Road ragers

[JulesMaximus]

So, I'm driving along this divided roadway last night on my way home, I'm in the left lane and passing a line of some slower traffic on the right but I need to merge to the right because about 1/2 mile up I am going to make a right turn. Anyway, I see a gap and signal that I'm going to change lanes when this idiot in a minivan starts to accelerate and tries to close the door so I can't merge in. The gap is still plenty big enough for me to merge safely though so I do it anyway. Now the idiot in the minivan is laying on the horn and the passenger is waving his arms frantically at me. I was probably a good 10-15' in front of them because I could see his front bumper in my rear view mirror so I wasn't THAT close to him. I just shook my head and laughed it off.

Was it really too much to ask that you let me in? Really? I signaled, I wasn't driving like an asshole, I was just another motorist going about my business and you get all bent out of shape for what? I made my right turn a couple hundred yards up and was out of your way anyway so what's the big deal?

About 2 miles earlier I was in the middle lane and the right lane was ending, a guy in a pickup truck signaled to me at the last minute that he needed to move over into my lane, I was way closer than the minivan was to me (I was almost up to his rear bumper and overtaking him), but I backed off and let him in because that's the kind of guy I am.

Why are some people such jackasses when they get behind the wheel?

 

[Jumpem]

You should have let off the gas and moved in behind them, not cut them off.

 

[purbeast0]

You should have let off the gas and moved in behind them, not cut them off.

fail

 

[JulesMaximus]

You should have let off the gas and moved in behind them, not cut them off.

That would have been difficult. I was moving faster than he was and the traffic behind him was tailgating him so merging in would have been worse than squeezing in the gap I did merge in at. Also, I was coming up on slower traffic in my lane and the vehicle in front of the minivan was tailgating the traffic in front of him (we're talking less than a car length between vehicles here). Besides, I signaled so he KNEW what my intent was. He was the one who decided to be a dick about it.

 

[dguy6789]

Most people are only civil when there's possible consequences for their actions. Behind the wheel(or on the internet) they are relatively anonymous so their douchebagginess will surface. People suck, etc.. Someone almost hit me yesterday because they ran through a stop sign and they were furious with me for some reason.

 

[PottedMeat]

The answer is to slam on your brakes, get out of the car, and scare the shit out of them by flailing your arms about and screaming. Then calmly get back into your car and drive off.

 

[AlienCraft]

Most people are only civil when there's possible consequences for their actions. Behind the wheel(or on the internet) they are relatively anonymous so their douchebagginess will surface. People suck, etc.. Someone almost hit me yesterday because they ran through a stop sign and they were furious with me for some reason.

BOLDED for truthy-ness.

 

[AlienCraft]

The answer is to slam on your brakes, get out of the car, and scare the shit out of them by flailing your arms about and screaming. Then calmly get back into your car and drive off.

Not in front of me, you don't.
If I'm in my car, I am prepared to run your ass over and take my chances in front of a jury. "Gee officer, who in their right mind gets out of a car unless they are going to try to hurt someone??" I'm willing to bet there will be enough people who share that thought to hang that jury.
If I'm in the company vehicle, I simply dial 911 and vector in CHP or County Sheriff to my location and let them deal with you. Been there, done that.
TSA regulates the Parcel Delivery sector of the Transportation Industry. Homeland Security can and does conduct random searches of Company Delivery vehicles for TSA regulation compliance. They view any attempt to stop or interfere with Company Delivery Vehicles as a potential threat to other portions of The Industry since our packages may be transported via commercial airliners.

It's awesome to see a CHP light someone up who has been following me on my bumper being a dick about some perceived slight. Only seen it once, but it was AWESOME!! :thumbsup:

 

[MotF Bane]

So you were in the left-lane bypassing the other lane, and you're surprised that they're pissed you just jumped ahead and want to go in?

 

[MJinZ]

So, I'm driving along this divided roadway last night on my way home, I'm in the left lane and passing a line of some slower traffic on the right but I need to merge to the right because about 1/2 mile up I am going to make a right turn. Anyway, I see a gap and signal that I'm going to change lanes when this idiot in a minivan starts to accelerate and tries to close the door so I can't merge in. The gap is still plenty big enough for me to merge safely though so I do it anyway. Now the idiot in the minivan is laying on the horn and the passenger is waving his arms frantically at me. I was probably a good 10-15' in front of them because I could see his front bumper in my rear view mirror so I wasn't THAT close to him. I just shook my head and laughed it off.

