I think people do that out of anxiety. They cannot control the plane, may be a bit fearful about flying, and focusing on something else, like being first to get on the plane, may serve as a distraction that soothes their mefirstitude souls....

 

Ummm...No, it took twelve posts to get all the information. I gave my opinion concerning both scenarios. I ended up agreeing with KCMCS that it was right not to make way for people who dont signal.....You however have established that you are an inconciderate motorer who as I said concider a blinker a challenge to your dignity. So what I said, remains true...

If you ignore a blinker or worse yet take aggressive countermeasures to a blinker....Then YOU are the A-hole on the road....not the other guy

Maybe those of you in major metro area who know what sharing the road looks like can back me up or shoot me down on this....

 

Well, planeguy, as far as the big city metro area goes, there really are three types of drivers: curteous drivers who still drive fast and move with the flow (which I tend to be - although I do get pretty stressed driving around here at times), even faster drivers who have no problem tailgating everyone else no matter how dangerous and frightening for the other drivers this is, and very timid drivers that tend to stay the heck away from the rest of us by staying in the right lane.

I will admit, that when the highly aggressive drivers target me (even before I owned a MINI), it was pretty scary, because sometimes they come up very fast, and often won't use a blinker, weaving in and out of traffic...It really makes me angry, but I'll still move out of their way because I don't want to get hurt. But, if we find ourselves in bumper to bumper traffic, I probably would let the aggressive driver get in front of me, just to get him away from me as soon as possible.

I agree with the post that calls it a "Mefirsttitude". This is not to say that I'm always an angel on the road, and mostly I'm intolerant of people who are rude to other drivers and especially of those who are not paying attention while driving, like the guy that almost hit me yesterday. I don't know if he just didn't see me, but from what I could tell, the guy in front of him wasn't going fast enough, so he just decided to move into my lane without signaling, or without looking, for that matter, and nearly hit me. I have no patience at all for this, but nonetheless, I didn't flip him off either, because the whole road rage thing is not uncommon here.

Its all a shame, because even though I love motoring in the MINI, I really would prefer not to drive around here altogether.

 

Why am I the ******* for not letting someone in who is trying to FORCE his way into a lane? I had assumed that this was the situation that KCMCS was referring to as I see it everyday around here in NJ/NY.
If you come screaming up another lane when traffic is stopped at a light or queued because of traffic and then indicate that you want to join my lane why am I letting you in? All that person is doing is cutting the queue, putting your indicator on doesn't excuse your behaviour. I'm sorry but I was taught that queue jumping is rude and discourteous and as such I have every right to deny you that behaviour.

Like I said 99% of the time when I'm driving the NJ Turnpike, I95, the cross Bronx, the bridges and tunnels, the cross Island and the Long Island Expressway, plus the surface streets in NJ and NY I'm the guy that's cruising along, letting people in, slowing down to make a spot for someone, getting into the correct lanes early and generally driving the way that my dad taught me back in New Zealand but for those 1% of *******s who want to to jump queues, etc, etc yes I'm going to keep that person out. They generally know what they are doing is wrong but they do it anyway. If I've had to wait then I don't see why I should give that person a pass.

 

Generally, if someone signals to get in front, I let them in. If I see them horning their way in and out of traffic, I tend to stand my ground. In other words, ask nicely (signal) and I'll be more than happy to let you in. Be a **** about it and you'll get nothing.

By that same token, if I signal my intent to change lanes and someone actively moves to block me, I will tend to shoot in front of them followed by a stab of the brakes as a gentle reminder to not be such a butthead. In rare cases, this caused an escalation where said butthead tries every possible maneuver to regain his precious position in traffic. As a master of creative vehicle positioning, I generally shut down such attempts early one. The most satisfying was when someone was trying to use a rain-soaked shoulder to pass and instantly got chassis-deep in muck.

I dont care who you are. Nothing excuses such rude behavior. I dont care if you are the CEO of Megabillions Amalgamated or rushing to save your children from being passed around as hors d'oeuvres at the Neverland Ranch.

