A bit of a rant, but drivers like these annoy me and often make me wish I didn't have a MINI.

I was driving normally when I pulled up to a light behind another car. Then another car pulls up to the right of us when there are parked cars up in front about 3 blocks ahead. I figured they were going to speed by and get in front of the person in front of me, personally I don't really care if they do this because as long as they go faster than the the first car, they're not causing much more traffic. To my surprise, when the light turns green, they just go at a normal speed, driving right beside me.

Finally, when we're coming right up to the parked cards, they show no signs of slowing down and I don't see any reason why I would let them in so I just keep going. Clearly seeing they're not going to slow down, I brake hard last minute and they just come swerving in, no hesitation at all. I honk and they don't seem to care, no hand wave or anything. Luckily the car in front of both of us turn left and there is a gap of no parked cars on the right, so I speed up on the right of them. While passing, I see them sort of cut into my lane a bit as to prevent me from passing. This really ticks me off so once I get in front of them, I slow my car to a near stop. Finally, they try to pass me again, but I wouldn't let them. Again when they are next to me, they move into my lane as to almost try to push me off the road or something. They end up taking a left onto a side street since I wouldn't let them pass.

I hate drivers like these and it is during these times I wish I didn't care about my car. I would have just kept going and never let them in. Sure, the car would get scrapped a little, pretty low speed ~ 25; but it would teach them a lesson in terms of courtesy on the road. Unfortunately, I care too much about my MINI to let it take a hit like that to teach a bunch of no good drivers a lesson.

 

With all of that defending of "your" territory, you are a "driver like those"

 

I wish you didn't have a MINI either, with an attitude like that, you don't deserve one

You had a choice: either speed past them , or chill and let people in

Peace

 

I believe the phrase I'm looking for here is: Road Rage

Just let it go and enjoy your Mini. Be happy!

 

it amazes me that people do things in their car they'd never do if, for example, walking down the sidewalk

i can't think of one time in my long life, in any city, to include some of the most crowded in the world, that anyone knowingly buzzed around, blocked or otherwise attempted to cut me off while walking

ain't that something?

 

Well my husband thought I was CRAZY but this happened with my regular '04 Cooper and then again when i got my '05 S. I was harassed DAILY by bigger cars sitting inside my trunk, cutting me off, wanting to race and failing, yadda yadda yadda. Since he was in the USMC in the early 90s and once a Marine always a Marine, I had him slap a USMC sticker across my back window to show my support for the troops. I have not been harassed since. I think most people think all MINIs are owned by the same type of tree huggers that own say a Prius because we are small. Just an observation.

And yeah, dont let them force you around. If they want in front make em earn it or let em in. Motor on.

 

Ever been on Mighigan Ave during the Christmas season? Happens all the time. Everyone is more important than the next guy and they are entitled to do whatever they like. Come to Chicago the day after Thanksgiving - it's a real treat

 

Fact is you do not know what the other person is capable of doing, what drugs they are on, if they are itching to use a gun if "dis'd", etc. It really is not worth it IMO.

 

nope, only been to chicago once, for a few days in the spring

i was thinking NYC, even when it was trashy back in the day when i lived there, or the Phils (think Manila, wall to wall people)

maybe that's a bad example for some, i guess it depends on the vibe a person throws off?

so back to the car thing, size won't matter, in my observation they treat our lifted mud ridin' Jeep with the fenders cut out the same as the new tiny Yaris - push and cut just to get ahead.

I just laugh, and if given a good chance, wave like a 4 year old. It's priceless to get the reaction to that......

 

 

If you tried that in NYC you'd probably get your **** whooped

Personally I like to think of driving and walking in the city as a Zen thing. With lots of horn-honking.

 

I seriously doubt there is anything you can do to "teach them a lesson". People who drive this was really dont care or they wouldnt drive that way in the first place. And as another person pointed out, if they are willing to use their car to bully you in your car they are capable of quite a bit more. And if there had been any contact you would have been guilty of driving to endanger just like the other guy. It usually best not to upset a bully.

 

Just be AWARE when driving because everyone else is an idiot. =)

 

The fact of the matter is that you are driving a "smaller" vehicle and if you were to act or react to an a-hole like that you would lose. Drive it like a motorcycle, pretend no one sees you and to paraphrase as was said above; speed or slow down, but don't play chicken.

 

I don't see the MINI as any less safe than most vehicles out on the road. And for those that talk about attitude that's fine, but I just don't believe in coddling and letting people push me around. I'm fine if they want to speed and get in front of everyone, but going the same speed as me and having NO regards for the fact that I have right away is unacceptable. IMO the fact that everyone just rolls over all the time is what makes those aggressive and stupid drivers think they own the road. If I felt it was a truly dangerous situation like high speed or head on collision I would just be safe over anything else, but with low speed and the only danger really being a side swipe for me, then honestly I don't care.


I'm not sure why you think speed past them was a choice. I would have done that given all else, but there is a car in front of me so I was just going whatever he was going. I also forgot to mention that there were NO cars behind me so it would have been easy for them to slow down and get behind me.

I also don't agree with it being my fault with any contact as the only point I would have risked it is in the beginning when I had clear right of way. If they swerve into my lane, it's their fault. It's just like changing lanes, if someone is in the lane, they have right away. I wasn't speeding at that point and followed all road rules.

PS: it's not "my territory" it's called right of way.

 

Hmmmm. You wouldn't mind describing your car, would you? I'd just like to make sure, were I ever to run across you, that I give you a generous extra measure of right-of-way.

