Subject: Re: Are Drivers Becoming More Rude?

From: NMA <[email-masked]>
Date: 21 Sep 1995 16:12:16 GMT

Part of the reason people are rude while driving is the silly laws we 
enact.  The speed limit is but one example; we could pick on the 
overpopulation of stop signs, "all-red" stoplight intersections, etc.

The speed limit irritates drivers when you get behind one person who 
feels it's his civic duty to enforce the law and there is no place for 
anyone to pass.  Not only is this behavior by the person abiding by the 
law dangerous to others, it irritates them (partly because it's 
dangerous) and contributes to these people cutting in and out, weaving, 
etc. just to avoid our little George Washington driving down the road.

But, the national speed limit is dying on the vine.  Check out the NMA's 
home page for more info.

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From: [email-masked] (Steven G. Thomson)
Date: Sat, 23 Sep 1995 21:37:17 GMT

>etc. just to avoid our little George Washington driving down the road.

That's not what I'm talking about. I mean the drivers that tailgate
you when you are a few car lengths behind the guy in front, in the
right lane and keeping up with traffic.

I merged on to a two lane highway recently, at the speed of other
traffic. A guy in an old Chevy pickup then glued himself to my rear
bumper. I was keeping up with traffic, and he passed me on the left.
Then his lane slowed down again and he cut back in behind me. This
kept up for a couple of miles, and I thought he had turned off
somewhere. I exited on to a freeway on ramp, and was merging with
traffic, and all of a sudden this guy is on my right, trying to pass
me on the shoulder.

I slowed to let him get ahead, but the shoulder had barrels blocking
it ahead, so I quickly moved two lanes over to the passing lane to get
away from this guy. He signaled to make the first right exit, so I
breathed a sigh of relief, when he got on the exit, and eased over to
the right lane.

Then he slows down and rolls his window down, and whips his right hand
out the window. I just about shit, I thought he was going to shoot at
me and I veered into the left lane an floored the accelerator. I saw
this liquid come out of his window, and I think he threw his coffee at
me.

I thank God this freak didn't have some kind of weapon, as he might
have used it.

Steven

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From: [email-masked] (Gumby)
Date: 23 Sep 1995 23:31:10 GMT

>I thank God this freak didn't have some kind of weapon, as he might

I had one pulled on me.  This moron got in the left turn lane at a light.
All of the "first slots" at the light were taken.  I am in the left lane.
He pulls in front of me when the light turns green, cutting me off.  I
figure he is just an asshole (if it were a mistake, he would have gone
behind me, as I was the only one in the left lane).  I pull in the center
lane to go around him, and accelerate.  He then (without signal) pulls into
the center lane, leaving inches between my bumper and his.  In my attempt
to put some distance between us, I was going too fast to stop, so I
whipped in the right line (couldn't fit in the left, because he was in two)
and passed him.  It then became apparent that he was executing one of the
patented "right turn from left lane" maneuvers.  He got pissed that anyone
couldn't read his mind (since we couldn't read the nonexistant signal) and
lunged for the glove compartment.  I downshifted, and was 100-150 yards
away before he came back up, with something resembling a gun in his right
hand.  I ran a stoplight, and traveled at about twice the speed limit, until
I was sure he wasn't following.

Marc

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From: [email-masked] (Tigress)
Date: 24 Sep 1995 15:06:05 -0400

In article <[email-masked]>,
Samir Bhakta <[email-masked]> wrote:
: The speed limit irritates drivers when you get behind one person who 
: feels it's his civic duty to enforce the law and there is no place for 
: anyone to pass.  Not only is this behavior by the person abiding by the 
: law dangerous to others, it irritates them (partly because it's 
: dangerous) and contributes to these people cutting in and out, weaving, 
: etc. just to avoid our little George Washington driving down the road.

