Road rage is out of control (1 Viewer)

[Todem]

road rage absolutely shukes me. i drive now anticipating that people are morons, they are all texting and/or distracted and armed. so, i drive like i would ride the subway. no reaction, look at no one, zero eye contact.

This is where I'm generally at now as well. I am sure to give an appreciative wave to someone (like when I have my blinker on to change into their lane and they make room for me, for example) and an apologetic wave when I know I've done something wrong, but when someone else is doing something that bothers me, I've come to just stifle any impulse to let them know it with glares, gestures, etc. No good really comes from that anyway, and it keeps me from letting others have too much influence on my day.

Just yesterday I was on a street that goes through town and then becomes basically a small highway. There are two lanes in one direction and the speed limit goes from 30 to 40 and then 55. I was in the left lane - passing slower traffic on the right - and came up on a guy going 50 well after the speed limit changed to 55. I didn't tail him or anything. In fact, I kept extra room between us because it seemed he was driving just a bit too erratically for my taste. He kept at 50, so when the right lane opened up, I moved into that and sped up, passed by him, and was ready to move back into the left lane to pass another car in the right. But of course, the guy chose then to speed up to ~70 and keep me from changing lanes in front of him. I just happened to look over and see him glaring at me and shouting (or just mouthing) "A**H***!" Whatever. I figured I might as well stay in the right lane since he was most likely going to just ride side-by-side with the car in front of me, but shockingly he slowed down but still made the pass. So I got in the left lane, made the pass, came up to him and eventually passed him on the right again since it was clear sailing there and he wasn't budging from the left. Kept my eyes straight ahead and hands on the wheel as I did so. He already gave signs of being irrational, so no reason to engage at all.

1000%

 

[Todem]

I had an incident 20 or some years ago where I got followed home (didn't even know it was happening). I had absolutely no idea what was going on as there were no issues, close calls, honks, my entire drive home from work. At this point I didn't even have any idea how long this guy was following me.

The guy pulled into my driveway and got out. I asked him what I could do for him. I didn't even know he was mad or anything. Thought maybe he had a wrong address or something. He proceeded to start yelling at me for a rock that kicked up off the road about 5 miles ago while we were going down the highway. It apparently hit his windshield and cracked it. He brought me over to point it out. Sure enough there was a small spider crack on the corner of his windshield. I told him that sucked but what did he want me to do about it. He said I should pay for it. I laughed and then saw he was serious. I basically told him that I had no fault in this and wasn't even sure if that crack was new. For all I know he had it for a week and happened nowhere near me.

He started stammering. I wished him luck and I went into through the house through the garage and closed the garage door. I then went to the front window to make sure he wasn't going to try something and he eventually got back in his car and sped away. I never saw him again (thankfully).

I couldn't believe the guy was trying to get me to something about a random rock kickup off the road.

I wish we had a shocking like emoji.

That’s just nucking futs

 

[Snoopy]

I had an incident 20 or some years ago where I got followed home (didn't even know it was happening). I had absolutely no idea what was going on as there were no issues, close calls, honks, my entire drive home from work. At this point I didn't even have any idea how long this guy was following me.

The guy pulled into my driveway and got out. I asked him what I could do for him. I didn't even know he was mad or anything. Thought maybe he had a wrong address or something. He proceeded to start yelling at me for a rock that kicked up off the road about 5 miles ago while we were going down the highway. It apparently hit his windshield and cracked it. He brought me over to point it out. Sure enough there was a small spider crack on the corner of his windshield. I told him that sucked but what did he want me to do about it. He said I should pay for it. I laughed and then saw he was serious. I basically told him that I had no fault in this and wasn't even sure if that crack was new. For all I know he had it for a week and happened nowhere near me.

He started stammering. I wished him luck and I went into through the house through the garage and closed the garage door. I then went to the front window to make sure he wasn't going to try something and he eventually got back in his car and sped away. I never saw him again (thankfully).

I couldn't believe the guy was trying to get me to something about a random rock kickup off the road.

I wish we had a shocking like emoji.

That’s just nucking futs

 

[IvanKaramazov]

@IvanKaramazov

crazy.

I have done a decent amount of driving in Europe and while i can drive fast, i believe in flow- which often means great awareness of drivers around us, appropriate lane changes and merging, gaging other people's speeds, etc.

In one of these threads I believe I mentioned that there are rare occasions that I do not signal. It is exactly to avoid such a situation. At a current speeds a lane change/merge can be seamless and safe. once that signal is made, many people change their rate (becoming possessive of the lane)- hindering flow and creating ambiguity.

that occurrence seemed very avoidable

You're right, and to be honest I know that move and it just didn't occur to me to use it. Lesson learned.

 

[phandango]

We live in San Diego. I've driven my kids to middle school and high school for years, and I cannot begin to describe the level of idiot drivers we deal with daily here. There's a residential four-way stop sign where I walk my dog, and I've had cars slowly creep up to me while I'm in the crosswalk with my dog, waiting until I've barely cleared the road so they can go. When I'm on the sidewalk approaching the crosswalk, I've seen cars run the stop sign just to avoid stopping for me.

Drivers here will regularly turn left on red arrows just because why not. Red lights and stop signs are suggestions.

