Angry and Lawless Drivers & Riders

[n3303j]

This "failure to yield right-of-way way" when entering a highway on an acceleration ramp is a real pet peeve of mine. First saw it as common practice south of the Mason Djcon line. The practice has migrated northward.

The "right of way" laws are designed to eliminate any confusion on procedure when transiting public roadways. Any deviance from the established regulation only creates confusion. Confusion causes accidents!

Too many people come off ramps paying no attention to "the total situation" and attempt to edge a traveling lane car left when the traveling lane car is blocked to their left. Only way out requires the traveling lane car to brake hard which increases their chances of being struck from the rear.

In general drivers have become $%#@!&^*>/@!$#&*! It's a dangerous world out there.

[Testarossa]

For the past four years I've been adjusting to the relaxed pace of rural life and for the most part enjoy the lack of traffic slowdowns and the mostly higher level of courtesy. But I've also learned that if you wait long enough, you'll see every form of urban-driving stupidity practiced on our 50-mph two-lane roads. This morning a local mom posted on our town Facebook page that while driving her three kids home to her farm last night, at that 50 mph limit, she was tailgated by a pickup truck with his high-beams lit, honking at her to speed up or pull off -- which she would have done on a state road (which have pull-outs) but couldn't do it on a county road with the irrigation ditch on one side and no shoulder on the other. It's not just strangers passing thru -- there's a certain kind of local who grew up here and thinks that entitles him to ownership of the roads.

As for out-of-towners, there's slow-moving tourists (especially the big RVs or Harleys on parade) and the Denver motosport freaks -- the Porsche and Ferrari clubs and sportbike riders heading through our valley to get from one twisty pass to the next. Some of those are smart drivers, but some seem oblivious to what's around the bend: mudslide? rock fall? cow or elk? kid on a bike? I saw all of those driving home this morning.

[Tim Henry]

A few years ago I lived on st Croix in  the virgin Islands for a few years brought my triumph sidecar rig anyone who believes that bs about living on island time is misinformed they honk at the very second the light turns green im glad I learned the carribbean cus words

[Two Checks]

Quote from: adaven on Today at 12:47:39 PM

Well then, let them have the right of way. Who cares really? What does it cost you, maybe a little wear and tear on the brake pads. I think people forget they have brakes, too.

So I should inconvenience others to make it convenient for one?

The people merging have brakes, also. And ot is their responsibility by law to seamlessly and safely merge.

[Moparnut72]

Now let's talk about roundabouts. There aren't any near me but when I go to Reno, I struggle with them. On my bike no problem, but my long wheelbase dually, that's something else. They do speed things up but?
kk

[Stretch]

Wow - some strong opinions on merging!

If I can allow someone to merge safely by soft-pedaling, (soft gripping on the bike?),
or changing lanes, I'll happily do so. And I'll tell ya -  if you help semi driver in this manner, 
you'll likely have made a new friend!

My rationale goes something like this:

1. Stopping on an acceleration ramp is DANGEROUS! It should be avoided at ALMOST any cost.
2. Allowing someone to or being allowed to safely merge reduces stress and road rage in all parties.
    Angry drivers are dangerous drivers.
3. Smooth traffic flow and smooth merges help everybody. Smoother, safer, faster.
4. Yielding right-of-way laws aside, the very definition of merge - " to blend or come together without abrupt change-
    i.e.  merging traffic" seems to imply a give-and-take by both parties. A lot of public road driving requires that -
    other examples will occur to the reader........ 

                                                                                              -Stretch

[Two Checks]

Trucks don't have the ability to accelerate or slow like a car. Usually its all they can do to get near the speed of traffic.
That said, why do so many feel they should slow or speed up when it is the merging driver's responsibility to do so?
They can do it just as easy as you. And they don't impede traffic by merging properly.
+1 on not stopping on a ramp.

[stonelover]

Lost a rider last week on a two lane state road. Don't know if he was one of the stupid or angry ones. Crossed a double yellow line to pass and rode head-on into an oncoming vehicle.  RIP!

[Ncdan]

Merging traffic from an “on ramp” onto a high speed interstate or other US highway, is one of the most dangerous situations we have on our highways today.
The city where I worked, as a motor office, was literally divided by two major 4 lanes running through it, I40 and US Highway 52.
The majority of the accidents I investigated on those highways were due to the EXIT and ENTRANCE ramps.
The information I am offering is the text book description of how these ramps are to be utilized and in no way includes personal opinions.

