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2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Reach way into your inner being and ask yourself ..........
What is the reason I resent the way he is driving? What is there about this whole situation that frustrates me and why is it frustrating to me?
Why do I think the LLC is playing policeman? Why do I want to get around him?
What is there about myself that prevents me from being relaxed and accepting of other's driving habits? Why am I so judgemental and defensive?
You can examine your intention and learn from there.
Be Safe.
One full (and long) block before the freeway entrance, I'm approaching the last light before the freeway entrance as it turns red. I slow down and stop, as the car behind me moves into the second lane. A third car, approaching quickly, swings into the third lane.
Light goes green, and I accelerate pretty briskly (good mood), while the car in third lane zooms ahead as if running a quarter mile. I think it was a Lancer Ralliart; it couldn't have been a normal Lancer at that speed. Anyway it's way ahead of me as it moves into the right lane, brakes, and turns onto the onramp.
I reach the onramp a couple of seconds after he's made the 45º turn. I don't brake for this onramp. No need, even with 13" wheels and skinny bad-weather tires (the only kind I could find for my wheel size when I had to get them). I turn at about 40mph.
Suddenly I'm coming close to rear-ending the Lancer, who's not Mr. Speedy anymore. Why's he going so slow if he was in such a hurry??
I back off, he gives me the finger, and zooms away (until the next turn, which connected the onramp to the freeway). Once on the freeway he went slow as if waiting for me. It looked more like a freeway drag race situation than a road rage one. I wasn't about to participate in either so I hung back and then he zoomed off into the distance.
I'll admit I was the inconsiderate one there, but I really thought he'd be the type to take that turn at a high speed. Reminds me of the really slow drivers who maintain their lowly speeds through lights that turn yellow and red before they're all the way through. Or the ones that cut you off when they see an opening in front of you, but don't accelerate.
I have heard it so many times, but never have I seen a comprehension of the situation by those who are proponents of this view.
In Europe, you can get by very easily without a car. I have stayed for over a year in a very small town in Switzerland and never felt the need to own a car. Here in US, there is virtually no mass transit, except for a handful of big cities. Therefore, if you simply make it difficult to obtain a license and do nothing about mass transit, all that will happen is people will simply start driving without a license.
Attack the cause, not the symptom.
On the flip side of this. i was going down a local road here that is four lanes with a 45 MPH speed limit. I was doing maybe a little under 50 MPH in the right lane slowly gaining on this SUV. Well I am almost even with him about a 1/4 mile before the road narrows to two lanes so I give it a little extra gas to get around him. Well I get in front of him and put a little road in between us by the time it turns into two lanes. Guess what this guy does? after we travel a little with me getting further away from him he guns it and gets right on my tail. Tailgates me for about a half mile then backs off. I don't understand that at all.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
My ability to drive "defensively" depends completely on being able to predict what other drivers are going to do. It's not the time and place to be surprised.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
When most people refer to the "European model" for driving and licensing, they are usually referring to Germany, based on the worldwide reputation of the Autobahn, and familiarity with the cars (BMW, Mercedes, Audi, VW, Porsche) produced to handle those speeds.
Based on personal experience, the average speed on the Autobahn in the "middle" lane (with the slow lane reserved for trucks and recreational vehicles) is about 80 mph. In the fast lane, vehicles regularly travel at 100 mph. And those vehicles are not necessarily Porsches and Mercedes SLs. It's not uncommon to see BMW 5-Series station wagons with families, or big Audi sedans carrying a middle-aged couple, traveling along at 90-100 mph.
Lane discipline is excellent. Drivers regularly check their rear view mirrors before changing lanes, and do not loaf in the passing lane.
Interestingly, there are several stretches of Autobahn where speed limits have been imposed (primarily around urban areas). And, believe it or not, most drivers do observe the speed limit. Traffic really does slow down for these stretches.
Driving is taken very seriously over there, as are cars themselves. No company wanting to succeed in the German market would consider offering the rolling monuments to mediocrity that GM does for the American market. In all fairness, Japanese vehicles are looked down upon, as well.
Drivers are more disciplined, and the pleasure of driving is appreciated more. Which does show up in German vehicles.
It's good to see that German drivers are now exempted from the list of "crazies," which I guess now means that speed, in and of itself, is not the problem. Which is what some people have been saying all along...
It sounds like their mindset is similar to Germany's, except they're not big on following laws there. Lane discipline in the city is bad, but out on the highway no one gets in anyone's way. As for how they see driving: the suspensions we have here wouldn't be accepted over there; my cousin bought a Nissan Micra (tiny cute car) and it has hardly any body roll. In a world full of urban traffic, parallel parking, weak engines, hills, and cobblestone roads, everyone wants stiff suspensions and manual transmissions.
