Nominations for Worst Drivers in Austin (Bee Cave: law, dangerous, legally)

[CptnRn]

Suggest your nominations here. Later I will create a poll including those nominations and we can vote on who the worst drivers in Austin are.

My nomination: BMW owners.

Almost everytime I see a driver doing something incredibly rude and stupid, its a BMW automobile. Like the other day when one swerved across 3 lanes of traffic at a high rate of speed on Capital of Texas Highway to force his way in front of me at the last second on the exit ramp to Bee Caves Road.

[love roses]

People in extra large SUV's, like Tahoes and Expeditions, etc...This coming from me, a girl who drives a mid sized SUV.

[TexasHorseLady]

That small contingent of bicyclists who think the rules of the road shouldn't apply to them (they do, actually, by law, but these folks think they shouldn't and thus on the road are a danger to themselves and others).

[hoffdano]

Toyota Camry drivers (probably their 3rd Camry in a row)
Saturn drivers
Prius drivers
Full size vans with ladders on the back
Any car with a fish emblem on the back

All of those are tied for worst. They drive at or below the speed limit in the left lane on 55MPH+ roads, completely screwing up the flow of traffic.

[TexasHorseLady]

Any driver who thinks that "slower traffic move right" means "there is no speed limit in the left lane" rather than "the speed limit does apply in the left lane, you may legally drive no faster than the speed limit in the left lane, and traffic driving below the speed limit should move right". I move over and let people by who just HAVE to go faster (when I'm already going over the limit), but I don't pretend that I, and they, aren't doing something wrong by speeding. That particular sense of entitlement qualifies them as the worst drivers on the road.

[Pfhtex]

White Truck Man.

White Truck Man is very aggressive. You are guaranteed to be whipped around as he impatiently, almost frantically overtakes you. White Truck Man seems to always by liquor drunk, most likely Cuervo and some kind of "Ice Beer" chaser. WTM is very proud of himself and does, in fact, own the road. WTM displays these characteristics at ALL times.

[hoffdano]

Section 5-20 and 9-4 of the Texas driver's manual clearly say if you are driving slower you should move right to let faster vehicles pass. It doesn't matter whether you are going the speed limit or not.

9-4 says:

"Good driving practices indicate that vehicles in any lane, except the right
lane used for slower traffic, should be prepared to move to another lane to
allow faster traffic to pass."

[paul6835]

I tend to find people project stereotypes on others by car type that don't typically hold up to statistical analysis. That being said, I find people in pickup trucks tend to drive like idiots.

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by hoffdano

Section 5-20 and 9-4 of the Texas driver's manual clearly say if you are driving slower you should move right to let faster vehicles pass. It doesn't matter whether you are going the speed limit or not.

9-4 says:

"Good driving practices indicate that vehicles in any lane, except the right
lane used for slower traffic, should be prepared to move to another lane to
allow faster traffic to pass."

Translation in hoffdano-speak: 'As long as I can push with my right foot, no vehicle should impede my travels in the left lane'...never mind that I don't believe any other 'good driving practices' apply--especially the speed limit.

[TexasHorseLady]

hoffdano, where in the statutes does it say that the speed limit does not count in the left lane? Not the driver's manual (though it doesn't say it there, either), the statutes.

I am SO sick of people saying that the people who obey the law are the problem and that they, themselves, speeding merrily along with no regard for the limit because THEY are such GOOD drivers, are not doing anything wrong and those other people are the real danger. Poppycock! (Substituted for language that I don't wish to post publicly.)

As I said, this sense of entitlement, in and of itself, makes them dangerous drivers, because if they can justify this attitude to themselves, what other traffic laws that are inconvenient might they think can be ignored at whim or simply don't apply to them? What other laws not pertaining to traffic, for that matter?

paul6835, I will admit that there are occasions when I, in my pickup, drive like an idiot (usually trying to get out of the way of some fool rushing up behind me so that he can get picked off by the traffic cop that I happen to know patrols the area up ahead). But not most of the time.