When I drive my kid to school in the morning, there will be a long line waiting to make the right turn into school. I regularly see cars use the left lane to bypass the line and then force their way in, instead of waiting like everyone else. I've even taken to memorizing the first few numbers and letters of the license plates to see if it's the same people. It always is. They let their kids out at the stop light in the middle of traffic to avoid having to go into the school parking lot. They break all kinds of laws to make illegal turns, and then their kids get their licenses and break all the same laws because that's what their parents do.

For me, I've found it to be a microcosm of what life seems like right now. I see the same drivers getting away with driving like a-holes every day, and I try to be the bigger person and let them do it, but at some point, I get tired of being the one who lets them bypass the line to squeeze in -- I'm not in a hurry every day because I leave the house on time and plan correctly for the thing that I do every day. So because I get tired of being the bigger person, then I start driving like an a-hole too, refusing to let people in, honking at the repeat offenders, yelling at them with my windows rolled up. It's maddening.

 

[nirad3]

When I drive my kid to school in the morning, there will be a long line waiting to make the right turn into school. I regularly see cars use the left lane to bypass the line and then force their way in, instead of waiting like everyone else. I've even taken to memorizing the first few numbers and letters of the license plates to see if it's the same people. It always is. They let their kids out at the stop light in the middle of traffic to avoid having to go into the school parking lot. They break all kinds of laws to make illegal turns, and then their kids get their licenses and break all the same laws because that's what their parents do.

I've been dropping my two kids off at elementary school for years now. Back when they were in Kindergarten up to maybe 3rd grade I would just park in the neighborhood and walk them up to the gate. As of last year I think, I was just doing the "drop off lane" which goes through one of the parking lots. Of course there are a ton of kids/parents walking up to school and invariably there's that a-hole parent that will just drop off wherever they damn well please because it's "their world, we just happen to be living in it".

My youngest is finishing up 5th grade here in about 6 weeks and I will be no longer responsible for taking anyone to school in the morning. The middle school is more bike-accessible so my time dealing with jerkward parents is about to come to a close.

 

[Todem]

Another thing I am noticing more and more.

Where the hell are all the state troopers (specifically FHP) down here?

Enforcement seems non existent these days. Like really……non existent.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

Keep in mind that I’m on the road 6-10 hours a day, almost every day so I will have many more of these…..


Two lanes come down to one, zipper method, it’s my turn to get in and judging by the way the lady’s car who’s supposed to let me in is moving, she’s clearly not going to allow that.

Time to have fun….

I roll my window down and do a gentle tap of my horn…

She rolls her window down and is visibly upset and lets out her own abrupt honk and a loud “WHAT!?!”

I look at her and very calmly say,

First- “it’s one and and one”

Second, “now I’m just going to go 3 cars ahead of you. Watch.”

So I go ahead and get in line quickly, thanking/apologizing to the dude behind me. A few second later the lady who wouldn’t let me in speeds past all of us on the shoulder screaming as she passed.

So because she thought I was doing something wrong, she then drives illegally and cuts in front of dozens of people.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

Another thing I am noticing more and more.

Where the hell are all the state troopers (specifically FHP) down here?

Enforcement seems non existent these days. Like really……non existent.

I think it’s still from when Covid emptied the streets. A lot of people started driving like they were on the set of I Am Legend and it’s kinda been that way ever since, except the roads are crowded again.

 

[⚡DEADHEAD⚡]

Another thing I am noticing more and more.

Where the hell are all the state troopers (specifically FHP) down here?

Enforcement seems non existent these days. Like really……non existent.

I think it’s still from when Covid emptied the streets. A lot of people started driving like they were on the set of I Am Legend and it’s kinda been that way ever since, except the roads are crowded again.

Totally agree. COVID changed so many things in our society/culture.

 

[culdeus]

Another thing I am noticing more and more.

Where the hell are all the state troopers (specifically FHP) down here?

Enforcement seems non existent these days. Like really……non existent.

The cost of enforcing it is less than the revenue it takes in. Troopers giving tickets on a 75mph rightaway is crazy dangerous.

 

[Todem]

Another thing I am noticing more and more.

Where the hell are all the state troopers (specifically FHP) down here?

Enforcement seems non existent these days. Like really……non existent.

The cost of enforcing it is less than the revenue it takes in. Troopers giving tickets on a 75mph rightaway is crazy dangerous.

We have a 65MPH speed limit on our highways down here.

We have people driving like absolute lunatics. FHP used to regularly enforce........not post Covid.

Seriously........they are dropping the ball badly. This is about public safety and saving lives. Our taxes are paying them. Do yer ****ing job. Revenue? So public safety is entirely about revenue now? The entire job description of our state troopers are to protect and serve. That means enforce and get these ****ing lunatic Fast and the Furious nuts off our roads.

You need to come down and drive in Dade and Broward county's on the I-95 and our turnpike. Then you will get where I am coming from. Your mind would be blown.

Chaos.

 

[Drunken knight]

FL?

it's been a while since i have driven in Fl (maybe 02 or 03). my impression was that it was a nasty mix of slow (older drivers) and speedsters who would drive too close to the car in front of them.. keep in mind i drive faster than most people. i still believe in prioritizing safety (space to allow reaction time).

 

[culdeus]

Another thing I am noticing more and more.

Where the hell are all the state troopers (specifically FHP) down here?

Enforcement seems non existent these days. Like really……non existent.

The cost of enforcing it is less than the revenue it takes in. Troopers giving tickets on a 75mph rightaway is crazy dangerous.

We have a 65MPH speed limit on our highways down here.

