Will they ever learn ?

[lizzyhermit]

just whining from my long weekend sojourn up north with the TT. When will highway drivers ever learn that just cause you're driving at 65 mph dragging a big box on wheels, doesn't mean they have to speed up to close the gap when we need to change lanes?



they just tick me off, but know what? experience is a great teacher when the dodge driver sees 'em coming and speeds up and changes lanes anyway.

 

[Fireman]

lizzy,



It doesn't amaze me, most people are clueless about their driving. Here are a few more that make my blood boil The guy that pulls up about even with your rear wheels then slows down and rides in that spot so you can't pull over. Or, another of my favorites. The guy that passes you, pulls over in front of you, then slows down. I had a guy in a Mercedes do that to me, every time he slowed I would pass him and he would pass me back and in a few minutes he would slow down again. That went on about 150 miles. He wasn't doing it on purpose, he just couldn't drive. It was a Mercades for crying out loud, I'm sure it had a cruse control! My wife says I need a curse control :-laf



Some people !?!?



Fireman

 

[TRLRTRSH]

Car Drivers

lizzy: So far being retired only 3 1/2 years Oo. The wife and I have pulled the fiver over the western states, Texas, Oklahoma and west. North to Montana and states between. IMHO the absolute, head up their ash, Gosh darned WORST drivers come from Washington and Oregon. I have lived in Washington for 30+ years and still can't figure them out

 

[RMcCulloch]

just whining from my long weekend sojourn up north with the TT. When will highway drivers ever learn that just cause you're driving at 65 mph dragging a big box on wheels, doesn't mean they have to speed up to close the gap when we need to change lanes?

The problem is that you turned on your turn signals: they'll only do that to tell other people which side to pass them on.



I've had good luck dealing with those types by being in the slow lane and turning on my right blinker just as I come to a bridge abutment. Talk about swerving!!

 

[klenger]

Yep, the key is to not put on your turn signals until you are already changing lanes. Most drivers don't want to be behind an RV for any reason.

 

[lizzyhermit]

... ... . but if I start acting like them one of you will whine about me ! I met a closet "member" also this weekend. Chap from Wa. who's not a member but an avid reader for years... as he stated about his 2nd gen truck, "it ain't quite stock". gauges, exhaust, and a chip... ...

 

[JThiessen]

"IMHO the absolute, head up their ash, Gosh darned WORST drivers come from Washington and Oregon. I have lived in Washington for 30+ years and still can't figure them out... ... ... . "



I couldnt agree with you more. Even when I go back home to Montana for vacation, its those same 2 "plates" that identify which drivers are going to do somethin' stupid... .

 

[NVR FNSH]

I just continue to change lanes and let the moron decide what he/she's gonna do - slow down, get squashed by ~21K lbs or go for the shoulder... ...



Brian

 

[BV]

"IMHO the absolute, head up their ash, Gosh darned WORST drivers come from Washington and Oregon. I have lived in Washington for 30+ years and still can't figure them out... ... ... . "



I couldnt agree with you more. Even when I go back home to Montana for vacation, its those same 2 "plates" that identify which drivers are going to do somethin' stupid... .

Maybe it's because most came from the South and are not native to the Northwest. I love the panic when it rains or better yet, when it snows or ices up.



Is it possible that most folks think of an RV as a slow moving box that blocks their view and therefore most be passed.

 

[QRTRHRS]

Welcome to the world truckers face everyday.

You ought to try pulling doubles especially when the truck is governed at 65mph. It's great when they do it on a three lane road rather than jump into that outside lane. Obviously, they don't want to be behind you for fear of you slowing them down or they can't see or whatever. I think they may also fear jumping around you to find a bear hiding in the bushes, whatever.



What I do is try to judge the vehicle speed I am closing on and the vehicle coming behind me. If it's a four wheeler and not another truck, I pull out before I normally would. If I hold them up, yeah well. If you are in an area with a high idiot factor, you need to be more vigilant about this.

 

[DGFoster]

Or when you are on a 2 lane road and you are following someone in a 55 MPH zone and he or she is doing 50 and traffic is backed up 5 miles behind and then when a passing lane comes up the A$$ decides to speed up,happens everytime.

 

[GFritsch]

Or when you are on a 2 lane road and you are following someone in a 55 MPH zone and he or she is doing 50 and traffic is backed up 5 miles behind and then when a passing lane comes up the A$$ decides to speed up,happens everytime.

This is the one that really gets me. It's like these people just can't be happy unless they know that they are holding everyone else up. Looking forward to getting those train horns... .....

 

[JohnE]

lizzy: So far being retired only 3 1/2 years Oo. The wife and I have pulled the fiver over the western states, Texas, Oklahoma and west. North to Montana and states between. IMHO the absolute, head up their ash, Gosh darned WORST drivers come from Washington and Oregon. I have lived in Washington for 30+ years and still can't figure them out

I'll second the Washington driver nomination, especially in Puget Sound. I've never seen people drive with such road rage or road warrier mentality and yet consider it defensive driving.

 

[John - K5AWO]

I would put the stupid Phoenix area drivers in the worst I've seen category... I learned many years ago to wait until I am 50% into the lane I am changing too before "blinking" I got you at them.



