I drive slow and how dare you pass me on the road!

[greensinestro]

One thing about living in South Florida, you have to deal with the non native retirees who do nothing but cause trouble for the rest of us here. Over the weekend, I had my kids in the car, and was going to return some library books. This old bag in a Lexus, who looked about 75, was in the fast lane, but driving ten miles under the speed limit. So, I decided to pass her when traffic was clear on my side. About one hundred feet later, I pulled into the library, with this woman behind me now, also pulling in.

I thought nothing of her, but as I was getting my books out and getting ready to walk to the entrance, I hear, in this rude, New York accented voice, the following:

RL (Rude Lady): Excuse me, sir. I need to ask you something for a minute.
ME: Okay.
RL: Was there some reason you had to pass me on the road like that, right in front of me?
ME: Yes, you were driving too slowly in the fast lane.
RL: You have no manners, treating people like that.
ME: Maam, why don't you go get a life and go back to New York or wherever you're from?
RL: I'm not from New York.
ME: Well, you're certainly not from Florida either.
RL: I've never been treated by someone like you with no manners! (I found this hard to believe).
ME: Maam, why don't you shut the fuck up and walk away right now?
RL: Hrmph! (And walks off)

Now, I am a gentleman normally to any female, especially elderly women like this one. However, my being a gentlemen is why I think people like this talk to me like they do. I deal with it in customer service, and much of the time, I can't say what I said to this woman. It felt good, and I did not have a guilt trip later on about it. If someone passes me on the highway, I just let them being it is not worth my time, nor the stress.

What I also hate is with these people, they think the polite ones are the ones being rude to them, yet they don't think their rude behavior is impolite.

[IT Grunt]

I hate people like that who clog up the freeway by driving slow in the fast lane. Often times I come up on them trying to pass someone else who is going just a bit slower than they are, creating a freakin' rolling roadblock. If she took being passed as a personal attack, then I second your sentiment that she really needs to get a life.

[powerboy]

i had one of them today, while heading to work. But he did follow me. But it was to rent a storage unit.

[protege]

Even better are the people who, on two-laned roads with *nobody* in front of them and no cops for miles, decide to cruise along at 25mph, even though the speed limit is 40 or higher. Either learn how to handle a car, or stay home

[gunsage]

There've been three incidents where someone with a little too much testosterone and too few braincells got pissy and roadragey with me (I'm guilty of one incident as well, but I'll develop on that later).

Camcar almost caused me to have to use their services!

One night, me, my wife, and our roommate at the time were heading up to campus on one of the interstates (can't remember which one as I was following their directions). Now, I've said it before, I'll say it again. I had three speeding tickets that RECENTLY have rolled off. Therefore, I'm a much more cautious driver, even though I know what my "beast" is capable of. We start heading into a construction zone, so I start to slow down to 55.

A Camcar towtruck gets RIGHT ON MY ASS and stays there for a good minute because, well, he can't get around me because there's construction. I'm not doing it in an attempt to piss him off, but rather, because I have little choice if I want to "stay legal." Finally he gets an attempt, passes me almost clipping my car in the process, AND DELIBERATELY SLAMS ON HIS BREAKS. Since I drive with two feet, I simultaneously WTF'd, slowed on the break, and started to try to get in the other lane, which was free at the time.

Of course, he saw that I was trying to avoid read-ending him and deliberately started MOVING OVER SO AS TO ALMOST PUT ME IN THE WALL. My roommie pulled out his cell phone and started to call the police. As soon as the cell phone was visible, HE GUNNED IT. We proceeded to follow him long enough to inform authorities what exit he got off...but DANG.

Yield? Naaaaahhhhhh...

Only later did I discover I was the bastard in this situation, but oh well. I was turning onto the interstate one day under the assumption that the other lane was supposed to yield (yep, this is the bastard part) and cut off a dude who was coming onto the same lane. He honked about 50 times as I sped up to get onto the interstate. He then decided it was absolutely necessary to let me know how much of an asshole I am (and a moron he was). His response to my mistake? He pulled up beside me, rolled his passenger window down, and LEANED ACROSS HIS BACK SEAT FLIPPING ME OFF AND YELLING.

To this day, that image causes me to rofl.

Destruction Derby on 270

This one...I don't really know what happened. Rather, I do know what happened, but I don't understand why. Some dude started honking at me while on my side and kept acting like he was going to run me off the road. Yeah...still don't know why.

[digilight]

Gunsage, your second story if I understand it correctly has him being the bitch and the problem not you. Heres how I understand it to be.

You are getting onto say a 3 lane highway. Mr. Douchebag was originally in the middle lane. At the point to where traffic is getting on the freeway he decides to pull a darwin move and change from the middle lane into the slowlane, which is also the same point that traffic entering the freeway is merging at.

