I used to be really relaxed when driving. Lately, I've been more irritable. I probably just need to change the song on the radio from Move B- Get Out the Way to Everything Zen.
hahaha
Where I live, people are friendly in the stores. Get out on the road and they cut you off, can't use a four way stop, and ride your bumper. If someone else is driving, I like to turn around and stare at the person riding the bumper. For some reason, when they know they are being seen, they like to let up.
This is the traffic maneuver I saw today. I was in the outside lane, behind a pickup at the traffic light. There was a red car in the left turn lane and a white car in the inside lane. The left turn light turned green and the red car just sat there. So the driver in the white car flipped on their signal and took a left. A lot of people move here from countries where "traffic laws" are considered "suggestions."
I'm a cyclist. My blood pressure is regularly raised by people who seem to be intent on killing me.
Most of the roads in Kittitas County are below safe road standards, most have no shoulders and the redneck truckers can do some scary things to cyclists, my self included and don't EVEN get me started on un-tethered dogs.
i used to be a cyclist for 40 odd years - when i moved to the australian countryside i had to give up or get killed. i obviously chose the former - & am still mightily pissed off about it. i feel for you.
@walklightly I can imagine it's not great for cycling over there - no wonder the Australian pro riders stay in Europe for off-season training!
@Jnei, one day the issue around cycling may be a reason for me to return to europe. the australian traffic has caused me as a cyclist one lasting back damage so far, & don't get me started on the nannystate ordering me to wear a helmet. my head = my choice.
I don't suffer from road rage but I do hold a running dialogue with other drivers around me, a bit like "Hmm, what do you think you're doing? Ahhh, gotcha, no signals? Never mind, I read your mind ... etc." I studied advanced driving where commentating is a skill in its own right, to help you focus on hazard awareness, but I like to also incorporate a lighthearted side to it to avoid stress and to make the journey go smoothly
That's great. I talk to the other drivers too, but not always as politely as you. I need to get a better attitude!
@BeeHappy When I'm on my own I can resort to a few expletives but even when I'm annoyed by someone else's bad behaviour I very rarely have an elevated heart rate. I like an easy life and I try hard not to put my blood pressure up ... well, certainly not doing something as boring and mundane as driving
LOL! You are about to open the floodgates here. I think I'm fairly chill behind the wheel, HOWEVER, I have very little patience for indecisive drivers, drivers who are effing around on their phones, and plain old dumb-ass drivers. Also, drivers who feel they should occupy the fast lane, yet travel slower than the other lanes. OR, tractor trailer (Semi) drivers who deliberately drift over into the merging lane to prevent cars from passing them. Total assholes, IMHO. And finally, I have traveled many, many times north and south on I-5 between NorCal and SoCal (usually on my way to or from Disneyland) and it just fries my bacon when truckers feel they need to pass each other on an incline at roughly 60MPH. Really? REALLY?? Ok, so I don't sound so chill. LOL!
OMG!! CA drivers are NUTS!! But all your beefs are mine - I feel your pain.
I try to be chill . . . . .and then SOME FUCKING IDIOT, sorry just thinking about a recent episode got my pressure up. The 4 way stop makes me crazy. and does ANYONE know what an on ramp to the freeway is for? Pretty damn difficult to merge into 60 mile an hour traffic if you're doing 30. ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh DId I really need to see this post?!?!?! I think I'll go to the store an smile at people
I did say she was opening the floodgates. LOL!
Will that be a smile or grimace? You think it is bad there try driving in Germany. They consider themselves 'assertive'. We had American license plates when I lived there which only made us a target. The Germans thought we didn't know how to drive properly and were always taxing our nerves. The unlimited speeds on the Autobahns were the worse.
@JackPedigo With the right car I would have loved the Autobahns. I use to love fast driving on the freeways at night. Not now. One of the things that changed that was east bound on I-90 that straight section near North Bend - some idiot's car died and it was sitting in the MIDDLE lane dead, no flashers, nothing, the occupants are on the right hand shoulder. I spotted the car realize the space between me and it it getting small real FAST and moved left as soon as I could, apparently the person behind me was not paying attention and I saw in my rear view mirror the car go air born when it smacked into that stopped car. At 70 mph you really need to pay attention . . . TO EVERYTHING.
Years driving on the Autobahns made me learn to pay attention. It can be really tiring to drive now days.
I just heard there was a big accident in your area. 3 semi's and a bunch of cars. Driving too fast on snow covered roads!
One of my biggest fears is to have a break down in the middle lane. Remind me I'll tell about an amazing experience we experienced on I-5 outside LA.
@silverotter11
@JackPedigo There was snow, not alot but peole will not slow down, it was on I-90, the pass ended beeing closed for a few hours. idiots.
@silverotter11 I feel your pain and am thankful it is no longer a normal occurrence for me. I try not to let it be one when on the mainoland (try). I wonder if being alone in the car exacerbates or reduces the problem (I guess it depends on who your with - I have experienced both). At our 'stage of life' we should practice 'smell the flower and blow out the candle' therapy.
