Almost started a road rage incident...

[Pete Zaria]

Long, rambling, unimportant post warning...

Setup:
I live 7-8 miles out of town, down a long, two-lane road with only one passing zone between "town" and my turnoff. The speed limit on this road is 45mph.

On the way to work this morning, I was stuck behind an older gentleman in a Suburban SUV. He was barely doing 35 in the straights, and slowed down to 25-30 for corners that can safely be taken at 40. To say it was frustrating is an understatement.

Now, especially since I've started carrying, I've tried very hard not to "pick up the rope", and to let things like this roll off... even if it does make me 10 minutes late.

What Happened:
I politely flashed my headlights and briefly honked when we approached the passing zone, hoping that he'd pull over a bit and let me by. No dice.

Well finally we get to the stoplight where the two-lane highway comes into town, and he pulls up next to me. I fought the urge to roll down my window and say something rude, or give him a one-finger salute. Instead, I just looked over at his car and shook my head "no".

He immediately got a very angry look on his face and began to get out of his car. I was shocked that such a simple gesture as shaking my head "no" would provoke this kind of reaction.

I considered my options - he was 10-12 feet away, appeared unarmed (empty hands at least), and my doors were locked, so I didn't feel to be in immediate danger.
So I decided to make a quick right (instead of going straight as I normally would have), and burned a little rubber as he was stepping out of his Suburban. He did not follow me, although I was planning to go park in front of the police station if he did.

The lessons I learned today:

Many if not most people are very rude, inconsiderate drivers.

Quite a few of them seem to be looking for a fight, and/or have very poor impulse control.

Doing absolutely anything beyond making eye contact could provoke someone. The only reasonable choice is to bottle up all of that frustration and road range until your next range trip, and then blow up a few melons to relieve your anger.



Peace,
Pete Zaria.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[morintp]

I'm glad it worked out alright and you made it home safely.

[wmhawth]

Good Pete. You seem to be in the thinking game and you obviously understand the responsibility you assume when you choose to carry a gun. The frustration one experiences with rude drivers is a tough one for me too.

[Cthulhu]

Flashing your headlights, however politely intended, is probably what started it. Guy stewed over that on the way to the stop light. The shaking of your head was probably the proverbial straw that broke the dingbat camel's back.

Nobody hurt. You didn't have to clear leather. Live and learn.

Unfortunately, my idea of IQ tests for U.S. citizenship to protect us from inconsiderate goons like Mr. Slowpoke doesn't have a lot of support.

-JT

[TacticalCompact]

Would calling the highway patrol to report an unsafe driver obstructing progress be out of the question in a situation such as this?

I know, probably not necessary and the best thing to do is suck it up and enjoy the "relaxing" cruise. However, drivers like this drive me nuts, as I always try to be courteous.

[havegunjoe]

Even making eye contact could provoke some people. People have been killed by gang-bangers for some perceived disrespect. When carrying you have to simply let it slide. The way I look at it is do I really want to get into a fight to get to work faster? Heck no! As to the question of calling police for someone driving too slow unless there is a minimum posted they will probably tell you too bad he is breaking no law.

[Rob P.]

The way I look at it is do I really want to get into a fight to get to work faster? Heck no!

This is the part that has always baffled me. In order to get to work 30 seconds sooner people have to drive like raving madmen, overstress themselves, and get angry. This means they perform poorly at work (anger issues), get sick easier (stress issues) and cost the company money (lost days/production). All to save 30 seconds of commute time.

It's even worse at quitting time. People drive like lunatics just to get home, pop open a beer and stare at the the tube for 3 hours.

I don't get it.

[Ghettokracker71]

Even making eye contact could provoke some people. People have been killed by gang-bangers for some perceived disrespect. When carrying you have to simply let it slide. The way I look at it is do I really want to get into a fight to get to work faster? Heck no! As to the question of calling police for someone driving too slow unless there is a minimum posted they will probably tell you too bad he is breaking no law.

Ahem, there is laws against going a certain rate UNDER the speed limit, its considered impeeding traffic flow. Glad nothing happened, Pete.

I take backroads and there isn't any passing zone on the way to work,and it burns me up because for whatever reason people just LOVE to pull out right in front of you (illegally--as I have to hit my brakes and slow down,waiting for them to accelerate.) and most of them go 5 under the speed limit????? Boggles my mind how such a tiny commute accross city lines changes traffic so much. I drive 10-15 minutes to work daily (pending on idiots pulling out in front of me//going slow.)

[Ram Rod]

Some folks are on the road for the simple reason to provoke some sort of response from others---this is their main goal. The road seems to be where Americans take out their daily frustrations--they have more power (tons of vehicle), seem somewhat removed from the personal confrontation, seem somewhat protected from their actions or retributions by their four wheeled shell of metal. Just the facts folks---and it gets worse every day. Road games---beware.

[limatunes]

Let's also try to remember that not every inconsiderate driver out there is trying to be inconsiderate.

For example.

I was driving home from church one day with my parents in the car, I was coming up to a turn, started applying pressure to the breaks and the pedal went completely to the floor and I didn't even begin to slow. My breaks had failed.

"MY BREAKS ARE GONE!" I screamed to my dad and I had to turn or run straight into traffic and then off into a field.

My Dad quickly instructed me to down shift into second gear, put my four-ways on and try to make the safest turn possible as I had no other choice seeing as I had no breaks (I didn't even know where that cars emergency break was).

