Let's be careful out there

[rattlsnak]

Why is it that people filming things like this never keep the camera steady and on the action?? Drives me nuts!!!

[wdfifteen]

^^
If I was about to watch someone get killed I don't think I could hold a camera still.

Redbeard says it happened 10 days ago. Any idea of the outcome? How bad was the red car wrecked? Did they catch the asshat in the truck?

[pcardude]

Something similar happened to me recently. I got into the right lane. The guy then pushed a trucker off the road into the ditch. I called 911 the operator was a complete B to me and I followed him for 4 hours before a cop showed up.

People do this stuff because they can get away with it most of the time.

[GG Allin]

Nothing but ass wipes in that video.

[speeder]

Originally Posted by pdxfj

One of the reason I don't ride on two wheels much anymore. Tired of people tailgating me like that no matter what lane I'm in or how fast I'm going. Always someone who wants to play kill the guy on the motorcycle.

I can't even conceive of a situation where I would be cock-blocking someone on my MC and getting tailgated. I ride on Los Angeles freeways and canyons all the time and it's seriously not even on the radar.

You need to really be trying to get someone else that pissed-off.

[john70t]

Many people say both drivers are at fault...

But let's step back a minute:
-The jerk squatter ahead is well within all federal rights of speed/safety laws.
-The squatter could be elderly, or distraught, or impaired, or otherwise. There are plenty of these people driving.
-The tailgater loses nothing but a few minutes of Time.
-Freeway traffic jams are common these days. Everyone loses Time. Daily.

[impactbumper]

Originally Posted by aigel

Haha!

"Let's be careful out there" means just move the hell over if someone is riding your rear. I always GTF out of people's way that are too close behind me. I would have sped up 20 mph, pulled to the right and have that truck on its way. Around here that usually is behind the next person ahead - much better place for them to be!

G

yep, get the hell out of the way. Left lane occupiers are the worst drivers. Left lane is for passing not cruise control at low speeds.

Originally Posted by aschen

guy in the truck is definitely the biggest douche bag of the two, but the guy up front isn't exactly completely innocent

true.

I guess that was a perfect scenario where one fool met another.... Bad crime at the end.

[Bill Douglas]

There may be more to it. In NZ we had a situation where there was a winding road with a hundred meter drop down to a river. A rival gang car love tapped the black power car in just the right spot and at just the right time sending them down the cliff.

[cstreit]

Originally Posted by john70t

Many people say both drivers are at fault...

But let's step back a minute:
-The jerk squatter ahead is well within all federal rights of speed/safety laws.
-The squatter could be elderly, or distraught, or impaired, or otherwise. There are plenty of these people driving.
-The tailgater loses nothing but a few minutes of Time.
-Freeway traffic jams are common these days. Everyone loses Time. Daily.

True, but it is very common knowledge that the left lane is for passing. ...and also common knowledge that someone tailgating wants you to move.

The left lane driver was a selfish at best. The other dude, well...

I don't enjoy them stealing my life. Have been known to pass on the right and slow them down until they move over. Put my right turn signal on to politely suggest where they should be.

[pdxfj]

Originally Posted by speeder

I can't even conceive of a situation where I would be cock-blocking someone on my MC and getting tailgated. I ride on Los Angeles freeways and canyons all the time and it's seriously not even on the radar.

You need to really be trying to get someone else that pissed-off.

Not cock-blocking anyone, just riding and minding my own business.. I am not a squid by any stretch of the imagination. If a cager wants to go faster, be my guest. If I want to go faster than the cager in front of me, I'll make a legal pass on the left.

I live in Portland, OR and have ridden all over the western U.S. (WA, ID, CA, UT, CO, AZ, NV) and I feel way safer riding in and around L.A. anytime during the day, than I do just about anywhere in Oregon. Even in the bay area during rush hour in the HOV lane passing stopped traffic with all the other bikes.

In no other state have I had to deal with cagers that are literately out to kill me. As an example, they have on many occasions gone out of their way to ensure I do not pass them and when I do, they damn near cause accidents to get in front of me again. Times I've sped up to get away from these people only to have them riding my back wheel into triple digits. The whole time flashing their lights, honking their horns and flipping me off. All for the simple reason of passing them legally on the left, while going 10mph faster than they are. If I pull ahead of them and get a couple of miles away, they don't give up. They just keep coming at me.

That is only a very small part of things I've witnessed. As soon as I get out of Oregon and Western Washington the attitudes of cagers completely change I no longer have people trying to run me over or run me off the road.

I have even noticed the same aggressive behavior cropping up when I'm in my P-Car. Tailgating, middle finger, brake checking and so on. When I drive my pickup, none of this happens.

[ckelly78z]

The dolt in the truck is obviously compensating for his disapointing sexual prowess, and his fustratingly low sperm count, while the idiot in the car has a false sense of security in believing he has a "right" to be in the left lane.

[David]

It takes two idiots for something like this to happen. I somewhat blame US drivers education which doesn't cover basic driving etiquette. Heck, my own mother didn't know to stay out of the left lane until I informed her. She was surprised that sitting in the left lane at 60 mph wasn't ok.

I'm in Bangkok again right now and I'm amazed at how insane the drivers are while still being respectful and courteous while cutting each other off. No sign of road rage with what would result in gunfire any where in the US.

[tdw28210]

Originally Posted by john70t

Many people say both drivers are at fault...

