Inconsiderate Drivers (share your stories, etc.)

jaserb

I came across a little fender bender the other day. Fogey in an '80s Eldo had rear ended a Dodge minivan - they're all over the place around here. We were stopped at a light - I was behind someone in the right lane, the minivan and Eldo were in the left lane with a cop behind them. I was even with the Eldo, so I got a good look at the damage. There seemed to be several boo-boos on the Caddy's bumper that couldn't have been caused by rear ending the minivan - looks like rear ending people had become quite a hobby for this ... um ... youth challenged gentleman. (I don't remember if he was wearing a hat or not.)

Anyway, the light turned green and everyone took off - I'm guessing the cop told them to get out of the road and into a McD's parking lot on the right. The minivan in front of me cut me off - no signal - close enough that I swerved into the left lane to keep from being hit. From there I checked the rear view - grandpa just about sideswiped two people - no signal - drifting from the left lane into the parking lot. Keep in mind there was a cop right behind both of them! If there was any justice, the cop would yank both their licenses right then and there and tell them to take the bus home, before they kill somebody.

-Jason

pat84

Maybe you can't see that it is the car in front of the minivan that is causing the slow down, because the minivan is much larger than the car.

tboner1965

old gentlemen in hats. Usually driving sports cars or sports sedans.

But, I suspect bad drivers are an equal opportunity event.

TB

alfox

My father always told me that I should assume that 90% of the other drivers on the road were idiots, and to watch out for old men with hats. He wasn't far wrong.

pat84

How old does have to be to be a fogey (youth challenged) ?

andre1969

...last Sunday, I got to see a chain-reaction of inconsiderate drivers. It would've been funny, except for the fact that an accident almost resulted.

We were all stopped at a red light, two lanes in each direction. There was a left turn coming up where you get onto the highway. In the left lane was an early '90's Continental, then a late '90's Trans Am, and then me. In the right lane was a Taurus, followed by some other cars.

Well, the Taurus revs his engine, and blows off the Continental. Predictably, the Trans Am driver takes this as a threat to his manhood, so he punches it, blows off the Continental on the right, and goes Taurus-hunting. Mind you, the Contintental's not exactly taking off like a snail, either, but then its driver punches it in an attempt to catch up with the Trans Am!

The Trans Am gets back into the left lane in front of the Lincoln, as we come up to the light where the left-turn lane is. The light's already red, when the Trans Am gets to the line, Lincoln behind it, and then me. Well, he didn't get there in time to trip the sensor, so we didn't get a left-turn arrow. However, that doesn't matter...driver punches it, and cuts off the oncoming traffic to go off onto the highway. That was bad enough, but at least he did it quickly enough to get out of the way. The really fun part was when the Continental did the same thing! I guess its driver was paying more attention to the Trans Am than the light, and failed to notice that he didn't have an arrow. He came very close to buying a few people some new cars.

Isn't it fun sometimes, how inconsiderate drivers seem to feed off each other? It's almost like some kind of aesexual breeding or something!!

tboner1965

...by the calendar. It's when you start acting old as well.

I have a great-great Aunt who is nearly 102. She's not old yet 8^)

TB

jaserb

My mom's dad is in his early 70's, and still has excellent reflexes/ driving skills. My dad's step-dad is about the same age, but I won't get in a car with him at the wheel. The last time I drove with him was better than a decade ago, and it scared me half to death. One of the most inconsiderate things you can do on the road is insist you can still drive when you simply don't have the physical ability to do so safely, whether due to age or any other physical impediment.

