WHAT'S THE PROBLEM???
Subject Daily gripe: non-aggressive rainy day drivers
Date Fri, 06 Feb 1998 04:57:05 GMT
Despite the fact that my glass on my car is rain
soaked and that the highway spray was incredible this morning, jerks still think its safe
to drive around
without their lights on.
I counted about 1 in 20 without them on this morning in the pouring rain.
COMMENTS:
Obviously this is a very disgruntled driver who is expressing his feelings on driving in the rain. I know that in some states that it is illegal to drive in the rain without your headlights on. Also, in many of the newer model cars, the windshield wipers are tied in to the headlights so whenever you use the wipers the headlights automatically turn on. It seems that this person may have had a bad experience(s) with driving in the rain, but who knows, the problem may be him??? Actually I agree with Mr. Horning and feel that people should turn on their headlights in the rain. I find that it is easier to recognize a vehicle driving in front with its lights on, thus making it safer for myself and the other driver.
Subject Re: Experience of Road Rage while running
Date 11 Dec 1997 22:58:38 GMT
Unfortunatly as runners we face these things every
once in a while. But we can't quit running because of it. I have told this
story here before but once while running along the road against traffic (as
you're suppose to) I had some young punk kids try and open the passenger door on me just
in time to hit me. Fortunantly, I guess due to the wind force, he didn't get the door open
far enough.
They just went on laughing and screaming.
I told a girl at work this story and she related the same thing had happened to her a
few months earlier on the other side of
Indy. She had thought it was do to her being black or a female, but it was just
some people are nuts and hate runners. Another complaint I have, again
stated in an earlier post last spring, is these people who weight 300 lbs driving
these big old bombs barreling down at you with a Wendy's
double cheese in one hand, a frosty in the other and biggie fries in their laps, seems like they just try and aim for you.
That or the assholes with car phones who don't
pay attention while driving. But I still like when the girls whistle and yell at me. :) Okay lets
not go there again. :)
Wishing you and your families a wonderful, happy and safe holiday.
COMMENTS:
This article caught my attention because something similar to this occurred right here in Hawaii, right in my own neighborhood. It seems that several runners were attacked by a passing car full of youths wielding baseball bats. Unfortunately, the culprits were never apprehended and a couple of the runners were injured. I'm not an avid runner, but I can empathize with the author of the article. I can't stand it when drivers are preoccupied with talking on their cell phone, eating, drinking, or applying make-up while driving. Since they're not paying attention these offenders are often either, exceeding the speed limit or driving too damn slow. They fail to realize the danger they pose to other drivers and even pedestrians!
Alien from Outer Space spotted on SoCal roadway...
Subject Re: Radar Detectors: (Was: Re: Road rage, drivers tests, etc...)
Date 28 Feb 1998 14:30:21 GMT
Now this may be a SoCal Thang...but the drivers who
make ME quake in my Pointy Boots (tm) are those who are yapping on a cell phone in
stop-and-go traffic
in a stick-shift car.
OK...work with me on this...
One hand is holding the phone.
One hand has to shift for the stopping and starting.
One hand has to steer.
So....*WHERE DOES THE THIRD HAND COME FROM*??????
Not to mention the
fact that such drivers may well be focusing their attention on their conversations
rather than the road. --Kevin, one of whose favorite bumper stickers reads simply "Hang
up and drive!"
"Violence
is the last refuge of the incompetent." --Isaac Asimov
COMMENTS:
yeah..., I often wonder the same thing... how do people drive when
holding their cell phone in one hand and trying to shift and steer at the same
time in bumper-to-bumper rush rush hour traffic? I have witnessed
numerous potential accidents where a driver is not paying attention because he
is too busy yapping on their cell and attempting to do other things (i.e.
drinking coffee, looking for something on the passenger or back seat, applying
make-up, etc...). All the while these idiots are not paying attention to
their main task at hand...
DRIVING! I know that it is possible to operate a standard drive vehicle with the use of one hand, and many of us often do so, but it's not good driving technique, especially while trying to hold a phone and carry a conversation all the while. I know that it is a major concern of many transportation and safety officials, but I'm not too sure if there has been any type of propositions to legislatures concerning this issue. Maybe some kind of law should be passed prohibiting the use of cellular phones while operating a vehicle. Gives all of us something to consider for the future as the roadways get worse everyday.
