3 SUVs in 3 Weeks

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(B Rad @ Jul 28 2006, 11:25 AM) [snapback]293906[/snapback]</div>

Sometimes I obey the law just to irritate people like you... If we would all drive in a courteous manner, obeying the speed limit, we would most likely get where we are going alive.

 

The board software needs an update to include a flag for people who "Drive under the speed limit to enrage SUV's for fun".

Then some kind of time-out on that flag so that after a period of time, there is an auto-post with your obituary on here.

:lol: :lol:

Perfect justice is when that SUV gets pulled over for a few minutes, given a warning, then gets up and rides your bumper for 5 more minutes before passing you on an outside blind curve for a second time. It wastes more gas by having them sit with the cop 5 minutes, then they have to speed like nuts to catch back up to you, then by this time they are so angry, they don't care if they (or you) live or die in the pass attempt, so they've done the worst of all worlds from their end...

And, that whole "Glee for their demise" in your dark little heart can be once again turned into anger and rage for the whole repeat tailgaiting and dangerous passing a second time. You can both get to work angry.

 

I really try to drive the speed limit on secondary roads. However, the highway dictates how fast you should go. Sixty-five MPH in a 65 MPH zone will get ya killed on I95.

Last week I was driving 65 MPH in the right lane. A car came flying up behind me, passing the car in the middle lane, and expecting to go around me directly in front of the car he just passed. Well, I saw the jerk and realized that he didn't have enough room - so I yanked the Prius to the shoulder and let the idiot drive by. It was too close for comfort!

 

You tailgatin' me but have room to pass? I'm slowin' down. You won't back off - I'll slow more or tap the brakes. Don't like it? Too bad. I don't like being tailgated. pass me. safely. You don't need to be half in my lane as you go by. You don't need to cut me off and hit the brakes as you pull back in in front of me - I know I'm going slower than you. It doesn't matter if I'm going the speed limit, 5 or 10 over, or 5 or 10 under. You don't need to pass me on the right shoulder or use an entrance lane. you don't need to flash your lights or blow your horn at me. You don't need to give me the evil eye or the finger when you finally do pass. Pass me safely and get on with your reckless driving, if you must. Just don't kill me or anybody else on the road.

When I pull into the middle lane to let people on from the entrance ramp, don't pass me on the right. I just gave them room and now you're in their way and going to cause an accident. And when I pull into the middle lane, don't tailgate me there either. Don't pull into the right lane and get stuck behind the people getting on so I can't go back to the right lane. And don't pull into the right lane as you catch up to me because then I can't change back to the right lane.

Misery? An SUV driver getting a ticket - or any driver of any car - is not misery. Misery is seeing your brother in a hospotal for 4 months because some jerk cut him off and drove him into a ditch where he laid for 6 hours before being found. Misery is having to replace half the bones in your leg with metal plates and rods because of it. A ticket is not enough.

The roads are filled with jerks who only care about themselves, and they keep getting worse. we can't do much about them other than rant. You can't ignore them. And you can't not get upset - they are trying to murder you. Intentionally? probably not, but a car of any size is a lethal weapon.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Prius Maximus @ Jul 29 2006, 03:38 PM) [snapback]294392[/snapback]</div>

I'm on two wheels (Vespa scooter) during the week commuting to the office. Believe me, riding a bike, you learn to live by the notion that everyone else on the road is out to kill you, just because it's the best defense out there. I'm well accustomed already to other drivers assuming you drive to slow or are somehow in their way so the transition to the Prius hasn't been too surprising (we got ours yesterday!).

In just 2 days of driving it i've already had 2 SUVs making attempts to jump ahead from the lane next to me and cut me off. You know, because it's just safe to assume that the Prius is going SO slow, even though we were both travelling at about 45mph, that you (other driver) can't possibly pull behind it and make your turn. :wacko:

I could say that I should get used to it, but being a gnat on the road to these drivers while riding the scooter has taught me this already.

 

Let me relate a small, but true story. The freeway was blocked by an accident just before the Tacoma Narrows bridge (yes that one the replacement for "Galloping Grurdy") I new the way around but so did a lot of people as well. So we stood in line at the stop light waiting to get on the on ramp. 3-4 lights went by, traffic blocked making the left turn to the freeway. The light changes and a BMW pulls out of line into the oncoming traffic and turns down the shoulder down the on ramp through the light against oncoming traffic. Two cars in front of me was a nondescript sedan. The window goes down on the driver side and a light goes on the roof of the car!! Sirens sound and the cop goes after the perp! People rolled down their windows and cheered, clapped their hands. One woman got out of her car to clap. Horns were honking!!! Sometimes it is good to see someone getting their just deserts!

 

Over on GreenHybrid.com, someone asked if anyone was doing a study of the calming effect driving a Prius has on aggressive drivers. I was one of those drivers, and after trading in my 99 Honda Prelude, I am slowly becoming more of a hypermiler, and am DEFINITELY getting calmer behind the wheel.