At the bottom or ending of the ramps are YIELD signs. The definition being “increase, decrease speed or stop when necessary”.
These ramps are designed for the user to build up the necessary speed to smoothly blend in with the traffic of which the road, the ramps are serving, without interruption of that traffic. One will notice there are usually a heavy white line at the end of the ramp which usually extends several yards. At the end of this line is where the ramps traffics “right of way” ends and their responsibility to YIELD begins.
The WORST thing a motorist can do is to abruptly reduce their speed or apply breaks, to allow a slow moving vehicle on that ramp to enter the right lane of travel. On a high speed highway, 65mph+, a vehicle suddenly hitting their breaks or drastically reducing their speed, even as a jester of kindness, can produce deadly results. Don’t ask me how I know this.
Where we as motorcycle riders must use the ultimate measure of caution it at CLOVER LEAF interchanges where the entrance ramps combine with the EXIT ramps. These types of ramps are no longer used in the construction on interstate highways in American, however there are thousands left in the nation. I cannot express enough caution that needs to be used on these ramps where high speed vehicles are attempting to both enter and exit a highway where vehicles are traveling at speeds exceeding 70 mph.
Just last week there was a fatality on I40 in Winston Salem NC, where I live, due to one of these exchanges.
Ride safe fellow WG family.

[Gliderjohn]

Twice I have nearly done a high speed rear ender when entering an interstate looking to the left for an opening then look forward to find the car in front of me has come to a complete stop because they didn't think they could merge.
GliderJohn

[nwguy]

Some things I learned in drivers' ed classes still stick with me. One is, accelerate when changing lanes. You realize it's obviously safer when you do it. Unfortunately this takes anticipation, planning and awareness. Another is the "count to 3" rule to maintain a safe distance from the vehicle in front of you, where when that vehicle passes a stationary object, you pass the same object after counting to 3. I think my kids told me they teach you to count to 2 now. I often wonder how drivers' ed classes have changed these days.

A pet peeve of mine is when someone in front of me decides to be "nice" and let another driver enter the road by slowing down. That's fine when they're aren't other drivers behind the "nice" one. It's not a recognition of who has right of way and is an example of random, unpredictable driving.

People camping in the middle or left lanes. Don't get me started. I lived in Germany a while. EVERYONE stays as far to the right as traffic will allow and only ventures into left-ish lanes when passing, and then gets back to the right as soon as possible. On speed limit free autobahns, you never know when a Porsche or Mercedes with full air dams is coming from behind at 220 km/hr. Germans must be perplexed when first driving on American multilane roads. It is so relaxing to drive on German autobahns because you can reliably predict how others will drive. In the US, who knows why anyone's in a particular lane? Big rig trucks used to stay mainly in the right most lanes. Now, they seem to stay in the middle of 3 lanes. So if you're in the right lane (keeping right unless passing) and want to pass, you have to make 4 lane changes instead of 2.  This is one reason why I hate driving/riding on interstate roads.

[Frulk]

 I’ve found that no matter where I’m currently living, that’s were the country’s worst drivers are.     

[Kev m]

I’ve found that no matter where I’m currently living, that’s were the country’s worst drivers are.     

When we moved to NJ (7 years ago now) I noticed a phenomenon. Maybe the rigid DL requirements and late age (17) for fully licensed drivers has an effect. The drivers around here (south jersey at least) are by and large both courteous and observant of many regulations (for instance pulling over for emergency vehicles).

In contrast the Philly suburbs that I had lived most of my life and NYC suburbs before that were bustling with idiots.

Growing up spending large parts of my summers in MA I was not impressed with drivers on the Cape either.

But in recent travels we noted very courteous drivers in CO (in and around Denver).

So I'm not sure what are observational biases and what are actual trends. But I suspect it's not the same everywhere, but also could have something to do with regional differences, population density, etc.

[Frulk]

Well, if someone asked me who the most polite drivers are that I’ve ever driven among for an extended period of time I’d have to say it would be the North Dakotans. But that’s primarily due to the fact there were so few of them.

[stonelover]

When we moved to NJ (7 years ago now) I noticed a phenomenon. Maybe the rigid DL requirements and late age (17) for fully licensed drivers has an effect. The drivers around here (south jersey at least) are by and large both courteous and observant of many regulations (for instance pulling over for emergency vehicles).

In contrast the Philly suburbs that I had lived most of my life and NYC suburbs before that were bustling with idiots.

Growing up spending large parts of my summers in MA I was not impressed with drivers on the Cape either.

But in recent travels we noted very courteous drivers in CO (in and around Denver).

So I'm not sure what are observational biases and what are actual trends. But I suspect it's not the same everywhere, but also could have something to do with regional differences, population density, etc.

I believe that traffic density is a big factor. Whenever I get to within a 20 or 30 mile radius of a large metropolitan area drivers appear to become more aggressive.