-Jason

kinley

The GMC van is passing me while I'm next to the shoulder when we suddenly come upon two small deer. One in the left lane and one in my lane. Both of us stop while the deer decide to either jump the jersey barrier or retreat. I tapped my horn and they decided to retreat while a Ford F250 pulling a horse trailer comes up behind me and doesn't notice the situation until he brakes hard and takes the shoulder when he sees the two deer on the shoulder and then brakes very hard. A cloud of dust is on my right and the horse trailer is jack knifing sideways towards my six. That's when I punched it & never looked back. That experience was no fawn. Why do cowboys drive like cowboys?

bolivar

Why didn't the cop put on his overhead lights, ease into the right lane, and 'herd' the 2 cars into the parking lot????? Call his chief, get his badge pulled.

kinley. This is kind of second-guessing, but the truck probably didn't expect to find 2 deer and 2 cars stopped dead in the road in front of him, blocking both lanes. Seems like he did an excellent job of avoiding all the animals on the road when he took to the shoulder...

alfox

when your lane is blocked without jacknifing a trailer. Unless all of this took place over a blind hill, the trucker was not paying attention far enough ahead. Hope he wasn't loaded...

pat84

I do believe you were right to avoid hitting any animal the size of a deer. If that meant stopping , so be it. People have destroyed their vehicles hitting deer. You were alert . You may want to consider using your 4 way flasher in situations like that. The cowboy with his horse trailer should have been alert as you, however.

BTW when I am stopped for a school bus letting kids off, I put on my 4 way flashers .I really don't like the thought of being rear ended when I am stopped.

pjyoung

Ditto that...Ever since I was rear ended while stopped (in my 2 week old 1978 Scirocco) I turn on the flashers and check my rearview mirror constantly...

kinley

The scene is level and straight. I agree 100% regarding the use of hazard lights, but on the 66 Mustang, the switch is inside the locked glove box and there was not enough time to do anything but pump my brakes so as to alert the pickup driver.

ghulet

...I usually turn on my hazards when I pull over for emergency vehicles. On that subject, it REALLY pisses me off when I pull over for emergency vehicles and drivers behind me use that as an opportunity to pass me, either right before they decide it's time to pull over, or a microsecond after the ambulance passes them but has not yet passed me. Taxicabs do this to me frequently.

pbhatti

I'm exiting from the Buckland Hills Mall in Manchester, CT. There are 3 lanes: left one for left turns, center and right lanes for right turns. I'm in the center lane and the light turns green and I go and as soon as I'm making the turn the guy from the right pulls into my lane and I think he hits my car but he pulls away. So I joted his license plate number and pull into a gas station and checked my car. Luckily he didn't hit it.
That's why I hate living in this part of the state; I go through this crap almost daily.

oldharry

there were pictures in the paper of a Dodge ram that was stopped for a school bus when he was rear ended by a semi around five miles north of my home town. The caption on the picture said it was a Ram, otherwise I couldn't tell. The Ram driver lived, but was hospitalized for a long time. The semi driver was dead of a heart attack before the collision. Sometimes there is nothing you can do.

Harry

spudgal

Driving home tonight, it was hot (108f). I'm in left lane of 3 on busy Vegas street, doing 45ish. Everyone's pretty mellow - it's too hot to be bothered

The old chap in front of me decides to pull into middle lane - he's weaving a little, but not going slow or anything. Teenager with REALLY stupid haircut alongside me gets annoyed because now he's stuck behind the old guy, and starts tailgating.

He's driving so close he doesn't see the cop come alongside on his right. If his LeBaron didn't have brown seats before, it does now! The nice policeman decided to have a little chat Ahhh!

verozahl

Was it a ghost?
... about 5 miles south of Chrysler HQ on I-75,
I'm doing a little above 75-76 mph (cooling my heels)
and changing lanes (always with blinker, always!) and
suddenly a silver BMW (could tell by headlamps) was
like right on top of my tail. No cars were around me
at all or in my mirror three seconds before. Split second
after I notice it, I see blinkers and then he executes his lane
change and he is next to me. Okay, now 0.75 seconds after I
first see him, he is in front of me and I see the M5 badge
on the trunk. One second later, he's around next bend
dodging a truck and ... maybe it was a ghost. Michigan is not Bavaria last time I checked, even though I am right near the DCX and VW-Audi North American HQs.

ghulet

I came across a variety of 'duhs' today.

