Road Rage, revisited.

[LD48750]

^ exactly. I don't feel comfortable tailgating, I desire control of my fortunes, and options for avoidance should a panic stop or road hazard situation arise. But it really F^&(ng sucks when you get cut off repeatedly from right lane passers, so, you have to close the gap sometimes and prevent the opportunity for this kind of behavoir.

If people are passing you on the right, YOU are in the wrong lane.

 

[deezler]

^ no, you misunderstand. I desire to go 75-80 mph just like everyone else on my local highways. But if you leave any safe following distance, someone will zip around you just to then go the same speed in front of you, rather than behind you. It's not because I or anyone else is going too slowly.

Like I said, our rush hour driving is like a 1000 car nascar race. Seems like nearly everyone wants to win.

 

[/pine]

Here's my road rage story...
...I think it was 2009 or 2010...Our town is divided by a major US highway 4 lanes with a center turn lane...the majority of the town is on the west side of the highway...the one chain grocery store is on the East side...on the west side is a road running perpendicular to the main highway and is directly across from the entrance to the grocery store parking lot...

...I was on the road waiting to cross the main highway to get to the grocery...I waited for a couple of cars ahead of me to cross or turn onto the highway...I had to wait for some light traffic to clear and as it did and I moved forward...sitting directly in front of me in the center lane was a woman in a pickup truck clearly texting on her phone...(she had it on the steering wheel and was going at it with both thumbs...) I could see a small dog jumping around in the cab..ironically I had the news on the radio and they were just stating that the new "hands off" law went into effect that very day (July first IIRC)...which meant if caught texting or using a cell phone etc. while behind the wheel you would lose your license for a year...

...North and south traffic had cleared so I moved out thinking the woman would see me and move out of the way...but she didn't...so I had to turn to the right and maneuver around the back of her truck and then avoid a curb on the far side...As I went around the back of her truck I tooted my horn...well she blasted back with her own horn...so I just flipped her off over my shoulder as I headed into the parking lot...

...As I was getting out of my car...here comes the pickup roaring up the lot...she stopped behind my car and said she didn't appreciate getting flipped off...I called her a stupid ***** and went on into the store...

...Well I was collecting what I needed in my cart and was approached by a couple of cops in plain clothes but obvious)...they asked for my ID and said I was involved in a "road rage" situation...

...Turns out that the woman was the wife of an officer...The cops were were being civil but obviously wanted to give me a hard time...so I did what I had to do and dropped my B.I.L.'s name (who happened to be the chief investigator for the sheriffs department of the county just to the south)...a large department where most of the local city cops got their start so everyone knew who my B.I.L. was...things cooled off immediately...they let me check out with my groceries but still had so show their authority...they ended up writing me a ticket for disorderly conduct...

I had to make an appearance in court but they dismissed the charge if I did not contest the issue...I could have went to trial and subpoena her cell records and using their own timeline I could have proven she was texting while driving but being in a small town where everybody knows everybody I decided it was best to not make waves (enemy s) and let it go...

 

[MossRoad]

Let’s say there’s a truck in the right lane going slower than other peoples’ liking. There’s a line of 10 cars in the left lane that wants to go round it, and more coming up from the back. Not one of those people in the left lane will move over to the right lane to let the faster car behind them go past, using the ‘wait your turn’ philosophy. And the lead car can see 10 cars behind it, but isn’t going to speed up because ‘I’m going fast enough, they can wait.” And then someone comes up in the right lane, the cars in the left lane will disregard the common sense of keeping a safe distance from the car in front of them, and all of them will bunch up to prevent the person in the right lane from getting ahead of them, putting all of them in danger of a chain reaction accident, all while traveling at about 100’ per second at 70mph.

That’s the American way!

 

[ultrarunner]

I find the incidence varies greatly depending on location...

The SF Bay Area has many freeways and the no truck freeway through Oakland has to be the worst...

All vehicle laws optional... Going 65 and every car will pass you and some like lightening fast weaving to shoulder and then to fast lane... like a stolen car police pursuit... just to get ahead... many are high HP Dodge vehicles...

 

[MossRoad]

Yep. Coming through Chicago at 1-2 in the morning you see some really high speed stuff as the roads are more open that time of night. During the day, any open space is soon occupied.

 

[deezler]

Let’s say there’s a truck in the right lane going slower than other peoples’ liking. There’s a line of 10 cars in the left lane that wants to go round it, and more coming up from the back. Not one of those people in the left lane will move over to the right lane to let the faster car behind them go past, using the ‘wait your turn’ philosophy. And the lead car can see 10 cars behind it, but isn’t going to speed up because ‘I’m going fast enough, they can wait.” And then someone comes up in the right lane, the cars in the left lane will disregard the common sense of keeping a safe distance from the car in front of them, and all of them will bunch up to prevent the person in the right lane from getting ahead of them, putting all of them in danger of a chain reaction accident, all while traveling at about 100’ per second at 70mph.

That’s the American way!

This is it, exactly. Every single day on our highways here. But often its 80 mph and 117 f/s instead.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

^ no, you misunderstand. I desire to go 75-80 mph just like everyone else on my local highways. But if you leave any safe following distance, someone will zip around you just to then go the same speed in front of you, rather than behind you. It's not because I or anyone else is going too slowly.

Like I said, our rush hour driving is like a 1000 car nascar race. Seems like nearly everyone wants to win.

So let them. You will get there just as fast.

 

[Jstpssng]

So let them. You will get there just as fast.

That's what I've finally realized. When things start backing up I back off.
Years ago I often traveled up Rte 89 through Burlington Vt on Sunday nights, on my way to work in New York. Often I would be virtually the only vehicle in the right lane, as everybody was trying to pass that one slow vehicle in front of me.
I would set the CC and maintain my speed; and play leapfrog with the same few cars which were going nowhere fast. Then when the left lane finally cleared I could step on the gas and proceed at my own pace.

 

[MossRoad]

What irks me most often on the highway is:
- I have the cruise control set.
- I come up behind another vehicle.
- Since I caught up to it, I’m obviously going faster than it.
- I look in my mirror, signal to change lanes, look over my left shoulder to check my blind spot, pull into the left lane, get my righ front fender about even with the other driver’s left shoulder, aaaaannnnnnnnd they accelerate and match speed.

So you’re sitting out there in the left lane and it never fails that someone else comes up behind you so you then have to accelerate to get around the car that you’re passing.

Then you get ahead, signal, look, pull in the right lane, the car behind you goes by and so does the car you just passed.

Then in a mile or so, they pull back into the right lane and slow down and you catch up to them again, repeat.