Around here the bad drivers are in Dodge Chargers and Dodge Challengers. Dodge hasn't redesigned these in 12 years and 15 years respectively so these high horsepower cars are now priced within reach of teens and early 20s people. Roomier than Camaros and Mustangs too so they can fit more dumbasses in there.

Frequently see young people racing and doing hooligan shit while cruising near where I live.

I have some tolerance for people driving fast on the highway but within the capabilities of their ability and the car. As long as they aren't driving recklessly, like weaving in and out, leaving room for error, etc.

What irks me are the people that drive dangerously in residential areas. Speeding, ignoring stop signs, fiddling w/ gadgets, driving offensively, etc. In residential areas, you have one job and only one job - drive safely through it. Bad behavior is not limited to Tesla's. More commonly are the the bad behaving SUVs. The irony: "I'm driving this huge SUV to protect my kids in case someone hits me" when the fact is probably that they are the ones who are doing the hitting.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
I have some tolerance for people driving fast on the highway but within the capabilities of their ability and the car. As long as they aren't driving recklessly, like weaving in and out, leaving room for error, etc.

What irks me are the people that drive dangerously in residential areas. Speeding, ignoring stop signs, fiddling w/ gadgets, driving offensively, etc. In residential areas, you have one job and only one job - drive safely through it. Bad behavior is not limited to Tesla's. More commonly are the the bad behaving SUVs. The irony: "I'm driving this huge SUV to protect my kids in case someone hits me" when the fact is probably that they are the ones who are doing the hitting.

Good post. Rings true around here.

There are a LOT of Teslas around here, and we have one. FWIW I would say the proportion of dummies is probably similar to other sporty brands, but the biggest problem is inattentive self-absorbed people IMO.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
I haven't noticed it in Tesla drivers.

Now, a twenty-something woman driving almost anything is another story. They'd rather be dipped in boiling oil than let you merge in front of them or yield in any way. My theory is that they think they have no power anywhere else, and they'll be damned if they are going to cede you anything on the road.

I think you have that 180° backwards. They’re used to having all the power, and don’t realize that the cooter doesn’t entitle them to extra ass kissing on the highway.

Come to Jackson. Dodges everywhere.

I see the occasional Tesla blowing by me in the carpool lane while I'm doing 70 in a 60 zone. Yet drivers of BMWs, Benzes and Audis are far more frequent culprits. Hell, these days I'm more apt to see some cretin in a BRZ, GTI or Corolla zip by at 20 or 30 over the limit than a Tesla.

But it's the tailgating Ford F-150s, Chevy Silverados and Dodge Rams (especially in lifted form) that irk me more than any hyper Plaid Elon fanboy.

I had to use I-4 yesterday, the segment between Orlando and Daytona. I had looked at this thread earlier, so I paid particular attention to the correlation of assholes and vehicle brands.

The conclusion: It's totally random. Equal opportunity assholes, regardless of vehicle brand. The worst offenders I saw, both of them driving at least 20 to 30 mph faster than other traffic was moving, making sudden lane changes, no lane change signal, inadequate clearance from other vehicles for the lane changes, tailgating really close. One of the two offenders was a HD motorcycle, rider with a helmet, shorts, T-shirt, no boots, no gloves.

The other was a small 2-seater sporty thing, convertible, not one of the usual brands, I did not recognize it. Orange, with black "racing stripe." Loud exhaust (the HD was extremely loud, as well).

Bottom line: asshole drivers pick all sorts of vehicles. Sort of like "the problem isn't the gun."

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
I have some tolerance for people driving fast on the highway but within the capabilities of their ability and the car. As long as they aren't driving recklessly, like weaving in and out, leaving room for error, etc.

What irks me are the people that drive dangerously in residential areas. Speeding, ignoring stop signs, fiddling w/ gadgets, driving offensively, etc. In residential areas, you have one job and only one job - drive safely through it. Bad behavior is not limited to Tesla's. More commonly are the the bad behaving SUVs. The irony: "I'm driving this huge SUV to protect my kids in case someone hits me" when the fact is probably that they are the ones who are doing the hitting.

Totally agree. I never see Teslas taking advantage of their crazy power. I think with so much automation people tend to use it and when someone else is essentially driving for you there is probably less and less of a desire to step in and change what is happening.

I have a buddy with a Tesla and he is about as far right as you can get. He has no preconceived notions that he is saving the planet but just loves the performance. He has had quite a collection of cars over the years.

He just got back from a trip with his family and took their SUV and he was shocked how unsafe it felt for him to be constantly adjusting lane position, speed and other aspects of driving that we have all become used to doing automatically.

He said that he has never had a car that has made all his previous cars seem so archaic. I kind of thought he was just over selling the Tesla but then I read an article that if you have a Tesla and another car in your family the other car has an 50% greater chance of getting in a wreck than the Tesla so I suppose there is something to it.

Ah.. I thought of this thread yesterday as I was getting on the highway. A white Tesla passed two other cars and myself, passed us on the right, mostly on the shoulder, on the highway on ramp. Then went from the on ramp, across three lanes of traffic to the far left lane. Then cut back right all the way to the right lane weaving through traffic. Driving both Fast and Furious.

