Holy Moly, he almost killed us this morning!

[Trailrider1951]

Look out, folks, there are some angry people out there! I was headed into work with my sister, who is borrowing my car this morning, when we were nearly run off the road deliberately by an idiot who apparently thought I wasn't going fast enough. I was going about 2 to 3 mph faster than the 60 mph speed limit in the left lane, preparing to make a left turn in about 1 1/2 miles when this guy roars up behind me and sits just inches from my rear bumper. I tapped my brakes to tell him to back off, then he goes around me on the right and comes back into the left lane when his truck was beside my car. Clearly, he did not intend to pass me and come back into the left lane ahead of me, but he wanted to force me off the road! I hit the brakes and got over to the left as much as I could to avoid hitting him. He continued up the road, and when he slowed for a red light, my sister got his license number. At the next intersection, he turned right, and I turned left, but there I got a good look at his face as he turned to look at me and give me the one finger salute. So, now I have a number, a description of his truck and a description of him. I called Austin police who referred me to the Travis county sheriff (their jurisdiction), and an officer will come out to my workplace to take a report. Apparently, this is only a Class C misdemeanor, but I will sign the report anyway. Hopefully, this jerk will have to pay a big fine, and will realize he cannot act this way and get away with it!

[rockymountaindem]

1. Crazy driving is a fact of life, but that guy took it to a whole new level

My good friend, who is a car entheusiast and takes driving very seriously, once gave me a good tip. If someone is tailgating you, don't put on the brakes. Instead, turn your lights on briefly. That will make your taillights come on also, and it will likely fool the person behind you into thinking you've tapped the brakes. Then they'll brake for real, while you can accelerate quickly and put some distance between you.

I've tried that a few times since and it seems to work. At the least, it's safer than actually braking in that situation and risking a collision.

[Squatch]

3. A police officer once told me that tapping brakes to get another to back off

is considered road rage. If an accident occurs as a result of tapping brakes, then charges would be leveled.

[LostinVA]

15. I've had a cop (an ex) tell me the opposite

Maybe different laws in different states.

:shrug:

[Squatch]

30. Virginia...

Is that a different state than the one in which you live?

[LostinVA]

33. I was in NC at the time

[kwassa]

2. Not to excuse his behavior

but you do not need to be in the left lane for 1 1/2 miles before your left turn. If you wish to drive more slowly, then use the right lane, and move to the left in the last quarter mile or so.

"Slower traffic keep right", the basis for efficient highway use, though it is not the law everywhere, it should be. Known as "keep right" laws, this state does not have them either, and I find slower drivers in the left lane impeding traffic all the time.

[Gormy Cuss]

4. True, but if you're traveling at or above the stated limit, the "Slower Traffic" rule doesn't apply.

It's meant for the people who want to travel at speeds lower than the speed limit. In effect these days people think it means "anyone traveling slower than me" needs to move over, but it has never been the intent of "keep right" laws to encourage speeding.

[kwassa]

6. It is still important to the efficient flow of traffic

because the reality is that most people don't observe the speed limit. That is a fact of life, partly because limits are set too low for safe operation of vehicles on many roads. Example: the local interstate has a speed limit of 55. The flow of traffic is often about 75, and it is quite safe to drive the road at that speed in clear weather.

And as citizens sharing a roadway, sharing this resource, the considerate thing to do if others wish to move faster is to move to the right lane, thereby preventing unnecessary blockages.

[Gormy Cuss]

9. I know that's the reality, but it's not the intent of the law.

The 55 MPH limit is too slow for most limited access roads and many people are accustomed to speeding on highways. I'm all for raising the speed limit or even abolishing it all together in some cases. I also think that prudent driving would be to move right when you are uncomfortable going with the flow.

However, the sense of entitlement to travel at 20 + miles over the speed limit is what provokes rage incidents like the one described. There is no right to travel over the stated limit, although lax enforcement emboldens drivers to behave as described in the OP when someone has the nerve to observe the limit. Common courtesy would dictate moving around the slower car when it's safe for you to do so, not to ride up on the bumper and then move up the side aggressively. Tapping the brakes to get someone off your bumper isn't a sign of courtesy either.

[kwassa]

10. I disagree

The complaint we hear is about "aggressive drivers" which really comes down to anyone who is forced to pass on the right. I encounter many drivers who sit in the passing lane of the freeway and who don't care about the long line of traffic stacked up behind them. This creates "aggression" on the part of the other drivers who are frustrated in wanting to get past them, but there is often no safe recourse. I really don't understand why people sit in the left lane to begin with, and it really does kill the flow of traffic. To me, this is a cause of road rage, though there are other causes as well. Some people are just nuts behind the wheel.

