pparaska Posted June 10, 2004 Share Posted June 10, 2004 I hope no one thinks this is inappropriate, if they do, please email me and I'll take it down. Since we hopefully drive these Zs or something else, I think this pertains to everyone here. In my opinion, THE largest driver behavior problem is left lane hogging. Yeah, people on cell phones (yelling at the kids, having an in-depth conversation with a passenger, etc.) that aren't paying enough attention to what they're doing are a hazard and frustrating thing, I think by far, left lane hogging causes the most tempers to flare (inciting agressive driving, or even road rage), and clogging traffic. I know it's by far my biggest driving pet peeve! The National Motorists Association has designated June as Lane Courtesy Month, with the slogan "Do the RIGHT Thing". BTW, I have been a faithful dues paying member of the NMA for years. They send me alerts on State and Federal laws being proposed so I can contact my representatives, and they continue to lobby against federal bills that go against motorists rights. If it weren't for the NMA's lobbying years ago, we may still have a 55 mph federal speed limit. Please visit their site (National Motorists Association) and consider becoming a member. Yes, I'm shilling for the NMA. That's the controversial part of this post. But I bet most of you understand why - they are FOR driver's rights! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gramercyjam Posted June 10, 2004 Share Posted June 10, 2004 I can always go around. My big issue is when you leave the left lane open and people come up along side of you and stay there until you are blocked in. Thats what makes me completely lose it. Oh yea. And the other one is the car you just passed passes you, gets in front of you and slowly slowly slows down. You pass them again, and they do it again, and again, and again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drax240z Posted June 10, 2004 Share Posted June 10, 2004 Oh yea. And the other one is the car you just passed passes you, gets in front of you and slowly slowly slows down. You pass them again, and they do it again, and again, and again. They never catch me again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted June 10, 2004 Share Posted June 10, 2004 Amen! As they say in Germany, "Drive Right!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted June 10, 2004 Share Posted June 10, 2004 Oh yea. And the other one is the car you just passed passes you, gets in front of you and slowly slowly slows down. You pass them again, and they do it again, and again, and again. There is definitely a psychological aspect to this one. I can be driving 75 in my nasty looking Toyota P/U, and EVERYONE feels a need to be in front of me. They get in front, then they slow down, just like you said. Doesn't seem to happen in my other vehicles, but people do not want to follow my truck... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillZ260 Posted June 10, 2004 Share Posted June 10, 2004 And the other one is the car you just passed passes you, gets in front of you and slowly slowly slows down. You pass them again, and they do it again, and again, and again. Yep, I agree w/ JM on this, there is just competitive nature that makes it seem like our cars are magnets for other cars on the road. When taking road trips it is SO hard to get away from everyone, lots of little clumps of cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted June 10, 2004 Author Share Posted June 10, 2004 I can always go around. My big issue is when you leave the left lane open and people come up along side of you and stay there until you are blocked in. Thats what makes me completely lose it. Well, that's the problem. In heavy traffic areas (like the Baltimore-DC area where I drive), you CAN'T usually go around. A line of cars will get 20 deep behind these idiots, and they will not move up and over. Instead, they sit there, sometimes staying right next to a car in the lane to their right, blocking things for many miles. Talk about infuriating! Oh yea. And the other one is the car you just passed passes you, gets in front of you and slowly slowly slows down. You pass them again, and they do it again, and again, and again. jmortenson said people do that to him when he's in his pickup truck. I can tell you that all the vehicles I own are sportscars/sportycars/sedans, and if I get behind a pickup truck, van, SUV, I will definitely try to get around them, especially if they aren't going as fast as I want to, or I'm in a stop and go backup behind them. The reason is that I don't want to depend on their version of what's going on ahead of them - I want to be able to see what's ahead of them in order to be prepared. If I'm following a vehicle that I can see through or around, no biggie. But a Van/SUV/pickup-with-cap, no thanks, I try to get around them if things are tight on the road. That's not being competitive, its just that I want more information about what's ahead than staying behind their rolling visual blocker will allow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted June 10, 2004 Share Posted June 10, 2004 I hear you Pete, and I do that all the time with box vans and stuff, but my little Toy 2wd is not much of a visual impediment. I think it's more a subconscious "my car should be going faster than that POS" thing. The problem is if they'd just drive their own speed I would slowly drive away from them, but instead they speed up to get in front of me and then slow down to the speed they are comfortable with (slower than I was going in the first place). Anyone who has a junky looking car should be able to verify this irritating phenomenon. My other bitch is what I call "dualing morons". 