Inconsiderate Drivers (share your stories, etc.)

andre1969

I almost had someone in a Traiblazer try to take out my Intrepid and buy me a new car. They came up to a stop sign on my left. I had no stop sign. There was also nothing behind me, as far as the eye can see, so there was no pressing need for them to pull out. Well, they waited until I was almost upon them to pull out in an attempt to make a left turn in front of me. I hit the brakes and the horn at the same time, but it didn't seem like they were going to slow down or divert course. There was no way I was going to be able to stop in time, so I gunned it and swerved to the right as far as I could, but there was a curb over there and a stone wall just beyond that, so I wasn't about to sacrifice my car to avoid an impact with them. I squeezed through there so close that they must have missed me by inches. I actually readied for impact, leaning over to the right, and momentarily closing my eyes to shield them from the flying shards of glass I knew were coming.

Thinking back on it, I guess it probably would've been better if I had t-boned them, rather than having them t-bone me, since they had the bigger vehicle. But, this would probably have been more of a 45 degree hit, rather than straight-on, so I don't know. Anyway, I'm just happy that I got through it unscathed, and my Intrepid lives to fight another day!

Oh, guess I should mention that the driver was on a cell phone. :sick:

stickguy

Not sure about the phone though.

On a semi-residential road (more a through road, plenty of traffic, but does have houses on it). Dude in an older Voyager coming up a side street (ends at stop sign at my road) on my right. I started going for the brake, because he gave the impression he wasnt stopping.

Now, if it was just me, I probably would have let him whack me, but my daughter was in the passenger seat, so that was a no go! (j/k, I think...).

Anyway, he did stop (I thought) and I went by. Then noticed in my mirror that he just kinds slowed and came right out behind me. Which seemed to really tick off the dude in the ML350 that had to swerve into the oncoming traffic lane (thankfully empty) to avoid creaming him.

My daughter was quite interested to see them driving side by side for a while, until the Merc' finally got past

davethecarnut

Speaking of slow turners....I didn't realize wedding cake deliveries was such a big business :P
Or how about them invisible trailers? You know...when that mini pickup has to get partly in the lane to his left when he makes his right turn? Whoa pal! You only had 4 feet from tire to curb! :confuse:

the_big_al

So I haven't seen this in awhile but I came upon the ULLC today. (ultimate LLC). The freeway I was on is the typical 2 lanes each direction and huge median separating the two. I am in a line of about 4 cars headed up by a blue early-mid 90's Taurus. At first it wasn't too bad as we were all going about 70ish which was fine for me. The SL is 65 so 70 was a good speed. But then as I start paying attention to this Taurus is would bob over the line into the right lane a little and then bob back. Then it would slow to about 60, and then speed back up to 75. Then bob again into the other lane slightly. Then he would bob over to the shoulder and hit the "wake up" bumps. I almost thought he was drunk. Traffic was such in the right lane that there was always someone there. A truck or a motorhome or a pickup pulling a camper. Plus traffic was heavier probably due to everyone traveling home from the holiday.

So there wasn't a whole lot of opportunity to get past, even in the right lane. Now if this car had been sensible, there were several times it could have moved over and let others go by, but it seemed that every time he got a clear shot he would speed up to 75 or so while still bobbing from lane edge to lane edge. Finally however, I ended up being only 2 cars back and noticed a gap in the right lane coming up. (this seems familiar to me somehow???) and prepare to take it. The right lane clears up and I give the Taurus about 5 seconds to take the opportunity to move over, although I knew he wouldn't. I was also giving the car in front of me an opportunity to pass as well, but he didn't so I gunned it, moved over to the right lane and passed.

ANd what do you know. Its some dude hunched forward leaning towards the right, (I think he had an elbow on his knee) texting away. Also as I was passing, I kept to the far right of the right lane because I knew he would bob my way and he did. Put the passenger side tires over the line as I was passing him. I sped up and got as far away from him as I could get.

fintail

I usually get behind the vehicle that is actually a hologram, the real vehicle being a 1952 London double decker bus that can't turn at more than 5mph without tipping over. I have also seen some who will nearly stop as they are turning, as if they are unsure about making the commitment.

I like the wide turners too.

fintail

Someone should have cleared the road and then brake-checked him into a median or barrier.

fintail

Today I saw an older Boxster rear-end an early 90s Integra on the street in front of my place. I couldn't really see any damage, but I heard it, and the passengers were examining the cars. They waited around for about half an hour, making calls and taking pics. I assumed they were waiting for the cops, but they just kind of gave up and left.

