Is there something about a MINI that other drivers feel entitles them to take our place in the road.

This is my third day of owning mine. I have been blatently cut off three times now.

The first time, I thought that the SUV just did not see me when it was meging onto the highway. The second time (in the same trip, mind you) it was just someone who wanted access to the faster lane that I was in and felt that my mini had to yield. The third time (this morning) someone was moving over to exit the highway and needed to get into my lane.

Each time I was cut off and not subtly.

Did I just have a run of bad luck or is ther something about the MINI?

 

Get used to it. This is what happens when you drive a small car. I used to drive a Honda CRX and it happened all the time.

 

I think that's why many of us drive our MINIs more agressively than we do our other cars - don't give 'em a chance to run you over.........

 

I found that an aggressive stripe helps a little. Drivers see a MINI and think cute little econobox. I don't want to be stuck behind it.

They see a racing stripe and may think "boy racer lunatic" with road rage potential.

 

are yuo driving in NJ?

I was just cut off, and then the same SUV driver cut off an 18-wheeler (and nearly got hit by said rig)...

I get cut off 2xs a day min. and see many more than that... I think people are just !@#$ing rude and its pretty car-independant.

 

QFT.

However, I will say that a MINI wielded in anger is a pretty effective tool for slicing and dicing through traffic. There isn't much else on four or more wheels that'll get across town as quickly when needed.

 

Sadly, that's true...

 

I ride a motorcycle most of the time so I guess I'm used to it. I've found two things that help. Lots of very bright lights even during the day and a VERY loud horn.

 

Hey, you're doing better than you would around my area. I usually get the folks trying to cut me off 3 times in one drive about. That's in the F150 and usually already going 5 to 10 over the posted limit. The Virginia Beach and other Hampton Roads area cities are driving death traps quite often.

 

In general there seems to be something about it, but your own driving habits will have an impact. I try to leave enough room for maneuvering in anticipation of the guy next to me cutting me off. I've found that I can guess with good accuracy who's the weaving/cutting-off type and who's the more patient type. Awareness of your surroundings is important.

Granted, I'm not in a high-density traffic setting during the week, but I do deal with Chicago traffic on the weekends and I've never had much trouble with being cut off.

 

Driving a small car takes some skill, small cars with power are much better tho. Just ease back and wait for your turn to punch through them all. I drive my small car like i do my motorcycle, with the concept that eveyone is a potential acciedent to me.

 

A MINI wielded in anger sounds like it could be a dangerous item....

I always drive with the assumption that the other driver will always:

1) Cut me off
2) Run a stop sign/light
3) Tailgate
4) Etc.

Therefore, I drive defensively, leaving lots of space between me and others; usually let others go first at stop signs even if I arrive first; and approach exit ramps extra cautiously.

This all helps me drive relatively Zen-like, and lessens the well of anger that is all too easy to fall into on the road.

Just my nickel's worth.

Happy trails.

 

When I first got my MCS, I was leaving work one day and I got cut off by this kid in a pimped out Honda Accord that had a subwoofer that almost rattled my teeth to dust.

First, as I was pulling onto the access road to my office, he pulls off out of one of the other entrances right in front of me and I had to slam on my brakes.

Coming off the access road and onto the main road, there are two lanes, one to turn left, one to turn right. He is in the right lane and I was in the left, but he decided after the light turned that he needed to turn left, right in front of me.

So we get to the light right in front of the highway entrance. Again we are in different lanes and right next to each other and both one car back in line of the light. I looked over just in time to watch him gun his car right into the back of the pickup truck in front of him when the light hadn't even changed yet. Seeing both parties were ok, I made sure I was past the accident before I started laughing and cheering that the punk got what he deserved for driving like an a-hole.

 

It's nice of you to let others go first at stop signs, but I find it very frustrating when the other driver has the right of way at an intersection and doesn't take it. I don't like sitting there waiting for the other person to go (as they should), and they just sit there grinning. I don't like to just go ahead and proceed at that point, because I don't know if as soon as I start going through the intersection, they're going to suddenly wake up and then jump out and then be p***ed off at me for cutting them off. I've had it happen.

If you're the first one to a four-way or three-way stop, and the other car(s) is going to stop, you should proceed through the intersection after stopping.

