Small case of road rage.

RE: Tailgating, I find that by continually braking for no good reason gets the idiots off my butt! I'm also going to try the "splash the tailgater with wiper fluid" method as well!

I wonder what would happen if I added red food coloring to my wiper fluid. Hmm

 

Reading is obviously not important to drivers in the US... Most of my pet peeves about driving are people who don't read signs (or, perhaps more likely, know what the sign says but don't care)...

When there are two right turn lanes... "Right turn on red from right lane only". Stop cutting me off! You got in the left right turn lane, you wait for the light.

"Keep Right Except To Pass" and "Slower Traffic Keep Right"... these should be obvious. If you aren't passing, get the hell out of the passing lane.

"Yield". Is this sign not on the driver's test anymore? Mostly it's entering rotaries (roundabouts, traffic circles, whatever) in MA that people ignore it...

"Fast Lane Tagholders Only" (MA's EZ-Pass) Come on people. This isn't that difficult... you don't have a Fast Lane tag. Don't go driving up the tagholders only lane and then force your way into a real toll lane. Wait in line or get a transponder. Line jumping a**.

"Stop HERE On Red To Activate Light" Um... duh. Pull up to the line or the light won't change.

"Share the Road" Bikes are not targets.
"Bicycles Keep Single File" Cars are not things to piss off.

Oh, and to the State of CT:

Road signs are Good Things. Do us a favor, give more than a quarter mile warning for the exits on CT-9. The I-91 exit in particular.


As for flashing headlights... I'll rarely do it, and only if the person blocking the left lane could easily shift right and get out of the way. Basically, if I *could* pass safely on the right, they need to move. (well, as safe as passing on the right ever is)

 

My peeve is the guy who sits at a traffic llight on the inside lane THEN waits until the signal changes before turning on his left turn signal, which then traps the four or five cars behind him until the light changes, leaving them to wait for another cycle of the signal to proceed. Sometimes, the traffic line in the right lane is longer, so I opt for the left lane hoping that the car in front of me isn't planning to turn left (because his signal isn't flashing).

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jyoungprius\";p=\"87204)</div>

good opinion. however.. out of the hundreds of thousands.. let's make that millions who speed.. they won't simply slow down. Even i get passed. It happens all the time. If the car behind me is going faster than me, i move to the right.

NuShrike: someone agrees with me? *sheds a tear* hehe

kkister1492: good rule of thumb

ok.. old post.. guilty. I only check top speeds in areas where no car are present. i also only race on multi lane highways with no cars. if cars are present i won't race. mountain roads don't count. i won't race another car on any mountain road.

"Share the Road" Bikes are not targets.
"Bicycles Keep Single File" Cars are not things to piss off.
LOL.. well.. this is funny. however, california law states that in areas like two lane roads, bicyclist are supposed to ride single file.. but... if they are not, you have to cross that double yellow to pass them. If there is oncomming traffic, they have to swerv out of your way since what you're doing is perfectly legal. strange isn't it?

Flashing Lights: i've only done this in several occassions
1. huge group of traffic comming up on a few cars cruising in the fast lane with huge gaps in front of them because they are crusing. I"m not talking 70 as cruising either. 65 in the fast lane.
2. it's dangerous for that person to be in that lane. I have respect for all drivers unless they cut me off. then i have more respect because they could be dangerous or un predictable.... uh.. back to my statement. cars doing 55 or so in the fast lane while cars are barreling down on them. the prius lights are good for flashing. you are noticed quick and people tend to move pretty fast.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(FourOhFour\";p=\"87320)</div>

That intersection is part of my daily commute. I don't see anything lacking in the signage, but then I really don't need to pay too much attention to the same signage everyday. That entire intersection was upgraded 10 years ago or so when Route 9 was extended to I-84. What in particular do you find to be the problem? What direction on CT-9 and what direction on I-91 are you traveling?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(AnOldHouse\";p=\"87336)</div>

I was on 9 South going to I-91 South. I just remember the warning for the exit was a bit... short. 'course, I could have simply missed a sign. (And, of course, CT-9 there isn't terribly wide, so even with short notice it isn't too hard to get over to the exit)

CT does seem to like short warning for exits... Exit 2 on I-91 South for another.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(FourOhFour\";p=\"87434)</div>

I know the exits on I-91 are very congested down in New Haven, and I've heard other people complain about CT signage in the past in general.

