Subject:
First moves against road scum
Date: 1998/01/28
On USENET I've
actually seen people "defending" tailgating and other stupid
aggressive behavior (LOSER behavior) on the road. People who exhibit this kind
of driving behavior exist to form the back side of the IQ bell curve. They not
only pollute the road environment but are frequently a danger to others. In the
Phoenix area it's gotten bad enough that the first steps are being proposed to
deal with the problems they cause for decent society.
"Road
Rage" Bills Target Overly Aggressive Drivers By Chris Moeser The Arizona
Republic Wednesday, January 28, 1998
If there's one thing
worse than crawling along on a jam-packed Valley freeway at rush hour, it's
watching the clown behind you drive inches from your back bumper before
swerving to the shoulder to pass.
But don't reach for
your weapon. Grab the car phone and call the cops. Under two proposals that
picked up powerful legislative endorsements Tuesday, drivers could be cited by
police for driving too aggressively. The measures are designed to cut down on the
growing carnage on the roads caused by "road rage."
One bill would
define aggressive driving and set up stiff penalties, including a 30-day
license suspension for first-time offenders. The second would make it illegal
to drive across the white-lined triangles at freeway ramps, known as
"gore" points. The word is derived from a triangular pattern, as on a
piece of land or a garment, not from a description of an accident scene.
DPS Officer Doug
Knutson was killed earlier this month when a pickup plowed into him as he stood
in a gore point on the Red Mountain Freeway. Proposals designed to curb
"road rage"
"While we
cannot undo the tragedies of the past, we can enact laws to change our
future," Gov. Jane Hull said at a news conference Tuesday morning.
"The issue of aggressive driving is serious. And this bill will leave no
doubt about it."
Hull was joined by
House Speaker Jeff Groscost in supporting the proposal. Senate President Brenda
Burns is generally supportive of the bills, but hasn't had a chance to review
the details.
Supporters say the
aggressive-driving legislation gives police new and needed tools to prevent
road rage. Drivers could be charged with aggressive driving if they are cited
for a combination of any three of the following charges:
?À Reckless driving.
?À Excessive speed.
?À Passing on the right or on the shoulder.
?À Tailgating.
?À Failure to signal lane changes, improper
lane changes, or failure to signal.
?À Failure to yield the right of way.
?À Running a red light or stop sign.
A first-time
offender would face a misdemeanor charge. But a second conviction would be a
Class 6 felony with an automatic license suspension of one year.
Alberto Gutier,
director of the Governor's Office of Community and Highway Safety, pointed to a
AAA study showing that people are more afraid of road rage than drunken
driving.
Nationally, the
American Automobile Association reports that aggressive drivers have caused
10,037 incidents from 1990 to 1996, with 218 people being killed.
"The problem
with aggressive driving is that it leads to road rage," Gutier said.
Sen. Tom Freestone,
R-Mesa, who is co-sponsoring the bills, agreed.
The cost of the
proposals is unknown. By making it illegal to drive across gore points, the
state would have to re-stripe freeway ramps using yellow paint instead of
white.
Hull said money can
be found to pay for the changes.
It seems that the author of this posting is
doing a few things here. First and foremost, I think he wants this to be a
warning to drivers who drive recklessly about laws passing in Arizona (where he
lives). I think another thing this author is doing is venting through his harsh
language. He seems to have some anger management issue and feels that driving
poorly means you are not a decent member of society.
I find it hard to agree with his sentiments
mainly because I don't drive. Although I do agree that poor driving is a
dangerous behavior, and traffic rules should be enforced. This apparently is a
statement about society at large if laws of this nature are bout to be passed.
It says to me that road rage is a large problem, and without government
intervention the problem will continue. Very sad.
Subject:
Things that Peeve and Road Rage
Date: 1998/02/10
An earlier thread
talked about how while overtaking another driver ~5-10 MPH, the other driver
will accelerate and match speed to pace you, thus preventing you from
completing the pass. I see this all the time on 66 and 495. My explanation is
this: I think some of these people don't even know they are doing it. They
subconsciously speed up when they see you gaining, without being aware of accelerating.
Then there's the opposite. Somebody passes you and then once they lose sight
sight of you periphally (sp), they slow and camp off your left front bumper.
All I can say is this: complete idiots.
