Just a rant

[i_am_socket]

I'm not prone to road rage, but some stuff in the last week of driving has really just pissed me off.

1) Traffic on the way to work one day. The weather was fine, there were no accidents or construction zones, no special events that would otherwise choke up traffic. No no. It was a really short woman of south Asian descent driving a Geo Prism at 35 MPH in a 55 MPH highway where traffic normally flows around 60. That is a tiny car and yet she still could only barely see over the steering wheel. That should be at least as illegal as driving with a cell phone and should result in a minimum of a ticket for obstruction of traffic. I drive slow, but I do my best to do the speed limit so as not to block traffic. That is ridiculous.

2) Filled my gas tank Sunday morning ~5:AM in Long Island. I pull into the station expecting to fill it myself (darn Jersey laws keeping me from doing it all the time) but to my surprise the owner/attendant/whatever offered to do it for me. While its filling, I'm going over the directions to my triathlon. I hear a splashing noise, but it doesn't concern me right away since it was torrential downpours the night before and something may be being emptied. Then I hear the owner/attendant/whatever going "oh, S**T NO! CRAP!" and I look in my mirror to see gasoline pouring out of the filler. The guy stops the pump then does another squirt or two that empties out the hole as I look on dumbfounded. "The stopper didn't work..." Duh. Why don't you try a few more times just to be sure. You can be sure I didn't pay for anything that hit the ground (at least half a gallon).

3) I've noticed this and a friend of mine noticed it too, but has anyone else noticed an increase in REALLY aggressive driving lately? Like flying down the highway 10-20 mph faster than everyone else while honking and swerving between lanes? Like major tailgating (within inches) and yelling from car to car? Its nuts.

And a few things that made me smile: more cars doing the speed limit and staying out of faster traffic's way. Maybe it's a karmic counter-balance to #3 above? I also saw yesterday some brilliant person driving a shiny, white, never even seen a muddy road let alone an off-road trail Hummer with a sticker on the back that read "Gas prices suck." I really want to find this vehicle and place another sticker above it that reads "I'm the reason" :-)

[RH77]

I'll admit, I was prone to road rage -- quite badly. Getting into an Eco-Driving state-of-mind helps quite a bit.

It sounds like you had a crummy day of back-to-back crappy stuff. That makes it the worst, and personal.

I still get red in the face and mumble obscenities with other drivers, but it's part of hypermiling rehab. I know we often feel like a target of other arrogant, offensive drivers, but we have to rise above it and go about our days of driving efficiently.

Venting helps, I'll agree with that...

RH77

[red91sit]

Originally Posted by i_am_socket

I'm not prone to road rage, but some stuff in the last week of driving has really just pissed me off.

1) Traffic on the way to work one day. The weather was fine, there were no accidents or construction zones, no special events that would otherwise choke up traffic. No no. It was a really short woman of south Asian descent driving a Geo Prism at 35 MPH in a 55 MPH highway where traffic normally flows around 60. That is a tiny car and yet she still could only barely see over the steering wheel. That should be at least as illegal as driving with a cell phone and should result in a minimum of a ticket for obstruction of traffic. I drive slow, but I do my best to do the speed limit so as not to block traffic. That is ridiculous.

2) Filled my gas tank Sunday morning ~5:AM in Long Island. I pull into the station expecting to fill it myself (darn Jersey laws keeping me from doing it all the time) but to my surprise the owner/attendant/whatever offered to do it for me. While its filling, I'm going over the directions to my triathlon. I hear a splashing noise, but it doesn't concern me right away since it was torrential downpours the night before and something may be being emptied. Then I hear the owner/attendant/whatever going "oh, S**T NO! CRAP!" and I look in my mirror to see gasoline pouring out of the filler. The guy stops the pump then does another squirt or two that empties out the hole as I look on dumbfounded. "The stopper didn't work..." Duh. Why don't you try a few more times just to be sure. You can be sure I didn't pay for anything that hit the ground (at least half a gallon).

3) I've noticed this and a friend of mine noticed it too, but has anyone else noticed an increase in REALLY aggressive driving lately? Like flying down the highway 10-20 mph faster than everyone else while honking and swerving between lanes? Like major tailgating (within inches) and yelling from car to car? Its nuts.

And a few things that made me smile: more cars doing the speed limit and staying out of faster traffic's way. Maybe it's a karmic counter-balance to #3 above? I also saw yesterday some brilliant person driving a shiny, white, never even seen a muddy road let alone an off-road trail Hummer with a sticker on the back that read "Gas prices suck." I really want to find this vehicle and place another sticker above it that reads "I'm the reason" :-)

I can only say I've seen the fourth part. As a gas station attendant, I hear the most complaining from the big truck drivers, and only about 1/500 have any mud on them. I'd say 1/100 is carrying a load, and 1/1000 is hauling more of a load than my car can handle.

I also admit to HATING it when people say they "Need" a truck. I have hauled couch's home with my car, no problem, and I have gone through more mud, snow, and sand with my cars than anyone I know with a truck has.

(Proof Attached)

[Duffman]

Originally Posted by red91sit

I also admit to HATING it when people say they "Need" a truck.

Its 4x4 for me.

[wagonman76]

Originally Posted by red91sit

I can only say I've seen the fourth part. As a gas station attendant, I hear the most complaining from the big truck drivers, and only about 1/500 have any mud on them. I'd say 1/100 is carrying a load, and 1/1000 is hauling more of a load than my car can handle.

I also admit to HATING it when people say they "Need" a truck. I have hauled couch's home with my car, no problem, and I have gone through more mud, snow, and sand with my cars than anyone I know with a truck has.

(Proof Attached)

Cool, another a-body owner. A-bodies are definitely workhorses. I put a class 2 hitch on my 6000 wagon and hauled a 5x8 enclosed trailer for years. Theyre great in snow. I used the wagon to move many of my friends stuff, plus my own when in college. A heavy sleeper love seat fit just fine, alongside an entertainment center. Drivetrain is bulletproof. I even plow snow with one 6000 wagon, been doing that since 2005 and never had a mechanical problem.

Video of Clearing one end - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

On original topic, I do drive a bit slow, but nothing like 35 in a 55. Ill go 50-55 in a 55 daytime (60 in a 55 got me an $80 ticket once). Nighttime Ill go 45 a lot, most of Michigans beat up bleached out roads are hard to see at night, lines only last about a year.

Full service stations are basically nonexistent here. I know of one in Petoskey, none others anywhere. Kinda nice when its -20F with a much lower windchill, but its out of my way so I almost never go there.

Its all the same thing here, it just never let up in the first place. They still drive aggressive as ever. Ive just noticed the volume of local traffic skyrocket as gas prices went down.