Official Road Rage Thread

[Mazderati]

The left lane is the passing lane. Doesn't matter if you're driving 55 or 85 or 100. If you're not passing someone, get the fuck over.

[Meconium]

I did a more aggressive downshift to a guy once who was riding my ass. Timed it when he was raising a hot cup of joe to his lips. (Surface street on the commute)

Not road rage related but when you drive the same thing every day, you start to know it better then your wife. It’s fun to drive it as effectively possible. Timed lane changes and typically the speed limit when the lights are timed correctly. Slightly slower or faster between certain lights. Provides entertainment watching the hot heads gun it to the next red light and jump on the brakes, weaving in and out of traffic saving no time. The best is when you trap them behind an old lady in an advanced maneuver without it looking obvious, they have no clue.

[BmillsSkier]

The left lane is the passing lane. Doesn't matter if you're driving 55 or 85 or 100. If you're not passing someone, get the fuck over.

Notwithstanding the well thought out scenarios and reasoning, set forth above, this is the full and sole intent of the law.

If there is nobody in the right lane, and or you aren’t passing anybody that is in the right lane, then you need to get out of the left lane

If you need to get in the left lane to avoid merging traffic from an on ramp, good, you are passing that merging traffic, and can move back right as soon as it is safe to do so. On the other hand, if you are going as fast as you are comfortable in the left lane Which also happens to be the same speed or close enough to of the guy in the right lane next to you then you are in fact impeding traffic, regardless if you are exceeding the speed limit. The same goes if you are driving along in the left lane, regardless of speed, and don’t want to move over to the right lane simply because you don’t want to actively drive, then you are again impeding traffic.

[rideit]

As mentioned, it’s funny that they don’t have the theoretical problems outlined here on the Autobahn, if someone is behind you in the left lane, they flash, and you get THE FUCK OUT OF THE WAY. No feelings hurt, just efficiency.
And this has worked for 50 years or so. (But I don’t think there are any trucks or buses?)

[riser4]

^what are you, some kind of communist?

You rang sir?

[BmillsSkier]

As mentioned, it’s funny that they don’t have the theoretical problems outlined here on the Autobahn, if someone is behind you in the left lane, they flash, and you get THE FUCK OUT OF THE WAY. No feelings hurt, just efficiency.
And this has worked for 50 years or so.

I used to use the flash if the person camping in the left lane was running a moving roadblock with the car next to it or if they were flat out just not paying attention to the line of cars behind them.

As previously mentioned though, crazy people, guns, etc. have curtailed that behavior. Now its wait till they see the line of cars behind them and wake up or reluctantly go around on the right (the blind side in the US) and as mentioned, unsafe, disparate traffic, and then shoot them the look of disapproval as I pass.

[tellybele]

Rode on an ambulance multiple weekends in SF and Stockton to get my EMT. Volunteered 2 years on a rural fire department. I absolutely don't fuk around on roads...speeding, braking etc. Saw enough human trauma to understand the dynamics of the roadway when shit hits the fan.
Be nice, think first and drive under control so you can get to your fun. Too many people don't have much to live for these days except fukkin with their fellow human beings.

[gravitylover]

The left lane is the passing lane. Doesn't matter if you're driving 55 or 85 or 100. If you're not passing someone, get the fuck over.

That's pretty much what I said, the ragers are the ones that don't get it.

I did a more aggressive downshift to a guy once who was riding my ass. Timed it when he was raising a hot cup of joe to his lips. (Surface street on the commute)

Not road rage related but when you drive the same thing every day, you start to know it better then your wife. It’s fun to drive it as effectively possible. Timed lane changes and typically the speed limit when the lights are timed correctly. Slightly slower or faster between certain lights. Provides entertainment watching the hot heads gun it to the next red light and jump on the brakes, weaving in and out of traffic saving no time. The best is when you trap them behind an old lady in an advanced maneuver without it looking obvious, they have no clue.

I bet you pissed that guy off I love those subtle, nearly undetectable moves that stuff someone into a corner or keep them in a turn only lane.

[Danno]

The left lane is the passing lane. Doesn't matter if you're driving 55 or 85 or 100. If you're not passing someone, get the fuck over.

Generally agree, of course. But you left out something that was in bmills post that is critical: "if you are going as fast as you are comfortable in the left lane". If you are in the left lane, not able to go the speed you want but also not passing (probably because you aren't going the speed you want), you don't need to get the fuck over. Because that would serve nothing.

Everyone in Colorado (at least everyone in the I-70 thread) likes to make fun of how they pass on the right on I-70, as if nobody here has a clue how to drive, but the reality is a lot more complex. Because while there might be a gap that allows you to pass on the right while everyone is "camped" in the left lane, the reality is a) you will surely be moving to the left lane very soon (ie the right lane is not truly the faster lane, it just sometimes opens up and allows you to pass), and b) most/all of the "campers" want to go faster than the current speed of the left lane, which is why they are not moving over to the right. The volume is high, and the vagaries of traffic sometime mean the right lane is open while the left is not, but that is not clearly attributable to "slow people camped in the left lane".

[Gcooker]

The fact that you guys are worried about getting shot for honking your horn really doesn't say much for the Land of the Free.... Not saying we're much better up here, if you honk when someone is doing something stupid you're likely to get flipped off... but not shot FFS.

[Danno]

The fact that you guys are worried about getting shot for honking your horn really doesn't say much for the Land of the Free.... Not saying we're much better up here, if you honk when someone is doing something stupid you're likely to get flipped off... but not shot FFS.

we're free to own as many guns as we goddam well please, you pinko commie bastard.

[Gcooker]

we're free to own as many guns as we goddam well please, you pinko commie bastard.

