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texanron wrote:

Big Tuna wrote:Some of the worst aggressive drivers are left lane hogs.

Are you talking about the left lane on a multi-lane highway/freeway/interstate or any place there is more than one lane?

I don't speak for BT, but this personally bothers me quite a bit. There are signs telling drivers that slower traffic needs to keep right. Apparently many choose to ignore that.

The biggest problem for me is the concept that those (few) who drive within the rules are somehow the ones who are antisocial, and do not deserve a place on the highway. No matter how courteously I drive, I have people every mile who insist on teaching me the "correct" way to drive (lane changes without warning, driving 20 over the speed limit in order to crowd in front, insisting on forcing multiple lanes of drivers to avoid them as they cut across, etc.). It's the "me, first" syndrome. I truly end up saving someone from an accident every day by being more careful than they.

That "class distinction" alone makes me angry, and that is what first told me decades ago that our society was out of control (and has yet to even begin to regain it). My kids observed that very thing when they weren't even yet teenagers. Somehow, over the years, it seems that we have completely lost the war and the thugs have control.

I will honk my horn at someone who is clearly endangering me, most likely through total lack of awareness that I am there; that is the only defense I have. Beyond that, I do try and keep my distance -- and the posted speed.

pbwalker wrote:

texanron wrote:

Big Tuna wrote:Some of the worst aggressive drivers are left lane hogs.

Are you talking about the left lane on a multi-lane highway/freeway/interstate or any place there is more than one lane?

I don't speak for BT, but this personally bothers me quite a bit. There are signs telling drivers that slower traffic needs to keep right. Apparently many choose to ignore that.

Ummm, slower than what? I've seen very few who drive under the speed limit in the left lane -- unless there's a patrol car in the vicinity....

OldSchool wrote:

pbwalker wrote:

texanron wrote:

Big Tuna wrote:Some of the worst aggressive drivers are left lane hogs.

Are you talking about the left lane on a multi-lane highway/freeway/interstate or any place there is more than one lane?

I don't speak for BT, but this personally bothers me quite a bit. There are signs telling drivers that slower traffic needs to keep right. Apparently many choose to ignore that.

Ummm, slower than what? I've seen very few who drive under the speed limit in the left lane -- unless there's a patrol car in the vicinity....

Slower than the traffic behind you. For example, on a three lane highway, if you are going 5 under in the middle lane, you need to move to the right so the people behind you can continue on.

Hitch a ride in a semi some time. You will learn a great deal about patience, awareness and preparedness. As a semi driver you not only have no control over what other drivers do, you must constantly compensate for their lack of awareness and unsafe driving habits. Since you can neither accelerate like a jackrabbit nor stop on a dime, every move must be well thought out and account for the unaccountable. It doesn't take you long to realize that you have one goal - to get from point a to point b without trouble and ignore everything that happened in between. And isn't that really, when you think about it, your goal as well? After all, you get in your car not to prove your manhood or driving skills or superiority over lesser drivers but to get from point a to point b in one piece without loss of money, body parts or mental serenity. You have two choices when you get behind the wheel. You can be right (and possibly dead or injured, not to mention suffering financial loss) or you can be safe. You cannot be both.

Have you ever noticed that most semis will move to the left lane when a car is on the shoulder? You might think they're being courteous, and that may be part of their motivation. But the real reason they move over is because, if that vehicle pulls into the right lane suddenly, there is no way in the world they will be able to stop in time. A few years ago, a vanload of Mexicans was rearended by a semi on I-20 west of Ft. Worth a ways. The van was so overloaded that the tires had been punctured by rubbing on the wheel wells. They were driving on the shoulder very slowly, trying to limp into the nearest town. As they approached a bridge, with the semi bearing down on them, they pulled into the lane to get away from the bridge's edge. The cab of the semi made it all the way to the back of the driver's seat before its momentum slowed to match the van's. I don't remember now how many were killed, but it was in double figures. They never had a chance.

The truck driver failed to account for the possibility that became a reality right before his eyes. Good drivers are constantly thinking through such scenarios and taking actions to make them less likely to happen.

There's a lesson in there for carrying a weapon as well.

People have a tendency to feel very protected in their vehicles. They flip each other off, shout obscenities, and behave in ways they would never consider if they were standing outside the protection of their cars. Ironically, a speeding vehicle is probably the most dangerous place you can have a confrontation. You probably won't get punched, but you may roll over at 75mph. Anyone who can't control their temper behind the wheel needs to grow up or take the bus. An angry driver is not worth a second thought, let the dummy go by and keep yourself safe.

I'm curious as to what makes someone fit in the category of an aggressive drive?

T.

baldeagle wrote:Hitch a ride in a semi some time. You will learn a great deal about patience, awareness and preparedness. As a semi driver you not only have no control over what other drivers do, you must constantly compensate for their lack of awareness and unsafe driving habits. Since you can neither accelerate like a jackrabbit nor stop on a dime, every move must be well thought out and account for the unaccountable. It doesn't take you long to realize that you have one goal - to get from point a to point b without trouble and ignore everything that happened in between. And isn't that really, when you think about it, your goal as well? After all, you get in your car not to prove your manhood or driving skills or superiority over lesser drivers but to get from point a to point b in one piece without loss of money, body parts or mental serenity. You have two choices when you get behind the wheel. You can be right (and possibly dead or injured, not to mention suffering financial loss) or you can be safe. You cannot be both. (Snip)

There's a lesson in there for carrying a weapon as well.

