Some drivers really hate us.....

[fansill]

Good Morning All,

Just had to get this off my chest... We recently attended a rally about 4 hours from home and on the way there, a high end Volvo driven by a middle aged man kept harrasing us. He was talking incessantly on his cell phone and as a result, his speed kept fluctuating. After a few minutes of being behind him, hubby decided to pass. When he saw us pulling along side of him, he sped up. OK...we now think that he has realized the error of his ways and he has decided to maintain a normal speed. He pulls away in front of us so we back off and pull back into the right hand lane. When we settle into our lane, we notice that he is once again directly in front of us and slowing down. To make a long story short...we attempted to pass him again and again and each time he sped up, making it impossible to pass him and then forcing us to slow down when he decelerates directly in front of us. One of the times, he actually looked up at us as we tried to pass and gave us the finger. To avoid a melt-down, we pulled into a rest area to allow him to go his merry way.

I know that many drivers prefer not to be behind a huge behemoth like us, even dangerously merging in front of us as they enter the highway to avoid being behind us, but I have never seen someone be as doggedly aggressive in his harrasment before. Is it envy of the big rig, road rage, or just plain stupidity??? And how do you all deal with this?

Frustrated in Massachusetts

Faith

[Senior Chief]

Try using your air horns on drivers like this. They usually perk right up and accelerate away...

[RVJeeper]

Who knows what is going through someone's mind when they act like that? I drove semi for 7 years and lost count of the kind of incidents you describe. You did exactly the right thing... pull off the road for a few minutes and let him go on and bug someone else.

[bldr11]

I vote for stupitity

[ga traveler]

There are people in this world that are just jerks. They don't like you because you are black,white, asian,mexican, etc. They are miserable and looking for a reason to hate you.
and yes, most are envious.

[mikron]

That happen to us heading to Florida from Boston on 84. When we pulled off for about half hr. and strated up again within 15 min we found the driver pulled over on the side of the road. As we approched he pulled out in front of us and started same thing. I called 911 and reported what was going on. A state tropper about 5 miles up the road pulled in behind the driver and pulled him over. We stopped and the tropper told us he was fowlling us for a few miles and saw what the driver was doing. The tropper told us to move on.

[mccsix]

Headlights on bright and horns

[okie-dokie]

Hi Faith, you did the right thing by pulling into a rest stop. I would not suggest using the air horn or bright lights, as that would only make matters worse. If you used the horn or lights here in southern CA, the next thing you might see is a 9mm pointed at you. Some people are miserable with themselves and take it out on others. Don't let others spoil your nice vacation, trip, etc.

[njs42]

Take a deep breath-----drop back---let them go on their way. If like us you are retired----then let the experience of your life overcome the lack of it in his/hers.

They will get their come uppance eventually---hopefully without hurting anyone else.

[MaverickBBD]

Just relax and enjoy the entertainment value in watching them drive. Remember the cleansing of the gene pool will catch up with then eventually. If it gets too bad pull off and have a cup of coffee and or walk the dog. Life is too short to let stupid people frustrate you.

[BryanL]

This sort of thing is one reason why NV has a program put officers in long haul trucks on occasion.

Like Mike says, you should report such behavior to the highway patrol - often there is a quick cell number like *611 for this.

But you can't depend upon law enforcement to always be on hand when you need them. So coping strategies are necessary. Take a breather or an alternate route.

Also, take notes. Take pictures. Movies, even, if your camera supports it. Harassment, stalking, aggressive driving, and erratic driving behavior are all items of interest to highway safety authorities these days. Most states have laws that require a driver to yield if being passed, for instance. Many also have laws about obstructing traffic. Taking notes and pictures might be a help if, Lord forbid, something unpleasant did happen.

Oh, BTW, have someone else in the vehicle take the notes and pictures and call the HP. You need every bit of attention you can muster on your driving when you have erratic drivers on the road near you.

And do be careful. Every now and then, very very rarely, you just might encounter some wacko who takes things way way too far. Especially if they see you observing and take offense. They can be extremely dangerous both to you and themselves.

[IMPULSE DRIVEN]

I think you did the right thing by removing yourself from the situation. I think it helps to pretend it doesn't bother you.

[Dick Noble]

See if you can find an old book called "The Naked Ape" it is an anthropologist's look at the human species as if we were apes without lots of hair. The author carefully explains what happens to humans (in fact to all mammals) when we get overpopulated. To me, this explains road rage - we are insane because there are to many of us! RVer's may be less insane because we can pack up and leave.

[dagray]

You did the right thing. The best thing is to pull off somewhere and take a rest for a little while. Remember, You can not fix stupid.
Life is to short.