Road Moron
 

I was driving home from a show, 25 miles west on I64. I have driven this road since they built it in the late 1960s and there is not much that surprises me anymore. I know where the potholes are on this road.
The exit to my house is the only exit, in at least 100 miles, where you have to be in the left lane for the exit. I try to get in the left lane well before the exit, because traffic can get so heavy and people follow each other so closely that sometimes if you wait too long you just can't get into the left lane safely.
This was not one of those days. Speed limit is 65, but if you go that slow you have people all over your arse, but today the traffic was actually moving along a just a couple of MPH over the 65 limit.
I moved over to the left lane a little over than a mile from the exit, speed up to 72 MPH to match my speed to the left lane traffic, everything looks fine, maybe another 60 seconds to my exit. A single car is leaving the crowd 100 yards behind me. This guy is closing fast, has to be going 90+ to close at that rate. Even though there is no other car within over 100 yards of me front and rear, this clown pulls up 2 feet behind me. The right lane is clear but no, he wants to tailgate me 6 feet from my rear end and I am going 100 feet per second.
I move over in the lane to the left edge, which usually gets the idiot to just go around me, but not this clown, he pulls up beside me and gives me the finger. I return the favor, so his next move is to run me off the road. The crazy thing is as he is pulling into my lane with his left rear tire next to my right front,
HE HAS HIS TURN SIGNAL ON!
Finally he pulls away, rolls his sunroof back and gives me the bird with both hands out the sunroof. A few seconds later this absolute genius sees me hit my left turn signal and get off the road using the left exit. By now he has closed on the group of cars in front and is tailgating someone else again.
I can only wonder what the idiot thought when he saw me exiting to the left when is the only way for me to get off the road without going several miles past my house and coming back. Probably cussing the driver in front of him for slowing him down.

regards
Mech

Too bad civility isn't a pre-requisite for getting a driver's licence!

+1
 

Had nearly the same thing happen to me. Small suburban 2 lane..me going the speed limit and the psychotic plague infested guy in a BMW crossover instantly pulled up within 10 ' of my bumper....could see him doing the "Italian" both hands in the air....so started off a volley of salutes...I started having "the finger" cramps...got bored....pulled over to "meekly" let him by....got his lic. plate.....and as a good concerned citizen called it in.
Passed him stopped by the State Police 6 miles down the road and to his credit his was communicating the same way with the officer as he had with me. Passed them and waved real friendly....you'all all come back soon..ye hear?:cool:

I had a guy try to run me off the road recently in the Golf. I don't necessarily care about my cars, and when it's just me in the car, I don't worry too much about safety, either. I "stand my ground" and let them get as close as they wish to me. The second they touch my car, my intention is to steer directly into their car to control the situation as best as I can and get them stopped. Then, if they're lucky, I won't beat them to within an inch of their life and steal their wallet and insurance card.

In my case, I carry a handgun in plain view while in my car (unless it's holstered still), and the average person is looking at you while they're trying to intimidate you to see how you react (bad idea, if anyone reading is "that guy"), so they usually see it there and back off immediately. The worst part is, I'd never even think of using it in that situation because of the potential risk to others.

Do you really want to know where you went wrong or how you can improve your driving psychology? If you can withstand some criticism, I’ll offer it. (If not, please don’t read this and don’t offer a defensive argument.)

Yes, what you describe is a poorly planned interstate highway like many others in the Northeast with the 'left lane exit only' foolishness of design.

IMHO that is way too soon, but I’m a NY’er. No one needs a full mile to exit any highway.

At that speed we are talking about a mile, right? That gives lots of time to do lots of things, no?

Why didn’t you just ignore him? When you moved over and acted deferential, you invited him to bully you.

Oh, that was smart. First you acted passive, then you act aggressive. Can you see how you exacerbated this situation?
Well, DUH - at least give him some credit. If you had ignored him from the start none of this would have happened. Either he would have sped up and cut in front of you or been relegated to sitting behind you. Next time someone flips you the bird, smile and wave back at him. It’s disarming. It’s really hard to get angry and escalate a situation when you are perceived as being friendly or carefree rather than angry. But you “returned the favor” by giving him the finger in return. Bad strategy.

