Inconsiderate Drivers (share your stories, etc.)

pat84

I traded my old vehicle for a Toyota 4 Runner SUV. I read the driver's manual. Nowhere does it say that it's OK to outdrive your brakes in snow and ice or that I should be clueless. I should have bought a Ford.

pjyoung

Who said anything about ice and snow. We can only wish for SOME kind of moisture here. When I stomped my brakes, it was dry as a bone, but my wheels did not lock up and I was able to steer around this bonehead. I mention "safe" SUV because too many people feel that the sheer bulk of the vehicle will protect them.

keith24

4 way intersection. 5 lane road (2 each direction, one left turn lane)

I am waiting patiently for the green light to go straight. The left turn lanes have an arrow. When my light turns green, there are still people turning. Now, if they're turning when the light changes, thats fine. I'll cut a light a little close every now and again. However, when my light turns green, I'll have anywhere from 2 to 5 cars disregard the "left turn yield on green" sign and just keep turning left in front of me. WHILE MY LIGHT IS GREEN!!!

Now, if my light turns green, and I proceed into the intersection, and happen to plow one of these left turners, who's at fault? I guess the better question would be "Who is failing to yield the right of way?" Do I not have the right of way with the green light?

Granted, they have a green light also, but not an arrow. So, their left turn is not protected. And there is a sign that states "LEFT TURN YIELD ON GREEN" or "LEFT TURN PROTECTED ON ARROW ONLY"

This has gotten to be one of my biggest peeves! While I haven't plowed into anybody yet, its starting to get on my last ever-lovin' nerve. What do you do? Just sit there & take it? Bound into said intersection & strike fear into the left turners? I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!! TOO MUCH RAGE!! MUST CONTROL DESIRE TO PLOW INTO LEFT TURNING TRAFFIC!!

keith

idletask

'Granted, they have a green light also, but not an arrow. So, their left turn is not protected. And there is a sign that states "LEFT TURN YIELD ON GREEN" or "LEFT TURN PROTECTED ON ARROW ONLY"'

Hmm, honestly, I'd like to see the actual configuration of that intersection. These signs look confusing! Can you describe a little more?

alfox

left turners who are running the red light that just appeared in front of them, right? They are indeed breaking the law, and if you were in the intersection lawfully and couldn't avoid them, they would be at fault. Of course if you intentionally and avoidably struck another car (and it could be proven by witnesses to have been avoidable) then I'm sure it would be at least shared fault, if not completely yours. Fault for a crash is separate from traffic law violations.

Just IMHO.

kinley

The only instance where they would be right would be in a funeral procession as noted by having their lights on, but with DRL's who is to know these days? IMO you are taking the high road by developing your patience as it doesn't make any difference a month from now. Wouldn't it be fun if you had an old beater of a pickup with the bumper hanging cockeyed, dents all over, and a broken W/S with misaimed headlights so you could jump into the intersection and bluff them into stopping? Is there a "Rent a Wreck" near you?

tboner

And I enter the intersection. Let them hit me, LOL.

Actually one day one lady in her SUV who almost hit me was going to the same bank I was. (I was turning right and she was turning left) So when she parked, I asked her why she ran the red left turn arrow? She told me it was green. I told her it probably was until my light turned green. I however was able to notice both the light and the cell phone you had stuck to your ear, so had you not had that phone in your ear, you might have been aware that your protected turn was now a turn against traffic with the right of way.

She just stared.

Pay attention people, pay attention.

TB

caramo

People seem to have forgotten that, when there isn't a light, someone making a right turn has right-of-way over someone making a left turn onto the same street.

kinley

the 4.6 Mustang will jump left into the intersection for his turn before the Buick passes the crosswalk. I understood the left turner is to yield the right of way to the right turner, but the right turner doesn't have the right of way.

tboner

Or a sign that indicates, left turn signal, left turn on green arrow only, etc, that means you can no longer make a left turn.

TB

keith24

I drive a F/S 4x4 truck, so it can be fairly intimidating! While I don't make it a habit of trying to scare the bejezus out of folks, every once in a while, (more often than not!), I have to pull into the intersection with these in"duh"viduals still trying to turn left. Needless to say, I've been flipped the bird, cussed, and threatened with the dreaded "shaking fist". LIKE ITS MY FAULT!!

Had this one lady just stop in the intersection! Don't quite know what she was thinking.........

Everyday is an adventure! I try my best to keep a cool head & have a sense of humor. It doesn't always work though...........

keith

bottgers

I normally drive somewhere between the speed limit and 5 mph over the speed limit. It never fails, when traveling on a 2 lane road or street, someone always comes up behind me (driving faster than I am of course, and more times than not, these are women drivers) and tailgates me. Just to pi$$ them off, I slow down, because I know they're tailgating me because they want me to go faster. Every once in a while someone will flip me the bird and I just laugh, which just pi$$es them off even more.

