Driving pet peeves

I used to brake check tailgaters and aggressive drivers, but then I realized how dangerous it could be; Yesterday, I was running late for a doctor’s appointment and was in a situation where someone was going to slow in both the left lane and the right lane!

There was a shitty white sedan going way to slow in the left lane and late model burgundy Volvo taking up the right lane. Instead of speeding up, the Volvo slowed down until I got way too close and then abruptly slammed on the brakes...

Assholes like the guy in the Volvo are why I have a dashcam, because I’ve seen dash videos where the brake-checker took 100% of the blame for causing an accident. The asshole also had a car seat in the Volvo (though luckily no baby; Quadruple shame on him if he did what he did with a kid in the car). I gave laid on the horn and gave him a dirty look as I passed him at the next intersection...

Moral of the story: I see people tailgate all the time and nothing happens; It’s more of a bad idea to tailgate because you don’t know if the person driving the vehicle in front of you is either having a bad day and/or a total psycho.

 

1.It's been a few years since I've back in the Republik of CA but those MF's love that left lane to go under the speed limit. Left lane is to PASS (that means faster than the other lanes). I'm sure Colorado isn't the only state that has signs that say 'KEEP RIGHT EXCEPT PASS', but I know the Republik is not one of them!
2.I don't care about splitting lanes, but it's at your own risk. There is a law against splitting lanes here in Colorado.
3.I feel your pain with the large trucks but I also feel their pain trying to make it up some of the climbs here in Colorado. I've dealt with the same thing on some of these inclines but it's rarely the large truck, it's usually the same SOB that's in the left lane not passing!

 

I hate this crap here in Colorado. What happens here is that you get a cyclist like in the pic quoted but it's a 2 lane road(one lane each direction) that has blind curves and rolling hills, NO shoulder, and a speed limit of up to 55mph! Yet the cyclist STILL makes the conscious decision to ride on that road. WTF, are you trying to get hit!

 

I used to brake check tailgaters all the time as well but I'm more selective about it now. If my wife or kid are with me then I'll take the high road, but if I'm by myself and driving my truck (steel rear bumper) then its on. I fking hate tailgaters

To be clear, I'm not talking about being tailgated on the fast lane I mean on a single lane or city street road, for no reason other than the tailgater is being a dick.

 

Just run off the road a little around someones driveway that has gravel. It'll sling gravel all over their vehicle. You didn't hear this from me.

 

Cyclists are such a pain in the ass!

 

For me the best part of cycling is I don't have to use the road to get where I wan't to go.

 

I hate it when there's a passing lane and when you go to pass, the car your're passing magically goes from 50 m.p.h. to 65 m.p.h. while being passed. Happens a ton on Sierra highways.

 

Also, I once got into altercation with some woman on a bicycle while vacationing in the Outer Banks in June 2018; I was on a bike myself, and had stopped to photograph a sweet blue Tundra in a driveway. Instead of politely asking me to move or just riding around me, she proceeds to start swearing at me completely unprovoked; I called her something I would prefer not to say on a public forum before she and her significant other rode off...

 

One time I had this situation where I was on a notoriously unpredictable stretch of Swamp Road in Buckingham Township (people from my area will not exactly where I am talking about); The location does not matter, but rather what happened...

I'd say this was sometime in 2015, when I was still in college; One annoying thing about two lane roads with double yellow lines is school buses; Houses are a mile or more apart and instead of there being a dedicated bus stop where all the kids get on the bus, the bus drops each individual kid off at their house. As if it was not bad enough being stuck behind a school bus that stopped to let off kids every minute or two, there was this woman in a blue Kia Forte who was completely oblivious to the fact that she was on a fairly busy stretch of road and not some deserted side street!

The school bus was obviously at the front of the line, there may have been a vehicle or two behind the bus (can't remember), and the Kia was either behind the school bus or behind the cars that were behind the bus (if there were any); The school bus would stop, and then the vehicle(s) behind the bus would stop and wait for the kids to get off. Stopping for school buses is just a fact of life that can't be avoided, but the woman in the blue Kia was distracted by something. Every time traffic would stop, this woman would lean over to the passenger side of the car and start digging for something. The bus would start moving, but the woman would be preoccupied with digging in her purse or whatever and just sit there; The first time, I tooted the horn, she looked up and started moving, and I thought it was no big deal...

But this scenario happened at least three times!

After the third time, I looked to make sure the opposing lane was clear, turned on my left signal, got into the opposing lane, and gunned it past the woman in the Kia. The woman in the Kia promptly floored it and tried to keep me from passing her, but it was no use...

I got in front of her and took the opportunity to look in my rear view and glare at her; She gave me a pissed off look and sarcastically clapped.

