Tailgaters & Phones

[imagine2frolic]

I was driving home last night in my Dakota 4X4. This car zooms up behind me where I can barely see the windshield. I give them a little brake light, and they back off. They come right back up to my bumper, so I step on the gas, and get in the left lane.

This idiot does the exact same thing, and is catching me now, because I have reached the speed limit. This idiot is coming so fast I hit the brake hard enough to drop the front end a bit. They miss my bumper by inches as they swerve up onto the center divide. The 2 right lanes open up, and I get over. This idiot behind me comes along side giving me filthy looks, one hand on the wheel, and the left hand clutchcing a phone. Must have been one IMPORTANT call!

[Cobrabill]

Locomotive horns work on those types as well as a-hole cyclists.

[FST FOX]

If I don't plan on putting my truck (King Ranch) in the garage I will leave my tow receiver on, helps encourage people to keep back knowing it will immediatly go through there hood or radiator before even touching my bumper

[CobraEd]

When the hell is every state going to make it illegal to use the damn stupid cell phones unless you have a hands free setup. I just don't get it

.

[Ron61]

I don't either but I will bet you that 9 out of 10 drivers you see here are on those dam phones and running lights and stop signs because they can't talk and see at the same time. I still think that all new car should be made so they won't work if the motor is running. The hands free won't solve the problem because most of these people can't talk without looking at the phone. I am probably the only person in the country that doesn't have one and I have no need of one.

Ron

[meat]

Originally Posted by imagine2frolic

I was driving home last night in my Dakota 4X4. This car zooms up behind me where I can barely see the windshield. I give them a little brake light, and they back off. They come right back up to my bumper, so I step on the gas, and get in the left lane.

This idiot does the exact same thing, and is catching me now, because I have reached the speed limit. This idiot is coming so fast I hit the brake hard enough to drop the front end a bit. They miss my bumper by inches as they swerve up onto the center divide. The 2 right lanes open up, and I get over. This idiot behind me comes along side giving me filthy looks, one hand on the wheel, and the left hand clutchcing a phone. Must have been one IMPORTANT call!

Try driving in California (or worse: Texas!). People constantly on cell phones, moderating their speed to keep up with the conversation, drifting all over the road, oblivious to everyone around them, they're an accident waiting to happen.

When people speed up and get right on my tail, I'll tap the brakes. If that doesn't remind them that they could be decapitated by driving under my rig, then I'll simply slow down to the speed limit (yep, I did say 'slow down').

I do like merging onto the freeway when there's someone in the slow lane who is on a cellphone. Sometimes they'll speed up to 'stop me' from merging in front of them (keep in mind that by the time I get on the freeway I'm already going traffic speed or better). Unfortunately, their reaction time is usually way off, and I've got damned good insurance. I don't use my turn signals as a way to ask permission.

The other thing I've noticed? If you're in the slow lane, and there's an exit coming up, the person in the next lane over will NEVER merge behind you (even though you're the last person in a line of cars and there's no one behind you for a mile or more) if they think they can wedge their car in front of you. Not sure why that is.

ARB needs to come up with a good steel front bumper so that I can gently nudge people out of my way without hurting my paint. I long for the days when my 455-powered 1970 Oldsmobile Delta 88 could cut through a Hyundai like a hot knife through butter. These new cars today ain't got no balls.

Your pal,
Meat.

[Doug I]

I can't hear mine over the road noise etc ........ can't even hear it ring most of the time.

[HI Cobra]

I had a bimbo who was on a cel phone try to make a u-turn from the right
lane when I was just to her left. She snapped the turn and all I saw was an
airbag in front of me - totaled both cars. No one injured in the accident but
I am not sure how she made out with her husband after they got home - he
didn't look happy. I glad no one was coming in the opposite direction because
we ended up in that side of the road.

[4RE KLR]

Originally Posted by FST FOX

If I don't plan on putting my truck (King Ranch) in the garage I will leave my tow receiver on, helps encourage people to keep back knowing it will immediately go through there hood or radiator before even touching my bumper

Hell YES. I am glad to hear I am not the only one that does this.

When we lived in Florida, a buddy told me if I had a big ass hitch I better put it on, and NOW. I was rear ended by the blue hairs six times in an ten month period. NONE of them stopped, not one! No damage to my hitch at all.