The drivers amused me too...kind of stereotypical. The Integra occupants were 4 high school looking kids, and the Boxster was driven by a metrosexual guy or a harsh looking skinny woman - I couldn't tell. :shades:

Had a terrible commute today too - stoplights completely unsequenced thanks to the overpaid underworked sucks in that branch of the beloved public sector, and jerkish drivers everywhere - got tailgated by a woman in an old Protege, no matter that there were several dopes crawling in front of me...and at the same time was keeping an eye on a tailgating weaving speeding-then-crawling woman in a beat up old Camry with no hubcaps who would dart ahead, weave around, but get nowhere due to the aforementioned lights. Made my mild rage look downright sane. What a society. :sick:

euphonium

metrosexual:

Modern enlightened, sort of rennasance man. Secure and confident, capable and cool, typically well educated and stylish.

fintail

That's a very polite definition :P

andre1969

Modern enlightened, sort of rennasance man. Secure and confident, capable and cool, typically well educated and stylish.

Well, that tends to be what meteros think of themselves. But the ones I've run into that try to put themselves in that category tend to come off as pompous buffoons. We used to have one in the office....looked like a nerdy version of Bob's Big Boy with a bit of Howdy-Doody thrown in. Total buffoon...but his hair was perfect...if you go for that style of hair. He also got his eyelashes and eyebrows trimmed. No, I didn't get that close to him to notice this...he would bring it up in conversation! His nails were always nicely manicured. And his nerdy plaid shirts and dress pants never had a wrinkle in them. He always kept his man-purse nice and tidy. And pompous...doesn't even begin to describe it! He really needed to be tied up and dropped off at the local leather bar!

Once upon a time, before I knew him, he drove a Dodge St. Regis ex-police car (the one and only thing I admired about him), but by the time he was working with us, he had one of those efficient-but-nerdy tall Civic wagons.

stever

That's just Dandy.

Anyone got any car related stories?

andre1969

Anyone got any car related stories?

Well, this dude also had a bit of a Napoleon complex, and an inflated opinion of self-worth, no doubt to hide some kind of self-esteem issues, a bad childhood, or whatever. So I think the main reason he bought that St. Regis copcar was so that he could feel big and important and no doubt used it to bully the other motorists. I bet he even sat on a phone book or two so that he looked taller in it. :P

Anyway, I haven't spotted any inconsiderate drivers worth noting since that day my Intrepid almost got snuffed. Oh, the other day though (can't remember if it was before or after that incident) I saw a fire engine gun it in order to run a red light.

euphonium

show up at Independence Day car shows when about 200 entries line the main street for the inconsiderate baby stroller to unintentionally scrape by a prestine 1938 LaSalle.

Nude bike handlebars are also a threat.

The Bow Tie Bash sponsors didn't have enough staff to police the Four block long show so ..............

fintail

I love opening a can of worms. Dandy...that's a good term. I have a close old friend who is like that, or sees himself that way...makes no more than me but has no problem buying a $400 shirt or spending as much on aesthetic care as he does on any savings.

This morning, driving into work at ca. 0530, not much light with grey skies etc, maybe half the cars I saw had no lights on. Is it laziness or cluelessness? Also saw a Corolla crawling on an on-ramp at maybe half the limit, and braking as it went down towards the freeway...I was thankful I was not behind it. Certain cars are made for such behavior.

stever

And some people dandy up their cars - perhaps Zainophiles?

Most inconsiderate of them when their shiny paint blinds you in the sun. :P

With the way everyone slots everyone else into these little niche categories based on scant evidence, I'm beginning to think y'all are all in the advertising business.

fintail

Where's there's smoke there's often fire...and as the old saying goes, you are what you drive :P

One can also try to categorize a driver by observing a given vehicle or given vehicle type, and the way it is driven. It's not an inexact science, and "scant" can be subjective. Chances are, that pristine 15 year old Buick going 20 under in the left lane isn't an 18 year old kid, and the tarted old Civic with a fart can screaming around in a gear too low isn't grandpa. :shades:

stever

And eyewitness testimony is notoriously unreliable. And you know what they say about assumptions. And no falling back on "the exception proves the rule" nonsense either. :P

Got any more stories?

andre1969

With the way everyone slots everyone else into these little niche categories based on scant evidence, I'm beginning to think y'all are all in the advertising business.

