Karma on the highway

[twodog max]

Yesterday my wife and I drove to north Arkansas to visit friends. We returned in mid afternoon driving on Arkansas Highway 7. For those unfamiliar with this it is a 2 lane road through the Ozark mountains that is at times steep and twisting. I does have spectacular scenery. Most always an enjoyable drive especially on clear days in the fall.
Sometimes however you get behind slower traffic and passing opportunities are few on this road. Yesterday just such an event happened. Heading south out of the small town of Jasper we got behind two trucks and a jeep. The trucks were both pulling large horse trailers and working hard and slow up the many hills.
Shortly a diesel F250 fell in behind me tailgating me uncomfortably close. He would rush up on my bumper and barely back off. This went on for 50 miles until we all came to a uphill passing lane. I passed the horse trailers and jeep reaching speeds of 70 mph before getting by and moving over. The F250was crowding my back bumper and when I moved over he roared past at speeds I guessed at well over 80 and drove quickly out of sight still speeding.
There were still 20 miles of steep twisting road ahead before leaving the mountains. Fast forward about 15 miles and up ahead were blue lights. Mr. tailgating loud pipes is pulled off the road being signed up for a court appearance by the State Police.
I wanted to tap the horn and wave but decided to let it go.
I hope he learned a lesson in patience and courtesy but somehow I doubt it. For once seeing blue lights on the highway was pleasant.

 

[moosedog]

Patience is a virtue often lacking in todays society.

 

[two-bit cowboy]

We'll likely not have an opportunity to hear Mr. Tailgating's side of
the story. If he deleted the expletives so it would stand up to the
forum's rules there would be no substance. Obviously that means
there's no substance to begin with.

 

[jeffrefrig]

Good for him. Some punk obviously.
I saw some squirrel behind a car going too slow for his tastes. That car turned off and the punk beeped and saluted the car and then he smashed into the car in front of him.

 

[Bald1]

About 10 yrs ago I had a teenager in a Hyundai acting foolish behind me. 4 lane congested suburban area. He was especially animated when we went through a school zone. He clearly didn’t realize it was a 25 mph zone. Or he didn’t care. Well eventually I put my right signal on and turned into a Chevy dealership. Yep he rear ended me. He pulls in behind me and is again very animated as he exited his car. I should note I was driving a Toyota Tacoma. He must have thought small truck small driver. Well when I exited truck his demeanor changed quickly and he apologized quickly. I asked him what his problem was and what’s with all the hand gestures. He stuttered and said I don’t know. I asked him would he rather I call police to make out report or I just kick his A**. He hurried back to his car and called his mother. She apologized and said she’d like to handle it without insurance companies. My trailer hitch saved any damage but bumper was scratched. I took his info just in case. When he was leaving I said hey momma’s boy. Next time you may not have mommy there to bail you out. She ended up giving me a check for $600.

 

[SMSgt]

I don't mind seeing blues lights as long as they are not right behind me.

Years back, I was stopped at a traffic light following a light rain. I heard tires sliding on the slick road behind me and told my sidekick, "Hold on!" Wham!

Kid from the local high school with two friends in the mini-truck seat hit me. We were in an admittedly bad location for accidents. I got out, took a look, and pointed to the parking lot on the corner. One side of my bumper was pushed in; his front end was seriously bashed. He was terrified. I told him to swap insurance info with me and I'd call his parents later. I said no need for cops as they'd only write him a ticket for being stupid, and you're going to have bigger problems explaining it to dad. The cute girl in the truck busted up on that.

When I got home, I crawled underneath the truck and saw that the impact had shoved the adjustable bumper mount. I loosened the bolts, and the bumper popped out right where it should be. No damage at all.

On a sidenote, I've been rear-ended four time in FL--three times sitting at a traffic light, once when I slowed for animals in the road. That one totaled my Mazda pickup.

 

[CalifEd]

Last week I was just cresting a hill with 2 lanes with a light at the top. A car was coming up on me, behind him further down the hill in the other lane was the local Sheriff in his B&W with light bar.
The light turned yellow, there was a school bus turning onto my side of the road so I stopped rather than running the yellow (and a possible discussion with MR Law). The other guy didn't see the need to stop (or the B&W). Instead, he did a quick left lane shift, forcing the cop into the left turn lane and on to the divider.
The other driver made it about 20yard before the cop lit him up with both lights and siren.
They were on the side of the road as I went past. I would have loved to be a fly on the glass to hear the details of that conversation.

 

[Rich Richardson]

Ah, the pleasures of highway driving.
Passing a car doing a constant 60 and he speeds up to 80

Trucks staying in the left lane next to a truck in the right lane

Car tailgating, dropping back then tailgating again

Cruise control set at 70. Car in front wavers between 58 and 72.
I constantly have to tap cruise control setting

If it weren’t for humans, I’d enjoy driving.

 

[rockquarry]

It's important to realize that Mr. Ford 250 is immature, impatient , rude, and potentially dangerous. His not-quite-right self-serving personality tells him he is far more important than anyone else on the road. Regrettably, Mr. Ford 250 is representative of much of the driving world and the world in general nowadays. He's everywhere. He often prefers huge pickups for bullying and intimidating other drivers, but he can be just as obnoxious with something smaller.

 

[LVSteve]

Seeing an idiot wreck after their road rage is oddly satisfying. Saw it in England one day when a guy objected to me exiting a freeway and using the the slope to slow me down gradually for the roundabout at the top. This is more efficient than charging up the hill at full chat and slamming on the brakes at the last second. This didn't suit Mr Angry, so when the slip road widened to two lanes, he passed me (gesturing, of course) on the passenger side, applied his brakes a little way ahead and slid straight into the back of another car at the top yielding to traffic on the roundabout. Did I mention that the road was wet and it was the first rain in a week or two? What a maroon.

