A TailGater By Any Other Name ... (condo, drug, driving)

[victim]

(Personally to Chiva95) Please rethink what you said. Aggressive driving IS WRONG. There is no excuse. Drinking and drugs only intensifies who a person really is -- and aggressive driving is inexcusable. Why be aggressive on the roads? WHY? Drive with caution, courtesy and be thankful that you have a vehicle of your own, rather than having to walk, ride a bike or take the bus. Aggressive drivers are grown up, spoiled children who have to be "better" or "faster" or "first." Their displays of emotion behind the wheel only makes them look stupid. Do they know that?

[victim]

I guess this is as far as this is going to go, but I just want to thank those who shared. I hope that when this thread gets old, someone may stop by and read and consider being a safer driver and a more cheerful driver and keep our roads safe and secure for our young, in-between and older drivers. We all share the same privilege -- no one is above anyone else -- or especially above the law!

God Bless you all!

[FireballFL]

I apologize deeply for your lost. The driving in Tampa Bay has become a dangerous downside to living here. I used to be somewhat aggressive when I drove in Charlotte (because everyone drove like they were 90), but the way people drive here just frightens me and for someone that drove in the traffic of the DC/Baltimore burbs, that is not a positive thing.

Back in Feb. 2007 my partner was driving on Gandy. He just got up to the intersection of Gandy and Dale Mabry and proceeded through the intersection because the light was a hard green. The light did not just change from Red to Green. The driver in a truck came to a stop on Dale Mabry, heading towards the air force base. For some unknown reason, during a hard red light, the driver decided to run the light. Other witnesses were dumbfounded as to why this idiot did this. What was the end result? My partner hit this driver in his little Mazda 6 at a rate of 35 MPH. He did not know what hit him and thank God it did not kill him, as the airbag deflated. The driver in the white truck was indifferent about this and my partner's car was totalled by this idiot because he had to run the light.

I was astounded when I called the idiot's insurance company, only to find out that the idiot only had $10,000 in liability on his truck. I could not believe that we had to go to our insurance company for this. I know that this may be a little off base, but reckless driving of this nature happens in Tampa Bay everyday.

My piece of advise is to call *FHP from your cell when you see one of these idiots on the road. Record his license plate # and report his or her A$$. I have done it several times and feel better when I see a cop pull them over. There is no need to risk other people's lives just because one needs to make a point about their driving techniques.

Sure, tailgate me to your heart's content, but rear end me and your insurance will be buying me a Lexus. I am tired of being understanding to inconsiderate drivers.

[victim]

Thanks for your input, Fireball -- You nailed it on the head when you said that the driver causing the accident was "indifferent." Most everyone that does something stupid, reckless, inconsiderate or dangerous don't think that it is any big deal. I guess that's why they do it in the first place. I, in turn, am sorry to hear about your partner -- and it makes me very disappointed to know that this thing goes on day in and day out. Only when it strikes "home" does the full impact of the problem really come to life. When I drive now, I am fully aware of everyone around me, I get out of the stupid people's way and just pray that they don't hurt anyone. Just this morning, this big shiny SUV waited until the VERY last moment to try to get over into a right turn lane (big line of traffic because of a downtown detour, and she had this look on her face like she was saying, "Why doesn't anyone let me IN? Can't you see that I NEED to get over NOW?" Sorry, but I didn't let her in, and no one behind me for a long time did, either. She could have gotten in line like the rest of us early on. I'm sorry, I have no patience or feelings for inconsiderate people who think they are special. Reporting them is a great idea.

[FireballFL]

Originally Posted by victim

Thanks for your input, Fireball -- You nailed it on the head when you said that the driver causing the accident was "indifferent." Most everyone that does something stupid, reckless, inconsiderate or dangerous don't think that it is any big deal. I guess that's why they do it in the first place. I, in turn, am sorry to hear about your partner -- and it makes me very disappointed to know that this thing goes on day in and day out. Only when it strikes "home" does the full impact of the problem really come to life. When I drive now, I am fully aware of everyone around me, I get out of the stupid people's way and just pray that they don't hurt anyone. Just this morning, this big shiny SUV waited until the VERY last moment to try to get over into a right turn lane (big line of traffic because of a downtown detour, and she had this look on her face like she was saying, "Why doesn't anyone let me IN? Can't you see that I NEED to get over NOW?" Sorry, but I didn't let her in, and no one behind me for a long time did, either. She could have gotten in line like the rest of us early on. I'm sorry, I have no patience or feelings for inconsiderate people who think they are special. Reporting them is a great idea.

