Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Sorry you got it backwards , the guy driving behind did not have the maturity to assess the situation and change his behavior, he is the one who could have incited road rage.
I see now why we have so many bad drivers now with them thinking the car driving well is the problem.
If you want to go faster and you can't be bigger than a mental toddler and slow down.
This right here. One way to make the roads safer is to get over this attitude on the part of a lot of people who, sad to say, are driving multi-ton vehicles on the roadway, and, as a society (and that includes our legislative and law enforcement branches, as well as some parenting that is not of the "the universe revolves around you" school of thought when it would do the most good) make it crystal clear to them who is at fault in situations like this.
I'll share what happened to me once. I used to live in Chicago, I was driving home from work on a two lane main city street, bumper to bumper traffic. Two cars in front of me started b*tch fighting with each other, Car #1 kept hitting his brakes, car #2 was aggressively tailgating. (I was behind car #2)
I dropped back as much as I could, but it was rush hour, I was pretty much trapped behind these two a$$hats. We came to a traffic light. Driver #1 flung open his door, and I saw a leg emerge from the car. Driver #2 leaned over, popped his glove box and pulled out a gun. Time suddenly got VERY slow for the driver of car #3, me. I am not a religous person, but I started praying out loud, "Please Jesus, make him get back in his car" Jesus must have been listening, because the light changed and the driver in car #1 slammed his car door and turned off at the cross street. The driver of car #2 put his gun back in the glove box and calmly drove away.
What about the people that want you to pass, but its not safe to pass, and they keep going slower?
There is a 7 mile stretch of 2 lane winding road between my house and the town with all the stores. For some reason I always come up behind someone going 55 or so. Speed limit is 70. I don't mind going this slow. I generally only do 60 on this road. You never know what is going to pop up - loose horses, hogs, farm equipment, mail man, the list goes.
So these slower people keep slowing down wanting me to pass. There are lots of no passing sections and a couple of bridges too. Sheesh - very irritating. Just keep on going. I never move over if someone wants to pass. I refuse to take the chance of losing control on the gravel shoulder. They can pass when its clear.
Personally, I don't see the downside in pulling over to the ample shoulder and letting the guy pass. Road rage isn't something that people choose to have. They don't get in the car hoping to get into a situation that stresses them out - it just happens naturally, because people are wired differently. Pull over, let him pass, and he'll be out of your hair.
Something doesn't quite add up for me though. You say that there was another car in front of you, so if the road rager passed you then he wouldn't have gotten anywhere anyway. How fast was that car going? If he was going the speed limit, then you would have rammed into him when you sped up to 10 mph over the limit. That leads me to believe that the car in front of you was also going about 10 mph over the limit. If that's the case, then it wouldn't take long for him to be out of sight when you dropped down to the speed limit. Over the course of 14 miles, if the car in front of you is going 10 mph faster then you won't see him after long.
Personally, I don't see the downside in pulling over to the ample shoulder and letting the guy pass. Road rage isn't something that people choose to have. They don't get in the car hoping to get into a situation that stresses them out - it just happens naturally, because people are wired differently. Pull over, let him pass, and he'll be out of your hair.
Something doesn't quite add up for me though. You say that there was another car in front of you, so if the road rager passed you then he wouldn't have gotten anywhere anyway. How fast was that car going? If he was going the speed limit, then you would have rammed into him when you sped up to 10 mph over the limit. That leads me to believe that the car in front of you was also going about 10 mph over the limit. If that's the case, then it wouldn't take long for him to be out of sight when you dropped down to the speed limit. Over the course of 14 miles, if the car in front of you is going 10 mph faster then you won't see him after long.
Since when does that stop anyone?
Just today I was behind a line of semis on a two-lane road. I drive a Prius, pretty normal height. I had some dickwad in a full-sized pickup glued on rear nobbing on my tailpipe for about 10 miles. It's not like he can't see over me. Eventually there was an opening in the oncoming traffic and he passed me and tailgated the line of about ten semitrucks. Why? Nobody knows. I was behind him for another 15-20 minutes until I turned off, so it's not like he got anywhere and the road has some curves in it so you can see the line of cars out to the horizon so even if he got past a few of those trucks he still would have gone nowhere.
That's just how some drivers drive. It's an everyday occurrence commuting in the Bay Area. Too much traffic, people trying to get to work on time who can't be bothered to leave five minutes earlier and try, in complete vein, to make it up on roads that are full of cars.
Given the description, I don't think the OP did anything wrong. They drove the speed limit. No brake checking, swerving or antagonistic behavior. Tailgater had ample chances to pass and chose not to take them. Is driving the speed limit a problem behavior?
That's just how some drivers drive. It's an everyday occurrence commuting in the Bay Area. Too much traffic, people trying to get to work on time who can't be bothered to leave five minutes earlier and try, in complete vein, to make it up on roads that are full of cars.
One tactic that does help to make up time is staying in the lane that's going to end and merging at the last minute.
One tactic that does help to make up time is staying in the lane that's going to end and merging at the last minute.
Yup.
On Highway 4 there are really long exit lanes (mile or more). People just take the exit and get right back. That does save a couple minutes. I usually just get off the freeway and take surface streets and bypass highway 4 through Antioch/Pittsburg stretch and hop back on shortly before Concord myself.
I'll share what happened to me once. I used to live in Chicago, I was driving home from work on a two lane main city street, bumper to bumper traffic. Two cars in front of me started b*tch fighting with each other, Car #1 kept hitting his brakes, car #2 was aggressively tailgating. (I was behind car #2)
I dropped back as much as I could, but it was rush hour, I was pretty much trapped behind these two a$$hats. We came to a traffic light. Driver #1 flung open his door, and I saw a leg emerge from the car. Driver #2 leaned over, popped his glove box and pulled out a gun. Time suddenly got VERY slow for the driver of car #3, me. I am not a religous person, but I started praying out loud, "Please Jesus, make him get back in his car" Jesus must have been listening, because the light changed and the driver in car #1 slammed his car door and turned off at the cross street. The driver of car #2 put his gun back in the glove box and calmly drove away.
I had to stop and find a bathroom. :/
Oh wow! Thanks for that story. I know exactly what you mean by that sense of time slowing down--I was in a similar situation once (driving on a highway in rural Alberta; some good ole boys in a truck thought it'd be funny to point a rifle at me). Just goes to show that for the criminals, a gun is about firepower in a fight, not self-protection.
Just. Not. Worth. It. Pull over and forget about it.
As for my earlier posts, none of this sort of thing has ever actually happened to me.
I also drive a semi-tractor and most drivers have the sense to actually go around as there's some spots where a loaded tanker of milk will just not want to go.(ie,. Pull to a soft shoulder on a narrow highway and go rolling over due to truck sinking in shoulder.)
Not to mention this company rig and those of most others are almost always governed to 65 MAX.
That said, with all these instances of aggression going around, I'd rather just take the high ground and stay home when I'm not driving the semi for work.
It may be a boring, unhealthy lifestyle, but the chance of encountering these things any where at random just makes it all the more fun to stay in bed.
Yes, I'm serious now.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
