How do you deal with road bullies?

[supermaltese]

I do whatever I believe I can to keep the peace. I try to think that the other guy is having an extra bad day, and it's not really his/her fault.

 

[superman22x]

Slow vehicles should stick to the right in your country, so naturally you would use the left lane to pass these vehicles at times and does not give the morons the right to harass you....
But staying on topic is "how do you deal with them" as road bullies can harass you in any lane or single road regardless.

No body should be harassing you if you are just passing. If someone is all of a sudden on your tail, you probably cut them off then. If you are in the left lane making a slow pace, that's also your fault. Like I said, I never get harassed in the left lane and I live in Chicago...

 

[MMM]

No body should be harassing you if you are just passing. If someone is all of a sudden on your tail, you probably cut them off then. If you are in the left lane making a slow pace, that's also your fault. Like I said, I never get harassed in the left lane and I live in Chicago...

You are lucky so far as not to have the misfortune of Road rage, hope you never do experience it as it can be an unpleasant.

Cheers

 

[iPwn]

Four times I have had someone react poorly while driving or befall to 'road rage.'

1. I was 17 and casually drove by a random car. They then proceeded to get extremely close, honk and flash their lights. As they came up my left hand side to either flip me off or who knows what, I took my cell phone and held it like a gun pointed in their direction. They promptly applied their brakes.

2. Shortly after getting out of the Marines, I went shooting with some friends. On our way back, again I passed a car that was driving in the slow lane without honking or anything else, but they proceeded to chase me, swerve from side to side, and at one point looked as if they were going to run me off the road. I took out my S&W .40 cal, had my friend grab the wheel, and hung out the window and took aim. They quickly swerved to an off-ramp.

3. I was on my way to school on a main highway and every idiot was stopped in the fast lane while the slow lane was empty, so I changed to the slow lane and passed probably 20 cars before getting back into the fast lane. I admit that this time I did cut the guy behind me off someone (even though he was stopped). He proceeded to chase me once traffic cleared up, honking and flashing. The first car I passed in the slow lane, I quickly changed lanes and applied the brakes (so he could not get behind me). As he passed, I simply stared. He took off and I continued my normal speeding to school.

4. This guy, I was pretty close to killing. I was on my way home from work and needed to get over to turn. As soon as I put on my blinker, the guy that had been behind me to the right for at least a mile accelerated so I couldn't get over. As he passed, I flipped him the bird. He then slowed down, so I changed lanes. He flashed his brights on and followed me all the way to my house. Knowing I was being tailed, I pulled diagonally into my garage, grabbed my gun and exited the vehicle opening my back door to use it as cover, pointing the firearm through the window. He got out of his truck (apparently not seeing my position) and started walking towards me. At that point I gave him a warning not to come any closer or I would invoke my rights under Colorado's awesome "Make my day" law. I think he quickly realized where I was and what I was holding and ran back to his truck and took off.

After that incident, I stopped driving like an asshole. The first two times... I have no idea why the other driver freaked out as I cannot think of anything I did. But the other two I was partly at fault. I never want to be put in a situation where I take another human life again so I try to just ignore other people and not make anyone angry with my driving. Simply not worth it anymore.

to be honest...

in America, the left hand lanes are for over taking.
in the UK the right hand lanes are for over taking.

There is really no such thing as a fast lane.
you should always try to stay in lane 1, unless you are overtaking.

if you're sat in lanes 2, 3, (456 or whatever) when you could be in a lower numbered lane, then you're doing it wrong.

there is no reason to drive in the centre lane when there is no other traffic, who exactly are you overtaking?

Ahh but in America, the "Fast Lane" is lane #1, then as lanes are added to the right, numbers increase.

If you are on a road with 3 or more lanes, you should always drive in the center lane when possible. This gives you more options on where to swerve in the event something happens down the road and you need to react quickly.

On a road of two lanes, then driving in the "fast lane" is actually illegal in an increasing number of states with the exception of passing. Problem is, idiots everywhere either come from England (where the passing lane is on the other side) because it seems more and more that I have to change to the slow lane to pass someone.

 

[Tech Explorer]

Four times I have had someone react poorly while driving or befall to 'road rage.'

1. I was 17 and casually drove by a random car. They then proceeded to get extremely close, honk and flash their lights. As they came up my left hand side to either flip me off or who knows what, I took my cell phone and held it like a gun pointed in their direction. They promptly applied their brakes.

2. Shortly after getting out of the Marines, I went shooting with some friends. On our way back, again I passed a car that was driving in the slow lane without honking or anything else, but they proceeded to chase me, swerve from side to side, and at one point looked as if they were going to run me off the road. I took out my S&W .40 cal, had my friend grab the wheel, and hung out the window and took aim. They quickly swerved to an off-ramp.