My driving style is
to make sure that at no time, if at all possible, do I impede anybody else's
progress. I make a run up 66E 3-4 nights a week to visit my girlfriend, and
have seen it all. There are some nights that I'm the fastest driver on the
road. About 20% of other drivers will change lanes out of the left to let me
by. And that I believe is because the headlights on my Pathfinder are blinding
them. Mind you, I am not tailgating, just driving with a normal spacing. The
others sit and force me to pass on the right. This is a 4 lane highway!! Then
there are other nights where I am not the fastest. I ALWAYS change lanes into
the right to let someone by, if I happen to be in the left-most lane at all.
The idiot that
started the other thread received his well-deserved abuse. I have very rarely
been passed on the right, usually due to gaps in the middle lane occurring
before me, and then the middle lane speeding up. If I find myself stuck in a
right hand turn lane but want to go straight, I'll turn right anyway, just to
avoid slowing up other traffic, or cutting somebody off. The other night, I saw
a guy trying to make a turn, completely stuck out in the perpendicular lane.
About five cars ahead of me and then myself had to veer in the other lane just
to clear his bumper. I slowed, honked, and held up my hands as if to say "
WTF? ", and he flicked me off. I just laughed, not believing that this guy
would not put his car into reverse.
My philosophy is
this: I'm not the only car on the road, so I make sure to be as courteous as
allowed to other drivers. I don't tailgate, I let people in when they signal, I
stay right unless passing, and don't impede other drivers. However, that
courtesy ENDS when it is not extended back to me. I have been known to tap
brakes when 'gated, box in some asshole who previously cut me off, told people
they were idiots at stoplights after pulling off some astoundingly stupid move,
etc,etc. I know I'll be flamed for this, but there are times when I do lose my
temper, and pursue things a little far. Scariest? Blacked-out, rusting Suburban
in D.C., when I slowed to a crawl after being tailgated at a distance of
perhaps 3 feet on a one lane road. He pulled into a 7-11 to get around me, so I
sped up. Then he backed off a little bit. Then he turned off with no further
incident. Afterwards, I realized it was extremely dumb for me to do this, but I
let my temper get the best of me. You see, I don't do that sort of thing to
other people, but when someone starts it with me, I can't help but want to
finish it.
Let me tell you, I
almost always win. So if you travel 66E on week nights and squat in the left
lane, and notice a Green Pathfinder traveling faster than you, get out of my
way first chance you got. And if you happen to approach me from behind, don't
tailgate, and I'll be out of your way in second or two.
In the beginning of the posting, Alex sounds
level headed stating that a possible reason cars might match speed with you is
that they are unaware of you. This is quite possible, and giving someone the
benefit of the doubt that there perceived rudeness is unintentional could
prevent an unfortunate incident. However this is not the case, his actuall
point is that they are "complete idiots".
He then continue to tell a tale of how after
being tailgated once he intentionally slowed to annoy the driver, and sped up
as other driver tried to pass. He states, "Let me tell you, I almost
always win." and i think his attitude of revenge driving is actually
fairly common on the road. People don't seem to have the idea that turning the
other cheek might be a good idea. Very telling about our society. Allot of the
postings seemed to be about how the person posting is a good driver and not a
cause of road rage but there actions seem to prove otherwise. This is
definitely cognitive dissonance.
Subject:
Re: When will you cretins LEARN?
Date: 1998/02/18
I agree that a
skilled driver will know when to slow down when conditions are not good.
However, if you paid attention to the show, many of the crashes were caused by
sheer stupidity or by criminals fleeing the law. I am not saying that speeding
all of the time is good, however I don't believe that a driver with any skill
at all would do the things that you list below. Since I believe that this
newsgroup is populated by people who enjoy driving and are not reckless (I
hope), I think that your rather rude post is misdirected. By the way, did you
notice that a lot of the footage in the show was staged crash test footage? The
part at the end with the road rage and the guy with the in-car camera who
called a "road rage psychologist" was VERY pathetic.
After watching FOX's
latest round of car-crash shows, most notably "Surviving The Moment Of Impact,"
I was reminded once again how annoying speeders and tailgaters can be. I am
tired of your B.S. logic which you use to rationalize your selfish urges. Here
are a few common fallacies that get repeated all the time:
FALLACY #1:
"It's not raw speed, but *relative* speed that causes accidents, so if
everyone drove the same speed (aka 80 mph) there would be fewer
accidents." WRONG: Countless crashes occur when vehicles try to stop or
swerve to avoid *stationary* objects like stalled cars. The faster you go, the
harder it is to stop and the graver the injuries become. It's simple physics
you morons.
FALLACY #2: "I
like speed because speed is cool, therefore I have a right to push it to the
limit when I feel like it." WRONG: Not everyone shares your junior-high
fantasies. You have no right to drive like an idiot just to satisfy your ego.