Something else I see a lot of here is people pulling into the stopping zone. Our speed limit here is 75 on the highway. I leave the appropriate distance between me and the vehicle in front of me in case of a sudden stop, I'll have enough room to stop before piling into the rear of the car. Some people seem to think this space is there for them to pull into. There are a lot of people on our highways who seem to think one car length (or less) is enough room between them and the car in front of them at 75 mph. I don't care how good the driver is, if the car in front stops quickly, the guy tailgating is going to plow into the rear of that vehicle. Plain and simple.

Maybe I'm stereotyping here, but if I am, it's only because I see this situation more than any other. The scenario I see most often as a hazard in my area is this; female drivers, speeding, tailgating, and talking on cell phones while driving oversized SUV's (I'm talking about Excursions, Saburbans, Cadillac SUV's, etc.). I see this every day, and they all seem to have the get-the-he11-out-my-way-or-I'll-run-you-off-the-road-with-my-apartment-building-on-wheels attitude. Buying such vehicles to be safe is one thing, using them as a weapon, or to threaten is another thing entirely. The cops need to start citing these people for aggressive driving. I don't particularly care for being threatened by mad mothers driving 6000 lb. tanks!

caramo

See that black Camaro behind you? Get outta my way! :-)

idletask

"Just to pi$$ them off, I slow down, because I know they're tailgating me because they want me to go faster."

Sorry, but that's not very smart. They want to go faster than you then back out when it's safe to do so and let them pass. What's wrong with that?

pat84

I think that deliberately doing things to pi$$ off other drivers is a form of road rage. It may instill an even more dangerous reaction by the person tailgating you.
I do agree that most drivers don't have a clue about how long a safe following distance is. I was taught that a car length for each 10 MPh of speed was a good estimate. I have since learned that allowing 2 seconds to get to the same point as the car you are following works, too. The trouble is the lane hoppers in traffic will fill in that space.

alfox

I read bottgers post about tailgating to mean, as he said, on "a 2-lane road or street." We're not talking about the highway here, right? You mean 2-lanes: one in each direction, correct, around town with speed limits 35 to say 50?

If so, why should some tailgater bully me into speeding up or pulling over to let his go faster? Assuming I am traveling the speed limit or better, on a 2-lane he needs to follow a safe distance behind and pass when he can safely (and preferably legally.) I feel no obligation to traffic behind other than to travel at (about) the speed limit and to not impeed them passing.

Now if he's talking about 2-lanes in each direction, then of course bottgers should stay to the right to allow others to pass if they want irrespective of their speed (unless he's a cop...)

target3

IMO it does not matter what the circumstance is. Yes, if it is two lanes each way, you should be right if there is no traffic. However, if someone tailgates me, I will react. The tailgater has taken action to endanger my life, plain and simple.

Do I tailgate? Sometimes. If I leave a stopping space between myself and the car in front of me, and a lane jumper decides that they should be able to fit in there, then I will let them fit in there at approximately the same distance in front of my bumper as when they cut in. Am I endangering them? Yes. Have I taken any affirmative action to do so? No.

idletask

by swtiching on my rear foglights. Most of the time it works... With some uber cretins (but they are not that frequent) it doesn't.

kinley

As the lane changer pulls in front, I react by dropping back the safe and appropriate distance so as to enable another lane changer to "drop in".This process continues all while my rear wheels are still going forward. Not a problem.

pat84

I can understand some driver's ire at being tailgated. I personally ignore them. I try to avoid tailgating and do try to leave the proper following distance. To keep dropping back each time a lane changer intrudes in this distance is definitely the safest tactic. It does require more will power and patience than I can always muster, though.

tboner

for the lane changer. Unless the guy changes lanes in front of me and then SLOWS DOWN.

That just burns my toast. I have no problem with a person changing lanes, I have no problem with folks who want to go faster than me.

But if you change lanes into the lane I was already safely travelling in, you should already be up to the speed of the traffic in the lane or get there pretty quickly.

But to just get to the left lane (or any lane really) and go 5-10 MPH slower than the traffic already in that lane is just plain inconsiderate.

TB

bottgers

......I mean one lane each way. The reason I don't care if these drivers get pi$$ed at me is because they act like they have the right to speed, and I'm taking that right away from them by driving the speed limit. A driver's license doesn't give a person the right to endanger other drivers by speeding, tailgating, and doing other idiotic things.

idletask

"The reason I don't care if these drivers get pi$$ed at me is because they act like they have the right to speed, and I'm taking that right away from them by driving the speed limit"

Well, they HAVE that right, didn't you know? Were they to have a ticket, *you* wouldn't have it, so why act stupid like this? Because yes, to my eyes, this is acting stupid.