But let's step back a minute:
-The jerk squatter ahead is well within all federal rights of speed/safety laws.
-The squatter could be elderly, or distraught, or impaired, or otherwise. There are plenty of these people driving.
-The tailgater loses nothing but a few minutes of Time.
-Freeway traffic jams are common these days. Everyone loses Time. Daily.

I don't know FEDERAL law, but in certain states the guy in front is committing an offense too. In NJ for example. Not saying the truck is correct - obviously he is the bigger offender - but depending on the state, they may BOTH be offenders.

Laws (and common courtesy) not withstanding, what defenders of left-lane non-passers fail to realize is that they are effectively INCREASING the danger for all cars behind them when they impede the flow of traffic. They force dozens of cars to bunch up and drive in close proximity to one another - sometimes for dozens of miles or longer. And all it takes is one of those 20 cars to drop their cell phone or spill their starbucks and we now have a 6 car pile-up, putting 6 or more lives at risk. This simple fact is why in almost every state you see the occasional road sign instructing people to keep right on the highway.

Now if the driver is elderly or impaired, that is just really unfortunate. But in my experience, that is the case maybe 1% of the time. 75% of the time drivers are completely oblivious or too selfish to the fact they are impeding the flow of traffic and increasing the risk to many of the cars behind them. And 25% of the time, they are on their cell phones either talking or texting, absorbed in their own worlds while traveling in a 2 ton projectile at 60 mph in close proximity to others.

Again, the truck driver is mostly at fault, but it is very simple. Keep right except to pass. Don't tailgate and don't pit maneuver anybody. For the safety of EVERYBODY on the road.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by john70t

Many people say both drivers are at fault...

But let's step back a minute:
-The jerk squatter ahead is well within all federal rights of speed/safety laws.
-The squatter could be elderly, or distraught, or impaired, or otherwise. There are plenty of these people driving.
-The tailgater loses nothing but a few minutes of Time.
-Freeway traffic jams are common these days. Everyone loses Time. Daily.

Yep, both drivers are at fault. The reasoning above is the same reason why you get folks with control issues thinking that they are justified to set the speed on the road for every one else. It's not his job, unless you're getting paid to wear a blue suit and drive a car that someone else owns that comes with it's own flashy lights and fancy noise maker.

One thing to think about, whether they are righteously being a total dick or not, is that they are probably thinking something along the lines of "I must be pissing this guy off because he's tailgating me, fark him, I'm totally righteous in controlling what he does because I think it's right." If you know or have an idea that you're pissing someone off, then you're doing something wrong. Only a dumb arse intentionally pisses other drivers off. Do we really need to create pissed off road ragers? Is that helping yourself or anyone else that has to share the road with that person?

If someone thought "I'm intentionally pissing this guy off so that 5 miles down the road he's going to end up killing someone because he's a lunatic that I've pissed off." Is he still righteous? If he may be doing just that, but the arsehole in the car that's left lane camping because he's righteous doesn't think or realize that because he can't think past himself, does that make him less at fault for doing it?

Well, in this case, it seems like the righteous (or possibly just clueless) one learned the hard ware that pissing off someone on the road might lead to more than they expected.

[jwasbury]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

Here in jersey we have a "keep right unless passing" law. The State gets ALOT of revenue from that one.

I think this is 2nd time I've seen you post this. Personally have never seen anyone pulled for not staying right. My daily I-78 commute is full of left lane lemmings, I end up having to do a lot of passing in the right lane as it's often rather empty.

[flipper35]

Originally Posted by john70t

Many people say both drivers are at fault...

But let's step back a minute:
-The jerk squatter ahead is well within all federal rights of speed/safety laws.
-The squatter could be elderly, or distraught, or impaired, or otherwise. There are plenty of these people driving.
-The tailgater loses nothing but a few minutes of Time.
-Freeway traffic jams are common these days. Everyone loses Time. Daily.

Federal maybe, but several states have an "impeding the flow of traffic" rule which will get you a ticket.

[Oracle]

Getting a ticket is not the same as a criminal charge.. so they're both breaking the law in plain terms, difference is that one you pay ~$35 and the other one will put you behind bars...

Kind of like that analogy of all toes are fingers but not all fingers are toes.

Originally Posted by flipper35

Federal maybe, but several states have an "impeding the flow of traffic" rule which will get you a ticket.

[speeder]

We don't have any $35 tickets in CA. Moving violations generally run about $3-400 and up w fees.

[john70t]

I'm arguing for the driver because it needs to be done, but agree with the above.

btw, I keep right and almost always let the other jerk "win the race". They will fight and switch lanes back and forth and usually end up only two cars ahead at the next light. They want it so desperately. And so they get it. Good for them. Their commute is a huge struggle while mine is composed of calmly sitting inside a metal box and gently moving some controls. Most of my brain is left available for other things (and I always need that extra time and capacity lol).

In this case the car deserved a ticket. He deserved to be followed a bit closer (not tailgated) and lights flashed to alert him to switch over. Traffic flows best when the left lane is clear. I've buzzed through traffic clusters where 80% of the cars are huddling together in the left lane for no apparent reason, while the rest of the road is completely empty. Inexplicable human behavior.

But that car did nothing to cause a collision involving great injury or death. Not one thing wrong.
It did not brake suddenly.
It was not modulating speeds.
Its lights were working.
It was driving at the speed limit.

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by jwasbury

I think this is 2nd time I've seen you post this. Personally have never seen anyone pulled for not staying right. My daily I-78 commute is full of left lane lemmings, I end up having to do a lot of passing in the right lane as it's often rather empty.

I live off of Rt80 not far from the PA border. I see the PA drivers getting busted a lot. The JC area may be different.