Aggressive driving tips

[dukemagic]

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Force your way into traffic: Someone already established in a lane may have the legal right of way, but if you want his spot, you have the physical advantage as merging traffic. If someone is providing at least a foot of space between him and the car in front, start to change lanes as the gap is about 3/4 of the way back on your car. Push as far as you can into his lane without hitting either car. You can use your turn signal here, but only after you've started to change lanes. It's telling the guy you don't intend to change lanes, you ARE changing lanes, so GTFO of the way. Since your car's nose angles in first, you can squeeze it right into the gap, and if you do it right, you're essentially creating a situation where the car behind will have to make a conscious decision to run into your car if he wants to continue fighting for position. No one ever does this. You win every time

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I ran a guy in a sporty little merdedes off the road doing this. The lane merges into a single lane, I usually let one car in but this time i let in two. Mercedes passes 4-5 guys behind me and thinks he will be three. I left a couple feet to tease him, (yeah, I know I can be an ass) and he did a little nose bob swerve type thing a couple times but I never let the gap widen nor swayed over. Eventually the lane ran out and he was on the shoulder still trying to pass until he hit a muddy area just before a ditch. After all that he turned left into a subdivision about 400 yards down the road.

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ughh it pisses me off so much when people use the merging lane to skip a few cars ahead... i'd never personally do what you did, but man have i wanted to.

[Adam Carolla]

Here's a tip: NEVER pay attention to red left turn arrows. Just turn as you normally would. WTF is the point of these? I'm supposed to sit there like a jackass when it's perfectly safe to turn just because there's a red arrow? Are you high? I'm turning, and any cop who wants to pull me over for it can kiss my ass.

[tuq]

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ughh it pisses me off so much when people use the merging lane to skip a few cars ahead... i'd never personally do what you did, but man have i wanted to.

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Is this what is referred to around here as "line jumping"? I routinely make it a point to jut out into the merging lane to block people from getting past me whenever it seems prudent.

[ScottieK]

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ughh it pisses me off so much when people use the merging lane to skip a few cars ahead... i'd never personally do what you did, but man have i wanted to.

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Is this what is referred to around here as "line jumping"? I routinely make it a point to jut out into the merging lane to block people from getting past me whenever it seems prudent.

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This s%$^ happens all the time on my commute, except there's no merge lane. There's an exit-only lane to get onto the interstate, and there's a huge line to get to that exit. Getting in line at the end of the line isn't good enough for some people, so they zoom up the middle lane and force their way into the exit lane when the exit comes up. Besides being [censored], it totally screws things up because the line goes through an intersection, and cars in line that are trying to get across the intersection get hung out to dry by people who cut into the line...the line stops in the middle of the intersection, the light changes, and all hell breaks loose. All because some d-bag wanted to shave two minutes off his commute.

Reading this thread makes me realize that I'm not just dealing with dumb-ass drivers who have no idea what they're doing. I'm dealing with dumb-ass drivers who know exactly what they're doing, plan it out in advance, and share tips about it on the internet. This is a revelation.

ScottieK

[prohornblower]

Great thread, d10. I'm a ridiculously aggressive driver who logs about 20k miles a year.

Here are some pointers for aggressive highway driving:

1)When all lanes are moving fairly equally, try to travel in one of the center lanes, this gives you the opportunity to switch to the left lane when it speeds up, or to the right lane when it speeds up. You have 2 "outs". Sticking in only the far left or far right lane will get you "trapped" a lot.

2) Always look for 18-wheelers and big trucks to cut in front of when late for an exit, etc. They are easy to get in front of, and they are "on the clock", so they can't really pull a gun on you. If there are none, then look for a car that has just cut in front of somebody else. Cut in front of THAT car. The reason is simple. They just cut, so they can't get mad at you for doing so. I always use this method.

3)Like you said, no blinkers. When people see blinkers they try to not let you in.

4) Again like you said, use ramps to circumvent traffic.

