This is why you would never survive in the rural south, where there's inevitably a white pickup truck going 45 mph ona two lane road.

"If I have to pass, your slow ass, on the right -I will cut you off. If my kid isn't in the car, I'll do my best to make you crap your pants in the process"

Don't get huffy, don't get indignant? I assume you are just letting off steam about some dumb ass drivers you ran into this weekend. But, please, don't really do somethink like that, Rosemary. Some guy here in my town tried to get even with a dumb ass driver a couple of years ago and killed his pregnant wife in the process when she went through the windshield after he cut somebody off (who was driving too slow and got in his way) and then slammed on his brakes in front of the dumb-ass driver.

The other driver is a real live breathing person who may have his or her kids in the car. Even if they are a stupid driver, don't let road rage cause a tragedy that could have been avoided by keeping a cool head. Don't mind my lecture. I'm REEEEL safety conscious.

Oh, I wouldn't actually try and kill anyone. I'm not stupid and I don't have a death wish.

I am blowing off steam. The whole point of my little rant is education.

I'm not an aggressive driver normally. I will say that I would never do that to a family. But if you are on a cell phone and puttering in the left...grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Hey, I just read your two other posts about driving in Chicago. Sorry for the lecture. The driving experience during your stay in Chicago evidently was indelibly imprinted on your psyches and some venting was in order. So, Rosemary, if I see you coming up behind me (on I-80 is where I drive -lots and lots of semis) I will GET MY DUMB ASS OVER. I've been warned!!

I drive no faster than the posted speed limit. Or slower, if road, weather and traffic conditions warrant that. I try to drive in the right-hand lane on four-lane interstate highways and expressways, using the left lane solely to pass traffic moving slower than the posted speed limit.

But if I find myself in the left lane, and if someone crawls up directly behind me, and if I cannot easily move back over to the right (slow) lane, then I will not get myself and my vehicle involved in a potentially fatal traffic accident simply because the person behind me is following too close, driving too fast, and is impatient as well.

One practice I have used on occasion to get rid of tailgaters during daylight driving hours is to pull on my parking lights briefly, as if I had just used the brake pedal. I have actually heard the howl of brakes being applied by the jerk who was too close behind me. These folks usually wise up real quick and try their impatience and bad driving on some other guy.

In any case, I also drive a great big 1994 Ford Aerostar extended van which has been smacked from behind by two different drivers in the past nine years. Their insurance companies were the ones to pay in both cases, and the Aerostar has a truck frame to help adsorb such punishment. In more than 50 years of driving, I have never been charged with causing an accident, and the only time I ever got hurt was on my motorcycle in the early years.

The next time someone gets real bad-ass with me or whips by at great and illegal speed, endangering my life and that of others, I intend to write down the license plate number and vehicle vehicle description, and use the cell phone to call it in the local state police, who usually patrol the interstates. (My favorite flag, beside the stars and stripes, is the yellow and green "Don't Tread on Me" banner with the rattlesnake, favored by many of us serious gun owners.)

Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI

Actually, the most safe and smart way to drive is with the speed/flow of traffic. If you are driving faster than anyone else by 10+ mph, you will eventually cause or be in a bad accident. Then again, if you are going the speed limit and everyone else is going 10 mph faster, you will eventually cause or be in a bad accident as well.
Staying in the flow prevents most of those problems.
Everyone thinks they are of above-average-intelligence and we all think we are good drivers. Some of us are wrong.
The point isn't whether you can or cannot handle the speed you are driving, the point is whether the inexperienced driver, or drowsy shift-worker, or distracted parent can handle it.
If you bet wrong, someone dies. Not your fault, perhaps. They should know enough not to drive while sleepy/inexperienced/distracted. But of all these factors, speed is the most controllable. If you are in that much of a hurry, why didn't you leave earlier?

I'm not in a hurry. I always leave early enough to get where I'm going. That does not take away from the point of the left lane's proper usage.

I drive on the right most of the time. Unless, I'm passing.

I like to keep with the flow of traffic. That is my style.

The whole point is what the left lane is for and many people don't know it.