Look – you knew what his mentality was, but you got suckered into playing his game. The best way to deal with people like that is to let them go! Let them cut in and out of traffic. Let them speed. Ironically people that drive that way usually don’t get anywhere any faster than by keeping a steady pace. And often you might pass them further down the road – because they will have done you the favor of being more attractive to the cop that pulled them over. :cool:

Road rage - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Machismo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I could only find this in Spanish:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veBiy-NlpNE

Avoid eye contact if all possible! Don't let anyone GET to your head!

I understand that you didn't want to get boxed out of your turnoff, but since you were traveling at the speeds you stated; a little later might have been better.

You mentioned seeing this guy in your mirror leaving the group behind, and closing very fast. Upon THAT detection, I would have immediately changed to the right lane; let him blow by, and you still would have had time to re-enter the left lane.

Thereby no fracus would have happened at all! No exchanges, nor you getting upset!

When you find a wild tiger, don't aggravate it further. The guy might have gone postal, and starting ramming you in the rear.

If he would have arrived JUST before your turnoff, I might have faked a tourist needs map time, and turned off on the left shoulder if there was an adequate one.

When they are that intense; totally ignoring ANY thing they do, or doing all you can
to get RID of them seems to be a safer way to go.

Happy you did get the satisfaction of seeing them pulled over.

Since you shared this with all of us, and maybe expected comments; we ALL can learn to handle a situation better the next time IF we can keep those emotions in check!

If we are turtles; we come with shells!!!

Exactly! What sort of idiots design exits on the left? I know most Americans are too dumb and/or inconsiderate to have mastered the "slower traffic keep right" thing, but still, traffic engineers ought to know better.

PS: I know, "ought to". As if there weren't dozens of entrance & exit ramps around here that are banked the wrong way. And the 300 ft high bridge built in an area that regularly sees 80+ mph crosswinds...

Actually I was coming back from a gun show (not mentioned previously) and had my legal carry gun, a H&K P7 with two spare loaded magazines, total of 24 rounds. I also had a 1909 S&W New Century, the first gun to use the 44 special cartridge in 1908.
As I said before there was no traffic in either lane for at least 100 yards in front and behind me, until the other driver decided he was entitled to ignore the posted speed limit by at least 25 MPH and risk a reckless charge and a $500 fine. Instead he chose to come so close behind me I though he might ram me. At that point I had made no signs, signals, or reacted in any other way except to check that the loaded pistol was where I though I had put it.
Any advice about when I changed lanes is ludicrous, the act was well planned and presented no hindrance to the flow of traffic whatsoever and in fact I was going 7 over the limit and flowing with all of the traffic except one idiot.
Any move by me from my present location and speed would have potentially created one hell of a wreck, and anyone who advocates such an action is a worse driver than me.
By the time the Idiot was all over my rear end, I was less than 15 seconds from the exit. I didn't build the road gents. I could have exited on 143 West several miles earlier but that costs me a fraction of a MPG and more potential danger than the Interstate under normal conditions.
I quoted Christ's response because it seems to be similar to how I would respond, but I have a virtually perfect car, and I am older, so the thought of a physical confrontation would mean a somewhat different response.
I generally stay off this section of the Interstate on my bikes and in the future I will probably avoid the same section, since there is little benefit in the choice.
Apparently the Idiot was satisfied when I changed lanes instead of hitting his stupid arse in his old piece of junk. I guess he thought I was deserving of retribution for not matching his 10 MPH over reckless pace until I reached the exit.
One of the reasons for this thread was to show that the actions of other drives may not necessarily be due to hypermiling actions on your part. The only hypermiling action I took was to coast in neutral after I reached my exit.
The bottom line is the incident was an example of the mental state of other drivers. You never know what is going through their minds. I as actually surprised by only one action, which was why the Idiot did not just blow by me in the right lane instead of creating an incident that had no rational justification. He is very lucky he did not decide to escalate his stupidity. In order to prevent that I did not turn my signal on indicating my intentions until he had passed the exit and could not turn off in front of me. Had I signalled earlier and he exited in front of me, I would just have continued on the Interstate.
It's interesting to see the responses here , especially those that seem to think there was some contribution to the incident on my part. I have seen drivers flipping out in cars at traffic lights, when my only "mistake" was to be the car that was behind them. I have seen the same driver put his car in reverse and act like he was going to back up into me intentionally.
A good friend had this happen to her. The other driver jumped out of her car and threatened to report the "accident" unless my friend gave her several hundred dollars. Instead my friend called the police and reported the incident to her insurance company.
Further investigation showed that the other driver had been engaging in this type of willful extortion and apparently many other drivers had paid the money knowing that when they were alone and the instigator had a witness they would loose the case in court.
The other driver had 17 such "incidents" in the last 18 months. The insurance company and legal authorities pursued and arrested the driver for extortion.
thymeclock, any time you are near eastern Virginia, you are hereby entitled to one free driving lesson, Son.:D. Of course that means you must also prepare yourself for a serious dose of humble pie, something which the evidence here shows you may have trouble swallowing.

