ROTD: being too nice while driving

[Backbeach Jake]

Pete G, i.ve noticed the afraid to pass trend myself . Especially if there is no one ahead of you for miles. They seem to want to be first but are afraid to lead and take responsibility as point man. Point man watches for Staties.

[Karl F]

I drive Highway at 75-85 depending on flow of traffic, truck just feels "right" at 80...I try to stay in center lane most of time. what really frosts my cookies is the guy who passes me, then pulls right in front of me... and dies down to 65.... OK.. left lane, go by, resume speed, return to center lane... here he comes again left lane, same chit, pulls in, cuts speed... WTF... is that his way of trying to slow me down?... Don't work, sorry... I play the game 2- 3 times, then it's left lane, Hi-Ho silver, away...blow the carbon out real good for a couple miles, than back to my usual pace. what really gets me, is dang if he don't show up again 40 miles down the road....
Staties.... last 6-7 days of the month, keep the eyes real wide, and the detectors on high... seems to be when they need to fill the quota, even though there "is no such thing"
Anybody sitting on my arse at 75-80 in the center lane... and the left, or right, lane is open and available... well, they get the Brake Test, Pronto.. not enuf to get them to hit me, just enuf to get their attention. I truly believe there is a special place in Hell for tailgaters.

[hank8001]

Originally Posted by Karl F

I play the game 2- 3 times, then it's left lane, Hi-Ho silver, away...blow the carbon out real good for a couple miles, than back to my usual pace.

I used to take this proactive approach to annoying drivers too, until I went though a speed trap while "blowing the carbon out". This happened on RT24 in Portsmouth/Tiverton, which has to be the most heavily patrolled stretch of highway in the United States. Now I just let it go....just too many out there to avoid them.

[Raven]

on my old ford van so at night driving across country i could flip a switch....complete the ground and make my brake lights go on without slowing down....this usually drives em crazy...

but to totally avoid road rage....i simply tune into classical music

the music that calms the savage beast within (for me)
hard rock and roll and i wanna crawl up their tailpipe..revenge mode
and then i think of the finer things in life and rise above
the whole....... getting bent out of shape experience.

[castn4bass]

I used to have a hose running to the back bumper on my 66 lesabre that would shoot windshield wiper fluid at anyone that tried to climb up my Arse!! Worked great!!

[Mike P]

For future reference, Karl and Krispy---when and if I finally make it up to Mass, I do handle DMV matters

In these parts 75-85 is an impossible dream between say 5 in the morning and 10 at night.

[Swimmer]

One more thing. What about the trucks. Any commercially registered vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 lbs or more is always supposed to be in the inside, slowpoke lane, unless passing. Never are they supposed to be in the passing lane, unless exiting the highway from a high speed lane exit ramp. And when they are done passing in the travel lane the trucks are supposed to get back in the inside lane. You know how you are in the middle or travel lane and thier a tractor towing a 53' trailer and he is just staying even with other traffic, the truck driver is supposed to be staying even with traffic in the inside lane. In Mass. this includes trucks like F 350's or silverado 3500 that might be commercially registered.

[Karl F]

Thanks Mike ... no tickets (so far) mainly cause I'm always getting passed (!)... 495, 24, 93 north of Boston, and certain parts of 3, if you are Not doing 75 in the middle lane, they will push you off the road, as long as it is not rush hour, in that case it's a parking lot... yeah, it might be over the "limit", but if you travel mass roads, you realize that, that, is merely a suggestion.
RI... 95, well, from what I have seen, they have more of a "prescence" there, and I travel accordingly... and the few times I travel 95 thru CT, the state of my birth , well, I think that is where aholes, learn how to drive, or what passes for it , and I just pray that I make it thru the potholes alive, to get to the traffic jam in NY.

[justplugit]

Depending on the traffic flow, the safest lanes to drive are either the passing lane or slow lane. Center lane is suicide, as when a truck or car drifts from either side, you have no where to go. I'll take my chances getting a speeding ticket in the passing lane any day rather than getting the crushing squeeze.