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"Not only ass$%$es drive Mercedes

4K views 35 replies 24 participants last post by  Jimding 
#1 ·
#9 ·
Commuting to work every day, I have to agree that most ahole aggressive privileged drivers I encounter day after day are in some luxury type machine.......and behind the wheel is typically a woman. ;)
 
#14 ·
Yes, this. Middle/older aged women is mostly who I see.

Since living in Miami for 6 years, I have counted how many times a BMW uses it's turn signal to get in front of me, and the number is two. I felt like printing off a little certificate for those two drivers, "This certifies (name) has mastered the use of their turn signal."
 
#15 ·
I most fear cement mixers on urban expressways and the unforgiving nature of the wheels that might run you over.
 
#17 · (Edited)
In rank order:
Prius - They Either cut off or move tight to prevent anyone from getting in front of them - Want to make sure everyone pokes along with them . - Personally, I think they are more of an arrogant ass (after bicycles in the city) than luxury drivers. In your face virtue signalers (look at me, "I'm saving the planet with my mixed electric car and never drive over 35 unless I'm cutting some denier off").
Any minivan - - Don't know how to change lanes - They just go into or hang in middle lane, because they can't use a mirror.
Bicycles - What is wrong with them? They go back and forth between being a vehicle and then a pedestrian and back again and arrogantly assume the right of way as a vehicle and/or a pedestrian. The whole world is a bike lane. Anything is possible when being passed.
Jeeps - Want to race to get in front and once there slow down to a crawl - Easy to pass - no pick up and go
Pickup trucks - Same as minivan and jeep
Luxury cars - Entitled (See Bicycles) - Don't look, don't stop and at 4 way stops may as well wait because they will just run you over whether their turn or not
SUV's -Not really a problem but tend to stop late and get too close at lights (also see women 30-60)
Any car with 5,000 stickers of any kind - Complete psycho. Anything is possible including shooting you at stop light, short braking in traffic, or plow over you at a stop light.
Old men 60 to 90 - Angry drivers and hate motorcyclists. I assume they are pissed off about not being on a motorcycle.
Men 20 to 60 - Meh - Some are asses, but generally make way.
Young women 18-30 - Completely oblivious to anything going on around them - especially if driving a Chevrolet.
Women - 30 to 60 - Pissed off at husbands (or because not married) and take it out on motorcyclists
Women - 60 to 90 - Act like young women, but they do it really slowly. - Plus no depth perception.
Women in 30's and men in 70's believe we are targets to be intimidated, assaulted, or run off the road.
 
#18 ·
Nine times out of ten...if someone is overtaking me by 10+ MPH and jumping in front of me too close for comfort without using a turn signal...they’re operating a BMW.

I’ve heard the turn signal joke for years with BMW drivers. As in, the turns signal is optional, so many BMW buyers choose not to purchase that option.
 
#23 ·
Nine times out of ten...if someone is overtaking me by 10+ MPH and jumping in front of me too close for comfort without using a turn signal...they’re operating a BMW.
sure, a$$holes come in all shapes and sizes but i find your number representative of southern ontario too.

the last one in ten is an even split between a Lexus or Mercedes but hands down, if someone is being inconsiderate, rude or down right dangerous it's a BMW.
 
#22 ·
I try to keep an eye out for women in low speed situations. Less than 2 weeks after getting my 14 year old scooter rider license, a lady at a stop sign looked right through me and pulled out in front of me. I locked up the rear brake (the only brake on early cushmans) and nailed her in the drivers door. I went over the top of the car and did a pretty good forward rolling breakfall. There was a cop right behind me trying to get me for speeding so I had the perfect witness that it was not my fault. Of course back in 1958 there were no helmets, in school we played football without helmets.
The bmw's and hot rods you can plan on them being aggressive and stay out of the way. but with the ladies You have no idea of what they are going to do. my mother was never in an accident, but I believe she caused several accidents.

Cheers

RLBranson
 
#24 ·
I think, in Oz, the most aggressive drivers are P-platers (Provisional licence holders displaying a P-plate - they have held a licence for less than 2 years) AND driving a white tray back utility (pickup with a tray, not a tub) - like this:


 
#25 ·
I always say "Not every a**hole drives a Dodge, but every Dodge is driven by an a**hole."
That goes double for Dodge pickup trucks. Triple if it's got New Jersey plates.
Here in eastern Pennsylvania, the Mercedes etc aren't too badly behaved; they're afraid of the Dodge drivers!
 
#26 · (Edited)
I liked the OP article; it touches in on an issue that goes beyond motor-vehicles.. do the disparities in monetary wealth influence how we perceive and treat each other? I'm going to say YES !!!

Then add the chaos of modern day urban driving and you have a showdown between the dis-empowered impoverished and vengeful vs. the entitled scornful aristocrats, whichever side of the coin you happen to be on.

A poor person driving a half broken vehicle now has a way to seriously (literally) impact someone they perceive to be from a higher class.

vs.

A rich person driving their luxury car (who's either inherited or made their money on slavery or others' wage-labor or lawsuits or insurance or stock-trading or politics or war) will probably not spontaneously decide to hand it all back.. USA is at war with communism!