Was it really too much to ask that you let me in? Really? I signaled, I wasn't driving like an asshole, I was just another motorist going about my business and you get all bent out of shape for what? I made my right turn a couple hundred yards up and was out of your way anyway so what's the big deal?

About 2 miles earlier I was in the middle lane and the right lane was ending, a guy in a pickup truck signaled to me at the last minute that he needed to move over into my lane, I was way closer than the minivan was to me (I was almost up to his rear bumper and overtaking him), but I backed off and let him in because that's the kind of guy I am.

Why are some people such jackasses when they get behind the wheel?

This is a pretty simple situation. Why was the other guy pissed off? Because you got in his way. Why were you in his way? One way or another, it has to do with speed.

The left lane is for passing, the other lanes are NOT. If he's trying to pass you, then you were either being an slow ass on the left lane, or he is being a pure jackass just to get in YOUR way.

So your description is lacking somewhat in really assessing the situation.

Normally, when you signal to change lanes, you should already be aware of what the hell is going on. If you are able to change lanes safely, then just do it. What are you waiting for, someone to give you their approval?

When you signal and you know you are LOOKING for a way in, then you must wait for someone to LET you in. Most people will let you in just fine if you're in the left lane (you ARE in passing lane).

Not all drivers are jackasses, sometimes they are just DUMBASSES. You may perceive them to be jackasses, but they may just not know any better on how to correctly deal with the situation.

 

[BoomerD]

Fuck em Jules. I learned the fine art of close-lane-changing while commuting into the SF bay area.
First rule...NEVER use your signal until you're half-way into the spot you want...otherwise, the assholes will speed up and close the gap. 😛

 

[MJinZ]

Fuck em Jules. I learned the fine art of close-lane-changing while commuting into the SF bay area.
First rule...NEVER use your signal until you're half-way into the spot you want...otherwise, the assholes will speed up and close the gap. 😛

In those cases, I wouldn't disagree. If they are speeding up to close the gap, they should not have been such slow asses to begin with.

People often forget that road rage exists because of the fucking slow drivers that exist to CLOG the roads.

 

[JulesMaximus]

This is a pretty simple situation. Why was the other guy pissed off? Because you got in his way. Why were you in his way? One way or another, it has to do with speed.

The left lane is for passing, the other lanes are NOT. If he's trying to pass you, then you were either being an slow ass on the left lane, or he is being a pure jackass just to get in YOUR way.

So your description is lacking somewhat in really assessing the situation.

Normally, when you signal to change lanes, you should already be aware of what the hell is going on. If you are able to change lanes safely, then just do it. What are you waiting for, someone to give you their approval?

When you signal and you know you are LOOKING for a way in, then you must wait for someone to LET you in. Most people will let you in just fine if you're in the left lane (you ARE in passing lane).

Not all drivers are jackasses, sometimes they are just DUMBASSES. You may perceive them to be jackasses, but they may just not know any better on how to correctly deal with the situation.

I'm ALWAYS aware of what's going on around me. Moreso than most drivers on the road, which isn't saying much.

Around here the left lane is usually full of people just driving along. You'll NEVER see traffic staying to the right. I was signaling to let him know what I intended to do. There was enough room for my car and I did move over safely. I honestly don't know why the jackass laid on the horn.

Speed limit is 50 mph on that road. I was going less than that, traffic in the right lane was probably doing around 40 mph, I had to slow down a bit as I merged over.

 

[MJinZ]

I'm ALWAYS aware of what's going on around me. Moreso than most drivers on the road, which isn't saying much.

Around here the left lane is usually full of people just driving along. You'll NEVER see traffic staying to the right. I was signaling to let him know what I intended to do. There was enough room for my car and I did move over safely. I honestly don't know why the jackass laid on the horn.

Speed limit is 50 mph on that road. I was going less than that, traffic in the right lane was probably doing around 40 mph, I had to slow down a bit as I merged over.

That's good then, most likely he was just being an ass.

