I like to do the same!

 

I tried but, I missed a shift and was tagged out.

 

I am not slamming anyone here on NAM . What I am saying is that I am who I am no matter what I am driving. The car does not define who I am. I am also stating that generalizations should not be made due to there inaccuracy. I am sure there are a....holes driving any manner of vehicles. Nuff said

 

The best driving sign language I have ever recived was in Marin County, if you are up here in norcal you know how fun driving thru marin can be.

Anywho...I was a passange on this event and the driver didn't stop everything he was doing to make way for some fool who didn't have a blinker or didn't know how it worked. I guess we were meant to read his mind or just know what he was doing. At any rate, he wanted in our lane, in front of us, we didn't notice, he got all kinds of mad. he pulled in front of us and began giving us the bird so I smiled and waved back. That really put him over the edge, so he slows down to like 35, on the highway, and I swear it seemed he must have climbed out of the drivers seat and into the back of his SUV, and not a small one, 'cuz his right hand was against the back window. This dude was soooo pissed, seariously I don't think I have ever seen anyone so mad. So I smiled and waved again. he was wigging out, speeding up and slowing down fliping us of, crazy. then he took the next exit. He must have been having a bad day.

 

I have noticed that almost everyone in testosteronemobiles(you know ,.....escalades, high rise monster trucks,ml30 mercedes, etc) seem to have the impression that our MINIS have no place on THEIR road.Then again, all generalizations are false, including this one.

 

Slammed by a First Gearer

 

I've seen people this angry too (I guess we all probably have) and over some minor transgression that problably never happened. The thing that scares me most is that here in Wisconsin we have idiot lawmakers that want to allow these hot heads to carry concealed weapons! I hope saner heads prevail!

 

OK not to totally hijack the thread but just because you have a concealed weapon doesn't mean you're a violent type. People who actually get concealed weapons permits are people who have a demonstrated NEED of a concealed weapon. The kind of person who is going to shoot you with a concealed weapon is the kind of person who doesn't bother with a permit.

The point in brief: legal concealed weapons are usually for protecting poeple's lives, not for killing bad drivers

Most people get emotional and unreasonable when they talk about guns, so lets talk about hand gestures some more...

After reading this thread I intentionally gave an undecipherable hand gesture today- I think it was supposed to mean something like "if your car is so fast why are you driving so slow? You should have bought a red one"

 

OK - I don't want to get into a gunfight here either but the point I was trying to make was that people do irrational things when they are very angry. nuff said!

 

Yes. Road-rage turns perfectly sane individuals into slavering beasts! I am not comfortable with the notion of too many people motoring with concealed weapons. Of course, being in L.A., I'm guessing that many folks are armed anyway!


Clover

 

I totally agree with your comment on road rage. My experience with individuals that have concealed carry permits is that they are more polite and respectful. They are aware of when they can and can not use deadly force to protect themselves and their families. If used inappropriately, not only would they lose their right to carry but they would face prison time. This knowledge leads to cooler minds prevailing.

 

I've decided to start flipping ALL of the other drivers on the road. That's right, I give the finger to every single car I see. It's all about equality.

 

That is hilarious!

 

That scares the poop out of me.Guns are an issue up here too.
I know this upsets some of you,but I like not having guns around,had them aimed at me,Know folks who have done bad things happen with them,and just plain don't like them around me:smile:

 

I hope your house, MINI, or you, don't get shot up something!

That's the thing you don't smartoff back, next time act like your high!

 

Funny,I don't get or have any reason to give the finger,or any other signal, but a wave.Now the wave only happens out here in the country,never in the city.
No wonder I motor out of the city so hard,then just motor about kind of easy once out of there.

 

Back in the late '80s there were frequent freeway shootings here in SoCal, and most drivers were much more polite than they are in this new century!

 

You're right! Then, in the '90s, carjacking incidents were RAMPANT in L.A.! The preponderance of cellphones seems to have contributed to the really, really bad driving here.


Clover

 

I have a confession to make. This line, by me was a copout with the intent of keeping the forum peace. Upon further review, and having chewed on this bone for the last 2 days I now feel the need to bury it and move on. If I accidently offend anyone with what follows - again it is not my intent.

I am not an expert on concealed carry. I'm not an intellecual (hell I can't even spell it):smile: I'm not going to proffer a bunch of stats to prove my point. I don't have any stats. I'm not even sure of the exact wording of the bill that was being pushed forward in my state to legalize concealed handguns. I base most of my opinions on 56 years of seeing, reading, feeling and experiencing. In other words - common sense - at least as I see it. And I have every right to voice those opinions. I'm new to NAM and new to forums in general, this being the first I ever responded to. I,m sure there are niceties here and customs and manners of which I am not aware. I'll learn them in time, but I do see that threads are an evolving animal. This particular thread had evolved from hand jestures to road rage in the course of its life. In my mind at least the concealed weapons issue was not a deviation of the thread but a natural continuance. When the issue was first hatched and reported in my state my very first thought was - wow, just what we need to go along with road rage. Therefore I felt it a valid statement and worthy of the thread. Disagree if you wish, but please don't tell me it doesn't belong here. Also, my original statement referred to hot heads carrying concealed weapons - well guess what I really DON'T want hot heads carrying concealed weapons. Nowhere did I imply that everyone who carries a concealed weapon is a hothead. That's simply not logical.

