driving situation we've all been in

[HondaB18]

person "a" is waiting on an off ramp waiting for the exit to clear in bumper to bumper traffic while person "b" stops next to you and wants to cut in front of you for whatever reason (accidental or intentional)

if you are person "a" do you let person "b" in?

if you are person "b" and person "a" refuses, how do you feel?

this situation i see person "a" in a lose/lose situation

am i right?

[deevergote]

If I'm person "a", and I can tell that person "b" is doing it intentionally to keep from waiting in line (as I did), I would be pissed, and probably block them. If they were clearly clueless and made a mistake, I'd probably call them a dumbass as I let them in (literally... window down, dumbass proclamation made quite audibly.)
If I was person "b", it would certainly be by accident, as I never do douchebag "me first" maneuvers when driving. In that case, I'll usually pull up next to "a" and try to make eye contact. Sort of asking permission rather than just trying to push ahead. If they intentionally avoid my gaze, I'll simply cut them off.

In a similar situation, one that happened to me today (and often happens at least once a week...) when lanes merge and traffic is heavy, the car in the lead has the right of way, regardless of which lane ends. If my bumper is an inch ahead of yours you yield to me. Right? And vice versa. Anyway, there's always some tool that wants to ride the bumper of the guy in front of him to try to push me out of his way. I usually stand my ground in this case, and today I ended up causing this assmonger in a Benz to curb his wheels. I will often yell "who's car is worth more?" in a situation like that!

[floored]

I ended up causing this assmonger in a Benz to curb his wheels. I will often yell "who's car is worth more?" in a situation like that!

lol. pretty shitty time to have an nice car or set of wheels when you're around.

[deevergote]

I did it in my CTS-V today, too! Not a car I want to damage. If it was the Fit, I'd be even more daring. I don't care about that thing (cosmetically), and I'll hurl it at people.
I just know the dimensions of my vehicles better than most people... so when they're clenching their chocolate starfish, I'm perfectly comfortable.
I'm not an aggressive or selfish driver, but I don't like rude people. If I have the right of way, I take it. Anything less will simply confuse matters, and that's how accidents happen.

[Honda_Lady]

I am not the kind of person that forces my way in unless everyone around me are being complete assholes. example, ones in front of me going slower then speed limit and ones beside me keeping pace so i can't change lanes when i need to. Living on the road that I live on makes it hard to change lanes when you need to because of all the students. now most of the time I am person "a" and most of the time person "b" is intentionally trying to shove their way in and i stand my ground with my thumbs on the horn ready to blast if someone tries to shove between me and the car in front of me. if I can tell that person "b" genuinely is clueless of the area and made a mistake, i will let them in. I am very rarely person "b" myself BUT on the rare occasion that i do make a mistake (it happens to everyone at some point) i try to get the attention of the other person to see if they will let me in before i try to shove my way in if they won't let me.

and I'll hurl it at people.

HAHAHA i do that too in my Accord, i am pretty comfortable with the size of my car so i do what it takes when i drive. i think i got that from my mom.

[deevergote]

I'm so comfortable with the Fit's dimensions, I actually clipped a guy's mirror on purpose the other day. He was trying to make a left, and was inching into the oncoming lane. I was in the oncoming lane going straight... so I just nipped him. No damage, but there was a tiny "tap" when I connected. I was proud of myself!

I really hate people that play amateur traffic cop... people that intentionally block a speeder when they see him approaching (that was the start of the issue I mentioned on Facebook tonight, in fact...)
I'll be the first to torture someone who's rude to me, but I won't intentionally engage someone who wants to drive like a douche. If they start with me, I'll play... but I won't start anything.



Though I WILL give you the finger if you wash your windshield in front of me at 60mph...

[Quashish]

Chocolate starfish

Some wad did that to me when I was dusty but not dirty... so my window is is still all messed up

[deevergote]

If I don't keep my cars clean, my friends draw pentagrams and swastikas in the dirt. None of them are satanists or nazis... they're just douchebags.

[RyanD]

when they're clenching their chocolate starfish, I'm perfectly comfortable.

this really made me LOL ive never heard that one before

[rexload]

this isn't possible for everyone, but I try to arrange my life and work and where I live so that I rarely drive in bumper to bumper traffic

actually, I live close to work now so I only drive for fun. I put 2000 miles on my car in exactly 6 months.

I agree with what Deeve said about "people playing a traffic cop" . Meaning if somebody is speeding, I will get in the slow lane and let them pass WAY before they get close to me - this kind of driving avoids many problems. First of all, somebody could truly be in a hurry (as in somebody is dying or they are late for the most important interview of their life - while it is rarely the case, it is still possible) Second, by avoiding "playing traffic cop" you are avoiding them getting mad and you getting mad. By playing with other drivers on the road, you are NOT going to teach them anything - once you truly understand that, you start driving differently and avoid all sorts of dangerous situations.

One of my observations when comparing russian drivers to americans is that in Russia when somebody wants to go fast - they just pass you and don't bother you if you don't fuck with them. In the US, on the other hand, people will purposely ride your ass and try to mess with you if they feel that you aren't driving as fast as they would like you to... and this will happen even when there is enough room for them to pass you and be on their way. I don't think there is anything wrong with passing in the oncoming lane IF you are truly in a hurry or if you are already breaking the law by speeding and don't care.

As for the situation described, if I am person "a"... it depends.. I mean if you are in a 911 and person "b" is in a big truck and with a bunch of friends, are you really going to risk your nice car being scratched and then going through the trouble of fixing it as opposed to just saying fuck it and letting them go? I don't look at it as a lose-lose situation because you don't really lose anything. Unless you are worried about your ego, then you need to go in a different way about driving to satisfy those needs - including what kind of vehicle you drive.

[Jimmy22]

I usually don't let people in unless I truly feel sorry for them. We have this one stop light in town that is two lanes. One lane ends immediately after the stop light. Only reason its there is so you can turn in to a restaurant after the intersection. It is generally accepted that if you are going straight, you get in line in the lane that continues. If somebody gets in that lane and isn't going to the restaurant, I assume they are selfish assholes and didn't think they needed to wait in line like everyone else and I absolutely do not let them in front of me.

[Honda_Lady]

I usually don't let people in unless I truly feel sorry for them. We have this one stop light in town that is two lanes. One lane ends immediately after the stop light. Only reason its there is so you can turn in to a restaurant after the intersection. It is generally accepted that if you are going straight, you get in line in the lane that continues. If somebody gets in that lane and isn't going to the restaurant, I assume they are selfish assholes and didn't think they needed to wait in line like everyone else and I absolutely do not let them in front of me.

I know of several places like that around here that many people do exactly that. they think they are too important to wait in line for everyone else and try to shove their way in. I do NOT let them in front of me and the person directly in front of me but most of the time if i am not the first person in line at the light one of the other dumb asses in front of me will let them in anyway. they just recently "improved" that intersection but they should have done it with an island between the two lanes after that intersection to keep people from shoving their way in.

[wed3k]

i don't let people in unless im in my volkswagen. when i drive my expedition around, i bully people off the road if i need to.

i had to use my police siren last night to try and get this guy to move off a fast 3 lane motorway, fucker was just sitting there.

[RyanD]

lets say you entering onto the freeway and your on the on ramp...one lane. and the freeway is bumper to bumper. are the assholes the ones who just drive slowly past you and not let you in or are the assholes the ones who stop or slow and let you in?

[wed3k]

the ones that block you obviously.