Driving pet peeves

The Dan Ryan. All of it. 90/94 in Chicago
I85 south through Atlanta.
The 405.
I40 through Greensboro/Winston-Salem.
The entire state of New Jersey.
The George Washington Bridge upper level.

 

It amazes me that so many drivers tailgate each other during commutes and ride their brakes causing a domino effect of brake checking all the way back. If you'd have left yourself a space cushion like you're suppose to then all you would need to do to slow down is take your foot off the gas. It's that easy.

 

Medication, meditation, yoga, whatever. You can't fix other drivers.

 

Also, one time back in October 2013, some asshole in a Tundra crossed a double yellow line and passed me because, god forbid, I was actually doing the speed limit in a 25 MPH zone. I flashed my high-beams, and the Tundy driver proceeded to brake check me. I became so angry that I crossed the double yellow line and got back in front of him. He turned left down a residential street and disappeared. The Tundy had a ladder rack and one those utility caps on the back, and I think it had a magnetic sign advertising a contractor. I thought I was impatient, until I encountered an asshole who couldn't wait an extra few seconds to drive maybe a tenth of a mile at most...

 

@ALI3N_123
@ChadsPride
@El Duderino
@Jamesboy2233
@Plain Jane Taco

One time on the same stretch of road where the white Tundy passed me, but going the opposite direction, I got stuck behind a slow-moving elderly driver in old diesel Mercedes-Benz...

This in itself is not a big deal, as senior citizens routinely drive 5-10 miles below the speed limit. What exacerbated the situation was that this was an old diesel-powered vehicle with noxious exhaust fumes, and it was a nice mild day, so I had the windows down in my Tacoma. The fact this old fart was going so slow in a 25 MPH zone was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back!

I may have beeped at the driver in a futile attempt to make him go faster, which didn't work. Fed up with the fumes flowing into my truck, I gunned my engine, crossed the double yellow, and roared around him. You think I was going to roll up my windows when it was in the 70s outside?!?! Fat chance...

He should have kept his car in better condition!

 

@Plain Jane Taco

I've only been brake-checked twice in my life, and I've had my license for more than seven years! I forget which incident happened first, but both happened in 2015-2016...

One time I was driving on Route 611, either driving to work or headed back to work after running and errand. The driver of an older 2004ish Mercury Mountaineer suddenly tapped their brakes out of nowhere and if I hadn't been paying attention, I would have rear-ended them. I honestly think it was an attempt at insurance fraud.

The other time, which I'm pretty sure happened after I started working at my current job but before we moved into the new house (making it anywhere between November 2014 and March 2016). I was headed out of Doylestown Borough on Green Street, which becomes Pebble Hill Road. There was a girl (late teens or early 20s) in a generic compact 4-door sedan, and she was going slow. Again, this was a 25 MPH zone, which is bad enough when you actually do the exact speed limit. This girl was doing 5-10 below, and I wasn't purposely tailgating her, but I still kinda was...

This girl kept hitting her brakes, and I assumed she was just lost and looking for her turn (an obnoxiously common occurrence on this stretch of road). I didn't beep at her or anything, but she kept hitting her brakes. Finally, she pulled over and waved me past. I could tell that she was visibly frustrated, but I didn't get what I don't done wrong.

It was only after explaining the incident to my parents that I determined that this girl thought I was getting too close, attempted to brake check me, and ultimately gave up trying to get me to back off...

 

I don't think I beeped either...

I just drove around him because I couldn't stand the fumes! It was a calculated risk, and I even rehearsed what I would say if a cop saw me pulled me over for illegal passing.

 

Most Americans are fucking morons...

 

What's up Charlie-I'm in San Francisco. I feel your pain believe me. Here, every single time, without exception, that I hit the road someone will do something offensive and often downright dangerous within blocks of me leaving my driveway. I'm talking blowing stop signs, tailgating, wandering toward me, etc. not to mention the bike bitches that fly through intersections in their bitchy little entitled way. TONS of those Dbags around here, purple hair and facemasks-of-death to boot. And this is just going from my place to my girl's not 18 blocks away. Amazingly, within that short trip I have been conditioned and resigned to the fact that it is going to be this way no matter what I do. So what's left but to hone my skills even better in order to let it roll off?
When my gal's riding with me, I'm lucky in that I've learned to STFU, take a breath, and let her cuss, vent, and otherwise marvel at the shit these assholes pull on the road. It's actually cathartic to hear her voice my thoughts for me! Except I don't like when she would reach over and hit my horn when she thought I should have. I was too busy maneuvering to avoid catastrophy to be reaching for the horn. Yeah it's that bad here-these people can be horrible.
I guess my advice is-before you hit the gas, tell yourself shit's definitely going to happen that is gonna boil your blood, guaranteed. Then pat yourself on the back as you know that your driving skills will save you AND them a lot of grief and they're damn lucky they ran across you and not another idiot schmuck like them in which case there WOULD be a wreck

 

And having really good insurance helps ease my stress...

 

I've only ever ridden shotgun in San Francisco, and the driving/parking situation is only the tip of the iceberg with regards to why I would never live there!

My cousin has been living in San Francisco for over a decade, and she says that if your car gets towed by the city, you have to pay $600 bucks to get it back. I think you should be allowed to fight the tow truck driver and attempt to get your vehicle back no questions asked for that kind of money!

 

Me too. State Farm. I'm 57, I haven't put in a claim that was my fault since I was 22.

 

I have USAA. I got rear-ended by someone who had Allstate, and I wasn't hurt but my truck had about $1,200 in damage. They owned up and took responsibility, but Allstate really dragged its heels and my truck didn't get fixed until almost two months later!

 

A terrible insurer that Allstate. Many awful stories with them.

 

THIS is why I will NEVER insure my Tacoma or any vehicles I buy in the future with anybody but USAA...

They really saved my ass!

Unless of course I achieve my dream of buying an old Rolls-Royce; In that case I'd probably have to go through Grundy or Hagerty!

 

Ugh...

I see their commercials all the time and cringe at the mere thought of someone who's covered by them hitting my truck!

 

Or those Liberty commercials. They cater to and solicit the very jerks we complain about here.

 

Liberty Mutual?

 

@Ridgerunner

Which is the one with the black guy? Is that Allstate?

 

Evaporated as in rusted to shit?