The 9 South to I-91 South is not a combination I do daily, but usually weekly, in fact should be doing so late this evening. I'll check it out. I know there is at least a 2 mile stretch straight there on 9 before I-91. So it should be clearly marked.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jyoungprius\";p=\"87204)</div>

hum.... so.. the right thing to do is to not yield to someone if you are going the limit? around here at least thats a joke. i live in atlanta. most interstate local limits are 55.. most everyone drives 80 if traffic allows.. blocking someone at 55 (failing to yield) is likely to engender roadrage in the heart of a normal mortal who expects to at least be able to do 70 or therearebouts.. at least around here..

there are laws in GA for such persons.. failure to yeild to faster traffic.. even if the traffic is over the limit is against the law.

road rage stems from confrontation.. avoid confrontation and you can do a lot to avoid road rage.. confrontation can be someone cutting you off or you cutting someone off.. or someone blocking you by going slow or you blocking someone else by going slow and failing to yeild.. sometimes you can be as much at fault buy doing the 'right' thing (blocking someone else) as the other guy..

every once in a while i get in a situation on a multi lane road where the guy in the left lane is intentionally blocking buy matching his speed with a car in the right lane.. if this persists and is obvious in its intent.. i will eventually use the emergency lane to get around the 'blocker'.

my suggestion to those who wish to participate in law enforcement is to join the local police department or one of its auxialary branches..

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TotusPorcus\";p=\"87537)</div>

Hmmm - I'm beginning to understand where the "rage" stems from.

And your emergency is exactly what? Are you constantly late for things? Do you leave at the last minute so you have to hurry to get places? Are you a doctor with an emergency?

Seriously. . .

Do you really feel the need to risk the life of you and the drivers around you - all because of your impatientce?

I find it hard to believe that a court of law would side with your rational after an accident caused by you passing someone in an emergency lane.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not perfect either. I get annoyed as much as anyone when I can't pass someone in the left lane, but I certainly don't get aggressive and perform maneuvers which could harm others. I slow down and patiently wait for them to pass. To save a couple of minutes is just not worth the risk.

The next time I see someone racing up from behind, flashing his lights wildly - I'm getting the over! I want as much distance between that car and mine!

 

Suddenly the guy in the SUV who cut me off finds a black Prius close on his tail for awhile - just letting off on the gas I am. And he gives me the finger!

I hate the selfish drivers who race through the late amber and red lights when I and others are waiting to make a left turn and there is no green arrow for us.

I used to be a worst driver than I am now - this car has changed me.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(AnOldHouse\";p=\"87436)</div>

And so, I did check it out on my way home just now. I have to completely agree with you FourOhFour, the exits for I-91 north and south traveling south on CT-9 is inadequate. There is this empty 2 mile straight stretch from the prior exit. The first overhead signs are at only one-half mile before the exit. Then there's a set of overheads attached to an overpass (I-91 southbound) and the exit immediately follows the overpass...about a tenth of a mile.

I think the signage would be fine if it also included another set of overhead signs a full mile before the exit, especially considering it's to an Interstate. As I continued past these exits down CT-9, the next exit was clearly marked a full mile in advance, again at the half-mile mark and again just before the exit. And that was just for a secondary state route.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(AnOldHouse\";p=\"87161)</div>

Try that little stunt on the Autobahn and the Polizei will nail your a** but HARD.

I don't know if its something in the water, the air, the food, or whatever, but I'm really starting to get sick and tired of the CHILDISH and RUDE behavior of North American drivers.

At least some of this can be blamed on inconsistent and lax "enforcement" of the traffic rules. The rules, such as "maximum" speed limit or lane changes, should be hard rules, not subject to interpretation.

My pet peeves and solutions to them:

1. Ignorant and rude drivers cutting everybody off since their a** is in such a hurry. When the police pull them over, they should shoot out all 4 tires and warn the individual that next time, it won't be a TIRE they're aiming for.

2. "Junior Grade Traffic Officer" purposely driving slower than the speed limit in the "passing lane." That is incredibly dangerous to say the least, no matter what the speed limit is. Impound the vehicle and suspend the license for 6 months.

3. Pubescent Male With Small Penis Who Can't Get Laid Compensating By Racing Syndrome. That causes a lot of crashes too. Catch him the first time, 6 month suspension. Catch him at it again, cut off small inferior organ.

4. Tailgaters who are somehow "drafting" you, so if you have to brake due to an animal or child in front of you, they drive over you. Maybe rig up some HID driving lights facing rearward, right at eye level of a pickup truck driver, and flick them on.

I really don't get the aggressive driving I see all around me, maybe because I was never an aggressive driver myself. I've had two speeding tickets in over 24 years of driving, both cases my fault due to not noticing a slower limit entering an urban area.

As reflected in increasing insurance rates, this stupid behavior is really costing us. Most of the people committing this behavior are small insignificant creatures with major problems to deal with, so they compensate by driving a large vehicle in a highly reckless manner.

At least when you ride a horse, the horse usually has enough common sense and sense of self-preservation to prohibit you from doing anything really stupid.

I'm all for a fully automated and remotely monitored road system. Every metre of road has speed sensors and if you're blazing along, you can expect a ticket in the mail next month. For the most part, have the car drive itself. It's no secret that over 90% of car crashes (There is no such thing as an "accident") are human error.

Why do you think air travel has become so safe, despite a many-fold increase in air traffic? The federal airspace is one of the most highly regulated and enforced areas of our lives.