Subject Re: Road Rage
Date Fri, 02 Jan 1998 01:03:56 -0500
Jeff,
On my trans-am for '98, I plan to have a camera with me, convienient for instant shots. Anyone who I feel deliberately tries to run me off the road or hassles me while I'm riding, discretely gets his picture taken, with licience plate!!!
I hope some of the links below may be useful to fellow newsgroup readers. After a couple of recent horn blowing engine revving incidents involving firstly an 8 tonne truck and a few days latter a medium sized 4WD both aimed more or less at me and my bike, clearly (to me and a witness) trying to force me off the road, I have tried to find a handbook of road/bike rules for my locality without much success. (see below if you want to read
some of the details).
The local motoring association (NRMA) used to have
one online only a few months ago. That address now returns a missing page message. All
that I have
found todate seems to confirm that bike riders(drivers) have the same access, rights and
obligations as motorised vehicle drivers(riders), when on public roads.
I must also say that the great majority of motorised
vehicle drivers are mostly very law abiding and considerate motorists and its a real
pleasure to
share the public road system with them. My hit rate so far is about one
case of road rage
per about 500km Given I probably share the roads with say 2,500 cars that means
the rate or rage is about 0.05%. I guess the other statistic though is that
motorised vehicles kill about 300 people (mostly children) in my state every year.
I also looked for articles on Road Rage
(which admittedly I was feeling, at the time of looking) and found the links below. My
intension is to pop some of this in the mail box of one of the perpetrators who is
from my local area.
I also intend to talk to my local police to see what options I have. Based on my reading
(below), It looks like this sort of stuff is not so much them, that need to
look at this sort of thing seriously, but us (at least me and those other two individual divers).
After a relatively short time (todate) of browsing a
few news groups, I wonder if some of content of the road rage articles
also could be applicable. I'm interested in any positive/constructive feedback and am
not interested in
(I'll hopefully ignore) an newsgroup posting war.
I hope you and yours, had a very happy, and relatively rage free, holiday season.
95Road Rage Survey - your chance to participate in research designed to
investigate a correlation between aggressive behaviours and personal
attributes on the road. [http://www.nku.edu/~durmj/]
95Advice on Road Rage and Hassle-Free Driving - from Dr. Driving, a
Traffic Psychologist. [http://www.aloha.net/~dyc/index.html]
95Road Rage and Aggressive Drivers - Congressional testimony by Leon
James.
[http://www.aloha.net/~dyc/testimony.html]
95Road Rage, Article by Mark Pepper (Village).
[http://www.drivers.com/issues/roadrage/pepper.html]
95AAA Foundation's Road Rage News and Report
[http://webfirst.com/aaa/text/roadrage.htm]
95Managing A Quality Driving Circle - resolving road rage.
[http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/409bf96/oshiroki/459/report2.html
95Drevik, Steve - includes links for Knoxvillians to express road rage=
by reporting bad drivers. Also includes ability to report bad businesses.
[http://pw1.netcom.com/~sdrevik/]
95 U.S.News & World Report, June 2 1997, "Road Rage, Tailgating, giving
the finger, outright violence--Americans grow more likely to take out their
frustrations on other drivers".
[http://www.drivers.com/issues/roadrage/2driv.htm]
Some more details:-
On both occassions my actions (according to me and
the witness) were correct and the mortorised drivers were both in the wrong breaking
a number of road rules in the process. The
truck for instance crossed double unbroken lines at a crest on a small bridge to overtake me at that
pinch point but then crossed back in too quickly (in space I occupied) taking up the whole
lane over
that narrow bridge. It goes without saying I suppose, that the driver risked his/her (and
pasengers?) life, my life and potentially the lives of people in oncoming
vehicles, all for the saving of about 5 seconds (on a quiet Sunday morning at
about 8:15am). Maybe he was running late to meet with his/her God.
The other (4WD) driver wanted to get past me while I
was in the right hand lane turning right (center turning lane for non-aussies) with a number
of clear hand
signals by me to that affect. This was just before a 4 way cross road
intersection with two lanes appoaching in all directions. The 4WD driver then
proceeded straight through the intesection (which he/she could have done easily
from the left hand lane). This was at 6pm on a Tuesday.
The driver was only about 500 meters from home. The inconvenience of waiting for me to turn right would have been about 10 seconds. The incovenience of changing lanes was almost zero. The vehicle was in the right lane (center of the road, turning lane for non-aussies) as it had just turned right about 20 meters before my bike speed then was only about 5 to 10 km/hr slower than the 4WD's. Both these intersections were round abouts which I find I travel at the same speed as moterised vehicles.