 

I must say that I feel fortunate that, for the most part, I am able to avoid all the Interstate loonies :impatient . How you ask? I am lucky that I live in a somewhat rural area so it is easy to avoid the interstate & take back roads. Going the back way only adds about 5 minutes to my driving time & it's much more stress-free, scenic, & fun to drive in the Mini

 

Driving is an orchestrated event. You have some great players, some OK players and those that need improvement. Without a concerted effort by all, we have a problem and its not bad music, its much worse then that. The best medicine while driving is a chill pill. Lifes to short to die mad.

 

... yeah, the chill pill, that's the ticket ...

But seriously, to the few people who feel they must stand up to rude drivers, in most big cities where we all live and work, a lot of people are driving around with more pent up stress than they can handle, they're like time bombs ready to go off any moment. I'd avoid any confrontation on the road at all cost, even if I have to "yield" to a rude driver. And it is actualy easier to be courteous to all drivers rather than to only those we deem worthy.

 

I wanna drive near you.

 

All these people talk of "winning" and I fear they don't realize how hopeless it really is. At my last check the current winner was a Daihatsu truck on a shipyard in Sydney that had just passed the previous winner, a Ford Falcon XR6 (it was parked). So unless you're trying to get ahead of them on the boat to Australia you won't get to the front for awhile.

On a more serious note, I learned when riding motorcycles that I need to always know where eveyone is, and have a really good idea of where they're going since they never see you. This has spread to my regular car driving and I feel as if I'm safer for it. Sometimes I avoid being cut off, and sometimes I end up doing something that may be interpreted as cutting off (but I always look, make eye contact if possible, and signal). Am I perfect? No. Do I strive to always drive better than those around me? Yes.

 

They let XR6's out of New Zealand and Australia??

 

I remember reading about a year ago a survey that Triple A did. I read it in newspaper that over 70 percent of the people said that they were in a "race" when driving.

In other words, always trying to be first, getting ahead, etc.

Explains why NASCAR is a growing sport. <grin>

 

Explains why NASCAR sucks! god I hate Nascar, they took up the WRCs spot on SPEEDTV

 

So that is what happened, damn

 

SpeedTV is just a channel for commercials for Autoparts. Most of those fix it shows are to sell the products. They just need to rename that channel to the Nascar channel.

This is way off topic.

 

Well I'm never racing the other motorists, just the clock. When you see your girlfriend once a week, on the weekends only and it's an 85 mile trip you are trying to save every second, without speeding or cutting anyone off of course...unless they drive an SUV or really deserve it

The growth of NASCAR probably explains more than that, considering the sport is more bumper cars than motor racing.

 

Considering NASCAR sucks! Ok Im done

 

Yeah but its still good for F1 and MotoGP - just mad that the WRC is gone.

Oh, and to get on topic.. although I did encounter as many numbskull drivers before the Mini I do think there is a tad bit more bullying going on with the Mini at times. The same lame brained people don't signal, veer or understand safe right of way and all, but sometimes when there is a ton of room behind me and they still try to get in front of me I have a feeling it might be a size thing, they just don't want to get behind the little car.

 

I wonder if the saying is true "the reason people drive the way they do is because they are aware that they are driving a safer car than 20-30 years ago".

With all the technology in safety these days, do you think that's true?

I don't have that in mind when I drive. I think if I crash it's going to hurt no matter how many air bags we have in cars. Maybe not dead, but it sure is going to hurt specially after see'ing the crash test dummies.

I think we would need "nascar" safety even at 60 miles an hour not to hurt.

Ooops.. sorry to bring up nascar again.

 

Good point. I think people are just too much in a hurry. And with there being more and more drivers everyday, It seems that the worst is yet to come. oh yeah and NASCAR sucks

 

Yeah but its still good for F1 and MotoGP - just mad that the WRC is gone.

Oh, and to get on topic.. although I did encounter as many numbskull drivers before the Mini I do think there is a tad bit more bullying going on with the Mini at times. The same lame brained people don't signal, veer or understand safe right of way and all, but sometimes when there is a ton of room behind me and they still try to get in front of me I have a feeling it might be a size thing, they just don't want to get behind the little car.