If I am correct, then I don't think you are at fault. He is.

[LewisLegion]

Ah, the sucky drivers. I had one guy that I totally don't know what happened. I was driving in the far right lane of a four lane road (two lanes for each direction) because I was eventually going to make a right turn. I hadn't changed lanes or anything, there was moderately heavy traffic so no one was speeding (you just couldn't) and everyone was driving just under the speed limit due to the volume. This guy was behind me for about a block or two. I slowed down at one point to let someone pull into the lane from a business driveway...and I guess that's what pissed him off. About half a block further on I stop at a stop light and the guy pulls onto the shoulder, zips up next to me, and starts screaming. I mean, just red-faced roaring and screaming and beating his hands on his steering wheel and gesturing at me and yelling sonuvabitch over and over again (I'm a girl, so I'm not a son of anything). After about thirty seconds of this, he suddenly zips up again along the shoulder, and takes the right hand turn.

I still don't know what his malfunction was.

[chops]

Even better are the people who, on two-laned roads with *nobody* in front of them and no cops for miles, decide to cruise along at 25mph, even though the speed limit is 40 or higher. Either learn how to handle a car, or stay home

Up here, 45 in a 50 on a two-laner is fast...

[ditchdj]

Now, I am a gentleman normally to any female, especially elderly women like this one. However, my being a gentlemen is why I think people like this talk to me like they do.

You want respect you give respect. You certainly do not have to apologize for your actions.

[marasbaras]

ME: Maam, why don't you shut the fuck up and walk away right now?

You're my hero today.

[AKWalMartCartGuy]

damn, that bitch better not come to alaska, we have 55 MPH zones around here that you will occasionally see everyone going 70 on, I even blew past a cop at 75 in a 55 once and he didn't pull me over since everyone else was going 70.

I probably would have changed lanes, then gunned it and been going ~20 MPH faster than her before I was even completely past her, what would she have done then?

[blas]

Around here, we have a relatively new freeway that was added a year or so ago.

Too many people do NOT comprehend that it's a FREEWAY with a speed limit of 65 MPH. Just like any other freeway....like the others it connects to.

On a beautiful day with clear roads, you will end up having to slam your brakes and weave around people going 50-55 mph. It drives me BATTY. Sometimes I just want to plow into them.

We still have an old highway where the speed limit is 50. They need to be taking that one.

[ShinyGreenApple]

I was going home from the store the other day and was in a 45MPH area. The van going in front of me was going 15.

[Rine]

I hate it when people don't do the speed limit! Today when I was coming home from school, some idgit was doing 30 MPH in a 45 zone. Had traffic stacked up behind me. There wasn't any reason for this guy to be going that slow...so I did a sucky thing and honked at him once or twice. He seemed to clue in and started to go about 45 then.

Other times, I feel like people are going to run me off the road because I typically only go 5 over the speed limit. There are stretches of the highway that I take home where people insist on going 55 MPH when it's only 45 and act like I'm the rude one when I'm in the left lane going five over. I'm sorry--but it's not the interstate--I don't have to keep right because you want to break the law.

[Kogarashi]

On the flip side of the coin, I don't understand the people who want to drive fast (sometimes dangerously so) in an area with a low speed limit. I'm all for going with the flow of traffic on the highway, resulting in 65+ speeds in a 50 mph zone, since doing the limit there would actually be more dangerous.

But on a residential back road?

Driving to an acquaintance's house back in January, I hit the part of town (starting with a school, then going through narrow streets with closely packed houses) where the posted limit is 25. I don't know where the speed traps are, and don't feel like hitting some of these immortal, indestructable pedestrians we have around here, so I drive the speed limit, and never go above 5 over. Makes sense, right?

Yet this particular day, right before the school this pickup truck gets behind me. And proceeds to tailgate me. I can see the old guy driving getting slowly madder as we go along, because he can't pass me and I'm not speeding for his benefit. He's gesturing, pounding the steering wheel, and making mouth movements that look like he's shouting, or at the very least complaining. His wife in the passenger seat looks equally mad, but at him instead of me (thank you, sensible lady).

The guy tailgated me insanely closely for several blocks before the houses dropped away (speed limit stayed 25), and proceeded to cross a double yellow line to roar past me at a good 45 mph, just as we came to more houses.

Last summer, only a few roads over from there, I had a lady in a small car pulling the same stunt (tailgating, gesturing angrily), who pulled onto the shoulder to race past me just as we came to a playground with an ice cream truck and lots of children running around. The lady was brought up short not 100 ft. from where she passed me, though, due to road construction.

Why do these people feel the need to drive highway speeds in residential areas?