We have people driving like absolute lunatics. FHP used to regularly enforce........not post Covid.

Seriously........they are dropping the ball badly. This is about public safety and saving lives. Our taxes are paying them. Do yer ****ing job. Revenue? So public safety is entirely about revenue now? The entire job description of our state troopers are to protect and serve. That means enforce and get these ****ing lunatic Fast and the Furious nuts off our roads.

You need to come down and drive in Dade and Broward county's on the I-95 and our turnpike. Then you will get where I am coming from. Your mind would be blown.

Chaos.

I mean I live in Dallas. I've seen my fair share of insanity

 

[nightmare]

Safety. Troopers are doing less highway enforcement for safety. Mostly theirs.

I'm wouldn't put my life on the line to issue someone a $250 ticket so I wouldn't ask/expect them to.

You see some idiots doing the racing through traffic thing report them and hope for a response -that is
far more dangerous then the everyday commuters doing 10-15 MPH over the limit. If the traffic is flowing
in a normal pattern (but at higher speeds) then you have potential for more harm then good with disrupting it.

Enforcement is about situations. Driving 10-15 Mph over the limit at 3AM? not a high priority problem.

Driving 10 MPH over everyone else and weaving through traffic? That's a problem.

 

[Todem]

Another thing I am noticing more and more.

Where the hell are all the state troopers (specifically FHP) down here?

Enforcement seems non existent these days. Like really……non existent.

The cost of enforcing it is less than the revenue it takes in. Troopers giving tickets on a 75mph rightaway is crazy dangerous.

We have a 65MPH speed limit on our highways down here.

We have people driving like absolute lunatics. FHP used to regularly enforce........not post Covid.

Seriously........they are dropping the ball badly. This is about public safety and saving lives. Our taxes are paying them. Do yer ****ing job. Revenue? So public safety is entirely about revenue now? The entire job description of our state troopers are to protect and serve. That means enforce and get these ****ing lunatic Fast and the Furious nuts off our roads.

You need to come down and drive in Dade and Broward county's on the I-95 and our turnpike. Then you will get where I am coming from. Your mind would be blown.

Chaos.

I mean I live in Dallas. I've seen my fair share of insanity

Oh yeah!!! And you guys have open carry….lawd.

 

[Todem]

Safety. Troopers are doing less highway enforcement for safety. Mostly theirs.

I'm wouldn't put my life on the line to issue someone a $250 ticket so I wouldn't ask/expect them to.

You see some idiots doing the racing through traffic thing report them and hope for a response -that is
far more dangerous then the everyday commuters doing 10-15 MPH over the limit. If the traffic is flowing
in a normal pattern (but at higher speeds) then you have potential for more harm then good with disrupting it.

Enforcement is about situations. Driving 10-15 Mph over the limit at 3AM? not a high priority problem.

Driving 10 MPH over everyone else and weaving through traffic? That's a problem.

That’s exactly what I was talking about with the Fast and Furious comment.

We have people weaving and cutting off drivers going 75-80 MPH and these nutbars feel it’s too slow and are driving 100-110 MPH and killing people by clipping them on these crazy lane changes weaving in and out at crazy high speeds.

It’s out of control.

And it’s mostly:

BMW
Audi
Mercedes
Tesla

And massive Super Duty Trucks….just ****ing crazy.

 

[nightmare]

Another thing I am noticing more and more.

Where the hell are all the state troopers (specifically FHP) down here?

Enforcement seems non existent these days. Like really……non existent.

The cost of enforcing it is less than the revenue it takes in. Troopers giving tickets on a 75mph rightaway is crazy dangerous.

We have a 65MPH speed limit on our highways down here.

We have people driving like absolute lunatics. FHP used to regularly enforce........not post Covid.

Seriously........they are dropping the ball badly. This is about public safety and saving lives. Our taxes are paying them. Do yer ****ing job. Revenue? So public safety is entirely about revenue now? The entire job description of our state troopers are to protect and serve. That means enforce and get these ****ing lunatic Fast and the Furious nuts off our roads.

You need to come down and drive in Dade and Broward county's on the I-95 and our turnpike. Then you will get where I am coming from. Your mind would be blown.

Chaos.

I mean I live in Dallas. I've seen my fair share of insanity

Oh yeah!!! And you guys have open carry….lawd.

Most states have open carry. 99.999999999999% percent of people know enough not to do
something that would make a social situation "awkward".

I do not know how many people open carry in Texas or any other state.

 

[Todem]

Another thing I am noticing more and more.

Where the hell are all the state troopers (specifically FHP) down here?

Enforcement seems non existent these days. Like really……non existent.

The cost of enforcing it is less than the revenue it takes in. Troopers giving tickets on a 75mph rightaway is crazy dangerous.

We have a 65MPH speed limit on our highways down here.

We have people driving like absolute lunatics. FHP used to regularly enforce........not post Covid.

Seriously........they are dropping the ball badly. This is about public safety and saving lives. Our taxes are paying them. Do yer ****ing job. Revenue? So public safety is entirely about revenue now? The entire job description of our state troopers are to protect and serve. That means enforce and get these ****ing lunatic Fast and the Furious nuts off our roads.

You need to come down and drive in Dade and Broward county's on the I-95 and our turnpike. Then you will get where I am coming from. Your mind would be blown.

Chaos.

I mean I live in Dallas. I've seen my fair share of insanity

Oh yeah!!! And you guys have open carry….lawd.