3. I was on my way to school on a main highway and every idiot was stopped in the fast lane while the slow lane was empty, so I changed to the slow lane and passed probably 20 cars before getting back into the fast lane. I admit that this time I did cut the guy behind me off someone (even though he was stopped). He proceeded to chase me once traffic cleared up, honking and flashing. The first car I passed in the slow lane, I quickly changed lanes and applied the brakes (so he could not get behind me). As he passed, I simply stared. He took off and I continued my normal speeding to school.

4. This guy, I was pretty close to killing. I was on my way home from work and needed to get over to turn. As soon as I put on my blinker, the guy that had been behind me to the right for at least a mile accelerated so I couldn't get over. As he passed, I flipped him the bird. He then slowed down, so I changed lanes. He flashed his brights on and followed me all the way to my house. Knowing I was being tailed, I pulled diagonally into my garage, grabbed my gun and exited the vehicle opening my back door to use it as cover, pointing the firearm through the window. He got out of his truck (apparently not seeing my position) and started walking towards me. At that point I gave him a warning not to come any closer or I would invoke my rights under Colorado's awesome "Make my day" law. I think he quickly realized where I was and what I was holding and ran back to his truck and took off.

After that incident, I stopped driving like an asshole. The first two times... I have no idea why the other driver freaked out as I cannot think of anything I did. But the other two I was partly at fault. I never want to be put in a situation where I take another human life again so I try to just ignore other people and not make anyone angry with my driving. Simply not worth it anymore.





Ahh but in America, the "Fast Lane" is lane #1, then as lanes are added to the right, numbers increase.

If you are on a road with 3 or more lanes, you should always drive in the center lane when possible. This gives you more options on where to swerve in the event something happens down the road and you need to react quickly.

On a road of two lanes, then driving in the "fast lane" is actually illegal in an increasing number of states with the exception of passing. Problem is, idiots everywhere either come from England (where the passing lane is on the other side) because it seems more and more that I have to change to the slow lane to pass someone.

I don't know what the stats actually show, but I'm of the opinion you would have a greater chance for an accident in the center lane of a three-lane highway due to someone changing lanes from either the right or left lane.

 

[Celegorm]

I don't know what the stats actually show, but I'm of the opinion you would have a greater chance for an accident in the center lane of a three-lane highway due to someone changing lanes from either the right or left lane.

I've never heard that before. In fact my driver's Ed. teacher told me exactly what iPwn said: center lane for more evasive options.

 

[iPwn]

I don't know what the stats actually show, but I'm of the opinion you would have a greater chance for an accident in the center lane of a three-lane highway due to someone changing lanes from either the right or left lane.

Three lanes.

Driving in Lane 1:
A driver in lane 2 that is ahead of you loses control. Your only option to avoid wrecking is to swerve to your left, into (hopefully) the shoulder, or just a median or railing.

Driving in Lane 3:
A driver in lane 2 that is ahead of you loses control. Your only option is to swerve to your right, again hopefully a shoulder, but most likely a drop-off. Causing you to wreck, or worse, flip.

Driving in Lane 2:
A driver in either lane 1 or 3 ahead of you loses control, regardless of which side, you have an entire lane in either side and possibly a shoulder prior to a barrier or ditch. You can't hope to stop in time as the speed limit on most 3 lane highways is at least 55 MPH. To come to a full stop, you would need a whole football field. 70 MPH would require 1.667 football fields. Certainly, you should not rely on your ability to stop prior to a potential wreck. Giving yourself a whole lane + a potential shoulder to avoid a wreck... good idea.

Edit

Holy crap! So I just read most of the thread and where Celegorm posted his hypothetical situation and the responses that followed. To add to that, (and to pre-empt posts about my scenarios above), let me say a few things.

1. If you display aggression towards me with a vehicle, and then exit that vehicle and approach me, I am going to assume the worst. You have already demonstrated that you are in an angry state of mind (lack of cognitive processing) and you are willing to approach me. Your intentions cannot be ascertained, but I will assume that they are to do bodily injury to myself or family. I will warn you first, then I will shoot three times. Two shots to the chest, at least 6 inches apart, and then one to head. My military training and experience has taught me one thing. Neutralize threats before they have a chance to do harm. In the Marines, neutralize is a fancy word for kill. One could say "Why not shoot them in the leg?" Simple. If I shoot them in the leg, they take me to court and I'm in debt for the rest of my life. If I kill them, I have a chance of facing no charges, and even if I do, I won't be sentenced to life in prison or death, so that consequence will be temporary. Kind of a crappy way of thinking about it, but if someone poses a threat, I have to think about my best interests, not theirs.

2. When the police show up, they'll find me still at the scene. When questioned, I will give the truth. The question they will ask is "Did you perceive a threat to your life?" and my answer will be yes. The individual demonstrated ill-will and a willingness to take action on those emotions. I felt threatened and also felt that my life was in danger had I not taken action to prevent it.