In January I took a trip to DC. I hate driving there; hate the traffic, hate the street layout (I won't say "design," because there isn't one). Last week, a month after my Prius, I took another trip there. Had a rental so I couldn't even wave at the literally dozens of Prii I saw! Took more than an hour to go six miles across town...

And didn't care. I was calm, didn't mind the idiots changing lanes without signalling (ok, only a little) or the other idiots doing whatever they were doing. I was more accepting.

Prius-Zen. It's a great feeling.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Prius Maximus @ Jul 29 2006, 05:38 PM) [snapback]294392[/snapback]</div>

When I boil this down, I hear that your brother got run off the road by an aggressive driver, and that any other aggressive drivers can kiss your as... um.. bumper... You didn't learn much from your brother's situation and appear to be trying for your own experience.

Let us know how that goes when you finally get what you're looking for. We're always interested in hearing how well the prius can take a hit.

You can be one of those people who are "right" and all busted up in the hospital. But, at least you were right... The part that will suck about this is how the other guy will blame you for the wreck.. your word "right" against his/her word "wrong" and the cops will issue no tickets and call it an accident. Oh, how that's gonna burn your .. um.. bumper...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daronspicher @ Jul 30 2006, 09:03 AM) [snapback]294569[/snapback]</div>

If you want to talk about "right", I think that everyone's "right" is to be able to drive on our public roads safely. Nobody has a "right" to intimidate or drive their vehicle with reckless disregard to others. For you to defend or somehow justify this behavior seems very callous. Choosing to drive the speed limit is in no way "asking" to be involved in an aggressive attack by another driver.

There are always going to be vehicles on the roads driving faster or slower than average. That's the nature of the beast. Not everyone drives or can drive their vehicle (safely) at the same exact speed. That's one of the reasons for having passing lanes and multiple lanes on our roads. The generally accepted rule is that slower traffic should keep to the right when all possible and that overtaking should occur to the left of slower vehicles. This seems to work out well for everyone in most cases. At least for the ones that choose to follow the rules.

When you hear people complaining about others driving too slow in the "fast" lanes that is one thing. But to drive in the right most lanes at or below the speed limit is everyone's right. Do you ever hear about people trying to intimidate slower tractor-trailer drivers by tailgating them or trying to run them off the road? I wonder why that is?

Regards,

-- Ian

 

same exact thing happen to me
i drive slower n slower now since i started driving the prius...
weird..

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Ian MacDonald @ Jul 30 2006, 02:21 PM) [snapback]294700[/snapback]</div>

I'm not defending aggressive driving, I'm just saying it very plainly that you are welcome to slow in front of large vehicles with aggressive drivers and at game time you may be 100% within the 'law', but that being 'correct' may be the last thing you do.....

And, I don't believe there is any glory in dieing on the tollway as long as I was 'correct' and 'legal'. I'm saying that there are people out on the tollways that are driving in an insane mannar and that I figure that in to my own driving safety. Sometimes that means I am not in one lane or the other, even though, legally, I could be, and bubba the hummer must figure out another way around... which may be on my bumper.

You let enough tahoe's run on your bumper and eventually one day, one of them will screw up and you'll die and the law will hear many different people tell different versions of the story (true and made up), you'll still be dead, and likely the guy in the tahoe won't even get a ticket, and tomorrow the traffic on the tollway will be the same as today, just that you won't be on it...

You tend to be on the side of people who only see the legal signs that say "Speed Limit 55", but somehow never can see the "Slower traffic keep right" signs.

You could make out your tombstone in advance. "Here lies Johnny Smith, he was correct"

Good luck, and when you finally cause your pileup, I hope I'm not involved in it. I probably won't be since I watch out for drivers like you and for the aggressive drivers.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Charles Suitt @ Jul 28 2006, 11:04 AM) [snapback]293897[/snapback]</div>

Sigh. Sad, innit? And we keep on being WARNED about feeding the trolls, don't we? Some of us just never learn...
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<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Ian MacDonald @ Jul 30 2006, 12:21 PM) [snapback]294700[/snapback]</div>

First and foremost, there is NO SUCH THING AS A FAST LANE. There are PASSING lanes and TRAVEL lanes. Answer different on a DMV written test and you won't get the question right. If you are in the PASSING lane, yup, you should be passing. If you are in the travel lane, and going no more slowly than the posted MINIMUM, anyone who has issues has problems, assuming there IS a passing lane available. If there is no passing lane but there is a pullout, and if you are going slower than what seems to be how fast everyone else wants to go...and you choose not to use the pullout, then, yes, YOU ARE wrong.

There was a thread here somewhere a while back about the "physics" of leaving large gaps between you and the car in front of you in heavy traffic--how that can actually help ease a jam. I am SURE someone around will remember and point to it.

Someone is tailgating me and I am driving safely and legally, I slow down, or, at the very least, tap my brakes to indicate the one on my butt needs to back the hell off. My speeding up in that situation would be an invitation to an accident. I am not in a race. I AM trying to get where I am going alive.

