Calgary drivers, Other Drivers, and Road Rage!

[Iggy Snipe]

Heres my story.

I was approaching a contruction zone on crowchild trail by memorial drive the other day, and as the sign said that the right lane closes ahead. It gives plenty of warning and they even had another sign further down the road. (This reminds me of the Crowchild trail exit bridge to Glenmore trail east, which has been up for years now!).

Anyways, as usual there are tons of cars in the left lane, getting in the lane early to avoid a mess when the lane ends. Well, for some reason there are always the a$$holes that feel they are special and should be able to drive all the way to the front and get in without anyone getting upset.

So the odd car keeps going to the front, and cutting people off almost causes numerous accidents, with the odd time someone letting them in without putting up a fuss.

I'm almost at the front, with only three cars ahead of me where the right lane ends, when a B.C. truck comes flying in slames on his brakes and trys to get in. Well the first two vehicles had enough and didn't let the other guy in. Well when the third car (the one directly in front of me) tried to not let him in, the guy rolled down his window and started yelling and pointing his finger. The man yelling must have been 35- 40.

I wasn't suprised as I have seen this before, but the driver was taking it to far. Once he he raced up and caught the kid (couldn't have been older than 18), he was signaling him to pull over, showing him he wanted to fight. Well, drove by them as they were going slower than the speed limit and the kid looked very scared.

I felt sorry for the boy, as he was fed up with people cutting him off (as was I) and not following the rules. Some people just think the rules don't apply to them. I was totally p****d off about the whole situation, but never said or did anything.

How many people have had people do that to them in construction zones where lanes end?? I bet everyone. It is very fustrating to say the least. Things like that is where all the road rage comes from.

Thought I would just share that story as it probably applies to more than just me.

[BlackArcher101]

Hear hear! When I was a flagperson on highway construction zones, I would hold cars back and delay them if they had tried skipping the queue. I was an a-hole, but it felt good

[PowerPlayoffs06]

Originally Posted by fotze

I purposely leave a gap to entice them to try and sneak in, then I close it. I've had some good fun doing it too.

I love doing that. I do it people in the left lanes too if I see them in my rearview speeding by everybody and I can tell they want to get over into my lane at the last second to catch an exit. I'll speed up or slow down to pace them so they can't get over and miss their turn. Awesome fun.

Get in your lane before it ends, not at the end.

[J pold]

I have been fingered… and asked to fight more than once…I don’t both appeasing these idiots…I’ll admit I have bad road rage but I would never take it to the extent of getting out of car to fight someone

[CaptainCrunch]

At that point, when he's threatening another drive like that, I always take down the license number, and if they pull over for the fight, I'll pull over as well.

I've broken up a couple of road side road rage fights in the last couple of years, just by threatening the pissed off person with a camera phone.

"You want to beat somebody up, go ahead, let me take some shots here. Oh and they're going to love you in prison, enjoy the marriage ceremony big fella"

[TheyCallMeBruce]

Haha, I had this happen to me just a few days ago. Some guy wanted in, but I wouldn't let him. Now, the place he was gonna cut in from isn't even a lane anymore, he had driving past the merge lane (I was already about 40m or so past the merge lane). Well, he followed me high beaming me and honking. We get to the lights, so I decided to get out of my car.

It's amazing how brave some people are in their cars, but when you aren't afraid of them and step out to challenge them, the guy freaked, cut around my car and drove off, running the red light.

Looking back, I shouldn't have step out of the car. What if he had a weapon or something. But I allowed my rage to get the best of me. That was a bad decision that thankfully didn't come back and bite me in the ass.

[I_H8_Crawford]

Originally Posted by TheyCallMeBruce

Haha, I had this happen to me just a few days ago. Some guy wanted in, but I wouldn't let him. Now, the place he was gonna cut in from isn't even a lane anymore, he had driving past the merge lane (I was already about 40m or so past the merge lane). Well, he followed me high beaming me and honking. We get to the lights, so I decided to get out of my car.

