Post by: GigaBuist on June 11, 2008, 05:05:21 PM
"Honey, I think this guy wants you to get out of his way."
"Yeah. I know. I think he honked at me a while back but it was a little motorcycle honk. Screw him."
I tried explaining WHY pissing people off is a Bad Idea but it didn't sink in. She's an indignant as ever that if she wants to create a rolling road block then everybody else can just piss up a rope.
Quite frustrating.
Post by: Balog on June 11, 2008, 05:07:33 PM
Post by: Scout26 on June 11, 2008, 05:19:04 PM
My mom is a left foot braker.....as in her brake lights are always on.....
Post by: charby on June 11, 2008, 05:23:42 PM
Post by: grampster on June 11, 2008, 05:47:49 PM
Since I think you are younger than me, and we both live in W. Michigan, I think your wife was taught how to drive by mine.
The two lane road around our lake is curvy and hilly for 6 miles. No passing. She drives with the center line in the middle of her car. That way no one can pass her on the hills and curves, like they always try and do. She drives the speed limit, 35 mph and defies the moonbats. I told her she needs to get her CCW permit so she can survive coming home from the grocery store.
Post by: DJJ on June 11, 2008, 05:48:57 PM
Post by: cassandra and sara's daddy on June 11, 2008, 05:51:10 PM
Post by: GigaBuist on June 11, 2008, 05:55:35 PM
You need to start forwarding your wife all the articles on people getting killed over road rage.
She's aware of that... but it's not HER problem if they flip out or get violent. There's a bit of a logical disconnect there.Yeah, she's a Democrat. Even volunteered to work on McCain's 2000 campaign staff.
We've talked about this before. She was riding in the left lane, doing the speed limit, for mile after mile on the expressway one day not more than 3-4 car lengths away from a car in the right lane. I told her she should move over. Nope! No way! I tried explaining that people like her add 10 minutes to my commute (110 miles a day when I actually go to the office) for such antics. Wouldn't move. Maybe 10 miles later she finally got over.
We have two totally different views on driving courtesy. I have been honked at twice in the past year. I handle them entirely different.
The first was leaving the parking lot of the local Meijer. We were chatting so I wasn't as attentive as I usually am. We were in the parking lot making a left turn onto the road behind two other cars. Some idiot pulled up behind me in the left turn lane and decided he needed to go right. He honked at me because he didn't have enough room to get out from behind me and I didn't move ahead when I noticed him turn his blinker on. Took me a while to figure out why he honked because the idiot had a good quarter mile of parking lot behind him that he could have backed up into to get off my bumper. There was no reason for anybody to move on his behalf. I moved forward 6 inches to the thanks of "F---ing a-hole!!" as he pulled around me. Damned college kids.
The second was last week. I make a right on red into a two lane divided highway and take the far lane. Only one lane turns into this road so I can pick where I go and I'm making a "Michigan Left" where you do the right-turn, left-turn dance across a divided highway. When I merge into the turn lane somebody honks at me. The guy behind me also made a right on red, or perhaps the light went green when I pulled through, and he made a beeline for that left turn lane and managed to get there right about the same time I did. I had cut him off. Entirely my fault, but it's not common for somebody to drive that aggressively. Unless it went green the instant I hit the accelerator he broke some kind of traffic law to get into that position. I got the frick out of his way and locked the door when I saw we'd be sitting a red light together.
Post by: Scout26 on June 11, 2008, 06:05:06 PM
She was riding in the left lane, doing the speed limit, for mile after mile on the expressway one day not more than 3-4 car lengths away from a car in the right lane. I told her she should move over. Nope! No way! I tried explaining that people like her add 10 minutes to my commute (110 miles a day when I actually go to the office) for such antics. Wouldn't move. Maybe 10 miles later she finally got over.
I have pulled in front of such people and slooooooooooowed down to the point that move over into the right hand lane to pass me. I then rapidly accelerate to the unheard cheers of the people that were stuck behind the a-hole.
Post by: GigaBuist on June 11, 2008, 06:05:52 PM
The two lane road around our lake is curvy and hilly for 6 miles. No passing. She drives with the center line in the middle of her car. That way no one can pass her on the hills and curves, like they always try and do. She drives the speed limit, 35 mph and defies the moonbats. I told her she needs to get her CCW permit so she can survive coming home from the grocery store.