If you can't get over to the right that isn't your fault and not my issue.

Be careful messing with people on the road. Just three days ago, Christmas eve, I had a woman get irate with me because I delayed taking off from a stop to allow another driver to enter the road ( a two-lane residential road with a 35MPH speed limit). The woman behind me went apeshit, started honking, etc, so I flipped her off. She followed me home, forced me to a stop, and hit me in the face, at which point, I finally got smart enough to drive away.

At least two people from my home state were killed this holiday season by road-rager types, both shot. My stepmother informs me I'm lucky this person who came after me wasn't armed. I'm probably lucky I wasn't armed, because I was quite frightened and obviously feeling threatened. Thankfully my five-year-old wasn't in the car. One of those people who got killed this week was shot dead in front of his entire family.

Don't mess with people on the road. Don't flip them off. Don't *look* at them. They are all potential psychos. Besides that, whoever has offended you may be reacting to some condition you don't know about on or off the road, may be lost, may just drive slower than you, may be from another state and not aware that '70 is slow', etc. I'm sure this chick didn't know I was trying to let someone in; apparently she thought I was 'fucking with' her, why she assumes I would 'fuck with'a random person, who knows. When you cut someone off or even pass on the right, you don't know if you just cut off a confused old person, a person making a mistake, a person with three tiny kids in the car who may be paying little enough attention that she won't compensate properly for your action and will have an accident, a psychopath or someone at the edge of their rope already, etc. Or someone who feels threatened enough to overreact when you do retaliate. Don't fuck with people, and for god's sake don't let anyone force you off the road.

Webwench:

Be careful messing with people on the road. Just three days ago, Christmas eve, I had a woman get irate with me because I delayed taking off from a stop to allow another driver to enter the road ( a two-lane residential road with a 35MPH speed limit). The woman behind me went apeshit, started honking, etc, so I flipped her off. She followed me home, forced me to a stop, and hit me in the face, at which point, I finally got smart enough to drive away.

Oh my goodness. Did you call the cops and report her? That is assault. Are you okay?

I guess I should stop flipping people off. You can't help yourself sometimes. I heard that women are more likely than men to commit road rage. Does anyone know if that is true?

I got home a couple of minutes later, and my boyfriend called the police for me. I was really too shocked to be thinking yet. I had memorized her license plate number, a police officer came quickly, believed me, was able to look her up by her license plate, and was going to talk to her and get her side of the story, etc. But he said that in order to prosecute, I would have to be able to pick her out of a lineup. I don't know that I could recognize her and pick her out of a group of six brunette women of the same age. All I remember of her specifically is that she was white, had brown hair, was bigger than me, and was pissed off. And remembering details is weird; I knew the make and model of her car, but got the color wrong (or else she'd painted her car recently, not likely).

I'm ok; my nose was sore for a couple of days, that's about it. When I pick up the police report next week, I should be able to find out what happened to/with her. Sans me doing the lineup thing, which I'm still not sure about bothering with, all she'll get is the stern bitching-out the officer said he'd deliver if he could determine that she was the right person.

I do look at my fellow motorists in an entirely new light as a result. I also think I might start carrying again, although I don't think it would have helped me in this case.

I guess it must depend on the state you live in, but here in Colorado, the sighs say Slower Traffic Keep Right, or something close to that, not that the left lane is for passing only. With the max spend limit at 75 MPH, and a min of, I think, 50 MPH, it does work best when the slower traffic stays in the right hand lane. However, if some one were to drive the legal speed limit of 75 MPH in the left lane, and refuse to move to the right lane to allow someone wishing to exceed the speed limit the opportunity to pass, they would not be guilty of breaking any Colorado traffic law. Bad driving manners, maybe, but not illegal behavior. Personally, I always allow the speed racers to pass, and would never cut someone off or slam on the brakes just to scare the shit out of them (can't think of anything more childish or dangerous). It is as annoying as all hell though, when some asshole is tailgating while I'm passing a string of cars going less than the speed limit. I think that people who pull the crazy stunts, as you suggested you would like to do Rosemary, have never seen the result of a terrible auto accident up close and personal.

