Road Rage, revisited.

[LD48750]

Actually in California, they gave up on the parallel parking part of the drivers test in favor of testing merging in to highways correctly a long time ago. Highway traffic has the right of way in California;

Vehicle Positioning - California DMV

Following Distances Suppose you are on a two-lane road with an oncoming vehicle approaching and a bicyclist ahead to your right. Instead of driving between the vehicle and the bicyclist, take one danger at a time. First, slow down and let the oncoming vehicle pass. Then, when it is safe, move to...

www.dmv.ca.gov

We are all human, but personally, I think that if the person is raging, it is on them, regardless of how they came to have a bad day. I guess that I am of the opinion that
"if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen" applies, i.e. if you can't deal with the drivers in the road, you shouldn't be driving. Many semi drivers go millions of miles without at fault accidents.

All the best,

Peter

Makes me wonder how many cases of "Road Rage" you have caused?

 

[ponytug]

Makes me wonder how many cases of "Road Rage" you have caused?

Great question. More than once for sure. I admit to having done things that pissed others off, like going 55mph in the slow lane, trailering animals. It just seems to piss people off. On single lane roads, I do pull over as soon as I can, but I am sure that sometimes it isn't as soon as others would like, but I have broken a trailer axle pulling off in a less than great place once, and it has made me more careful about where I pull off. I am not claiming sainthood. I certainly don't try to annoy other drivers. As others have pointed out, it is a great way to killed. Especially around here.

For me, learning to pull a trailer and driving vehicles of large size and stopping distances has made me a better driver, but whether that makes me a good driver is a different question. I am sure a refresher course would teach me something. So now that you imply it, I guess that I should go look into it.

I apply the same rules to me. If someone does something to piss me off, I have pulled off the road and gone for a walk. I know that if I am angry, I am distracted, so I try not try drive angry. I think that it is important to take ownership of one's own actions.

So, I am trying for my million mile goal. Not there yet.

All the best,

Peter

 

[Boeing]

Horns should be removed (or disabled) They really can't do much good, and are responsible for a lot of bad.

But the best horn I've "seen" is one that runs a loop tape that sounds like gun fire. EVERYONE clears out when that button is pressed!

I've always HATED horns.....they're so rude and usually used by rude people. I wish they would put "usage" meters on cars and when a horn is used more than 2 times a month it goes inop or their insurance company is notified and charged $100 for excessive use.

 

[MossRoad]

There was an idiot in a BMW that passed us on a winding back country 2 lane road, no passing zone, on a curve. Then proceeded at a high rate of speed, until he was up the back end of another car in front of him. They did the same thing again to that car.

When stuff like that happens, I always think to myself "well, maybe they have a family emergency" or something to that effect.

Sure enough, about another 5 miles down the road, there he was.... pulled over by an officer. I would normally just mumble "good riddance" and move on... Not this time.... I pulled over safely, got out and approached the officer. I showed him my badge, and proceeded to tell him what I witnessed this driver do. He thanked me for my concern, but stated that he didn't witness the offense, so he couldn't do anything about it.

All I could hope for was that the driver got a hefty speeding ticket. I would bet that the driver didn't care if he did get a ticket.

The worst part came 2 days later. I watched the same vehicle, around the same area, do the same thing again to 2 cars. He was going the other direction this time. My guess is they drive like that all the time.

About 15 years ago, I would drive my wife to work every day, drop her off, then head to my work parking lot a couple blocks away, almost exactly at the same minute every day. For several weeks, almost daily, I'd see the same woman in the same car coming from my right as I'd pull out of her parking lot. I could see her pass everyone through the intersection by using the right turn lane. Then she'd do it again in the next intersection to my left. And I'd pull out and follow her and she'd do it again at the next two lights, then sail off west. Some day's she'd pass me at different lights, but always those same four intersections around the same time every morning. So one day I followed her to see where she was going in such a hurry. She was heading to a plant on the west side. She'd pass multiple cars through the parking lanes, bike lanes, turn lanes. I was amazed. This wasn't just a one time thing. It was a daily occurrence of probably a dozen or more offenses. Really dangerous.

So I called the cops and told the above story. They said they'd have to witness it to do anything about it. So I said hey, trust me. Just sit at X location between 7:45-7:50 and you'll witness it.

Two days later they had her pulled over. And a few days later they had her pulled over again. I never saw her again after that. She probably changed her route.

 

[Jstpssng]

I've always HATED horns.....they're so rude and usually used by rude people. I wish they would put "usage" meters on cars and when a horn is used more than 2 times a month it goes inop or their insurance company is notified and charged $100 for excessive use.

I could go along with that, if it included people who feel the need to blow it every time they lock their vehicle. I've had it happen in a parking lot as I was right in front of the car, and instinctively almost jumped on the hood because I thought I was about to be run over.

Funny thing, I lock my truck with the remote all of the time but very rarely does the horn/alarm sound off.

