Inconsiderate Drivers (share your stories, etc.)

ruking1 · May 2007

You were lucky they were not loaded with precision munitions!

oldfarmer50 · May 2007

My friend is making a delivery in Jersery in his big box truck. As he sails down the Jersery Pike at about 70 he hears a loud BANG and his truck swerves all over the road.

He pulls over and gets out trying to figure what happened (blown engine, broken axle, drive shaft etc.)

He makes it to the back of the truck and finds his heavy metal bumper/rear step is all bent and twisted. There among the wreckage he finds pieces of the grill from a semi.

As near as he could figure, a tractor trailer was going so fast that even at 70mph he was overtaken with enough speed to smash heavy steel. Not only that, but the driver was such a dope that he couldn't see a 10 foot high white truck.

Of course the tractor-trailer took off...after all, this is New Jersery.

210delray · May 2007

Hey, at least spell it right! J-E-R-S-E-Y.

The state that gets no respect!

Wouldn't surprise me if that semi driver had fallen asleep -- seems to be a big problem these days. I've read some really scary stuff about these guys putting in incredible hours (illegal of course), plus loading or unloading their own trucks, and waiting in long lines at warehouses.

oldfarmer50 · May 2007

"...if that semi driver had fallen asleep..."

Or maybe he was occupied counting the number of 'R's in New Jersey

.

Seriously, though what was shocking in this story was that the driver kept going. What if he hit a car instead of another truck?

BTW, don't feel bad about Jersey, at least it isn't NY.

snakeweasel · May 2007

BTW, don't feel bad about Jersey, at least it isn't NY.

I don't know I had a better time when I was in NY than the two months of hell I spent in NJ. Cape May was no fun.

euphonium · May 2007

So I dropped down to 18 -20. The Civic behind started to pass me, but changed it's mind, however the Cherokee behind the Civic sped up and passed both of us and the Radar cop on a motorcycle was in business. Instant Justice. Love it.

210delray · May 2007

A'int that the truth! It's not like your typical school zone lasts for more than a half mile or so.

railroadjames · May 2007

Traveling on 80/94 from Chicago to Iniana I noticed a guy dodging in and out of traffic trying to pass anyone that was in his way. As luck would have it, I see him move to the far right lane only to drop back behind again due to slower traffic. Moments later he's on my tail so close I can see the beercan in his hand just above the steering-
wheel. Up ahead I notice signs indicating my left lane will cease to be in a 1/2 mile. I see barracades coming up fast and here is where it gets real interesting...I wait till the last possible second b/4 darting to the center lane. Next thing I see & hear is "Bang! Bang! Screeching tires & broken glass!!" Needless to say, he sure got the surprise of a lifetime. Say? Should I have felt bad? I kind of felt just desserts were delt his way.

snakeweasel · May 2007

Traveling on 80/94 from Chicago to Iniana

Ah the Kingery, are they still doing construction along that route? Traffic along that road gets very heavy and the last time I drove that there was a lot of construction and a lot of lane closures. Its not a fun drive.

oldfarmer50 · May 2007

"...I kind of felt just desserts were delt his way..."

I expect that soon we will be hearing a story from a guy who will tell us how an inconsiderate driver set him up to crash while he was hurrying to the re-cycling center with the empty beer cans he picked up on Earth Day.

Seriously, you scare me. Who are you to be dealing out rough justice on the highway? We all imagine the jerk driver getting what's coming to him but when we act out on those thoughts we are no better than him. Call the police and report him.

nightvzn · May 2007

Not only that, but it kind of sounds like the original poster was being a left-lane hog. Not that that excuses the other driver's tailgating, but it's an equally inconsiderate offense. This one leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Plus, hogging the left lane is more likely to bring out tailgating behavior in somebody who might otherwise drive more considerately. It becomes a mutually destructive situation, a vicious cycle of sorts. All very bad.

imidazol97 · May 2007

I can't believe the folks who argue to protect a drinking, unsafe driver tailgating-aggressive behavior-and finding a closed lane in front of him. The poster should have called 911 if he didn't know the local police number to turn in the guy while he was behind him.

I hope the responding police noticed the alky breath and beer can/cans int the car.

I have had people tagging too closely behind me whom I have left surprised because I dodged road debris or potholes at the last minute. If they follow the rules of the road they won't find they can dodge the metal chunk lying on the road because they have time to see if after I pass over it.

snakeweasel · May 2007

Not only that, but it kind of sounds like the original poster was being a left-lane hog.

Maybe/maybe not. The Kingery/Borman expressway is a very heavily traveled expressway. It funnels traffic from 4 or 5 interstates to go around the south shore of lake Michigan. If you are traveling from the Upper Midwest or plain states (Northern IL, WI, IA, MN, SD, ND, KS and the like) past IL into MI, Northern IN, OH and parts beyond you will have to go down this road. This means that this road can be very congested at almost any time and with a very high percentage of trucks (one time we counted 27 trucks in a row that we passed while in one of the left lanes).

