Getting passed on an off-ramp and other craziness thread!
 

There may be a similar thread elsewhere but I figured we could all post stories about our travels and crazy drivers you encounter. Especially the drivers where your only reaction is :confused:

I have many of these encounters on a weekly basis. I had these encounters on an hourly basis when I lived in Kansas City during rush hour traffic. It seems that people are completely oblivious to other people on the road. Being polite, using your turn signals, following basic traffic laws... These are a few things that are rare on the road, at least where I drive. Anyway...

So today was exiting the highway when I noticed a minivan tailing me pretty close. It's safe to take the off-ramp at about 40 mph due to a 180-degree turn immediately after you exit the highway. After navigating the turn its about 500 feet before the off-ramp meets the intersecting road, where you either stop (left turn) or yield to crossing traffic (right turn). This off-ramp is not multi-lane, except it has a dedicated right turn at the intersect point. But apparently 40 mph was not enough for the minivan, and it continued to pass me on the left and then cut back in front of me, all just to slow down shortly ahead for the right turn yield. This is amusing to me, and I just laughed it off. I laughed harder when a few miles down the road I end up passing the minivan (multi-lane road) and gave them a nice little honk just to make sure they noticed that passing me had absolutely no advantage. :cool:

Anyone have moments like this to share?

I get passed on the right more than I am comfortable with. 55 in a 65 isn't that bad with the hours I travel and the usual commuters and congestion. I am always in the right lane. Usually 3-4 usable lanes available to my left for proper use of someone trying to overtake. A few times they do use the emergency lane. Usually they try to use the entrance merge lane to pass me and run out of room.
If I get the finger or a horn...I always return with a happy smile and a serious friendly wave....like I'm an idiot. Turns the tables and makes them feel idiotic.

I especially like watching (in rear view mirror) the people that get stuck behind me while using their cell phone. They really don't know what to do! They are stuck. No brain activity left to actually pass me but their instinct says they need to do something.
They usually stay their till their call is done then...they zoom around. Priceless!!!

Here's one - a last minute lane change by an impatient driver who couldn't wait 15 seconds.

Here's another. The rear view video is reversed, so the van that appears to be overtaking me on the right is actually passing me on the left. But he tries to take the exit ramp by cutting in front of me,, and brakes when he realizes he's already missed the exit. He's so close, you can read his license plate number.

And one more. The white Stratus in front of me makes 2 questionable lane changes in half a mile, throws away a boatload of gas in accelerating, and doesn't gain anything on me.

This one is my favorite. I laugh every time I see it. I haven't seen it since it first started "trending" and seeing it again I started laughing really hard like had seen it before! This is what you get when you can't have the common decency to drive WITH others instead of against them.

Road Rage Karma

In an unrelated story, I was going home and there is a ramp from one freeway to another and the north and south bound lanes from the first freeway come together to form a two lane on-ramp to the second freeway. The two lanes have a solid white line, meaning you're not supposed to change lanes. To make things even more interesting the left lane merges with another on-ramp, while the right lane has no obstacles of the sort. Anyway, I constantly see people changing lanes from left to right and right to left and I always just have to shake my head and think "if only I were a cop". I usually come from the right lane side of things. The funny thing is that I usually end up passing these people going from right lane to left lane less than a half mile down the road, because their lane gets stopped (usually because of the merge) and I always look at them to see if they are paying attention and see if they noticed their mistake (usually not!).
The other day this exact thing happened and when I caught up and started to pass I saw a company logo on the side of the car. It was a DRIVERS ED CAR!!!! And it wasn't a kid that doesn't know what they're doing, it was the teacher! No wonder we have such bad drivers, we have terrible teachers!

I got passed on an on ramp a few weeks ago. The highway was jammed, but the on ramp was merging in fits and starts. It was first gear if you were lucky. going up the on ramp I left a buffer of 2-3 lengths. The guy behind me was furious! He gave up on the horn and cut around me on the inside... to ride his brakes at the same mile or two an hour that he was doing, but this time on the rear bumper of a different car.

Houston Texas 1983. Driving north on I10 in bumper to bumper traffic. Moron behind me is flashing his lights for me to pull over and let him pass. No place to pull over, anyone who has ever driven in Houston understands this. It can be a two hour crawl to go 12 miles. Finally I pull over and let the idiot pass. He is screaming at me so I give him the one finger salute. He pulls in front of me and three kids, can't be more than 3rd grade are all giving me the one finger salute from the back seat. All that to get past one car in crawling bumper to bumper traffic.

One road rage incident on the Houston Beltway, two drivers get into a verbal confrontation outside of their cars. One guy pulls a 7 iron out of his bag of golf clubs and proceeds to beat the other guy to death, right there on the side of the road.

regards
Mech

Humm... On reasonably flat terrain, I can maintain ~15 mph average on a bicycle, in places with traffic signals.

What an idiot - everyone knows the five is a better choice!

I coast on the off-ramp, but maintain speed on the on-ramp. In other words, other drivers tailgate me on the off-ramp, I tailgate other driver on the on-ramp.

I do the same and most every "Off" ramp in this area also has stop lights, in most circumstances I am quite glad if someone passes me to set off the stop light so I can simply drive through.

ecomodder style right there! :turtle:

On on ramps I'm more concerned with a smooth and safe merge into traffic than maintaining a constant speed. A car with buffers ahead and behind is safer than two cars joining the road together.