@silverotter11 I sent you a comment last night but was using my I-pad which is cumbersome when composing a long message. I mentioned an amazing experience which your comment on being in the left lane reminded me. Please bear with me.
My in-laws were visiting from Dubai and we made a road trip to LA (they didn't like LA). We were on I-5 headed out. It is some 5 lanes there and at the edge of town a cop passed us and then changed lanes. Of course everyone slows down at the sight of a cop and they did. The road started to open in front of him and he started to change lanes more and more and everyone watched and slowed down to see what was going on. Pretty soon the road was completely clear in front of him and he started to weave from one side to the other and put his lights on and slow down even more. Just at the end of an underpass he stopped and so did everyone else. There was a stalled car on the left lane and a tow truck on the right. The tow truck moved over and hitched up the car and drove off and everyone watched in amazement. My in-laws were very impressed. It must have been great fun for the cop. It was quite a show!!!
@JackPedigo That must have been impressive - trying to get LA drivers to slow let alone stop - cop must of felt like Moses parting the Red Sea. lol
The crazy is infectious, but one thing that helps is the acronym, "LG&LD", which I printed off on my labeling gun and affixed to my steering wheel. Now when I encounter scofflaws, tailgaters, speeders, and other criminals who have no business being on the road, rather than throwing on my brakes, jumping out my car, and beating them senseless, I simply take a deep breath, look at the sticker on my steering wheel, and say, "Let Go and Let Darwin." Of course, "Let Go and Let Natural Selection" would be more accurate, but not as pithy, and the point is that sooner or later these misfits will remove themselves from the gene pool with or without my help.
L L it may just take a couple of generations.
I am seriously relaxed, I have driven a lot in my life, not so much in recent years, I hate traffic. Yet I let people merge easily, don't tail gate, always plenty of room for people to pass, if someone makes a stuff up, I shrug my shoulders at them and maybe pull a face. But road rage is a serious issue here and I am over it. I am able to get my revenge. About 10 years back I was in a shopping centre carpark, this guy behind me was yelling and screaming because cars were not moving, he pulled a screaming you turn, drove all around the centre, came up the outside of the row of traffic, yelling abuse at me and everyone else.
We got outside the centre and I was behind him at the lights.
He took off like a rocket and I was right on his tail,so he went faster, I stayed with him, so he went faster again and I hit the brakes just as he went through a fixed speed camera, I saw the satisfying flash as it went off. Made my day.
L L ! well, if that wasn't tailgating...
@walklightly guilty
and it felt soooooo good
Massholes - where I grew up and learned to drive.
Brought a friend from Boston home on a Thursday (At the time our busiest downtown night for traffic due to paychecks being issued in town that day). He said "I thought I knew bad driving - Boston has nothing on you!".
Fond memories of being in Boston and passing a cabbie and everyone else in the car gasped..... Good times.
These days I usually do the swearing for the driver.
I live on a civilized island. We actually wave at each other when seeing another. Summers, get bad because of all the tourists. But we do have a proactive police force.
The biggest problem is driving in a sane, safe place and then going to the mainland and especially I-5 is a big culture shock. People think big cities, like Seattle, are bad but try going to Canada and Vancouver. This is a big city with lots of hills, water and bridge (one major bridge - the Lions Gate- is 3 lanes. In the AM 2 lanes are into the city and the reverse in the PM. The big problem is that there are 5 lanes going into the bridge that need to merge often into 1) I-5 ends there and there are no other freeways. A large portion of the population is Chinese and they drive like in China.
I don't know what it is but there is a mob mentality one can get into on the roads. Everyone seems to feel they need to drive fast and get ahead of everyone else. I start out early, am never in a rush and set the cruise control on and try to ignore (but also watch) the other drivers. I try to stay in the right lane and if someone tail gates I slow down. They get the message and go around. BTW passing in the Right lane is illegal in the U.S. and police do give tickets.
Oops , you are right. Got my left and right mixed up.
I'm usually chill and easy-going. When thy ride my bumper, though, that makes me particularly nervous. I wonder if it would work to put a big pair of googly eye on the back of my car.
I prefer driving at late at night when there are fewer people on the road and they tend to be friendlier.
I tried a big eye bumper sticker, and no, it didn't work. My inspiration came from the American philosopher Bruce Wayne, who in 1939 stated that "Criminals are a superstitious lot." I figured an eye of god might make then think they were being watched, but I think the flaw in that supposition is that while criminals are indeed a superstitious lot, they are also too stupid to make connections between cause and effect.
I'm a truck driver and I drive long hours every day. I have found that the music makes a difference. If I listen to classic rock or country music I tend to get irritated easier. If I listen to jazz not so much I think it's less distracting.I try to be patient with other drivers I have to remind myself that most people only spend an hour or so a day in traffic. Some people are just learning, some people are just having a bad day. I try not to get behind schedule so I'm not in a hurry.
I am never in a hurry. I do not get upset with other drivers. I am passive and yielding. I err on the side of safety.