Yes, they're crazy, but the difference is that they keep a "live and let live" attitude.
Jerk of the trip goes to a woman in a rented new style Chevy minivan. I was just cruising along, cruise set at 76 (in a 70) passing most cars. I just passed one, and she comes up behind me at a good clip, so I move over. As she passes me, she changes her speed to maybe 1/4mph faster than me - my cruise control still being on. She parks beside me for 3 or 4 minutes before I see a slowpoke ahead, and say to hell with this and get away from her. The C43 has amazing 75-100mph acceleration...
I also got a flash to pass from a kid in a clapped out old Pathfinder, as I was passing another car (2 lanes in each direction). I moved over after I passed , and he actually gave a friendly wave, I was shocked. He must have been going 90-95 in that deathtrap, as I was moving 80 by then. Not a good speeding vehicle.
It still amazes me how many people drive with one hand and hold a cell phone with another and are obviously not paying attention to the road. I see this most often in residential areas (probably because they are driving slow enough that I can see what they're doing). The problem with residential areas is a bit of a jerk on a wheel and you could kill a pedestrian, a child, or someone's beloved pet. I have an adorable dog who has been my constant companion for the past three years and he's like my son...if someone shrugs and says,"It's just a dog" they'll see how much rage can come out of a timid, medium-built man.
Oh, by the way...here's his photo:
http://mr-horsey.com/20021206gizmo_very_close.jpg
Just for the record...I never let him run loose.
But I guess the point of that whole second half is that, I think the risk of instantly killing someone goes up dramatically in a residential area. On an interstate you will likely hit another car which is wrapped in steel and driven by someone at a similar speed. In a residential area it's gigantic 3000 pound steel against flesh. Not very good odds. I'd rather you be stupid on an interstate than around my kids.
And the first point was...I think a lot of traffic anger is reacting to something that, if you were able to sit calmly and analyze the situation, you'd be able to shrug off.
By the way, I took my girlfriend down to Paducah, Kentucky over the weekend. The drivers down there were extremely timid. I was doing 66 in a 65 zone and passing just about everyone. But then I had to return to Southern Indiana Saturday night...I crossed the bridge back into Indiana at night in a 55 zone, two narrow lanes, doing about 55 in a deer zone and someone flew by at about 70. Remember...this is at night, in an area with lots of deer. I had already seen a few and was running with my high-beams on. So the same question comes to mind...can someone please tell me what is wrong with people?
and the answer to your other question is "most people are stupid". not that I tend to generalize or anything!
actually, a good driving rule of thumb is to assume all other drivers are stupid (or are about to do a very stupid thing). It's safer that way.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Well, we get to the end of this road, where there's a traffic light. Everybody was turning left. As soon as the light turned green, we all went. Up ahead was the on-ramp for the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, a right turn for me. The pickup and minivan went straight through, and for some reason, the chick in the Civic had actually backed off of me at this point and was pretty far back.
There was an Integra coupe coming toward me from the other direction, meaning that if he were to turn onto the ramp, it would be a left turn. Well, as I'm slowing down to make my right turn, with my signal on, he suddenly darts over, no blinker or anything, and almost runs right into me! I laid into the horn and slowed down enough to make sure he didn't whack me, and swerved a bit. From the look on his face, he was incredibly pissed. Older guy, maybe in his 50's, but still too young for senility to kick in!
I went ahead and accelerated up the ramp, merging onto the Parkway at around 60-65, typical cruising speed. Looking in my rearview mirror though, I could see the Acura coming up the ramp like a slug, with the chick in the Civic riding his rear. Guess he got pissed because he couldn't hold me up, so he took it out on her!
Anyway, I doubt if they were even doing 30-40 mph when they merged out onto the highway!
Then, about a mile up the highway, more drama. People slowing down, and blue lights flashing. When I got closer, I could see that there was a police car partially blocking the left lane, and a cop walking back behind it. Then I saw why...an extension ladder was in the road. Must've fallen off of a truck or something. There are a couple of bumps there where the highway crosses over another road. People were getting over to the right lane and slowing down. Then suddenly, I see the chick in the Civic break from the right lane, somewhere behind me, and try to shoot up the left lane! Then she saw the ladder and the cop, and nailed the brakes.
