About 6:15 this morning I was driving on US1 and changed lanes. No car was close. Then a pickup truck comes charging up (way faster than the speed limit) rides my tail and then turns on their bright lights. I’m speeding (going 62 in a 55 zone) and you charge my tail. Really??? You must be doing like 75 in a 55 zone.

Hint probably not a smart move- you’re in a marked construction truck with an easy to remember number (1001) on the tailgate. Easy to google the phone number for the company and a short discussion with a very nice and very concerned district manager who was not pleased to hear that you decided to turn on your bright lights. You’ll be hearing from your boss – who’s pulling your GPS data to see if this is an isolated problem or if you have a problem with speed limits.

My comments to the district manager – if this is an isolated occurrence the guy was probably having a bad day. If it’s part of a pattern you might want to get ahead of the situation before this speed demon causes an accident.

EDIT -
More info provided below but I left a detail out of the original post. I was NOT driving in the left most lane.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: SR,

Riding bumpers is no bueno and flicking on the high beams on top of that is rude. But I have to ask: where you on the number one lane? And if you were on the number one lane and nobody else was around, how come you didn’t see this guy coming up barreling behind you?

If i’m on the first lane and traveling faster than the speed limit, i’m more vigilant. And if I see a car barreling behind me, I move to the slower lane because it’s safer than making the other car go around me. If there are no cars ahead of you slowing or impeding you, why take up the first lane?

quote:

Originally posted by Rey HRH:
Riding bumpers is no bueno and flicking on the high beams on top of that is rude. But I have to ask: where you on the number one lane? And if you were on the number one lane and nobody else was around, how come you didn’t see this guy coming up barreling behind you?

If i’m on the first lane and traveling faster than the speed limit, i’m more vigilant. And if I see a car barreling behind me, I move to the slower lane because it’s safer than making the other car go around me. If there are no cars ahead of you slowing or impeding you, why take up the first lane?

More details...

There are 4 lanes where I was at. The right most is a long entry ramp lane. The next to the right had a school bus (which travel at a max 45 mph per state law). There are two more lanes to the left. I entered the highway and was behind the school bus for just a bit and then moved left.

When I changed lanes the closest car in that lane was a VERY small dot in my mirror. He either moved from the left most lane into my lane or was going >75 to close the difference as quickly as he did.

After turning on his brights (and leaving them on) he moved to the far left lane. (He had to wait for a white sedan to pass me before he could get into that lane.)

There were cars in the right lane so I couldn't get out of his way (even if I wanted to). Note - I was passing the cars in the right lane.

If he wanted to go like the wind, he should have been in the far left lane (not the lane I was using).

Also, in about a mile he got in the right most lane to exit onto I-40.

He was just being an absolute jerk.....

My guess - his employer will review the GPS logs and find out this is a recurring problem.

I stay out of the left lane for the most part. This alleviates this problem, although there are people who will do it any lane.

But in heavy urban traffic, ALL the lanes are full or nearly full, so I view that as a separate case. The left lane isn't so much a passing lane in those situations.

I think we can all agree that people who come from behind at far higher than the speed limits and get too close are not good people.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
I stay out of the left lane for the most part. This alleviates this problem, although there are people who will do it any lane.

As noted in my second posting - I was not in the left most lane. (Just updated the original posting for clarification)

Also,traffic is pretty light in the Raleigh area at 6:15. It was pretty light this morning.

If he was mad at anyone it should have been the person in the left most lane - not me.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
I think we can all agree that people who come from behind at far higher than the speed limits and get too close are not good people.

+1

This venting has been therapeutic!!!!!

Wonder why the guy didn't just move left and pass. What a dumbass.

Despite the photo I posted, if there was an empty lane to the left of you the guy behind you was indeed a douche.

quote:

Originally posted by a1abdj:
Despite the photo I posted, if there was an empty lane to the left of you the guy behind you was indeed a douche.

LOL - you need that picture with 3 travel lanes.

When I was young and a little dumber, I had a Triumph GT6. That particular car has the driver's head about headlight high. At that time, I was a 'spirited' driver but there were always that one a'hole that would climb my non-existent bumper and turn on the brights-for a little while until I fought fire with fire.

Pissed me off when the rear-facing fog lamp prevented me from getting passed in inspection...

quote:

Originally posted by SR:

He either moved from the left most lane into my lane or was going >75 to close the difference as quickly as he did.

After turning on his brights (and leaving them on) he moved to the far left lane.
He was just being an absolute jerk.....

You're right. He was being a jerk.

In those cases I instinctively drive "safer" by keeping pace with cars on either side of me. Because you don't want to give the person riding your tail an impression that there's a hole he can scoot around you, that would be very unsafe. Sometimes, I even lag just a little bit of cars beside me but still leaving no gap for the guy riding my tail to scoot around.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
I think we can all agree that people who come from behind at far higher than the speed limits and get too close are not good people.

Agreed, and we have a shit load of them around here! Several cars in a line, lane makes no difference, max distance between those cars is maybe 20 feet! Swerving all over the place trying to pass, etc etc.

A surprising number of the drivers seem to be very young females. Guess they are products of our "education" system that never taught them about safe driving, laws of physics, the fact that wet, or snow covered, road surfaces make stopping much harder.

Doubt it will be long before we hear about chain reaction pile-ups here. Especially on the 234 bypass stretch.

quote:

Originally posted by Elk Hunter:


A surprising number of the drivers seem to be very young females. Guess they are products of our "education" system that never taught them about safe driving, laws of physics, the fact that wet, or snow covered, road surfaces make stopping much harder.

In my experience, young women from 25 to 35 are the most aggressive (and passive/aggressive) drivers. They often don't let anyone merge, drive as if no one else is on the road, speed, ignore traffic signals - the whole works. My legal assistant, who was in that demographic, agreed.

I almost got rear-ended this morning, was going about 45 in traffic and then as I got closer to an intersection, traffic started to slow down, so as I was braking, I checked my rearview and could see the woman in the jeep behind me testing out her brakes because she ended up half way off the road to avoid hitting me

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
In my experience, young women from 25 to 35 are the most aggressive (and passive/aggressive) drivers. They often don't let anyone merge, drive as if no one else is on the road, speed, ignore traffic signals - the whole works. My legal assistant, who was in that demographic, agreed.

And then you have these kinds of drivers; they run like their hind end is on fire and their neck is catching just so they can pass you and get off at the next exit or if it's on city streets to make the next turn in front of you.

quote:

Originally posted by SIG 229R:
they run like their hind end is on fire and their neck is catching just so they can pass you and [snip] make the next turn in front of you.

I deal with this in the mornings when I don't get out of town before the rush of mommies and daddies rushing their precious cargo to school. It fascinates me how many people will bust butt for 400 yards in the left lane, only to cut someone off and turn right.

 
If there are no cars in front of me for any distance, I let it go. If there are cars that are within my safe stopping distance in front of me, I begin a gradual slowdown until I've opened up enough space for me to stop two cars safely, myself and the one glued to my bumper.
 

For a time, I worked steady nights. I would leave at the same time every night and a car would get behind me with their brights on every night. This went on for about week. Until I went to the local auto parts store, bought a set of KC flood lights, mounted them backwards on the fake roll bar in my truck. Only had to turn them on once for them to figure the error of their ways. The lights were handy for hooking up the boat at night, and a lot of other things...

And then there are the people, who just have to be in front. They come rushing up behind you, ride your bumper, pass you, get in front of you, only to do the same speed you were doing or slower.