Another A$$hole On The Road (AAOTR)

No big deal, simply Northern Hospitality.

 

Seems like 2 A$$holes.

 

Pumping the brakes is a seriously stupid thing to do. If someone is riding you, you just make them angry. And like you said, they then swerve over 2 lanes cut in and out of traffic just to get by.

It doesn't matter that you weren't going slow. You weren't going fast enough, and that caused this situation. Even when I am going 85mph if a car wants to pass on the left, move over, let them pass. It is not up to you to force the speed limit upon other drivers, or how safe you want them to be. That is up to the cop who is probably hiding in a bush a few hundred feet away ready to catch them.

Pissing off aggressive drivers just makes really pissed off aggressive drivers who are more likely to do something so dangerous as to cause an actual crash.

 

While I agree you shouldn't hit the brakes if someone is riding your tail, I wouldn't have moved over for this a-hole if I was getting ready to enter the HOV lane.

 

Hey Jack....
We probably pass each other on the LIE every morning- you going West and me heading East.
I now pretty much stick to the right lane till I get past William Floyd Pky because the tailgating has become so bad on the LIE. It's like your a poke and hindering flow if you're doing under 75mph (on a 55mph road mind you). Once East of William Floyd (85% of the "Alpha-Hotel" Mastoids seem to exit at William Floyd) the road gets much better and ppl realize they can pass you rather than tailgate for 15 miles.

 

Yeah, it's a barrel of laughs in the morning . I'm constantly disappointed by the selfish attitudes I see on the LIE every day.

The predominant winds have also been out of the North East and East in the mornings too lately- that hurts my morning mileage. On still mornings I get 88-99mpg on my 28mi trip to Riverhead, lately with the NE and E winds I've gotten as low as 72mpg. Today it was 41deg and just a slight wind from the NE- got 86mpg in the PIP.

 

Try to put yourself in the position of the driver behind you. It really doesn't matter what the truth is or what the road conditions are. A vehicle changes lane and gets in front of you occupying the space you wanted. You now have to brake to avoid colliding with this vehicle. You are an idiot (not you, the Hyundai driver) so you tailgate the vehicle to voice your displeasure. The driver in front in turn flashes their brake lights forcing you to brake even more. You were mildly upset before, but now you are full on road rage pissed.

I don't want to be on the road with someone in that condition. If I can help it, I definitely wouldn't intentionally put anyone in that condition. I wouldn't have moved over to let him pass but flashing your brake lights just antagonizes people. Flashing your brake lights does create a dangerous condition. You can say it's not your fault the other guy is an AAOTR. But there you have it, a dangerous condition created that could have been avoided if you had not flashed your brake lights.

 

That's why I drive in the right lane for a good stretch on the LIE with the PIP now. People here literally think they own the road with a total disregard for other drivers. The LIE (Long Island Expressway) is a 71 mile long 55mph three lane roadway that runs from the east end of the island to NYC. With that in mind (a 55mph posted roadway)- you get tailgated at 80+mph in the left lane, you get tailgated at 75-80mph in the middle lane, you get tailgated at 65mph in the right lane. It's just ridiculous- we recently had a crash on the Southern State Pkwy (a 55mph posted- very old two lane winding parkway made for cars only) where a young driver killed 3 ppl (but he survived)- he was clocked at 110mph!

 

There is no good way to deal with tailgaters. I normally just slow down a little (without brakes) and they still get really pissed off and speed around when possible.

I would love a bumper sticker that says "I brake for tailgaters"

I try to think of it as they have their child in the back seat and they are chocking and trying to get to a hospital. Its probably not the case, but at least thinking that I don't get as aggravated at them for driving like a DB.

 

Interesting, isn't it, that you have gotten universal support from fellow members that are Long Islanders and have the pleasure of using the LIE racetrack daily. The only real criticism you've gotten is from Prius brothers and sisters outside of the NY area.
That being said, I do what the fellow above said and just slow down so the dude driving his Hyundai hotrod (I mean, really?) will just go around. Braking in that situation is a no-no.

 

Understood. No quarrel. I suppose I'm just a bit hesitant due to the fact that I got reared a couple of weeks ago ... by another Prius!

 

I think a bit of both. It was stop and go @ the Exit 39 merge in the HOV lane and the guy just said "Oh, I guess I didn't stop fast enough." Guess not!

 

I remember driving in NYC on that East Side Expressway that ran along the river to get to one of the bridges (Williamsburg or Brooklyn) to get us back to Brooklyn (this was back in the Middle Ages when I had that Datsun B210GX) - the name escapes me now... the ex tried to get into traffic (I think coming off the Cross Bronx Expressway you yield, not merge in) and we almost lost the left front panel of the Datsun to a car that was motoring along - squeal of brakes, a lot of swearing from me at the pilot at the helm of my car).

I feel for drivers having to commute there and know the concentration of ******** is just greater due to the concentration of people.

Everyone stay safe!

 

Or to put it another way you cried wolf. You braking when you didn't have to brake means next time you do brake, he will be closer and less inclinded to slow down at all. Putting yourself at MORE risk. The distance between bumpers seems proportional to anger. When a tailgater gets angry, they get closer. Making him angry by pumping your brakes, gets him closer. And this has nothing to do with your speed. You could be going downhill and gaining speed. If you flash your brake lights, which in North America is the sign of "get off my tail", you cause anger.

I find that if in this situation, I use that brake light on with little braking power to my advantage. Keep it pressed for 2-3 seconds as if you had a legitimate reason to brake. Your speed will decline marginally because of the engine regeneration and of course physics. But not like you were actually braking. It will more than likely not be interpreted as an aggressive gesture (as yours was, asserting dominance over the lane).

And location has nothing to do with it. Everybody thinks that their town has the worst drivers ever. I have driven through L.A. in California, most of the Bay Area in California, down through Houston, TX on their super roads or whatever they call them, Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta, Baltimore, even in Manhattan itself. All over the states. People drive more or less the same. The only difference is the local "rules" that aren't and the actual versus posted limits. The first is harder to figure out. The speeds are easy or as they say "When in Rome, do as the Romans do". Or to use the full translated Latin, "If you were in Rome, live in the Roman way; if you are elsewhere, live as they do there".

We have a stretch of interstate that the "local speed" is 80mph to 85mph. It was at one point 45mph to 55mph legal speed limits, but people drove 80 to 85. It is now 65mph the whole way and shoots up to 75mph out of town. It is still 80-85. If you go 75mph in the left fast lane, 10mph above the legal posted limit, you will be tailgated and aggressively passed. Sometimes passed on the shoulder when it opens up into an emergency area.