 

Heaven forbid you should pass one of these guys. Tried it a couple of weeks ago. PU doing 8 under in a 55, so I passed. He tailgated me and followed me into town where he threatened violence. The stickers on his back window had a lot of military stuff so my better judgment dictated my response. I believe that there is a lot of road rage out there in the guise of "do it my way." This guy obviously thought it's an affront to go the speed limit when he's in the mood to go slower, and he acted on it. I think if I did the same thing in my Dodge Ram PU he might have felt more fraternal, but probably just as angry. He probably thought the guy driving the little bliue car with the checkers - well, he's got to be a woose. So yeah, the car is a factor for the criminlly insane.

 

Yea, to see someone sitting there just grinning would be frustrating. I just give a simple wave of go ahead so that the other driver KNOWS I am not just sitting there daydreaming. And, honestly, I don't do it EVERY time, just when there is that bit of hesitation about who really arrived first. I should have been more clear on that point.

My point is really that getting in a Zen mode takes away stress.

I find the psychology of driving fascinating. It's so easy to get in the mind set that "that other guy CAN'T pass ME, etc" ........

 

Newport News is one of the crapiest places to drive during rush hour and God forbid, Friday evenings. One needs to either be very aggresive or very patient. Thers no room for in between.

I personnaly like to drive like Mario Andretti and say the heck with the rest of em! Now I have to deal with this ridiculous new fine system thev'e recently enacted. So I just stay home more now then ever before.

 

Back in 1987 I was driving my old beater 77 3/4 ton Chevy in San Diego when a kid in a brand new MR2 decided he wasn't going to let me into the exit lane. He kept speeding up and slowing down so I couldn’t get over. At the last second he gunned it to pull onto the freeway and I returned the favor by keeping pace and not letting him onto the freeway. He slammed on his brakes, pulled behind me and gunned it while flipping me the bird. As luck would have it, I chose that very moment to let off the gas and apply my brakes to get back down to the 55 MPH speed limit. The closure rate was probably 25-30 MPH when he rear ended me. He totaled his recent high school graduation present and sheared one of the bolts holding my tow hooks to the back bumper. He had to explain to Daddy how his car was totaled and he got a reckless driving ticket. I had to spend 49 cents on a new bolt. The cop had a hard time controlling his laughter. Sometimes I miss that old truck.

 

Sorry, nobody, even an a#### ought to be hurt. I drive unabashedly, but when someone wants to play, I go slow and let 'em go. He/she gets their thrill and I get to go home in one piece. A good time had by all

 

If you think the rate of getting cut off in a MINI (or small car) is bad, just wait until you feel the full impact of the tailgating.

People seem to think that since they can see over you, it is okay to ride 2 feet off your bumper.

It is frustrating and dangerous.

 

Having noticed this phenomenon when I first bought my car, I activated the daytime running light feature. It seems to make a pretty healthy difference. I no longer experience this problem, at least to a degree that's any different than with other car I've owned.

By the way, the daytime running lights on the 2007 activate both the headlights and the tail lights. I mention this because every time the subject of daytime running lights comes up, someone pops in and says the tail lights are not activated on the Mini Cooper with the DRL feature activated (apparently they weren't on the pre-2007 versions - but they are now).

 

I tend to drive with my headlights on, in traffic I personally avoid cutting off a car with HID headlights, I dont like the headlights in my mirror

I assume other people make the same choice, so I keep my headlights on most of the time

 

I read this thread this morning and just now came back from lunch and have a story to add that just happened 5 minutes ago. Wasn't really cut off but while I was going around 50mph a guy in an SUV pulling out from a parking lot decided that he wants to use the road right that moment and nothing is gong to stop him, not even oncoming traffic. Too late for me to brake the MINI handling saved me from a crash. Honestly if it had been any other car that I previously owned I would have plowed right into him, there would be no way for me to go around. I think the guy in the SUV realized how close he came to a crash 'cause I looked in my rear view mirror and he was just standing there for a while in the middle of the road with no other traffic going in either direction. Hope he didn't have a heart attack.

 

My yellow one got cut off all the time. My red one and green one don't get cut off so much.

I agree with the racing stripe and extra lights comments. Make it look angrier and faster.

 

Again, QFT.

When it's your turn at the intersection, take your turn. Predictability is safer than courtesy.