My daily commute includes a sharp, 270 degree turn ending in a short (~100’) merge lane onto the two lanes of US I-64 - the only major US highway leading to the city of Norfolk, VA. from where I live. Normally, thanks to my 2003 MCS, I am able to exit that sharp turn at about 50mph without any drama or really even any actual effort on my par, and the short merge lane is no big problem.

Today, however as I came out of the turn I was doing about 45 and about 60' behind a pickup truck on the ramp ahead of me and about 30’ ahead of an 18-wheeler who was bearing down at what I would estimate was about 60-65 mph, in the number two lane (the one furthest from the center divide of the highway). I accelerated to merge, which is the normal practice and was particularly appropriate since the length of the 18-wheeler would have simply not permitted me to join the lane had I slowed and then tried to accelerate onto the crowded freeway in the roughly 20’ I would have had left. He not only did not yield even a bit, he actually accelerated, knowing full well that his 60’ length would force me off the road and possibly into the upper “rail” of the bridge abutment supporting the overpass at something near 50 mph.

It is evident from his behavior that this guy would prefer to see someone die in a fiery crash than let them merge onto the highway ahead of him. If I did not have the benefit of the excellent brakes and handling of my MCS, I would probably be in a hospital or on my way to a morgue right now instead of writing this. As it is, I was able to brake and narrowly miss the rail and then to merge from the shoulder onto the road behind him a few seconds later.

After closely observing people driving over the last 32 years, I can state with sad confidence that this man’s attitude and behavior are increasingly common. I note it most often among those who drive trucks (from pick-ups to 18 wheelers and everything in between), vans and SUVs which now make up about 60% of the traffic where I live.

Thanks to MINI for making a car which has such exceptional handling and braking that it has likely saved many others from the kind of fate that my MCS prevented today.

-B

.

 

B-

Which ramp?

I've had SUVs attempt the same thing against me, but they have FAILED every time.

grrr....I do feel your pain.

 

Yes, I feel this attitude toward road ownership is pervasive. The Los Angeles freeway system is similar. Lots of rage from whatever source. Your MCS probably didn't even brake into a lather while doing this.

Best to ya.

 

I feel much safer in my dimunitive 1st gen, than I do in my Grand Cherokee, or even my Jetta. And this is the reason why.

People suck.

 

Did you catch up to the big rig and record his plate #? That kind of behaviour is disgusting.

 

Won't do any good. The law will look at who has the right of way.

 

I guess it depends on where you live. The truck had right of way, but accelerating to block your merge could be considered to be aggressive driving which is chargeable. Not that giving the plate to law enforcement would do anything... but...

I would call the trucking company and rip them a new one.

 

+1 and if you ever drove a rig you would understand why he would have to do that

 

I see that kind of bullying crap almost every day on multiple lane highways, one of the reasons I try to use the back roads as much as possible. The tailgaters always find their limit in the curves.

 

Have had this happen several times, but have always been able to merge in front of them thanks to the quickness of the MCS. That's why my husband tells people who question his purchase of a 505 HP Corvette, "I don't want to go 200 mph, but it's nice to be able to get away from some nut trying to run you over!"

 

OMG!!! I'm glad everything worked out!!!! Try being MINI in Texas big Truck country!! they want to kill me all the time!!! and its always the women in giant SUV's and country bobby.. in his 18 wheeler!!!

 

Idaho passed a law a few years back giving the right of way to the person merging onto the freeway. The person in the right hand lane has to slow, if necessary, to allow merging traffic to merge into his lane. It was a very smart law and makes a world of sense. Of course, hardly anyone knows the law exists.

The scariest thing I do in my MCS is get onto the freeway behind some slow moving vehicle where the driver thinks on-ramps are access roads rather than acceleration ramps. You wouldn't believe the number of old farmers who drive down to the end of a half mile long on-ramp and stop at the end to look for a hole in the traffic to merge onto the freeway!

 

Yikes, glad you are okay! I was about to pass 2 logging trucks on a steep incline, doing about 120kmh (Limit was 110.) when the second truck decided to swing out and block everyone in the passing lane. He rolled right beside his buddy the entire passing lane, creating a huge cluster**** of traffic. They did 55kmh the whole way. Totally unnecessary and dangerous.

 

I'm not sure how that makes sense. Seems like it would cause more problems than putting the onus on the merging traffic.

 

No kidding. I truly think that there are people who believe that the "no acceleration lane" signs on freeway on-ramps mean that they're not allowed to accelerate, instead of their true meaning ("once this onramp ends, you'd better be going as fast as everyone who's already on the freeway!")

 

There are a lot of intersections in the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area that **** me off. One of them is the intersection of Military Highway and Northampton. If you're going North on Military, you can make a sweeping right turn onto Northampton prior to getting to the intersection itself, so you don't have to stop at the light. At the end of the right turn, you're in the right-hand lane of Northampton, and that lane doesn't end (so you don't have to merge left into traffic - you can just stay where you are.)

The problem is, shortly after you get onto Northampton, there's a right-hand turn that's very popular, so a lot of people in the left- or middle lanes want to turn right. The city's solution was to force the people that are turning right from Military onto Northampton to yield to people that want to come over from the middle lane, even though the people that come off of Military are established in a lane that doesn't end.

Shorter version - you're on a road with three lanes, and the people in the right-hand lane are forced by law to give way to people that want to come over on top of them from the middle lane.

 

OK, I give up; please educate us.

 

Glad you and your MINI are unscathed. I too have shared my moments with insane truck drivers as well. Sigh....

 

Sounds like drivers in LA. EVERYONE drives like that. Over here, if you don't drive aggressively, you're bound to be hit or run off the road. It takes skill driving here. The only other city worse than us is New York, but their highways are a breeze from what my uncle tells me. Their roads are another story altogether. It's vice-versa over here.

Glad to hear you're okay, though. My worst accident involved my R53 (the BRG in my sig pic) and swerving into a light pole at 60 mph. My panoramic sunroof didn't even so much as crack. These cars are tanks.

 

Must be something about a Mini - seems I'm cut off more frequently by people changing lanes on top of me than in any other car!

 

If I thought the driver of an 18 wheeler was "insane", that along with his greater size, I would hesitate to compete with him for a place on the road.

My experiences, however, differ from some of those I have read in this thread. I find most of them courteous and professional. I'm not saying that all of them are, so don't get your shorts in a bind. Keep in mind that they accelerate slowly and take a long way to stop. I'm sure that some of them see some drivers of 4 wheelers as "daredevils with a death wish".

With the love that most of us have for our MINIs, I suspect that most are driven with care, although with enthusiasm.

 

No kidding and it always happens when some big SUV is following way too close.

 

Deleted my comment. I misread the original posting

 

Trucks don't like small cars too close in traffic. I've never driven a big rig, but I would want much distance in front trying to stop 60k lbs.
90 % of truckers are pros
90 % of rush hour pilots are suspect
I try to stay away from everybody!

 

A very good friend of mine is a long-haul trucker. He has never had an accident involving another vehicle. However, he has damaged his rig on several occasions taking the shoulder to avoid an accident. In Bob's opinion, the worst drivers are in SUVs or those talking on cell phones. He feels most drivers don't understand the limitations of a big rig - slow acceleration, long stopping distance, blind spots etc. His attention is is not only on his truck, but also trying to guess what other drivers are going to do. Don't let anybody kid you - driving a semi can be a tough job.

Kevin