do you speed?

Just chill in the right hand lane and be a defensive driver, not offensive.

Better advice could not be given in this case.

GMScud -- people blocking the left lane is the largest cause of road rage according to multiple insurance company surveys.

Doesn't surprise me. It's maddening. I don't rage on people who block the left lane, but it's really annoying. And the bottom line is, if someone is blocking the left lane, it's going to cause more lane changing and speeding, because inevitably other drivers will go around them.

I agree with you that Schneed's vendetta against speeders is counterproductive and likely to backfire at some point. But in his own words, he's "a stubborn SOB," so I doubt anything we say is going to change it.

On a side note, if someone had the nerve follow me into a rest stop to confront me on my driving... well...

Blocking a lane is beyond immature. If you care so much you should be a cop and pull people. Just take their plates and report it, no need to freak out. Schneed I consider you a pretty mature and rational guy, didn't expect you to act like that.

And there are other issues at hand, such as lax punishments for speeders and those who cause accidents. Also more cameras that give tickets in the mail should be kept, they are proven to deter speeding and reckless driving.

If anything Schneed is causing further congestion, lack of improper traffic flow, etc. I am sorry for your loss, but why don't you use all that energy you have towards a more productive cause? Work for an organization that advocates changes in traffic laws, or an org. that educates people. etc. because this one man personal vendetta doesn't really achieve anything.

A day or two later they will speed again.

Schneed -- All your driving is doing is contributing to the problem, not alleviating it. Cars now days can handle faster speeds much more reliably. I cruise at 85, yet I consider myself a very responsible driver. I always signal, then change lanes so my intentions are clearly available. I don't tailgate, and when traffic doesn't allow for my normal speed -- I go with the flow, just like most people. That's my decision and I'm willing to risk the consequences. When I find someone like you, typically not paying attention and being inconsiderate of others, is when I end up swerving in and out of traffic to get by the douche.

It's not your place to try to regulate the roads. If speed were as big of an issue as you seem to think it is, states wouldn't be considering upping the speed limits. The current speed limit has one goal -- to make money for the state. Originally, 55 made sense for the conservation of fuel and the vehicles available at that time. No longer, traffic can flow much quicker.

I see you ignored a very valid point by CRedskinsFan.

Personally, I feel as if getting a license and keeping a license should be much more difficult to obtain. I think special licenses should be required for SUV's, etc (just asking someone who owns an SUV or large truck to park it in a parking space would eliminate half of them). I pride myself on being a careful driver, especially at fast speeds.

One day Schneed, I have a feeling your plan may backfire on you, and I can't say I'll have a ton of sympathy. When you go out of your way to annoy and aggravate others, that may come back. Someone may swerve in front of you and slam on their breaks, etc. You're practically asking like it. Just chill in the right hand lane and be a defensive driver, not offensive.
never read a more rational, and mature response on this site. i agree 100%. and by the way, i usually drive around 10 miles over the speed limit. and with me being a 11 year trucker, im pretty defensive. even driving that fast.

never read a more rational, and mature response on this site. i agree 100%. and by the way, i usually drive around 10 miles over the speed limit. and with me being a 11 year trucker, im pretty defensive. even driving that fast.

My summer/side job is driving a bread truck around. Great money if someone in the NOVA area wants a job where they'll never see their friends! Anyhow, work starts at about 2am, then in the truck from 3:30ish AM on. I learned to be defensive by avoiding drunks.

#1 Who ever said blocking the lane purposely was mature? Not sure why that's an issue. It's basically my way of getting my way, which is as childish as can be. The thing you guys aren't getting is that I think it's the right thing to do, and don't give a shit if it seems childish. (In case you haven't noticed, I'm not the type who really cares what people think of me.)

#2 If you're cruising at 85, and everyone else is cruising at 80, then it's pretty safe and I have no problem. If you're cruising at 85 and everyone else is cruising at 70, then it's not safe, and that's when I start to blockade.

#3 Are we seriously making the argument that road rage is understandable when people blockade the left lane, just because insurance companies say it's the number one cause of road rage incidents? That's ass backwards. The conclusion that should be drawn from that is if you feel yourself getting enraged by someone blockading the left lane, you should realize the situation you're in and chill the eff out.

#4 I like my chances in a head to head, in-person confrontation at a rest stop over being on the road with some guy doing 95 while the rest of us are going 75. I'm a pretty sizable guy and was a NCAA D-1 varsity athlete. Most people when they see me would rather not get to the physical stage, so I've just gotten my point across firmly but with respect. Yet ready to take it to the next level if need be. I guess there's always the chance I run across a guy with a gun or something, but like I said, I think those odds are lower than the danger an extreme speedster amongst sane drivers poses.

