Unfortunately, this is a scare tactic that cannot actually occur. I recall seeing many a sign saying "report an agressive driver", however authorities cannot cite a driver based merely on the word of another driver, unless the individual causes an accident. The police must actually witness the incident. Yes...they may send you a letter or otherwise warn you, but again-just a scare tactic. They can't actually do anything about it. You can laugh in their face & hang up. Not thing one they can do.

Regarding the other comment about getting shot for retaliating....Indeed, you can get shot for standing your ground. However 99% of the time, those idiots waving a gun are just doing so to scare you. The odds that they'd actually do something that could get them the needle is about the same as you getting hit by a meteor. Common sense of course will tell you that you don't retaliate in the middle of the 'hood' with a bunch of lowrider guido-mobiles around, but everywhere else you're likely to have no problems. Again, your vehicle is your best weapon. He points a gun at you, slam into his side & send him into the trees. Self defense...every time.

 

You might be right but then again, is it really worth taking even that small chance? And even if he isn't willing to shoot you, getting into fistfights with strangers on the road isn't my idea of fun. I know it's easier said than done but there are too many idiots on the road so the best thing to do is let it go (the "serenity now" episode from Seinfeld comes to mind), no matter how bad of a driver the other person is or no matter how right you might be getting into a shouting (or worse) match with a person on the road is not a smart thing to do in my opinion. Too many crappy drivers out there and the potential, no matter how small, for something to go wrong. SERENITY NOW!

My

 

I have to admit.. when I was younger my friends and I used to do stupid crap like this just to piss someone off. We didnt care who you were, it was about the adrenaline rush with a bunch of guys acting stupid who have nothing to loose. Looking back at it and if this happened to me now, I would seriously avoid it and move on. Dont high beam. You may think its appropriate, but to the others, its not and can lead to problems just like acuranewbie has said. Now I have a family and need to be there for them.

 

People who drive slow in the far left lane, and don't move over after a courtesy flash, should be shot! Period, point blank. That also goes for people who don't use their turn signals, although I understand the latter phenomenon a little more. What I've noticed is that when you use your turning signals, people will speed up, in attempts to keep you in your lane. It's absolutely crazy. Try it, you'll see what I mean... (Can you tell I live in L.A.?)

 

In Missouri there are a few signs on the Interstates that says" Keep right except to pass". of course no one reads those signs. My other pet peve is people who don't use turn signals when turning but I guess thats another thread.

 

Same crap goes on here in NY.

A couple years ago while getting on a parkway here (2 lane road) some car two cars in front of me slows down instead of pulling out. He stops. I see this happening so I slow down way back before I get near him. Some jerk off in a white Explorer (directly behind me) gets on the horn. I tap the horn and put my hands up like what the hell do you want me to do? I rather take a running run to get onto the parkway then get to the end of the ramp and try to pull out on a steep hill. Plus there are two cars stopped up a head anyway.

Anyway we finally get on the parkway. The on ramp is on a steep hill and I am able to pull away from him. I pass the dumbass that stopped on the on ramp. Singnal and pull over into the right lane.

Exploder passes me and cuts me off. So I go to pass him. He cuts me off. Played this game for a bit. At one point I almost clipped his rear corner. I considered it. I knew his top heavy boat would probably flip over.

But, I resisted the urge. I finally got around him and kept him back 10 car lengths or so. He got off 2 exits from where he got on.

Mad at me cause I wouldnt run into the back of two stopped cars.

 

That is right: FEW = NOT Enough.

Where in MO are you, by the way?

 

This is precisely the problem. Ever since schools started cutting the budget for driver education programs, or just dropping them altogether, more parents are trying to teach their kids themselves instead of paying for expensive private lessons. I remember a news story I read a while back, where a teenage girl stepped on the gas pedal instead of the brake, hitting a car and killing the driver. She was like 16, and her dad was teaching her how to drive.

The father actually ended up getting charged for vehicular manslaughter, because he was responsible for trying to teach his daughter without any sort of safety equipment, experience, or certification.

And the biggest problem is, like you said, these parents teach their wrong driving skills to their kids. So it's a bad, bad cycle. Fortunately, and I'm being extremely objective here, my father is an excellent driver. I was taught by him, the school driver education, and a private company. I passed the driving test with flying colors, althought it's not something 99% of the people shouldn't fail in the first place. Which is another big problem -- it's too easy to get a freakin' license. Michigan hands out licenses like they are candy.

So yeah, any parents here who were thinking about teaching their own kids how to drive -- it's not worth it. Enroll them in a program to teach them properly and prevent something tragic like above from happening.

 

Always a crowd pleaser!

Funny thing is, most people here aren't from here, and they all moan about the drivers here being so much worse than where they're from...from what I read here, they're just as bad there, too.

LOL, maybe that's why people here can't drive...they're from somewhere else...you guys need to take your idiots back!

 

I saw a related bumper sticker yesterday on my way to work:

"Warning: I drive as badly as you."

 

About a month ago, a columnist in San Jose Mercury Newspaper wrote and cheered for all drivers who drove in left lane and blocked people who were speeding... that's right... block those guys so we can deter them from speeding.... he even encouraged people to team up and block people going faster than 65mph.


There's going to be more accidents and more road rage. He's right people should slow down, but to do it his way would be increasing the problems on the road. (Not to say i follow speed limit anyway )

 

What a tool that columnist is. The cons of such an idea far outweigh the pros.