Shut up and show some courtesy. If you want to speed, take it way out in the
country where you're least likely to kill someone.
FALLACY #3: "I
am more skilled than most drivers, therefore I can get away with riskier
maneuvers." WRONG: This is your ego speaking again. Driving a car (outside
of an Indy race) is not as difficult as you think. You have delusions of
grandeur. Any idiot can floor a gas pedal and weave through traffic, especially
with today's agile cars. Truly skilled drivers know when to slow the hell down.
I fully expect a
pack of losers to take offense to the above.
Josh's response to the posting about the Fox special
about car crashes was actually quite was tempered. He did not fall into name
calling, and his points were very well laid out. I would agree that it is a
misdirected and rude post. I am curious as to the "VERY pathetic"
segment with the "road rage psychologist". It makes me wish I had
time to watch TV.
The post in which it was referenced to
actually doesn't seem to make a lot of sense to me, but it is characteristic of
a lot of the anger on the usnet.
Subject:
Off Duty (and out-of-line) Cops Directing Traffic
Date: 1998/02/16
I just very returned
from eating at one of my favorite restaurants on Peachtree Rd and when I passed
Harry's in a Hurry the cop in front of the place walked directly in front of my
vehicle and motioned me to stop. Big problem was that the only way I could have
stopped would have been to stomp the brakes. I was not speeding because at that
hour of a Sunday evening Peachtree Rd is quite crowded and the heavy traffic
moves slowly. Since I could not stop safely in the distance allotted to me by
the officer I continued on to the stop light. As I passed, the officer either
slapped or kicked the tail of my vehicle and yelled something at me.
What did I
experience? ROAD RAGE! If there had not been a vehicle directly behind me (and
it didn't/couldn't stop either), then I would have backed up and confronted the
officer! Boy was I steamed!
This is not the
first time I have seen this particular officer causing problems in front of H
ina H. The guy is a real jerk. And it's only been a few years since a motorist
mowed-down a cop in front of the Wendy's just down the road. You'd think he
would show a little respect for the drivers!
Anybody got some
ideas on how I can complain and get HinaH to dump his ass?
All of the other
officers that direct traffic in front of HinaH are courteous and never a
problem. But this fool is just absolutely over the top!
.
Kudzu posting in regards to his run in with a
police officer is a good example of my personal feelings about police officers.
I think that almost everyone can think of a time that they have been a witness
to a police officer acting in some way to cause aggravation to a driver
(usually by their own driving. In many ways I think this cultivates a societal
negative attitude towards cops.
Another interesting thing is the way that
this posting is written as though we as a world wide readership would know
exactlly where these places are occuring. I think this idea that the
"audience" for the usenet groups knows what and where you're talking
about without having to go into great detail is quite common on the net.
Subject:
Toying with other drivers..
Date: 1998/02/02
Anyone else like to
teach incompetent drivers lessons? When someone doesn't yield at a rotary and
cuts me off, I like to get as close to them as I possibly can, blare my horn,
and screech my wheels. I love that scared rabbit look in their eyes. Yeah, I'll
probably kill someone that way someday. "Culling the herd." :-)
I also love using
"the box". You know, when some squidly driver is weaving all over the
road passing everyone in dense traffic, and they pass you on the right when
they could have gone around you to the left. They intend to pull into your lane
and cut you off before they get stuck behind the car in their lane.. but you
just accelerate a little, box 'em in, then match their speed until the guy
behind you catches up and can keep them boxed. Ideally, they actually end up
losing a few car lengths. If you do it subtly enough and pretend that you don't
see them, by the time they start seething, you're well out of range.
Its great fun to
instigate road rage, particularly if your car is much faster than theirs. ;-)
Roger Gonzalez's posting "Toying with
other drivers" is actually quite disturbing. It describes some of the
things that he likes to do to other drivers that he views as driving poorly.
I'm hoping that Roger isn't being serious when he dismisses the idea that he
might kill someone with his antics as "Culling the herd" .
It is really quite hard for me to condone
this sort of behavior at all. I think that sadly there are more like him on the
road. It seems as if he feels entitled to drive in a reckless and immature
manner as long as in his mind he isn't the instigator. He is out to
(paraphrased) teach them a lesson and doesn't seem to feel he is going any
wrong.
It seems to me that the best way would be to
try and not worry about people who in your estimation are driving poorly. Just
give the some space and forget about it. It's hard to be confronted with this
sort of attitude and not call this guy an idiot.
