Road Rage

[pygmalion]

I admit I'm living in Orlando Florida, probably the worst traffic place in the world. Lots of retirees literally driving into crowded beauty parlors (true story :shock: ) plus tons of tourists who have no idea where they are or where they're going. But still, I have traffic pet peeeves.

1. People who drive fifteen miles under the speed limit ... in the left lane. :x
2. People who decide at the last possible second to change lanes ... five lanes over, at a complicated intersection. :evil: :(


Anybody else having trouble containing road rage? Why?

[peachexploration]

Talking on the cell phone and FORGET that they're driving on Interstate-4. It causes you drive 20 miles slower that the stated speed limit. :evil: ARGH!! Please make your calls BEFORE you get on the road or you are at a complete stop. :?

[Pacion]

Did someone say "Road Rage" :shock: Oooohhh! Don't get me started!

* People who don't use their indicator and then "get upset" if you don't slow down to make room for them :x

* You are trying to come out of a forecourt/driveway where visibility is difficult (because of cars parked close to the exit) and oncoming cars don't slow down to let you out. In fact, they drive around (!) you :evil:

[NeoDevin]

In fact, they drive around (!) you :evil:

Better than them driving into you ;)

[Genesius Redux]

Trouble containing road rage? I'm a New York Italian--whatever made you think that I'd have trouble with road rage?

People yammering on the cell phones! :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:

[Pacion]

:headwall: what would be better still is if they slowed down, let you out and then everyone went on their way.

Here in London, most road are one or two car lanes. Only the motorways have three (unlike in the US where it seems as if there are thousands of lanes :lol: ).

I saw something recently where a car stalled in one lane and the police were there to try and help the driver out. A bus was trying to turn in to the road, from a side street but because of the position of the car, the bus driver could not complete his manoever. He was then blocking the cars behind him, some of whom, who could not see what the holdup was, started blowing their horns. :roll: One of the policemen eventually stopped the traffic on the other side, and guided the bus driver so that he could then enter the lane of the oncoming traffic and then cross over to the correct side, thus enabling the traffic behind him to start moving again.

The point is, people today seem to be always in "a hurry" and you never know what the holdup/problem is. So, sit tight and find an alternative, even if it means turning your car round and heading off in another direction. Blowing your horn is not going to achieve anything :?

Oh, I loved it when I read in the back of a cab in NY that the taxi drivers weren't allowed to blow their horns as part of a code of conduct :lol:

[pygmalion]

I know what you mean, GR! In the past two weeks, I've deliberately taken note. every person who veered into my lane, slowed down unpredictably, braked for no reason, et., has been talking on a cell phone! :shock: :x

I read somewhere that cell phone users are just as impaired while driving as people who are drunk! :shock: Grrr. :x

[dancin_feet]

Is it not illegal to drive while talking on a cell / mobile phone in the US? It is here, unless you have a handsfree kit.

[jon]

People who try to merge onto a crowded freeways - at 20 MPH under the speed limit. Particularly when I'm right behind them on the on-ramp.

One reason people get enraged is that they perceive their own safety as being threatened by the idiot in the other car - and there's often no way to escape the situation.

[SDsalsaguy]

Blowing your horn is not going to achieve anything :?

While I generally agree, there are cicumstances that call for it... such as the person who slowed down and stopped, right in front of me, at a green light, last week! :x

[DancingMommy]

Is it not illegal to drive while talking on a cell / mobile phone in the US? It is here, unless you have a handsfree kit.

It varies from state to state. It was supposed to be here inFlorida, but Idon't think they could get the law passed. :(

[dancin_feet]

Is it not illegal to drive while talking on a cell / mobile phone in the US? It is here, unless you have a handsfree kit.

It varies from state to state. It was supposed to be here inFlorida, but Idon't think they could get the law passed. :(

How could it not pass? :shock: I'm never driving over there, that's just dangerous!

[Pacion]

Blowing your horn is not going to achieve anything :?

While I generally agree, there are cicumstances that call for it... such as the person who slowed down and stopped, right in front of me, at a green light, last week! :x

Perhaps they were lost :wink: or might have dropped something on themselves? I know, if it were me, I would not be amused either :?

