Gridlock Mikey

some one beeps thier horn at you for whatever reason, on a roundabout, overtaking, etc and you know that you are not doing anything wrong, you look at the person who's beeping to see them calling you all the names under the sun etc.

Does anybody ever do anything about it?

I had a guy beep me because i went round the outside of him on a roundabout, he was doing maybe 15 miles an hour, so we are not talking mega speeds. I overtook him because i didn't want to sit behind him at that speed. I knew which exit i wanted.

I looked in my rearview and he was going mental, so i stopped just off the exit of the roundabout and got out of my car, poor ******* **** himself, drove onto the pavement and around my car, just to avoid the confrontation!!

I'm not a punchy bloke, i was just curious as to why he'd gone off on one, and to be called a Fcukin' ***** for doing what i did, seemed a little excessive.

I've stopped before because a couple were giving me the dis approving looks as i drove up the road at 20mph.

I asked why they were shaking thier heads at me and they refused to comment

Cowards the lot of them.

Does anyone else challenge these part time road warrior/ do gooder types or is it just me?

Mikey

Dream Weaver

No, I just pull out me gun and shoot 'em - nosey gits.

DW

That was a joke BTW, if any of them are reading this.

DJ Dunk

iTrader: (5)

Actually, thats just what a mates dad did.

Shot a blokes tyres, not the other person obviously
Never saw him again, wonder why.

Seamus

I usually ignore nobbers like that. Had a similar thing this morning. Driving up the M1 just before 6am, completely empty stretch of road except for a Volvo V40 sat in the middle lane. No way I was going to cross 3 lanes and back to get round so I went up the inside (was I wrong? How many of you would have done the same?). I was not hammering along either, as I passed him he's sitting there giving me the w4nker salute and proceeded to put and leave his lights on mainbeam, still sitting in the middle lane.

Explanations on a postcard to.....

peccy

just last weekend, i went for a thrash round some local country roads (60mph limits), was in the middle of nowhere doing about 70ish when i came across a posse of hikers, they all started giving me the slow down signals and pulling angry faces...

...so i dropped it to 3rd, pedal to the metal and waved goodbye, seeeeeeya!

Pierre T

I used to get into silly confrontations when I was 17-21.

After a while I learned the art of tolerance.

These days, if anyone ever gives me grief I just give them either a friendly "hello" wave or a polite "thank you" wave.

This either confuses, angers or calms them. Makes me feel good anyway.

NAP6W

The only problem with stopping and confronting is when the guy stabs you and you die. Good mate of mine had a similar experience - pulled over, the guy stopped, an argument ensued and the guy pulled out a blade and stabbed him. He lay for 45 mins before crawling back to his car and phoning the amulance. They never got to him in time. Perpetrator is now doing 10 years at Her Majesteys Pleasure. Just smile, wave politely and rise above it.

humbug

Depends on the situation, but these days I tend to let it go, when younger I would have been more aggressive back.

Sometimes i wish I had a land rover though, so then I d simply not be so careful about avoiding bumping into some of these tossers and wrecking their little cars.

Gridlock Mikey

Dudes, i'm 32

Sorry to hear about ya mate getting stabbed but the fear of the confrontation ending up as a violent escapade, doesn't enter my head.

I'm not getting out of my car all screaming and a hollering, waving a hammer or knife, it's all quite calm. I find that if i ignore them or "politley" wave, it don't make me feel better.

I'd like to point out that if there is any doubt at all that i have been the "dick" of the road, i accept my "Bollokin'" and go on my way. I never try and defend something that I may have done wrong. I'm NOT the best driver in the world, but I try to be better than average

Mikey

zoog

I get much less hassle when I've recently had a haircut (usually a number 2).