[Motormike]

Seems like a lot of drivers of big pickups want to show off their horsepower on the interstates .

I have found this to be true. The farther west you ride, the more dually pickups would pass me flying down the interstate at 95+ speeds.  Texas and New Mexico should put a Super Duty 350 on their state flags!

Then there's this article about drivers in Florida and Miami.  I was stunned by the percentage of drivers with suspended licenses: 

"Miami-Dade Judge Steven Leifman told Miami Today that Florida uses a “high-fee model,” with most speeding tickets costing at least $200, which includes court fees. Almost a third of the drivers in Miami-Dade county—the state’s most populous—are driving with a suspended license, reported the publication."

Don't even get me started on what happens on Atlanta's interstates starting around 9 or 10pm on the weeknights. 

[Huzo]

It should be easier to lose your licence for life.

[Huzo]

Well then, let them have the right of way. Who cares really? What does it cost you, maybe a little wear and tear on the brake pads. I think people forget they have brakes, too.

Deferring to the problem only feeds the problem, because the person who holds the incorrect belief is having that belief reinforced.
When I’m in the truck, I see people who pass on the inside breakdown lane to speed up to the front of the stationary traffic queue.
I get the greatest joy out of sitting in 65 tonnes of truck and waving them in ahead of me, whilst leaving not quite enough room....
If they were lost or had made a genuine mistake, I would open the space for them.
Other than that, they can get rooted....

[Canuck750]

Aggressive driving seems to becoming the norm everywhere. Here in the Texas of the north, oil country dictates that the typical vehicle is a quad cab 4x4 pickup with a lift kit and silly big wheels. My wife was twice crushed in her Miata and Z4 by said pickups changing lanes any looking in their mirrors. I have been nearly taken out many times by big ass trucks driven by young dudes, baseball cap backwards, white sunglasses, you all know the type. Don’t know why it is but have experienced the same all across the western USA and Canada. I just lay back and try to move over, I am not going to ‘win’ riding a bike.

[bad Chad]

I have little idea what the finer points of this thread are, and with that I’ll say what I like to do.

When touring aka going somewhere where I won’t be sleeping in my bed, I ride considerably faster than traffic.   I sometimes pass on double yellow, though I try to keep that to a minimum because a imagine it piss people off.  I do try to use my blinkers all the time and back off the throttle when passing cages, so they don’t get subjected to needles noise.   

I just ride fast, and reasonably polite. 

[bigbikerrick]

I live in the southeast corner of Arizona right on the Mexican border. Since -  19, the border has been closed for routine business,to our Mexican neighbors to the south, which make up 75% of the commerce here in this little town, so things are really "dead" here, as in the roads, and stores/ restaurants are mostly empty, which makes it great for motorcycling.
  I have a small retirement house  ,just south of Tucson, and thats a different story there. There are lots of angry, distracted , speeding drivers there, and it seems people are "pissed" all the time, ready to honk the horn ,or flip a bird , for anything. I have noticed, fewer and fewer courteous drivers, in that area. The police have been strict on device use while driving, and I have noticed a decrease in that distracted drivers, wandering all over the road! 
Rick.

[Tom]

My impressions now for AZ is that no idiots are pulling firearms out.  I use to open carry.  The law got changed that anyone can conceal carry if they're legal.  So no trying to intimidate someone by pulling a piece out.

[Roebling3]

Aggressive driving has a new(?) contender  - As we know high performance electric cars have a new kind of HP. It's immediate. It may be in the hands of an idiot. There is no noise, (except horn blowing). They do it because they can. In the past 2 weeks, 3 white cars. 2 Teslas and an SUV have passed me @ way more than double the 30m/h speed limit, on a hilly 2 lane, 2 mile stretch of road w/only shoulders or ditches on both sides. There are a few curves but the blind hills can be deadly. . . hence the name "Dead Horse Hill"; AKA Stafford St. An interesting history from back in the yclept Brass Era. BTW: Commuters are not a problem. "WAYZ" ? and other work around gps routers may be the the instigator.  R3~

[LowRyter]

https://youtu.be/EBC1CPVgw3w  (in fairness, I believe the sound effects were added)

This one's a classic, happened a couple of days ago.  The guy in the red truck had a kid in the car and was let go with a ticket.  The Highway Patrol is reexamining based on the video.

[Mr Pootle]

A friend of mine's incredibly popular. Everywhere he goes other drivers hoot and wave to him.

[Ncdan]

Sorry , a ticket is inappropriate in that situation .

 TS

Yep, the charge should “ADW in attempt to conflict death or serious injury”
GS- 14-32