regards
Mech

While I could not agree with this sentiment more, we could all waste the rest of our lives trying to get those in charge to actually fix everything wrong with roads. My first priority would be a ditch that is 6 inches from the pavement, with large mature trees a couple of feet past that ditch., but then isn't that the topic of a separate thread.

While we are at it, just eliminate all intersections, make everything one way, and grade the elevation changes so we can all hypermile along to perfection without our speed changing and subjecting ourselves to those sucky increases in aero drag. ;)

LOL post 2001, I guess this is my space odyssey.

Mech

Interesting comments from those who criticize oldmech for not turning the other cheek more effectively.

Irony?

a few weeks ago I was at a gas station with the suburban pulling a trailer with a car on it. I could only use 2 pumps becuase of how the station was laid out, and both cars were facing me. So, I gave a bit of space for the car to exit, and waited.
eventually the car pulled out, and a 20 year old dip**** in a mustang cut in behind the car.

So I nosed head on up to the mustang. Owner mouthed off, then I stepped out of the car (I'm 6'2 and 280). So the dip**** went into the store to pay, and wander around the store.
I struck up a convo with his girlfriend and friend in the backseat. She had piercings so I asked her how the fishing has been. I was friendly, and she mouthed off.
When all done, it was pretty funny.

15 seconds from the exit I would have just put on my left turn signal and let off the gas.

I think the speed limit is 65 on that stretch, right? You were doing 72. That guy has anger management problems. Maybe chemical dependencies to go with it. But you make a mistake in pivoting to return his plumage. You're not the old one [edit: "only one"] armed in Virginia. I had a friend get a gun pulled on her on I-64 once. Be careful out there.

[EDIT 2: I don't mean to judge... I have also lost my cool with aggressive people on the road... gave one the bird last year too. ;) I'm not proud of that.]

I recently had the pleasure of being a passenger in an SUV... one where the "driver" seemed to be about 70% engaged with his "smart" phone/30% engaged with driving. Every vehicle that came into view on the horizon was simply a reason to speed up a little more so it could be passed. And the "music" on the radio... that country "music". Oy. I thought my head was going to explode. Uncharacteristically, I said nothing, for fear that once those floodgates opened, the fury would sweep us all away. And to think this is the "norm" around here. That is why I have so little respect for people as a group.

It's still unwise for a motorcycle operator to return the hostilities being projected by an overly aggressive driver, regardless.

I routinely drive anywhere from 6 to 15 miles above the speed limit, following the flow of traffic as much as I can. When traffic is light, I generally settle for 7 miles above the speed limit. Even at those speeds, I still on a daily basis manage to get somebody who apparently loves my rear end. What to do? I generally ignore them.

It used to be that I did not like having somebody riding my butt. However, I got stationed in Italy for a good number of years. Over there, I quickly learned that riding one's butt isn't aggressiveness, as such. It's just how they drive. Also - straddling lane lines, backing up on a highway to turn off at a missed exit, being passed by motorcycles because they didn't even pretend to follow the lane markers, using the breakdown lane as a driving lane, having an Italian-style conversation on the cell phone (lots and lots of gesturing)... All sorts of things happened there every day, and Americans driving over there would either quickly get used to it, or get into a serious car wreck trying to respond to what they perceived as aggressive behavior. (I did mention that I was stationed there? That implies a continuing presence of some 10000+ American servicemembers and their families.)

Point is, responding in kind to aggressive behavior seldom solves anything on the road. Better to just ignore it or get out of the way. I know it's sometimes hard to ignore such behavior from the occasional jackanape. However, it surely beats getting plastered all over the road, especially if you're driving a motorcycle.

These stories make me grateful for the sleepy corner of the province I live in. I haven't seen any driving worthy of a "me too" post for quite a while.

(Not counting a near-right-hook on my bicycle last fall.)

