Road Rage

how do you cope?

[mahlon]

Today I thought I was in the middle of a high speed chase, but there were no cops chasing this guy. I see the most incredible things in traffic and there is never a cop around to get the idiots taken care of. By the time you call cops they are gone and if you try to do anything you become an idiot to. And what is the point of tailgaiting all you tailgaiters out there? What do you do to cope?

[Markus]

You guys should never drive on a german 'Autobahn'. A car length distance at 70 mph is rather normal when the road is crowded. Even I drive like this, although I consider myself a rather defensive driver. The tailgaters here drive at 120+ mph. That's the problem when you don't have speed limits.

[cheater copperpot]

I expect him to pull into the other lane and pass me.

See the almost always clearly posted road sign mentioned in my earlier post #16 in this topic ;)

That sign is one of the rules of the road.

[Crazy_Fool]

>>I'd add to my pet peeves drivers who don't pay attention
>>to the traffic behind them.

the traffic behind me only matters if i'm going backwards. when i'm driving forwards, i'm looking forwards. i'm watching for little old ladies stepping out in front of me so i can swerve round them safely. i'm watching for traffic lights so i can beat them turning to red. i'm watching for those little gaps to squeeze through at speed to gain a place or two. on a good day i can even win. i have no interest in what cars behind me are doing or where they're going.
unless blue flashing lights are involved.

[mayor]

The Autobahn is Germany's solution to reckless drivers. There are no second chances. :)

[mahlon]

May I give a general warning: Please do not drive around North Carolina in a month's time as I am back over there and I sometimes forget you guys drive on the wrong side of the road

LOL!

I have a bumper sticker that reads "I love explosives". No more tailgaters.

I have a sticker that says UNDERWATER DEMOLITION! :)

Well, Don't drive in Egypt! If you ride a motorcycle, pack some heat! Floor it in Germany in a 959, what the hell just run everyone off the road that is in your way!

[Shane]

How timely, last night driving home in Vancouver, with everyone driving way too close all of a sudden everyone is hitting the brakes (me too but I had safe breaking distance and was paying attention :) ) A city truck had stopped in the curb lane just around a corner on a major speed way. It must have broken down. The workers had walked back 100 meters and were waving at people. One of them stepped off the curb. What a silly thing to do! Everyone, and I mean everyone in three lanes of traffic hit the brakes. Just lucky no one was hit or rear-ended.

How do I deal with fools in cars, I stay far away from them. Slow down, speed up or just pull over. Life can be too short otherwise.

If they really are nuts I send a letter to the police and in BC they get 2 demerit points for every two letters. At the end of the year the points are squared and they pay that much in extra insurance costs. Kinda like voting them off the island. :) :) :)

..... Shane

[ryanmpsb]

<rant> Possibly the most wretched, mean spirited thing I have seen on the roads is when semi's drive side by side going 5-10 under! what in the world! I have seen miles and miles of traffic, holding up people who could very well be in emergency situations, for the pleasure of a few sadistic truck drivers. </rant>

I am all better now.. deep breaths... :)

[Crazy_Fool]

>>I send a letter to the police and in BC they get 2
>>demerit points for every two letters. At the end of the
>>year the points are squared and they pay that much in
>>extra insurance costs.

now that sounds bad! if you take a dislike to a neighbour, could you send lots of letters and cause them major problems? do the police check and verify every complaint like that?

[Shane]

Crazy_Fool,

When a letter is received you are given the details of the offence. You can then deny ot in writing or elect to go to traffic court. One of my friends go one from a bus driver that was out of line and it was no problem for him to fight it.

If you get one it is probably easy to fight. If you get five, it probably gets more difficult.

I did do one that got a drivers license lifted. Traffic court had ordered him to turn it in and he had not done so. My letter of complaint informed the police he was still driving so they went to his house and took it from him. (Of course he was dangerous to the point of nearly killing people.)

Just about to leave for the car ride home, must think good thoughts .....

..... Shane

[/edit add an s here, a space there, => more readable /end_edit]

[Robert Charlton]

>>...semi's drive side by side going 5-10 under!<<

In San Francisco, they just park that way.

About tailgating, it's not just a freeway thing. I was driving home tonight from swimming at the Y and was in the right lane, approaching a red light about a half block away. A big SUV came up right on my tail, and he seemed really anxious to get to that light. I moved over into the left lane to let him pass me. He was still there at the light when I got there.

[rogerd]

He was still there at the light when I got there.

Clearly, you aren't a Type A personality, Robert. ;) The fact that he was still at the light proves nothing. He MIGHT have made the light with a little luck, and left you in his dust. And even if missing the light was inevitable, he would have satisfied his Type A need to be progressing as fast as possible under all circumstances. :)

-Type A
-Type A+ (after a double-shot Starbucks)

[dingman]

Tailgating - yeah, annoying most of the time. Especially when there's an empty lane to your left (in countries like this one where we drive on the right). But in heavy traffic, it can be necessary to drive too close to the person in front of you just to keep the SOB who wants into your lane and doesn't care about the fact that there's only half a car length there from coming on over anyway. I'll take 3 feet of following distance over 3 inches any day, even if I would prefer rather a lot more.

I speed most of the time, and somehow get rear-ended about every two years, anyway. The only person who has done any real damage in the process had previously attracted my attention by being the only person on the road *not* tailgating in rush-hour interstate traffic. Unfortunately, all that following distance didn't help her when the rest of us came to a stop and she didn't notice. The poor girl nearly went into shock when she figured out she had used up all the crumple zones in her father's brand-new sedan shaking the dust off the bumper of my '85 Corolla.

[Robert Charlton]

>>Clearly, you aren't a Type A personality, Robert.<<

Actually, I've probably accelerated to a lot of red lights in my life. I just try not to do it in a car. ;)

>>The fact that he was still at the light proves nothing. He MIGHT have made the light with a little luck, and left you in his dust.<<

Well, I saw the light change to red, so I knew there was no point rushing to reach it... and he was in an SUV, so he had a clear view if he was looking that far ahead, which he might not have been.

Tonight I was tailgated by a little old lady. Couldn't have been testosterone... maybe it was caffeine.

[rogerd]

Maybe she was nearsighted and wanted to get close enough to read your "I've been Googled" bumper sticker... ;)