Well, let me tell you about what the little twink in the next office does out in the parking lot! :P There is only one spot in that whole lot, that has a grass median on two sides, so at most you only have one car parking beside you. Well, he parks there, and then puts up road cones along the exposed side of his car! Not inconsiderate, but a bit prissy.

I was feeling a bit inconsiderate myself, and got into work early today, so I put my '85 Silverado in that spot. :shades:

ruking1

I am not sure it is prissy, but around here, you'd be trolling for a "key" job.

But in any case, it would be interesting to hear what the going rate is for a ubiquitious "DOOR DING" I am swagging they are not cheap anywhere. :lemon:

andre1969

Yeah, I wouldn't put anything up around my car like that simply because I'd be afraid it would attract undue attention. And it did...heck, it attracted my attention! I wouldn't have even noticed it, had it not been for the road cones.

At first I didn't think he was putting them out, but that maybe someone had just left them there, from an old construction job, or cordoning off the parking lot or something. But then one day I stacked them up after he left and memorized exactly where they were. And sure enough, the next morning, they were moved out again, alongside his car.

Yeah, yeah, I know...I need to find myself a hobby or something. :shades:

fintail

My testimony is as reliable as the best Camcord. :P

Now that we are on the parking subject, I can complain about the girl in the bronze Aveo who parks next to me in the parking garage of my building. She has a cement pillar on one side, and she's hit it once (but I wouldn't want to make an age/gender relationship there... :shades: )...so now she is paranoid and tends to park close to my car - not in the middle of the space. As the days go on, she gets closer and closer, until I have to file a complaint. Then she parks decently enough, but will inch over as time goes on, and the cycle repeats. I rarely see her, but the last time I did she actually apologized for parking carelessly. Wouldn't it be easier just to learn how to park properly? I do so in a larger car, with a pillar on one side, too. She's really the airhead type, so I am paranoid about a door ding from her - but nothing has happened yet, so maybe she's more careful than she seems.

euphonium

Next time the cones appear, place a note on the W/S apologizing for the deep scratch in his ride, but advise you don't have insurance.

Then take a movie of him circling his car looking for the damage.

imidazol97

Lady in a small SUV in a residential neighborhood, backing into an intersection apparently to turn around. BUT she was talking on a cell phone the whole time. Backing into an intersection is illegal in our state.

oldfarmer50

"...You are what you drive..."

I drive the following:

1985 Ford F-150
1997 Chrysler Cirrus
2008 Mitsubishi Eclipse
2009 Chrysler PT Cruiser

What am I? (besides confused) :confuse:

oldfarmer50

Yeah, thats right, THE Vice President, Joe Biden. But first I have another one.

I'm on my way to work this morning and I pass under the interstate. As I do so I look over to the exit ramp and notice a car is parked in the driving lane. A woman is sitting there looking bored examining her nails, not moving. I kept looking in my mirror as I drove down the road watching cars come down the ramp and suddenly have to swerve around her. I was sure I would see the rescue squad taking her away when I returned.

Ok, now on the Joe Biden.

Today the VP gave a speech at the school I work for. Why he choose my school I have no idea (maybe because the teachers union is ultra liberal). Anywho, here's Joe giving a speech and every law enforcement officer in upstate NY is blocking a road for his safety. Even the county DPW was putting barricades up in front of the low-income housing developments to keep the poor away.

Well, it seems Joe just had to wait until I was leaving work to travel back to the airport. Needless to say, this is the same route I use to go home. Traffic was snarled for miles as the motorcade made it's way down I-87.

I had to go about 20 miles out of my way to get home---45 minutes late.

Thanks a lot Joe! :mad:

stever

Ugh, I got stuck in a Cheney mess here one year and that took me 20 minutes to go three blocks. Couldn't those guys (especially Biden) take the train? :P

fintail

Eccentric :P

fintail

Today's fun involved distracted idiots. First one...I am driving down a 40mph 2 lane in each direction suburban arterial, very light traffic, I am going 40 on the nose. I pass some octogenarians in an ovoid Taurus wagon, and stay in the left lane as I will be turning left anyway. Nobody in front of me for blocks, nobody behind me for blocks. As I get closer to a filthy older Forester, it makes a random lane change and parks right in front of me, as if I am not going there - and it was going about 30. I pass on the right, and the driver is engrossed in a phone conversation, didn't even see me. Shocking.

Further down the road, I get then behind a very dirty early Hyundai Tiburon that is going 10 under and weaving like a drunk. When it weaves to the left, I make a break for it and pass on the the right. The driver had their mobile device on the steering wheel hub, and was texting away like there was no tomorrow. I don't get up more than 5 over when passing, and a couple blocks later I am miles ahead of it - must have slowed down to 15-20mph.