To be fair to Tesla owners, it did have New Jersey license plates.

My thought is it's easy to paint with a broad brush re: bad driving and it gets used on pretty much every type of car and every kind of driver.

Tesla drivers around these parts are quite disappointing in how utterly boring they are on the road. No, they definitely aren't speeding--at least in the Bay Area.

Nope, the reigning kings of illegal driving are still the douchebags in Priuses.

Here it’s a trend over the last 20 years. Say circa 2002, the asshole majority on the roads, BMW. Then that turned into the G35. The Infinitis were like kerosene on the camp fire. Then the “status” deal shifted a bit and Audi became the narcissist vehicle of choice. Last 5 years, definitely the Teslas. The Model 3 owners think they just bought a space shuttle or something. Biggest asshat behavior I saw was this group of H1B Visa clowns at Costco. The guy was trying to park it in the space where you rack the carts. 4 of them were standing around watching the car try to park in there. They were all laughing. I stared in utter amazement. The car tapped one of the carts and I’m like what in the fuck are y’all doing for fuck sakes? Around here, not all mind you, but MANY Tesla owners drive them around like the biggest ass holes I have ever seen. The campfire has race gas poured on it now.

quote:

trying to park it in the space where you rack the carts

What an idiot! Everybody knows that space is reserved for motorcycles.

quote:

Originally posted by Kskelton:
Mustang drivers seem to be the worst imo. Never really noticed teslas going too fast, but I guess as long as your not an asshole I don’t really care how fast you’re going most of our freeways are 5-6 lanes so usually there’s plenty of lanes for shenanigans.

Around here the Challengers and Chargers are worst, but the Mustangs vie to hold their own.

Those Teslas can really sneak up on you. Kinda unnerving to be passed by one at significant speed, never having heard the approach.

For what it's worth the instant torque makes them fun to drive. I'm no super speeder but I'd lie if I didn't tell you that in a 55mph zone. I occasionally get to 55mph real fast if no one is in front of me.

^^ Model 3 Owner ^^^

Also the funk makes space for more guns on range trips.

quote:

Originally posted by nhracecraft:

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:
seems logical, plenty of Tesla Drivers traded in their BMW's

Prerequisite Driver Training...

What's the difference between a porcupine and a BMW driver?



With a porcupine, the prick is on the outside.

Found one at my son’s swim meet parked in the entryway to the pool. The paved parking lot was full. The unpaved overflow lot was full. I parked on the ditch along the road leading into the complex. If the Model S had been any closer, it would have been the in the pool. Really though, it was probably a volunteer with a bunch of coolers full of drinks for the kids or something. It did make me think of this thread though.

I haven't noticed any significant difference between Tesla drivers and any other drivers. In my area it is distracted drivers in a large SUV, phone in one hand, water bottle in the other. Turn signals? Nope. Self entitled? Yup.

The one aspect of a Tesla driver I have noticed may be limited to new Tesla owners. I was following a Tesla Plaid (over 1,000 HP) the driver wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary. However, when he lifted off the accelerator (rheostat?) regen kicked in and slowed the car without brake lights. I suspect the driver wasn't used to the braking effect of regen and the car slowed more abruptly than he anticipated. Not so much a problem but an observation.

One side note. Those distracted drivers? Almost always in a late model, high end SUV. Pretty much any high end SUV sold in the last 5 years has Bluetooth connectivity for phones. If one isn't smart enough to use the hands free capability, one shouldn't be allowed to operate a 3 ton SUV.

Funny. Around here, where a good proportion of the Tesla drivers are well-off, retired, white men, the much bigger complaint of mine is that they're not driving to their potential. I feel the same way about anyone who paid for anything badged M-series or AMG and then tools along the highway doing the speed limit (which is obstructing traffic in any lane around here), or even worse... can't get their ass off a light.

Nope... around here, it's the Altimas (I drove two and love them - excellent sleeper cars), Lexuses (Lexi?) of any kind, and whatever SUV is favored by Karen from year to year. Just stay away.

-Rob

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
I had to use I-4 yesterday, the segment between Orlando and Daytona. I had looked at this thread earlier, so I paid particular attention to the correlation of assholes and vehicle brands.

The conclusion: It's totally random. Equal opportunity assholes, regardless of vehicle brand. The worst offenders I saw, both of them driving at least 20 to 30 mph faster than other traffic was moving, making sudden lane changes, no lane change signal, inadequate clearance from other vehicles for the lane changes, tailgating really close. One of the two offenders was a HD motorcycle, rider with a helmet, shorts, T-shirt, no boots, no gloves.

The other was a small 2-seater sporty thing, convertible, not one of the usual brands, I did not recognize it. Orange, with black "racing stripe." Loud exhaust (the HD was extremely loud, as well).

Bottom line: asshole drivers pick all sorts of vehicles. Sort of like "the problem isn't the gun."

Yep, It's not just any brand, or sex, gender, hair color, and it's not just Eye Four, which is notably the worst of the worst in CFL. Even the toll roads like 417 are full of idiots, with all the transplants here the amount of morons driving on FL roads has increased significantly.