Most states have open carry. 99.999999999999% percent of people know enough not to do
something that would make a social situation "awkward".

I do not know how many people open carry in Texas or any other state.

Ok you did not see the humor in my post.

I don’t care about open carry…..and in Florida there is no open carry fyi.

Road rage…open carry….crazy **** happening….that’s the discussion.

I was not getting political, I support the 2nd amendment and no…..I don’t want to take yer guns.

 

[Phil Elliott]

Safety. Troopers are doing less highway enforcement for safety. Mostly theirs.

I'm wouldn't put my life on the line to issue someone a $250 ticket so I wouldn't ask/expect them to.

You see some idiots doing the racing through traffic thing report them and hope for a response -that is
far more dangerous then the everyday commuters doing 10-15 MPH over the limit. If the traffic is flowing
in a normal pattern (but at higher speeds) then you have potential for more harm then good with disrupting it.

Enforcement is about situations. Driving 10-15 Mph over the limit at 3AM? not a high priority problem.

Driving 10 MPH over everyone else and weaving through traffic? That's a problem.

That’s exactly what I was talking about with the Fast and Furious comment.

We have people weaving and cutting off drivers going 75-80 MPH and these nutbars feel it’s too slow and are driving 100-110 MPH and killing people by clipping them on these crazy lane changes weaving in and out at crazy high speeds.

It’s out of control.

And it’s mostly:

BMW
Audi
Mercedes
Tesla

And massive Super Duty Trucks….just ****ing crazy.

It is out of control. But I see it mostly from cars that would not get top $ on trade in...and pickup trucks.

 

[nightmare]

Safety. Troopers are doing less highway enforcement for safety. Mostly theirs.

I'm wouldn't put my life on the line to issue someone a $250 ticket so I wouldn't ask/expect them to.

You see some idiots doing the racing through traffic thing report them and hope for a response -that is
far more dangerous then the everyday commuters doing 10-15 MPH over the limit. If the traffic is flowing
in a normal pattern (but at higher speeds) then you have potential for more harm then good with disrupting it.

Enforcement is about situations. Driving 10-15 Mph over the limit at 3AM? not a high priority problem.

Driving 10 MPH over everyone else and weaving through traffic? That's a problem.

That’s exactly what I was talking about with the Fast and Furious comment.

We have people weaving and cutting off drivers going 75-80 MPH and these nutbars feel it’s too slow and are driving 100-110 MPH and killing people by clipping them on these crazy lane changes weaving in and out at crazy high speeds.

It’s out of control.

And it’s mostly:

BMW
Audi
Mercedes
Tesla

And massive Super Duty Trucks….just ****ing crazy.

It is out of control. But I see it mostly from cars that would not get top $ on trade in...and pickup trucks.

Those "fast and furious" cars are mostly clapped out imports bought on the cheap and modified.
I haven't seen the out of control pickups. I commute 20 minutes each way to work(non highway).
In my neighborhood I have 3 pickups with aftermarket exhausts but I think the percentage of those
versus the "boy toy" racers and motorcycle racer wannabe is really low.

 

[Todem]

Safety. Troopers are doing less highway enforcement for safety. Mostly theirs.

I'm wouldn't put my life on the line to issue someone a $250 ticket so I wouldn't ask/expect them to.

You see some idiots doing the racing through traffic thing report them and hope for a response -that is
far more dangerous then the everyday commuters doing 10-15 MPH over the limit. If the traffic is flowing
in a normal pattern (but at higher speeds) then you have potential for more harm then good with disrupting it.

Enforcement is about situations. Driving 10-15 Mph over the limit at 3AM? not a high priority problem.

Driving 10 MPH over everyone else and weaving through traffic? That's a problem.

That’s exactly what I was talking about with the Fast and Furious comment.

We have people weaving and cutting off drivers going 75-80 MPH and these nutbars feel it’s too slow and are driving 100-110 MPH and killing people by clipping them on these crazy lane changes weaving in and out at crazy high speeds.

It’s out of control.

And it’s mostly:

BMW
Audi
Mercedes
Tesla

And massive Super Duty Trucks….just ****ing crazy.

It is out of control. But I see it mostly from cars that would not get top $ on trade in...and pickup trucks.

Those "fast and furious" cars are mostly clapped out imports bought on the cheap and modified.
I haven't seen the out of control pickups. I commute 20 minutes each way to work(non highway).
In my neighborhood I have 3 pickups with aftermarket exhausts but I think the percentage of those
versus the "boy toy" racers and motorcycle racer wannabe is really low.

I meant they drive like they are in the fast and furious.

Where I live (South Florida) the usual suspects in my neck of the woods (NW Broward suburb called the city of Parkland) we have lunatics flying in:

BMW
Audi
Mercedes
Etc etc

 

[culdeus]

Safety. Troopers are doing less highway enforcement for safety. Mostly theirs.

I'm wouldn't put my life on the line to issue someone a $250 ticket so I wouldn't ask/expect them to.

You see some idiots doing the racing through traffic thing report them and hope for a response -that is
far more dangerous then the everyday commuters doing 10-15 MPH over the limit. If the traffic is flowing
in a normal pattern (but at higher speeds) then you have potential for more harm then good with disrupting it.

Enforcement is about situations. Driving 10-15 Mph over the limit at 3AM? not a high priority problem.

Driving 10 MPH over everyone else and weaving through traffic? That's a problem.