I won't say anything about my observations of the drivers, as not to offend the oversensitive...but my preconceived notions about such drivers did not betray me :shades:

imidazol97

Went to a local small cruise in and it was an older two lane rural Ohio road. I came up on a California car, must have been an early 90s Toyota Camry, low body, tall greenhouse. 45 in a 50, then slowed to 35. Then 30. No crossroads like she was looking where to turn. No cell phone that I could tell. Just slow.

This is at 6:00 with a few people decommuting out of the Dayton area on their way home and they're impatient. One car passes me and her. Then she sped up to 50. I still don't know why she went slow... this isn't a California style of driving.

xrunner2

One can also try to categorize a driver by observing a given vehicle or given vehicle type, and the way it is driven.

Right. In my area, you can usually count on drivers of small compact pickup trucks to block traffic and drive 5-10 less than speed limit. Not so with full-size pickups. These drivers, men or women, move with the flow of traffic or faster. But, what is it that small pickups attract slow moving and inconsiderate drivers.

fintail

In my neck of the woods, the big pickup drivers move quickly too - especially in rain or other poor conditions. It makes for fun the first icy morning of fall/winter.

They are also excellent tailgaters and weavers - the big diesel drivers especially. Some people must be menaced by them...but they just make me let off the gas a little :P

Small trucks with canopies can be real snails, but I won't stereotype their drivers. :shades:

xrunner2

They are also excellent tailgaters and weavers - the big diesel drivers especially.

Right. Those big Ram or Ford pickups, some riding high, can be intimidators on the interstate. See that at times when running smartly (not camping) in left lane with traffic on I90 and idiot and inconsiderate comes up behind following too closely.

At least small pickup drivers rarely intimidate on the interstates.

imidazol97

>They are also excellent tailgaters and weavers - the big diesel drivers especially. Some people must be menaced by them...but they just make me let off the gas a little

Exactly what I do; 1 mph at a time.

imidazol97

>big Ram or Ford pickups, some riding high, can be intimidators ... and idiot and inconsiderate comes up behind following too closely.

There seems to a be a mental attitude that's delivered with their big RAM truck that they are Dominators and others should run out of their path.

I described one big white RAM who tailgated in 35 mph zone then who had passed me in the center turn lane on a three-lane road in our city as "having too much testosterone" when I was talking to the dispatcher to see if we had a car in the area where he was headed...! He had a space heater in the bed and appeared to be a contractor heading toward an area where new house construction was taking place, so I guessed which road he would be taking.

fintail

I remember being tailgated by a jacked up diesel Ram on 405 a few years ago. I was going a good 70 in a 60, and he finally went around me in a carpool lane - this was at around 11pm, so no harm done in that pass. He must have been going about 90 or so by the time he shot past. There's probably no other vehicle on the road other than a motorhome or bus that is less competent at such speeds. Family trees sometimes don't fork...

snakeweasel

Around here some people avoid that center median like the plague. I don't know how many times I have come across some idiot who stayed in the left lane up to their turn and start the turn in the left lane. You come across these people when they are at an angle at the start of their turn across the median with the back of their car blocking the left lane. :mad:

snakeweasel

What you really need to do is get to work before him and park in that spot.

Where I work the cones would be gone the first day and an office wide e-mail would be sent out warning people not to do such a thing.

snakeweasel

This is what I saw (traffic wise):

Multiple LLC's.

Slow traffic (60-65 with SL's at 75) merging left to pass other slow traffic just as I was approaching to pass them at or slightly above SL.

One LLC who actually moved over to the right lane for me to pass then merged left again (we were the only ones on that part of the road).

Driving up Mt. Evans (highest paved road in the US) way above the timber line on a narrow two way road that wasn't in the best condition. SL was 30 I was doing between 25 and 30 to my right was about 3 inches of shoulder and then a 5-600 foot drop straight down. Along this road some guy in a Land Rover with NJ plates flys past me must have been doing close to 50. I saw him also fly past other traffic ahead of me. My biggest fear was meeting him coming down.

Had a BMW fly past me going down from Loveland Pass (a winding mountain road) doing about 50.

andre1969

Actually I did that on Thursday, I think it was, when I drove my pickup to work. Ordinarily the parking thing wouldn't have even caught my attention, except that he's such an odd little thing in other ways. When he goes into his office, he closes the door behind him...I wish I had that luxury! And it's not like he's that high up the food chain or anything...just a little spittle in the cesspool of life, so he really shouldn't have that luxury. And there's other stuff, too. But hey, I guess it takes all types to make the world go round, and I'm sure there are people out there who think I'm odd, too!

