Turn signal woes (or how not to get hit by traffic)

[PJSprog]

Problem today is that folks all want to get there before they leave,
Just yesterday I judged timing and merged into traffic and guess I PO'd of the driver and he rode my bumper giving me the finger.
He then passed me and slammed his brakes, again with the vertical finger.
He indicated a left turn I passed on his right and he swung over to ram me and then simply parked blocking my passage.
Definitely an serious attitude problem.
That is the time that I wished I still drove my 3/4 ton with the 5" H beam bumpers rather than my family sedan as things might have been a tad different, like I'd have been less timid. LOL.

Situations like this used to be easy to resolve. I would gesture to the side of the road, asking if they'd like to pull over and "discuss" it. Most would flip me off one last time and drive away. I did have two takers, though, back in the late eighties and early nineties, who both regretted their decision (once was on my bike in a construction zone, and I got a standing "O" when I walked back to my bike).

It used to be just teaching someone a valuable, albeit painful, lesson. Now, they call it "road rage," and throw you in jail.

 

[MHarryE]

situational awareness. Before turning, I always watch everywhere around me. As large as a tractor or implement can be, drivers can misjudge. I can recognize the speed at which a vehicle is driving up on me from behind - in that case I pull over to the right, let them pass, then make my left turn. Sometimes I recognize the driver is driving at a sensible speed and to emphasize my turn, I will start moving toward and over the center line as an attention getter. Some seem to have been born without a brain. There have been times when I have slowed down to cross a 24 foot bridge near us (with 4 foot shoulders) with my 20 foot header combine, keep as far to the right as possible, and find drivers pass me at full speed. I have no idea how they keep from hitting the bridge or my combine but at 50,000 pounds (with full bin), their 3,500 pound car is going to lose worse although I may be shut down for repairs.