I turned in front of someone who I normally would have stopped for but it was not a very dangerous turn. They had plenty of time to slow before hitting me.

Well, needless to say, I had completely cut them off and my Dad told me to keep it in 2nd gear to insure I didn't go to fast and basically to drive home making all of my turns and speed in 2nd gear to insure I didn't end up speeding out of control with no breaks.

The person behind me was LIVID. I tried to pull over as much as possible to let them pass but they wouldn't.

They were honking at me and flashing their lights and flicking me off and I could see in their rear-view mirror that they were screaming. They were very angry.

I felt very bad for them but there was nothing I could do. I HAD NO BREAKS!! I certainly wasn't trying to be inconsiderate, I was trying to keep me and my parents alive.

Of course there was no way for them to know that but it certainly would have helped with the obscene gestures and threatening demeanor.

Now, every time that I get cut off in traffic or someone is inconsiderate or something like that happens, I think of that time and I don't do a thing. There could be 100 reasons why someone is driving the way that they are and yes, certainly, it could just be because they are idiots, but it could be something a lot more serious as well and there's no reason to add tension to an already tense situation.

Smile, nod, give them plenty of space and let it go.

[500Mag]

I've noticed that a lot of people take getting passed in a passing zone on a two lane road as a personal insult of some kind. Even if its perfectly legal and safe.

[srg]

I politely flashed my headlights and briefly honked when we approached the passing zone, hoping that he'd pull over a bit and let me by. .

I'd say this is it right there. I've been driving since 1973 and I've never heard of doing this. I have been taught, (so long ago) that if you are being passed, to move as far to the right as possible and slow down a little to "help" get the person past as fast and safe as possible.

To me, if I was honked at and lights flashed, and I was doing nothing more then tooling along at a legal speed, I'd probably get pissed too, and wonder what the problem was.

Of course, that being said, I'm old enough to know that saying anything at all to another driver is basically asking for trouble, unless you're waving at someone to thank him for letting you out into traffic.

Just my opinion, you mileage may vary, etc......

srg

[ctr]

This is the part that has always baffled me. In order to get to work 30 seconds sooner people have to drive like raving madmen, overstress themselves, and get angry. This means they perform poorly at work (anger issues), get sick easier (stress issues) and cost the company money (lost days/production). All to save 30 seconds of commute time.

It's even worse at quitting time. People drive like lunatics just to get home, pop open a beer and stare at the the tube for 3 hours.

I don't get it.

Here are a couple of thoughts to consider...

We don't know why the other driver is speeding, or why they are in a hurry. I'm not a leo and speed enforcement is not in my job description. From my motorcycle days, yield/let the other driver pass by as soon as it is safe to do so. Problem solved.

In my case, I can be a bit, um, "pushy" on the road getting to work. My drive is around 1 hour each way. Take any 3 or 4 distracted and pokey drivers and 15 - 20 minutes can easly get added onto my drive time. Now that is inconsiderate

What I see most often is distracted drivers talking on the cell phone. Drivers unsure of where they are going, wanting to proceed straight thru and intersection from the left turn lane instead of being considerate and correcting the navigation error with another turn.
Folks going to work "early" who don't understand the rest of us are on time. And the ego maniacs that believe they are the fastest driver out there and won't let others pass regardless of road conditions, etc. These folks are most often seen hogging the left lanes and accelerating whey you try to pass.

So yes, its easy to get impatient with these types and pass by them when its safe to do so. But correcting their behavior, glares, gestures and other provacative measures are not an option with CCW imho. Someone else on the board once said you can be angry, or you can CCW, but being angry and CCW won't last too long.

So I go out of my way to avoid those conflicts, but travel as fast as legally and safely possible. Everything in between point A and B is an obstacle to be negotiated.

[Pete Zaria]

To Lima and those that said "let it go"... You're absolutely right, but that doesn't mean it takes any less willpower.
Lima, thanks for sharing the story about "no brakes" ... certainly does give some insight. By putting on your emergency flashers, you let other people know you were having a problem, which to me, makes it much more justifiable.

Yes, it probably was the flashing of the lights and brief "beep beep" of the horn that ticked the guy off. He was doing more than10mph under the speed limit, so I really thought he'd realize that I wanted to pass and move over a little for me.

As you guys said, live and learn. I'll be working that much harder on not being irritated when someone makes me late.

Interesting thread. Thanks for the discussion.

Peace,
Pete Zaria.

[FN1910]

I'd say this is it right there. I've been driving since 1973 and I've never heard of doing this. I have been taught, (so long ago) that if you are being passed, to move as far to the right as possible and slow down a little to "help" get the person past as fast and safe as possible.

Please never slow down when someone starts passing you. I was almost killed by that idiotic "helpful" move one time. Maintain your same speed so that the person knows what you are doing. I pulled out to pass a car one time and decided that the oncoming car was a little closer that I felt safe in trying to pass. I still had plenty of room to either pass or pull back in. However the "helpful" driver slowed down and as I started to pull back in he was right beside me. I no longer had time to either pass him and since he was right beside me I couldn't pull back in. I immediately slammed on my brakes and the "helpful" driver did the same so I hit the left shoulder. It was almost like he was doing it on purpose but it scared him as bad as me.

I got my first drivers license in 1964 and had been driving since 1960, just hadn't been caught. My father was a professional bus driver and several Uncles were truck drivers. They all stressed the importance of keeping a constant speed when being passed.