#5 After all this, I should note that if you're on I95 doing 85 while everyone else is doing 80, I might shake my head and say what the eff's the hurry, but that's not going to set me off. What gets me are the extreme cases, and that's when I start effing with people. It doesn't happen all that often.

#1 Who ever said blocking the lane purposely was mature? Not sure why that's an issue. It's basically my way of getting my way, which is as childish as can be. The thing you guys aren't getting is that I think it's the right thing to do, and don't give a shit if it seems childish. (In case you haven't noticed, I'm not the type who really cares what people think of me.)

#2 If you're cruising at 85, and everyone else is cruising at 80, then it's pretty safe and I have no problem. If you're cruising at 85 and everyone else is cruising at 70, then it's not safe, and that's when I start to blockade.

#3 Are we seriously making the argument that road rage is understandable when people blockade the left lane, just because insurance companies say it's the number one cause of road rage incidents? That's ass backwards. The conclusion that should be drawn from that is if you feel yourself getting enraged by someone blockading the left lane, you should realize the situation you're in and chill the eff out.

#4 I like my chances in a head to head, in-person confrontation at a rest stop over being on the road with some guy doing 95 while the rest of us are going 75. I'm a pretty sizable guy and was a NCAA D-1 varsity athlete. Most people when they see me would rather not get to the physical stage, so I've just gotten my point across firmly but with respect. Yet ready to take it to the next level if need be. I guess there's always the chance I run across a guy with a gun or something, but like I said, I think those odds are lower than the danger an extreme speedster amongst sane drivers poses.

#5 After all this, I should note that if you're on I95 doing 85 while everyone else is doing 80, I might shake my head and say what the eff's the hurry, but that's not going to set me off. What gets me are the extreme cases, and that's when I start effing with people. It doesn't happen all that often.

As to your first point, it just seems strange coming from you. You seem like a pretty straight thinking, logical person. This kind of behavior seems dumb (and as you said- childish), so it's just kind of off in this case, IMO. You may think it's the right thing to do. But again, what do you think police officers (you know, the guys who actually do this stuff professionally for a living) would say about your pseudo-traffic cop vigilante "justice?"

As to your second point, you "start to blockade" at the 15mph over the speed limit mark. You think it's right to take matters into your own hands and pull maneuvers that are potentially much more dangerous than just letting the 85mph guy just go on his way? I think it's strangely convenient how you are just ignoring the very valid arguments that have been made against your behavior. It's not like you to avoid a strong argument.

As to your third point, I think it is understandable that road-rage is caused by people blocking the left lane. It doesn't mean it's excusable, but certainly understandable. And the fact that insurance companies have proof that your "blockades" do far more harm than good should tell you something. I'd hope so anyway.

As to your fourth point, I hear you. People don't generally try to mess with me either, and I'm not one for backing down. That said, I don't go out looking for it either. That kind of behavior for me pretty much faded after my early 20's. Let me ask you, if you confronted some guy at a rest stop who you could clearly handle, and without getting physical he totally blew you off and laughed in your face, pretty much telling you to kiss his ass, then what?? I'm just asking, because if someone (big, small or otherwise) confronted me in that manner, that's how I would react. It would pretty much go like this: "Did you really just follow me in here to bitch at me about my speedometer? Ha! Mind your business. For real."

Look Schneed, I'm not the type of driver you would ever pull this with, because I'm not reckless at all, and I rarely push it more than 10mph over. In fact, I have a perfect driving record.

But I do think your behavior is totally counterproductive, and IMO what you're doing is actually more dangerous than just worrying about yourself and being a defensive driver. Daseal was right. You're on the offensive. It reeks of bully-ish behavior. No disrespect intended, and we can agree to disagree. Just my opinon.

As to your first point, it just seems strange coming from you. You seem like a pretty straight thinking, logical person. This kind of behavior seems dumb (and as you said- childish), so it's just kind of off in this case, IMO. You may think it's the right thing to do. But again, what do you think police officers (you know, the guys who actually do this stuff professionally for a living) would say about your pseudo-traffic cop vigilante "justice?"

As to your second point, you "start to blockade" at the 15mph over the speed limit mark. You think it's right to take matters into your own hands and pull maneuvers that are potentially much more dangerous than just letting the 85mph guy just go on his way? I think it's strangely convenient how you are just ignoring the very valid arguments that have been made against your behavior. It's not like you to avoid a strong argument.

As to your third point, I think it is understandable that road-rage is caused by people blocking the left lane. It doesn't mean it's excusable, but certainly understandable. And the fact that insurance companies have proof that your "blockades" do far more harm than good should tell you something. I'd hope so anyway.

