Road Rage, revisited.

[JasperFrank]

Some places are just impossible to deal with. For instance traveling East out of Seattle on I90, and attempting to take the Issaquah exit to Lake Sammamish. The signage for the exit is about a mile west of the exit. The locals know you have to stack up well before the sign. But there are two exits, one for the West Side of Lake Sammamish and one for the East side. It became such a crap show, dealing with people attempting to leap frog, that I'd drive the extra 2 miles past these exits to turn around and take the exit from the East which was clear sailing. That side of the hiway had no commuters cause there aren't any towns on the eastern side. My friends that lived on Lake Sammamish often complained about their hour + wait trying to get through the Western exit. So I pointed out my work-a-round, and it was as if a light had gone on. The direct route is sometimes not the best one. They started using this also, and said it not only saved 40 to 50 minutes, but that when they drove by all the people stuck in line for the Western Exit, it made their whole day happier just by going the extra 4 miles.

 

[Torvy]

I hate driving in NJ, where it seems passing on the right and never merge are the rule.

Only pass on the right when some knucklehead is failing to yield the lane. Too many people don't understand that the law in most (maybe all) states is that you are required to move right for faster traffic even IF you are going the speed limit.

I only have to survive another 6-8 months in the city and I can avoid sharing the road as often with people who are self-righteous and dangerous at the same time.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

Some places are just impossible to deal with. For instance traveling East out of Seattle on I90, and attempting to take the Issaquah exit to Lake Sammamish. The signage for the exit is about a mile west of the exit. The locals know you have to stack up well before the sign. But there are two exits, one for the West Side of Lake Sammamish and one for the East side. It became such a crap show, dealing with people attempting to leap frog, that I'd drive the extra 2 miles past these exits to turn around and take the exit from the East which was clear sailing. That side of the hiway had no commuters cause there aren't any towns on the eastern side. My friends that lived on Lake Sammamish often complained about their hour + wait trying to get through the Western exit. So I pointed out my work-a-round, and it was as if a light had gone off. The direct route is sometimes not the best one. They started using this also, and said it not only saved 40 to 50 minutes, but that when they drove by all the people stuck in line for the Western Exit, it made their whole day happier just by going the extra 4 miles.

My son lived / worked in the Seattle area.... he laughed as soon as he heard "I90 out of Seattle" ---- he knew all about it!

 

[jaxs]

There was an idiot in a BMW that passed us on a winding back country 2 lane road, no passing zone, on a curve. Then proceeded at a high rate of speed, until he was up the back end of another car in front of him. They did the same thing again to that car.

When stuff like that happens, I always think to myself "well, maybe they have a family emergency" or something to that effect.

Sure enough, about another 5 miles down the road, there he was.... pulled over by an officer. I would normally just mumble "good riddance" and move on... Not this time.... I pulled over safely, got out and approached the officer. I showed him my badge, and proceeded to tell him what I witnessed this driver do. He thanked me for my concern, but stated that he didn't witness the offense, so he couldn't do anything about it.

All I could hope for was that the driver got a hefty speeding ticket. I would bet that the driver didn't care if he did get a ticket.

The worst part came 2 days later. I watched the same vehicle, around the same area, do the same thing again to 2 cars. He was going the other direction this time. My guess is they drive like that all the time.

And you would be correct which brings up the question of how can they drive like that and keep their license. They feed a lawyer a steady income to quash tickets. The cost of lawyer is considered as cost for driving as they please. A dirty little secret we aren't supposed to talk about but that's one reason for the number of lawyers listed in the Yellow Pages. I support the privilege of having one's day in court but ticket quashing is something far different. Were every DUI charge were sent to grand jury and true bills tried,convictions would skyrocket overnight and alcohol related deaths would slowly but steadly decrease. Proper handling of minor traffic violations would have a lesser but measurable effect on traffic deaths. That's before we talk about insurance rates and let's not overlook increased marital bliss resulting from folks arriving home each evening in better frame of mind.