The city where I live was noted for being "safest" Ontario place to drive in 2011 by the Allstate insurance company. It's not uncommon for people to pull over and stop at the side of the road out of respect when a funeral procession is passing the other direction, or remain stopped at a fresh green light to let a procession get through an intersection unbroken.

(Should note that the average age here is about 75 though :D )

Still can't beat Nova Scotians for courtesy (IMO).

But I avoid the interprovincial freeways generally, rarely drive at "rush hour" (such as it is), and that probably removes 90% of the red-mist "gotta get there NOW" potential ragers from my experience, automatically.

Not everyone can be so lucky, obviously.

Wow. Every time I've seen a loser on your highways, a closer look shows that they've got US plates.

Hey, I drive somewhat fast, but within reasonable limits (PSL comes to mind). That said, I don't cut people off, or drive aggressively, and generally change my "attitude" for the locale to save grace for everyone else on the road.

When you drive like a Yorker in Pennsylvania, Vanians think you're an idiot. If you drive like a 'vanian in York, Yorkers think you're an idiot. Spend enough time in either, and you tend to learn the nuances of driving style, so the opposite thinks you /less/ of an idiot. Courtesy is universal, though. Even when it hurts (inside) to do it, just let 'em go.a

I try not to go to New York, though, for personal reasons related to their laws and that I have to disarm myself to cross the state line, as well as some mix of personal experiences that were less than worthy of my continued venture there.

...the only "safe" driver is a TANK driver.

t vago -

I don't think Old Mech was riding his motorcycle. As you quoted, Old Mech is inferring he has two tires up front, or is his reverse trike already built?!?!?

I think the only "mistake" is reciprocating the bird, but I would guess we're all capable of that.

CarloSW2

I was an 11H when I was a kid. Armor FTL. :D

In your initial post you said that he gave you the finger and that you "returned the favor". And now you maintain that there wasn't any "contribution to the incident on my part".

We can read. Some of us are capable of remembering what was stated. Denial is more than a river in Egypt.

Listen to your own words and your lengthy defense of the incident, including all the bravado talk about carrying a gun. I am not surprised at your defensive follow up, as I sensed it from your initial post and prefaced what I said accordingly. You are not willing to learn how to handle such a situation differently in the future and in venting it here you are obviously still having difficulty letting go of the incident.

Old Mechanic, I have been driving now for 42 years and it is extremely unlikely that I am young enough to be your son. I doubt that I could learn much from you seeing that you are very defensive, in denial (see above reference) and resistant to admitting (or even considering) that you could have handled the situation differently. There is no reason for me to "prepare yourself for a serious dose of humble pie". In fact some might even construe those words to be marginally threatening.

You're right. It appears he was instead driving his car. I read "Vulcan" and was mentally viewing his actions as if he was on his motorcycle.


I've done this sort of thing when I was younger. My wife is a calming influence nowadays, and she also doesn't like when I show people that they're #1 on the road.

Clearly illustrating this dude has more balls than brains, as he is setting himself up to be run off the road. This is the preferred position for law enforcement to cause the target to spin out; with a simple right turn, this idiot would be spinning into the median. Of course you then have a fender wrinkle to repair....

UFO - same thought occurred to me. :) I've seen enough episodes of COPS to know a PIT maneuver set-up when I see one!

If i had been in a trashed ex cop car he would have become intimate with the hood ornament.

regards
Mech

On the bike I generally avoid the Interstate here and when I feel threatened by a tailgater I will just turn right and get them past me then get back on the road. Turning right in front of this clown on a bike would have been suicide by Moron :eek:. Pick your Moron :D.

regards
Mech

My wife is the same way.

Just saw an article saying 22% of Uhmericans think the world will end soon. We've seen for years that about 20% of Uhmericans vote against their best interests. So it's safe to say 1 out of 5 vehicles is being driven by a flaming moron.

Thymeclock apparently has the patent on what works and doesn't. A model of predictability applicable in all situations, ha! I'd say you blew your "objectivity", son. Rationality has to be handled rationally. Of itself it is no excuse to act irrationally . . one only has the evidence tendered by the OP to work from which, while decidedly un-rational (as a participant), was nevertheless offered clearly enough for to take off upon.

And the biggest point missed: he's driven on that road since it was new. A perusal of his other posts shows he's long used to assimilating new information. A driver of the sort encountered is nothing more than new information.

Something smells. And not just the a#*shole OldMech ran into. His type are all over the place these days. Usually IT guys still stuck in virtual game world (for my contribution of Who Is the Jerk).