First one, an idiot in a new Audi A6 4.2 ($50k car). Light turns green, he's on his phone or diddling his passenger or SOMETHING too important to go through the light (at a six-way intersection, so time is of the essence). He's going about .6mph until the light turns yellow, at which point he finds the accelerator, guns it through the light, only to NARROWLY miss hitting a cab who jumped his green. Audi swerves and screeches. I'm behind him, of course stuck at the now-red light. This year, the Audi drivers in general are real morons here in Chicago. Too self-important to actually drive, usually on the phone, not paying attention, rolling through stop signs, barreling down side streets at 40mph with their xenons aglow. They're making the usual idiots (those considerate drivers of Jeep Grand Cherokees and BMWs) look absolutely skilled.

Second one, an '86-ish Accord with Indiana plates (which usually indicates to me that they're lost or at least unfamiliar). Light turns green, she's in BOTH lanes with no turn signal, driving .8 mph so I LAY ON the horn, she finally decides where she's going so I can go around her. I have no patience. Note to our friends who visit frequently from IN, MI, OH, MO, etc.: get a map, get accurate directions, get a nav system or at least get out of my way!!

Last, the everpresent dipsh... pedestrian. She's on her phone (as every human in Lakeview has one surgically implanted to their right ear at this point), I'm waiting to turn right (I have a red light, no turn on red). Light turns green, I await phone girl's movement. She's standing in my path, in the street, but not moving. 5 seconds later, I decide she must be waiting for a cab or something, so I proceed with my turn. Naturally, this is when she decides to walk in front of my car. Dammit, make a decision or get out of the street. Grrrr.

caw103

Ghulet,

I can picture all of those incidents and you're right they all have cell phones. Aggressive drivers don't bother me because they are at least predictable. You know the guy who pulled next to you is going to gun it at the green, the car waiting at a stop sign will go if you dawdle during your time, etc. It's all the incredibly indecisive drivers that get my blood going. And Chicago seems to have more than its share of indecisive drivers especially when it comes to making a left turn. There are times when I simply can't believe I didn't get through a light when there are only one or 2 cars in front of me.

verozahl

Chicago is the reason why Detroiters don't head West!

bigfur

gonna get lit up for this BUT...being i drive for a living and drive 30+miles to get to work i think the facts i have to back it up prove themselves. Has anyone else noticed that if there is one car going slower than everyone else in the middle or left lane, its USUALLY a forgeiner? i swear 9 outta 10 times it is, that or an old couple.
Minnesota case anyone cares

verozahl

I dunno, do people driving Buicks count as "aliens from another planet" ???

Never seen anyone in a Buick using a cellphone. I don't think they have discovered them yet...

tboner1965

Full of stereotypes the past few posts

Let's see, I'm from Illinois (way downstate), and drive a Buick M-F.

However, while I found the drivers on the interstate between Chicago and Detroit to be speedy, I didn't see them as any better or faster than the rest of our group.

We had the most problems with truck drivers who didn't want to wait as 20+ Contours passed at speeds between 80-85 MPH.

I have the video tape of some of the "professional drivers" just pulling out when they were tired of waiting.

TB
Who uses his cell phone with a hands free in his Buick

verozahl

I-94 truck drivers can be really crazy.

black_tulip

Has anyone else noticed that if there is one car going slower than everyone else in the middle or left lane, its USUALLY a forgeiner?

I think you are just biased, as it is impossible to tell whether or not somebody is a foreigner judging solely by appearance. That is, if your definitiion of a foreigner is someone who was not born in the US.

verozahl

"foreigner" can mean anything... it can mean "another idiot from Illinois" or "somebody from Hickville" if you live in suburban SE Michigan.

KCRam

I originally posted this July 2, 1998, and I repost it occasionally when these discussions reappear.

Heck, I wasn't even a host yet when I wrote this LOL

kcram
Host
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-------------------------------------

Since I have a dually pickup, on many roads I am subject to truck regulations and restrictions, and know first hand the frustration that truckers feel. Here are a few tips for hanging with the big rigs:

#1 - if there are three (or more) lanes per side of highway, trucks are 99% of the time banned from the farthest left lane. If you're one of those people who plants your car in the center lane at the speed limit and get both frightened and angry at the semi behind you, YOU'RE IN *HIS* PASSING LANE. By law, he cannot pass you on EITHER side, and would like you to move over so he can continue. (I do know female semi-drivers; not trying to be sexist here using he/his.)