 

if you are concerned about driving too slow, drive on multiple lanes roads and hell with anyone else. they can follow behind or pass. besides, around here, there are more than enough people obeying the law that aggressive drivers are the exception and not the rule. sorry if you dont live in that kind of situation. but if i did, i would not consider it acceptable to "follow along" because "everyone else" is doing it. i always considered that a pathetic excuse and still do

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daronspicher @ Jul 31 2006, 04:59 AM) [snapback]294982[/snapback]</div>

Your rant about being right but just-as-dead sound like a load to me. The legal driver is doing everything correctly ... below the speed limit, in the right lane, etc. The jerk in the big, heavy, SUV or truck is being a jerk. The legal driver is rarely - and I say rarely - inciting the jerk to act as he does. You want to tell the legal driver that he'll be to blame if and when the jerk gets him hurt or killed?

I hope no one ever intentionally harms you or your loved ones (they were asking for it) ... or breaks into your house (should have had a better lock) ... or steals your stuff (it wasn't put away properly) ... or runs over your dog (should have got a gerbil instead) ... or any of a million things that would suck. However if any of that does happen, I'm certain you can look back and find a reason why it was your fault.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(grasshopper @ Jul 28 2006, 06:01 AM) [snapback]293755[/snapback]</div>

The Germans have a word for it...........Schadenfreude. It means "shameful joy."

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(B Rad @ Jul 28 2006, 01:25 PM) [snapback]293906[/snapback]</div>

I recall seeing somewhere on this web site a "fuel saving" suggestion about not using the gas pedal for an upcoming hill. Let the car slow down and make up the speed on the other side - or something like that. My first thought was, "Oh. So you maintain speed like a big rig? Climb hills slow?" Truck do that because they have to in most cases (I used to drive commercial vehicles with a class A CDL). My Prius has yet to come upon a hill that was so steep that I couldn't stay up with traffic.

Perhaps our Priuses do have a calming effect on us. I find I drive mine in a very easy going manner, but I am not about to become an impediment to the reasonable flow of traffic.

If you are on a two lane road and want to drive below the speed limit, unless you are driving slowly do to road conditions and safety dictates it, you should be mindful of people that want to pass you. "Slower traffic keep right" is the rule on the freeway, but do't forget that there are courtesies (an in some cases, rules) about slow moving vehicles allowing others to pass.

I would caution Prius (an other green vehicle) owners to keep the size of their heads in check and resist developing a "holier than any Hummer attitude." Your vehicular enlightement does not anoint you as the one that sets the traffic flow.

To pass on an opposite experience. When I was living in Concord, CA and regularly drove an Explorer, I normally commuted down a residential street that was used by commuters as a route to the freeway. The speed limit was 40 except in front a middle school - during school hours - where the limit was 25. I would slow down for the school zone - keeping it under 30. But the folks that regularly drove 45 to 55 down this street will honk and swerve to look around me... sometimes... the ballsiest of them would actually pass me! And yes - I have been passed by a Prius there.

For those of you familiar with Concord/Walnut Creek, I am talking about Minert Rd., in front of Oak Grove School, between Oak Grove Rd. and Bancroft. Go down there some morning during the school year when kids are walking around and count how many cars of all types blow that school zone by as much as two times the speed limit - You'll see hybrid drivers doing it too. I drove that road every morning for seven years until I moved to Sac a little over a year ago.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(McShemp @ Jul 31 2006, 01:36 PM) [snapback]295223[/snapback]</div>

Kudos, you finally got the picture... Right but just-as-dead...

I think you'll have to reread a pile of these posts. So many do tend toward it not mattering which lane they are in... left, middle, right or median grass... they drive as they think fits some law they are trying to obey and totally ignore other traffic.

I'm telling you and everyone else, if you get flipped around by a SUV and you were doing the right thing according to some law you think you were adhering to, you have about a30% chance of the law(cops) seeing it your way. The 70% goes to it being an "accident" where either both of you are cited, or neither of you are cited, and part of that 70% can be shaved off to leave room for a witness or two + suv driver to pin the ordeal on you driving carelessly slow in the left lane or something.

Wouldn't that be a kick in the nice person for you to be doing your left lane idiot thing, get all smashed up and then have it turn up to be your fault because all the witnesses are saying you were trying to the the suv to hit you... hahahahahahaa... JUSTICE!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

I figure I say it long enough, eventually someone here will have this happen to them and maybe live to tell us about it..

 

Yeah, I hear ya bro. It's just the same as when some chick gets attacked because of the way she dresses, right? I mean, what did she expect goin' out in public like that? It's not gonna be the guy's fault; he's a big dude all full of himself and she's small and just hanging out with her girlfriends. He was just bein' himself and hittin' on her as she left for home. She'll have about a 30% chance of the law (cops) seeing it her way. The 70% goes to it being a "date." Because she should know better and just go with the flow, right? She'll tell ya she deserved it too ... if she lives.

That's about how moronic your rationale sounds.