 

[JasperFrank]

Jaxs, this is a good post cause, I've heard from more than a few people that I have been associated with and have personally witnessed, driving like crazy people, that told me, don't worry, they have lawyers on retainer. And that the laws don't apply to them for the very reasons you have stated.

 

[Torvy]

Wife got pulled over in Wisconsin when we lived up there. On her way home from work very late at night. Cop pulled her over claiming she was signaling others about his presence by flashing her lights. I would have done that, not my wife.

Lawyers reached out, as they do. Cost her $75 to avoid a $200 ticket, plus traffic school or insurance bump for getting points on license. Not to mention time off work to fight it herself. One of the few times I appreciated a lawyer.

 

[jaxs]

Wife got pulled over in Wisconsin when we lived up there. On her way home from work very late at night. Cop pulled her over claiming she was signaling others about his presence by flashing her lights. I would have done that, not my wife.

Lawyers reached out, as they do. Cost her $75 to avoid a $200 ticket, plus traffic school or insurance bump for getting points on license. Not to mention time off work to fight it herself. One of the few times I appreciated a lawyer.

I would buy a ticket to watch lawyers argue this before a jury (not a judge,Gawd knows they are in on it to and would decide based on hokus pokus lawyering). I'd buy 2 tickets and a round of tea to watch the cop try to convince 6 people he knew why the driver flashed their lights. Point is I don't see any way to prove why a car flashed their lights. To put it bluntly, I think the cop was issuing tickets to generate revenue for city or lawyers with no care which way money went. The driver will have their pocketbook lightened regardless of guilt,inocence and outcome. I hate feeling that way about humans but my experience suggests no other choice.

 

[Jstpssng]

The flashing lights ticket has been successfully challenged in Federal court.

separate case in Missouri is more important because a federal judge ruled that flashing your lights to warn drivers is protected under the First Amendment.

Flashing Headlights to Warn Drivers of Speed Traps

Do you flash your headlights to warn drivers of a speed trap? Have you been careful to make sure no cops are around to see it, thinking you might be busted if caught? Two recent legal cases have tackled that very issue of warning drivers about speed traps, and both outcomes were not in favor of...

www.carcomplaints.com

This site isn't a legal source and I'm not a lawyer, so don't take this as gospel.
Having said that, I will only use them to warn people of a hazard in the road. I drive with the viewpoint "if you can't pay the fine, don't do the crime." (I will accept suggestions for words that rhyme with "crime" )

 

[Hay Dude]

I think you better know what DA you have.
San Fran, LA, Philly??? Some of these DA’s wont prosecute a crime unless you get killed, and even then there’s no guarantee.
Road rage? They’ll probably arrest YOU for complaining too much.

 

[kenmbz]

Only pass on the right when some knucklehead is failing to yield the lane. Too many people don't understand that the law in most (maybe all) states is that you are required to move right for faster traffic even IF you are going the speed limit.

I only have to survive another 6-8 months in the city and I can avoid sharing the road as often with people who are self-righteous and dangerous at the same time.

This is when in the middle lane following other cars at 10mph over limit.
Left lane open. Police almost always sit in the median, so right passers at 80-90mph think the police won't catch them.
Causes lots of accidents..only in NJ.

 

[Torvy]

This is when in the middle lane following other cars at 10mph over limit.
Left lane open. Police almost always sit in the median, so right passers at 80-90mph think the police won't catch them.
Causes lots of accidents..only in NJ.

I hear you. Still illegal for the slower traffic to hold the center lane rather than move right. (In most places) cops should be pulling both over. A good lawyer could argue the accident was really caused by failure to yield.

See the same thing around here. In multi-lane traffic, slowest traffic often moves left. The right lanes move faster and with less congestion.

 

[Root Cause]

I spent some time in Germany and liked their highway traffic laws.
No passing on the right side of a car and you MUST move left if a car comes up behind you.
This prevents weaving and guessing that reduces wrecks due to fewer surprises while changing lanes.
That was years ago, maybe that has fallen apart by now as well.

It would not matter what laws are passed here in my state. Current laws have been ignored for years.