I'm not saying that even many people do this, but I heard one story from
these people who had slowed the whole highway down because they knew there
was a cop ahead and saved the people from getting a speeding ticket.
Though I would never try it because it would still piss people off and
they would probably do something drastic before they saw that you were
just trying to cheat a cop out of getting revenue.

Tigress
-- 
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From: [email-masked] (Kevin Atkinson)
Date: 24 Sep 1995 22:10:24 -0400

In article <[email-masked]>,
Benjamin Smith  <[email-masked]> wrote:
>Sometimes there are no faster moving lanes due to congestion and people 
>weave from lane to lane, in the process also cutting drivers off, and 
>really not advancing anywhere, Then there are the annoying and dangerous 
>tailgaters and people who brake very very late. 
>
>Another very rude practice is to start honking horns immediately after 
>the light turns green. It is a very smart idea to wait 20 to 25 
>seconds because there are usually people who are cheating the light on 
>the cross street, accelerating through the yellow light and sometimes it 
>turns red in the process.

True.  A better statement would be: It is very smart to look first to 
check if anyone is running a light than once clear go.  Just waiting 20 
to 25 seconds is downright stupid esspecally if it is a short light.

>I find it very rude that people, sometimes in convertibles, blast their 
>music at unbelievably high levels. Most of the time this is done by 
>teenage and younger drivers but this is in no way attractive, and is 
>inconsiderate: true noise pollution.

That is very true.  However when driving at high speeds on the freeway it 
is't hardly noticable.  It should be illigal to blast your music in stop 
and go traffic or whenever you are moving at less than 40 mph.  Like a 
trafffic jam on the freeway.
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From: [email-masked] (Samir Bhakta)
Date: 22 Sep 1995 18:37:48 GMT

Benjamin Smith ([email-masked]) wrote:
: Sometimes there are no faster moving lanes due to congestion and people 
: weave from lane to lane, in the process also cutting drivers off, and 
: really not advancing anywhere, Then there are the annoying and dangerous 
: tailgaters and people who brake very very late. 

All the cases mentioned above are good ones. 
There are also those drivers who are busy doing anything but *driving* -
i.e. talking on car phones, reading the paper, applying makeup ...

I just *love* driving near these people.

--
******************************************************************
Samir Bhakta                              Lockheed Martin Services
[email-masked]                  Mt. Laurel, NJ

"It is better to go into a corner slow and come out fast than to
go into a corner fast and come out dead." - Stirling Moss

******************************************************************

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From: [email-masked] (John P. Curcio)
Date: 25 Sep 1995 14:49:05 -0400

>turns red in the process.

Twenty to twenty-five seconds?  Most traffic light CYCLES don't last
that long.

Let me rephrase what you said, and we can see how many people agree.

Another rude practice is to not pay attention while driving.  If
someone is sitting at a stoplight not paying attention, they deserve
to be honked at.  They waste everyone's time and money.

Traffic lights are among the worst causes of excessive smog, since
engines aren't too efficient when the car isn't moving.  In order to
minimize the effect on the environment, I suggest that people
shouldn't waste time daydreaming at intersections, and accellerate as
quickly as possible to allow the maximum number of cars through the
intersection at a time.

-JPC

-- 
=============================================================================
John P. Curcio  [email-masked]  Philips Labs  Briarcliff Manor, NY
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From: [email-masked] (yeengah)
Date: Mon, 25 Sep 1995 22:47:57 GMT

>Also, people continue to drive in more than one lane, especially around 
>curves, so drivers always have to be on the lookout for these types.

>Benjamin

I agree with most of the points raised except for the part where you
advise drivers to wait for 20-25 seconds after traffic light turns
green. IMHO, a 20-25 seconds' period is too long to be acceptable.
Most likely I will honk at you by then  :-).  In that case, you could
be obstructing the flow of traffic. It is also not fair to the drivers
waiting way behind as they may not be able to cross the traffic light
in time. Probably a 3-5 seconds' wait will do.

Regards,
Chong Yee Ngah.