I wish people would use a little more common sense. And try to scan a little further ahead so you can anticipate trouble. If everybody's slowing down and moving right, usually there's a good reason for it! And I still don't know what was going through the mind of that dude in the Integra. How long would it have taken for him to just let me and the Civic make our right turn, and then just come onto the ramp behind us? We had the right-of-way. And there was not another car behind us for as far as the eye could see, so it's not like it would've saved him any appreciable amount of time.
The integra might have had the right of way. Typically, the left turning car at the onramp has the right of way. I am not sure of the specific spot you were referring to (I am guessing it was somewhere near columbia....or maybe 197, but that is not a country road).
This was at Powder Mill Road, though, one interchange south of 197. No traffic lights and no stop signs, except for traffic coming off of the B-W Parkway which would have to stop before turning onto Powder Mill Road. The on-ramps start off as a single lane, not two lanes that combine into one. It's actually a pretty dangerous interchange, because there are no dedicated turn lanes. To turn right onto the parkway, you actually make the turn from your lane, as there's not much of a shoulder or exit lane there. And traffic making the left turn does it from the travel lane too, making through traffic pass on the shoulder. Most of the time there's not much traffic, but around the morning and evening rush it can get bad.
The ladder in the road was up at 197, though!
Well we start to approach an intersection, in the oncoming traffics left turn lane is a VW VW and on the cross street is a neon stopped at the light. The light for us is green and stays green through the rest of the story.
Well just before me and the Rav-4 get to the intersection not only does the Neon make a right turn on red right in front of the Rav-4 but the VW makes a U-turn right in front of me. So instantly the situation is that the Neon and the VW are next to each other going 5-10 MPH with me and a Rav-4 50 feet behind them doing 50 MPH. I actually calculated it out that we had only 3/4 of a second to react. I swerved to the left and passed the VW on the shoulder, but as I did I heard the crumpling of metal as the Rav-4 rear ended the Neon trying to brake before hitting him (the road was wet and it was raining).
Of course I stopped as well as the VW, but the drivers of the VW and Neon had the gall to say that they had plenty of room and that me and the Rav-4 were racing down the street at high speeds. Since the impact was not more than 50 feet from the intersection and witness'es that were following behind us said we were doing the speed limit the cops didn't believe those idiots and they got cited.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
The Yorkies automatically jump on your lap...it's some kind of instinct. If you've ever had one of these dogs you'd know what I mean. If I had a belly-bag large enough to hold him he'd be in heaven. He's usually in his cage in the front or back seat but sometimes he'll want to sit on my lap and if I'm on the highway with little to no traffic, I'll let him sit there for a few minutes and then it's back into his cage.
They're just such babies. I give him a little peek over the dash and out the side window (I never let him hang his head out the window) and then I tap on the cage and he'll go back inside. I used to travel up to 14 hours, one way, when I drove home from Virginia and he got pretty uncomfortable in his cage. Have you ever had a dog small enough to sit on your lap?
I've noticed that in Maryland, cars tend to clump together. You'll see a band of 12-15 cars all tightly packed together and then 1000 yards of empty road behind them.
The front cars in the pack will go 70-75 mph and stagger themselves to allow passing (usually), but the other 12-13 cars that are behind them WILL NOT PASS.
I can only figure that most drivers nowadays pace themselves by driving 6 inches from the rear bumper of another car. And if there is no car in front of them, they must find one.
Wait... What am I thinking (smacks forehead), of course there are.
Thou shalt not Tailgate!
Mind you, I don't tap the brakes or even use the brakes at all. I merely reduce the pressure on the gas pedal. And I don't slow down below the speed limit. Yet with all that, I've had roughly 3 semi's begin to fishtail because I slowed down to the speed limit in the far right lane.
I saw the pictures of it in the Washington Times. At the time, the only thing I could think of was the reaction of the 120th car right before it crashed. Something along the lines of, "Gosh, I see 119 cars in a huge pile-up, should I stop or not? I dunno, maybe... *CRASH*"
:P :P :P
And they're some of the worst drivers on the road. Italians, Saudi's, Russians are tame in comparison. The last time I had to drive there, I was on a 8 eight highway... but there was 12 lanes of traffic. Road lines, who needs them!
:mad:
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Or maybe the truck drivers are the hotheads who thought having an SUV wasn't enough destructive power to feed their anger.
Honestly, by and large I think most truckers are still considerate, professional drivers, but, contrary to what Donny Osmond once sang, one bad apple CAN spoil the whole bunch, baby! I will occasionally see a rig riding a few feet off someone's bumper at highway speeds, and it just makes me wonder how they can do that? The slightest tap of the brakes from the vehicle ahead, whether intentional or not, could spell catastrophe.