You are correct - to a point. If you want to confirm how dispassionate and detached tractor trailer drivers really are, try turning on a CB radio in the midst of a traffic tie up. There are a lot of professional drivers out there who have learned to rise above the fray. There are also a lot of them with some extremely colorful language who are anything but unemotional. Even then, most have learned that their paycheck is dependent on them not crunching metal with other vehicles. That is a mitigating factor that most passenger car drivers seem to lack.

"Serenity now!"
One tip I learned before basic training - It takes a lot more effort to be the one yelling than the one being yelled at. My biggest failing here is that I often end up laughing at how silly they act, and that just makes them madder.

RoyGBiv wrote:I had an SUV tailgating me down an icy side street a few days ago... So close I couldn't see their front bumper in my rear view mirror, and driving on ice with no clear pavement in sight... My non-CHL self would almost certainly have had a few choice words for the driver. My CHL-self just pulled over at the next opportunity and waited for them to pass before pulling in behind them.
As the car passed, I saw it was driven by a woman who was talking on her cell phone (while tailgating me on an icy road)...

You're a better man than I. I would have gradually slowed to a stop, then watched her in the rearview trying to find traction.

TLynnHughes wrote:I'm curious as to what makes someone fit in the category of an aggressive drive?

T.

I dunno', what's the difference between someone who lets the door slam in your face as opposed to the one who holds the door open for you. Is it manners and consideration, or is it something deeper in their psyche?

Aggressive drivers tailgate and they take stupid chances diving for openings in traffic that really aren't big enough.
My rule is to never cause another drive to have to adjust their speed if they are driving normally.

I tend to be one of the faster drivers, depending on what i'm in. I find if i'm moving forward through traffic I am much more alert and situationally aware.
If I try to maintain my position, I'm constantly adjusting for slower drivers. If I'm going to be doing that anyway, I may as well make better time.
But that can be done with courtesy and respect for others.

Oldgringo wrote:

Dave2 wrote:I've always asked myself, "Haven't I done that very same thing to somebody else?" If not, I move to, "Can I plausibly see myself making that same mistake?" Just asking myself those two questions keeps me pretty calm on the roads (really, I can almost always stop after the first one).

Not me. I'm the senile old guy who's driving 5 mph BELOW the posted speed limit in the outside lane. It is I and others like me who cause road rage and the really big wrecks.

Why is it that some are ate up with, and prepared to quote, the laws relating to CHL but seem to think the posted speed limit is only a suggesion.

I tend to keep right at the speed limit except when everyone around me is going much faster. Then I drive whatever speed is being dictated by the flow of traffic. I understand your desire to obey the posted limits. However, safety must always trump the law if fanatical adherence to the law creates an unsafe condition, and it is actually safer to drive the speed dictated by the flow of traffic. A driver who is going much slower than the prevailing speed of traffic is as much a danger to other drivers as is the driver who is racing through traffic at amuch higher rate of speed. Both drivers create a danger to everyone because they disrupt the orderly flow of vehicles, forcing the other drivers into avoidance maneuvers that drive up the risk of accident exponentially.

My father in law was an aerospace engineer employed at JPL. When my wife was a child, she had seen a program about the docking of spacecraft in orbit — spacecraft that were orbiting at 17,500 mph. She asked her dad how it was that they avoided crashing into one another given the tremendous velocities involved. His answer? "Because they are going the same speed, sweetie." (This, by the way, is why it is also downright antisocial to rush up on cars that are trying to accelerate to freeway speeds on the onramps.)

If you are a driver who parks himself in the "fast lane" at 5 mph under the posted limit when everyone around you is going 10 mph over the limit, you are creating an unnecessarily dangerous condition unless you are willing to move over to the "slow lane." You could argue that everyone else is creating the unsafe condition, and not you, but that would be a fairly unrealistic and somewhat narcissistic expectation when there is one of you and hundreds of them, and they aren't going to slow down to accommodate you. Living in denial about it is just that... denial. So the best, and most polite solution if you find that you are holding up the flow of traffic is to get out of the way.

I'm not condoning speeding, but the laws of physics don't really care about yours or my opinion, they don't care about the laws of man, and failing to take them into account when you get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle is to beg for the consequences. I'm just sayin'...

Regarding the quoting of CHL law... It is illegal to whip you gun out at random in public places and walk around with it in your hand; but if everyone around you is doing it, you might be wiser to draw your own so that you can maintain a modicum of control over your own safety.

We plod along in an armed "candy apple red" 2500 Cummins 4x4 Dodge Ram PU with a cabin high camper shell on it. We'll usually be in the outside "old folks" lane unless conditions require a lane change. Everybody please try to miss us and we will try to miss you.

TLynnHughes wrote:I'm curious as to what makes someone fit in the category of an aggressive drive?

T.

Yeah, me too. I usually drive the speed limit or sometimes a smidge over - I have been in both positions in the left lane. Stuck behind someone who, IMO, was driving too slow (as in they are being passed in the right lane) as well as having someone nearly in my tailpipe because I didn't pass fast enough. But I take both with a grain of salt - its no big deal.

But there is one instance when I know people may think I am a road hog or pushing to get past everybody. This is when a lane merge is coming up. Most (90%) of people on the road do exactly the WRONG thing when the lane they are in is ending and they are in stop and go traffic - they merge way too early. Then, they get upset when the person behind them drives all they way up to the start of the merge. What they don't seem to get is that by merging early, they are backing up the entire line - multiplying the problem.

If both lanes would move in an orderly fashion to the merge point and then assimilate every other car, then the process would be a smooth and fair as possible. I refuse to merge early just because the person in front of me decided it was time to get over - they can think what they want.

Now, this is not to be confused with those who wait until the last minute to take an exit so they can cut off those already in line. I am only talking about two lanes merging into one whether by design or by construction.