Had to drive wifey to the airport at 3:30 a.m. to catch a flight -- last minute thing. Interstate 5 in Washington State was pretty much deserted, but that did not stop three different drivers at three different times from trying to "befriend me" at 70 mph. One came up on me -- he must have been going at least 80-85 -- hung right behind me for awhile, despite me slowing down to 60 mph. He finally got frustrated and whipped around me after about five minutes. I went back to 70 mph. Later, same deal, only this one hung in the adjacent lane, just about with the hood of his SUV even with the rear edge of my driver's side passenger door. I sped up to 80 mph. He sped up to 80 mph. Wifey keep telling me to slow down, not speed up -- but doesn't that go against the "man code?" I finally dropped to 50 mph and after a bit, he took off, but not too fast....had to be careful not to catch him again until he latched onto another unfortunate driver. More of the same 20 minutes later.....yes, I know drivers love to drive in packs on the highway (except for me), but really 3 to 4 a.m. Anyway, in addition to just being anti-social, I did not appreciate the lights flooding my mirrors. End of rant. I came home and at the many recommendations of Bob Wilson, once 5 p.m. came along, opened the El Patron tequila and began this spewing.
At that hour of day, police cars can be hard to detect, plus that is near the hour bars close in my area. They might be checking you out. Drive your own "race" and if the pack occurs use your good sense. Reads like you did good, including following your spouses directions. Good luck.
LOL, familiar story. Being a longtime interstate driver, I have no idea at all why this behavior is embedded in so many. It's as if an invisible force field prevents them from moving any further once they get to your bumper. Then the "Passing" behavior. Passing is a verb, indicating the act of going around another vehicle. Once they're beside you, slowing down, I wonder if they forgot what they're actually doing, feeling guilty about it, or that pesky force field has them in some kind of gravitational lock. Over the years, I've reduced my aggravation to a smile, a couple of shakes of the head, and nothing more. This activity takes place all day long on the roadways.
In a former life a long time ago, I use to drive to work around 2am and found that most of the other folks on the road were impaired in some form or another. Driving in general, I referred to this type of driving behavior as sucker-fish. Mentally, they are driving on auto-pilot just like ACC does except stuck to your bumper at UNsafe distances!
The solution is obvious. Change to the left lane so they can pass you illegally on the right. Happens all the time in Dixie. I attribute it to NC/MS bathroom practices in their drivers Ed. Bob Wilson
i see, reversed passing maneuver, clever. but, would that left lane change be illegal in some states?
I suspect the illegal passing has a higher fine. But I would tell the cop,'Sorry officer but I saw the deer eye reflections and wanted to avoid them.' Bob Wilson
