[Parrothead]

TexasT, Bravo! You did the right thing!!! Dad was California Highway Patrol for 31 years and taught me well - let the idiot go!

That said, is it just me or is the use of turn signals either illegal or a sign of aggression these days? Out here in Vegas it seems like nobody uses them anymore and anytime I try to use it someone thinks I'm trying to take their sacred spot in traffic and refuses to let me in!!!

[.22hustler]

On my way home from a antique show Sunday, I was traveling between 5-10 over the limit,(55).On my left a blonde with a cell phone stuck in her ear blows by at about 80. And I of course say to myself,"where's the troopers when you want one". Well, the troopers I were wishing for had this blonde pulled over about two miles down the road. As I went by, being the gentleman that I am,I honked the horn, and waved.And by the way, doing 5-10 over the limit here in NY on a expressway will NEVER get you a ticket. Our wonderful boys in gray start disliking your speed at about 15 over. And I'm not being sarcastic about the comment of "our boys in gray".Thses wonderful guys have my support and prayers every day.

[TexasT]

Quote:       Originally Posted by thomasaj

i am hating merging more and more lately because no one does there half. SPEED UP SLOW DOWN OR GET OVER

I usually get over if there's an opportunity and I don't have to take the exit. I do not, however, adjust my speed when there plenty of room behind me to for someone to merge safely. Especially when I'm in front of them in my lane and they don't want to ease off the gas to slide into traffic and go on about their business. It's the responsibility of the person entering the ramp to speed up or slow down to merge. I usually only brake if traffic is really heavy, I can't get over, or the person entering the ramp has no chance of ever getting on the freeway unless I slow down and let them in. If he were actually in front of me I would have let him merge. It's not my fault his car didn't have enough power to overtake me and I was cruising on 65 mph. An entrance ramp is not an automatic ticket to the highway. If you can't make it safely onto the highway you need to slow down or stop there until it's safe. I was not trying to get in an accident. I don't play cat and mouse games on the road.

[tlarkin]

Always be careful of who you mess with on the highway or road systems...this video here is proof. It is kind of long, but in the end its worth it.

YouTube - A couple of rednecks get OWNED!

YouTube - A couple of rednecks get OWNED!

You never know what they are capable of.

[.22hustler]

If I see a car on the merging lane, and he's in front of me, I'll let him in, naturally. If he's behind me, and there's room, he can merge behind me. I NEVER, touch the brakes in a driving lane on an expressway. This can cause all sorts of trouble for everyone behind you, as they just might have white-line fever, and not be able to re-act in time, either positively or negatively.

[BunnyWabbit]

I bet the jerk didn't even use his blinker when he merged.

I have a bad habit of speeding up when they try to pass and cut me off. Can't catch me !!!!!!! zoom zoom !!!!!!

[sell33]

Quote:       Originally Posted by Cyrano

TexasT, you did the right thing. You don't need to get into it with a jackass driver. If he keeps driving like that the state police or the Txas Rangers or somebody will bust him for you; and if you're lucky you'll get to see it. Years ago, I had occasion to drive from New Hampshire out to Syracuse, NY. I was cruising along on I-90 West right at the speed limit, clear road with no traffice to mention, and a Cadillac came roaring up behind me. He waited until the last second to jump into the passing lane and blow on by like I was standing still. He had to be doing at least 100 mph. He cut back into the travel lane and rapidly disappeared around a curve ahead of me. "That clown is just begging for a speeding ticket," I thought to myself. "Where's a state trooper when you need one?" About 5 miles up the road I came around a long, shallow curve. And there I saw it: the Caddy that had blown by me was pulled off the side of the road by a State Police interceptor, its lights a-flashin' and the state trooper standing back of the driver's side window with his ticket book out, writing away. I got a look at the driver's face as I cruised past. He looked kind of grim. I figure that the way speeding fines were structured then, he had to be looking at something between $250 and $300 in fines just for the speed, plus more money if the cop cited him for reckless driving as they sometimes do for really excessive speeds, plus points on his license toward suspension or revocaton. Maybe even jail time, if he was a repeat offender. Sometimes the universe does do something nice, just for you. I just hope it did something about that miserable swine who almost hit you, T.

About 4 years ago i was on the way back from a soccer game going down I70 and a little car went around us doing at least 100. I thought the same thing you did. 5 miles up said little car was a twisted pile of metal against a guard rail. Somehow the guy musta not been hurt because about 50 yds off of the road were about 5 cops with guns drawn and a dog running towards a woodline...not sure what the situation was but must not of been good.

[7mmremmag1995]

next time someone does that, RUN HIM OVER!!!!!

[Cyrano]

Reckless drivers are a menace, and the hell of it is they usually cause accidents rather than being involved in them themselves. But it doesn't always work out that way.