Also, the road rules (at least here but I'm sure in the States too, this just makes sense) says that yes, you can overcome the speed limit... when you're passing. So long for enforcing the speed limit onto others.

alfox

that it's foolish to police others. But I also agree with those who do not want a tailgater in tow behind me. On a two-lane road, one each way, in town with 35, 45 mph limit or whatever, I will try to ignore them. If they keep closing, or try to intimidate me (to do what? Dissappear, LOL!) I use the 4-ways to simulate a couple brake flashes without slowing. If they are truly dangerous I may pull over to get rid of them, but as long as I am moving at about the speed limit generally I do not feel the need to accommodate them by speeding up or moving over.

On a two-lane highway, out in the country, it is altogether different. I will try to give someone behind the opportunity to pass If I can.

bottgers

........to speed, speeding is also known as breaking the law. And it's not called "policing" just because I refuse to speed to ablige a person behind me who wants to speed. If they think they have to speed, they can pass me. I'm not speeding up just because they try to intmidate me by tailgating. I don't play those stupid games.

black_tulip

Also, the road rules (at least here but I'm sure in the States too, this just makes sense) says that yes, you can overcome the speed limit... when you're passing.

I don't think this is true in the US. Speed limits are the absolute maximum.

Bottgers, I agree with you as I also like to travel no more than SL+5 inside city limits and, as a result, I do get tailgated. I ignore them most of the time. This morning was an exception as I had to speed up. I was doing between 45-50 in a zone with 45 limit and all of a sudden I found this Saturn so close to my tail that I could not even see the blazing DRLs that adorn all Saturns. Looking into my rearview mirror, I see this teenage female, fumbling with either a cell phone or a CD and hardly paying any attention to the road. A loosely dangling cigarette in her lips completed the picture. I sped up to 60...just had to get out of there!

oldharry

Was the Saturn red? Young women in little red cars seem to make a science of bad driving. Last summer my wife and I were driving west on US 30 between Dixon and Rock Falls when this red Beretta in front of us suddenly swerved off the road to the left, spun 360 in the field then stopped. It had two teen age girls in it. They never hit anything, and were apparently unharmed except for pride and needing a car wash (lots of dust). I cannot help but wonder if a cell phone was in use by the driver.

Harry

alfox

tailgating scare me more than young boys. I know, I know, overall women have fewer accidents than men. But it's not for lack of trying!

bottgers

......fewer accidents than men do. I've certainly seen my fair share of bad male drivers, but I see a lot more women driving stupidly.

ruking1

#1276

Not only is it true, it is also reflected in lower insurance rates for females vs males!

bottgers

When's the last time you saw a man putting on makeup, yacking on a cell phone with a cigarette hanging out of their mouth, barreling down the highway at 80 mph in a 6000 lb. SUV? I see women doing this every day. You can't tell me that women are safer drivers than men.

ruking1

#1278

I am also sure that the insurance company's bemoans the fact they can't pocket the extra profits!!

You may have your own opinions, but the accident and fatality facts don't jive with them.

I insure a teenage girl and I asked just for comparison sake how much the insurance would be (all same just differences in female vs male) The difference was breathtaking % wise. So in my case, I will take the difference (literally) to the bank.

daysailer

which sex accounts for more bad drivers. But there is no shortage of men yakking on cell phones, reading, smoking, loosing their head in a big-gulp, or whatever as well as women. Its epidemic!

wishnhigh1

A while back, driving home after a long day at Lake Tahoe, we were driving on highway 50. Through the Tahoe basin and over the pass it is all two lane highway, one lane in each direction.

We came to a mildly long line of cars being held up by a pickup truck with a Uhaul trailer on the back. There was a BMW 3 series right behind the truck.

The truck was going the speed limit so I wasnt worried too much, but some people were attemping to pass unsuccessfully(double yellows exist for a reason dummies!).

Anyway, the BMW unsuccessfully tried to pass 3 or 4 times on a double yellow, but kept on getting forced back into place because of oncoming traffic.

Well, this BMW got mad and starting honking his horn and weaving because the truck wouldnt go faster.

The BMW began flashing its brights...to no avail. Eventually he turned on his brights and left them on, while tailgating the driver.

