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Comments
Guess we all experience this situation frequently on the interstates of seeing someone coming up fast while we are in left lane and passing cars or trucks that are in right lane. I will usually do whatever I can to find a slot and get into right lane quickly, but without inconvenience to anyone in the right lane. Then, I will safely get back into the left lane and continue passing. More often than not, I will end up following (at safe distance) the high speed driver being held up ahead by traffic in both lanes. This person will almost always be intimidating the driver ahead and driving with very little interval between bumpers. If there were ways to catch these guys, they should serve jail time with good publicity. They are a heck of a lot more dangerous to society than Paris Hilton.
(Yesterday on CBS Face the Nation, Bob Scheiffer said that he had not thought of pursuing an interview with Paris such as the CNN Larry King will do. Bob said that he could not think of a single question that he would want to ask.)
Recall a case in Illinois, I believe on Eisenhower Extension interstate, where a guy in a Camaro (I think) got so enraged over something that he hit and bunted a car off the road. The car rolled and the person in it was killed. The guy was sentenced to a good term in jail.
The problem was that the Jeep's driver wanted to drive faster than present conditions allowed and rather than pausing momentarily to allow conditions to become favorable again he instead became enraged and dangerous.
I always have to chuckle at the expectations of drivers like these. They want the road on a silver platter and traffic to part like the Red Sea; all the while, they assume that no other driver can have any effect on them but that they can affect all other drivers.
Yet, in the situation I recounted on Friday, a gentle tap on my brakes and his Jeep might be embedded in my car. Had the convertible's driver not been acutely aware of her surroundings, his Jeep would have collided with her car. Wohoo. I want to be in control of the roads like that guy. :sick:
Amazing how those folks take so much for granted on a motorcycle. There was a biker that passed me about 60' prior to an intersection with a red light (well into the solid white section) between my truck and the tractor-trailer to the left of me. It was all I could do to get my truck stopped prior to punting him into intersecting traffic. Had I not been driving my '69 Chevy pickup, I probably would not have been able to stop in time. As it was, I would loathe to cause any damage to that truck.
I agree though -- you don't want to mess up a '69 Chevy pickup!
My first instinct was to quickly move back to the right lane to let the car get past me but something told me to hold off for a half sec. Sure enough, this young girl jerks over into the right lane and passes me on the right, ignoring my right directional.
To make matters worse, three more cars followed her, all paying no attention to my blinker. Oh, and none of them bothered to use their signals when changing lanes.
When I got home I went to the back of the truck to see if my turn signal was still working. It was.
Are modern cars so insulated from the road that people nowadays can't respond to outside stimuli?
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
Remember the old driver's ed rule about not pulling back into the right lane until you see both headlights of the car you've just passed in your inside rearview mirror? These people can't be bothered with that -- just "thread the needle."
Every so often I will find myself needing (er, wanting) to pass on the right when someone in the left lane is traveling slower than I prefer to go only to have that driver turn on a right signal just moments after I illuminate mine. For some reason (perhaps I tend to be overly gracious?), I always deactivate my signal and wait for that person to change lanes before passing on the left instead. Seems simple enough, but it does slow me down for a second or two. :surprise:
Why must every truck that drives up my street either go 15 or 50 (in a 30)?
Two vehicles that cut across 5 lanes of traffic at the very last moment to get off the expressway.
Cut off a few times by some idiot passing me on the right merging into my lane just missing clipping me and rear ending the car I was about to pass (mind you that every time that happened there were at least two lanes to my left).
One guy I noticed in my rear view mirror coming up real fast in the right lane (me in the middle lane and passing someone in the right lane with at least one open lane to my left). Sure enough this idiot passed on the right using the shoulder.
Made a left turn onto a four lane road and went into the left lane (as I am supposed to do) the VW behind me and the Hyundai behind him both went into the right lane and passed me up. The hyundai then changed lanes passed the VW and with no one in front of them for miles merged in front of the VW the instant they got in front of the VW and just sat there.
One motocyclist doing a wheelie at 50 MPH.
Multiple motorcycles weaving in and out of very heavy traffic.
And one deer near the beach that wouldn't get off the road.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Traffic in large cities: what does it accomplish for honking the horn when no one is moving anywhere in a traffic tie-up?
Drivers hitting the brakes on every five seconds or so on a straightaway route with no intersection in sight
Drivers driving below the speed limit on the left side of the highway.
Number two -- very old people seem most prone to do this, but can also be a sign of someone engrossed in a cell phone call.
Number three -- this problem has been debated ad nauseum here (unless the person is actually driving on the wrong side of the road)!
Considering all of that, though, glad you, the Mrs (assuming she went), and the car made it home safely!
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
I also have observed the "SI" (summer insanity) where I live in No. Cal. My wife and I were in bumper to bumper 5 PM commute when I looked to my left and saw a pickup in the center divider TURNOUT lane traveling along side of the commute at estimated speed of 50mph. As insane as it looked he kept going and no one luckly pulled into his "lane".
SI usually starts around here in April when it becomes warm, pavement is no longer slick, and the horsepower is to be used and abused.
In today's paper what you described occurred on IS 680 as reckless driver did some damage.
I used to ride motorcycles but when they rev up at 12 AM and wake me up because they either got blown out mufflers or the baffles are open it annoys me.
Oh well life is good. I hope all have a peaceful and rewarding 4th.
Good luck to all and stay safe.
jensad
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Saving a parking space??? I think the driver should have just parked there. I'm sure she would have moved. However, I'm not sure what I would have done. I'd hate to think of what my car might look like when I got back to it.