It's amazing how brave some people are in their cars, but when you aren't afraid of them and step out to challenge them, the guy freaked, cut around my car and drove off, running the red light.

Looking back, I shouldn't have step out of the car. What if he had a weapon or something. But I allowed my rage to get the best of me. That was a bad decision that thankfully didn't come back and bite me in the ass.

So the guy was in a merge lane and you wouldn't let him in???

If that's the case (that's how I read it) you were the a-hole in that instance.

Unless you mean it was an ending lane he was in and instead of waiting like everyone else, he tried to cut in on you - then he is the a-hole.

One thing I hate about Calgary drivers is the fact that they refuse to let people merge...

[TheyCallMeBruce]

Originally Posted by I_H8_Crawford

So the guy was in a merge lane and you wouldn't let him in???

If that's the case (that's how I read it) you were the a-hole in that instance.

Unless you mean it was an ending lane he was in and instead of waiting like everyone else, he tried to cut in on you - then he is the a-hole.

One thing I hate about Calgary drivers is the fact that they refuse to let people merge...

He had driven PAST the merge lane. He's on the solid line now. I mentioned that i was 40M past the merge lane. I have no idea how you manage to miss that part of my post.

[Bobblehead]

My wife had a guy get out and bang on her window a few years ago. He was tailgating her (he was speeding more than she was), so she let off on the gas to change lanes and let him by. The right lane was packed, so it took a bit be fore she got in, but the guy tailgating jumped in behind her as well, then got out of his car at the next light and was banging on her window.

She got a description, called the police, and he was caught. We went to court to testify, but the prosecuter came to us and said they needed to wait for an interpreter to arrive. And then later the prosecuter came back and said they had to drop the charges (I'm not sure why - the arresting officer made some sort of mistake), but the other driver was really sorry.

My wife lost a lot of faith in the legal system that day.

[Teh_Bandwagoner]

Yesterday I was trying to make my way home through the mess, so I decided to try some alternate routes. Ended up getting very lost. So I'm driving up 44th Street or something or other, and see that my lane was a right-only lane, so I try to pull out, but there's this black truck beside me that refuses to let me in. He neither speeds up to let me to behind him or leave a gap for me. So I end up having to come to almost a stop just to get in behind him, and the behind him was kind enough to let me in. Anyway yah my badd for getting in the lane late, but I was lost.


So I come up to a light and end up stopped beside the truck. Suddenly this old fat guy gets out of the truck and starts yelling at me for changing lanes late. And his old fat wife is in the car yelling at me too and making faces at me. I tell him to calm down and gimme a break because I was lost and he rants on about how I can't drive, just swearing away at me. Finally he gets back into his car, but before he does, I yell to him and his wife, "GROW UP".

I think that was by far the best come back because they were so angry. How would they retaliate? They're like in their 60s and I'm 25. Man such idiots.

[Dion]

A few years back a simlar incident happened to a buddy of mine. The other driver swore and gave them the finger, so my friend , who was in the passenger seat, tossed his half eaten Big Mac at the driver. lol It went through the guys window and all over his shirt. While the driver was busy cleaning up the mess on his shirt, they drove off

[CaptainCrunch]

Lucky we don't live in L.A.

[habernac]

Road rage is a scary thing. My friend's son supposedly "cut off" someone and a chase ensued. He ended up getting out of the car and was attacked by 4 young men, one of them weilding a machete. He was beaten badly and had a lengthy hospital stay. Lucky the machete was dull.

I know I'm never getting out of the car. I flashed the high beams at someone who cut a little close once. At the next set of lights the doors of the car opened and 4 guys got out. I was a little ways back, so I shifted into neutral and started revving the engine. No one wanted to volunteer to become a speedbump, they all got back in the car.

Everyone needs to relax and pay a little more attention to their surroundings out there.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Lucky we don't live in L.A.

Exactly! Instead of swearing they'd pull out a gun.