The pickup slammed on its brakes at an oportune moment, sending the BMW straight up underneath the trailer:) Then he pulled to the side, called 911 on his cell, and helped to safely let the backed up traffic past the accident:)

Kirstie_H

This is for a major U.S. national daily newspaper. I am looking to speak with people who were bad drivers when they were younger (maybe they got into a few fenderbenders, or had problems with speeding, etc.) but now consider themselves to be good drivers. I am also looking to speak to parents of children who went through the child's bad driving years but would now trust their offspring behind the wheel. Please respond to sharon_edry@hotmail.com with your anecdotes and contact information asap, no later than Monday, January 13.

ruking1

#1281

There is a MUCH IGNORED CA traffic law that says: on roads such as you described, that if you are the target vehicle holding up 5 cars behind you, you are obligated to pull over to a pull out lane or area.

bottgers

.....doesn't refer to someone driving the speed limit and holding up a bunch of people who are looking to speed.

ruking1

#1284

I take it you have a hard time getting out of people's way ?

bottgers

.....to get out of someone else's way just so they can speed.

kinley

lead you to believe your are in the minority.

bottgers

......why?

idletask

But getting on other people's nerves by playing LLC on a n x 2 road, n >= 2, is very, very stupid. You have to live with others one the road, some others won't behave as you do, and this is no reason to force them into "your" way of driving. Acting so is irresponsible, stupid and dangerous. Let them live.

black_tulip

oldharry
It was white, not red.

some others won't behave as you do, and this is no reason to force them into "your" way of driving.

It is not just my or his way of driving. His way happens to be illegal. I also see no reason to go out of my way so that somebody else can break the law. What do you do when you see somebody trying to break into a house? Hold his tools for him?
And I am not talking about highways, or when there is more than one lane going in my direction. I would gladly stay to the right if I am going slower than the left lane traffic. But when there is only one lane and I am going at or above(usually above) the speed limit, I expect to be left alone.

There is a MUCH IGNORED CA traffic law that says: ...
Here is another MUCH IGNORED law: Speed limit 55 (or 65 or 70 or 75)!

ruking1

#1290

You might start that out at 15,20,25,30,35,40,45,50,55,60,65,70. MPH. Again you and Bottgers are missing the point: the stay right except to pass is to NOT IMPEDE traffic. You guys really don't need to cite the law as a reason to be passive aggressive! The fact of the matter is you can go 50 (70 mph speed limit) on a CA interstate in the passing lane and be perfectly legal!! Again the point is NOT to impede traffic and it goes without saying being appropriate.

Or is YOUR goal really to impede traffic and piss other folks off?

It also is the same as why one should pull over if you are impeding 5 cars on a one lane road.

If you guys want to be traffic cops, I say sign up for the jobs that are offered!

bottgers

I think you've missed something here. I don't think anyone's talking about refusing to move over to the right lane when someone from behind would like to pass on a four lane road. I was referring to driving on two lane roads (one lane in each direction). When I drive on four lane roads, I drive in the right lane unless I'm passing. I was talking about drivers who run up on my rear bumper on two lane roads trying to intimidate me because they want to speed. I will not accommidate these people. BTW, those of us who are abiding by the law aren't the aggressive ones, that would be those who are violating the laws.

ruking1

#1292

While I do not know if you drive in CA or not, or even if your state has a similar law, CA's law which I have parphrased in a prior post deals with driving on:

"I was referring to driving on two lane roads (one lane in each direction). "

I am referring to what you are referring to!!

So if you don't want to do it, you should not be too surprised that some or all of the 5 cars behind you will try to pass.

bottgers

It wouldn't surprise me at all, nor would I care if they passed me, though I would laugh my [non-permissible content removed] off if they passed in a no passing zone and got busted in the process. Idiot drivers who insist on making up their own traffic laws deserve whatever they get!

ruking1

#1294

Chances are not very good they will get caught! As is the chances of you being caught for being a hairball in a plumbing pipe.

lexus_one

from 1295 "BTW, those of us who are abiding by the law aren't the aggressive ones, that would be those who are violating the laws."

You are correct and in the case mentioned the "Sunday" driver holding up the normal flow of traffic is the "GUILTY" one.

BTW who is the driver most likely to cause an accident, the one speeding or the road hog interfering with the movement of traffic?

alfox

(minus the attitude and lecturing.) If I'm driving on a 2-lane road (one in each direction) and doing the speed limit or better, traffic behind me is on their own - I owe them nothing. If there is such a law that a car leading 5 or more vehicles must yield, irrespective of speed, then I would obey it - when the 5th car catches up. There is no such law here. But I'm not going to be bullied into a speed I don't want to drive, or forced off the road just because I choose to drive SL+5.

OTOH, bottgers, the lecturing is getting a bit old. If someone wants to pass you they aren't endangering you at all. In fact, traffic spread out is far safer than traffic bunched up behind one car. It's to your benefit to let them get around and on their way.