I know I'm getting long winded here but I am going to say my piece, nobody is being forced to read it!

Why do I feel this way. Its not because I hate guns, I own guns. Again, its because of personal experiences. When I was in the army attending AIT back in the 60's, there were four of us young men who hung together. For almost eight weeks we trained together, ate together, slept in adjoining bunks. We spent our passes in town together and had a blast with no harsh words between us until just before of the end of training. For absolutely no reason a non-jewish one of us went suddenly berserk on a Jewish one of us. It was one of the most incredible things I've ever seen, he was physically attacking and screaming at the Jewish fellow. My other friend and I managed to pull him off and wrestle him down. One of the things he screamed was that he wished the Jews whole family had been killed in the holocaust! Where did that come from - I have no idea, but if you had seen the look of rage and hate on his face I guarantee you wouldn't hand him a handgun!

One day I was riding my motorcycle here in Madison. I was riding easy, obeying the law in all respects. As I approached a causeway a guy in a cadillac pulled out of a side road and came up behind me. He pulled up alongside me looked me right in the eye and then swerved his car toward me. I had a guick bike and good reflexes so I gassed it hard and just managed to escape him and miss a bridge abutment. Because I was riding a motorcycle I guess it was OK to kill me that day! He had no qualms about turning his vehicle into a weapon. I doubt very much that he would have qualms about using a weapon as a weapon!

As I mentioned previously, I work in the street. I have been installing and repairing street lights and traffic signals for the past 33 years. The following happens to me many times daily, depending on how many times I need to block a traffic lane to effect repairs. Let's say I'm going to block the right lane to repair a streetlight. I drive a large bucket truck with 2 yellow strobes on front and 2 in back. I also have an arrow board mounted on the back of the truck. My standard procedure is to turn on my strobes and a left arrow on the arrowboard about a block before I'm going to stop. I begin to slow the truck and put on the fourways about a half block prior to the stop. I continue to slow gradually until coming to a stop where the light needs repair. I get out of the truck to put cones behind me. Has everyone behind me noticed all my lights, arrows, slowing down and taken the hint to go around me to the left? NO! There they all sit 3, 4, 5 cars or more waiting for me to get out of their way. And when I motion for them to go around boy do I get and eye and earfull. Their pounding their steering wheels, flipping me the bird, yelling what a lazy damn City Employee I am and then finallly pulling around me. Yep - I sure wish they all had concealed weapons on them. Uh huh

Enuff true stories. My final say on this is that I don't know if a bill on this will ever pass. It keeps coming up. As it is on the national level the factions in our Wisconsin legislature are at each others throats to such an extent that I am in no way sure what form the bill will take if it is passed. Are you going to need a permit? Maybe not. Are you going to have to demonstrate a need? Maybe not. Is the person that gets belligerant when ever he starts to drink, and feels the need to beat someone up going to be precluded from getting a permit? Maybe not! I think its OK the way it is now. IMHO And a thankyou to anyone who has stuck with this until the end, no matter where you stand on the issue!

 

Well I guess WINDBAGS :smile: can chill a thread real fast! Sorry Chili - I learn something every day!

 

Ran48,I agree with what you said back a post or two.And I used to ski biathalon,ya know skiing and shooting targets.So I do know guns.
Less guns=more hand signals.Hurt feelings,but less mayham.I'm with ya on this one

 

Thanks Lot. Now if I could learn (like you) to say it in 3 sentences it will be cool! Actually I just needed to vent, nobody has to read it.

 

The streets are dry, the temps are dropping, I think I'll go for a drive and practice my handsignals.

 

Hey, Ran! I liked your long post...very thoughtful and full of insight. I, too, am very leery and totally uncomfortable at the thought of making it legal for everyone to have concealed weapons. There are SO many hotheads out there, that I would have been dead by now, I'm sure, from the "special hand gestures" I've received over my 35+ years of driving.

I worry about all the folks like you that maintain our street lighting and roads and highways. Too many Caltrans employees get nailed every year. I am always very careful when I see workers on the road near the traffic. I wouldn't want to lay my life on the line every day, the way they do!


Clover

 

Well I've been lucky, and haven't been hit by anyone yet! Knock on wood! It also helps to have good hearing and quick reflexes. One other thing, there are quite a few Mini's in this City and yet I can't recall ever having a Mini in line behind my truck, cursing me or otherwise! Apparently Mini Drivers are a whole better breed And thanks Clo, for reading the whole post. I appreciate it much, and now I'm getting windy again.