 

[CalG]

I could go along with that, if it included people who feel the need to blow it every time they lock their vehicle. I've had it happen in a parking lot as I was right in front of the car, and instinctively almost jumped on the hood because I thought I was about to be run over.

Funny thing, I lock my truck with the remote all of the time but very rarely does the horn/alarm sound off.

Horn alert on lock is a SETTING that you can enable or not!

Horn alert on unlock is to help you find your car in a parking lot. Again, a setting. Look it up in your owners booklet.

 

[Jstpssng]

Horn alert on lock is a SETTING that you can enable or not!

Horn alert on unlock is to help you find your car in a parking lot. Again, a setting. Look it up in your owners booklet.

I don't have to. I'm not one who has to hear their horn wave goodbye everytime that I leave the vehicle. I also know that if I hit the button twice it will make the horn sound; and my control has a separate button to sound the horn in emergencies.
I haven't tried that one yet.

 

[JasperFrank]

There is one place in the USA where the unsantioned but dominate conventions of hiway driving are reversed. This is the 33 mile I5 corridor in Washington State between Tacoma and Seattle. I observed this when I first moved there in the mid-seventies, and has continued right up today. By reversed, I mean that the slow lanes are the ones to the Left, and the fast lanes are those on the Right. Of course, this is not how it is supposed to work. There is something about that corridor that needs to be studied.
I have a theory.
All the places along this, that have areas for police to park and use radar, are on the center strips of land between the N/S hiway lanes. They never use the left hand side for speed enforcement. Drivers in the right hand lanes know this, so they tend to follow the posted limits, plus 5 over, as everyone else does in the US.
You end up with a whole stream of evenly spaced cars all going exactly 5 over.
This blocks any radar readings for the left lanes. These left lanes tend to be less stacked up, as the only reason you would be there is if you were taking the next exit. It is in these lanes that people will excessively speed in, but not to take the exit, but to pass lots of people and then quickly lane merge back in to the more right lanes. Then do it all over again after the road re-expands to four lanes to provide for more upcoming exits.
If you do visit the PNW in this area, just notice how many times other cars are changing lanes, and changing them for no apparent reason.
I think its a game to some drivers that they can WIN on their I5 commute, though I can't see the win, cause I'm the guy in the left lanes doing a steady 5 over, like everyone else and have not changed any lanes, yet I see them changing 20 to 30 times their lane and they are still, no more or less, ahead or in back of me as they do have to slow down for the folks that are taking the exit.
I think the game is really, just that momentarily, they get to drive much faster, and feel the thrill of being a race car driver.

 

[Torvy]

There is one place in the USA where the unsantioned but dominate conventions of hiway driving are reversed. This is the 33 mile I5 corridor in Washington State between Tacoma and Seattle. I observed this when I first moved there in the mid-seventies, and has continued right up today. By reversed, I mean that the slow lanes are the ones to the Left, and the fast lanes are those on the Right. Of course, this is not how it is supposed to work. There is something about that corridor that needs to be studied.
I have a theory.
All the places along this, that have areas for police to park and use radar, are on the center strips of land between the N/S hiway lanes. They never use the left hand side for speed enforcement. Drivers in the right hand lanes know this, so they tend to follow the posted limits, plus 5 over, as everyone else does in the US.
You end up with a whole stream of evenly spaced cars all going exactly 5 over.
This blocks any radar readings for the left lanes. These left lanes tend to be less stacked up, as the only reason you would be there is if you were taking the next exit. It is in these lanes that people will excessively speed in, but not to take the exit, but to pass lots of people and then quickly lane merge back in to the more right lanes. Then do it all over again after the road re-expands to four lanes to provide for more upcoming exits.
If you do visit the PNW in this area, just notice how many times other cars are changing lanes, and changing them for no apparent reason.
I think its a game to some drivers that they can WIN on their I5 commute, though I can't see the win, cause I'm the guy in the left lanes doing a steady 5 over, like everyone else and have not changed any lanes, yet I see them changing 20 to 30 times their lane and they are still, no more or less, ahead or in back of me as they do have to slow down for the folks that are taking the exit.
I think the game is really, just that momentarily, they get to drive much faster, and feel the thrill of being a race car driver.

I've made that run more than a few times. Sister in Salem, another in Everett. Nieces and nephews scattered between. Before that dad's brother was in Everett and sister was in Bend. Will be up that way in October for a wedding...
Well, on the other side of Snoqualmie Pass. I am not a fan of how the west side of the Cascades has changed in the last 40-45 years. I love the geography, though.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

I was at the farmer's co-op yesterday when I was accosted by a woman who claimed I had damaged her car by hitting it with my pickup door. First, I don't think she was parked there when I arrived. Second, she pointed to a dent that I didn't do. I opened my pickup door and showed her it didn't contact her vehicle there. She then threatened to call the police, so I whipped out my phone and documented that it was not possible that I caused any damage. She continued to rant, so I called her a Karen and told her to GTF away from me. I had to tell her to get away from me loudly, several times. I think she was trying to scam me for money. I wouldn't call it road rage, but by the time I got rid of her I was pretty freaking angry.