[peachexploration]

Oh, another one. Stopping in the the middle of rush hour traffic to "watch" a wreck, particularly if it's on the other side of the highway is not cool. :evil: Chances are you dont know who it is so stop watching. Dude, pull over or keep moving. :car:

[Pacion]

:shock: This is not road rage but a bit spooky. My parents were here visiting and we all went to friends for a BBQ one Sunday, outside of London. My parents drove with me whilst my sister and her husband drove up separately. When we were leaving later that evening, my parents went back with my sister and her husband. Her husband's car had a faster engine to my sister's which I was driving. They left a few minutes before me and would therefore have also covered more ground.

As I was heading back, I suddenly hit a wall of traffic. Turned out it was an accident which happened just after my sister and others passed that spot - they heard the collision - and I was caught in the aftermath. I don't know if anyone was hurt, but there were a few cars involved. As I passed the accident convoy, I did slow down further, just to check that my brother-in-law's car wasn't one of the cars in it.

In my adult life, I have fortunately only been in one car accident and have never seen one as it happened. The one I was in, I was driving, coming out of a side street and some young punk, with a company car, came hurling down the road. He didn't see me (couldn't have done due to the speed he was going) but I was found in the wrong as I was coming out of a side street and he was on the major/main road. I was shaking so much! Oh yeah! And the other drivers, all drove around me :x instead of giving me time to try and pull the car over to the side of the street, out of the way. :evil: His car came off the worse and he was "sweet" in that he lent me his mobile/cell phone so that I could call my sister, who lived around the corner. I was shaking too much to drive anymore. But, it is all okay now. I got back in the driving seat within about a week - was a nervous wreak for about two weeks but now, I don't use that side street anymore, unless I am turning into it, rather than trying to come out of it :?

[Genesius Redux]

Is it not illegal to drive while talking on a cell / mobile phone in the US? It is here, unless you have a handsfree kit.

Oh no, I'm quite sure that making it illegal would constitute a violation of the principles of free trade--like government sponsored searches for alternative fuel sources--and contrary to NAFTA and democracy.

Oh-wait, we're not supposed to get political!

Yay! Three cheers for cellular technology! :D :D :D

[tsb]

People who drive fifteen miles under the speed limit ... in the left lane.

fortunately, that doesn't happen too much in LA - between having people shine their brights from a range of about 2 ft behind them and then having people pass on the right yelling profanities and also crossing back over with that same 2 ft margin they generally get the hint.

say what you may about the french, but they're civlized when it comes to freeway driving.

Blowing your horn is not going to achieve anything :?

While I generally agree, there are cicumstances that call for it... such as the person who slowed down and stopped, right in front of me, at a green light, last week! :x

i wait three seconds, then give a little 'beep'. and some folks STILL have the nerve to turn around and flip me off before driving away.


* People who don't use their indicator and then "get upset" if you don't slow down to make room for them :x


or the one who insists on speeding up, and trying to pass you into the one car length between you & the car ahead when there's no one behind you for a quarter mile & THEN slowing down so that there's 8-10 car lengths open ahead of them


Anybody else having trouble containing road rage? Why?


my belief in a deity prompts me to reframe my perspective so that i acknowledge the possibility that this circumstance might actually be orchestrated for the specific purpose of keeping me out of an accident i might otherwise cause or be involved in. does wonders for my stress level to consider that this delay might actually be for my benefit.

[Genesius Redux]

I was shaking so much! Oh yeah! And the other drivers, all drove around me :x instead of giving me time to try and pull the car over to the side of the street, out of the way. :evil:

Oh, people are so lovely. Years ago, I was driving to dinner with my then-wife. It was raining and dark, coming up on Christmas. And there was a Great Pyrenees (big white dog) who had been hit by a car, lying in the road. We stopped to see if he was dead--and he wasn't. He was hanging on by just a thread. So I took off my jacket and shirt, and hauled the dog into the back of the van. He died on the way to the vet. None of the cars on that road bothered to stop. But one woman, at the vet's, said, "Oh, I saw that dog lying in the street. You two were so nice to stop and help!" I almost had to physically restrain Elizabeth, she was so furious.

Oddly enough, we were going to go to a promotional dance lesson at a local studio that evening. Funny how things work out.

[Genesius Redux]

Oh, and here are some others.