2 jack@sses will drive the same exact speed right next to each other about 5 to 7 mph BELOW the speed limit. Happens all the freaking time here in Seattle. No one in front and a big traffic jam in back... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gramercyjam Posted June 10, 2004 Share Posted June 10, 2004 And another one is when I'm in the 'Vette and I'm passing a line of cars and I'm doing about 80 in a 65, and some gigantic jacked up 4X4 SUV with huge brush bars and a winch pulls up on my ass like 1 foot away and starts flashing his lights. Like he owns the road I am supposed to make space in the slow lane and move over and let him by cause I am skeered of his 10K lb macho machine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted June 10, 2004 Share Posted June 10, 2004 Gas is so expensive here in So. Cali that I'm always on the RIGHT! Meaning I drive at the speed limit in the one of the right two lanes and everyone goes flying past me...only to be caught up by me at the next light or offramp. But at least I'm not in the fast lane! 37MPG in my CRX Owen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 73TPIZ Posted June 10, 2004 Share Posted June 10, 2004 43mpg in my CRX yea baby sorry, didn't mean to hijack the thread How 'bout when you walk down someone on a country road (doing at least 15mph more than them) and after you pass them then they suddenly want to speed up and sit right on your arse. Of course, if i'm in the CRX, there ain't a whole lot i can do about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BayAreaZT Posted June 10, 2004 Share Posted June 10, 2004 Problem is people just don't check their mirrors or american drivers in general have no concept of driving etiquette. Not a problem in europe. Left lane for passing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTenneZ Posted June 11, 2004 Share Posted June 11, 2004 The thing that riles me up is the lack of turn signals. It's as if some cars don't even come with that "option". I made sure to find a Z that had them installed already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted June 11, 2004 Author Share Posted June 11, 2004 Another plug for a good cause that's related: http://keeprightpassleft.net/ I'm not sure the stickers will help, but I bought some and put one on my daily driver. Maybe when I finally get around a left lane bandit and pull around them they'll see the sticker and check it out on the web. OR maybe they'll get the message and pull over to the right. It's the only sticker I've ever put on a car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike kZ Posted June 11, 2004 Share Posted June 11, 2004 How about one of these to say your feelings! http://www.stylinconcepts.com/parts.cfm/partfamilyid/1426/lc/pfni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillZ260 Posted June 11, 2004 Share Posted June 11, 2004 How about one of these to say your feelings! http://www.stylinconcepts.com/parts.cfm/partfamilyid/1426/lc/pfni My buddy works for the company that developed those, neat toys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted June 11, 2004 Share Posted June 11, 2004 I'm just gonna build a car like "Machinegun Joe's" in Death Race 2000: And blow everyone away that drives too slowly in fast lane! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted June 11, 2004 Author Share Posted June 11, 2004 Believe me, I've had fantasies while driving of having a LAWS launcher or photon canon mounted to the front of my car to be able to disintegrate or vaporize the left lane bandits!!! Imagine, you're behind the jerk going 55 in the left lane, and vaporize him instantly, then drive through the cloud :flamedevil: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synlubes Posted June 11, 2004 Share Posted June 11, 2004 Believe me, I've had fantasies while driving of having a LAWS launcher or photon canon mounted to the front of my car to be able to disintegrate or vaporize the left lane bandits!!! Imagine, you're behind the jerk going 55 in the left lane, and vaporize him instantly, then drive through the cloud :flamedevil: I also would like to have some sort of "ram" device for the AWIPES that pull up so close at stops. Push a button, a ram comes out the back of my vehicle, puts a big ol whole in their radiator and I drive off leaving them standed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelman Posted June 11, 2004 Share Posted June 11, 2004 The people that really piss me off are the ones that insist on tail gating no matter how fast I'm driving. It always seems to be a teenager who's yapping on a cell phone and not paying attention. Those are the ones I'll slow down in front of just to give them a little extra time to react should I have to hit the brakes and to piss them off. BTW: I drive a 4x4 Ford Ranger and have the same thing happen to me that was mentioned earlier. People will go around me and then slow down, which I can understand because it's high enough that you can't see past it. It's not a POS either so I don't think that's the reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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