3. If the day comes where I stand before a judge and get sentenced to incarceration, my kids will be sitting right behind me, still alive. Had I not taken action, I could not reasonably say with any amount of certainty that they would still be alive. Just because a person appears unarmed, doesn't mean they are not. I didn't see too many terrorists/insurgents walking around brandishing their AK's, but sure enough, they pulled an AK-47 out of their clothing, so what makes me think that someone could not possibly hide a hand-gun?

You can debate all you want about whether or not those actions are moral, right, kind, whatever. Those are the actions I take when threatened. This clearly identifies the problem with a justice system where killing someone is a better option than simply hindering them, but that is the way our system works. Therefore, those are the actions I plan to take, and almost did, until people stop taking crazy pills every morning.

 

[MMM]

Three lanes.

Driving in Lane 1:
A driver in lane 2 that is ahead of you loses control. Your only option to avoid wrecking is to swerve to your left, into (hopefully) the shoulder, or just a median or railing.

Driving in Lane 3:
A driver in lane 2 that is ahead of you loses control. Your only option is to swerve to your right, again hopefully a shoulder, but most likely a drop-off. Causing you to wreck, or worse, flip.

Driving in Lane 2:
A driver in either lane 1 or 3 ahead of you loses control, regardless of which side, you have an entire lane in either side and possibly a shoulder prior to a barrier or ditch. You can't hope to stop in time as the speed limit on most 3 lane highways is at least 55 MPH. To come to a full stop, you would need a whole football field. 70 MPH would require 1.667 football fields. Certainly, you should not rely on your ability to stop prior to a potential wreck. Giving yourself a whole lane + a potential shoulder to avoid a wreck... good idea.

Edit

Holy crap! So I just read most of the thread and where Celegorm posted his hypothetical situation and the responses that followed. To add to that, (and to pre-empt posts about my scenarios above), let me say a few things.

1. If you display aggression towards me with a vehicle, and then exit that vehicle and approach me, I am going to assume the worst. You have already demonstrated that you are in an angry state of mind (lack of cognitive processing) and you are willing to approach me. Your intentions cannot be ascertained, but I will assume that they are to do bodily injury to myself or family. I will warn you first, then I will shoot three times. Two shots to the chest, at least 6 inches apart, and then one to head. My military training and experience has taught me one thing. Neutralize threats before they have a chance to do harm. In the Marines, neutralize is a fancy word for kill. One could say "Why not shoot them in the leg?" Simple. If I shoot them in the leg, they take me to court and I'm in debt for the rest of my life. If I kill them, I have a chance of facing no charges, and even if I do, I won't be sentenced to life in prison or death, so that consequence will be temporary. Kind of a crappy way of thinking about it, but if someone poses a threat, I have to think about my best interests, not theirs.

2. When the police show up, they'll find me still at the scene. When questioned, I will give the truth. The question they will ask is "Did you perceive a threat to your life?" and my answer will be yes. The individual demonstrated ill-will and a willingness to take action on those emotions. I felt threatened and also felt that my life was in danger had I not taken action to prevent it.

3. If the day comes where I stand before a judge and get sentenced to incarceration, my kids will be sitting right behind me, still alive. Had I not taken action, I could not reasonably say with any amount of certainty that they would still be alive. Just because a person appears unarmed, doesn't mean they are not. I didn't see too many terrorists/insurgents walking around brandishing their AK's, but sure enough, they pulled an AK-47 out of their clothing, so what makes me think that someone could not possibly hide a hand-gun?

You can debate all you want about whether or not those actions are moral, right, kind, whatever. Those are the actions I take when threatened. This clearly identifies the problem with a justice system where killing someone is a better option than simply hindering them, but that is the way our system works. Therefore, those are the actions I plan to take, and almost did, until people stop taking crazy pills every morning.

It can only happen in America.....lol

 

[superman22x]

You are lucky so far as not to have the misfortune of Road rage, hope you never do experience it as it can be an unpleasant.

Cheers

I ride a motorcycle, I've had bad drivers all around me. But I don't have issues with people getting mad at me when I am in the left lane because I use it properly.

 

[Jesusfrk611]

In response to the original question. If you are lounging in the left most lane (in the US), you deserve to be getting lights flashed at you and honked at or whatever else... Someone else is trying to get where they are going, and you are impeding them from doing it by driving the speed limit in the fast lane... No one drives the speed limit in the slower lane(s) most of the time, don't expect someone to be driving the speed limit in the fast lane...

If I'm driving and change lanes to pass someone, and someone comes flying up behind me I'll increase my speed a little to get past the car faster to move over, then drop my speed back to what I was doing.

If it's more than a 2 lane highway, I'll drive in one of the center lanes. Driving in the right most lane means you have to move over or slow down for someone merging on to the highway (because the cars they make these days accelerate so stupidly slow). By driving in the second lane in a 3 lane highway, this can be avoided.