Webwench:

That is really scary. So are you going to try the line-up? You might be able to pick her out if you saw her.

I'd try it, if I were you. At the very least maybe she would be scared straight by the experience.

You really made me re-think my attitude. It's not worth getting angry about. Some people are just nuts. My post was just rhetorical. I've never cut someone off - on purpose and I don't plan to.

I was just a little frustrated with Chicago drivers... If you've been there you'd know what I mean.

I think that people who pull the crazy stunts, as you suggested you would like to do Rosemary, have never seen the result of a terrible auto accident up close and personal.

Actually, I have seen it. As I stated, a couple of times, I wouldn't really do the road rage thing. I was having a rant due to frustration and tiredness from excessive driving.

Rosemary: I'm thinking about trying the line-up. I'm anxious to hear what the police officer concluded after talking to the other person, and I plan to just go from there.

I think most people have their less-than-stellar moments on the road (me included, witness the bird-flipping of a few days ago), and nothing wrong with a good rant. What's a blog for if not to host the occasional rant! I've driven in Chicago, and Atlanta's kind of a speedway under all but gridlock conditions too, and no one signals or looks before changing lanes anymore, it seems :P

I do find myself doing less flipping/cursing on the road, though, and more subdued head-shaking at the silly things people do, even before the Xmas Eve thing happened, just because every time I get pissed at someone changing lanes into my lane without looking and forcing me to brake or swerve or whatever, I can recall some point in the past when I've accidentally done the same thing.

In my old car, large and metal as it was, I was never afraid of people cutting me off. At least I was never afraid for my own sake. The car was heavy enough as it was that if someone did something really stupid and cut me off, I'd slow down out of morality and habit, but if my brakes failed... I really just always assumed that the fools were risking suicide.

Force eqauls mass times acceleration.

I now drive a pick-up truck. It's slightly lighter and has less cylenders under the hood. I still don't fear other drivers blindly. I'm very careful and very safe. I'm also well aware of all the weaknesses and dark possibilities.

It's not smart to ^%$^ with another driver intentionally. Despite my own intentions otherwise mechanical failures occur. Accidents happen.

70 MPH is really fast when it goes into the back of something. I sometimes go 80 when ot 85 when I'm not watching it. That engine has zip.

CJA

It has been alleged— for the sake of any websurfing officers, I won't confirm it, but it has been alleged— that I often drive 6 or 7 mph over the posted speed limit. Though my experience is, most other people on the highway are going either much faster, or much slower, than that. Most drivers on 55 mph two-lane highways here in northeast Iowa and southeast Minnesota seem to divide into two categories: (1) those who would rather be doing 70; and (2) those who would prefer to be driving down the open highway at 40.

I always stay a safe distance behind the driver ahead of me. But when I get one of those rather-be-doing-70 types behind me, it's a safe bet that they'll be riding my rear bumper. Even if they're going to turn off onto the next gravel road. Hey, I suppose they get there a tenth of a second quicker that way... I have never understood the psychology of tailgaters.

Another thing I've noticed but never understood, people who drive inordinately slow on the highway are usually less likely than the rest of us to slow down when they come to a town. Someone going 40 on the highway may well slow down only to 35 when they hit a 25 mph zone. Me, towns are the one place where I always observe the speed limit scrupulously. Small town cops, speed traps, that sort of thing.

But what really makes my blood boil are drivers who are just poking along down the road, and then when you try to pass them, they speed up. Just the other day, I was stuck behind someone doing 50— when I tried to pass, he sped up to 65. But that's nothing compared to the little old lady I once got stuck behind on Highway 26, along the Mississippi in southeast Minnesota. She was creeping along at 48 or 49— then when I tried to pass her, she stepped on the pedal until she was doing a good 75 miles an hour. I had to crank the Aquamobile up to 80 to get past her.

Fortunately, I'm just not the road rage type.