Another story I just though of...

Everyone who knows basic traffic signs knows that when you are merging onto a highway via the on-ramp, you need to yield. A couple years ago I was driving along the highway in the right lane. A couple cars were slightly behind me in the left lane and were in the process of passing me. No other cars around us. A guy in a Toyota truck is on the on-ramp. From my visual calculations he would be able to merge in behind me with plenty of space. I chose not to slow down/speed up, or merge over (because of the people passing me). My visual calculations proved wrong because this guy decided to speed up beyond my highway speed on the on-ramp. As his lane met the highway, we were side by side. I could not merge over due to the passing cars. Knowing that he has to yield, I continue driving. Instead of slowing down like a normal person to merge in behind me, this guy continues to drive on the shoulder, never slowing down. When the left lane traffic clears, I merge, and then he merged.

The only reason I can think of is that he was a really macho guy that needed to "have it his way".

Yeah, that's one of those minor recurring annoyances, whether I'm on an on-ramp or on the freeway with other people trying to merge. Why can't they understand that you should be moving at highway speed before merging into the travel lane?

A car passed a string of 6 or 7 cars on a long sweeping curve, too long to see around the string of cars. He did not have enough room to make the pass. I was driving in the opposite direction.

I went on the shoulder. The car behind me went on the shoulder. The car behind me was a state cop. Sometimes there IS a cop when you need one.

I've had that situation many times, where I see someone doing something really stupid and illegal with no cops in sight.

But a few months ago I was driving in town on a multi-lane road. I was coming up to an intersection ahead. The light changed from green to yellow and I knew I couldn't make it through the light so I started to slow down. I also spotted a cop car at the turn lane in the intersecting road. He was at the front of the turn lane, trying to turn left to go east, the same direction I was facing. At the same moment I was relieved I didn't try and make the light, I see an SUV in the lane next to me speed up to run the light. Sure enough, the SUV ran the red light, not even close to making it. It was red before he even entered the intersection. Since I knew a cop could clearly see this, I thought, "Finally! A cop when you need one!". I also watched the cop in the passenger seat watch the SUV go through the intersection. His head turned and followed the SUV, which was the only car in the intersection. But to my surprise, the cops didn't go after him or pull him over. They waited a few seconds for their light to turn green, and then proceeded like normal.

I guess they were at the end of their shift and didn't want more paperwork.

And you remembered this incident for, what... 30 YEARS???

You gave "the salute", and it came back to you threefold.

Is that your point? :o

If so, it's a point well taken.

When in an encounter with an aggressive driver, just smile and wave.

It's disarming. Literally. ;)

While turning right from one 4 lane major road onto an other 4 lane major road, in the city, there where three cars in front of me on the merge lane. The front car moved as if to merge then slowed down the two cars behinde closed on each other then the first car did the same thing again but this time the two tailgateing cars hit the fisrt car when it slowed down again... I could see the posability right from the start and backed off to keep out of trouble. When the driving lane was free I drove past the three car pile up and wondered why the two tail gating cars could not see the potential hazard...!
I wonder if they learned anything from there experiance, but some how I doubt it...?

So I'm cruising the '59, going about 34 in a 30 towards the far end of town, and about 1/4 mile before the 55 sign this stupid ***** passes! In a 30 zone- no passing zone- the main drag through town! :rolleyes: Then a couple miles before I get to the next town another tard in a pickup just haaaad to pass- on a curve no less! :eek: I'm going 55 in a 55- then I'm pretty much riding his tail the whole way to my destination (MY speed is unchanged) and I'm left to wonder what exactly he gained from that. Did he win? Win what? :confused:

30 years ago I told many Texans I would wipe my arse with a half a dozen of them and got no takers. Ancestors name was Crockett and we are related.
I did however buy a new 1984 Honda CRX 1.5 and averaged 44 MPG for 50k miles until I sold it for $5K. Paid $7K new.
Different times but still an ancient ecomodder long before it was considered sensible, even if it is today.
The point you seem to so easily have missed was it was 3 grade school children giving the salute back. I guess they raise agressive drivers from birth in Texas.
Arrogance from birth?

regards
Mech

Also XYZ, when IN a confrontation with another driver, YOU HAVE ALREADY FAILED.
I have not been in any incident you could remotely call a "confrontation" in many years.
I remember things from 50 years ago, like riding home on the bus from 8th grade, the day JFK was assasinated. I remember gas at 11.9 cents a gallon in 1959. I memorized my 17 digit drivers license number in 1973 and still remember it. I remember getting hit in the rear end in a 1963 Valiant convertible 6 times in 6 months, twice in two days.
Lots of things I remember from 30-50 years ago.

I remember in Houston when I was dozing off while my youngest brother was driving a 73 Montego Dad gave him. He yells "wake up" I opened my eyes to see a tractor trailer jacknifing right in front of us. Myabe the real point is I have a good memory expecially of things that were real learning experiences.

Any response to a avoidable "confrontation" runs the risk of elevating the confrontation. Since YOU do not know the mental state of the other party they might pull out a gun and shoot you for smiling and waving.

I prefer for them to just think I am a barely functional old man who they fly by and soon forget, with no interaction whatsoever.

regards
Mech

That's what I try to do too, but it's harder to pull off when your only 26...

Are these dash cam vids actually from some of you here? If so, can you provide any links to where they can be purchased?