That would drive me friggen nuts.A little courtesy goes a long ways when you're trying to prevent a person with bad tendencies in their head from becoming a person with bad tendencies that's acting them out. Get out of their way and laugh at them when they're in the ditch.
Post by: Perd Hapley on June 11, 2008, 06:09:53 PM
Post by: GigaBuist on June 11, 2008, 06:16:05 PM
A girl after my own heart. Double points for annoying a biker.
Further proof that she's doing something wrong. 
Post by: Balog on June 11, 2008, 06:18:29 PM
Post by: GigaBuist on June 11, 2008, 07:05:30 PM
Are you sure you want to marry her? Radically different belief systems tend to lead to those pesky irreconciliable differences one does hear so much about.
Nah, we're OK there. I'm radically different from pretty much everybody when it comes to my beliefs. We both know that. She actually read through, or skimmed, everything in my blog before we officially dated. That was in 2006, and the blog went back to 2003. There was some bat nutty stuff in there and she was still fine.She's gradually coming over to my line of thinking, but not so much that it scares me. If she tried walking lock-step with me THEN I'd be concerned that she's just playing along.
I'd say I've also softened up on a few areas and moved a bit toward her's too, here and there.
We're both going into this knowing that marriage is hard at times. My parents hit rough spots and so did hers, but they made it through them. We've both seen situations where it would have been much easier for both parties to just walk away, but they didn't, and they're happier because of it.
I'm just whining here tonight because she drives like fistful. We'll either adapt or endure.
Post by: Scout26 on June 11, 2008, 07:09:05 PM
I'm just whining here tonight because she drives like fistful. We'll either adapt or endure.
Or she'll be buying me a new car after she rear-ends me........
Post by: GigaBuist on June 11, 2008, 07:22:10 PM
Or she'll be buying me a new car after she rear-ends me........
She doesn't tailgate. She knows that's actually illegal and unsafe. She just rides right off your bumper, or whatever distance suits her, one lane over, thus creating a rolling roadblock.
And LIKES it. That's what bugs me.
Post by: Gewehr98 on June 11, 2008, 08:20:53 PM
Quote
Double points for annoying a biker.
As one of several bikers on this forum, all I have to say is, "Nice, Fistful, really nice..."
Post by: The Annoyed Man on June 11, 2008, 08:38:21 PM
I REALLY hope she does that to me someday, while I'm enroute to a call-out. Would make my day to point out to her she put a child at risk...
Post by: Manedwolf on June 11, 2008, 09:17:31 PM
Post by: SteveS on June 12, 2008, 02:52:38 AM
We've talked about this before. She was riding in the left lane, doing the speed limit, for mile after mile on the expressway one day not more than 3-4 car lengths away from a car in the right lane. I told her she should move over. Nope! No way! I tried explaining that people like her add 10 minutes to my commute (110 miles a day when I actually go to the office) for such antics. Wouldn't move. Maybe 10 miles later she finally got over.
I have seen some signs on the interstates around here that have been popping up in the last year to remind drivers that this is not ok:
"Keep Right, Except to Pass...It's the Law"
I don't know anyone that has been ticketed, though.
Post by: SteveS on June 12, 2008, 03:05:27 AM
Or she'll be buying me a new car after she rear-ends me........
She doesn't tailgate. She knows that's actually illegal and unsafe.
Print this off and tell her that her rolling roadblock is also illegal.
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(y1xlxcylzofmgo3yftkv10yf))/mileg.aspx?page=getObject&objectName=mcl-257-634
Post by: HankB on June 12, 2008, 03:59:33 AM
If she keeps this up, one day she WILL encounter someone who's not content to merely give her the one-finger salute.
The outcome will not be good.
Post by: MillCreek on June 12, 2008, 04:04:34 AM
Post by: Boomhauer on June 12, 2008, 04:37:24 AM
Other than that, I'm content to get over or out of the way, because I don't want a confrontation.
I also cannot stand "courtesy drivers". They need to be dragged out and shot. If you don't know, a "courtesy driver" does genius stunts like waving people out into traffic. Let's say on a two lane road (two lanes on each side of the median), and they are in the rightmost lane, they will actually stop to let someone into traffic(creating a traffic backup) , and vigorously wave them on, straight into the left lane, where they will be struck by a car. I've always fantasized about choking a courtesy driver to death.