If a pilot of a Boeing 777 tried the same stunts I see going on everyday on the highways, his career would be permanently over. Especially since all the investigating authority would have to do is pull the Quick Access Cartridge and review every single control input.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TotusPorcus\";p=\"87537)</div>

hum.... so.. the right thing to do is to not yield to someone if you are going the limit? around here at least thats a joke. i live in atlanta. most interstate local limits are 55.. most everyone drives 80 if traffic allows.. blocking someone at 55 (failing to yield) is likely to engender roadrage in the heart of a normal mortal who expects to at least be able to do 70 or therearebouts.. at least around here..

there are laws in GA for such persons.. failure to yeild to faster traffic.. even if the traffic is over the limit is against the law.

road rage stems from confrontation.. avoid confrontation and you can do a lot to avoid road rage.. confrontation can be someone cutting you off or you cutting someone off.. or someone blocking you by going slow or you blocking someone else by going slow and failing to yeild.. sometimes you can be as much at fault buy doing the 'right' thing (blocking someone else) as the other guy..

every once in a while i get in a situation on a multi lane road where the guy in the left lane is intentionally blocking buy matching his speed with a car in the right lane.. if this persists and is obvious in its intent.. i will eventually use the emergency lane to get around the 'blocker'.

my suggestion to those who wish to participate in law enforcement is to join the local police department or one of its auxialary branches..[/b][/quote]

How sad is a society in which we have to break the law so that others won't get upset and cause a wreck? And how bad is it to have a system that punishes the person obeying the law and not the person driving 20 mph faster than the speed limit and endangering lives?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(micheal\";p=\"88007)</div>

What the heck are you talking about?

How does "the system" punish you for obeying the law? Have you received a ticket for doing the speed limit?

Are you really suggesting that if you were going the speed limit and someone blew past you doing "20 mph faster that the speed limit and endangering lives" the cop would give YOU a ticket?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(micheal\";p=\"88007)</div>

In America almost everyone thinks he's a rugged individualist cowboy who is alone on the highway. Americans have never learned to live with others--there's been just too much f***ing room to move on when you find you cannot get along with other humans. The room is no longer there, but the rank stupidity remains. Indeed, the freeeway system is itself a monument to Americans' lack of ability to coordinate with others. Where you could have rail mass transit and rationally-planned zoning laws, we have instead traffic jams of dumb-nice person cowboys riding single in their 6000 lb expressions of American Freedom.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DanP\";p=\"88014)</div>

The Toyota brochure says my Pri-horse is 2,890 lbs.

Yeeha! :mrgreen:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(heliotropehead\";p=\"87317)</div>

I've had my admittedly passive-aggressive behavior negatively remarked on no less than 3 times here for saying that I slow down very subtly by one or two mph when I get headlights flashed in the left lane, there's traffic directly ahead of me as well as in the lane to the immediate right.

Yet, this post about brake-lighting in response to tailgating, splashing wiper fluid and possibly even using red food color has been here for three days now without so much as one comment. Hmmmm....

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(AnOldHouse\";p=\"88020)</div>

Make it four...

You should move over to the right lane instead of blocking traffic.

The fact that four of us have mentioned this and no one said anything about the windshield water treatment is that people who drive like you do irritate the living hell out of the best of us.

It's one thing to have and respond to tailgaters when you are driving correctly and politely, but when you position yourself in a lane and situation that you can avoid you will get no sympathy.

That's my two cents (and I've been told that I don't overcharge for it).

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(majordude\";p=\"88024)</div>

Make it four...

You should move over to the right lane instead of blocking traffic.

The fact that four of us have mentioned this and no one said anything about windshield water treatment is that people who drive like you do irritate the living hell out of the best of us.

It's one thing to have and respond to tailgaters when you are driving correctly and politely, but when you position yourself in a lane and situation that you can avoid you will get no sympathy.

That's my two cents (and I've been told that I don't overcharge for it).[/b][/quote]

As I stated previously, the situation is that there is traffic both directly in front of me AND traffic that I would have to attempt to merge into directly to my right.

In this situation, my moving to the right would 1) involve slowing down anyway, and 2) the offending idiot with the flashing headlights who thinks he owns exclusive use of the left lane would only assume the same "slot" I had and then flash the next car immediately ahead.

If there were no traffic in the lane to the immediate right, I would have been there to begin with. And it's not as though I'm aggressively hitting the brakes just because someone has crawled up on my tail...the other post wasn't just about wiper spray.

Seems like I've pushed a few "buttons" here with a few chronic headlight flashers/left lane hogs.

 

It's because I'm female, young & cute. I get away with everything. :lol: :roll:

The only reason I wouldn't try the red food coloring trick is because I'd be forced to wash my own car afterwards. If I knew for sure it wouldn't damage anything, I might try it as a prank on one of my friends. As for braking when being tailgated, this happens in the right lane more times than not. I use the the left lane for passing and left turns only... otherwise, my butt is where it should be... in the right lane going the speed limit or close to it.