But I disagree with your area in general. Left is for passing. Right lane is for going slower than the speed limit. Center lane is for going the speed limit (at minimum). If there are only two lanes, you better be going the speed limit in the right lane or you are just fucking wasting everyone else's time. When they are not, you pass them in the left and get back in the right.

During rush hour, people will be traveling in both lanes. However, left lane should be going faster. And people should be keeping up with the flow - it's rush hour not fucking dawdle hour.

 

[nick1985]

This is why I drive with pepper spray in the glove box and a 12 gauge in the trunk. Never know when someone will go too far.

 

[F1N3ST]

I learned an epic lesson while pulling a trailer about 300mi round trip the other day! I was driving and the guy I was riding with said that if i very slowly get over without my signal on they will get over, and they did ^_^.

 

[MJinZ]

I learned an epic lesson while pulling a trailer about 300mi round trip the other day! I was driving and the guy I was riding with said that if i very slowly get over without my signal on they will get over, and they did ^_^.

Well, you can't exactly see signal lights on a trailer anyway. If you have eyes and a brain, you can easily tell when a trailer is attempting to change lanes. If you're an idiot, you might try to get in its way.

 

[God Mode]

I'm ALWAYS aware of what's going on around me. Moreso than most drivers on the road, which isn't saying much.

Around here the left lane is usually full of people just driving along. You'll NEVER see traffic staying to the right. I was signaling to let him know what I intended to do. There was enough room for my car and I did move over safely. I honestly don't know why the jackass laid on the horn.

Speed limit is 50 mph on that road. I was going less than that, traffic in the right lane was probably doing around 40 mph, I had to slow down a bit as I merged over.

The problem with exits is the meee meee meee people that clearly see a long trail of cars waiting patiently on the right lane trying to exit. These selfish fucks instead fly down the fast moving lanes and cut in somewhere right near the actual exit. I've seen these jackasses hold up traffic when no one wants to let them in since they were already waiting for a long time. Its not much different than someone cutting you in line at the movie theater.

 

[shortylickens]

Fuck em Jules. I learned the fine art of close-lane-changing while commuting into the SF bay area.
First rule...NEVER use your signal until you're half-way into the spot you want...otherwise, the assholes will speed up and close the gap. 😛

Ahhh, so thats why all these cocksuckers never signal a lane change!

 

[Spg]

So, I'm driving along this divided roadway last night on my way home, I'm in the left lane and passing a line of some slower traffic on the right but I need to merge to the right because about 1/2 mile up I am going to make a right turn.

So instead of planning ahead you decided to go past all the slow traffic and try to get into the lane before your turn? Maybe you could have planned ahead and not waited so long to get into that lane.

Would it really hurt you that much to slow down and wait behind the other cars. Because once you get past them you have to slow down to make a turn, which means they now have to slow down to wait for you to make your turn.

Or they were just jerk-offs, I will never know.

 

[FelixDeCat]

If it were me, I would have let you in because you signaled. I consider that being apologetic in advance for something that might piss another driver off.

We all have to share the road people! Be considerate as possible so we can get there - alive.

 

[MJinZ]

If it were me, I would have let you in because you signaled. I consider that being apologetic in advance for something that might piss another driver off.

We all have to share the road people! Be considerate as possible so we can get there - alive.

Exactly - especially because left lane is for passing. He passed and he's done, and if he's going faster than me, that would be just fine.

 

[Greenman]

Well, you can't exactly see signal lights on a trailer anyway. If you have eyes and a brain, you can easily tell when a trailer is attempting to change lanes. If you're an idiot, you might try to get in its way.

Don't know where you live, but here in the US of A, trailers have all the same indicators as a car does.

 

[MJinZ]

Don't know where you live, but here in the US of A, trailers have all the same indicators as a car does.

No one said they didn't. Their size however means you may not be able to SEE those signals depending on where you are in relation to the trailer.

Sometimes, you can not see the blinking amber lights, but you'll see the trailer making a deliberate move. For your own good, better be getting out of its way, one way or another.

 

[JSt0rm]

Fuck em Jules. I learned the fine art of close-lane-changing while commuting into the SF bay area.
First rule...NEVER use your signal until you're half-way into the spot you want...otherwise, the assholes will speed up and close the gap. 😛

so true. Road warrior that shit. They will understand your experience of driving in that crap and just be resigned to being 1 car length further from dinner.