Date: 1998/02/15
Effective
immediately, anyone who passed me on Interstate 77 while I am doing the speed
limit will be reported to 911 for violation of the speed limit.
There are too many
drivers who have road rage and they are making the road unsafe for me.
I found this letter to be a perfect example
of drivers on the usenet thinking that everyone who has wronged them is reading
there postings. For some reason this is more common than I would have thought,
and I think that it might go hand in hand with road rage. The feeling that I's
in someway personal.
I'm glad he says he's only going to call 911,
but to characterize anyone who passes you as you're going the speed limit as
having road rage as Anthony does is a bit extreme.
Subject:
Daily gripe: Straight, straight, straight ...
Date: 1998/02/21
It seems that its
hard enough making turns, and nearly as bad just keeping a vehicle straight.
First there is the
drunk. We all know how straight he/she keeps their vehicle. NOT!
Then there is the
person who panic stops in the snow or on ice. See the pretty donuts! Or see how
the wheels of the vehicle are now at a higher elevation above sea level than
the rear-view mirror.
And of course there
is the person who's putting on makeup or reading something while driving. They
may get their makeup on straight, but fail to keep their vehicle straight,
except straight into your rear end. Or they may understand what they were
reading better, but be unable to read the lane markings and end up in your lane
or a ditch!
Then there's the
panic swerve on the interstate, onto the shoulder, when traffic suddenly stops.
Trouble is, when 2-3 do it together, they can also end up in fender-bender.
And how about
crossing the solid line to change lanes at intersections? This is generally
prohibited by law. It sends a "false signal" to others, when they
assume your are in one lane, but suddenly change in or near the intersection.
Then there's the
turn-when-its-really-too-late, (The driver should go and turn around down the
road a bit, instead.) They seem to be saying, "Excuse me, while I change
my mind. And would you mind terribly swerving to avoid me at 70 mph?"
Yes, there's the
killer cross-over accident, when a driver decides its a good time to get
distracted and end his/her own life and maybe take out a whole family while
he/she is at it.
Of course there are
useless speed bumps that keep us from keeping a vehicle straight, horizontally
speaking, that is.
Yes, once in awhile
you see the person who cannot drive straight into the drive-it-in-yourself car
wash and gets hung up, even ripping out an exhaust system trying to get free.
And there's the
can't-drive-into-the-ATM-drive-up-straight and has to try again or open the
door and get out. Ever noticed the "battle scars" at the
drive-through ATM?
In the parking lots
you have those who cannot even pull into a spot, even when it is straight in,
without hogging part of the next spot.
And don't you just
hate it, trying to get out of parking lot where one feeds a money machine and
the person in front of you seems to have not driven close enough to the money
tray. And when they open the door to try to get closer, their money falls on
the ground and blows or rolls away. Or don't you just hate it when they forgot
to make sure they had a small enough bill for the money machine, and now 10
cars have to somehow backup, and it cannot be done in non-straight line that
winds around the lot.
Now sometimes you
want to make a left or a right (either at a right-on-red or a green arrow) and
the person in front of you simply did not get straight into just one lane, but
has the tale of their vehicle blocking your lane, so that you are impeded from
moving on.
Oh yes, I have seen
actually a few rubber-necking persons look so hard at one accident, they
inadvertently changed lanes and caused another accident.
Some people also
think that instead of staying straight and to the right of the keep-right sign,
the sign is there for target practice. Ever see those signs bent over at just
10 degrees from the ground?
Yes, we get those
who weave in and out dangerously, too.
And last, but not
least, it is you who wants to drive straight, but some butt-head pulls out on
you, and you are forced to weave.
It seems that making
turns is difficult for many drivers, but I am wonder if keeping a car straight
is even harder.
I'm not really sure what Walt was trying to get
across here. It's sort of comes off as someone who is sorely stresses out by
the whole driving process. I'm hoping that this was a bit of venting. It seems
as though he feels that all drivers are guilty of one of these error. He
certainly seems to have put a bit more though into it than the average person.
I'm hoping this is an individual personality
trait and not a comment on our society as a whole. You really shouldn't think
about other people's driving problems that much. I can't imagine that it's healthy.
Subject:
Taller humans, road rage, and Big-Screen TVs
Date: 1998/02/07
Sad to say that
beyond cosmetics and a few more modular motors, Ford is >running out of
bandaids for the Fox-Chassis. While they are at it, they might >take notice
that the average human has gotten taller in the last 21 years.. >make the
seat tracks usable and give us some blasted leg room!
WHOA! When did THIS
happen?!? Was there a huge influx of new immigrants starting in 1977? Or maybe
the various bush-wars around the globe have killed off all the short people?
