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Yes. This is the kind of behavior which incites road rage. You made him frustrated and that could have led him to make a bad decision. A risky pass due to his frustration could have led to tragedy. Could you live with that? What if someone else was doing that and the resulting collision killed someone in your family? How would you feel about it them? You were in the right, but that doesn't make your behavior right. Pull over and let him pass, it has no real impact on your day or life, and you may just avert a tragedy that destroys two families lives. It just isnt worth it IMO.
how did he do that? I am really tired of this BS that you have to strongly follow the way others want you to drive. As OP said there were chances and tailgater could have overtaken but he didn't. I don't want these psychos behind me and try my best to give them the way so that they can go and get themselves killed somewhere else. But I don't understand why OP has to share blame here? Did you notice there was a car in front of him as well?
My commute is 38 miles each way on a relatively rural/suburban state highway. Headed north on the way home, the first 14 miles is one lane with a double yellow line (it's fairly windy in parts with a lot of elevation changes) nearly the entire way. There are also a lot of speed limit changes-it starts at 35, rises to 45 for a bit, back down to 35 through a little town, and then up to 50 for the stretch before getting onto the two lane divided highway for the last 24 miles. There are also a handful of traffic lights on the first 14 mile stretch-four or five. The point is, for the first 14 miles, there is no point in driving much in excess of the speed limit. Between the fact that there is no way to pass, and that there are lights every so often that are going to slow you down anyway, you may as well just enjoy whatever is on the radio, take in the fall colors (at least this time of year), and watch the farm animals graze.
Today, shortly after pulling out of work I immediately noticed a Jeep JK riding my bumper-young guy driving-maybe about my age (33), maybe a little younger. I'm doing 40 in a section that is 35. My immediate reaction is that its uncomfortable to have this guy right up my rearend so I decide to give him some space and increase my speed to 45-this only seems to encourage him, and he's following even closer than before. At this point I decide to have a little fun.
We hit the stretch that is 45 MPH-I set my cruise control to 45 on the nose-he starts to weave a bit to see what the holdup is as if he can't see over the top of my car anyway. The weaving becomes more pronounced and he sticks like glue to my rear bumper-I can see the frustrated shoulder shrugging and hand gesturing in my rearview. Then we begin approaching the little town-time to drop the speed to 35 exactly. At no point did I ever "brake check" or slam on my brakes to scare the guy, I just gradually brought it down and reset the cruise. More weaving, then a kind of "charging" where he would slow down, then hit the gas, ride right up to my bumper and then repeat. Odd.
After pulling away from the light in town (slowly) the speed increases from 35 to 45 to 50 rather quickly and I make the changes like clockwork-Jeep guy is back to weaving wildly again. The road is wider at this point, there is an ample shoulder, and basically nobody is headed southbound-I can tell he's contemplating an illegal pass but doesn't have the confidence in his driving ability, vehicle maneuverability, or both. We hit the 50 MPH stretch. Screaming, and fist shaking ensues culminating in a fit of flashing highbeams. I'm enjoying an extra long Allman Brothers jam on satellite radio.
Finally, I pull onto the divided highway and Jeep guy and I part ways. I should add that I had the same car in front of me the entire time, so it's not like I was holding up a parade of traffic by going excessively slow, I was just unwilling to ride the bumper of the person in front of me. Also, before someone scolds me because for all I know Jeep guy could have had a medical emergency, his wife could have been in labor, or he could have been racing to the side of a dying relative (or some other unlikely hypothetical), he easily could have passed me had he really wanted to, and I certainly wouldn't have tried to block him in any way. He was clearly not headed in the direction of any hospital FWIW-I pass the only major hospital in the area later in the drive.
I will admit, I thoroughly enjoyed how frustrated this person got simply because I chose not to drive like a maniac, but I still feel guilty because of it. Should I?
What did you accomplish?
You present this scenario as though you were somehow 'dealing with' an unsafe driver. But you weren't. You were behaving like an offended child on a playground - except you were on public roads, not a playground, and your engagement just resulted in there being two people behaving childishly on the public roadways. Did that accomplish anything other than giving yourself a chance to throw a self-satisfied smirk in the other driver's direction?
Don't mistake me. I'm not taking the other guy's side. I don't care one bit how upset he was. But his reckless behavior is not a green light (pardon the pun) for you to make the public roads you own private "I'm gonna teach you a lesson or two, pal!" grounds for a pissing contest you want to have.
You accomplished nothing. You didn't make the roads safer. You did it for your own satisfaction, nothing more. You probably made him angry, and more likely to harm someone with his subsequent driving. That's on him, but there was no point in you doing it.
What do you do when the neighbor dog is barking and annoying you? Do you go over and tease it, just out of reach of its chain? That makes about as much sense.
He wasn't acting responsible. Neither were you. The fact that he may have been acting irresponsible to a somewhat greater degree than you does not justify your irresponsible behavior.
how did he do that? I am really tired of this BS that you have to strongly follow the way others want you to drive. As OP said there were chances and tailgater could have overtaken but he didn't. I don't want these psychos behind me and try my best to give them the way so that they can go and get themselves killed somewhere else. But I don't understand why OP has to share blame here? Did you notice there was a car in front of him as well?
The OP didn't make the other driver frustrated. The other driver was frustrated by his basic nature that makes him think that everyone else should get out of his way so that he can do whatever he wants to. The OP IS NOT RESPONSIBLE for the other driver's frustration - he was driving legally and prudently and not allowing himself to be forced to tailgate the car in front of him, thus compounding the problem.
The sooner we get over the idea that everyone else is responsible for the other driver's irrational attitude and should coddle them like their mothers apparently did, and make it crystal clear that they, themselves, are responsible for their own attitudes and the consequences of their own actions, the better.
The sooner we get over the idea that everyone else is responsible for the other driver's irrational attitude and should coddle them like their mothers apparently did, and make it crystal clear that they, themselves, are responsible for their own attitudes and the consequences of their own actions, the better.
Right, such as the OP's decision to take joy in the other driver's frustration rather than extract himself from and diffuse a potentially dangerous situation.
It's not the OP's actions most of us object to so much as the attitude and motivation behind them.
I will admit, I thoroughly enjoyed how frustrated this person got simply because I chose not to drive like a maniac, but I still feel guilty because of it. Should I?
But you said you didn't have that choice, anyway, because there was a car in front of you the whole time. So you weren't doing anything unusual at all. You were just staying safe in relation to the car in front of you. Right? Do you often fantasize that you're in control of other people's emotions?
Right, such as the OP's decision to take joy in the other driver's frustration rather than extract himself from and diffuse a potentially dangerous situation.
It's not the OP's actions most of us object to so much as the attitude and motivation behind them.
Actually, the OP simply decided that, rather than take the bait and give in to road rage himself, once he realized that nothing short of disappearing in a puff of smoke was going to make the other driver happy, he'd enjoy the situation as much as reasonably possible within the confines of driving safely.
And THAT is what some people on here REALLY object to, the idea that they themselves might end up the object of someone's amusement for behaving in much the same way by demanding that everyone else either speed or get out of their way.
Well, yes, I did have you in mind when I wrote that, among a couple of others.
Just a heads up, for most women, someone whose attitude is that faster is better is NOT usually going to be at the top of their list. For that reason alone - it's an attitude that tends to permeate their life in general and, well, it just ISN'T better most of the time! But when it's in a car and it's used to try to establish alpha status, it's definitely worth a giggle.
It's nice to live rent free in a hall monitor's head. Must be annoying for you though.
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Do you often fantasize that you're in control of other people's emotions?