Post by: MechAg94 on June 12, 2008, 04:51:19 AM
Post by: MechAg94 on June 12, 2008, 04:54:18 AM
The second was last week. I make a right on red into a two lane divided highway and take the far lane. Only one lane turns into this road so I can pick where I go and I'm making a "Michigan Left" where you do the right-turn, left-turn dance across a divided highway. When I merge into the turn lane somebody honks at me. The guy behind me also made a right on red, or perhaps the light went green when I pulled through, and he made a beeline for that left turn lane and managed to get there right about the same time I did. I had cut him off. Entirely my fault, but it's not common for somebody to drive that aggressively. Unless it went green the instant I hit the accelerator he broke some kind of traffic law to get into that position. I got the frick out of his way and locked the door when I saw we'd be sitting a red light together.
That is not your fault. If someone is going to driver that aggressively, it is up to them to plan for other drivers to not see them and allow for it. It sucks for that other guy sometimes, but it happens. You can't drive aggressively and just assume that everyone else will continue at the same speed and in the same lane. Often they don't make any changes, but sometimes they do.
Post by: BrokenPaw on June 12, 2008, 05:55:10 AM
Your girlfrend's attitude reminds me of a saying I heard once: "The person who is rude to the waitress is not a nice person, no matter how nice he or she is to you." A nice person is polite to everyone, regardless of social status.
It sounds to me like she has a pretty deep mean streak, but that she's aware that it's socially unacceptable to take it out on people she knows, so she takes it out on people on the road because they're faceless and therefore don't "matter".
A mean streak like that will eventually be more than a "streak".
Serious question: Does she drink? And (the real question) if she does, what's she like when she's had a few? You can tell a lot about a person by how they behave when they're drunk.
-BP
Post by: Balog on June 12, 2008, 06:01:16 AM
Serious question: Does she drink? And (the real question) if she does, what's she like when she's had a few? You can tell a lot about a person by how they behave when they're drunk.
-BP
-BP
What does it mean if I get sleepy?
Post by: BrokenPaw on June 12, 2008, 06:11:31 AM
Serious question: Does she drink? And (the real question) if she does, what's she like when she's had a few? You can tell a lot about a person by how they behave when they're drunk.
-BP
-BP
What does it mean if I get sleepy?
Probably it means that you're old and need a nap. Happens to me all the time. With or without alcohol.
If your personality does not change significantly, then that (as a rule of thumb, based upon my experience) means that you do not wear a mask (or not much of one, anyway) in order to hide your true self when you interact with people.
-BP
Post by: MillCreek on June 12, 2008, 06:29:55 AM
Quote
Your girlfrend's attitude reminds me of a saying I heard once: "The person who is rude to the waitress is not a nice person, no matter how nice he or she is to you." A nice person is polite to everyone, regardless of social status.
More wisdom that I agree with. Back when I was on the dating market, this was one of the ways that I assessed people. If they were rude to service employees or others without a reasonable basis for doing so, I removed them from consideration. My life experience has taught me that such people and I would not be compatible.
And PS: I should point out that when I am out road riding on my bicycles, I never intentionally block or hold up traffic. If I have to for safety reasons, I try to resolve the issue as quickly as possible to minimize any traffic holdups.
Post by: GigaBuist on June 12, 2008, 06:35:32 AM
Quote
Your girlfrend's attitude reminds me of a saying I heard once: "The person who is rude to the waitress is not a nice person, no matter how nice he or she is to you." A nice person is polite to everyone, regardless of social status.
She's great with wait staff.Quote
Serious question: Does she drink? And (the real question) if she does, what's she like when she's had a few? You can tell a lot about a person by how they behave when they're drunk.
She talks a lot and never gets to the point. So, no real change from when she's not drinking.
Post by: atomd on June 12, 2008, 06:38:39 AM
Quote
She talks a lot and never gets to the point.
I just heard a million tiny voices in the distance yell out "sounds like my wife"
Post by: Scout26 on June 12, 2008, 06:45:11 AM
Quote
She talks a lot and never gets to the point.
I just heard a million tiny voices in the distance yell out "sounds like my wife"
I often tell Mrs Scout that stories have a beginning, middle and end....and that it's important the keep them in the correct order.....
Post by: Gewehr98 on June 12, 2008, 06:54:11 AM
Post by: Balog on June 12, 2008, 07:10:28 AM
And PS: I should point out that when I am out road riding on my bicycles, I never intentionally block or hold up traffic. If I have to for safety reasons, I try to resolve the issue as quickly as possible to minimize any traffic holdups.