COMMENTS:
This persons idea about carrying a camera with him (in his car) may prove to be not very wise. I think that this guy is not really thinking about how it will be possible for him to take a picture and drive at the same time. I hope that he realizes that if one hand is steering, the other is holding the camera, and one eye is looking through the viewfinder. And while it's possible to not do so, usually a person closes the other eye (the one not looking through the viewfinder) while taking a picture. So, how in the world does one pay any attention to the road if they are trying to do all these things at once. He now becomes an immediate threat to anyone else sharing the roadways with him.
I found his post rather interesting because he seems very sincere in his
interest about road rage. It kind of makes me wonder about his incident
rate of encountering road rage though. The impression I get from his
posting is that he encounters road rage more often than says.
His message is also interesting because he had searched the web for sites
concerning road rage and has links to them from his message. If you take
a closer look you will see that he has found articles from a student of a
previous generation and also a link to two articles from Dr. Driving
himself.
Subject solution to road rage
Date Thu, 29 Jan 1998 11:29:43 -0500
SLOWER TRAFFIC KEEP RIGHT!
...enough said.
COMMENTS:
Short and sweet. I think the author was able to get his point across. But, I think he should've mentioned that "SPEEDERS KEEP LEFT!". It's my experience that many drivers think that the "right" lane is the fast lane. There could be no car in front of them in the left lane, but they still feel that they have to switch into the right (read... slower lane) and start driving fast tailgating and pushing whoever's in front of them. I think that there should be signs posted along the roadways that read, "speeders, tailgaters, and assholes... keep left!"
It's that easy! Hmmm... guess not...
Subject Re: solution to road rage? No.
Date Thu, 29 Jan 1998 11:45:23 -0800
SLOWER TRAFFIC KEEP RIGHT!
...enough said.
We suspect your driving habits and attitude are part
of the problem, not the solution.
We propose a much better solution: legislation
designed to permantly revoke driver licences for anyone twice convicted of speeding, tailgating, improper lane
change, or reckless driving within a 10-yr period. First time DUI offenders should be
permanantly denied a licence to drive as well.
We're pushing for such legislative intervention here in California, as well as bills designed to divert money into better driver's education at the high school level. Progressive licencing is also in the works here, which should better encourage safe driving practices among young people. We urge everyone reading this to support such legislation in order to stem the rising tide of very poor driving behavior in our country.
****************************************************************
COMMENTS:
HMMM... I like this writers response to a prior post (the original is posted above this post). This writer recognizes the fact that the author of the original post may be the problem. The right lane is supposed to be for "slower" traffic, but that doesn't mean that the left lane is for speeding. It appears that the author of the response is sick and tired of the "I own the road", "roadhog" drivers and is taking matters into their own hands. I think they have the right idea proposing a bill to the legislature to penalize such negligent drivers. The only problem that I have with this is, how will they determine and enforce such actions. Unlike speeding where a radar gun is used, how does one determine a improper lane change or tailgating? If it's left up to interpretation and judgment of the officer I fear that it will have a hard time holding up when challenged in court.
Date Sun, 04 Jan 1998 05:42:50 GMT
OK, real quick. I don't have time to write a big
note, but here's what happened to me today – I was test driving my sister-in-law's Olds
Cutlass because my brotherand I were working on it and needed to see if we'd
worked the bugs out.
Not in my trusty 300ZX...
Guy in Toyota pickup runs red light turning right
while I'm completing a green lighted arrow left hand turn in front of him. I went around
him avoiding hitting
him (my only choice other than risking getting rear ended by the cars behind me).
Well, he went crazy and flew into this huge rage,
trying to run me off the road, arms flailing about, mouth contorted by screaming.
I figured 'Who
cares?' We got onto the freeway, he tried to pass me but I wouldn't let him
(the Olds had sufficient power to keep me ahead until the next turnoff since I didn't want him
trying to swerve me off the road). When we stopped at the (of course) red
light, he got out, ran around the car before I could roll up the window (I wasn't used to
the layout of the
controls, remember it's not my car) and proceeded to punch me in my arm and
shoulder area several times, screaming all the while. He then sped off.
I stayed in the car and just let him hit me in the
arm. It didn't really
hurt much, it was kind of weird - this guy punching my shoulder like a schoolyard buddy...
Oh well.