1. In many American cities, there is a 15 mph speed limit in school zones when schools are in session. People who deliberately drive 5 mph in such zones just to show everyone how careful they are.

2. People who stop to wave you across the intersection, even if they don't have a stop light or sign--especially when they are the only people who are stopped in all four lanes. Then they look at you with these simpering little pathetic smiles, and go on, ruining your only chance to get across because now you have to wait for them.

3. People who have been driving so long, that by thunder, they own the whole road.

4. People who, when you're about to go through a stop sign, approach the stop sign at full speed, as though they don't even see it, and then slam on their brakes at the last moment and look at you as if to say, "So why don't you go, stupid?"

[dancingdragon]

Is it not illegal to drive while talking on a cell / mobile phone in the US? It is here, unless you have a handsfree kit.

It's not yet illegal in NZ, but it should be! It's been the news again lately as last week a 16-year-old was texting while he drove, veered into the bike lane and killed a cyclist. It's an argument that is raised periodically and I'm in favour of banning cell-phone use while driving - it sounds like we will have a similar set up to the Australian one. People need a reality check - like, is it really that important that you are contactable 24 hours a day? Will that text or call genuinely not wait until you get there, or at least stop for a bathroom break? Puh-leeze. :roll: I work for the government agency responsible for driver licencing and vehicle registration here in NZ, so I have fairly strong opinions about road safety and the utterly stupid things people do behind the wheel.

Herendeth the lecture :wink:

[pygmalion]

Yup. I read somewhere that driving while talking on the cell phone renders you about as unsafe as driving while drunk. :shock:

[danceguy]

I think that sounds just about right. Right after work today I'm heading to the bank and turning left at a four way intersection. A car across from me decideds to pull a quickie right turn into my area...while I'm going full speed! Luckily I have fast reflexes and slammed on my brakes just a few feet from plowing right into the driver side door...and what do I see this lady doing?

Chatting on her cell phone! She gives me a look like "whoops, did I do that?" and then takes off like nothing happened. Luckily, the guy behind me saw her and avoided hitting me from behind.

As a matter of fact, just about everyone close encounter I've had with some idiot driver that's being reckless is usually on a cell phone! :evil:

Ok, rant off for today...but man that was a close call! I haven't had one of those is a while.... :oops: :? :oops:

[ino]

Hey All! I hate people who drive in the passing lane (the left lane) at the same pace as the driver on the right lane totally blocking off the road and causing people behind them to drive at a slower pace. I tend to speed a lot and I believe the left lane should be clear at all times. Oh, I also hate when trucks just decide they want to pass another truck and take forever doing so. It wastes a lot of gas to slow down and speed up again and I shouldn't have to do that unless I see my radar dector going off :evil:

[Sagitta]

Hey All! I hate people who drive in the passing lane (the left lane) at the same pace as the driver on the right lane totally blocking off the road and causing people behind them to drive at a slower pace. I tend to speed a lot and I believe the left lane should be clear at all times. Oh, I also hate when trucks just decide they want to pass another truck and take forever doing so. It wastes a lot of gas to slow down and speed up again and I shouldn't have to do that unless I see my radar dector going off :evil: :headwall: :headwall:

[learningtodancewell]

Two things:

1) My instructor got hit (at slow speed, thank goodness) by someone on a cell phone who appeared to be waving her through.

2) Now that I have dance fever, I perceive driving as a form of dancing... something that should be graceful and fluid.

[johnnywalker]

Hmmm...where to start?

- cab drivers who think they can perform any maneuver they wish
- hooligans who think they own the road
- drivers who lack courtesy
- drivers who don't consider the traffic (motorist and pedestrian) around them
- dirvers who can't read signs (like no right turn) and perform illegal maneuvers
- tailgaiters
- drivers who indicate at the very last second they wish to turn
- drivers who insist on facing the passenger with whom they are talking and don't watch the traffic
- drivers who cannot change a radio station without looking at the radio/cd player
...and that's just a few things. My wife says I have issues. I guess that's why I dance; to release the pent up energy.
Interestingly, driving the South Island of New Zealand on my honeymoon was fantastic. Few motorists + courteous behaviour = one happy me

[pygmalion]

You left out the people who find their way into your blind spot ... and STAY there! Arrgh!