That’s exactly what I was talking about with the Fast and Furious comment.

We have people weaving and cutting off drivers going 75-80 MPH and these nutbars feel it’s too slow and are driving 100-110 MPH and killing people by clipping them on these crazy lane changes weaving in and out at crazy high speeds.

It’s out of control.

And it’s mostly:

BMW
Audi
Mercedes
Tesla

And massive Super Duty Trucks….just ****ing crazy.

It is out of control. But I see it mostly from cars that would not get top $ on trade in...and pickup trucks.

Those "fast and furious" cars are mostly clapped out imports bought on the cheap and modified.
I haven't seen the out of control pickups. I commute 20 minutes each way to work(non highway).
In my neighborhood I have 3 pickups with aftermarket exhausts but I think the percentage of those
versus the "boy toy" racers and motorcycle racer wannabe is really low.

I meant they drive like they are in the fast and furious.

Where I live (South Florida) the usual suspects in my neck of the woods (NW Broward suburb called the city of Parkland) we have lunatics flying in:

BMW
Audi
Mercedes
Etc etc

Idiots here are in Nissan Altimas. It's basically a meme.

 

[Desert_Power]

The amount of dangerous and/or illegal things one sees driving on a daily basis has gotten out of control. There is basically no traffic enforcement.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

The amount of dangerous and/or illegal things one sees driving on a daily basis has gotten out of control. There is basically no traffic enforcement.

I like the people who just use the shoulder on gridlocked major highways.

I always hope they get busted but never do.

 

[jhib]

The amount of dangerous and/or illegal things one sees driving on a daily basis has gotten out of control. There is basically no traffic enforcement.

I like the people who just use the shoulder on gridlocked major highways.

I always hope they get busted but never do.

I usually just tell myself it's a doctor called in for an emergency surgery or a young couple with a pregnant wife in the backseat. Sure it isn't true, but it makes me feel better about humanity.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

The amount of dangerous and/or illegal things one sees driving on a daily basis has gotten out of control. There is basically no traffic enforcement.

I like the people who just use the shoulder on gridlocked major highways.

I always hope they get busted but never do.

I usually just tell myself it's a doctor called in for an emergency surgery or a young couple with a pregnant wife in the backseat. Sure it isn't true, but it makes me feel better about humanity.

I do the exact same thing.

 

[Gally]

The amount of dangerous and/or illegal things one sees driving on a daily basis has gotten out of control. There is basically no traffic enforcement.

And then I get a ticket for going 5 miles over while driving a mini van in the middle lane with people flying by me on both sides. Ugh.

 

[Gally]

My youngest is finishing up 5th grade here in about 6 weeks and I will be no longer responsible for taking anyone to school in the morning. The middle school is more bike-accessible so my time dealing with jerkward parents is about to come to a close.

Not to petrify you but those same crazy drivers will be going to the middle school drop off and now your kid will be navigating them while on a bike.

 

[Desert_Power]

The amount of dangerous and/or illegal things one sees driving on a daily basis has gotten out of control. There is basically no traffic enforcement.

I like the people who just use the shoulder on gridlocked major highways.

I always hope they get busted but never do.

I usually just tell myself it's a doctor called in for an emergency surgery or a young couple with a pregnant wife in the backseat. Sure it isn't true, but it makes me feel better about humanity.

We must be in a new baby boom

 

[nirad3]

My youngest is finishing up 5th grade here in about 6 weeks and I will be no longer responsible for taking anyone to school in the morning. The middle school is more bike-accessible so my time dealing with jerkward parents is about to come to a close.

Not to petrify you but those same crazy drivers will be going to the middle school drop off and now your kid will be navigating them while on a bike.

I've done dropoffs at the middle school and it's way less chaotic. Our elementary is smack dab in the middle of a residential neighborhood so it's just crazy. The middle school is on a busier street (not busy enough where I'm worried about kids on bikes) and just has better access. Less craziness over there for some reason. Plus just less people dropping off. Most kids walk/ride bikes in middle school around here.

 

[nirad3]

Thought of this thread yesterday driving home and got reminded of a time where I was driving home from work and had some complete jackhole speed past me.

It's a main road in suburban SoCal, two lanes each way with a center "lane" where folks can make left turns from. Said road passes another major artery and then goes down to one lane each way as it enters a residential neighborhood (homes on either side of the street) with the same "center area" down the middle.

Speed limit's 40 when it's a wider road, 30 when it goes into the neighborhood. So I've reached the neighborhood section of this road, going 30.. MAYBE 31.. and this big azz truck is on my tail big time. There's a car ahead of me at a safe distance. I look in my rear view and the guy is visibly agitated. Come up on and pass through a stop sign so now there was a larger gap between me and the car ahead of me so the a-hole goes zipping by me at a good 45-50 MPH and cuts in front of me. I give him the "WTH?" hand gesture (palms facing up) and dude flipped me the bird and sped off even faster. School zone, mind you. What a complete turd.

 

[Desert_Power]

Thought of this thread yesterday driving home and got reminded of a time where I was driving home from work and had some complete jackhole speed past me.

It's a main road in suburban SoCal, two lanes each way with a center "lane" where folks can make left turns from. Said road passes another major artery and then goes down to one lane each way as it enters a residential neighborhood (homes on either side of the street) with the same "center area" down the middle.

