What are your passing triggers?

Kinja'd!!! by "Honeybunchesofgoats" (honeybunche0fgoats)
Published 04/10/2017 at 13:55

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STARS: 1


Kinja'd!!!

That is, what behavior on the part of other drivers makes you feel compelled to pass them on a two-lane road?

I was behind a car today that was doing 40 in a 50 MPH zone. It was obnoxious, and if it were me, I’d at least pull on the shoulder, but it didn’t really bother me. I was content to just set cruise control and wait for a passing area.

Or I would have been content to do this, but despite the fact that they were going 10 MPH below the posted limit, they also braked on every. single. curve. No matter how gentle and sloping. From the first time it happened to the first passing line, I had only a solitary concern in my entire life, and that was to not be behind that person. I had to struggle to resist the little voice in my head that was telling me to just pass on the double lines.

(And of course, when I got to a passing area and went to pass, fuckweed actually sped up, but they were in a late model Continental, so I didn’t even have to put the pedal down far to put accelerate, but I still did, just so I could hear my Jag’s normally silent engine get angry).

This was an obviously obnoxious case, but something about braking on turns just triggers me. Even if someone is otherwise going over the limit, even if they just tap their brakes and don’t even shave off speed, I just have this absolutely compulsive need to pass anyone whose brake lights come on on a curve.


Replies (27)

Kinja'd!!! "CalzoneGolem" (calzonegolem)
04/10/2017 at 13:57, STARS: 3

10 under alone would make pass.

Kinja'd!!! "Captain of the Enterprise" (justanotherdayinparadise)
04/10/2017 at 13:59, STARS: 3

Braking for no reason

Kinja'd!!! "My citroen won't start" (lucasboechat)
04/10/2017 at 13:59, STARS: 12

Going Slow

Braking at unecessary circumstances

Questionable bumper stickers

Bad lane discipline

Minivans / Trucks / Buses

Slowing down at speed traps/parked police cars when they are already under (this is the worst)

Kinja'd!!! "RedlineZ bought an SV (And is getting rid of the z)" (redline350z)
04/10/2017 at 14:01, STARS: 2

what sets me off in NJ is people who do 10 under the speed limit and still continue to DRAG THE FUCKING BRAKE. Why are you resting your foot on the brake and the gas making it more difficult for other vehicles to tell when you’re slowing down. so 2 wheels good makes for quick passes. also any standstill traffic I’m going around/through.

Kinja'd!!! "Urambo Tauro" (urambotauro)
04/10/2017 at 14:01, STARS: 11

My trigger? Seeing the silhouette of a phone that’s being held up by the driver.

Kinja'd!!! "Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap" (ddadragon)
04/10/2017 at 14:02, STARS: 2

Riding the brakes.

going slower than I do (hard to do)

Being all over the place (texting, drunk etc)

Kinja'd!!! "Honeybunchesofgoats" (honeybunche0fgoats)
04/10/2017 at 14:03, STARS: 0

I have to admit that there have been times when I’ve been behind someone with bumper stickers that I’ve objected to so strongly that I’ve passed them just to assert a childish sense of dominance over them.

Kinja'd!!! "My citroen won't start" (lucasboechat)
04/10/2017 at 14:06, STARS: 1

Yes, I also have a tendency to overtake cars that are usually driven by slow drivers (Corollas, Fits, cars with bikes on the roof/back, etc) based solely on the stereotypes I’ve created.

Kinja'd!!! "RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
04/10/2017 at 14:09, STARS: 3

Erratic slowness, excessive slowness, or maintained (i.e. cruise control) slowness in hill country when my wheezy old Benz will otherwise get bottlenecked down to an even slower speed. If you’re the guy in front of me doing steady 48 in the 55 zone and that keeps me from climbing to sixty to avoid the upcoming hill murdering me any lower than 45, I’m going to pass. Just like a truck - if there’s no room to build momentum when possible, everybody has a bad time.

Kinja'd!!! "Honeybunchesofgoats" (honeybunche0fgoats)
04/10/2017 at 14:09, STARS: 7

I happy to let people who text and drive stay in front of me. Especially because it means I can be an asshole and slam my horn the millisecond the light turns green at each and every intersection.

Kinja'd!!! "Out, but with a W - has found the answer" (belg)
04/10/2017 at 14:10, STARS: 1

Red Peugeot 107s (Europpomeet frustrations).

More seriously: not a lot in daily driving, but 10-15 kph under the limit is enough of a trigger when I’m out to enjoy the drive. Oh, and constantly varying speed on straights.

Kinja'd!!! "facw" (facw)
04/10/2017 at 14:11, STARS: 2

Driving erratically. If you are obviously drunk or tired or whatever, I want nothing to do with you, and will quickly pass as soon as it is remotely clear (and you are far enough to the side of the lane that you are unlikely to swerve into me).

Otherwise just pass when people are to slow, but there’s not the same urgency.

Kinja'd!!! "fintail" (fintail)
04/10/2017 at 14:11, STARS: 4

The braking drives me insane. I remember when I was a kid, my dad would point out that people who braked unnecessarily were doing it wrong.

Living in the PNW, most people are slow and timid. Neither of my cars are extremely fast, and I am not a huge speeder. Even with that said, I am surprised that I pass quite a few people, even when in the old car.

Aside from brakers - lane weavers and those obviously distracted, certain vehicles (towing, motorhomes, etc), and the ultra timid and slow.