 

[ultrarunner]

I think you better know what DA you have.
San Fran, LA, Philly??? Some of these DA’s wont prosecute a crime unless you get killed, and even then there’s no guarantee.
Road rage? They’ll probably arrest YOU for complaining too much.

SF DA recalled in city wide election… breaking news!

 

[Hay Dude]

SF DA recalled in city wide election… breaking news!

You just have to wonder if the replacement will be any different?
Guess we better be careful of politics in the discussion!!!

 

[ultrarunner]

You just have to wonder if the replacement will be any different?
Guess we better be careful of politics in the discussion!!!

Mayor appoints but ousted DA says he may run again.

It came down to safety and filth however individuals define.

 

[3Ts]

Last Friday I was on 95 heading south to Portland when someone attempted to either 'merge' into me, or force me to 'merge' with the Nissan Leaf in the left lane; I don't know how I pulled off what I did. The wife and I were in my Ram half-ton, roughly around Yarmouth, when a lovely individual in 1 ton dump truck showed just how little understanding they have of road signs. Understand I would typically be in the left lane as I pass an entrance ramp; courtesy of course, but in this instance there was a nice, new, Nissan Leaf occupying that space. So, vehicle ahead of me, Leaf to my left, this driver of the year decides that 'yield' means 'merge' and that physics can be damned. He does not, at any point in time, slow down or make any attempt to not become one with me at a molecular level. It seems I can not speed up, I can't slow down enough to make a difference, and I can't just switch lanes.

Somehow the stars aligned and between my acceleration and presumably that Leaf realizing what was happening, I got ahead of that Leaf, and then went back to the right lane ahead of the vehicle that had been ahead of me so as to avoid the vehicle in front of the Leaf. It was absolutely ridiculous, and I don't know how I pulled that off. Anyhow, that dude in the white, one-ton, Ford dump truck can choke on one.

Did that white pickup have a California plate? I had a relative who lived in California come to visit with me and we got into the discussion of yield when getting onto the interstates. He said that in California the yield sign applied to the folks on the interstate so that the folks in the on-ramp could get on the highway.

 

[Blue Mule]

Here were I live, 99% of road rage is caused by idiots who pitch a tent and camp out in the passing lane. Not only is it illegal to do so, it's also extremely uncourteous to other people. Not everybody has an easy retired life where they can just putt around on the roads all day without a care.

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Do we blame the guy who lost his temper and acted like a fool on the highway, or the inconsiderate *sshole who caused him to get angry to begin with?

 

[tacticalturnip]

Did that white pickup have a California plate? I had a relative who lived in California come to visit with me and we got into the discussion of yield when getting onto the interstates. He said that in California the yield sign applied to the folks on the interstate so that the folks in the on-ramp could get on the highway.

That is... insane, just absolutely insane lol. If the yield sign was for the highway traffic it would be... facing the highway traffic.

 

[Jstpssng]

Do we blame the guy who lost his temper and acted like a fool on the highway, or the inconsiderate *sshole who caused him to get angry to begin with?

I’ll take “both of the above” for the win, Alex.

As I stated in my original post; even though the guy was blocking a major highway on a blind hill, I didn’t HAVE to blow my horn at him. On the other hand, imagine how unglued he would have been if I’d had to re-enter the lane to avoid an oncoming car, and ripped his door off the hinges.

 

[ponytug]

Actually in California, they gave up on the parallel parking part of the drivers test in favor of testing merging in to highways correctly a long time ago. Highway traffic has the right of way in California;

Vehicle Positioning - California DMV

Following Distances Suppose you are on a two-lane road with an oncoming vehicle approaching and a bicyclist ahead to your right. Instead of driving between the vehicle and the bicyclist, take one danger at a time. First, slow down and let the oncoming vehicle pass. Then, when it is safe, move to...

www.dmv.ca.gov

We are all human, but personally, I think that if the person is raging, it is on them, regardless of how they came to have a bad day. I guess that I am of the opinion that
"if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen" applies, i.e. if you can't deal with the drivers in the road, you shouldn't be driving. Many semi drivers go millions of miles without at fault accidents.

All the best,

Peter