Miss the big point and the little points are meaningless.

.

I'm guilty of driving aggressively, previously. I'm guilty of reacting and overreacting. I think I learned my lesson the last time. It's not worth it.

Would the small satisfaction you get from flipping someone off be worth it if it leads to a fight, shooting, wreck, etc? And just think if a completely innocent bystander got caught in the middle of the battle of egos.

I guess it feels good to say someone else is less than. I guess it feels good to say you're carrying a weapon and a driver that crosses you better beware.

The right thing to do is to try to get out of the way, "keep the bird in the cage", and call the highway patrol to report the reckless driver.

Thank you for the compliment! :D

I obviously was somebody's son (as were you) but I'm not your son, nor Old Mech's son (thank goodness). :rolleyes:

So what? That's not relevant. New things happen everyday, even on roads we are thoroughly familiar with. Who knows? He might meet up with his moron nemesis again someday at the same exit. It's a small world. Will he smile and wave next time instead of returning the finger?

I notice you got an attaboy thanks from Old Mech, which is really what he wanted: a place to vent that would garner some sympathy. Enjoy being his apologist. No harm in it. But no value in it, either.

I've said this before Frank, the world is going to end on December 22nd 2012. That's the day I'm supposed to recieve my first Social Security check, and the Mayans predicted it 500 or so years ago.

Plus I read it on the Internet, so it has to be a fact.

:eek:
Mech

Nah tc, I'll whip out my cell phone and collect some evidence, then have him summoned to court and convicted, so he doesn't kill your cousin driving down the same road another day.

There is your first dose of humble pie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hehe
Mech

Just watching the local news. Guy got killed when a tree was blown over in a storm and crushed his car. I was driving down one of the roads here in a 63 VW bug and noticed a tree moving to the right in my peripheral vision. It had been blown over by the wind. I had to slam on my brakes to avoid having it come through my roof. It just missed a school bus. Had to get out of the car and move the pieces of 2 foot diameter pine tree to get past the spot where it fell.

regards
Mech

The Mayan long count doesn't account for the leap year, which was introduced by Ceasar originally in 45BC.

Thus, the Dec 21 2012 should have happened 2057/4= 514 days ago, minus the 5 century years 1700, 1300, 900, 500, 100, on which there was no leap year. (Every 400 years on a century year, we skip the leap year. The next skip is 2100, 87 Januaries from now.)

So 509 days, or 1.4 years ago, should have been the 21Dec2012 referenced on the Mayan calendar.

Checkmate, doomsday theorists.

That's a praiseworthy admission. It doesn't matter how you learned it; what matters is that you are the wiser for it. :thumbup:

It's a wise man who picks his battles. Those who encounter troublesome situations frequently (not as rare, isolated incidents) are attracting confrontation in some subtle way, possibly by their actions or demeanor which is non-verbal, but discernible. It's best to avoid battles unless there is literally no other option. But such do or die situations rarely arise and are usually avoidable.

Several years ago while driving on I-40 through TN I had an 18 wheeler cut me off then he slowed down so I passed him, again he passed me cutting me off again. This happened 3 times. I just kept driving and soon came to a TN state trooper who had someone else pulled over, I pulled over, the trucker saw what I was doing and pulled over about 1/4 mile down the road. I waited until the trooper was finished with his business with the car he had stopped then told him what had happened and the truck driver tried to say I'd also cut him off, but I'd always been able to see his whole front end in my rear view mirror before returning to his lane. After we had our chat the state trooper told me to go ahead and leave and said he was going to have the trucker stay for awhile allowing me to get several miles ahead and told the truck driver he'd better not get near me again. This was a J.B. Hunt truck so I got the truck number/tag number and the next day after getting back home from my trip I called the company's safety department and told them about the incident. They assured me the driver would be dealt with and thanked me for the information. Just because the truck driver wanted to act like an idiot he lost probably at least 30-45 minutes of driving time and probably got reamed out by the company safety department if he didn't lose his job over it.

More Irony.

There sure are a LOT of people who are never at fault, and looking for who to blame things on.

The fascinating thing is they are completely desirous of HELPING the rest of us out.

Slowmover, I bet you and Oldmech have made plenty of mistakes in your life, and took responsibility for them. I try to do the same.

Others on this list don't make mistakes - they are here to help us out.

One-liners (quips) such as this are easy to make, but they add nothing substantial to the discussion.