Another thing to consider about flipping people off, cutting them off, or otherwise expressing your low opinion of their driving abilities:

You never know when that person is going to be a co-worker (or maybe your boss's spouse?), a neighbor, a client, someone you go to church with, even one of your relatives. Trust me, it can lead to some seriously awkward situations and, having seen you behaving that way, their opinion of you is going to be damaged a lot longer than you're going to be pissed about their driving.

Of course, the odds of the above happening will vary based on the size of your community. Small town residents beware. But even in a major metro, it can happen, especially if you're driving very close to your home or your workplace.

Rosemary, then you will be the one breaking the law. Remember, not all cops drive Crown Victorias. My local police force trolls the highways looking for people who drive like you described. In unmarked Mustangs and pickup trucks. Also, remember many highways have both left and right hand exits. The speed limit is the same across all lanes of traffic.

I was driving a 2003 Crysler Concorde down I-81 at a good clip, a solid 90. I had a couple of tailgaters, very strange. No cops in sight, though. Guess it's OK, then.

When you're sharing the road with an unsafe driver, the most dangerous place for you to be is in front of him, because he will aqlmost invariably be tailgating you or trying to pass you in an unsafe manner.

People here where I live have been complaining because they do the speed limit on the local two-lanes, and still get passed. And my wife used to get truly indignant that there would be someone behind her wanting to go faster than she was when she was at the limit.

I've finally convinced her about the behind/in front of safety gap, and she is much more complacent about letting unsafe drivers go right on by at the earliest opportunity -- even if it means speeding up to find a place to move over so the idiot can pass more safely than he deserves.

LOL! ROAD RAGE! I hear ya though. People who putter along in the left lane should be jailed.

Interesting stuff arising from one snarky, non-serious rant!

Here's one thing that my own "road rage" taught me, from driving in horrible Honolulu traffic during rush hour to get home after a night shift.
(I never did anything worse than pound the steering wheel and yell, btw, not even flip the bird...)
What I learned, through intense observation of myself: there is a split second between stimulus and response, that bare moment between someone cutting you off and your enraged reaction, that you actually decide to get angry.
It's very quick, but there is a moment. At that moment, we mostly give in to it. But you can also choose to not react. I found that on the days I chose to not react, I returned home relaxed and happy; alternatively, the days I gave in to my anger, because the person really was a jerk, I just got angrier and angrier, until by the time I got home, I needed an hour to calm down enough to sleep.
Pay attention to your inner dialogue the next time you drive in a stressful situation, and maybe you'll notice how you contribute to your own anger...
(non-specific "you" throughout this comment)

I'm a Chicagoan. Rosemary - you are correct. They're nuts around here. There is something going on in the culture itself. It has a lot to do with an increasing amount of self-important people who think that the world revolves around them -or- don't think that exactly in those words because this definition doesn't even have a place in their psyche. It just is. Is there another way to exist?
So Mom, Dad and the kids drive in the left lane at 47 mph. Why? Because they want to drive in the left lane. The right lanes are too crowded. People drive too fast in the right lane. Horns were made to warn other drivers that you're pissed off. And what's wrong with backing down the street if you found an open parking spot ten spaces back. Pedestrians are a nuisance on the main streets. They can cross the street anytime they want. 10 points for each one bounced.

My favorites?
Oops I just realized I want to turn left. I know I'm in the right lane, but so what. I have a big SUV and I'll just bully this other guy. The hell with him. The same goes for the left lane wanting to turn right.
And this:
So what if I'm in a left turn lane just sitting here. There's no where to park and I have to get my morning Starbuck's coffee. Let all those people behind me go around.
And this:
This guy turning left in front of me is taking too long. If I punch it, I can make my left turn before he does and get in front of him. Slow poke should learn to drive faster and weave in and out like a bicycle.

What's a stop sign?
I know what green means. What's the red light for?
The expressway is just amateur night. Try the in-roads.
You actually learn to use your car as weapon as a defensive measure against all those others who actually learned the rules of road. Rules are for sissies, no?

I've watched this deteriorate into the above over the last 15 years. It just gets worse. Rush hour is in both directions. Leaving extra time for a 20 minute ride means doubling and tripling the time.