As to your fourth point, I hear you. People don't generally try to mess with me either, and I'm not one for backing down. That said, I don't go out looking for it either. That kind of behavior for me pretty much faded after my early 20's. Let me ask you, if you confronted some guy at a rest stop who you could clearly handle, and without getting physical he totally blew you off and laughed in your face, pretty much telling you to kiss his ass, then what?? I'm just asking, because if someone (big, small or otherwise) confronted me in that manner, that's how I would react. It would pretty much go like this: "Did you really just follow me in here to bitch at me about my speedometer? Ha! Mind your business. For real."

Look Schneed, I'm not the type of driver you would ever pull this with, because I'm not reckless at all, and I rarely push it more than 10mph over. In fact, I have a perfect driving record.

But I do think your behavior is totally counterproductive, and IMO what you're doing is actually more dangerous than just worrying about yourself and being a defensive driver. Daseal was right. You're on the offensive. It reeks of bully-ish behavior. No disrespect intended, and we can agree to disagree. Just my opinon.

A number of quarrels with your points. You're making a lot of assumptions here, assumptions which would naturally lead you to believe I'm being illogical. Let me clear it up for you, you might see more logic:

You seem to think I'm pulling some sort of "dangerous maneuver." It's really quite simple and not dangerous at all. I usually cruise in the left lane. If someone comes up at a sane rate seeking to pass, I move over and let them by. If someone comes up at a reckless rate or tails me, I stay right where I am and I match speeds with the car to my right so he has few options to get around. Ultimately, all I'm doing is going a constant speed. My eyes are faced forward, I'm at 10 & 2, and I'm ignoring the guy behind me. There's no way that can be construed as dangerous, unless you actually want to blame me for the angry response I get from the bozo behind me. And that would be absurd.

You'll never see me swerve from one lane to the next in order to try one of these blockades. It would make no sense to take on more risk myself in order to reduce the risk posed by the bozos on the road.

Another quarrel, who said the insurance companies have proof that blockades do more harm than good? You're extrapolating that from the point that "people sitting in the left lane is the #1 cause of road rage." Which I'm not even willing to blindly accept, by the way, without seeing proof, and furthermore I find it irrelevant because the emotional reaction by the road-rage-ee is the proximate cause of any accident. Just because someone gets pissed off doesn't mean they're excused of responsibility for their own actions. And like I said, I don't buy that crappy stat anyway, you're going to have to prove it to me. I would venture to guess that someone going 95+ MPH without road rage is more likely to be involved in a fatal accident than someone road raging while he's stuck behind a guy going 75. There is logic there: speed reduces the margin of error and is a greater factor in causing accidents than angry responses at a slower speed.

So until you bring me something other than saying "I think a cop would say this", or naming some lame anecdotal insurance industry line without a link to back it up, then I think you're the one without the cogent, logical argument.

Let me ask you, if you confronted some guy at a rest stop who you could clearly handle, and without getting physical he totally blew you off and laughed in your face, pretty much telling you to kiss his ass, then what?? I'm just asking, because if someone (big, small or otherwise) confronted me in that manner, that's how I would react. It would pretty much go like this: "Did you really just follow me in here to bitch at me about my speedometer? Ha! Mind your business. For real."


This is kind of off the topic of the thread, but I can kind of be a serious asshole when I want to (in case you hadn't noticed, LOL), and my hypothetical response would be to follow the guy into the bathroom and continue talking to him until he no longer could stand it and ultimately throws the first punch.

I'm pesky, I don't go away, I'm persistently annoying, I'm not afraid of much, and I'm really REALLY good at pushing people's buttons.

Ultimately you're right, I can't actually stop a guy from speeding. He could blow me off and get right back on the highway and get right back up to 95.

But it's neither here nor there because it's never happened. I've actually said something to people about speeding two times in my life. One time it was a guy and his family going on vacation, I saw them at the table at Burger King and said hey I was behind you for a while there and you were speeding and weaving pretty dangerously. His wife immediately got all over his case, she clearly didn't appreciate his speeding, and I had to say no more, she took it from there.

Another time I saw some douche in a beamer (nothing against beamers, just douches) a few years older than me and told him hey you should chill out on the roads. He ignored me, but we got back on the road at the same time and he wasn't going fast anymore. I guess sometimes all it takes is saying something. I mean when I said "confront", that didn't mean physically threaten. It meant verbally confront.

I'm not sure if being a passive aggressive road rager is any more productive than the dick driving 90 and riding everyone's ass. I mean is it really worth it Schneed? What happens when you come across with the one wacko with a weapon?