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...This did not bother the kid. Conversely, he seemed to be roaring in laughter at his dazzling maneuver, as did the three or four other young people who were loving their fun ride. (http://www.nj.com/columns/gloucester/shryock/index.ssf?/base/columns-0/1213251904285690.xml&coll=8)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/ROADRAGE1.jpgBob Shryock - Gloucester County Times - June 12, 2008

What is it with the instigators of this? -- Ed.

I'm driving north of Route 45, just past Dr. Barry Coniglio's chiropractic emporium, when a car cuts in front of the Daewoo and veers recklessly into a gas station on Ogden Road. This move might have worked on the backstretch at Dover Downs, or in a scene from the "French Connection," but not here.

I gasp and see my life flash in front of me. The only reason there is not a horrific accident is a tendency I developed years ago to drive defensively because you never know what the nitwit in the adjacent lane is going to do… http://www.nj.com/columns/gloucester/shryock/index.ssf?/base/columns-0/1213251904285690.xml&coll=8

She drove 100mph to get to the station before running out of fuel??? :eek:

She drove 100mph to get to the station before running out of fuel??? :eek:

Driving 100 MPH dramatically reduces idling. :D

She drove 100mph to get to the station before running out of fuel??? :eek:I call it DWB - Driving Without Brains :p

maybe her fuel gauge was an egg timer

People think we are crazy and dangerous for FASing. Seems to the real danger comes from driving with your brain disengaged.
I had a friend when I was in college that I would rather ride with him doing 80 than 50. At 80 he paid full attention to the road and drove way ahead of his car. At 50 he was turning his head and fulling involved in the conversation in the car not where his car was going. :eek:

Haha, don't you know? The fuel light is a timer, once it comes on, you have 5 minutes to get to the gas station before you run out of gas. :D

Kirk

Since it was the girlfriend, I'm sure that, unbeknownst to you, she had heard that there was a sale on gas.

The worst road rage I experienced occurred after Christmas of 2004. I was at a red light but I was stopped just short of the shopping strip entrance in order to prevent blocking traffic going in and out from the strip. It was also a violation of a city ordinance to block these intersections and parking lot entrances. Apparently being a car length behind was too much for this one woman in a large van to handle so she kept honking me to move and fill in the car length space even though it was a red light. Well this kept going on and kept getting nastier. Well then her little junior got out and I rolled the window down to read them the riot act on blocking intersections and parking lots. He yelled at me, "MOVE THE CAR B*&%H!" That's nice. But it didn't end there. When the light turned green she pulled out from behind me swung around my left hand side then pulled in front of my car almost clipping my left front fender. That's when I called her in to the police and gave a complete description of the vehicle, plate number speed and direction of the car. I told them I was willing to fill out a report but they never arrived to meet me. Unfortunately I'd lost interest and didn't want to go to the police station to fill out a report.

A few months back, before I started reading this site and slowing down, I was cut off by a dude driving a early 90s Accord Wagon (gold, plate number WWR2332, paint peeling off the hood and roof, missing a wheel cover on the passenger side - should you see him, give him a kick in the @#$). I was driving in the left most lane doing 80, and if I hadn't pushed the brake to the floor and swung onto the median he would have clipped me. I called the Durham police, they never did anything about. Fast forward three months, and the same SOB did the same thing on the same !@#$@#! stretch of road, with the same panic stop and swerve. Called Durham police, still nothing done. The funny thing (if anything funny can be gleaned from that) is that he takes the same exit I do, and I'm always about 10 seconds behind. I contemplated following along to see where he ended up, but you can never tell how nutty a person really is. At the very least I'll never see him again since I'm under the limit in the right lane anymore. If anyone needed a PIT maneuver pulled, it was that dude.

Anotrher story

Dr. Antonio Reyes, 58, of La Palma, Calif., faces misdemeanor charges of suspicion of displaying a deadly weapon in a rude, angry or threatening manner, Sgt. Tom Bruce of the Cypress Police Department said.