Exactly

[Boissal]

Not road rage related but when you drive the same thing every day, you start to know it better then your wife. It’s fun to drive it as effectively possible. Timed lane changes and typically the speed limit when the lights are timed correctly. Slightly slower or faster between certain lights. Provides entertainment watching the hot heads gun it to the next red light and jump on the brakes, weaving in and out of traffic saving no time. The best is when you trap them behind an old lady in an advanced maneuver without it looking obvious, they have no clue.

I do that a lot. Short commute (15ish minutes), no interstate, perfect for optimization. I also LOVE fucking with aggro douchetards and there are plenty of old ladies driving around SLC to provide hilarious traps for them. Yesterday I was next to a dude who would leave some rubber on the pavement every time a light turned green. He'd get himself to 60mph in no time but would never make the next light and would end up right next to me again. Played that game at 4 major intersections, gave him a look each time, he was growing visibly more annoyed as we went along. I was sad when I had to turn off the main road...

[riser4]

I do that a lot. Short commute (15ish minutes), no interstate, perfect for optimization. I also LOVE fucking with aggro douchetards and there are plenty of old ladies driving around SLC to provide hilarious traps for them. Yesterday I was next to a dude who would leave some rubber on the pavement every time a light turned green. He'd get himself to 60mph in no time but would never make the next light and would end up right next to me again. Played that game at 4 major intersections, gave him a look each time, he was growing visibly more annoyed as we went along. I was sad when I had to turn off the main road...

You flirt, you.

[evdog]

Respectfully, I don't think you've fully thought through what he is saying.

Right lane is, say, 65mph (the exact speed limit). Full of cars. Left lane is cruising at 80mph (this hypothetical will never happen!). Also fairly full of cars. He is driving in the left lane, happy to be doing 80, and passing cars in the right lane regularly. There are cars behind him, maybe also happy to be going 80, but maybe some want to go 85. Should he jam his car into an opening on the right, braking hard while doing so, to let the guy behind maybe go past (let's assume he does), and then swerve back into the left lane and accelerate greatly when there is a slight opening? Causing people in the left lane to brake while he gets back up to 80?

His point, as I understood it, is that is not serving any greater good, it is unrealistic and would actually be making the road less safe, not more, and would not even meet its stated goal of "keeping traffic moving expeditiously".

Left lane/right lane notions on the roads I travel -- generally 2 lanes -- only work well if there is no more than a certain number of cars. Beyond that number, you end up with people complaining that everyone is driving slower than they desire, but if you put all of the cars on an empty road, 95% of them would be driving faster, ie almost everyone has the same desire to drive faster. It's the volume of cars that dictates slower travel, not "left lane campers", even though everyone complains about the left lane campers being responsible.

It doesn't seem to work well except in very light traffic, and even then it only seems to take a few assholes on the road to fuck it up for everyone.

I-5 in the central valley between LA and SF is a good example. 2 lanes each way with regular big rig traffic in the right lane going 65-70, maybe 1/2 mile or so apart. Most cars stick to the left lane where you are passing semis every couple mins. Left lane would flow just fine at 75 if everyone just stayed cool and cruised leaving decent space between cars. But.... guy in a hurry has to pull into the right lane between semis and try to pass cars in the left before merging back when he catches up to the next semi. People never leave enough room between cars so even if they let him in the whole line still slows down a little, and if he has to force his way in it slows the line down even more. Both of which just encourage more people pass in the right lane. Now you have both lanes trying to merge into one behind every semi and everyone slows down as a result. It turns into zipper merge hell every couple mins and everyone is pissed off. I've seen more road rage come out of situations like this than anywhere else.

[Brownski]

NY sort of has that with our Parkways that are passenger vehicles only, no commercial vehicles, no trailers of any sort and nothing over 5 tons allowed without a special permit

Yeah, and it works great… every time

[riser4]

That's up there with the trucks that ignore the signs and then get stuck in Smugglers Notch on VT 108.

[Brownski]

That's up there with the trucks that ignore the signs and then get stuck in Smugglers Notch on VT 108.

And those are from my camera roll, just cases that I drove past myself on the Hutch. It happens ALL the time.

[Ted Striker]

The fact that you guys are worried about getting shot for honking your horn really doesn't say much for the Land of the Free.... Not saying we're much better up here, if you honk when someone is doing something stupid you're likely to get flipped off... but not shot FFS.

[BmillsSkier]

Deep cut, that.


Those sardine can pics are unreal. Like, how many amphetamines do you have to be on to miss the many, many height clearance signs?

[JayPowHound]

Yeah, I guess my perceptions are from driving recently to St George, where there is light traffic, and posted speed limits of 80 or even more.
Back east? That's a crap shoot.

The left lane is the passing lane. Doesn't matter if you're driving 55 or 85 or 100. If you're not passing someone, get the fuck over.

You guys complaining about the left lane being for passing only must not have any real traffic.. or maybe I've just been in Boston/Metro too long.

Here all the lanes are usually full. Faster drivers (myself included) use the left because the others are moving too slow. Ducking in and out of slower traffic so someone can pass me in the left just doesn't make sense if I'm already going 5-15mph faster than the lane to my right and we are all passing people.

[rideit]

Yes, I indeed alluded to that!

[JayPowHound]

Exactly. If anyone wants a passing only lane around here we are going to need a lot more lanes!

[BmillsSkier]

Yeah, said the same for here (where its anywhere from 4-10 lanes on each side of the freeways in town; no through semi-traffic permitted either). The law here tends to get more enforced the farther away you are from the city, but I have seen people get pulled over for blocking traffic by going too slow in the left lane with a line of cars behind it in the city.

[Mazderati]

I've driven Boston traffic a lot. It has volume but nothing on the chaos of I85 from CLT to ATL.