Then in-between it all, the shrinking middle-class (probably most of you who ride the budget oriented V-Strom) trying to stay alive with rent and food costs steadily increasing while dealing with incompetent supervisors or co-workers or employee's (or all of them), while smugly believing our own choices are incapable of possibly irritating anyone else..

Can anyone on ST really claim they are focused 100%-of-the-time while driving / riding on public roads? Perhaps riding as a motorcyclist we have a heightened sense of awareness no matter if we're in a car or on a bike. But we are all still human, prone to mistakes or lapses of attention.

I think road survival should be a balance between:

a) Honing skills and awareness to react quickly and control our vehicles to get out of bad situations, even before they develop

b) Have realistic expectations of what we might encounter while riding on the road. In Oakland, CA, where I most commonly ride, I don't expect anyone on the road to respect me as a cyclist. If I did I'd be going insane a lot faster.

It's tempting to retaliate, maybe chase down the offending motorist to the next stop; but then what am I going to do? Frown at them through glass? Record their license plate? Report them to authorities? Break their side-view mirror or window? Pull out a weapon? Even if a cop gives them a ticket, do I really think that will make them a more courteous driver?

If we as riders assume every unknown motorist is potentially hostile, whether female, male, rich or poor, who, with the slightest notion and a flick of their wrist decide to ruin our day, then every car we pass that doesn't result in a collision is a success.

I suppose it just depends on which side of the coin lands..

K
 
#29 ·
You do know the article found non correlation between wealth and assholish behaviour. Rather it was confined to specific cars. The study took great pains to not mistake the difference. Rich people who bought other cars did not display the same self centred narcissism.
 
#27 ·
A couple of years ago I was driving my "dog park" car and somehow offended a GQ guy in a brandy new 7 Series BMW. He came up, cut me off and then brake checked me. We swapped lanes for a couple of miles, he is flipping me off and I'm wondering why anyone who could afford that car would be dumb enough to pick a fight with a guy in a $400 Isuzu Trooper with a blue fender. I was able to box him in behind some slow traffic for a while. Finally, he red-lined his blood pressure and passed us all using the breakdown lane. It was fun.

PS: 71% of people are sure they are better than average drivers.
 
#28 ·
PS: 71% of people are sure they are better than average drivers.
^
This. Seems everyone likes to point out other drivers in fancier cars than we have. Probably something a Psychologist could explain. I think it has more to do with the fact no one ever sees a tan Accord when they do the same thing......

I think the skill and common courtesy of drivers has declined over the years. Probably more due to the huge increase of traffic as far as courtesy I guess. I lump in driving rules with skill, such as using signal lights before you actually turn the wheel and KNOWING the actual laws about who actually has the right of way.
 
#33 ·
Just an observation of behavior in this area. Most of the really rude behavior (often first observed in my mirrors, so I can't tell what brand is coming) turns out to be Dodge drivers. Pickup trucks are the most common, but plenty of Magnums, Chargers and other Dodge products.
 
#34 ·
There does seem to be a correlation between car price and boorish behavior:


In terms of just bad driving, Kia's and Hyundai's top the list. Evidently people who don't care about cars (or their driving). Best recent example was a Kia parked on the left shoulder of a 5-lane Interstate, by all appearances stopped with another car for a chat. Decided to make an exit on the right side 100 yards ahead, meandered across 5 lanes at 20 MPH in busy traffic. Lots of horns and rubber on the road.

But the level of driving has been steadily declining. Quite obvious that some drivers are intentionally obstructing traffic, driving side-by-side on multilane highways to prevent passing. At an interchange I commonly used, drivers merging from the left need to move right to exit, and drivers merging from the right need to go left to stay on. Flip on the signal to merge left, and a driver on the right will invariably move up to prevent it, even though that prevents him or her from moving over to stay on. Just plain dumb. Have pretty much quit signalling lane changes, just to avoid the blocking.

Occasionally I will drive the speed limit, in the slow lane, making me the slowest vehicle on the road by 10 or 15 MPH. Usually a driver will race up behind me and tailgate me (two car lengths, if that), even though the next lane over is empty. The person will either stubbornly hang there, or else pass me in an exit lane (on the right) and swerve back in front of me. Especially when on the bike, ticks me off when a driver pulls a 2-lane pass on a multi-lane highway, running up right behind me, swerving to the passing lane (left or right) at the last instant, then swerving back immediately in front of me, blocking my view and having nothing like a safe following distance. Around here, some of the fastest drivers are in beaters, perhaps less than road-worthy. Makes me nervous when a driver goes shooting by 25 over the limit, with a donut spare on the back axle. But I do seem to see a lot of Jeeps being the following(colliding) vehicle in tailgating collisions on the side of the road. Maybe those massive off-road tires sticking out the fenders by a foot don't have great pavement traction.
 
#36 ·
On bikes, probably more by performance, rather than price. Lots of squids on hi-perf bikes, weaving in and out of traffic going 25 MPH over the limit. Not counting the 'air-cooled twin' contingent with deafening exhausts, obnoxious by presence rather than behavior.
 
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