Speed limit's 40 when it's a wider road, 30 when it goes into the neighborhood. So I've reached the neighborhood section of this road, going 30.. MAYBE 31.. and this big azz truck is on my tail big time. There's a car ahead of me at a safe distance. I look in my rear view and the guy is visibly agitated. Come up on and pass through a stop sign so now there was a larger gap between me and the car ahead of me so the a-hole goes zipping by me at a good 45-50 MPH and cuts in front of me. I give him the "WTH?" hand gesture (palms facing up) and dude flipped me the bird and sped off even faster. School zone, mind you. What a complete turd.

What I don't understand is why local governments don't realize the windfall of tickets/fines from just having an officer sit and wait for these idiots.

 

[Rich Conway]

What I don't understand is why local governments don't realize the windfall of tickets/fines from just having an officer sit and wait for these idiots.

Is it a windfall, though? How much does it cost a local government to issue and adjudicate one ticket? Multiple people are involved, including the officer, a clerk, a bailiff, and a judge, at minimum. The last time I was at traffic court, there was also a security guard, two more clerks, and a prosecutor. Other resources include the police car, gas, and radar gun. How much is the fine for the average ticket? How many tickets is an officer issuing each hour?

 

[stbugs]

Right on cue, I just got a little taste of this in Albuquerque today. I'm accelerating up the entrance ramp to merge onto I-25. There is traffic, but nothing unusual. There is a car to my immediate left blocking me from merging, but he's going faster than me and I'm going to have plenty of room to merge behind him. Cool, easy. But just as my opportunity to merge opens up, the guy behind that guy intentionally speeds up to prevent me from merging in front of him. Pretty sure he did this as soon as I signalled, but I'm not 100% on that. For some reason, though, he really didn't want me on his interstate.

Anyway, I'm now out of road and I need to either get over or drive on the shoulder, so I just merge and admittedly cut the guy off, but he saw me, he saw me signal, I had waited for the first driver to pass, and this would have been a normal zipper merge had this guy not been a jerk. Plus my lane was ending in less than 100 feet. I really don't think I did anything wrong here.

The guy proceeded to lay on his horn, move into the next lane on the left (which was wide open the whole time), pass me, cut me off, and brake check me while flipping me off. My 78 year old dad is riding shotgun, so I just let it go. Eventually the guy went on with his day and I went on with mine, but I'm baffled as to why he did that.

Also, I'm driving a car with very out of state plates, which normally buys you some forbearance, but not this time! First time I've experienced this in probably 5 years minimum.

The funny thing is that this is normal behavior if you watch the road rage videos on YouTube (I do, I’ll admit it). Half the time, there is just a stupid person/complete **** they can’t avoid. The other half of the time it’s someone who doesn’t make way for a stupid person/bad driver.

I don’t want to call you the stupid person/bad driver but somehow you got to the end of a merge without getting over in time. Either way, the guy behind you could have easily seen what is happening and slow down and let you in. That’s what I do. I assume everyone driving around me is stupid and will make mistakes and I try to not let them put me into a bad spot. The guy who you cut off was being a **** like you often see on the videos. If he acts courteous, even if you did a bad job merging or should have merged long before, most good driver done want to get in an accident so we back off. That guy knew he was technically in the right so he forced the issue and you made him change lanes. Again, he was technically right that you didn’t have room to merge but he was a duck when he didn’t have to be.

I hope I taught my boys right because I’ve told them a zillion times to anticipate stupid drivers and just don’t put yourself in a bad situation. Just because you are technically not at fault, you don’t want to have to deal with being in an accident or road rage incident where your car needs to be fixed or worse.

 

[Bossman]

What I don't understand is why local governments don't realize the windfall of tickets/fines from just having an officer sit and wait for these idiots.

Is it a windfall, though? How much does it cost a local government to issue and adjudicate one ticket? Multiple people are involved, including the officer, a clerk, a bailiff, and a judge, at minimum. The last time I was at traffic court, there was also a security guard, two more clerks, and a prosecutor. Other resources include the police car, gas, and radar gun. How much is the fine for the average ticket? How many tickets is an officer issuing each hour?

Wouldn't all of these people need to show up to work either way? ... How is it costing taxpayers extra?
Unfortunately this has become the new mentality on the west coast ...let them steal, loot, break the law, and don't penalize ... because it costs too much to prosecute.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

This topic keeps coming up in many of my social circles around the tennis courts, not sure I see a rise in road rage but I do see a rise in people that seem to completely forget how to drive a vehicle the minute they get around other cars or traffic of any kind.

I can go thru a list of things these drivers do but I wonder if they are some of the same ones who are crying about the road rage they help create by doing absolutely ridiculous things.

Example...they are at a 4-way stop by themselves, there is nobody else at the 4-way stop and they are sitting there for extra time looking around like somebody might suddenly appear
I can see they are by themselves for at least a good many seconds long before I pull up behind them wondering why they haven't hit the gas pedal yet.

-Is road rage ever defined? Specifically what I mean is when can someone honk the horn and not expect to receive the middle finger in return?
Thanks!

 

[Rich Conway]

What I don't understand is why local governments don't realize the windfall of tickets/fines from just having an officer sit and wait for these idiots.

Is it a windfall, though? How much does it cost a local government to issue and adjudicate one ticket? Multiple people are involved, including the officer, a clerk, a bailiff, and a judge, at minimum. The last time I was at traffic court, there was also a security guard, two more clerks, and a prosecutor. Other resources include the police car, gas, and radar gun. How much is the fine for the average ticket? How many tickets is an officer issuing each hour?