SWRTWannabe

Are you sure they were talking to you? I thought I'd upset someone as it appeared they were shouting at me, but when they went past they ignored me and they were actually arguing with someone on their hands free

fast bloke

Bravo2 - I had a similar experience on a bike. Guy pulled out in front of me, but I had enough time to pull out and pass. Seconds later he is 2 inches from my back wheel with main beams on. I opened it up and left him. Next thing I know he is again 2 inches away at *cough* ahem MPH. Quick enough to kill me on the spot if he got it wrong anyway. Eventually got to a set of lights. he jumped out of the car and came running towards me. I got off the bike and squared up. What a halfwit. I am at least 6 inches taller than this guy, I am wearing half a brazilian cow, enough kevlar to fend off a couple of tank rounds and a pair of gloves with metal strips down the back of the fingers. He punches me on the crash helmet about 4 times before he realises the error of his ways. He is now looking at me like he is about to die. I kicked him in the nuts, jumped on the bike and f'd off to the nearest police station to report it. The guy I reported it to could hardly take a statement for laughing.

Jolly Green Monster 2

I used to stop and get all annoyed and usually they coward away or something.

These days I just wave and smile... they usually get more annoyed..
one guy ended up waving a crowbar out the window of his jeep whilst we travelled at 80mph around the M25... I just waved goodbye...and put my foot down.. no point trying to reason with someone.

If they think it is fine to sit in the middle lane for example they are not going to be open to logic and understand you.

The only way I have managed to explain to someone before that sitting in the middle or outside lane at 70mph is not a good idea was to point out that yes we should all only be doing 70mph but we are all queued up behind you and emergency vehicles now have to wait for everyone to move out the way. If you were in the inside lane there wouldn't have been a queue. They now drive in the inside lane

BuRR

Kenneth Noye springs to mind

pmortlock

Thats good advice ************** - there are a lot of people out there who would not think twice about hammering your skull and/or car over nothing more than a middle finger. If you're going to react, make sure you get a good getaway as you have better things to do after all.

Jon1T

Without turning this into a bikers forum, I had some car drivers do amazingly stupid things when on my bike. Some guy in a vetra just pulled into the side of me in roadworks (three lanes down to two) even tho he knew I was there. I had a lady in a Fiesta do the same - she wanted to occupy my exact bit of the road and IMO the absolute worst criminals are people who brake test you when you're coming up behind them to overtake at er..70mph. Thing is I'm a calm person but I went absolutely mad each time -cos you know you could be killed. I nearly tried to ram the Vactra I was so mad - guess I'd have come off worse! Still when you do the old 'wnker' sign, everyone on the motorway can see it - good embarrasement factor for the errant driver.

T16GER

I'm not the most tolerant driver in the world when it comes to other people and them using there horn. Just a couple out of a long line of incidents.

A while back I'd just picked up a new car and some guy behind me at a set of lights started using his horn, I could see the traffic on the other side wasn't moving and also it was a yellow cross box, so I get out and tell him what I think of him, he sat there quite as a mouse and even waited for the next set of lights to change before moving.
This was only a few weeks back, I was pulling on to the M5 at Junction 2 Dudley, well the one lane filter round and the road marking show this quite clearly, this to55er started using his horn, so again I stopped the car and got out to tell him what I thought as well, he was quite luck as he had him wife and kid in the car, so the language was very good for me. The things that got me was when we did get onto the motorway, he was giving me the wa**er sign and the like, so I made it quite clear to him that he should either pull over on the side of the motorway to tell me what he thought or maybe even off at the next junction, funnily enough he declined both offer, to55er.

GP

granted that Bikers do tend to develop extreme self preservation instincts I'm sure, and do tend come on the receiving end of very bad maneoveurs - but I do think it's fair to say that many seem to toe and sometimes cross the line of what is definitely dangerous and think they're invincible - worst case was awhile ago there was a couple bikes come up behind, obviously in 'race' mode - weaving and having a right old chat to each other - a small gap in the oncoming traffic and the lead bike (R1) nailed it and squeezed though, passing what seemed like inch off my front bumper - followed by his mate on the slower bike after the oncoming traffic had passed (with heart in mouth no doubt, and they had slowed right down in the face of rapid bike in their lane).

anyhoo there was lights up ahead and they were stopped, merrily yabbing, mr R1 takes a look back at me (wonder why), and I simply smile and shake my head dissapprovingly.