I called 911, drove to the nearby police station, wrote a report and they called up the guy's registration to find he had a suspended license and that they would probably charge him with misdemeanor battery and driving with a suspended license. I intend to go ahead with whatever help they need from me to nail him on battery. So I guess "road rage" exists. I had a first hand experience with it today. I still don't like the buzzword aspect of the phrase, but my advice to people (like myself) who don't take shit off of asshole drivers (flipping them off, tapping your brakes, preventing them from passing you), I have this advice... Keep your windows rolled up and watch it. I wasn't really hurt, more like amused at his juvenile antics and baffled at his disregard for the consequences, but a bigger, more aggressive guy would've probably caused more significant damage.
COMMENTS:
Wow! Can't say that I've ever had something like this happen to me. But I have heard stories similar to this one that have happened right here in Hawaii. And to make things worse, it involved elderly drivers (an elderly lady was forced off the road by a younger "local" male and punched in the face because the guy thought she had "cut him off"). Isn't this assault? Hell yes, if something like this ever happened to me I'd notify the police a.s.a.p.! And another thing, it would be wise to drive with the windows in your car up. You never know what kind of crazed or deranged person is out there who may attempt to "car jack" you and your vehicle.
Date Sun, 4 Jan 1998 01:11:11 -0600
Well, I guess I'll start it by stating the obvious. Randolf, notice he didn't say anything about calling them on a cell phone while moving. Also, the guy was struck, literally, by another motorist. That's worth the cops' time.
I called 911, drove to the nearby police station,
wrote a report and they called up the guy's registration to find he had a suspended
license and that
they would probably charge him with misdemeanor battery and driving with a suspended license. I
intend to go ahead with whatever help they need from me to nail him on battery. So I guess "road
rage" exists. I had a first hand experience with it today.
Hummmmm. Looks like Bill has violated to basic
principles of this group.
1... He actually tied up a 911 line reporting a
traffic violation and thereby preventing his local police from catching murderers and responding to other
emergency situations. Probably the whole town burned down and the major took a bullet while
they were dealing
with his insignificant whinnying.
2... He dares to hint that Road rage actually exists. Now I guess some of you hot shots are gonna have to teach him a lesson by threatening to catch him on the highway and run him off the road. Flame guns ready? OK, on the count of three. Do me proud now, guys. I want to hear those knees jerking.
COMMENTS:
The writer brings up some interesting points about "tying up" 911. But when you really think about it... what other number; that can be recalled off the top of your head; can you call? I once tried calling the operator to request a number to call to report a very small "fender bender" . And guess what number she referred me to...? That's right... 911! And even if you do know the number for your local police station, try calling them up next time instead of 911. The first thing they'll tell you to do is call...? Yup, 911.
Maybe governments should designate an alternate number to
call for lesser emergencies. I think that I've heard of this being done
in some states. And if my memory is correct, it has been quite successful
and response time to more "serious" emergency calls has
increased. Sounds like something that should be considered by all states!
Subject tailgating/aggressive driving [devil's advocate]
Date Fri, 12 Dec 1997 12:10:36 -0800
Ok, all you weenies whining about the big bad wolf
tailgating your precious
little turtle mobile when you are, gasp, "already" doing 75. BFD! So it is perfectly
okay for you to exceed the speed limit by 10, but you would rather die than let the guy behind you
to exceed the limit by 20? Who made you the freeway god?
If someone is tailgating you then most of the time
you are going too damn slow. Just move the fuck over! Would it kill you to let this
supposed
"maniac" by without him resorting to passing (and most likely cutting you off cuz he's
pissed by now) on the right???
I know that no matter how fast "Butthead"
might have been travelling at any given time, if someone closes in on him, he ALWAYS
ALWAYS move over for the guy behind. And I would even venture to say that lots of woad
wage incidents were
probably set off by dickheads refusing to yield on the left lane. I know
"Butthead" misses those bahn storming days when he used to tailgate the shit
(as in, less than 1/3 car length) out of the slow pokes on the fast lane. And you know what? At
least the slow pokes over there KNOW that they are wrong for holding you up, and would NEVER
NEVER dare flashing
his brake lights or not move over (or they might just have higher IQ's and know that getting rear
ended at 160kmh could be very hazardous to their health).
And as for those fucks who displays their brake
lights when they got the brights from a fast approaching cars, that is really just
asking for it. Not
only do you piss people off by refusing to yield, you further purposely put other's life
at risk. And you know, one day, the guy who's tailgating you just might not stop in time. Do you
really think you'll live thru a 75mph rear end accident unscratched and able to enjoy your
"settlement?"
So I say, tailgators, go ahead and tailgate the slow pokes. The slow pokes and the tailgators deserve one another.