Kinja'd!!! "Honeybunchesofgoats" (honeybunche0fgoats)
04/10/2017 at 14:13, STARS: 0

As a Town Car owner, I don’t feel bad about saying “oh fuuuuuuck” anytime I see one in front of me. It’s stereotyping, but I also know that I’m the person dragging the age of the average Lincoln driver down to 77.

Kinja'd!!! "CaptDale - is secretly British" (captdale)
04/10/2017 at 14:15, STARS: 1

Honestly a lot... I hate people and I pass them with great fervour and exhaust noise.

Kinja'd!!! "Future next gen S2000 owner" (future-next-gen-s2000-owner)
04/10/2017 at 14:19, STARS: 1

I pass everyone going slower than me, except drunks. I always wait until a passing zone though. People that speed up in passing zones are terrible people.

Also, people that merge into a zipper area from a third lane are awful as well. There is a special place in hell for those people.

Kinja'd!!! "Urambo Tauro" (urambotauro)
04/10/2017 at 14:20, STARS: 2

YES! When I see someone who’s so obviously distracted, I too like to look for opportunities to harass them. For all they know, the light could have been green for ten seconds before the honking started.

Kinja'd!!! "6cyl" (6cyl)
04/10/2017 at 14:24, STARS: 1

If I see some one being detracted repeatedly, then I will honk every time I see them look down at their phone.

Kinja'd!!! "PartyPooper2012" (PartyPooper2012)
04/10/2017 at 14:26, STARS: 2

sigh...

brake tapping randomly (without a reason)
going too slow
Varying speed too much (without a reason)
Tailgating a car in front of them and not passing.

Basically anything they do outside of going with flow will make me pass someone... somehow. I will find a way. Even if that someone is a cop. True story. Got in trouble. Told the cop what he was doing. He realized he was in the wrong. Let me go

Kinja'd!!! "PartyPooper2012" (PartyPooper2012)
04/10/2017 at 14:28, STARS: 0

you’re dragging the average down to 77???? That makes you like a million years old

Kinja'd!!! "WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
04/10/2017 at 14:33, STARS: 0

Random acts of braking drive me bananas. I want to have some reasonable expectation of what the driver will do. Is that so much to ask?

Same goes for anyone who can’t hold a steady speed when the situation class for it.

Also, under the speed limit when road conditions are good.

Kinja'd!!! "Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
04/10/2017 at 14:46, STARS: 0

My trigger is an absurdly slow/bad driver. Like, one of the most infuriating experiences I’ve had recently was a person that drove 15 under the limit on a road with a single lane in both direction. We’re talking a major artery here too, so there’s no room for that kind of laziness.

To make matters worse, this person was in the front (because every car in front of them had already sped off) of a massive line they created (I was second behind them)...and hitting the brakes at every. single. green light. Uhm, the light turned green 10 seconds ago and you’re the only car in sight, there’s no need to reduce speed by 20 mph.

I waited until oncoming traffic finally cleared up, dropped down two gears, and hoped cylinder 3 wouldn’t decide to take a vacation while I passed. The driver was a young guy who as far as I could see, wasn’t distracted or was in any other way impaired from driving like a normal person.

I have two more situation-based triggers:

1. Someone trying to solicit sex or a date from me. - Usually I slow waaaaaaaay down, then dive into the nearest side street I could find. I’ll then take a long and stupid route home. I’ve been followed home more than a few times by desperate/horny men and I’ve found just zig-zagging my way through town loses my tail easily.

2. People intending to hurt me/the car. - I’ll drop down as many gears as possible and just outrun them. If I can I’ll feed them into a speed trap or by a police station.

Kinja'd!!! "Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
04/10/2017 at 14:55, STARS: 2

In my tuned 335xi, by myself: they’re going slightly slower than I’d like and there’s juuuust enough of a window for me to squeeze through a safe pass with the mass horsepower at my disposal

In my car, with my wife: same as above but with the added caveat of “will the level of acceleration needed to accomplish this pass, of which my car is totally capable, make my wife yell at me?”

In my wife’s CVT Impreza, with my wife: nah, we’re just going to have to ride this out and wait for this road to widen

Kinja'd!!! "Tripper" (tripe46)
04/10/2017 at 15:03, STARS: 1

In my younger days, I would pass anyone going under the speed limit or otherwise driving like a jackass. As an adult, I do my best to focus on relaxing during these situations. I’ve been pulled over right after passing on more than one occasion. 

Kinja'd!!! "Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer" (smallbear94)
04/10/2017 at 15:24, STARS: 1

- Being slow

- Exhibiting unpredictable or erratic behaviour

- Unnecessary braking for/in corners

- Not maintaining a steady speed

- Lack of visibility beyond them (trucks and buses, even when traveling a decent speed)

Kinja'd!!! "smobgirl" (smobgirl)
04/10/2017 at 15:44, STARS: 0

Excessive brake usage or brake lights that don’t work.

Kinja'd!!! "Rico" (ricorich)
04/10/2017 at 16:11, STARS: 1

I also hate people who brake for every curve and every hill, even uphill they hit their brakes even when no one is in front of them. I hate people who can’t modulate speed by simply taking their foot off of the accelerator. They have this compulsion to have to press SOME KIND of pedal at every moment so if they aren’t pressing the gas they are pressing their brakes.

Another peeve of mine is people who brake when changing lanes. Accelerate into a lane change unless someone is in front of you but if there is no one in front of me and you change into my lane don’t hit your brakes when doing so.