 

check my sig, it's the laser blue

 

Having the "right of way" doesn't allow you to do this crap:

What they did by cutting you off (when you admitedly saw it coming), or strattling the lane to not allow you to pass was a traffic infraction. A simple lane violation.

What you described above... that's a CRIMINAL VIOLATION and punishable by your physical arrest and the impoundment of your car. Sorry... but it's a stupid move, no matter how much you car about your car.

When you were so focused on "teaching the other driver a lesson" what would have happened if the car full of nuns or the soccer mon & kids in the minivan pulled out in front of you two idiots and you kill someone? It happens.

My advice is pretty much echoed by every responce posted here: LIGHTEN UP!

 

I would have to agree. with the others. you state in your first post " I hate drivers like these".

"This really ticks me off so once I get in front of them, I slow my car to a near stop. Finally, they try to pass me again, but I wouldn't let them. Again when they are next to me, they move into my lane as to almost try to push me off the road or something. They end up taking a left onto a side street since I wouldn't let them pass."

I'm seeing it as you got upset, decided a little version of your own street justice was in order. Not much different then what they did. Letting them merge and getting over it is not perpetuating their behavior. To me it should have been you, slowing down, cooling off and happily motoring to your destination. Even an accident at 25 mph can be dangerous. You really had no idea who was in that car, what mindset they were in or even why they were behaving the way they were. I guess I am thinking of how awful it could have been had you been in a scrape with them, and them getting out of their car very irate.. things happen.. people can be crazy.. Perhaps they didnt realize cars were parked up ahead.. so many scenarios to mention.. but just because your in your mini.. and they pushed ahead of you.. really doesn't give you a right to give back what they give you.. be a responsible motor'er.. don't become part of their stupidity. and unfortunately i think you walked right into theirs. Think before you act.. is a good thing to take to heart

 

I agree, you just made matters worse by doing the same thing they were doing. 99% of Honolulu drivers drive like that and you just have to have an Aloha attitude and let them do their thing. As long as I'm driving safely and defensively I'll be ok.

 

Usually, when I've been so pi**ed about something that I write it down in a rant or letter, I read it over and think "wow, maybe I'm overreacting a bit, and I was probably in the wrong too." After typing out your post, you still felt you should submit it?

 

Might put one of my big NRA stickers on there and see if that makes a difference.

 

I don't dispute that I was a bit out of line with the what I did after what they did. I definitely made matters worse, but to me it's reciprocal and I'm okay with that.

I guess it comes down to how you think you should react, I usually just let it go, but after getting it done one too many times I simply got tired of rolling over. I'm a defensive driver 99% of the time, the accidents I have been in was when I was waiting at a light and someone rear ended me, the other was someone blowing a stop sign which hit another car that hit me. I let drivers like this go more than 99% of the time and have defensively avoided many, many others, but how will people change their actions if you never give them consequences? In terms of them not seeing it, they clearly saw it, they had over 3 blocks to see it, I think it was closer to 5. Anyways, the whole argument that they could have come out and done this and done that or it could have been a bad accident at 25mph; I will say this, I'm okay with the consequences that would have happened. I know the situation around what happened, any passing was done within 1 block with no intersections and stop signs coming into the street. I'm not going to consider random hypothetical most dire situations. What if a skydiver carrying kids came down on the road when I was going 5 miles over the speed limit and I was changing my radio?

For all those that say I'm no different, the context should be considered. Is punching someone after they punched you the same as walking up to a random person and punching them? Sure I'm not completely innocent, but to say I'm the same as them is in my opinion very narrow minded.

anyways, I can see that people simply disagree in this thread and that's understandable as everyone has their own opinion. I do know I was wrong to follow up with what I did, but I'm comfortable with being wrong sometimes; as I stated, I do believe I had right of way, I don't think I should just slow down and roll over all the time (although I do most of the time), and I don't think that I'm the same "breed" as those who drive like that. I still hold that if I didn't care about my car I would have just let them swerve into me; at that point I did not slow down or speed up to prevent them from getting in and there were no other people behind us, but opinions are opinions.

I will stop responding though, to prevent this thread from getting too heated.

 

Years ago while taking a wild ride through Mexico City the stunt driver at the wheel of my cab explained to me how important it is to expect any kind of behavior from the drivers in your path. There is no judgment of the drivers ahead of you. He even suggested that he could drive the cab with a neck brace on because just as he has to react to all the traffic ahead of him, so do the drivers behind him. His explanation did not make the ride any more comfortable for me. Over the years it does come back to me when I think of "what that driver just did to ME!" I find it much easier to believe "that driver" was oblivious to me.

 

I have to disagree with you on this one. It's not a criminal violation to NOT avoid an accident if you have a valid argument that it was not avoidable. The vehicle merging from the right would most likely be guilty of an illegal lane change or failure to yield which is a moving violation and counts against insurance points if applicable in your state.

This same situation has happened to me quite a few times driving in downtown Boston and I've gotten into and/or caused several accidents by having to move out of the way quickly to let an ignorant driver into my lane from the right lane because of parked cars. In two cases I was given a ticket for wreckless driving (both of which were dismissed in traffic court because the merging driver either was also ticketed or a witness saw the accident.)

Now, I'm not saying that just sitting in your lane and refusing to make room for an ignorant driving trying to illegally merge is the correct thing to do but everybody (or most people) at some point have thought 'If only I had a piece of ***** car, I would have let them hit me'. Also keep in mind that with very few exceptions, if car A hits car B then car A is at fault.