I wish bicyclists would realize that some roads are simply not suitable for them to ride on. Steep one lane each way roads with no shoulder are not good places to be. When I drove a commercial truck it drove me nuts being stuck behind a bike doing 10 mph (if that) up a hill on a road too narrow to pass.
Post by: BrokenPaw on June 12, 2008, 07:37:30 AM
Quote
Your girlfrend's attitude reminds me of a saying I heard once: "The person who is rude to the waitress is not a nice person, no matter how nice he or she is to you." A nice person is polite to everyone, regardless of social status.
She's great with wait staff.The waitress is just the symbolic socially-unimportant person that the aphorism uses to make the point. The underlying idea is "people who are nasty to others who have not earned it, have an unresolved and possibly undisclosed issue".
Before you marry her, I would explore in some depth why it is that she seems to enjoy pissing off people on the road so much. Something about her personality isn't adding up.
Maybe you're dating fistful, and you just don't know it.
-BP
Post by: Archie on June 12, 2008, 07:53:16 AM
Stop and think about it: Do you really want to spend the rest of your life with someone who demeans and ignores other people? She isn't going to treat you much better in the long run, and when it's over, she will do her best to take everything.
"Trust me on this one", he said as he underwent his third divorce...
Post by: MillCreek on June 12, 2008, 07:58:26 AM
Quote
I wish bicyclists would realize that some roads are simply not suitable for them to ride on. Steep one lane each way roads with no shoulder are not good places to be. When I drove a commercial truck it drove me nuts being stuck behind a bike doing 10 mph (if that) up a hill on a road too narrow to pass. angry
Those roads scare me too. If I am unfortunate enough to be one and I am holding up traffic, I will pull over as far as I can, dismount, and wait for the traffic to go by. Otherwise, if it is steep, the only way to ride up is to ride in a switchback pattern, and that will block traffic.
Post by: Balog on June 12, 2008, 08:02:27 AM
Quote
I wish bicyclists would realize that some roads are simply not suitable for them to ride on. Steep one lane each way roads with no shoulder are not good places to be. When I drove a commercial truck it drove me nuts being stuck behind a bike doing 10 mph (if that) up a hill on a road too narrow to pass. angry
Those roads scare me too. If I am unfortunate enough to be one and I am holding up traffic, I will pull over as far as I can, dismount, and wait for the traffic to go by. Otherwise, if it is steep, the only way to ride up is to ride in a switchback pattern, and that will block traffic.
You're from here so you may know the road I'm thinking of. Going to Juanita up Finn Hill from Kirkland. To me, a bike on a road like that is a hazard no different than someone trying to run across an interstate.
Post by: Perd Hapley on June 12, 2008, 08:32:29 AM
Or she'll be buying me a new car after she rear-ends me........
She doesn't tailgate. She knows that's actually illegal and unsafe. She just rides right off your bumper, or whatever distance suits her, one lane over, thus creating a rolling roadblock.
And LIKES it. That's what bugs me.
Previous comment withdrawn. I don't drive that way.
Gewehr, about the "Double points for annoying a biker," where's your sense of humor, man?
Post by: The Annoyed Man on June 12, 2008, 08:59:04 AM
You have NO idea how many times I've had some schmuck in a cage try running me off the road, because they couldn't be bothered to LOOK before moving over...
Post by: Gewehr98 on June 12, 2008, 09:04:33 AM
Post by: BrokenPaw on June 12, 2008, 09:10:56 AM
I have no sense of humor when it comes to people intentionally mucking about with somebody on two wheels, regardless of what brand is on the bike's fuel tank. They're already at a disadvantage compared to the cagers, and yet you want to screw with them on purpose?
I'm guessing that fistful meant that the comment was meant to be humorous and not taken seriously. Not that he actually goes out on the road and bothers bikers. His talents lie elsewhere; to wit: he has successfully annoyed at least two bikers right here in this thread, without putting anyone in danger at all.Recall that this is fistful we're talking about here; he's only malicious to other people's intellects.
-BP
Post by: The Annoyed Man on June 12, 2008, 09:14:41 AM
Too often, people think a vehicle is nothing more than a toy. When the only vehicles involved are cars, no biggie. When you add bikes to the mix...
Two occurances spring to mind. One was in my first month of riding: came up on a Metro that was doing 40 in a 55, so I passed. Guy got pissed, and proceeded to come up to roughly 6 inches off my back tire. And was laughing about it.