[Gormy Cuss]

11. Sitting in the passing lane is wrong and can result in a citation.

No argument there. Also not a justification for road rage. Aggressive driving is all about ego.

[kwassa]

27. It only gets a citation if it is against state law, and they vary.

Maryland has no keep right law, and many states don't.

I've NEVER seen it enforced here.

[MissMillie]

7. nope....

I've seen state police officers quoted who say that if someone wants to get around you, and you can safely pull over to allow them to do so, then you are REQUIRED to pull over and let them pass you, even if you are already driving over the limit.

(and no, I don't mean to excuse his behavior either)

[Gormy Cuss]

16. You are required to allow cars to pass when it's safe to do so.

You are also supposed to leave the left lane open for passing and turning when there are multiple lanes. The troopers may have been talking about the practicality of the situation. The fact that you are speeding is less of an offense than causing an accident by failing to yield to someone who's speeding even more. Traffic laws in Mass. are quite flexible as I recall. I know that where I used to live near Boston the only traffic rule seemed to be 'assume all other drivers are idiots and drive accordingly.' Then there are rotaries...

on edit: one example of 'flexible': a Boston friend, whose spouse was a trooper, insisted that the law stated that the first three cars at an intersection could go through a red light before it was considered running the light. The reality was more that it wasn't worth nicking the poor schlub who was caught without enough time to clear the intersection before the light turned.

[MissMillie]

22. I think we agree

If this driver had 1.5 miles to her turn, and she had room to pull over, AND someone wanted to get around her, then she was supposed to pull over. And I think that's what I was saying when I quoted the cop.

Traffic laws in MA are not flexible, and the only reason why the drivers are crazy is because there are so many NH drivers here that don't know how to keep right unless to pass and how to yeild right of way when required.

[LostinVA]

28. But she wasn't on an interstate or a two-lane road

So, I'm betting what the cop said wouldn't apply here. The dude has plenty of room to pass.

[MissMillie]

39. she said a 4 lane divided road

that's not a 2 lane road?

you know what... I don't even care about legal. I posted elsewhere that legalities aside, if there's someone who wants to get around me, and I can let him get around me, then I'm going to do it. I would much rather get out of his way than piss him off. There are too many people who WILL do stupid shit even if I'm in the right. It costs me nothing to pull over.

If this guy does something stupid and causes and accident... it may not cost me in money due to his being in the wrong, but my time and energy... it's just not worth it. Not at all.

[LostinVA]

40. I consider a two-lane road a "back road"

Two lanes.

[MissMillie]

41. "but a 4 lane divided highway"

that's not a back road

[LostinVA]

43. I know -- I meant that she shouldn't have to pull over on a road like that

It's not an interstate or a back road without passing zones -- the guy could easily pass her. That's all I meant.

[MissMillie]

45. well, if he could easily pass her

then she can easily pull over.

Here's the TX (I assume she meant Austin TX) driver's manual. Page 40 says if you're driving slower you stay right.

http://www.dmvusa.com/mcontent.php?pageid=4&id=Texas_Driver_Manual

[LostinVA]

14. And, people act like in-town roads have the same "rules"

Nope, sorry. If I'm traveling in town and want to be going the speed limit in the LEFT lane, because I'll need to turn soon, too fucking bad if I'm not speeding. It's not the interstate.

[Gormy Cuss]

24. It's all about courtesy, and lack thereof.

That and too many people living with too many competing time commitments has turned us into a nation of self-absorbed drivers. I fucking hate it. The on-your-bumper on local roads people need to take a chill pill.

[LostinVA]

26. God, I totally agree with you

I say all the time that I bet 80% of all accidents could be avoided if only COMMON COURTESY was used. I dislike aggressive interstate driving, but that tailgating in-town stuff, especially when I'm already nudging over the speed limit? UGH.

[kwassa]

55. well, what do you mean by "in-town"?

Are the suburbs in-town? Or only in an actual city? I certainly wouldn't consider a four-lane divided highway an in-town road.

Do you consider a left turn a mile and a half away to be turning soon?

[petronius]

50. I think that depends on the state

Here in CA, if you're going slower than the normal flow of traffic, you have to move over - speed limit not withstanding. Of course, passing and left turns are exceptions...

[kwassa]

54. In California, they are likely to shoot at you if you're blocking the lane.

this is what made it such a culture shock to move to the mid-Atlantic region.

[Whoa_Nelly]

5. Have to disagree re: left lane for 1 1/2 miles

Can only agree that people should wait until they are close to their turn to get in the left lane unless in a heavy traffic area. Have been in many large cities, especially during rush times, that if you don't get in the lane you need by at least a mile or so before you need to exit or turn, you won't be able to get in that lane at all.