Chicago never seems to be able to adjust to what is unusual. Chaos reigns immediately, whether it is a light snow, light rain, or stoplight.

And the best? Your car is spinning it's wheels on ice and snow and essentially your wheels are stuck. The guy in the other car starts honking his horn. Does he really think your car is gong to get out of its predicament by sound?

Generally friendly people. Arrogant devils on the road.

Nathan,

SERENITY NOW, SERENITY NOW, SERENITY NOW!

I seriously believe that a$$hole drivers come out in droves. I never get cut off just once. When something happens on the road with me, I can expect at least two more incidents that day. I swear it's some sort of conspiracy.

Then again, I've never seen worse driving than in Beijing, China....or maybe it's better driving. They have more fender-benders, less huge fatal accidents.
I think because there are no traffic rules there, and so people truly drive defensively. Here, the worst accidents happen with both people think they have the right of way.

People have different pet peeves. Yours is slow drivers. Mine is tailgaters.

Generally in L.A. the "passing lane" is packed to the gills with cars. If I am doing 70, the guy in front of me is doing 70, and a mile-long line of cars in front of him is all moving at 70, I am not going to move over for you even if you are doing 90. What's more, if you tailgate me, I am not more likely to move out of your way. What I am likely to do is slow down. The closer you get, the slower I go.

I know it's fun to rant about slow drivers, but traffic accidents take more years off of people's lives unnecessarily than anything else.

And if you pull that "making people crap in their pants" stuff in L.A., Rosemary, you just may get yourself shot. I know someone whose parent was killed by a road rage driver. It's a stupid way to die.

What Observer commented is illustration of my conviction that rudeness rules across our fair land. The propriety that I grew up with (but didn't actually appreciate until I reached my golden years) seems to have disappeared on some days. Probably millions of us are still courteous (Iowans are very nice most of the time even to complete strangers)but the percentage of psycho nut cases roaming the roads has grown to the point where we all run into them several times a week while going about our business just trying to get to work or home or stop at the market.

Good manners just means that you acknowledge that you don't own the world and are mature enough to wait a few seconds for your turn or to allow another person to go ahead of you sometimes or to get out of the way when someone threatens your safety (without retaliation in kind). When I'm stuck in traffic, getting my blood-pressure up, cursing and fuming seldom achieves the desired result...I'm still stuck. held captive by circumstances beyond my control. When I discovered the futility of raging against the circumstances I could not change, I DECIDED the only sensible behavior was stoic acceptance and courtesy. That decision might have added years on to my life span...much easier on my vascular system AND has improved the quality of life for my husband and dog as I am seldom overcome now (actually NEVER) by the impulse to kick someone when I get home out of pent up fury. Well, I still might do a bit of venting now and then (like Rosemary who merely needed to get the effect of Chicago road maniacs off her chest) but all impulses of kicking have vanished.

Jane M's approach is best, though it is hard to live up to. I get far more upset at the people who blatantly cheat to get ahead than I do at slow drivers, etc. But the big picture is that such antics are annoying but not really a big deal. The only real problem on the road is people who endanger others' lives.

Rosemary,

Sounds like someone needs another time-out. While 70mph is not that fast, it is fast enough, if you have a blowout or something goes wrong that your car and everything in it is going to be rattled something fierce. I think driving 5-7 over the posted speed limit on the freeway or state highway is about the right speed. Speed is still the number one killer on the highway. I live an active fun life but I'll be damned if I get killed in a dumb ass accident because I was going too fast. Then again, I'm not a type A personality, but if I was driving OVER the speed limit and some mother fucker was tailgating me and building up a good case of roadrage, I would teach them a lesson they would never forget. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry, I'll beat you up in front of your kids.

Like Tim, I am not a Type-A personality, and I would never act out my frustrations while driving. having said that, I wouldnot do anything to act adversarial either, towards other drivers, in order not to provoke a road-rage incident. I am not being wimpy, just t hat it makes no sense to get in a fight with some irrational person who likes to act out on the road. But, if someone does come up to me and does what was done to webwench, measures would be taken, if you know what I mean. You can imagine what those measures might be.