Its very possible that instead of being a left lane hog he just happened to be in the left lane of a roadway filled to capacity. In which case the left lane would have been filled anyway (which is oft times the case on the Kingery).

oldfarmer50 · May 2007

"...I can't believe the folks who argue to protect a drinking unsafe driver..."

I don't think anyone is trying to protect a drunk on the road. All anybody is commenting on is why would someone take it upon himself to contribute to said drunk crashing his car. I think someone asked what would the viigalante do if the drunk swerved into other cars. How would they feel if even indirectly they caused someone else's innocent loved ones injury?

I think my sainted mother said it correctly: "Two wrongs don't make a right."

snakeweasel · May 2007

One question was this person actually drunk or just to aggressive. the phrase "so close I can see the beercan in his hand just above the steering-wheel" might have been a figure of speech.

railroadjames · May 2007

Alright, I started this and I'm going to fill in the blanks that a few of you misinterpreted. 1st, I was moving along in the left lane (express) trying to get along in the usually faster lane. We all know "it ain't necessarily so." I noticed a hurried driver attemting to dodge in & out of several lanes to "get ahead." Sometimes it works and sometimes you lose for all that effort. Suddenly he was in behind me and pushing my bumper (so to speak). I don't know what all of you do but where I come from you have few choices. If he causes a wreck in front of you its very likely that you can become a part of it. Perhaps, in my strange way, I felt compelled to effect what my grandpappy use to say..."Its time to thin the herd." You can analze this situation till the cows come home. Maybe what I really wish is...You had to be there to understand what unfolded. This guy was definitly agressive and dangerous. Lastly, no one was hurt and He definitly gained a new perspective on "TAIL GATING." One more note on this issue. I sense there are "Doves" & "Hawks" out there. Doves would want to reason with the guy and let him do his crazy thing. Hawks choose to get the points across more dynamically. Of course Doves would also try to reason with the Virginia Tech Crazy while he gunned down so many helpless victems while the hawks would have drawn guns and put him down b/4 the count grew to so many. My saintly granddad use to say, "Danged if you do..danged if you don't."

oldfarmer50 · May 2007

"...It's time to thin the herd..." "...hawks would have put him down..."

I'm sure that's what the Virginia Tech Crazy was thinking as he went about his work. He couldn't tell the difference between thinking about doing something, and actually doing it either.

stever · May 2007

Anyone got any new inconsiderate driver tales to tell?

snakeweasel · May 2007

Well almost had a head on collision (slow speed though) today. Was going down a curvy residential street on my way home and this Taurus coming the other way kept drifting over to my side of the road (the outside edge of the curve). I could see that the guy wasn't watching where he was going but looking at the houses along the road.

Of course I came to a stop and blew my horn, must of scared the you know what out of the guy.

nightvzn · May 2007

Its very possible that instead of being a left lane hog he just happened to be in the left lane of a roadway filled to capacity. In which case the left lane would have been filled anyway (which is oft times the case on the Kingery).

I would definitely make a point of clarifying this if telling such a story here, because it's an important distinction.

snakeweasel · May 2007

While it is an important distinction I for one wouldn't think about it simply because in the daily driving around Chicago the expressways are usually near capacity. Hence I really wouldn't think about it as I would think it was a given since its the usual experience.

fintail · May 2007

Today I got behind a brand new looking BMW 3er driven by a phone yapping woman. I should say stuck behind, as she was going about 18 in a 30. When the road became 2 lanes and I could get around her, I laid on the horn (as I was in the fintail and the horn must be 150db), and she looked at me like I had just spat on her mother. Don't offend the vacuous!

euphonium · May 2007

Stay out of Bellevue and Mercer Island and you won't have that problem.

punkr77 · May 2007

I live in a downtown area with a bar next door to me. Usually we don't have many problems since it's a small neighborhood bar and doesn't get big crowds. By the time the drunks go home, I'm fast asleep. The other night some moron staggers out of the bar at about 9PM and cranks up his Harley with drag pipes. Rather than blipping it a couple of times and taking off, he sits there revving the crap out of it for a good 5 minutes. It was loud enough that I could't hear my TV.

Anyway, I get annoyed, then get mad enough to get off my couch, open the window, climb out onto the balcony, and yell "Hey! Come on guy, people live here!" His response? A big F#$% Y#$. He then comenced racing up and down the street for another 5 minutes. Called the cops but they never showed. Even gave them his tag number.

fintail · May 2007

Ha, I wish I could.

