Ok here is the scenario its longgggggggg.......I am coming to work this morning and a red light ahead, one that will turn green just as I approach it and I will get to sail right on through with minimal slow down. About an eighth of a mile ahead it merges to one lane, and there is a car in the left lane, I am coming up on the right with a clear path.

As I approach this guy sees me coming from a long ways off and it appears that it is killing him that I will blow past because I am in motion. It is almost comical watching him roll slowly over the crosswalk, then he is all the way out into the intersection and finally just blowing through a red he had been waiting at in his old Taurus for about 20 seconds. All because it was killing him someone was gonna just sail past.

So I do because it is a 50 mph and I am at speed and he is just starting. I do my usual 5 mph over the posted speed limit and the guns it to catch up about a quarter mile down the road and ride my butt. Anybody know what I am talking about? The guy who does not necessarily want to go fast but he HATES to be passed by anyone? You can set you cruise and every time you come up on them they will dart out and many times block your path and slow down. This only really happens to me when I drive a sports car and not too often in the grocery getter, I think it is usually people that HATE sports cars because for whatever reason they want one but cant have one. Anyway I digress here is the question part.

A couple more lights and then onto the freeway all I can see in my rearview mirro as I am driving along normally is this guy is frantically trying to catch up so he can pass me. (I am assuming all of this but I think many of you will know have experienced "that guy") At each intersection I just put the hammer down because I know his car cannot keep up and I do nothing to impede his progress (pet peeve when people do this) other people pull onto the road in the gap I create each time frustrating this guy even more.

Each time the guy starts to catch up, and I am just driving casually, he catches up He looks at me angrily I smile, hit the gas and pull away. I don't mind being passed at all, that is not what this is about. I am just having so much fun at watching the guys agrivation over nothing. People pass you on the road, legally, it happens, take it easy.

So (FINALLY!) the question: Do you ever just display the the power of your car over the "you can't pass me guy" in the slow car just for grins? I am not talking about blocking his path or holding up other traffic on purpose, I don't do that and if you ever have something with another driver for whatever reason DON"T MAKE OTHER DRIVERS SUFFER FOR IT. I am talking about pulling away from the guy who so hates to get passed even though there is nothing he can do about it just because you know it is driving the other person crazy to get passed.

When you do this are you sending the message "Buddy, people pass, it happens get used to it and don't take it so personally and I will keep you at a distance until you come to that realization." Or are you being a jerk and saying "I have this fantasticmobile that is far superior to your peasant mobile you heathen."

Discuss

 

The best is when people sit in the fast lane doing the limit, and when there is a spot in the slow lane to pass, you goto pass ( in 6th ) and they start speeding up to not let you pass. Then, as soon as they are side by side with someone else in the slow lane, they resume the speed that the other car beside them is doing.


A lot of the time, I will drop it to 3rd, and pass when I have a break in traffic in the slow lane. After that, usually the road ahead in the fast lane is empty for kilometer after kilometer...

 

sure all the time.

 

I want to clarify a couple things too.


I will not let this get to insane speeds and but anyone innocent in danger.

I will not cut someone off to impede "mr. you can't pass me"



There is a similar old lady at work. I see her alot. We approach my work on a two lane 30 mph road that I drive about 35-37 mph. I will cruise up and I am not the guy who will race up cut someone off just to make my turn, but if someone is going slow, cruise by merge over and make my turn. If I can't do it without cutting them off I will merge in behind them.

This old lady drives about 25 in that stretch, but if you switch lanes to pass her she will gun it up to 50, if you slow and pull in behind her she will slow back to 15 when you pull in behind her. I have taken to gunning it and passing her and she tries to hold me off but can't. She is visible upset when she gets passed. Do not mistake, this is not about having to be the fastest one in traffic, I don't care. This is about when someone else decides they will set the speed for traffic and will impede everyone else, but your car is fast enough to just blow by them and you know that just fricken angers the hell out of these people, do you take sweet evil pleasure in letting them know there is nothing they can do about it for your own giggles? Esentially rubbing their nose in the fact that they want to be a giant prick but their car is too slow.

 

Exactly what I am talking about, but this kind of person will then speed up to whatever you are doing and ride your butt or try to pass you......Do you then show them with the power of your car that they are helpless to do anything and derive satisfaction from driving them nuts?

 

^^^ YES

 

Ok, I am not crazy.


But this also makes me realize that I now appreciate the 9000 rpm scream even more because it adds insult to injury and scare the crap out of some of them. Too bad for you MY04+ folks and your low 8000 rpm.

 

There is also a related situation to what you have described. Say I'm in the fast lane, there is a decent amount of traffic, and I've been trying everything I can to pass the car in front of me who is going too slow, but there just hasn't been an opening in traffic. Since tailgating is for idiots, I leave a little space between me and the slow car in front of me. So then, another car comes and tries to cut in that space in front of me, just behind the slow car. And if they pass me they usually begin to tailgate the slow car. This pisses me off because I should be the first car to pass the slow car, and some guy just cuts in front of me, and now, not only do I have to deal with the slow car, I have to deal with the tailgater. The only ways to prevent this are to tailgate the slow car or to speed up as the guy tries to pass you. When you speed up to prevent that car from passing you, then you may look like "that car", as you described, who doesn't want anyone to pass them. When in reality, your only preventing them from passing because you too are trying to pass the guy in front of you.

But since I got a big ticket lately, I've been using lots of cruise control on the freeway. Cruise control sucks because it's numbing, you get no enjoyment from the driving experience. On the other hand it can be relaxing (as long as you're not running late). You just set the cruise in one of the middle lanes, and go into I dont give a sh## mode. You never worry about morons or "driving games" because you just let everyone pass you on the left. You will get people who tailgate you in the middle lanes, which is mind blowing because you have no obligation to move out of the way when you're both exceeding the speed limit (slightly) and not driving in the left lane. But ultimately you dont car because your just 'cruisin'.

 

You are not much better than the guy that speeds up not letting you pass. You "toy" with him to get a rise out of him, in a similar fashion you were getting annoyed but you feel justified in "dishing" it out, but victimized when you are the one on the recieving end.

Just pass him and leave him in the dust. You never know when you are going to piss off a real nut case who might run you and your pretty car off the road...

Just my 02

 

I say being a jerk, people have a real problem in America getting angry on the road. I say why bother with it? Just let him pass or whatever, it is not worth the risk. That guy your pissing off might be a guy who is about to go over the edge with a firearm in his car. You never know.. and personally I wouldnt want to find out just because it is fun.