Wouldn't all of these people need to show up to work either way? ... How is it costing taxpayers extra?
Unfortunately this has become the new mentality on the west coast ...let them steal, loot, break the law, and don't penalize ... because it costs too much to prosecute.

Yes, no, , maybe, depends... For instance, in a town near me, traffic court is separate from regular court. Same building, but different hours. If the town expects to adjudicate 10 tickets per week, their staffing needs would be entirely different than if they are adjudicating 500 per week. Ditto for the officers. If "basic police operations" excluding traffic duty requires N officers, each officer assigned to traffic duty means one fewer officer assigned to basic police operations, and means an additional head count for that shift.

To be clear, I'm only challenging the idea that enforcing these particular laws leads to a windfall in a lot of locations. That doesn't mean they shouldn't be enforced. Good laws should be enforced because they are good laws. I'm definitely not saying "don't enforce the laws because it's too expensive".

 

[DA RAIDERS]

? So public safety is entirely about revenue now?

New here?

 

[DA RAIDERS]

The amount of dangerous and/or illegal things one sees driving on a daily basis has gotten out of control. There is basically no traffic enforcement.

I like the people who just use the shoulder on gridlocked major highways.

I always hope they get busted but never do.

I did many many moons ago. I just couldn’t take it anymore. I only went 10-15 mph for about 5 miles down the right shoulder. Weaving in and out of entering and exiting freeway traffic. The cop was laughing at me when he pulled me over. I was honest and just said I snapped. We chatted for a bit, laughed and bitched about LA traffic. He wrote me the least penalizing ticket he could and I went on my way. Haven’t done it since.

 

[Chemical X]

What I don't understand is why local governments don't realize the windfall of tickets/fines from just having an officer sit and wait for these idiots.

Is it a windfall, though? How much does it cost a local government to issue and adjudicate one ticket? Multiple people are involved, including the officer, a clerk, a bailiff, and a judge, at minimum. The last time I was at traffic court, there was also a security guard, two more clerks, and a prosecutor. Other resources include the police car, gas, and radar gun. How much is the fine for the average ticket? How many tickets is an officer issuing each hour?

so, thru my wife's job we have a legal plan that covers traffic attorneys for free. my last speeding ticket was 2020 and instead of paying the fine, i engaged free counsel. apparently all they do is go to traffic court and try to negotiate down the ticket. my ticket had like 4-5 adjournments followed by an email that said my ticket was "reduced" to an improper equipment offense. i paid a smaller fine, but had no points or anything against my record. nothing better than paying police to show up to court for nonsense.

 

[Gally]

I don’t want to call you the stupid person/bad driver but somehow you got to the end of a merge without getting over in time.

The example you are referencing (taken at face value of course) was that the poster was on an on-ramp trying to merge onto a highway. They allowed the car even with them to pass them so they could settle in behind as there was initially plenty of room. The car behind (having seen the turn signal start to blink for a merge) proceed to speed up and block them from merging for presumably no other reason than they didn't want someone to merge in front of them. I fail to see how this description is on the merging driver failing to merge in time.


ETA: This is a far different situation than someone on a highway already seeing that a lane was ending and instead of merging at that time they speed up trying to pass everyone and merge at the last minute. That is on the driver trying to merge at the last minute.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

I don’t want to call you the stupid person/bad driver but somehow you got to the end of a merge without getting over in time.

The example you are referencing (taken at face value of course) was that the poster was on an on-ramp trying to merge onto a highway. They allowed the car even with them to pass them so they could settle in behind as there was initially plenty of room. The car behind (having seen the turn signal start to blink for a merge) proceed to speed up and block them from merging for presumably no other reason than they didn't want someone to merge in front of them. I fail to see how this description is on the merging driver failing to merge in time.


ETA: This is a far different situation than someone on a highway already seeing that a lane was ending and instead of merging at that time they speed up trying to pass everyone and merge at the last minute. That is on the driver trying to merge at the last minute.

I think it’s a matter of experience. While I agree with you in theory that everyone should merge over way before the lane ends, and let’s all be fair, square and civil.

However, in the real world, there are those jackasses who use the merge lanes and the shoulders and purposefully ride out the lane that ends.

This is kind of a hard one to explain, but if the traffic is light and I see a lane ended , of course I will get over before the lane ends.

If the traffic is heavy, I will not get over until the lane ends at using the scissor method.

As somebody who drives as much as I do in an area that’s congested like it is here, by not riding out that lane you’re literally just letting dozens and dozens of cars ahead of you and none of those people care about you.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

Guys, I think I merged just fine, but I'm not accustomed to a lot of traffic and I was talking with my dad at the time, so maybe I could have done better on my end. It's fine. No offense taken.

 

[stbugs]

I don’t want to call you the stupid person/bad driver but somehow you got to the end of a merge without getting over in time.

The example you are referencing (taken at face value of course) was that the poster was on an on-ramp trying to merge onto a highway. They allowed the car even with them to pass them so they could settle in behind as there was initially plenty of room. The car behind (having seen the turn signal start to blink for a merge) proceed to speed up and block them from merging for presumably no other reason than they didn't want someone to merge in front of them. I fail to see how this description is on the merging driver failing to merge in time.