Some Stepford wife in a Suburban (every non-working mc-mansion dwelling 5'2" woman with 2 kids needs one, you know) also pulled out in front of me from a driveway, even though there were no cars behind me for maybe 8 blocks. Then she varied her speed between 10 under and 10 over. I got to honk at her too, when she finally turned off the road...without a signal, of course.

fintail · May 2007

I live on a hill on a semi-major street. This time of year, all the middle aged weekend warriors park their beige Camcords and Exploders, and hit the road wearing $2000 worth of ostentatious cliched black leather while riding their never-dirty Harley, undoubtedly bought with a HELOC. They love to roar up and down the hill, and some rev as much as they can at stoplights. These are 100x lamer than the Civic-racer crowd.

euphonium · May 2007

undoubtedly bought with a HELOC.

Pray tell, what is wrong with borrowing and using your home equity to buy a vehicle. At least the loan has a tax deductible interest involved?

jensad · May 2007

Hi fintail

With all of the middle age/old age/ fill in, riders today in No. Cal. I have noticed in the papers seemingly many more nasty injuries and/or fatalities involving motor riders.

I was trained on the old Harley 74, but never rode on the job. I remember ALL 22 of our motor riders in the Oakland CHP office went down on the freeways in the late 60s and into the early 1970s. My best friend died on his motor on the Nimitz.

Looks like the new generation needs to be real careful.

Also as another poster mentioned, I too hate the straight pipes/no baffles/ no muffler motors that deliberately annoy our neighborhood.

Good luck to all and stay safe.

jensad

I think the new riders,

fintail · May 2007

Yeah, I think in WA state motorcycle fatalities have seen a significant increase over the past couple years, and it is from older riders taking advantage of the new fad...the sportbike bandits are bad, but don't seem to be getting worse. It must not be hard to get a cycle endorsement here.

Don't get me wrong, I like motorcycles...if I lived in an area where I had more faith in fellow motorists, I would probably have one. Too many Stepford-wife SUVs and 'new drivers' (and that means nothing about age) in my area for me to risk it though.

And about the HELOC thing...at least those pretentious bikes have good resale.

nightvzn · May 2007

as I was in the fintail and the horn must be 150db

Gotta love authoritative horns. I miss my Skylark -- tiny Buick with a horn off the QE2, for just these occasions.

british_rover · May 2007

She was probably just as shocked that your car could pass her brand NEW car. I bet she thought the fintail was a hundred years old or something.

snakeweasel · May 2007

Using a home equity loan to purchase a depreciating asset is not the best ideal. The ideal is to increase equity not decrease it. Most financial advisors suggest that funds taken out of the house to be used for asset building ventures (i.e. investment properties) and not for toys.

railroadjames · May 2007

I've heard it all B/4. "I gotta have loud pipes so those crazies in their SUV's don't run over me. I gotta be heard!!!" Well, fact is loud bikes are annoying. If what they say were true then lets all take our mufflers out of everything we drive and really make chaos happen. At 2 a.m. it's simply no joy when a hog goes by and wakes you from what was a quiet nite. Oh! Let's not forget the multiple rev'rs that can't stand it unless they make serious noise at every traffic lite. By the way...I'm a biker too for over 50 yrs. I seem to have managed a cycling life with baffles intact. Simply put..Noisy bikers are inconsiderate.

andre1969 · May 2007

I saw a cop make a left-hand turn at an intersection where there were actually two left-turn lanes. Cop was in the left-most of the two. In the turn, he almost sideswiped the minivan beside him, but then corrected at the last second, narrowly averting disaster. We ended up passing him, and I looked over. He looked like he more focused trying to play on his little dash-mounted laptop than driving the car!

british_rover · May 2007

Wow almost the eact same thing happend to me this evening.

xwesx · May 2007

That happens to me all the time, but I am usually in the leftmost of the two and the yahoos in the right lane simply like to cut the left turn. Quite frustrating.

rcc8179 · May 2007

Driving to work this morning, I am behind a late-model Impala on the exit from I-70 to I-465 (Indianapolis loop). This is a 25-mph 3/4-circle ramp, so we are going 25-30 at the bottom of the ramp. Expecting him to accelerate and fit into one gap, I held back a bit to get behind the pickup he should be merging in front of. But rather than speed up to merge with traffic (I know the Impala will go if you step on it), he decides to come to a dead stop at the end of the ramp. I was blocked by him in front and the pickup to my left, so I had to slam on the brakes and stop to avoid hitting him.

After waiting for 2 or 3 cars to pass in order to get a gap big enough to accelerate from a dead stop I merge over gradually, giving him plenty of room to go too. Finally he realizes that he can go and actually locates the gas pedal. Apparently knowing how to merge with traffic is not required to get a license and register a vehicle in Morgan County (IN 55----- plates). Fortunately he didn't cause somebody to get rear-ended.

1racefan · May 2007

There is a guy I see quite frequently during my morning commute that is agressive/inconsiderate/dangerous.