I am absolutely terrified of inciting someone's road rage. If someone tailgates me I will pull over to let them pass, as soon as possible, if possible. I don't want to die--especially not murdered by someone enraged because I'm driving five MPH under the SL, while it's raining, in the dark of night. Can't stand my cautious driving? I don't wanna be on the road with you--go right on around me, please, and be involved in a wreck or road rage incident elsewhere. I prefer to live.
People who are too slow irritate me to no end. If the limit is 80 (kph, I'm Canadian...) and the person ahead of me is doing 70, I've been known to ride their bumper and honk the horn. Someone like that can get a ticket for impeding traffic flow...
But IF i am doing the speed limit and someone rides my ass I want to have a pop up sign that says' Riding my ass won't make be drive over the posted speed limit'
@silverotter11 The way I deal with that is: I am in the right lane. If they tail gate I start to slow down. There was once a rule that said for every 10 miles there should be a car length distance. Tailgating is dangerous and I try to lessen the danger by slowing down (and it really pisses people off).
That can get you shot at in the U.S., seriously; or run off the road.
@JackPedigo I think it was 5 telephone poles.
@Condor5 So what am I to do. Speed up? I refuse to let fear run my life (or get a gun like so many nutty people do). So far I have had no trouble.
@JackPedigo I was addressing Hominid. Just letting him know what can happen in certain parts of the U.S. if one does as he's describing. I have no issue with what you said you do, in fact that's exactly what I do sometimes.
I pratically spend my life on the road traveling, and I see this constantly, i always practice good ethics on the road, I let people merge in, will even slow down n flash lights so they can get on the interstate, I think everything you do reflects on the self, if you go out of your way to be kind, kindness will always find you back.
My city has a bit of a reputation for it's shit drivers, and I sometimes have to drive around the city a lot for with with a pick-up truck and trailer. So I am very observant of other drivers while I'm driving around, and holy hell there can be a lot of stupid.
The speedsters can be annoying, especially when I am already going the limit or 10km above and they are still zooming past me. But they reach levels of stupid when they are weaving through traffic like a dumb-ass as if it were a race track only to still hit the up-coming red light. Good job, you shaved 2 seconds off your journey, cut several people off, and maybe almost caused an accident.
I've had several issues with people who are a little too anxious to turn and merge onto the road I am going down. They don't seem to realize I have right of way and try to turn too early which has caused me to have to swerve out of the way a few times to not get my back side smashed in.
There's all sorts of other driving infractions I could bring up, but sufficed to say, I am glad I have a dash cam now in case something happens.
Bah, minor pressure level increases by shouting expletives or motioning with my hand or pointing with my middle finger. What really aggravates me is- drivers not yielding to right of way vehicles already in the traffic circle, which causes the person in the traffic circle to stop. Pretty sure you are NOT supposed to stop while driving in a traffic circle.
@SACatWalker Precisely. Do people know that the ramp is for them to speed up and transition into traffic safely?
L L @MyLiege same thing here in oz: people cautiously approach the entry ramp to the freeway, some even SLOWing DOWN!!! that's when i start screaming inside.
People doing stupid shit behind the wheel gets my dander up. If someone is going slow, I normally cut them a break -- unless, of course, they're going slow in the passing lane. People who try to look up inside my tailpipe -- fine. The joke will be on them if they rear-end me because "following too closely" is a thing while "stopping too short" is not.
The thing that irritates me more than anything else, though, is when someone makes a mistake and then violates traffic law trying to fix it, like the person who signals left, then suddenly goes right. Or the person that misses their freeway exit and hangs an illegal U-Turn instead of going to the next exit, turning around, and coming back. Or the idiot that is in the left turn lane and then suddenly realized they want to make a right turn, so they cross multiple lanes of traffic to turn right from the left turn lane. Shit like that will piss me off in no time flat.
Normal traffic, I'm pretty chill, but dealing with idiots behind the wheel always gets me riled up. This is doubly true if I happen to be on the Harley when someone near me does something stupid.
There are all kinds of roads and highways, though it depends on where I am driving and what's going on at the moment. Whether driving in the city or in the country, I have to be constantly on the defensive. Sometimes it's hard to gauge ones mood or blood pressure in the moment. An occurrence in traffic conditions can instantly spike my mood. Then, sometimes it takes work to navigate safely through the circumstances. Controlling my mood with patience, and slowing down usually work. The traffic isn't getting any better out there. More drivers and decaying roads and bridges are the norm. Something has to be done soon to ensure safety for all drivers. Perhaps new technology will help in the future. Flying vehicles? Instead of a one dimension road system there may be multi lanes in the sky. Once again, this won't last too much longer. Something has to be done.
They drive me insane. And they’re no better with shopping carts.
I'm usually okay. I don't get road rage or anything like that, although I have been known to mutter under my breath.
I try to go by the benefit of the doubt rule that everybody, including me, makes mistakes, everybody has bad days, and I should be cool when it happens to me, because I have--and will probably again--been less than an excellent driver myself at times. I know that things just happen sometimes (yes, I believe in accidents) and I try to treat people like I would want them to treat me.
Plus, I'm just scared of the other drivers nowadays, lol.