COMMENTS:
Geez... it's people like this guy who have absolutely no business behind the wheel. Sounds like he's one of those "maniacs" that drive about 95 mph on the freeway. Whenever I encounter this type of driver I just stay in my own lane and make him move his ass over. If I see a car flying up behind me I have no idea what the driver is thinking, so rather than risking my own life by changing lanes, I let them make the first move. If they get pissed off, so be it! I couldn't care less and usually just mind my own business. Living in Hawaii, everything is so close, the longest drive is maybe no more than one hour or slightly longer. There really is no need to drive excessively fast here. People fail to realize that the island is so small ,that one accident anywhere on the roadways, traffic is affected everywhere. It seems that everyone here in Hawaii has forgotten what "Hawaiian Time" is. What's a few minutes worth? Is it worth being involved in an accident and potentially not even reaching your destination? Probably, no make that, definitely not!
So the next time you find someone driving with a heavy
foot, ask them to think about what they're doing... . And tell them to
slow down!
Subject Re: tailgating/aggressive driving -- by a SCHOOL BUS!
Date 13 Dec 1997 22:48:48 GMT
Yeah, yeah. I think we all agree that
tailgating is wrong and realize the implications thereof. We should pass laws
mandating everyone to live in a happy shiny world etc. The reality is that if you
don't like being tailgated it's probably not a good idea to block traffic in the passing
as that is
where 99% of blatant tailgating occurs.
It's like the guy who abhors physical violence that
walks into a rowdy bar. He starts to verbally assault the baddest guy there and
proceeds to get
his ass kicked. When he attempts to whine and cry to the rest of the
patrons that it was
wrong for the man to hit him, all they can do is look in bewilderment and ask
"they why the hell did you do that?". Same question I ask of people
who come here whining about tailgaters after they admit that they don't
respect the passing lane. Duh.
About 2 hours ago, I would have agreed with you more
than I do now. I
just had the most bizarre tailgating experience. I entered a line of cars on an on-ramp to the
main local highway (Roosevelt Ave entrance to the Schuylkill, eastbound, for the Philadelphians
among us). Traffic was heavy on the highway and even on the on-ramp. Suddenly I hear
honking behind
me -- a SCHOOL BUS is less than a foot off my tail and is honking me! So I continue to crawl with the line of cars onto
the highway – and this idiot is on my tail and honking the whole time. When I
got onto the highway, I purposely stayed slow so he'd pass me -- PA has no
front license plates and I wanted to get his -- and he finally passed me,
tailgated someone else, and then moved in front of me. At that point my husband wrote down his
license number and I moved into the middle lane and watched him tailgate the person in front of him
and then get off at an exit (Ridge Ave). And I'm talking less than 1' away from
whatever car was
in front of him! And there was no 'left lane hog' in this story -- the whole thing took place
on an on-ramp, in a right lane, and in a middle lane (of three), plus traffic was very heavy
in all three lanes and moving densely but evenly along at 40-60 mph.
Usually, when I see a real nutcase, I shrug and hope I never see him again -- but the fact that this was a school bus makes me think maybe I should report it to someone? Any suggestions?
COMMENTS:
hmmm... a school bus tailgating? Nah... not possible you say... . Well believe it or not, I had a similar experience. I was driving back home to the windward side when I encountered a caravan of school buses. Usually bus drivers are very courteous and respectful enough to drive in the right lane. But for some reason one of the bus drivers thought he was driving a Formula race car and decided to drive in the left lane. What he didn't realize (or maybe he did?) was that he was struggling along doing barely 45 mph. The other buses were in the right lane doing about the same speed! The driver refused to let anyone pass him and sped up whenever there was an opening thus closing any possible gap. I'm glad to say that the school bus had no passengers. But, it makes me wonder how this guy drives when he does have passengers? If I were this guy I would report this incident to the school bus company. Unfortunately, in my situation, the school bus was unmarked so I have no idea which company it belonged to.
I have to disagree with this guy in that he says
"99% of tailgating occurs in the left lane". According to
personal experience I would say that it's about 50 - 50. Almost daily I
witness vehicles in the right lane tailgating. And it's not as if they
can't pass in the left, often the left lane is unoccupied or else there's
enough room to change lanes and pass. And how many times have I seen
people in the middle (of a three lane roadway), use the right lane as a passing
lane and then swerve back across two lanes into the left lane. Whenever I
witness this I wish that I was a cop (policeman) so I could pull over these
morons and slap them with a ticket for reckless driving.
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