Just 'bout everywhere I have driven in the last 45 years a turn signal means "cut the ******* off" before he can move over. Used to drive for a living, I still enjoy being behind the wheel... . and since I got the Cummins, I really enjoy it.



My company van now is a Ford E-150 with a 2. 7 axle... talk about no passing power. It won't move unless you floor board it, and then the computer won't deliver any power until the truck gets up over 35 mph. 0-35? fer git about it!



Makes me want to drive my CTD all day instead of the company turds...

 

[JL penner]

I was taught at a young age when you are stuck in traffic never use turn signals. It gives those around you a chance to block you from changing lanes. If no one will let you over then starts swerving side to side. I have survived Southern California traffic for 10 years pulling horse trailers. Never had an accident, and have always had plenty of room to change lanes! :-laf

 

[Hemiless]

The one that gets me.

The one that gets me is when there is a three-lane road and one lane is used as a passing lane and some moron is driving along in the passing lane like it's no big deal. Not to mention there are signs every 100 yards or so stating keep right except to pass. So now you have to pass this moron on the right and on coming traffic cannot use the lane to pass either because of this same moron.



I almost saw a head on couple summers ago because of a moron driving in the passing lane. We were coming down a steep mountain and this moron was driving in the downhill passing lane and he had no reason to be there as there was no one on his right for a couple hundred yards. And a car coming up the hill was passing a truck using the passing lane like its suppose to be used for and this moron wouldn't move he just kept honking his horn at the oncoming car. I'm hitting the brakes because I know there is going to be cars everywhere in a matter of seconds. The truck pulls off the road and on to the shoulder so that the other car could get over and the moron held his ground in the passing lane the rest of the way down the mountain. #@$%!

 

[ndurbin]

I wasn't towing at the time this happened. But I was coming up behind a semi and a truck on a 2 lane road and I knew about 5 miles down there was a passing lane so it was no big deal. So we get to the passing lane doin about 70, at that time the jerk in the semi moves over and speeds up to about 75. Well I figure ok, 75 was what I want to cruise at anyway. We get to the end of the passing lane and back to 2 lanes and the jerk slows back down to 70. Mean while the guy in the pickup is riding the semi's @$$. I follow them for awhile hoping the pick up would pass but he never did. I finally hit a stretch open enough to pass them both so I hammer down and fly around them. After I get around infront I get out about 200-300 yards and slow down to 65. Bout this time the jerk in the semi starts blabberin on his CB how he's going to call the cops and all this other stuff. I messed with him for about 10 miles before I decided to go on my way.



That probably wasnt the smartest thing for me to do but the jerk really ticked me off.



And when towing I usually dont use turn signals changing lanes b/c they always jump out too. I also jump out well behind the vehicle I am passing on a 4 lane if I see a car coming up on us.



Nathan

 

[John - K5AWO]

Hi Nathan,



I once was caught by two jerks driving 18 wheelers on I-40 east of Clines Corners westbound. They were driving side-by-side stopping traffic flow and this during a rain storm.



One of them was heavier than the other and would loose a few feet of headway on the up grades. After about 15 miles of this I managed to get in front of one of them and went on my way. On the downgrades they would run up to maybe 85 or 90 trying to coast over the next grade, but would always pull down to 45 or 50 before topping out.



After several times of them either riding my bumper or passing again and then pulling in front of me, I got tired of the whole mess. Managed to get back in front and slowed down in front of the guy in the left lane. I let the back log of traffic get in front of us and go on. Then the guy tries to go around me in the right lane. The traffic behind me gets over in the left lane with me and is stacked up until there's no tomorrow.



I floor board my Suburban w/454 4bbl and try to get up past the first guy. He tries to run me off the road into the median. But I manage to get around. As soon as the traffic behind is stacked up to the left side of those jerks, I pull over in front of them and them start riding the brakes, timing all this to get them at the bottom of that big grade a couple miles east of Clines Corners. It's a baddy, hard going for a big load. I finally slowed those guys down to a dead stop at the bottom.



I could hear them bellering on their CB's but I never let'em know I can hear. I just took off and followed the rest of the traffic. Got several thumbs up from some other PO'ed drivers when I caught up with the other cars and pickups.

 

[catoiler]

Don't for get the 3 sec rule;3 sec with the turn signal on and move over!These idiots are the reason I quit driving trucks after 20yrs. Fraid I was gonna go postal on some idiot one day!!



Oh ya almost forgot seams the smaller the car the stupider they are!

 

[rblomquist]

Being military for 16+ years now I've literally lived from one end of the U. S. to the other as well as lived in Europe for 3 years. I break it down in 2 parts:



Localized Area (city, county, state etc) - Worst bad habit(s) area



To me the worst "localized-area" drivers are in the metro D. C. area. Never seen anything like it, reading newspapers, putting on makeup, phone calls, TVs etc.





Per capita - Most bad habits per driver



The absolute worst drivers per-capita that I've ever seen are in Vegas. The reason is simply that when you "import" 5,000 people a month for 10 years from all over the country (and world) it makes you get a sampling of every bad driving habit that exists.



At least with the localized morons you can work around whatever bad specific-to-the-area traits they have. When you have a million+ folks in a small valley with every bad driving habit known to man it makes it kinda tough