We were driving along the Merritt Parkway in Connecticut one Saturday afternoon about 15 years ago. The Merritt was built in the 1930s to connect Hartford, CT with New York City via the Hutchinson Parkway. It's a four lane highway with no breakdown lanes and a median strip with trees in it. The bridges that cross the Merritt are examples of WPA art. No two are alike, and range from one done with cast iron rails in the shape of grapevines to another that has aluminum Art Deco ornamentation. Driving along it is a cross between a trip to an art museum and a drive in the country. It was designed back in the days when 50 MPH was fast. Today, although the Merritt is still posted for 50 MPH, the average speed is close to 62, and even that's not fast enough for some people.

We were cruising with the flow when a BMW sports car blew by us and nearly took my door off. We watched it dodge through a cluster of cars in front of us like it was in a NASCAR race to a chorus of screeching brakes, squealing tires, fishtailing rear ends and blaring horns. The Beamer disappeared around a bend at Warp Nine, heading downhill on the highway.

"That guy is an accident waiting to happen," said my wife, prying her fingers loose from the armrest. "He keeps driving like that, he's going to end up squished like a bug."

About a mile up the road, traffic suddenly came to a halt for no apparent reason. We crawled slowly forward for another mile, came over the crest of a hill and then we saw it. There was an accident at the bottom of the hill, with the state police in attendance. I kept going forward, because I could not change lanes and in any case both lanes were still open. As we eased past the wreck at the side of the road, my wife got a good look at it. It was the same BMW that had almost creamed us a couple of miles back - but it was bent all to hellandgone, the roof was squashed down to the top of the doors, and there was red stuff dripping onto the pavement. And a state trooper was hanging over the fender, puking his guts out.

It was the better part of a year before my wife shook the conviction she had wished the stupid bastard dead.

[just_a_car]

Quote:       Originally Posted by thomasaj

i am hating merging more and more lately because no one does there half. SPEED UP SLOW DOWN OR GET OVER

I hear ya, thomas... I live in WA, too. We have some serious driver-competency issues. I mean, I drive fast (and I mean... FAST), but I do it safely. I never go faster than I know I can control my vehicle. But then you get people going the same speed as everyone else in the passing lane with 10-20 car lengths ahead of them and they wonder why the person behind them is tailgating them.

I really need to make up the bumper sticker that I thought up a while back:

I'm not tailgating...
I'M DRAFTING!

[TexasT]

Quote:       Originally Posted by just_a_car

I hear ya, thomas... I live in WA, too. We have some serious driver-competency issues. I mean, I drive fast (and I mean... FAST), but I do it safely. I never go faster than I know I can control my vehicle. But then you get people going the same speed as everyone else in the passing lane with 10-20 car lengths ahead of them and they wonder why the person behind them is tailgating them. I really need to make up the bumper sticker that I thought up a while back: I'm not tailgating... I'M DRAFTING!

I have not problem with people driving fast as long as they stay in one lane. When people are driving above the speed limit and weaving in and out of traffic that's when I get pissed. I stay in the right or middle lane when driving. I used to drive only in the left lane because I was usually driving faster than everybody else, but I've slowed down a lot as of recently. Now I drive in slower lanes at the speed limit.

[just_a_car]

I do "weave", but only when I'm coming up on someone in the passing lane that doesn't move over and it's safer for me to just turn on my turn signal and go around them in the lane to the right of them than to slam on my brakes.

Trust me, I signal way more than necessary ahead of time to indicate my intentions and I do my lane changes with as much space between all vehicles involved as possible. Not trying to defend my actions, as I see them as acceptable, but explaining that not all "weaving" is a bad thing, sometimes it's the safest.

[TexasT]

Quote:       Originally Posted by just_a_car

I do "weave", but only when I'm coming up on someone in the passing lane that doesn't move over and it's safer for me to just turn on my turn signal and go around them in the lane to the right of them than to slam on my brakes. Trust me, I signal way more than necessary ahead of time to indicate my intentions and I do my lane changes with as much space between all vehicles involved as possible. Not trying to defend my actions, as I see them as acceptable, but explaining that not all "weaving" is a bad thing, sometimes it's the safest.

I don't mind people driving fast getting in front of me either. Just as long as they aren't driving fast and cutting me off. By weaving I mean those people that ride on the line, cut ppl off dangerously, and cross 3 lanes of traffic without signaling.

[just_a_car]

Quote:       Originally Posted by TexasT

I don't mind people driving fast getting in front of me either. Just as long as they aren't driving fast and cutting me off. By weaving I mean those people that ride on the line, cut ppl off dangerously, and cross 3 lanes of traffic without signaling.

Agreed... last time I called 911 was to report someone doing all of the things you just mentioned.