Now that I think about it though, back when I could be home during the day, before I entered the workforce (summer breaks and such) I remember that scattered among the advertisements for accident and malpractice lawyers, there were an awful lot of commercials for truck driving school...I guess trying to appeal to out of work men.
And I knew a guy who has wrecked more than his fair share of cars...both his and other people's. And gotten tickets a'plenty and even got his license suspended. He was a hothead, too. He couldn't make it in this area anymore, getting fired from various jobs or just getting mad and quitting, and then running out of money, so he moved down with some family in Mississippi. And down there he went through the same things, drifting from job to job, making enemies along the way. Well, be afraid. Be very afraid, because now he's at the helm of Eighteen Wheels of Terror!! :surprise:
So I'm guessing that he either matured...or he's going to have a vehicular manslaughter charge hanging over him by the time he's 30.
I always assume they need a little more steam coming down a hill so they will have the momentum to get up the next one. Of course this still doesn't excuse the tailgating but I understand their fluctuation in speed. But then, if they slowed their average speed maybe they could find a speed that could be maintained on flat roads and hills. Or, better yet, if these monsters can go as fast as some here claim, why can semi manufacturers put gears on these things that will allow them to make it over the rollers that some interstates have. I've never had a car that had to slow down on the minor rollers so why do the semis?
OTOH: I merge onto I 70 at an odd ramp. It's uphill and the interstate is coming downhill. So it's difficult to see uphill in your rearview mirror to see what is in the right hand lane coming down with which you're going to merge. More than 2/3 of the trucks will change lanes to open the right lane for the mergees. This is despite the fact that at the lane's contact with the interstate the merge lane starts downhill so merging is easy -- like I 75 in Detroit used to be. But many drivers don't hit the gas so they can merge. One recent evening I floored my powerful 3800 in my 3600 pound LeSabre and squirted right ahead leaving the trucker who had merged left unnecessarily out in the left lane.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
The semi rig from BC & Alberta is another story. They are hazards to the elderly in the Edsel, people in Pontiacs, and the mature in their Mercurys.
So just as a '73 LeMans with a 6-cyl won't charge up a mountain grade like one with a 455 would, the same holds true for big trucks.
Hahah..... no, those are the ones who purchase the new breed of "mega pickups"..... International, etc., tractor cabs with monster pickup beds installed over the rear portion that would normally contain dump beds or tow points.....
They are hazards to the elderly in the Edsel, people in Pontiacs, and the mature in their Mercurys.
Gotta love the poetry in that
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
I am a dog-owner with a pair of 50ish# dogs. These are much bigger than lap dogs, for sure, but they always travel in the cargo area unrestrained or in the back of the pickup with a tether to their collars. In either case, they'd be gonners in the event of an accident but that's a chance I'm willing to take on their behalf. Then again, I've never been overly sentimental about animals and the cost-benefit is acceptable. When transporting an animal for non-recreational reasons I always crate it or tether it, with crating the preferable choice for driver safety.
I do not like to see dogs (any animal) standing across the driver's lap, or heads hanging out of the windows, or BARKING at passing motorists, or in the back of a truck without some sort of restraint, or a combination of the above. These are both dangerous and distracting...
Let the animal be comforable, though. If not, why even have it along? Yesroh's arrangement for his yorkie sounds like a good one.
Looking in the rear-view mirror I see a Monte Carlo bearing down on me. I got a bit concerned as he wasn't slowing down. He does an abrupt lane change to the middle lane and an abrupt lane change in front of me. I hit the brakes.
As I hit the brakes a car in the middle lane decides it wants to get on the highway, so it cuts off the Monte Carlo. The Monte Carlo jams on the brakes, locking all four wheels. He skids and manages to jump the curb but miss the concrete supports for the underpass. As he hit the brakes, I practically stood on my brakes, and steered around him. I looked in my rear view mirror and somehow luckily he managed to drive off the curb and get on the road and keep going. We all go on merrily on our way, each of us understanding it could have been a lot worse.
A couple of notes:
1. if it had been crowded it could have been very nasty.
2. I don't know if the person that cut off the Monte Carlo was inept, on the phone, drinking coffee, but that idiot could have gotten the whole lot of us in a nasty accident.
3. The Monte Carlo driver proves once again, being an aggressive speeder is not a victimless crime, just to save three seconds to get on the highway. This idiot was not prepared for the unexpected.
4. Maybe ABS would have helped the Monte Carlo steer better.
5. Maybe DRLs would have helped the other driver see the Monte Carlo.