Second thing was two weeks ago: I popped my rear tire doing 75 on the freeway. I bring it up because, had that happened in the first instance, I would have had a car going over the top of me at roughly 65. Do the math on how likely I would've been to survive that...
So yeah: we tend to loose our sense of humor when people talk about "screwing with bikers" on the road...
Post by: MechAg94 on June 12, 2008, 09:29:16 AM
1. I was driving 75 down a two lane farm road in my pickup. A biker was ahead pulled over. I noticed he started rolling forward, but was only doing 5 MPH or so. About when I was 50 yards back, he guns it and pulls out in front of me. "He guns it" is a bit strong as he only got up to about 60 MPH (eventually) and I had to slam on the breaks to keep from hitting him. When I passed him, he put his hands up like "what was that about?". I figured he was too stupid to try to explain it.
2. Same road, different day. 4 or 5 bikes were riding together. They were going basically at the speed limit and had me and a few cars piled up behind them. They were riding spread out such that it took a long time to pass them and the road was busy enough that long passing opportunities weren't coming. I finally just got up and cut in between them a couple times before finally passing the last one. I don't think they liked it, but they weren't giving anyone any other choices.
A-holes come on two wheels and four. The 4 wheel types can just be oblivious to those around them. It is the 2 wheelers that I just don't understand. Why drive stupid on a motorcycle?
Post by: Boomhauer on June 12, 2008, 09:30:06 AM
I give motorcyclists plenty of room and respect. Motorcyclists and commercial truck drivers seem to be the most concentious drivers on the road...well, except for some "bikers" who seem to like showing off and creating a danger to others...ya'll know whom I am speaking about.
Post by: MechAg94 on June 12, 2008, 09:33:54 AM
Most of the big groups of bikers out here are part of some event. You don't see many groups of more than 4 or 5 bikes at a time.
Post by: The Annoyed Man on June 12, 2008, 11:08:09 AM
I managed to keep some control. Honestly, I think I was getting help from above: by rights, when the back end came around like it did, I should've dumped and been sliding face-first down the road, with the bike coming after me. Instead, I fishtailed for a bit, then rode it into the ditch...
Post by: Bogie on June 12, 2008, 11:18:19 AM
I used to carry a few "largish" chunks of gravel in a pocket. I got too paranoid, they went in the air over my shoulder.
I wasn't the only one.
As for driving aggressively - she'll do it until she has a reason not to. Gigadude, you obviously aren't reason enough. Sometime someone is gonna call her on it, and she's going to have a problem. Or she's going to have an accident.
I now drive a cage, and I drive it like old folks get busy... carefully, and with deliberation.
And remember, next time you angrily honk at someone, while you're not slowing down, that could be Jenny in the other car, and she'll have no idea that you're honking. Because she's deaf. Besides - any time you're honking at someone because of something, you should be slowing down and creating distance between you and them, not closing on them.
Post by: Perd Hapley on June 12, 2008, 12:16:10 PM
When I said "annoying a biker," it was pretty obvious I was referring to the incident in the first post. Wasn't it? Whatever you may think of her driving, she did nothing to endanger the biker so far as I can tell. Post by: taurusowner on June 12, 2008, 01:34:15 PM
Quote
They were going basically at the speed limit and had me and a few cars piled up behind them. They were riding spread out such that it took a long time to pass them and the road was busy enough that long passing opportunities weren't coming. I finally just got up and cut in between them a couple times before finally passing the last one. I don't think they liked it, but they weren't giving anyone any other choices.
If they were going the speed limit, why did you feel the need to pass them, thus breaking the law?
Post by: doc2rn on June 12, 2008, 03:44:34 PM
You said "she drives down the middle straddling the line". Where do you live? I wanna volunteer at that police department! She wouldnt see less than a 10 point ticket.
Post by: DJJ on June 12, 2008, 04:15:28 PM
I also cannot stand "courtesy drivers". They need to be dragged out and shot. If you don't know, a "courtesy driver" does genius stunts like waving people out into traffic. Let's say on a two lane road (two lanes on each side of the median), and they are in the rightmost lane, they will actually stop to let someone into traffic(creating a traffic backup) , and vigorously wave them on, straight into the left lane, where they will be struck by a car. I've always fantasized about choking a courtesy driver to death.
Second this. A guy I knew in the 7th grade got killed (but not right away - he lived for a week or two) crossing a street on foot when one driver stopped for him, and one didn't.
RIP Peter Emborsky