Here in California, HOV lanes have really made the left lane camping problem a lot worse. I think they program people into thinking the left lane is where you go when you have a minivan/SUV full of people, regardless of HOV hours or the presense of an HOV lane. I would say most vehicles I'm forced to pass on the right are vehicles with more than one person.

 

Yep.
Want a scarier experience? Ride a bike.

 

2nd amendment rights!

ChuckJ

 

I've lived and driven in many cities. Denver is toward the less a$$hole end of the spectrum. Most aggressive drivers I've seen have been Boston, SFBA, and Dallas. DC is no bargain. Most considerate drivers I have seen are in KCMO.

2020--I've come to the conclusion that in 99% of cases Ignore is the right choice.

Capsfan--Bully for you for doing the right thing. I've adopted the following speed choice algorithm:

Residential neighborhood, regardless of circumstance, do the posted limit. I have kids, too.
Secondary and primary roads, 5-10 over, leaning to 5.
Limited access highways, no more than 15 over, unless it's really in the middle of nowhere. Due consideration paid to weather, light, traffic, etc.

One other thought that I've hammered home to my kids as they learn to drive is due respect for the braking performance of sports cars. I tell them if they're following a Vette, a Pcar, or an exotic, leave extra room because whatever they are driving simply cannot stop as quickly as those cars.

 

I have been driving a 991 for 4 months and have been dangerously cutoff by loud big tailpipe wannabe's more in the last 4 months than in the last 10 years driving BMW.

Frank C.

 

we got our share of JAs up here in the country of New England, but I can't say that my 911 attracts any more than my Cayenne .. of course, they typical time I'm on the Pike in the evening - we are usually going a big 20 mph (if I'm luckY)

 

I wave my hand back in front of the rear view mirror without my middle finger up. This even worked in Mass that is known for this. I have not seen much of this behavior yet in FL. Even the rednecks behave The offenders are typically girls in their 20s. And that goes for everywhere I have experienced this.

 

Same crap over here in Europe.
I get a ticked for speeding while doing it in a intelligent, defensive, keeping my distance kind of manner. But the others who are driving like they are train wagons don't get a ticket because they don't exceed the speed limit. While in reality, their speed vs distance equation, hence their ability to react, stop and avoid collisions, is actually far far excessive than mine !

 

Just today, a crazy guy (or girl) in a lexus came up along side of me at a high rate of speed, cut me off, then cut someone else off as he (she) went into the middle lane. Very aggressive in and out driving is a hazard to everyone. Where are the cops when you need them?

 

Some chick in a Turbo Kia (pretty fast car too) cut me off one time before a freeway. We drove the on ramp and I tailed her because of that, then she tried to take off like a bat out of hell once we got on the freeway. She was really gunning it and I could see smoke in her tailpipe. Me, being in a bad mood, sports plus'd it, got on it, and blew past her. She gave me the funniest look as I went past her. haha. And, no reckless driving here. Just fun on an early Sun morning a few weeks ago with only a few cars traffic.

 

This is what gets me. Neighborhood full of kids--you don't drive 45+ mph. That lady probably has kids, too, but she doesn't necessarily think about it or care about other people's kids. I drive quickly when appropriate and safe, but I automatically go into slow-down, defensive, high-alert mode when in a residential neighborhood. A kid could come out into the street, chasing a ball in a fraction of a second. Just this year I was in the paddock at Watkins Glen, circling the garage at 10 mph max, when a 3-year-old suddenly appeared between two parked cars and started to walk in front of me. Luckily I saw her little body and stabbed the brakes, while her Mom screamed at her and grabbed her before she got in front of me.
Interesting thought.
Great idea--I'll make my kids aware of this, too, when they approach driving age.
My thoughts exactly. There should be a very defined minimum safe following distance. At 40 mph or higher, you simply can't be all over someone's back bumper. If they have to brake for any reason, you don't have enough time and distance to avoid hitting them, even if your reactions are super quick. And most of the time the following driver's reactions aren't quick, because they're texting or yapping on the phone, or fiddling with the radio or nav system, etc. So I try to leave room between myself and the car ahead. And then what happens? Another car sees that safe distance as a "gap" and plugs it, cutting me off. And now I'm five feet off of HIS bumper.
I know--I think this all the time. It would be great if you could record these incidents with a dash cam and then submit them to the police. Probably wouldn't be admissible, though. I think one answer would be for local police to establish much higher fines for aggressive, unsafe driving. Then, instead of sitting at the side of the road trying to nail speeders, the cops could be driving in the flow of traffic in unmarked cars, watching for and ticketing aggressive, nasty driving. They would still bring in revenue, and the roads would be a lot safer. Win-win.

 

Face it guys, it's just a lack of etiquette across the board. Wouldn't want to hurt someones feeling/Ego by teaching them that they are not the only person on the planet.

Oh, and in Calif, it's the Burners (Burning Man participants) that have taken the top of the "Rude Self-Centered *** hat Left Lane Rocks in the stream." They will overload their Zipp Car, have know Idea of what a bike rack is, or try to take some mid 70s POS Winabago over the Donner Pass never giving up the Left lane until it dies and is abandoned on the side of the road.



Mark.

 

Moto one, i feel your pain, was just dealing with them twice this week. But a good thing happened to a stupid driver today. I was returning back from a quick trip to Reno, heading south down the 99 early on a Sunday generally light traffic but still some wonderful humans out. I was giving the gentleman in the old smoking honda room while in the fast lane and was cut off by a SUV that needed my spot more. Just after, the honda blew a tire and shredded it, glad the SUV took all the flying rubber and I just had to slow down. Made me smile to see her have to pull over in her SUV and I kept going..
Sometimes they get what's coming.

 

Karma.

 

To me this is generally just a USA thing in the context of "civilized" countries. This is par for the course in underdeveloped countries, whereas here we suffer from selfishness and obliviousness on a mass level.
People don't share the road with common sense, so much as own the road, protected by a sheet of glass or their cars volume.

For a long time I couldn't get myself to buy a BMW because of the personalities and perceptions associated with Bridge and Tunnel drivers.

Having motorcycles made me more aware of how a driver will behave based upon little tells and I have a database of cars and their drivers in my head.

My simple solution is higher standards for credit and licensing. People driving a nice car *believe* they have the right to and the qualifications, when we know it not to be the case.

Meanwhile they financed their luxury car for 72 months with half their paycheck and don't understand what the left lane is for.

Here we have exemplified, the American dream of living in the fast lane- without earning it, qualifying for it, respect for it, or the right to it - it's a privilege they don't understand and its bringing us all down.