Can you help me with ignorant drivers? (Knoxville: organic, live)

[NJDevil]

I can drive fast and be considerate at the same time. Speed doesn't kill; being distracted does. No one is more alert and aware than I am on the roads. Yes, it sucks being the best and not appreciated.

On the other side of things, speeding up 5 MPH isn't going to kill you either. What is everyone afraid of? Don't they want to get anywhere? I'm not out for a sunday drive - I'm trying to get somewhere. You want to drive slow, fine, just get over and let someone pass who is still doing a legal speed.

Thanks Jabo....

the ones that cut in front of you and slow down - those are DEFINITELY the TN drivers.

[AlisonL]

Originally Posted by jabogitlu

Well, it really isn't self-absorbed, it's actually being considerate, especially getting your a** off the road. When people slowwwwwly ease into a turn lane it makes me want to just floor it right into their bumpers! GO!!!!!!!!

like NJDevil, I'm a safe and considerate driver. I just have a schedule to keep, and the less de/acceleration I have to do, the better gas mileage I get.

And I grew up in Greene County. So it's not necessarily a Florida/NE thing.

Simple solution, leave earlier. That way if you are stuck behind someone who is going the speed limit, you will have more time to get to your destination.

We have a friend who got cut off by a driver who just had to be first to get where he was going. He confronted the guy(driver from NY) and ended up with a bullet in his leg!!!!

[fbama73]

So- you've admitted violating traffic laws and driving unsafe (tailgating) and have given no instance where these people who bother you have broken any laws, yet THEY are the ignorant ones?

I wish you were joking, but I know from Indiana drivers that there are plenty of people who are not smart enough to allow themselves enough time to get to their detination, and are so self-centered and inconsiderate that it only seems right to them that everyone should break the law to accomodate them.

[jabogitlu]

Lol I wish it were always that simple, I could just leave earlier. Has it not occured to you that some of us drive throughout the day, not just from our houses to work?

I repeat, I don't want to zoom down State of Franklin (or Kingston, since we're in the Knoxville thread) going 80 mph. But I do want to do the speed limit or a little over, and I want to do it consistently. What I find to be truly discourteous and dangerous is people driving in the farthest left, fastest lanes going 15-20 miles (!) under limit. I see this often. Drivers here are totally uneducated about lane speed-heirarchy.

There is a rampant problem, in my opinion. In the past few months I have been blocked by people driving beside each other going the same speed for MILES, I have been nearly cut off by someone who floored it past me, cut in front of me, then slowed down to ten under the speed limit, nearly run into someone who decided to turn left, merged, then weaved back into my lane before finally getting off, I have been all set to pass someone in the left lane when they decide to speed up, creating a REAL traffic problem when all they should be doing is maintaining a consistent speed and being in the lane that matches that speed...

... and yet you decide to harp on us who are trying our best to stay out of others' ways, maintain speeds, and be safe? Right. Come on.

[BarbG]

Originally Posted by LauraC

Is that the way it's done in NJ? I can't believe you don't think people should stop before they turn at an intersection.

How about drivers who crawl up people's butts because they didn't leave enough time to get to their destination?

Those are my favorites as well. I LOVE it especially when I'm travelling down the road and someone comes flying up on my butt and I can't get over (in right lane already, or on a two lane winding road) and they stay right on my rear even though I am doing the speed limit, like they are hoping I will get intimidated into going faster so they can get where they are going. I see this happen to people all the time here in east TN. The 'nascar wannabees' bother me more than anything else on the road, and I DO get out of their way as soon as I feasibly can. I'd rather them in front of me than behind.

[bbkaren]

I think we folks from out of state especially need to remember the golden rule:

"We're in Tennessee now. We can't try to change things here to match what we ran away from."

WE'RE the ones who need to adjust, because we love the slower pace in Tennessee, right?

Let's not try to change little things that irk us; we need to fit in, not expect others to accommodate our (in this case) bad habits.

Just a thought...

[AlisonL]

Originally Posted by jabogitlu

Lol I wish it were always that simple, I could just leave earlier. Has it not occured to you that some of us drive throughout the day, not just from our houses to work?



Yes, it has occured to me. My husband travels in his job daily. His driving would probably tick you off also. As he says, you can be going 80 mph and there are still people who will have to pass because you're not going fast enough to suit them.





... and yet you decide to harp on us who are trying our best to stay out of others' ways, maintain speeds, and be safe? Right. Come on.

No one is harping, just stating their opinions. Just like you and the OP seem to think some drivers are ignorant. But you know what they say about opinions.....

[AlisonL]

Oh gosh, I just realized that my last post sounds nasty. Not my intention whatsover. My apologies if I offended anyone.

[hiknapster]

So, this morning, I'm going to Ingle's. I stop to let someone into traffic so that he can go the other way, and of course, the guy next to me, who is traveling in my direction, stops, too, as does the other two lanes of traffic coming the other way.

I get to Ingle's, get a Carvel birthday cake, and as I'm wandering around the store, a customer walks up to me and hands me a $4 coupon for the cake. She says she loves Carvel cakes but she will never use the coupon. Of course, the Ingle's employees all have to discuss the cake, and whose birthday it is, and what we got our daughter.

That's just another day in East Tennessee.

Eight years ago, I was blessed to give birth to an angel that changed our lives. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have bothered to move here.

Thank you for this thread. It reminds me of exactly why I came to East Tennessee.

[jabogitlu]

Originally Posted by AlisonL

Oh gosh, I just realized that my last post sounds nasty. Not my intention whatsover. My apologies if I offended anyone.

I'm afraid mine came across a little negative, too. One of the boons of a message board, I fear!

(Hik, I loooooooooove Ingles!!! I don't know if I could ever move away from the region, because there'd be no Ingles!)