Maybe I'll make a game of it, trying to beat him to that parking spot! And drive a different car every day, just to spice things up a bit. Alas, that would mean that I'd have to actually get to work earlier, and I don't know if I'm willing to make that sacrifice. :P

euphonium

The Red Curb is painted by the adjoining property owner to discourage people from parking in front of his home. It is a 15' extension of the authorized Red curb in front of hydrants. It has been successful for the homeowner as cars parked in the false Red curb have received parking tickets.

After the city comes out and paints over the fake Red section, the homeowner repaints the Red again.

Residential street parking is critical, but this is in the least inconsiderate.

I would be tempted to park on the homeowner's front lawn in the future! :P

snakeweasel

I used to work for a town that would have charged the resident every time they repainted the curb.

That being said my sister used to live next to some lady who would always complain when someone parked infront of her house. Of course on finding this out I always parked infront of her house.

the_big_al

I honestly try not to park in front of someones house if I can help it, but at the same time, I didn't really mind if someone parked in front of my house when I lived on a street where that was a common occurrence. The neighbor across the street from me would frequently have partys and so every weekend there was invariably one or two cars parked in front of my house. I tried to make it interesting by having company at the same time he did and then the parking situation got really interesting. I did see people parking in his yard when they couldn't park in on the street...

fintail

My mother is like that. The house next to hers is a rental - for years a nice old couple lived in it and there was never a noise heard, but I think they went to a retirement home, and now some younger people live there - a couple and a roomate, I think. Cars come and go a lot, and often park in front of her house. She would complain about it when I was there...and once, a typically awesome-skilled 18 year old girl in a Civic did a crap job of parking and blocked my mom's driveway. She went over and got them to move it, and apparently did so with some harsh words - now they don't park near my mother's house. Last time I was there some kid came to visit the neighbors and parked a couple houses down...and as I was out on the driveway wiping down my car, he gave me a look like he thought I would reach over and strangle him. :shades:

fintail

What does this dork drive, anyway?

I could hazard some guesses, but I don't want to offend anyone :P

fintail

Today was "blindly pull out in front of fintail day". We had a few hour dry spell inbetween the odd summer thundershowers, so I took the old car out. As I was heading down a 30mph residential street, only car on the road for maybe 5 blocks in each direction, I approached an intersection with a light. I had green. An early 90s Caravan was stopped on the right. As I approach the intersection, he pulls out in front of me like I am not even there. I usually try to avoid this, but I had to lay on the horn. The fintail's horn will rattle a window blocks away. The guy then turned off the road at the next cross street.

I was then on a 4 lane 30mph road, in the left lane, and a big late model Suburban changes lanes in front of me, but some distance ahead. No big deal...the thing had several sports and military stickers, so I assumed it would move along. Wrong - I passed it on the hill on the right, as it was going 15-20. If a fintail passes you going up a hill, you are going too slow...as there is no way I was going over 30. The driver was a tiny woman yapping on the phone. Surprise surprise.

After I put the old car back in its bed, I was almost home, on another 4 lane 30mph road, again the only car on the road for some distance. I approach an intersection, I have green, a newer C-class is stopped on the right. He pulls right in front of me, and I dive for the brakes and hit my high beams. He immediately turns into the first side street, while either fiddling with a phone or something on the steering wheel.

I need to mount an uzi on the front of my cars.

oregonboy

The fintail's horn will rattle a window blocks away

I love that. My Tacoma had a weak little "beep" horn. I found a pair of horns on Ebay from a BMW 7-series. Much better. I have been known to be a wee bit inconsidarate in their application at times.

fintail

That's one thing MB has kept alive - good horns. I love using the fintail's horn in a parking garage, or scaring people with it. Maybe it's a little inconsiderate :shades:

andre1969

What does this dork drive, anyway?

I could hazard some guesses, but I don't want to offend anyone

2008 (or could be a 2009) Ford Escape. I can't remember its color, either white or silver.

I'm curious though...what did you have him pegged as driving?

fintail

I had a wide range of suspicions, from a doped-out Civic to a (new) Beetle to a Prius...I didn't even think of a soft-roader. I am sure the 4WD comes in handy :shades:

euphonium

the oncoming motorcycle with dual headlights on High beam Bright? :mad: