+1 I've had so many experiences w/ older model (usually diesel) pickups tailgating, blocking, cutting me off, and belching smoke that my attention is up whenever I see one, and I try to stay as far away as possible. No other demographic of driver has been as aggressively malicious to me.

 

yup, was a diesel pick-em-up truck.

CAUTION: THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS MY PERSONAL PREJUDICES AND I KNOW THAT THERE IS NO EVIDENCE TO BACK THIS UP OTHER THAN MY OWN UNSCIENTIFIC OBSERVATIONS:

I've noticed that the specific demographics to avoid are

- young male drivers;
- really old men driving Buicks (really old = anybody older than me);
- tiny skinny blond (natural or enhanced) women driving huge SUVs, talking on phone, drinking a hot beverage and or texting (there seems to be an inverse correlation associated with the size and blondness of the woman the the size of the SUV such that blonder and thiner yields bigger SUV - did you know that there is a Nissan actually named "Armada"...don't they know what happened to that fleet near Ireland?) and
- Males 25-35 driving an M3, it seems they always want to prove their car is fast, on highways, they approach at high speed, tailgate, and pull up next to my car and then take off....


I still haven't found that a$$hole magnet in the car, but i'm still looking...

 

In the past two weeks I have had the displeasure of seeing not one but two separate incidents wherein a young woman attempts to decelerate her vehicle while texting and consequently missing the stop line by a good ten feet.

On what planet do these people live where they believe that composing a text is more important than using their eyes to judge deceleration to a stop sign?

What does it take for that generation to learn to put the damn phone in the glove compartment?

I think they need to start treating distracted driving like DUI offenses. Seriously throw the book at people until they "get it".

 

Agree 100%. Really sad state of affairs. Unfortunately, seems the only way they will learn is when they kill somebody. Saw a women the other day reading her cell phone as she was riding her bicycle. You know that if she is doing that on her bike she is definitely doing it while driving. Even though there are laws against it, people still do it. Crazy. Maybe the solution is to do what this guy did.

 

Seems to me that the OP's need for speed could be satisfied on the track, not on public roads. If he does track then he would know what speed and its consequences really mean and would probably not have posted his rant. Regarding some replies about those who taunt 991 drivers, yes there are aggressive jerks on the road and we must tolerate them. There is no upside in challenging them. One never knows the extent of their aggressive state or proclivity for violence. Just stay to the right and in your lane and let them go. We have nothing to prove with our cars on public roads. finally, the OP's driving gives Porsche drivers a very bad name.

 

Yes. No arguing with 6000 pounds of steel and stupid

 

Numerous studies have shown that distracted driving can be as dangerous as DUI. A logical person would be lead to believe that if this is true then the penalties would/should be similar. Here in CA, the fine for the first offense (texting) is $20. Sounds like they're pretty darned serious about the dangers of texting and driving.

 

That $20 more than here (except in school zones). Here they are for all the states.
http://www.distraction.gov/content/g...tate-laws.html

ChuckJ

 

I liked RNL's story. Karma rocks!

To the OP: slow down. Behave yourself. Drive fast on the track where it belongs. If you must drive fast on public highways, do it on on/off ramps so that you don't endanger the rest of us. Otherwise, yes, you're just a psychopath.

Why did the landscaping truck with trailer park in the road? Because there was no where else to park! He's got a trailer that's bigger than your little sports car. He can't just whip it into a driveway. Duh. Slow down and it wouldn't be an issue.

Why do people pull out in front of you? Because you're in a Porsche, and they're not. Deal with it. It happens. It also happens when you're (I'm) driving a BMW. Or Mercedes. Or anything nicer than the POS that they have. It's called jealousy. It's just a fact of life.

Somewhat-related story this AM, I went into work late, around 10:00 or so, and I'm in very light traffic with some old woman (my age ) in a POS Honda. At every light, she moves over into the other lane that isn't occupied. She's been following me for a while, obviously she's not going faster than the ***** in the Porsche, but at every light she takes the "free" lane where there's not a car (me) in front of her. It must be some kind of habit with her, like, just in case that Porsche guy decides to drive slow. He ain't. And she was really slow too, so it's not like she was driving faster than most traffic. I see this a lot, and it usually happens in front of me (annoying me greatly). It's necessary to just take a chill pill.

 

I am surprised that there seems to be a general lack of appreciation here for just how many profoundly stupid folks are licensed to drive on the same streets you regularly drive. Perhaps because I regularly deal with the public on a one to one basis and have for the past 34 years, nothing I see or hear really surprises me.

A good guideline: a lot of folks are dumber than you can believe but fortunately, there are about the same amount who are smarter than you think.

 

OMG this is so perfect. It's a shame this type of justice doesn't happen more often. Thanks for restoring my faith in the overall process. You did the right thing 100%--can you imagine if you responded by flooring it and blasting away from the pickup? The police would have pulled you over for speeding and reckless driving, and the idiot in the pickup would have continued on his way...
Agreed, but I notice it more with new diesel pickups with lift kits. They have top speeds of 98mph, the aero of a brick house, and dangerously horrible handling, but the yahoos driving them like to play the "Intimidator" as if they're Dale Sr. in his Winston Cup car, RIP.
Agreed. Chances are the aggressive jerk in the beaten up old car or pickup has much less to lose than you. He may have just lost his job, had a fight with his wife/GF, etc. Might be angry and looking for a fight to blow off steam, especially with some rich show-off dude in his "Porsh."
Quick story: A few years back my wife, young daughter, in-laws and I went to a local farm for pumpkin picking. Parking was tight. We got a spot, and then stood next to the car while my in-laws waited for another spot to open several cars away. Right as the spot opened up, another car zipped right in front of my in-laws, stealing the spot. It was very blatant, very obvious. My father-in-law was fuming. Everyone got out of their cars. The instigating car had a middle-aged couple and their two young kids. Words were exchanged. My father-in-law said something to the effect that it was a jerkish move to do what the guy just did. The guy responded with something very mouthy and nasty. My father-in-law pushed the guy (which he most definitely should not have done). But instead of the guy just de-escalating and saying hey, let's all cool down here, his wife jumped in and said to my father-in-law, "DID YOU TOUCH HIM? DID YOU JUST TOUCH HIM? MY BROTHER-IN-LAW IS A LAWYER. HE'LL SUE YOU FOR ALL YOU'RE WORTH!" At which point my mother-in-law tried to intervene and cool things down. Then the woman turned to my mother-in-law and hissed, "I HAVE YOUR PLATE NUMBER. I'LL FIND OUT WHERE YOU LIVE AND BURN YOUR HOUSE DOWN." Nice. That turned ugly quickly. Probably didn't help that my in-laws were driving a Mercedes SL (Which my father-in-law bought for himself after working his tail off for 35 years, but they didn't know that and don't care). Point is, you have no idea how crazy and short-fused some people are out there.

 

Mexico blue, man that is a sweet color. Yeah I occasionally am guilty of engaging my PDCC on hard curves on public roads, I feel the brake of the wheel, and I occasionally 'buzz my tower' local pub with PSE kicked on high. No remorse!

 

After the slew of replies condemning my post, I had my wife read it and she immediately declared that I gave the wrong impression of me as a driver.

I go under the posted limits in town centers and I drive very slow in parking lots. I never speed in a neighborhood where kids might be found playing in the road. Our daughter is in 1st grade and people consistently drive over 50 (especially during the wee hours) on our 35 mph road. It's bothersome to say the least. When I mentioned speeding where landscaping trucks stop I had a particular type of road in mind. Almost daily I drive a road with 7,500+ sq. ft. homes on multi acre lots with very long driveways no sidewalks at all in a forested rural setting atop a mountain ledge. The speed limit on this road is 25. It's hilly and has many bends. Over the crests and around the bends often sit stationary landscaping trucks. It's simply unsafe. Its a motor vehicle violation to park in the road as is traveling below 40 mph on a highway.

Anyway. I was clearly preaching to the wrong choir with my post. I am not what you would call a reckless driver. In fact, I haven't had a point on my license since 2002. I am a PCA CVR member in the yellow run group (it took 2 track days to get promoted from green). I heel toe downshift with the sport exhaust and going down into 1st gear usually happens at approx. 5-10 mph. Rev matching on a downshift is not wrong or indicative of speeding in any way (although I get dirty looks all the time doing it at legal speeds).

What motivated me to write the post is the nonsensical driving I see on a daily basis, and what I perceive to be the undercurrent for the establishment of this driving as the norm - which is the systematic efforts of legislatures to demonize speed. Frankly, some of the replies seem to vindicate this theory.

Ask any traffic cop and they will tell you that you can be found at fault for an accident for a host of reasons; to wit following too close, failure to observe a stop sign or red light or failing to yield the right of way, but you absolutely cannot be found at fault for a motor vehicle collision for speeding. It's an aggravating circumstance not a cause of an accident.

So, as I said in closing before and meant it,
Safe Motoring

DRP

 

You're the .ooo1% of Texas drivers. You exhibit gray matter and actually think while behind the wheel. I've lived all over the world including Germany, and Texans are Texans. Meaning, they do what they wish with zero regard for anyone else, but do so not attempting to be inconsiderate of anyone. Inconsideration just comes as natural as breathing here. In Germany it's illegal to pass on the right and people won't do it. In Texas, it's the only way to consistently drive the speed limit or beyond. Not sure which is worse, Texas drivers, or Texas roads. They both are dead last on any list attempting to determine the best of the best.

 

OP wrote: "Driving fast is an integral part of the person I am. ... The craft I've developed, the style and also the skills would wither away. In short, driving fast isn't merely a preference, its an essential requirement for me"

I have no problem with this statement assuming you are talking about track driving

"[Of course this commnetary isn't admissible in court since it can't be authenticated]. I just don't think other motorists understand this mentality."

It's this comment, combined with the first, that led me to believe that you consider yourself so capable as to permit you to speed on public roads and others should just plain understand that.

"...but you absolutely cannot be found at fault for a motor vehicle collision for speeding. It's an aggravating circumstance not a cause of an accident."

So if someone is doing 60mph in a 25 zone and rams another car causing a death, that person can't be charged with vehicular manslaughter?

I hope that your posts give the wrong impression of you as a driver.