 

Try that shit in Michigan and you'll get a 2-point ticket.

 

When called for- i flash my fog lights. It's not as "atrusive" I suppose, yet still gets the message across

 

I love ur Avatar, any bigger pics?

 

In Virginia this is the law. If you're under 18, you have to attend an accredited driving school (which can be the one through the public schools, which is a non-credit offering after normal school hours). Of course it's still a joke and doesn't include enough hours, and many of them do not include driving on the Beltway, but it's a step in the right direction.

 

I'm with 1995hoo on this issue
I'm sorry... The driving school I sent my kid to was a joke. It came highly recommended by other parents... I guess they didn't know how to drive, so any improvement was great with them. I'm not talking about really complicated things here. I'm talking about how to backup, do a k turn, and the dreaded parallel parking. They never even made it onto the beltways. How can you pass a course and not get any experience on driving on the highway? especially in Houston?

Passing the responsibility of teaching your kid to drive to a $250 driving school is recipe for a disaster. The school may be a good start, but let's get real here, 10 or 12 hours (at most) in a car is just completely inadequate. (and how much of that time is actually behind the wheel) Now there are good programs out there but they are much more than the typical driver's ed programs offered. (in terms of content and cost)

I'll take responsibility for teaching my kids how to drive. How to drive a stick, how to pass on the HW. My daughter tells her friends horror stories about what a bastard I am. She got a Texas driver's license and when I asked her to do some really simple things like backup down a curved driveway, she couldn't do it. She had to satisfy me that she knew how to do the simple thing before I allowed her to drive any of my cars. It took her another 6 months of my company before I would let her drive solo.

My point is that parents are responsible for the actions of their children. Some parents won't do their jobs, we have to live with end result of that. Sometimes they do too.

 

I think France should inlcude in the exception w/ Russia and Italy. Especially France.

 

I try to avoid these situations at all costs. If someone wants to pass me, fine.

What pisses me off are the people that hang in the left lane going the same speed as me behind me in the middle/right lane (where I'm supposed to be). Without fail, they start going faster than me just as I need to get into the left lane to pass someone. But then they just slow back to the same speed they were going. It happens without fail everytime I take a trip on the NY Thruway, usually more than a few times.

If you want to pass me, pass me. If you don't want to pass me, get behind me.

Likewise, if you want to go slow, go slow. Don't speed up when I try to pass you.

These are the things that really have made me like driving a lot less than I used to.

 

I can't say about other parts of the world, but in Western Europe people use a left turn signal when asking slow dirvers to move to the right. In Germany all people understand it, but even this sign is used rarely, as slower drivers watch their mirrors and move over even before a car behind them getting very close.
Flashing high beams is more popular in countries of former Soviet Union.
In US any signs are beyond of comprehension of left lane zombies. I don't think that most people understand the meaning of the words "fast lane". I just pass on the right.

 

I use to get all worked up about left lane bandits (I call them all "Grandma"), but now just pass on the right.. Does wonders for your well-being

 

Well, being from Germany I think that the main problem over here is that people are never formally taught how to drive. In Germany you have to take mandatory driving lessons, on the road and in he classroom … they do cost a little $$ but well worth it. This is also because they give you a real driver’s exam, not like here (I can only speak for the PA driver’s exam) it’s a freakin’ joke! They never even mention over/understeer or snow driving, etc...



So, people need to have instructions, so that they know and UNDERSTAND the reason’s for only passing in the left lane or to actually use your turn signals and to let other driver’s merge, etc. …



It’s funny, some drivers give me this idiotic look when I flash them when they are waiting to pull into my lane of traffic. I slow down and give them a quick flash so that they can get in front of me, but they just sit there with a confused look on their faces?!?



But to sum things up, Left Lane Lurkers annoy the f#$% out of me … they are just ignorant of the rules of the road … but why do they speed up when you pass them?!?

 

Just a little north of KC.

 

No kidding, I'm always amazed that people don't pull over when I let them. I guess they're so used to all the rudeness in the DC area that they don't know how to react when someone is polite.

I think a lot of people must just be oblivious. I picked up a fair number of the signals that the truck drivers use to communicate with each other, including using your lights to indicate when it's safe to get back over, giving two blinks of the hazard flashers as a "thank you," etc., and I try to use those, but it seems like most drivers have either never been near trucks on the road or have never seen truck drivers doing these things. At least the truck drivers appreciate it when a car driver uses the same signals they use!

 

To me, those are obvious (picked up from driving around trucks as you did), but given how I NEVER see anyone else but truckers use them, I guess not. I think most people are just too stupid to do what they see...you see others do it, then do it, too. Kind of like when there's a long line and someone walks up and asks if it's the line...don't be stupid, just get in line.

Another signal people seem to be ignorant of: flashing for a speed trap ahead.

Oh, truckers will turn thier lights on and off twice as a thank you, as well.

 

I love that! It works better than any radar detector ever does on my commute.

 

Haha dude... flashing hazards for "Thank You" and flashing at oncoming traffic about speed traps should be a common courtesy indeed. It should be called common sense.

My own courtesy to other drivers is flashing when I see CHP coming up from the rear to catch speeders. Usually see them 1/4 away coming up from behind.


BTW, that leads to another reason why slow traffic don't move out of left lane when someone comes up on them... those fools almost never look behind them while driving. They forget that driving involves paying attention all around your car not just the front.