I have issues, which I freely admit. Why do you think I started this thread? :oops: :lol:

[pygmalion]

Anybody else having trouble containing road rage? Why?


my belief in a deity prompts me to reframe my perspective so that i acknowledge the possibility that this circumstance might actually be orchestrated for the specific purpose of keeping me out of an accident i might otherwise cause or be involved in. does wonders for my stress level to consider that this delay might actually be for my benefit.

You may be right, tsb. I read a story in the newspaper a couple years back about a woman who, seeing annoying obstructions (i.e. other cars) in her way, decided to hightail it around the impasse, using the right turning lane as a bypass. (Illegal when you're not planning to turn, at least in Florida) What she didn't realize was that everyone was stopped because some elementary school children were crossing the street. She couldn't see the kids, because they were too short. She hit and killed one of them instantly, and ended up in jail.


Since I read that story, on top of all my other driving worries, I have the paranoia of thinking I'm going to kill somebody's kid with my car. Not pretty. Not pretty at all.

[tsb]

Anybody else having trouble containing road rage? Why?


my belief in a deity prompts me to reframe my perspective so that i acknowledge the possibility that this circumstance might actually be orchestrated for the specific purpose of keeping me out of an accident i might otherwise cause or be involved in. does wonders for my stress level to consider that this delay might actually be for my benefit.

You may be right, tsb. I read a story in the newspaper a couple years back about a woman who, seeing annoying obstructions (i.e. other cars) in her way, decided to hightail it around the impasse, using the right turning lane as a bypass. (Illegal when you're not planning to turn, at least in Florida) What she didn't realize was that everyone was stopped because some elementary school children were crossing the street. She couldn't see the kids, because they were too short. She hit and killed one of them instantly, and ended up in jail.

Since I read that story, on top of all my other driving worries, I have the paranoia of thinking I'm going to kill somebody's kid with my car. Not pretty. Not pretty at all.

i should also mention quite shamefully that ten years ago (before i started dancing, btw) i had a serious problem with road rage (which i now see as a manifestation of some other baggage - if you really want to hear more details PM me) and i probably should have been involved in an incident that would have made the national news. fortunately, nowadays everyone describes me as being pretty easygoing which still surprises me everytime i hear it! not to take anything away from from Vince A (and his tag), but fortunately i grew up a bit.

[etchuck]

I think a Darwin Award was given posthumously to a person who was talking on his cell phone and died because he broke his neck when he WALKED into a tree.

Pyg... google that to be sure I'm right. :)

[jon]

...I have the paranoia of thinking I'm going to kill somebody's kid with my car. Not pretty. Not pretty at all.

Last year I went out to the apartment parking lot and found two tiny children playing ball directly behind my car, just where people drive to get to their own parking spot (often driving through about 20 MPH too fast for a parking lot too, but I digress).

They would have been completely invisible from the driver's seat.

Of course, there was no sign of their parents or a babysitter anywhere.

Sigh.

[johnnywalker]

Ahh, thanks for reminding me Jon. I knew there was something to add to the list. Pedestrians who walk out onto the road without looking to see if there is traffic about; and this in the middle of the city!!
Numerous times i've had someone just walk out in front of me without looking and i've nearly worn them as some kind of hood ornament.

[pygmalion]

Last year I went out to the apartment parking lot and found two tiny children playing ball directly behind my car, just where people drive to get to their own parking spot (often driving through about 20 MPH too fast for a parking lot too, but I digress).

They would have been completely invisible from the driver's seat.

Of course, there was no sign of their parents or a babysitter anywhere.

Sigh.

Yup. That experience and ones like it, could go into a totally different thread -- the why don't people control/care for their children thread. :roll: Aaargh.


Ahh, thanks for reminding me Jon. I knew there was something to add to the list. Pedestrians who walk out onto the road without looking to see if there is traffic about; and this in the middle of the city!!
Numerous times i've had someone just walk out in front of me without looking and i've nearly worn them as some kind of hood ornament.

Where I live, there is some sort of agreement that pedestrians have the right of way in parking lots. That would be no problem, if the pedestrians would stick to designated crosswalks. But they don't. They randomly, and often quite aggressively, walk out into parking lot traffic totally unexpectedly. Very annoying. Not to mention dangerous.