It's also amazing how many school zone signs are invisible. I recall a guy on a surface street in Vegas who could not see them at three locations on one street. He was riding up the back of everybody who slowed to the limit and was very "animated" in his seat. Problem for him was that the cop he blew by in the third school zone could see him just fine.

You can't always judge who is going to be the idiot, either. The last school zone blower I got a look at was in medical scrubs, but they were also using a handheld phone. Having the law handy that day would have been great.

 

[lihpster]

I was once rear ended at a stop sign. While stopped and waiting for traffic to clear to make a left turn. Lights on, turn signal flashing, early morning but the sun was up. Had about a second of skidding sounds and she plowed into the back of me. Totalled my Sentra. The first thing she says was not, "Are you hurt?" It was, and I'm not making this up, "I'm sorry, I'm usually not up this early and I was looking at the pretty sky."

 

[ACORN]

Yesterday my wife and I drove to north Arkansas to visit friends. We returned in mid afternoon driving on Arkansas Highway 7. For those unfamiliar with this it is a 2 lane road through the Ozark mountains that is at times steep and twisting. I does have spectacular scenery. Most always an enjoyable drive especially on clear days in the fall.
Sometimes however you get behind slower traffic and passing opportunities are few on this road. Yesterday just such an event happened. Heading south out of the small town of Jasper we got behind two trucks and a jeep. The trucks were both pulling large horse trailers and working hard and slow up the many hills.
Shortly a diesel F250 fell in behind me tailgating me uncomfortably close. He would rush up on my bumper and barely back off. This went on for 50 miles until we all came to a uphill passing lane. I passed the horse trailers and jeep reaching speeds of 70 mph before getting by and moving over. The F250was crowding my back bumper and when I moved over he roared past at speeds I guessed at well over 80 and drove quickly out of sight still speeding.
There were still 20 miles of steep twisting road ahead before leaving the mountains. Fast forward about 15 miles and up ahead were blue lights. Mr. tailgating loud pipes is pulled off the road being signed up for a court appearance by the State Police.
I wanted to tap the horn and wave but decided to let it go.
I hope he learned a lesson in patience and courtesy but somehow I doubt it. For once seeing blue lights on the highway was pleasant.

I would have HAD to give a little toot-toot as I passed.

 

[SMSgt]

Last week I was just cresting a hill with 2 lanes with a light at the top. A car was coming up on me, behind him further down the hill in the other lane was the local Sheriff in his B&W with light bar.
The light turned yellow, there was a school bus turning onto my side of the road so I stopped rather than running the yellow (and a possible discussion with MR Law). The other guy didn't see the need to stop (or the B&W). Instead, he did a quick left lane shift, forcing the cop into the left turn lane and on to the divider.
The other driver made it about 20yard before the cop lit him up with both lights and siren.
They were on the side of the road as I went past. I would have loved to be a fly on the glass to hear the details of that conversation.

I have yet to determine if BMWs turn every driver into an idiot or if only idiots drive BMWs. There is no shortage of either in S. FL.

 

[lihpster]

I have yet to determine if BMWs turn every driver into an idiot or if only idiots drive BMWs. There is no shortage of either in S. FL.

Not only that but the BMW drivers in this area have convinced the idiots in the lifted, chipped diesel pickups that that is how you drive.

 

[Hair Trigger]

If you watch much Youtube, Arkansas State Police serves up quite a bit of Karma to those who drive like lunatics. Stuff like TVI's (PIT maneuver) at over 140 mph.

 

[LoboGunLeather]

I've been a licensed driver since 1965. Over those 58 years I have noticed that there are lots of other drivers who are much better than I am behind the wheel and willing to share with me (and others) how it should be done. I have learned so much from observing!

Having retired from law enforcement years ago I am happy to see that the tradition of recognizing all the truly special folks on the road by awarding coupons is continuing. Technology seems to be keeping pace nicely, with optical-digital scanners and laser printers to take care of the annoying paperwork neatly and quickly; no more tedious handwriting to complete the forms.

It must have been very annoying for some of my customers to sit for several minutes while I suffered writer's cramp filling out the coupons so they could see what they had won that day. The dash cam and body cam recordings must be very entertaining in the courtroom!

 

[CalifEd]

Not only that but the BMW drivers in this area have convinced the idiots in the lifted, chipped diesel pickups that that is how you drive.

Out here it is TESLA drivers.
Doesn't matter make or model, they seem to be a bunch of entitled mobile road hazards.

 

[venomballistics]

Common behavior in these parts.
Unless they are performing their self ordained duty of breathing down someone's neck, their HP figures don't matter. They don't use any of it.
Otherwise, expect them to merge with 70 MPH traffic at 45,or lead a quarter mile long string of cars while being passed by grazing livestock.

 

[lihpster]

Had a guy earlier today that set me off. Ford F-250 pulling a small, open top utility trailer with a bunch of chairs in it. He must have needed to get those chairs somplace important. I say this because he passed me on the right, doing about 70 in a construction zone with a 45MPH speed limit, then moved left and took off in a cloud of diesel smoke. I wanted rocket launchers.




Edit: Oh yeah, I forgot, this was on a bridge.

 

[bgrafsr]

One winter evening I was on my way to a gun shop where I worked part time. The road had snow on it so I was driving slower than the speed limit. A car pulls up behind me and starts getting too close to me, so I hit the brake pedal, and he did too, but his car lost control and slid off the road into a wide ditch, and then ended up against a fence.
There were several other cars on the road at the time also. I called the local PD and they sent an officer to the scene, and he ended up arresting the guy for DWI. Karma at work.