I need a bumper sticker on the back that says:

If you can't stop, SMILE as you go under

[Ron61]

Steve,

That would be a great bumper sticker. You should make one up. A close friend of mine who owns a construction company really socked it to a CHP car one evening. He was driving his big 10 wheel dump truck down from the mountains and it was just dark enough to need lights on. He said he just happened to look as he was going around a bend and there was a darn CHP car right up under the back end of the truck with no lights on, just waiting for him to do something. That truck had a hitch that took 3 people to lift. Butch said he just hit his brakes and the whole front end of the CHP car was destroyed as that hook went through it. The cop got mad and started to yell at him and Butch told him he had to slow down because of a deer that ran across the highway and if he had been back like he was supposed to be and had his lights on he could have stopped. Then the cop wanted him to tow the patrol car about 20 miles until he got here and Butch told him no, he didn't have a license to tow wrecked cars. The battery in the patrol car was busted and the cop couldn't even radio in. Butch told him he would call it in when he got on down here and the patrolman had to stay up on the mountain with his wrecked car until they could get a roll back there to haul it home. He got a call from the CHP Commander here asking him if he had any damage to his truck and he told him no. At least the officer didn't lie to his superiors about what happened.

Ron

[imagine2frolic]

I am from California, the Bay Area, so I know what it is like there. Even lived in S.F. for a decade. I leave the ball in my hitch all the time for extra protection.

[Cobrabill]

Originally Posted by CobraEd

When the hell is every state going to make it illegal to use the damn stupid cell phones unless you have a hands free setup. I just don't get it .

Ed-because the cops use their phones too much while in the cruisers.

[392cobra]

I think this kind of fits here...

A friend, who worked away from home all week, always made a special effort with his family on the weekends. Every Sunday morning he would take his 7-year old granddaughter out for a drive in the car for some bonding time. Just he and his granddaughter.
One particular Sunday however, he had a bad cold and really didn't feel like being up at all. Luckily, his wife came to the rescue and said that she would take their granddaughter out. When they returned, the little girl anxiously ran upstairs to see her grandfather.
"Well, did you enjoy your ride with grandma?"
"Oh yes, PaPa" the girl replied, "and do you know what? We didn't see a single dumb ba$tard or lousy $hit head anywhere we went today!"

[J. T. Toad]

It will be interesting to see what will happen with the new hand free law this summer. Personally, I worry that it will be worse as people start fumbling DOWN into the cockpit to dial numbers and text their messages, rather than keeping the phone UP scanning. I wonder if no phone in motion wouldn't be necessary. I had to laugh at a blue-tooth headset gal and her animated conversation with both hands in the air describing something big and round, whilst doing 70 down the freeway.

[imagine2frolic]

I believe in New York there is a no cell phone at all by driver ban? I am sure someone will correct if I am wrong. I like that law best of all!!!!!!! I can't begin to count how many times I have avoided being hit by someone on the phone.

[uncltodd]

392- you hit home, Brudda. My G-daughter is 17, and I am trying to teach her polite driving skills?

A curse on me for teaching her to curse.

"A pox on thee, giant. We small folks only ask to pass by, unharmed."

My rosy red bunghole. Do a US highway populated by NAFTA semi drivers.

UT

[bomelia]

When you "slow" down on a tailgaiter, keep slowing down. Down, down, down. Best done in a no passing zone. Once I did that to a tailgaiter, she apparently got so mad, she rammed my car! In front of a policman writing someone else a ticket! He ALMOST arrested her for attempted murder!!! We both had to sit in the back of his car and fill out accident reports. She wrote "nothing happened", signed it and tossed it back to the front seat. I looked at her with the most sorrowful eyes I could manage, and told her that I saw it differently, and that it was going to take me quite a while to fill my report out... and it did! Almost 30 minutes. You could see the officer snickering in the front seat. She kept cussing me and flipping the bird the whole time.

Thing is, she was rather cute! And get this, she had a baby in a car seat.

Mike

[uncltodd]

Baby in a car seat! Sorry, just pushed a button. My Avatar just had a little girl, I'm spinning. I'm the Godfather again.

She will grow up knowing half-burned fuel smells, along with engines that don't idle and little cars that move quickly and will probably scare the e-wee out of her, at first.

She will become accustomed.

UT