...that someone not paying attention almost ran me off the road.

Just now, it was an old guy in a monster pickup truck. came close enough ot me to snap my mirror back (the way it was designed) but no body damage, other than a gouge in my wheel where I hit the curb.

What the hell, folks? I mean, really!?

 

To circumvent that I drive a little more spirited than normal around bigger trucks/SUVs. Then again I'm told I drive too spirited too often haha.

 

I know it's hard to avoid sometimes, but try to make sure there are as few cars around you as possible. There are so many people on the road that don't deserve licenses. The less time you spend around them the better. That's how I justify speeding to myself

 

+1!!

Sad but TRUE!! I can't count the times I've had some MORON riding Molly's Boot, just last week I contacted a Local Medical Supply Company, because one of their drivers was tailgating me AND Speeding on the Freeway...don't those BIG **** trucks have a slower Speed Limit, I've had a Postal Truck try to run me off into s Freeway Barrier once too...how on earth do you contact the USPS without getting a Busy Signas??!!

I'll get off my Soapbox, but not willingly!!

 

I drive my MINI like I ride my motorcycles. Don't follow large vehicles, stay out of other vehicles blind spots and always have an escape route planned. Utilize the cars quickness and maneuverability. In my mind, the MINI is a four wheeled motorcycle....both can be hard to see if other drivers are not paying attention, so the burden is on us to drive accordingly. Trust me, driving in Houston is an exercise in survival!

Dave

 

These days I drive as if everybody around me is texting. I assume they will do the worst possible maneuver and I plan my avoidance move anticipating that.

 

I agree completely!

 

I'm always looking 100ft. ahead of me, who knows what's going to go on...others won't have a clue as to what to do...I always leave 1.5 car lengths in front of me, slowing down for vehicles in the Emergency whether Emergency Vehicles or not...I'm a very cautious driver and in particular when driving MS MOLY I'm never in a hurry!!

 

Maybe it's me but it seems like I am driving and coming up on a slower car, I pull into the passing lane to pass and when I get next to the passee-they speed up! Are they annoyed that I am passing them? Are they trying to get a good look at the MINI? Are they trying to race me? I don't know but all I have to do is press the throttle-engage the turbo-and watch the rear view!
Ha Ha! Bye Bye Honda owner with your gigantic exhaust and patched together body kit.

 

+1!!

 

+1

 

ANyone know a good place to get an extra Chrome R85 17" wheel? After this incident, my driver front is pretty well curbed :(

 

So I've got a Chilli Red MINI Conv. "S" as a Loaner for the night, needed to run to the store to pick up stuff to make Dinner...yeah, I know it's usually in the house, but Hubby is recuperating from Knee Replacement Surgery and he's usually the one who cooks, poor him for having to have me cook!!

Anyway I'm tooling along at the posted Speed Limit 35 on a road I travel very frequently, this is a road that I basically live on, my street becomes this other street 1mi. from a major intersection. Ok, so I'm tooling along and some SOB in a Acura SUV floors it and goes around ME crossing the Double Yellow Line...ok, so I'm not happy, then he proceeds to cut back into the "normal" travel lane right across my bow, I'm layin' on the horn...SOB thinks it's funny!!

So we both cross the major intersection, me right behind him. We get to another Stop Light...by this time I've got the Passenger Window down and motioning him/her to get out of the car...yeah, I might go to jail, but it'd be worth it to get my hands around that guys neck...glad my husband wasn't with me!!

Anyway, I've had it..I'm callin' the "Non-Emergency" number tomorrow of our local LEO!! I'm running out of fingers to count these MORONS who think they can make their own Driving Laws...NOT ON MY WATCH!!

 

This is precisely why I want to mount guns on the front of my mini.

Paintball guns.

 

This is why I drive, as my family puts it, "a tad aggressively." As long as no one does anything around me to send up warning lights in my mind, I'm pretty passive. I admittedly do not like having other cars around me so I will accelerate and weave in and out of traffic to get up to the front of a pack of cars and get away from them but in general I prefer to simply drive along at the posted speed limit and enjoy my MINI. Now the second someone does something stupid, like the guy who was definitely driving drunk near me on my way home the other night, I take off and do my best get get as far away from that driver as I possibly can and if for some reason he catches up, I repeat the process. I know that someday I will be in an accident because with the amount of driving I do it's pretty much inevitable but when that day arrives I want to be able to say that I did the very best I could have possibly done under the circumstances to avoid the accident. If your car can maneuver well, and ours can, then you have no excuse not to know how to use those skills to prevent an accident.

Ok, rant over. And I agree with everything that y'all've already said.

 

Happened to me twice this past Sunday that a car went to change lanes right into the side of my Mini. Both times I had to swerve to keep from getting hit -- fortunately both times there was a shoulder on the road I could move onto to get out of the way (while laying on the horn).

If these idiots find it hard to see a Mini Cooper, what the heck will they do with a Smart Fortwo??

 

you simply need more horn

 

That would be great. I've thought about one of those but if I were to use it around here,,,,well,,,, I better not go there.
This past couple of years I've noticed suv's getting a big kick out of speeding by, then cutting in front of me and slowing down. I'm way beyond playing their games and I definately feel that they want me to pass them, so they can really show how stupid they are.
My little car came with a slight ding on the bumper. I've seriously thought about putting a sticker on it that says, "Make my day, I need a new bumper".

 

I'm with you on this one, 100%...STUPID!! Love the Sticker idea...sucks that you've gotta' think of a clever way to hide your MINIs blemish!!

 

yea i know what you mean, i have xenon's and 2 driving lights one would think i'd be hard to miss at night but i guess not...big lifted Tahoe almost ran me off the highway the other night.

 

Awesome solution....flame throwers.