 

I avoid brake-checking tailgaters now for obvious safety reasons; If I really want to antagonize a tailgater, especially if they are in the right lane and more than capable of passing me, I will slow WAYYY down in order to antagonize me!

The worst thing that has ever happened as a result of me slowing down to piss off a tailgater is getting flipped off by some asshole in a blue WRX...

 

Seeing people talking on the phone while driving does not make me upset, because not all vehicles have Bluetooth and not all people can afford to install a stereo with Bluetooth; What really pisses me off is texting drivers! I think distracted driving is a bigger epidemic than drunk driving; I was hit by a texting driver and a drunk driver, in the same year!

 

I've had people go nuts on me and follow me for awhile, I've found the best way to get them to lay off is when you get a stop light or sign and they pull up acting all crazy, pull out your phone like you're recording them (or actually recording them). They'll back off

Truth be told these days I usually don't antagonize crazy people anymore, it's really not worth getting into a wreck or finding out they're packing a firearm and willing to go to prison over road rage

 

People who do the same thing to others or worse on a road. That makes you no better or worse than the one doing it to you.

Be the better, bigger person and the reason someone smiles today.

 

One time, before I had tinted windows, I was looking at my phone in traffic. I do not text and drive, but if I believe I have an important issue to deal with, I will look at my phone while in traffic; I believe I was on Street Road in Warrington, either going straight or about to make a left turn onto 611. I sensed that someone was staring at me, looked to my right, and saw an ambulance in the lane next to me; The driver was staring down at me with a classic "WTF?" look on his face...

I understand that a paramedic, EMT, or anyone who drives an ambulance has probably seen some shit that directly resulted from somebody texting and driving, but I was NOT texting and driving!

One of the lesser reasons I had the windows in my truck tinted was to kindly tell people not to peer into my truck in traffic jams!

 

My friend has a 2011 Nissan Altima, and a deer came out of the woods and rammed the side of his car; Busted out a rear window and scared the crap out of my friend, but ultimately survived...

 

This is not one of my proudest moments, and the incident that really taught me to calm down...

This happened on Christmas Eve in 2018; I was on a busy stretch of road in my area, specifically Route 611 in Warrington; I was doing Uber Eats on the side at the time and had just picked up a customer's food. The food was on the front seat of my truck, and then this jerk in a black Infiniti abruptly cut in front of me without signaling. I slammed on the brakes, and the food went flying. No food got damaged or leaked...

I was still pretty pissed at the Infiniti driver, and I happened to pass him maybe five minutes later; I was in the right lane, and he was moving much more slowly in the left lane. I laid on my horn as I passed him and thought nothing of it (big mistake)…

As I passed the Infiniti, I saw him get into the right lane and accelerate rapidly. Before long, he was riding my ass and sticking his middle finger out the window. I just ignored him at first, and when it became clear that he wasn't backing off, I attempted to turn right into the parking lot of the Home Depot...

From the day I got my license, my dad always told me that if a road raging driver ever tried to follow me, to head directly to the nearest police station; Unfortunately, Warrington PD HQ was in the opposite direction!

Unfortunately, this bastard in the Infiniti managed to get in front of me, and every time I changed lanes he shadow me and attempt to block my path of escape; All this was because I beeped at him for cutting me off!

I had to make a left turn on Street Road in order to get to the Uber customer's house, but the Infiniti cut across two lanes of traffic and got in front of me in the left turn lane!

I actually did drive over the median into the opposing lane in an attempt to get away from this guy, but thought better of it and cut back over; By this time the light had turned red, I was stuck behind the Infiniti, and the driver had gotten out and was walking up to my truck...

Santa Claus must have been looking out for me that day (It was Christmas Eve), because the car in the next lane over stopped and allowed me to get in front; Even though the light was red, I took my chances and floored it. I drove close to a mile down the road before turning around and heading back; By this time, the black Infiniti was long gone...

I say again; ALL I DID WAS BEEP AT THIS GUY FOR CUTTING ME OFF! I did not talk to him or display ANY obscene gestures!

That incident taught me to use my horn much more sparingly...

 

Tailgaters are entertaining. I usually turn my wipers on with the spray. Had one guy fly ahead of me and did it back. I was laughing my ass off

 

Another friend of mine had a 1995ish Buick LeSabre as her first car; A deer came out of the woods and hit the car, ultimately surviving the impact and running off...

This was in 2006-2007 or so, and the car was old; The Buick had no mechanical damage from the accident and was roadworthy despite being banged up, but the insurance company totaled it due to age. My friend was pissed because that car was a gift from her grandpa!