I think the rational drivers can tell you some tales on a daily basis on driving. For example, just today I was driving on Cypress and had to turn right on Trask St. There is a well known cross walk there, as it is close to Jefferson High School. I stopped because 6 teenagers were crossing the crosswalk and I had to yield the right away or otherwise hit them. The driver behind me was in a SUV and I knew that he could see the teenagers on the crosswalk. What an idiot he turned out to be! He started honking his horn because I was at a green light. I checked to insure that my right-hand turn signal was on and realized it was. Suffice to say, this freaked out the teens that were crossing because of the guy flipping me off and was blowing his horn like a maniac. What did the guy expect for me to do? Run through a cross walk and hit pedestrians? That is nuts. I had my moonroof down and motioned the teens to cross and then proceeded to turn. The guy followed me and as I was turning into the entrance, the guy came to a sudden stop behind me, screeching his brakes and all smoke was pouring out. I was simply frightened that this guy was going to hit me. I turned in and the guy followed. Fortunately, he did not see where I parked and did park at a different building. This is yet another time that an innocent person becomes a victim of someone's road rage and ego.

I was terrified of this person and came into work, from lunch, shaking. My co-workers asked what happened and they looked completely shocked that something like this happened.

[victim]

I wish at the time these "idiots" do this comical display of childishness, the people in the crosswalk turned out to be someone THEY cared about. I wonder if the horn honking would cease --- or whether they could care LESS about who holds them up. I truly believe they would probably run their own mothers over just to get to wherever it is that's so important.

Another hope I have with this thread is for someone to recognize themselves in one of these stories and possibly "listen" to how ridiculous they sound. Who knows --

[FireballFL]

Originally Posted by victim

I wish at the time these "idiots" do this comical display of childishness, the people in the crosswalk turned out to be someone THEY cared about. I wonder if the horn honking would cease --- or whether they could care LESS about who holds them up. I truly believe they would probably run their own mothers over just to get to wherever it is that's so important.

Another hope I have with this thread is for someone to recognize themselves in one of these stories and possibly "listen" to how ridiculous they sound. Who knows --

Then you wonder why Florida has a concealed gun law and allows people to legally use deadly force if they feel their life is at stake.

Yes, one has to wonder, seriously.

[Suncoaster]

Victim, I'm so sorry about the loss of your cousin. What a terrible tragedy - and so unnecessary! It must be awful for you and your family. My heart goes out to you.

If only... if ONLY... the police would pull over these out-of-control aggressive people - the tailgaters and red-light runners especially - they would catch so many more DUIs than they already do. So many more innocent lives could be saved.

[victim]

It's an every day occurrence. Just today, TWO aggressive drivers flew by me -- one of which was tailgating me. One was a young girl in a red sportscar, doing her make-up, drinking her coffee, needing to be somewhere before anyone else. The other was a young guy in a BMW - tailgating, in a rush, cutting people off -- needing to be somewhere fast too.

And it goes on and on and on. I used to want to do something to show them my frustration with them -- but now, I just get out of the way and pray that they don't run into anyone or cause any accidents.

And thanks, Suncoaster, for your nice words. It HAS been awful. Along with everything else, my husband just had a slight stroke this past week, and I have no doubt that the extreme stress from losing his cousin (who was like a sister to him - they were part of a tight-knit Italian family) played a part in it.

[victim]

I found out today that a friend of my girlfriend's daughter was attending college (this happened about 5 years ago) and was out with friends and took a cab home (to be safe and not drive) --- and a drunk driver hit the CAB!

There's nothing more that needs to be said.