I was amongst about 20 semis in this situation on I-78 here in NJ at around 2am one night last year. We had to somehow get around a limo who decided the center lane was his, and he wasn't budging. When 20 trucks flash their lights and then blow your doors off passing you illegally on the right (and left, by the more daring of us that night), you need to know you're in the wrong lane.

#2 - be aware of hills! All semis will pick up amazing amounts of speed downhill on any interstate. Even if your cruise control is set at something above the limit, get to the right and *stay*there* on an interstate downhill if it's a truck route, then on the uphill, let the trucks back over to the right and pass them on the left.

#3 - use your lights! Anyone who has paid attention to truck traffic has watched one semi kill his lights quickly to indicate to a passing semi that it's now clear to pull back over after passing. The passing trucker will then flash his lights "thank you". If you're a car jockey, do the same thing. As soon as the rear end of the trailer clears your hood, kill ALL your lights for about a half-second. Do make sure that the truck has enough room to safely continue in front of you first, otherwise the truck will continue passing until there is room to return to the right lane. A sudden shot of darkness in a trucker's right-hand view overrides any blind spot, and you too will get the "thank you" flash when the rig moves over. In daylight, use your HIGH beams (because they aim "upwards" into a truck's mirror) in the same fashion.

#4 - give a rig room to stop. Nothing is more infuriating than seeing an entire highway slowing for construction, an accident, etc., and having a car dart to change lanes cutting a truck's projected stopping distance in half. When a large vehicle prepares to stop, the driver's assuming the area in front will remain that distance and uses enough brake pressure to stop safely. Sliding into that gap with a car causes the truck to slam on the whoa pedal, and the possibility of trailer brake lockup (and the resulting jackknife) increases dramatically.

#5 - respect the trucker's workplace - the road! You may be on your way TO work, but the trucker is already AT work. If it's not going to cause a problem in your day, give the trucker the break on the road whenever possible. You will earn their respect as a courteous, attentive driver, and will often get a break in return.

bigfur

I KNEW id get lite up for that, but being that i drive for a living as i said, i see it everyday. and i dont call it stereotyping with facts on my side. It is usually someone from Somalia or Asia. and it could be since we have such liberal gov't they come here for the wellfare so ther are more i dont know, but they are here and i deal with them. just venting my frustrations with driving

alfox

I'm wondering where you learned English. Couldn't have been here....

bigfur

it was...just i dont really care how bad i sound

grbeck

Here's one - this Sunday I was returning from Ocean City, Maryland, along Route 404. This is a two-lane road through rural Maryland that really backs up with shore traffic. I let a Jeep Cherokee pulling out of a road side fruit stand into the line of traffic. That apparently wasn't good enough for him. After a few minutes he zips up the shoulder. A few miles later I catch up with him. He is once again along the shoulder, only this time he is stopped and standing in front of the Jeep. Seems he rear-ended a new BMW 3-Series convertible. Mr. BMW Owner did not look very happy...

verozahl

Was that near Salisbury, grbeck?

My aunt says that Jeep Cherokee people are the worst drivers (a suspicion that personal observation hlds rather true)... but I think Ford pays her to say that! >:p

grbeck

Route 404 takes drivers away from Salisbury. (Route 50 - the main four-lane highway to Ocean City - goes right through the town.) I don't know how close we were to Salisbury at the time.

verozahl

Still can't find Route 404 on my clickable Yahoo! Map... which means I should let my parents do the navigating when we go to Ocean City next. Which means we'll get lost again (on our twenty-first or so visit, wouldn't be authentic if we didn't!) and ... maybe I should bring some extra books just in case we end up in Virginia by mistake!

pat84

Check out these direction to Rehobath, Delaware and Ocean City, MD via RT 404 Rt 404 intersects RT 50 at Wye Oak,MD.

 http://www.beach-net.com/directions/wvirginia.html
Use the directions from Wheeling. You will already be on I-76 (PA Turnpike if you can get that far without getting lost)
Bring lots of money, spend it in MD, then promply leave

crkeehn

Be of good faith, the Salisbury bypass is coming along well.