Maybe YOU've gotten taller in the past 21 years, but I haven't changed at all.
I was 6'1" in 1977, and I'm still 6'1". If I start getting any
taller, I'm gonna call the tabloids!
How to remove Road
Rage: Make everyone drive a Miata at least once a week!
I'm not sure what
you mean by this... There are basically two views to everything, so I'll see if
I figure this out correctly.
1.- The Miata, while
a sweet-handling ride, is severely underpowered. Thus, no matter how
frustrated, annoyed and angry the driver gets, he has no recourse through which
to express his "road rage", and thus aborts any such attempt.
2.- The Miata,
despite being severly underpowered, is such a sweet-handling ride that the
driver immediately feels at peace and "one with the world", thus
eliminating any need to express his former frustration, annoyance and anger.
My personal road
rage is caused by other drivers' rude behavior. Tailgaters, especially, and
cheaters. Young drivers abusing the elderly, male drivers threatening female
drivers, rush hour drivers who act as if their being late for work offers them
special privileges over the rest of us who are late for work. In general,
actions behind the wheel that we would never consider in face-to-face society.
Perhaps, if our
faces were displayed in big-screen TV format on the outside of our windshields,
we would take more responsibility for what we do behind the wheel.
'93 LX 5.0, once
again blacker than black
I actually found this posting to be quite
humorous, especially the comments about the Mazda Miata. I think that the
comments about road rage being "caused by other driver's rude
behavior" seems to be a reoccurring theme. Sadly it seems that some people
don't understand that you can't get back at these other drivers, it could have
been no more that a bona fide mistake. To pursue or harass them would only make
things worse. That's what I like about this posting, less anger than the rest.
Subject:
Road Rage Bully on Commuter Route
Date: 1998/01/21
Details: A Vauxhall
Carlton (F529ONW) was overtaken on a dual c/way by my (female) colleague. He
took exception to this obvious affront to his manhood and harrassed her for the
remainder of her journey home. He did this by constantly pulling in front of
her and slowing down. This kind of behaviour, in fairly heavy traffic, is very
intimidating. His face was "contorted with rage", the usual gestures
etc. At one point he tried to run her off the road.
My colleague was
*very* upset and hasn't slept much last night. I hope you're pleased with
yourself Mr Carlton Driver.
But, don't worry,
we've taken steps to make sure it doesn't happen again... -
-
When I speak for my
employer - I'll tell you! "Prejudice is the reason of fools" -
Voltaire
Again here is another posting written as
though the driver with whom they have issues with is reading the postings on
the news groups. It seems possible that the person who cut them off was a very
similar type to Roger from the earlier "Toying with drivers" posting.
Perhaps the other driver was trying to "teach them a lesson."
What ever the case it seems that it only
seems to have caused more negative feelings. I wonder exactly what does
"we've taken steps to make sure it doesn't happen again..." mean? I
hope this isn't anything violent. Sounds ominous.
Subject:
Old Drivers More Deadly Than Drunk Drivers !
Date: 1998/02/02
It's true. In 1997,
the old, gray and senile drivers caused more fatalities than drunk drivers!
Don't fall for the big media propaganda that says that drunk drivers are the
most hazardous on the road. They are not - Gray drivers are!
Get the FACTS !
Come visit our web
site and see what statistics say about Gray Driving. We get our facts from the
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and our quotes from Capt. Carl Fruge
of that force. When you age, you can't see, hear, react, or contain the same
mental capacity as when you were young -- you eventually become an impaired
driver! So join our crusade of safety, by telling the elderly to...
DON'T GRAY AND DRIVE
[ http://www.dontgrayanddrive.com ]
I had some really high hopes about this
posting. It would seem that it played on my own attitudes to the elderly. It
seems to me of late that a lot of the rude behavior that I have run into was
senior citizens. I heard them talk all the way through movies, they've cut in
line in front of me what seems like countless times. There is a definite
driving stereotype of seniors.
So I was sadly disappointed to find out that
this was all just a ploy to sell some lame t-shirts and bumper stickers. The
"facts" are one news story that explains that do to an increase in
the elderly population in the Las Vegas area more seniors died in car accidents.
It just goes to show that if you read the
news groups, you are going to stumble on a few ads.
Well
it seems that there are a lot o people out there who have given this road rage
problem a lot of thought. As for future generations, try public transportation.
Seriously, I would say that although newsgroups are interesting, I think that
it seems to attract people on the extremes, which I suppose that's what road
rage is. So good luck.