[azzarish]

People that cut other people off here and drive like maniacs and then get upset. They should try going over to Europe and driving, they will cut them to shreds over there.

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by azzarish

People that cut other people off here and drive like maniacs and then get upset. They should try going over to Europe and driving, they will cut them to shreds over there.

Yeah, that argument has come up before (I think 4x4 always says that in these threads).

I think the difference is that in Europe it is expected that things like that will happen, so when things like being cut off or splitting lanes happens it isn't a surprise.

Here, things like that aren't supposed to happen, so when it does it freaks people out.

It is like going out to play a game of NBC hockey and suddenly getting Phaneufed. If you knew a hit might be coming it wouldn't have been as bad.

[Flames0910]

i was coming out of a parking lot once and stopped at the stop sign to turn onto the road...across the street was the same deal, stop sign to turn onto the road...

i arrive first, and I'm about to start turning when this idiot drives right through the stop sign across from me. i honk my horn cause i had the right of way, and at the next lights he and his buddy get out and start banging on the window...

[REDVAN]

Speaking of road rage:

two summers ago I cut in fron tof this one guy, probably doing that same thing everyone in this thread was complaining about- but it was an honest thing, not like I was being a ######. Anyway, at the next nights the guy gets out of his car and comes to my car, my window is rolled down. He yells a little bit, which doesn't bug me. Then, I tell him to f-off, and he punches me in the face, through my car's open window.

I wrote down his licence plate, called the cops, and when they came they told me that if I wanted the guy to be investigated for hitting me, they'd also have to investigate me for reckless driving and whatnot to see if I provoked him. I wondered why that mattered, because he hit me and that is against the law. Anyway to make a long story short the cop told me touch #####. Kinda annoyed me.

But there is one thing I learnt from the cop: if someone gets out of their car, and then you get out of your car, it is considered a consentual fight and no charges can be pressed no matter how badly one person is hurt. This is good knowledge next time so guy gets out of his car trying to yell at me, I'll just get out and kick the out of him first. Especially if I ever see the same guy who hit me two summers back.

[TurnedTheCorner]

I don't care if people want to merge in front of me. I'm just trying to get where I'm going, just like they are.

[ericschand]

Everyone is in a rush to get where they want to. To the point they
drive dangerously. Why should I get in the way or try to compete?

I'll speed too, 10 to 15 km/h over the limit at times.

However, the real speed I aim for is not to be the fastest, or first
in line. I aim for the middle. Not the slowest, but not the fastest
either. I will never ever be the fastest car out there, and I try
to avoid being in front.

Why? Well, I don't want to be the first click on the radar trap
setup down the block/highway. You want by me, doing some
stupid speed, go right ahead. You don't want to let me in
front of you, and want to do 100km/h because of it, sure
I'll drive a little bit behind you. The prize is all yours.

I have been "saved" numerous times from a ticket because I refuse
to be the fastest, or in front. A couple of weeks ago, some guy in
a huge pickup truck wanted by real real bad, jumping lanes and all.
He ended up behind me, tailgating, so I moved over, then he shot
past, I moved back and resumed at around 95 and started passing
a few cars (limit is 80 on Crowchild).

Then I saw movement at the side of the road up ahead. It was a cop
and his radar pulling over the truck. Me? I was just happy I let him
by, and he gets ticket+demerit+insurance hike. I would have been the
next click on the radar gun otherwise since I would have been
almost in front, and the fastest there.

On 14th St SW, I was speeding, 90km/h following 4 or 5 others,
and a cop snuck up behind me. Aw crap. But some girl in one of
the other cars was weaving in and out. The cops lights came on
and I thought I was screwed, but he went by and pulled her over
because she had cut a bunch of people off.

Two weeks ago, did it again on the McKnight and 36th bridge (at
the top, where the construction guys park, the cops were waiting).
Some beatup minivan took the ticket.

So, why bother? Let someone else take the ticket, happy in the knowlege
that you avoided one while speeding.

ers