Reyes was waiting Monday night with other motorists at Costco pumps when another vehicle cut in front of him. Witnesses said Reyes took a tire iron from his vehicle and allegedly confronted the driver, who locked himself in the car and called police, The Orange County Register reported Tuesday.

I had a girlfriend from NJ long ago -- no offense to you East Coasters, but you guys drive pretty aggressively on average (*) -- anyway, one night she came home from work and told me the following story:

She was driving when some guy came up behind her and tailgated her for a while. He then decided to pass her on a curve. Of course, there was a car coming the other way, but rather than brake and let him in, she held her ground. The tailgater chose the ditch on the other side of the road, and my girlfriend did not stop.

Now -- I completely see the humor in this, but it's really far out aggressive and dangerous.

Another time she told me about how she was cut off on an exit ramp and when they were stopped at the light, she got out and gave the driver notice that he had no idea whether she carried a gun, no idea whether she was completely insane, and that he'd be safer if he didn't do that sort of thing.

Both incidents in NY State BTW.

(*) obviously not every east coaster is an aggressive driver but I felt that there were more per capita aggressive drivers back east.

(*) obviously not every east coaster is an aggressive driver but I felt that there were more per capita aggressive drivers back east.

Having just recently spent two weeks in Philly I have to say the number of aggressive drivers in the northeast is about 95%.

Normally with the light turns green, the first car goes, then the second, then the third, and so on, so a small gap opens between each car. Not so in the north east: every car moves simultaneously, and I'd be damned if they ever got more than one car length apart, even when at full speed.

Yellow means "floor it". Go for it even if it means you're going to be three seconds late, by then cars are already starting to move in the other direction. Even the cops think it's normal.

Everybody knows on which roads they can do 20 over and nobody cares.

If a car tries to make a left turn at a light, the whole row of cars will just cut over to the right, even into the grass, to get around the stuck car.

City driving, block by block, is something like this: WOT, Brake. WOT, Brake. WOT, Brake.


I'm not surprised gasoline consumption is so high in this country. :eek:

Despite this though, road rage is pretty uncommon. I think it's just normal around those parts.

I'd limit that to North East. NYC, NJ, DC, Philly perhaps. Oh, and likely Boston too. Central PA wasn't bad, but Eastern PA (especially going towards NJ) was not fun. Maybe it's just the metropolitan in people coming out. I thought I hated NJ, but I loathe traveling anywhere near Alexandria and DC during rush hour.

I have to get on my wife's case several times when I'm riding in her car. For some reason she feels the need to look directly at me when she's talking to me even if she's driving. Is this a woman thing? I see it repeated all the time on TV and movies and on the open road. I remember one time, either on Dateline or 20/20, they put a camera on a set of eye glasses and on the rearview mirror and had several drivers drive as they normally do then play back the video for them. They said they never realized how often they took their eyes off the road nor how long they did this at a time.

I don't have a gun but I do have a black AA Maglite I use for work. If held properly it looks like I'm holding a gun. I was also taught by a Navy SEAL how to use it as a weapon should the need arise. I hope that never happens cause how he taught me to use it could be deadly if it hits the right striking points. Use to have a small can of pepper spray. One day I had to use it on a vicious stray dog. I was very disappointed by it's range. When I buy another one I'll buy a bigger and better model. Can't afford a real gun. Can afford a BB or pellet gun which I'll probably buy. I don't want to kill the stray dogs. I just want to hurt them enough to get them away until animal control can get them. I wonder if animal control will pick up road rage drivers? Here's an idea, I wonder if road ragers will back off if you have an official membership sticker on your bumper from the NRA?

It's common knowledge I shoot pictures of drivers behaving badly - I'm the creator of Jerk of The Day. Sometimes the driver suddendly behaves, sometimes they are a true nut case and continue.

Problem with taking things in your own hands is that driver may be mental.