[kwassa]

8. It depends on the flow of traffic

If it is very heavy traffic, I would agree with you, except that the traffic would probably be moving slower in the first place. In the OP, this guy in the truck was able to pass on the right, so the amount of traffic clearly wasn't the issue.

This state, Maryland, is plagued by people who get in the left lane for turns miles before they need to.

[Whoa_Nelly]

12. Just wondering...

how is it clearly not heavy traffic simply because the guy could get to the right of the OP?

[kwassa]

31. what criteria would you use?

we are both speculating because it hasn't been stated how heavy the traffic is.

[LostinVA]

18. Yup -- agreed

[KitchenWitch]

36. For sure

Or in southern California, if you are in the left lane on the freeway and need to exit, I suggest starting to do all your lane changes 5 miles before the exit.

[Hangingon]

44. In Texas the left lane is the passing lane.

[1gobluedem]

49. It depends on traffic

Sometimes you DO need to be in the left lane that long before your exit if traffic is heavy. I have a left lane exit for which I get in the left lane about three miles before I have to turn because if I don't, I can't get in. Signal or no signal. So I can understand being in that lane and if you're going 2-3 mph over the limit you should be all right.

[LostinVA]

13. I've had the same thing happen to me -- it's sickening

It's scary (and enraging), isn't it?

:hug:

[Trailrider1951]

17. OK folks, to clarify

This is NOT a freeway, but a 4 lane divided highway that runs around the west side of Austin. There are intersections controlled by traffic lights about every mile or so, and the speed limit is 60 mph. Nowhere does it give him the right to run me off the road because I won't do 70.:(

[Whoa_Nelly]

20. Absolutely correct!

:thumbsup:

[LostinVA]

21. I figured that's what you meant -- and I agree with you

This isn't the interstate, it's an in-town road. The "left lane" thing doesn't apply here.

:hug:

[MissMillie]

32. Rule of thumb

if at all possible.... let the person who wants to pass, pass.

Yep, there are bastids everywhere, especially on the road. I would rather accommodate the bastid and let someone else incur his wrath and stupidity than to put myself in the position of having him do something stupid/dangerous/mean to ME.

Legal/schmegal.... who cares. Who benefits from you staying in this guy's way? No one.

[NewWaveChick1981]

19. I'm just glad you weren't injured or killed because of that idiot.

:hug: I'm glad you got his license tag number. :pals:

[Swede]

23. A lady flew by me the other day, she was flossing her teeth!

I suppose she was using her legs to steer,but what an idiot.

[LostinVA]

29. ...

:wow: :wow: :wow:

:scared:

[Arugula Latte]

25. Do you have any liberal bumperstickers on your vehicle?

I wonder if he was a RW nutbag...

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

34. Honestly, he shouldn't have to pay.

It's your word against his. Quite frankly, there's no evidence anything actually happened without a witness available. He might be an asshole, but I'd be pissed if I got a ticket based on someone's say-so.

[LostinVA]

35. That's because you never drive on the Beltway

:scared:

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

37. I hardly ever drive at all anymore!

Hey, I'm scared of the Beltway too... :scared:

[LostinVA]

38. I drive it, but it's damned scary!!!

I just tried going up 81 and 78 to NJ last week. OMG -- WAY better, even with some construction around Allentown. Only one 75 cents toll and the traffic is sooooo much better.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

46. Are you moving up to NJ any time soon?

[LostinVA]

47. Keep your fingers crossed

I'm waiting to hear about some interviews. But, definitely by mid-August.

[flvegan]

48. Sister was in the car.

There's the witness.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

51. Sounds more like a co-plaintiff.

Witness would have to be outside the car, not involved in the incident.

[flvegan]

52. It's a criminal act

The county/state is the plaintiff, they're victims.

[wildhorses]

42. road rage --

sad fact of modern life.

sorry to hear this happened to you:hug:

[no name no slogan]

53. Was he driving a Jetta? (nt)

[LanternWaste]

56. this was passively your fault

I have a feeling that there will be implications directed at you (if not posted already) that this was passively your fault because you were not breaking the law (speeding).

One day, those guys who often say that most wrecks are caused because someone was going too slow rather than speeding will need to show some non-anecdotal evidence for me to take them seriously.

I hope this guy pays a fine and gets a hefty monthly price addition to his insurance...

[LostinVA]

58. Read the thread -- you are correct!

I always tell people: "Going the speed limit -- or a few miles over -- is NOT going 'too slow'."

[IntravenousDemilo]

57. Yes, it's called a speed LIMIT for a good reason.

People regularly drive on the 401 east of Toronto at 140 Km/h, which is 40 Km over. They should have their licences suspended for a year unless they're in a life-or-death situation or they're rushing someone to a maternity ward. Not being able to use their cars for twelve months would definitely slow them down a lot more than if they just obeyed the posted limit.