He drives an early 80s land yacht, and typically rides the bumper of the car in front of him, even if that car has a line of cars in front of it. Yesterday, I saw him tailgate, use the shoulder to pass a car (half of his car on pavement, the other half on grass), and use the turn lane to pass a car.

Keep in mind, we were on a 2-lane road (45 mph each way), in a LONG line of cars moving at 50mph, so he really had no hopes of actually making it all the way to the front of the line.

The kind of behavior I saw him demonstrate yesterday isn't unusual - I have seem him do these type things for a long time now.

If I am able to get his license plate # and report him, do the police typically do anything? I have heard that in "he said / she said" cases, they can't really do too much. I wish I had a video camera on my dash.

ruking1 · May 2007

First a question. What does the body work of the 80's land yacht look like? I would swag even before getting the answer, he is under to zero insured. The only real thing you can do if he tailgates YOU is to move out of the way. Sounds like in the very worst case, you would be glad that you did.

1racefan · May 2007

"The only real thing you can do if he tailgates YOU is to move out of the way"

I agree - whenever I see him in my rear view mirror (even if he is a few cars back), I do pull over and let him go. Like you, I realize it is better to relax and let him go.

ruking1 · May 2007

He either is an accident looking for a place to happen or a tax protestor who wants to challenge the concept of having to have mandatory insurance or all or some of the above and more!

. Clearly, many folks drive without MANDATORY insurance the only thing in question is the % and vol. This of course means that you actually pay for the potential and real accident, even when it is not your fault.

stever · May 2007

Miami Holds Top Spot on Rude Driver List (AP)

The top 5:

1. Miami

2. New York

3. Boston

4. Los Angeles

5. Washington, D.C.

ruking1 · May 2007

Gee, I have driven in most of the ones on the list. On the top 5, all but Boston and LA have been for a year or more!

Hmmmmmmmm......

m6vx · May 2007

A few years ago in the Smokies, after a 1-2 hour hike, I was over a mile from the main road that bisects the park. I was sitting an overlook, listening to the birds and enjoying the beauty. Cars, trucks, and RVs were well below me in the valley, looking like toys, and I couldn't hear a single one. Then the motorcycles went down the road.

You probably don't want to hear my views on what they can do with loud motorcycles.

andre1969 · May 2007

back in 1992 when I went there for Spring Break, and while stuck in a freeway snarl, this old lady in a new-ish Regal flipped me off after I laid into the horn to alert her to the fact that she was about to sideswipe me.

Prior to that, I didn't think old ladies knew how to do that! :P

railroadjames · May 2007

A few yrs back Indiana had a good system for keeping traffic flow going. They put up signs that required motorists to move into lane reductions or be ticketed for failure. Illinois could learn a few things because they always get bottle-up jams due to the "I'm special & your not" idiots. You know them. They're the ones that run all the way up to the end of lane reductions and squeeze in causing the jam to get worse. They just never learn do they?

elias · May 2007

railroadjames, opposite viewpoint here.
it's the people who you think "never learn" who have possibly "done the math" more than you might have!
that is: it *makes sense* to drive until the end of the lane reduction and then merge zipper-style to the open lane, exactly where the cones/barrels force you to merge.
merging earlier than that is an inefficient use of road capacity & queueing-space, resulting in a worse/longer traffic jam.
but it presents an interesting question - is it better to drive so that the road/queueing is efficient and traffic jam taking minimal space on the road, or is it better to give others the *perception* that you are being more considerate by merging early! in other words, what is more important, perception or reality!?

euphonium · May 2007

Accurate "signing" would help. For instance two miles back have a sign 'ZIPPER MERGE 2 MILES AHEAD'.

One mile back = same sign again.

1/2 mile back = same sign.

It is not traditional or customary to 'Zipper' in other lines such as the bank and post office so many drivers will be learning a new technique.

andre1969 · May 2007

I don't think it matters so much where the zipper point is when one lane merges into another, just so long as there is only ONE zipper point. However, the reality ends up being that some people get over early, others get over late, and the way traffic lanes often stop and go, some people just get over when they get a chance. Then you get people who jump back and forth between lanes, depending on which one is moving the quickest at that moment, in the hopes of gaining a car length or two.

The best way to really sign it is "Alternate Merge", or maybe "Form Single Lane", both of which I have seen before. That way, no one lane has clear right-of-way over the other, and people tend to be a bit more civilized.

xwesx · May 2007

It is not even so much a matter of when people get over - just as long as people are leaving appropriate gaps and synchronizing speed such that nobody is unnecessarily braking. It is the braking that causes the jam. As long as traffic is flowing smoothly, people can get into "line" where ever they want and it causes no problems. At the end, though, makes the most sense for the bulk of traffic as it is real easy to understand the "you then me then him then her then...." process of zippering. Then again, it also takes a bit of discipline... which our society is sorely lacking.

Inconsiderate Drivers (share your stories, etc.)

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