ETA: This is a far different situation than someone on a highway already seeing that a lane was ending and instead of merging at that time they speed up trying to pass everyone and merge at the last minute. That is on the driver trying to merge at the last minute.

I think it’s a matter of experience. While I agree with you in theory that everyone should merge over way before the lane ends, and let’s all be fair, square and civil.

However, in the real world, there are those jackasses who use the merge lanes and the shoulders and purposefully ride out the lane that ends.

This is kind of a hard one to explain, but if the traffic is light and I see a lane ended , of course I will get over before the lane ends.

If the traffic is heavy, I will not get over until the lane ends at using the scissor method.

As somebody who drives as much as I do in an area that’s congested like it is here, by not riding out that lane you’re literally just letting dozens and dozens of cars ahead of you and none of those people care about you.

Exactly, definitely wasn’t meaning to say anything bad about Ivan but he did merge at the end of the merge and most people, including me, get annoyed about that. I fully take advantage of merges when I know there is a lot of room on the runway but I also try and tuck in when it won’t impact people.

My point was still that that guy was being a **** and sometimes to avoid road rage and accidents, you need to see that two cars are going to vie for the same position. Personally, road rage and an accident are worst case for so I’m going to reluctantly slow down and avoid the worst case. It still amazes me, watching the road rage videos, that people want to prove they are right so much that they force the other person to stop and often they don’t.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

People who drive 5-10 under the speed limit around town in broad daylight
Drivers who hug the speed limit on I-95 in the far left lane...

Flip side is sometimes I am driving back from the tennis courts literally exhausted and can barely keep up with the speed limits so I make sure I am in the right lane so people are free to pass me and I still get some idiot that wants to ride my bumper vs passing on the left, what the bleep?!

Drivers who do not respect some of the unwritten laws/rules, it's not our job to enforce speed limits and I don't think highly of people who try and do that.
-When i drive thru the Smoky Mountains, I like to cruise/chill but I don't try and prevent others from going the speed they want and I will literally just pull over into the designed pull outs and let cars pass, sometimes 8-10 of them just so I don't have anyone right behind me while I am taking in the sights. My wife and I spot a lot of wildlife this way, we seemed like the ony ones who spotted a small group of elk in the creek around Smokemont the last month when we visited.

Sometimes I'm in a hurry and it's quite aggravating to be stuck behind someone on a 2-lane neighborhood road that is going at a snail's pace when you just want to get home.
Where I live, it's a good 10-15 minutes thru some 25-35 mph zones once you get off the main roads and into the neighborhoods around me.
The agony of living in a golf course community with a lot of snobs that think they own the road, please pull out your tissue boxes, thanks

At the same time, I understand what it's like when you are doing everything you can to stay out of the way and you still get some idiot that wants to disrupt your good vibe.
There are two sides to most of these driving encounters, I have been wanting to install cameras on both my wife and my car so i can capture most of these idiots and also I think if someone knows you are recording, less likely to get out of their car and approach yours, just my opinion.

 

[Tau837]

he did merge at the end of the merge and most people, including me, get annoyed about that

Well, you shouldn't be annoyed IMO. The perfect merge when the left lane is full is everyone drives to the end of the right merge lane and each car in the left lane at the merge point allows the first car in the right lane to merge into the left lane. This is known as a zipper merge and is recommended by many state departments of transportation. It is the most efficient way to merge since it uses the full merge lane. If the left lane is not full, this isn't needed, so merging earlier is fine and should generally be easy to do without risk.

 

[Gally]

he did merge at the end of the merge and most people, including me, get annoyed about that

Well, you shouldn't be annoyed IMO. The perfect merge when the left lane is full is everyone drives to the end of the right merge lane and each car in the left lane at the merge point allows the first car in the right lane to merge into the left lane. This is known as a zipper merge and is recommended by many state departments of transportation. It is the most efficient way to merge since it uses the full merge lane. If the left lane is not full, this isn't needed, so merging earlier is fine and should generally be easy to do without risk.

Yes, that is what is supposed to happen.........but it never does. Turn signal is just a signal to the guy not to let you in.

 

[Tau837]

he did merge at the end of the merge and most people, including me, get annoyed about that

Well, you shouldn't be annoyed IMO. The perfect merge when the left lane is full is everyone drives to the end of the right merge lane and each car in the left lane at the merge point allows the first car in the right lane to merge into the left lane. This is known as a zipper merge and is recommended by many state departments of transportation. It is the most efficient way to merge since it uses the full merge lane. If the left lane is not full, this isn't needed, so merging earlier is fine and should generally be easy to do without risk.

Yes, that is what is supposed to happen.........but it never does. Turn signal is just a signal to the guy not to let you in.

I know that many drivers don't follow the process, either because they don't know it is appropriate and get mad at cars passing on the right to reach the merge point (e.g., @stbugs ) or because they are jerks who don't want to let someone in ahead of them. But it is the correct process, so no one *should* get annoyed about it.

 

[Fat Nick]

Saw another example of extreme driving this AM...Red Dodge Charger basically doing the "drive in the middle of the lane to occupy 2 spots" thing on 3-lane I-287. Then, at every available opportunity (I saw 2), he leveraged first an off-ramp, and then the following on-ramp to gun it and pass cars. He shoved in front of one car pretty badly merging back in after the off-ramp pass. This kind of thing is becoming more and more regular. It's to the point where if I see a Dodge car, I just assume it's an idiot driver. Challengers and Chargers are the worst...