Reminds me of a time when I went to a sporting event that set a record for attendance. I parked on a side street at a curb and the people who lived there were charging money to park. I laughed and refused to pay since it was a city street. I confirmed it with a police officer doing crowd control down the road. However, the stress of worrying about what these people might do to my car during the game didn't make it worth it. Fortunately, nothing happened.
Sometimes, being right is more expensive.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
It was brought to my attention by someone else.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Tuesday was a bad day for aggressive drivers. Wife lost her keys while at Kohls so on the way to rescue her I was tailgated by a Dodge Ram (what else?) pickup who thought 58 in a 55 construction zone was too slow. It's at the confluence of two interstates and has weaving to the other side of the interstate and narrowed lanes for several miles after that along concrete walls. Some people are never happy.
I'll call the local state patrol post to comment they need some sitting and laser work in the truck cutouts in this area. We've had major backups when idiots cause accidents in the zone.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Sorry, try this.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Been in that situation at times in the past. People collecting money were teen-age boys. I paid to avoid getting keyed, tire punctures, broken windows, etc. Then, changed my/our behaviour to make sure that I arrived very early at sports center and parked in their lot. Know that still could have had an idiot going to game that might key the car, but no one ever did so.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Hahah... is that not usually the case?!
I hate those lousy punk tree gangs. I hear they even have a slang term for their gangs...they call them groves.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
I can top that. I hit a pole on a rainy day. Hard on car but snapped pole. I was unhurt (shoulder belts). But you should have seen the look on the telephone installer when he came out of the house he was hooking up about 100 feet away and saw his pole was broken and he had just come down from hooking up the leads for the drop line to the house.
I'm glad he wasn't on the pole.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Good luck to all and stay safe.
jensad
Attend an anger management class instead.
The space hog needs parking school. The upset space hunter doesn't need anger management.
If a proud owner wants to park far away from the store entrance and park their "baby" in two spaces where visitors/customers don't usually park, that's one thing. If they don't want to park properly in a crowded area, take a cab.
I agree. Not cool. If U want to hog up spaces, park in places where they're not so desirable. I park my cars away from others so I don't have to deal with that madness at all.
Agreed! I mean come on! U can't see the light flashing on your dash??
Evidently not... :confuse:
I keep my camera phone close by when I'm driving just in case something crazy happens.
How long before you noticed it was on? I can understand a minute or so, but I've seen people have it on for long periods of time: sitting in rush hour traffic, switching lanes several times, just cruising down a highway that'n not crowded, etc...
Last week I caught myself in two blocks. :shades:
There was a great VW commercial a few years back where two guys are following an old man going 20mph with his left turn signal on. The passenger says to the driver "So, your not going to pass because you figure that this guy is just waiting for you to try so he can make a move on you, right?"
I'm not sure what the point was, other than to buy a VW.
BTW trimaster, you know you're responding to a 3 year old post?
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
http://www.zazz.bg/play:dfb61cd0
When I'm in a hurry I just pass on the right but give no hint I'm going to do so. People in front of line don't expect a Buick to hit 2nd and zoom around them quickly.
The truck's passing is a problem. I hate driving in areas where the truck's speeds are now limited to 70 mph because they try to use every mph they can instead of driving safely.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
That Buick driver was definitely dangerous, stupid, immature, inconsiderate and a lout in that traffic situation. He was playing games on the highway. Too bad we don't have more funds for highway patrols to have unmarked cars that are not typical (full size RWD Fords, Dodges, etc) such as Mustangs to find these people, ticket and fine them heavily.
I have seen similar behavior over time. I will offer anecdotally that drivers that do that sort of thing are rarely driving enthusiast type cars such as BMWs, Audis, Corvettes, Porsches, Mercedes, Infinities, Acuras, Volvos, Saabs, etc. The game playing drivers have cars that are usually dopey mundane appliances or are suvs.
They would go out on the interstate with as many cars as it took to fill all driving lanes, put one car in each lane and drive next to each other at exactly 55.
This would cause a massive back-up of traffic as cars doing 65 would come up against this roadblock. Traffic would be backed-up for miles with drivers honking, swearing, driving on the shoulder and the median. Many rear end accidents occurred.
The police finally asked the group to stop (which was all they could do since they were doing the speed limit) before someone got shot.
So maybe the Buick driver was just having a flashback to the 70's.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
They did it during non-rush hours, because you can barely move during rush hour in some (most?) places on that wretched road.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Not so. It's called obstructing/restricting a public thoroughfare and does carry a penalty.... speed has nothing to do with it.
Finally, the other day I saw one of the most delightful things I've ever seen in traffic. I-83 north of Baltimore and the usual left lane jammer... Real obstinate until he found out one of the cars he was blocking was an unmarked cop! They make it pretty clear that if you're not passing, you need to get over (signs). It's a winding hilly interstate and the trucks are always down to their flashers/40 mph in some sections.....
Out here in California, we call the traffic slowing tactic, "round robins". I used to be a CHP officer (now retired) and many times when I worked the old pre-earthquake Nimitz double decker freeway with no shoulders, we ran round robins.
It helped protect the accident scene, gave us time to remove any debris/obstructions such as fenders, garbage, chairs, ect. And it probably saved our lives and saved the citizens.
What used to get me was people in a hurry trying to pass usually one patrol car because they were late for an appointment/fill in excuse. Once in a while when we were not short handed, I was able to stop and read the riot act to the discourteous driver that had tried to pass.
Unfortunately, several times on the midnight shift, the driver got by us, and compounded the accident ahead by slaming into the cars in the previous accident.
Glad to be retired, and as I read the messages, it seems like every state has the same issues, and share my frustrations as a driver today.
I hope all of you stay safe and good luck to all.
jensad