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Try doing what I do. I also have an SUV and never get any crap from fellow drivers. When I’m driving my VW sports car I drive a bit more aggressively than most other drivers, and they leave me alone. Put the pedal to the metal, don’t be afraid to sound your horn, and every once in a while throw your hands up in mock disgust. People tend to leave you alone then.🙂
OMG, I am so guilty of this. Sorry but I do stereotype.
Possibly that's why (knock on wood) I'm not yet a statistic ... I drive a lot. You notice things:
Big, shiny Escalade with a pink/gold license plate holder & a middle-aged woman driver wearing lots of jewelry: Even if it means mowing down an elderly couple or a little kid; this car will steal your parking spot, even if you are halfway parked already. They will never yield ... at any time, anywhere, right of way be darned & they will always pretend not to see you.
The mid-life crisis convertible: No; I'm not trying to cut you off. I'm trying to get around you because you are doing it again: You noticed I am a female & you are hovering until I validate you & your car by invoking a National Lampoon, Christie Brinkley style smile + hair toss. Sometimes I'm in the mood to oblige but many times I am not.
Volvo? Cadillac?: It's not that I didn't see you. It's not that I saw you & didn't care. It's because I saw you, in my rearview mirror, pulling out 2 blocks behind me, like 5 seconds ago & the odds of you flooring it & being right there already, were slim to none. First time for everything, I suppose.
All black or all white Charger with tinted windows: I'm not deliberately trying to annoy you by doing exactly the speed limit ... you just look like a cop. Heck, if I were a cop, this would start to annoy me.
Any car with bumper/window stickers that say such things like "Don't Panic; It's Organic!" or "Inner State 420"?: That's simple; you're stoned & I'm avoiding you!
For the above reasons & more; yes, I can totally see how it might be perceived that I am treating "a car" differently, based on "the car" that it is.
In Boston, the garbage truck has right of way over everybody. You also yield to taxi cabs, battered white panel vans, delivery trucks, and anything with a plow on it. Also, nobody is going to mess with the beater belching the blue cloud of smoke out the exhaust pipe.
If you need to pull out into traffic, you wait for the expensive car. You know the shiny new Bimmer, Mercedes, or Lexus is going to yield.
I always wanted a Crown Vic with Thule bars on the roof. I'd own the left lane and all those left lane bandits would pull over thinking I'm a cop car.
When I'm driving my car it seems like I can't go more than five minutes without another driver trying to run me off the road, maim me, or kill me for sport. In other words, other drivers treat me like I'm gum on the bottom of their shoe.
Probably because by "run me off the road, maim me, or kill me for sport" you mean pass you or cut you off. They're anti-hyperbole.
I have noticed a certain behavior that other drivers do when I'm driving my minivan. They pick me to get in front of when they're looking for a place to cut in the line. They had a huge gap behind me, but decide to pace me and try to cut in in the tiny space I give them, which isn't enough. This goes on until they either run out of road, or they become aware that I'm not going to let them in. I know this happens to anyone in any kind of car, but it seems to occur far more frequently to me in my minivan. There are occasions when I let someone in, but it's always strange why they picked me. I'm not going slow when they do it, so it can't be that they think I'm slow.
I noticed the same thing when I owned both a minivan and a Subaru Outback.
Certain vehicles just seem to attract disrespect like all minivans, Kia Souls, Toyota Priuses, and Subarus (specifically older models and Foresters, regardless if new or old).
Based on my own observations, I think minivans, Priuses, and Subarus are disrespected because many of their drivers tend to drive at or below the speed limit while willfully and purposely clogging the left lane to prevent others from passing and unfortunately, that perception tends to taint all drivers of those vehicles.
When I drive my BMW people tailgate me like crazy, pass on double lines and zoom down the road, all kinds of stuff. It seems they want to 'prove' their car is fast too or they are just as cool as BMW drivers or something. When I drive my Avalon, I never have a problem. I've come to the conclusion that BMWs just make some drivers very angry. I have no idea why. I couldn't care less what anyone chooses to drive.
Last year I went from driving a lifted K5 Blazer with 300+ HP, to a Scion XB with just north of 100. I drive pretty much the same, except I lack real passing power on the freeway. I tend to get a lot less respect now, then when I was driving the Blazer.
I don't think people are out to get me, but they certainly are more apt to cut me off, tailgate or pass me disrespectfully.
I think subconsciously drivers tend to show more respect to vehicles they perceive as a threat to their safety. Or to the structural integrity of their vehicle.
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