5) Drive across the grass median to get to the feeder/outer road when highway traffic is not moving. I do this in my Chevy Impala 2wd. Usually you only see trucks or SUV's do this.

6) If stuck behind a car in the passing lane who isn't speeding up or really even acknowledging you, don't stick to their ass, just sort of sway side to side in a non-threatening way behind them. The movement of your headlights will def. get their attention, and they almost always speed up to get over. Do NOT tailgate. They will slow down if you do.

[cbloom]

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5) Drive across the grass median to get to the feeder/outer road when highway traffic is not moving. I do this in my Chevy Impala 2wd. Usually you only see trucks or SUV's do this.


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LOL I do this, funny story : I did this once in Texas; the traffic was like at a dead stop and everyone in 4x4's started jumping off the freeway over to the feeder road. It was just a patch of grass between the freeway and the feeder, but the grass had grown real tall. Anyway, I cut over in my Honda and halfway through I hear a horrible CLUNK and screeching grinding sound. So I stop and check it out. Turns out there was a highway road sign that someone had knocked over lying down in the grass. It was totally hidden and I ran right over it and it got stuck under the car. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

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6) If stuck behind a car in the passing lane who isn't speeding up or really even acknowledging you, don't stick to their ass, just sort of sway side to side in a non-threatening way behind them.

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Another good technique is to turn on your brights at night. Don't flash them - they'll just slow down, just turn them on and leave them on, they have no choice but to get out of your way.

[prohornblower]

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5) Drive across the grass median to get to the feeder/outer road when highway traffic is not moving. I do this in my Chevy Impala 2wd. Usually you only see trucks or SUV's do this.


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LOL I do this, funny story : I did this once in Texas; the traffic was like at a dead stop and everyone in 4x4's started jumping off the freeway over to the feeder road. It was just a patch of grass between the freeway and the feeder, but the grass had grown real tall. Anyway, I cut over in my Honda and halfway through I hear a horrible CLUNK and screeching grinding sound. So I stop and check it out. Turns out there was a highway road sign that someone had knocked over lying down in the grass. It was totally hidden and I ran right over it and it got stuck under the car. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

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6) If stuck behind a car in the passing lane who isn't speeding up or really even acknowledging you, don't stick to their ass, just sort of sway side to side in a non-threatening way behind them.

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Another good technique is to turn on your brights at night. Don't flash them - they'll just slow down, just turn them on and leave them on, they have no choice but to get out of your way.

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I'm in Texas, and there are areas where the grass is worn down from people jumping the median.

I don't like the turning on of the brights. Honestly, I think that's a dick move, IMO. Try another method if you can.

[d10]

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I don't like the turning on of the brights. Honestly, I think that's a dick move, IMO. Try another method if you can.

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Yeah I have no problem cutting people off but I also think using brights is a dick move. Unless you've determined that they're being dicks by intentionally holding you back, then anything is fair game, to include lights and possibly any firearms you're packing.

['Chair]

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I don't like the turning on of the brights. Honestly, I think that's a dick move, IMO. Try another method if you can.

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Yeah I have no problem cutting people off but I also think using brights is a dick move. Unless you've determined that they're being dicks by intentionally holding you back, then anything is fair game, to include lights and possibly any firearms you're packing.

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I think the blinds are really dick per se, but more of a "rookie" indicator (like the use of left and right blinkers as already mentioned).


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I left a couple feet to tease him...

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hope ppl can understand the beautiful simplicity of this. tear in my eye...

[cbloom]

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I don't like the turning on of the brights. Honestly, I think that's a dick move, IMO. Try another method if you can.


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Word. I only use them when it's obvious the guy is blocking me & going slow on purpose, or if he's going like 10 mph under in the fast lane. In that case all friendliness is over.

Actually as an aggressive driver I try to be very considerate. If someone is driving reasonably I never do anything that would slow them down significantly. Contrast to the "safe" "defensive" drivers who will very often go out of their way to intentionally make it harder for me to do what I want on the road.