verozahl

Heck, that's up in Delaware. I forgot, on even days, that Delaware exists! >:p

Anyone seen an inconsiderate foo-el playing with a NAV system as he drives? I actually haven't, but it probably makes cellphone yakking look good in comparison, I would think.

ghulet

I haven't personally seen anyone doing so, but I'm sure nav system typing will be the next big cause of distraction-related accidents, if it isn't already.

pat84

Delaware was the first State.
Michigan is a mediocre 26th State. Actually the most famous aspect of MI was that it was signed into Statehood by Milliard Filmore. It was the only thing he apparently accomplished. How embarrassing for MI.

verozahl

And the "first state" is pretty much all I think of when I think of Delaware. I don't what what Wilmington is other than Philly's poor cousin.

Watch out for those inconsiderate ("Filmorean?!") Michigan drivers this summer. Oh yeah.

PF_Flyer

THINK CARS

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verozahl

This forum isn't about cars. It's about the nuts behind the wheel! >;p

bigfur

Good point there.

ghulet

Yesterday, as I was leaving for work, yet another dufus begins going down my street the wrong way (it's a one-way westbound beginning in my block, but in the block just west of my place, it's a two-way street). I exclaim, 'it's a one way', to which the driver replies, 'it's none of your business.' OK, dork, it's 'technically' none of my business, but I'd rather you not get in a head on collision with oncoming traffic, or run over a child or bike rider in front of my house because you're too stupid to read or notice that all the parked cars are facing you. Duh.

Of course, there are never any cops around for these morons.

black_tulip

I had a close call yesterday. 2 lane(each direction) highway, speed limit 65. I was in the right lane, doing about 72. An onramp comes up and a semi and a sedan start to merge with the semi in front. I move to the left lane and increase my speed to about 80 to match the flow. The semi merges, so does the sedan..but get this, without any warning whatsoever, the sedan just moves in the left lane about three or so car lengths ahead of me, doing about 40! I guess he was too important to follow the big rig even for a second. I and the car behind me had to go over to the left shoulder.

eharri3

The person merging behind the semi doesnt want to be inconvenienced by waiting for the slow, heavy truck to get up to speed. So rather than showing a little patience they jump straight to the left lane and inconvenience others who have to wait while their slow, decrepit pieces of crap get up to speed. It's especially annoying when they jump into the left lane but then whatever it was they didnt want to be stuck behind merges faster than them and they have to get right back over to the right lane without passing anyone. If Im in the left lane approaching an onramp, I just kick it up by about 5-10 mph so Im doing close to 90 in such situations. IT makes a difference...people put their signals on like they wanna do it, they turn their heads to the left like they wanna do it, they edge towards the line like they wanna jump in front of me doing 45, but then when they see me approaching in their left side mirror at a really high rate of speed they think better of it and wait till I pass. IT may sound mean on my part, but the way I see it, I was nice enough to get over and leave them plenty of space to make it easier for them to merge, Ill be darned if they're gonna turn around and force me to waste valuable brake pad life by suddenly decelerating from 75 to 45 after all I did for them.

Today: Was out to drive my aunt to a Dr's appointment when I nearly got rear ended by some upper middle adged ditz who was deeply immersed in a cell phone conversation who had to brake suddenly and veer onto the shoulder to keep from hitting me. OF course, though I use clear hand gestures to show all the things Id rather she do with her cell phone than talk on it while she drove, she gave me a dirty look as if I was the one who almost caused an accident and just continued as she was.

And does anybody else find it hilarious when people make some huge show of waving you through a stop sign ahead of them even though it's your right of way and you were planning on going anyway?

ghulet

...usually, it's some moron in a Jeep Grand Cherokee on his/her cell phone. They roll halfway through the stop sign, then screech to a halt upon the realization that I was already stopped and waiting to go. They then 'wave me through' as if they were planning on being courteous in the first place, or as if I'm inconveniencing them by being at *their* intersection.

verozahl

eharri, you're definitely right on about expressway mergers, cellphoners (they are ALL over), and Jeeps at stop signs.

I wonder how they noticed those stop signs in the middle of their big, important conversations?