- down come the footstands (here we go thought I) on both bikes and two leathery blokes walk up beside my window, which I lower politely and see what they got to say.

R1 kicks off about what the hell is wrong, to which I reply I think your riding stinks - that was ferking dangerous back there I say.
Classic biker argument of 'I was in control and knew what I was doing' - ok maybe I say but don't put other people in danger while you're at it, kill yourself in the privacy of your own ditch or words to that effect, away from the rest of us - I should point out that I was in a very lairy looking & sounding car, full roll cage etc.. don't know if this had anything to do with it.

we argued for a bit & agreed to disagree after about a minute and they wandered off in a huff, completely unchanged in their attitude that it was I who was overreacting. By this time the lights had cycled once and another car had pulled up, the women leans out the passenger window and asks if they were giving me grief - and says that they came past them a couple miles before my encounter, also doing some very dodgy riding.

perhaps some bikers are far too ready to get into 'confrontation' mode, and are so used to being in the right they have no incling that slower cars aren't there just to be passed at the earliest oppo..

ok disjointed ramble over.. pls don't assume I have a grudge against bikers as I don't - just ones that pull stupid stunts in my general vicinity

fast bloke

have no incling that slower cars aren't there just to be passed at the earliest oppo..

you mean they are not?

RichS

Gridlock Mikey

Yeah I get this sometimes too. Usually the other person isn't so much a do-gooder - more of a tosser who never really understood the highway code in the first place.

It's just like when you overtake someone on a country road, perfectly safely, and they flash their lights at you.

Winds me up for a bit, then I tend to forget it.
Life's too short.


Rich

Jolly Green Monster 2

I have to say that there are some real to55ers on bikes, like wise in cars.. when on my bike the amount of riders that have to get past... why? I try and give lots of room to cars when on the bike.. but often I have watched a biker whilst in my scooby and thought he was a bit mad for overtaking there etc.. a week later on my bike I do a similar thing and it is really perfectly safe. The perspective is like driving a 1000cc car to a Scooby, you wouldn't do some stuff in a 1000c car that you do in the Scooby and are perfectly safe.

The guy that gives no room or don't thank people for moving over is just aiding the bad image/name bikers get. Which is useful sometimes but a pain in the bum at other times.

GP

agree - I always make a point of letting bikers go as I know full well that there's no way on earth I could possibly be as fast within the same 'safe' limits - I do appreciate it when anyone acknowledges if I have made allowance for their speedier progress.

my point to the two guys in question was that behaviour like that, even though techinically within a bikers/bike 'skill' envelope, can cause less aware road users to react spontaneously, and a 'snowball effect' type accident could so easily ensue.

some old giffer in an allegro might of braked and swerved right into the ditch at the sudden appearance of a very fast, very loud, and very close blue & kevlar streak off the starboard bow, which he had no idea was previously a safe distance behind him, 0.5 secs ago - and Mr Bike would've been all like 'hell what did I do wrong ?' - all the witnesses though would condemn him.

I think the 'I know I can do it ok' attitude is very dangerous in terms of how other people may react - knowing your own limits is not enough by a long shot - being a biker I was doubly annoyed as usually they think ahead and are ready for anything - ironically he probably was I guess, in a very self centered sort of way.

the little story above just gave me the opportunity to put this point across, to absolutely no avail it seems - a very scary attitude to see someone so blind to their own behaviour

pmortlock

blatting through a tiny gap at 90+ is fun!

GTi-S

I try to avoid confrontation, never know if your gonna get a nutter who jumps out of his car with a baseball bat.
I would pull over wait till they get out of the car and just leave em.

Nick.

[Edited by GTi-S - 1/23/2002 3:59:45 PM]

Luke

If some nutter stopped me to prove his powerwith a hammer etc. i would run him over

Eddie Thomas

What does my head in, is Bikers who always have their full beam permanently on.

(All other bikers are fine.)