Between the distracted drivers, the bad and/or ignorant drivers, and the dominating bullies (this includes public transport; the bus drivers in this town break every law and will kill you if you don't watch them) it can be very :impatient Sadly I rarely get the Mini to Mini to help make up for the rest

 

Yes, there are more people cutting me off but then I don't tailgate so obviously there is plenty of room to move in front of me ... whether there is or not.

But, I usually follow the 'zip around' technique later. Tonight, I got behind a bicyclist at a light and the creep behind me passed me despite my signal that I was moving into the left lane to pass the cycle.

I showed him some sign language which he returned from his open junky Honda roof. Three blocks later the right lane was clear and I zipped all the way downtown around the left lane line of lame tailgaters!

Zipping and motoring are hot!

 

It's one of several reasons why people drive so poorly. They don't drive with the responsibility that accompanies piloting a 3,000-pound mass of steel and plastic because modern cars are so accessible and easy to drive. Everyone takes driving for granted, and with the aid of loose driver's licensing requirements, everyone thinks they have the right to drive.

Safer cars allow more stupid drivers to survive the crashes they cause; they can just step out of the wreckage, dust themselves off, and go find another car to blunder around in.

 

In Boston, there's so much cutting off, running reds and general rude and oblivious driving behavior that it's gotten to the point where I try not to get mad at it but at it instead. You have to be a defensive driver here and I give other drivers silent points on a scale of 1 through 10 for the most gutsy/idiotic moves. Suppose I see somebody taking an illegal left turn through a red light from the far-most right lane of traffic. That's a solid 8 points right there! They can get bonus points if they're on a cell phone, or have ludicrous bumper stickers (Bush/Cheney 2004 bumper stickers on a car pulling a highly assanine move will definitely score extra idiot points on my scale). I have my own silent air-toast to their idiocy or guts, whichever it may be. And that way I keep my and in check.

I used to charge up the 7+ story escalator at my subway stop in a daily ritual to see if I could be the first one off the train and to the surface. I doubt anybody else realized a small personal race was going on, but at least I got some exercise doing it . For the extra challenge, sometimes I'd take the stairs but that often ended up with me crossing the finish with the peloton.

But there are two reasons why I want to get on the plane sooner (not immediately...just as soon as reasonably possible). 1) The limited carry on space. I prefer being able to stow my bags overhead and, preferably, over MY head. 2) I always book window seats. I want to be in my seat when the aisle person comes along. I'd rather not have to climb over them to get to my seat, or force them to get up for me, etc. Thus, I try to time my approach to the gate when they're calling the groups in such a way that I get to the front of my section when it's called.

 

I absolutely agree with motor on. I've been behind the wheel so long and driven so many miles that I can read traffic and individual drivers pretty well. It's little cues and the way they move their cars that gives them away. Sometimes I can see that the idiots are going to do what they do before they know they're going to do it.

The worst are the HUAs. This is anyone who has his Head Up his A_ _. Might be a cell phone user, an old person with altzheimer's or tunnel vision, or someone who is just sleepy or stupid or distracted. Nothing you can do because they are pretty much oblivious until they have run their front bumper into a solid object, forcing them to bring their attention back to the road too late. I just try to be alert and stay out of their way.

The next most dangerous are the tailgaters. They think they're superhuman, and that they are at Talladega or Monza or LeMans or something; but they aren't supermen, or even good drivers--they are just fools. I am always tempted to give them a brake check , but that's like throwing gas on a fire; so I usually just continue to drive like always and they eventually go around. They can't complain because I'm usually 10-20mph over the limit. If they are REALLY aggressive, I might move over, but not often.

The next worst are the crazies who are usually the ones doing the cutting off of others. I rarely get "cut off" because I see the jerks about to make their move and just give him/her room. Half the time the doofus gets himself hemmed in by being so outrageously aggressive, and I wind up passing her down the road a few miles.

I drive very alertly and defensively on my commute. When traffic loosens up, I get more aggressive, but I always give other drivers a wide berth. Too many bad drivers to depend on them doing the "smart" thing or the "right" thing. So don't give them the chance. Stay in front when you can and keep your distance when you can't.