average the score of America's worst drivers.

    Causing an accident would be worth 1,000,000 points.
    '15 Audi Misano Red Pearl S4, '16 Audi TTS Daytona Gray Pearl, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
  • gogogodzillagogogodzilla Member Posts: 707
    You do realize that left lane campers would immediately use that idea to try and blacklist anyone in a car stuck behind them... that flashed their lights. Or who managed to pass them.

    It'd be the very worst of drivers that would monopolize that system to penalize everyone that didn't kowtow to their incompetence.
  • andres3andres3 Member Posts: 13,729
    That's funny. Yes, user data input will be abused, as with anything open to the public.

    I think the CHP buys the Escort Live App on the I-phone because most
    every time my radar detector pings the I-phone App with their location, they seem to move.

    I suppose law enforcement could buy the equipment and program and then give a lot of false reports. However, I could see Escort refusing to sell to law enforcement agencies.

    I would give the left lane campers the worst possible score of offense.

    I suppose it would be like they say, every one thinks they are a good driver, and that everyone else is bad.
    '15 Audi Misano Red Pearl S4, '16 Audi TTS Daytona Gray Pearl, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
  • andres3andres3 Member Posts: 13,729
    Accident causers would be forced to put a 1' x 4' display on the roof of their vehicle with a large LED readout stating "I've caused "X" number of accidents in the last 3 years."

    People would know when to steer clear.
    '15 Audi Misano Red Pearl S4, '16 Audi TTS Daytona Gray Pearl, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,096
    Maybe make the online blacklist require dashcam evidence. I'd wager we'll see a lot more cam use in coming years, along with better tech. Smile, you're on candid camera.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    There are some tip offs to potentially bad drivers:

    1. You cannot see their head

    2. Dents on every panel

    3. Duct tape holding the trunk closed

    4. Frequent brake lights with no discernible object ahead of them

    5. Signaling left but turning right

    6. (variant) Turn signal on for the last 18 miles

    7. Truck with lift kit and off-road clogs speeding past you in the rain
  • andres3andres3 Member Posts: 13,729
    If a back-up camera was a $100 dollar option, and a dash cam was $100, and I could only afford one, I'd choose the Dash Cam 100 out of 100 times.
    '15 Audi Misano Red Pearl S4, '16 Audi TTS Daytona Gray Pearl, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,096
    edited September 2013
    There might be a point when both are mandatory - definitely the latter is coming (many cars have it now).

    I wouldn't be surprised if insurance fraud as exists in Russia and some parts of Asia becomes more common, and more people will do it. A factory installed camera with no junky wires and work needed would be nice.

    I'll admit I like the backup camera, lots of tight parking where live, it helps in a dark garage.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    A back up warning system (not necessarily a camera) was mandated by Congress in 2008 but the NHTSA hasn't done the rule making yet. There's story on Edmunds today about it.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,096
    Yep I remember that. I am surprised it got put off.

    On my car anyway, the camera is included in the main option group that is seen on virtually every car, so every E since 2010 will have it.
  • andres3andres3 Member Posts: 13,729
    This time it's the SD PD's turn.

    They want to argue about a speeding ticket on a 4 lane arterial that was empty on a 1:30 PM time in the afternoon. 2-lanes each direction, separated by a double yellow I think.

    The speed limit; under-posted at 35.

    His "laser" reading; 50 - I think. Doesn't much matter to me as whatever speed I was going, was not in any way shape or form unsafe or hazardous.

    I was in the left lane as I was coming to a stop at a red light signal where I would be turning left in the left turn lane. There was no traffic alongside or in front of me. There were no pedestrians or bicyclists. The weather and visibility were ideal for high speed driving.

    I came to a smooth, controlled, and gradual stop at the light at which point he got up behind me. Being as I was stopped at the previous light I didn't have that much time to be going 50 MPH; maybe just a second or two.

    He mentioned something about the hazard of this section of roadway having higher than usual accident numbers. We'll see, that'll be a first for me if the engineering survey confirms that assertion.

    Maybe if the speed limit was set at the 85th percentile accidents would be reduced.

    What a waste of time! :(

    See you in court SD PD.
    '15 Audi Misano Red Pearl S4, '16 Audi TTS Daytona Gray Pearl, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
  • backybacky Member Posts: 18,949
    So, you admit you could have been going 50 in a 35 zone. You were just stopped at the previous light and knew you needed to stop a little ways further up to turn left. Yet you decided to run 'er up to 50 anyway... just so you could save a second or two before your left turn.

    What is there to argue? Just pay the fine, for something you admit to doing, and save yourself and the city of SD a lot of time... including all the time you'll spend giving us a blow-by-blow report here as this drags on over the next few months. ;)

    And maybe slow down a little... especially on roads like that where you have to stop frequently. What's the point of speeding on roads like that?
Sign In or Register to comment.