Quick Turn Signal Rant

"William Byrd" (thedriver)
09/19/2018 at 11:49 • Filed to: None

I know, this is useless to complain on a site where most of us are pretty competent drivers. So perhaps I’m just venting for sport. Or looking for a friendly voice.

I’m driving home last night in Northern VA in 2017 Wrangler Unlimited, not that that amplifies the story. A gentleman in a Maserati Ghibli merges into the lane next to me, speed limit is 45'ish. I have my front wheels about even with his back door. I didn’t speed up or slow down since the lane he’s in exists for about a quarter mile or so. I figured he would signal if he wanted to get over, or just unleash his 400'ish HP Italian V8 and pass me. Either of which I was fine with.

Instead he just drove along and then nailed it at the last second. It sounded amazing, I won’t lie. But he didn’t pull in front me of me, he could of, I slowed down just so I didn’t t-bone him. He just looked frustrated, arm waving out the window, and took the exit lane. Middle finger in the air!

At this point I’m confused. He clearly wanted, nay needed me to accurately assess his future travel plans and slow down to allow him to move over. And when I didn’t, he roared off in a direction he didn’t want to go, angry at the mean man in the Jeep.

I don’t get it. The older I get, the less I like other people.

DISCUSSION (20)

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > William Byrd
09/19/2018 at 12:07

In general I’m shocked anyone survives their commute.

We have a lot of short onramps which pretty much require the right lane is clear or you’re going 90% of the speed limit by the time you get to where you can merge. People do not so this. Frequently they’ll hit the freeway going 40 - 50% of the limit. If they can’t merge, they stop.

Stop.

On a highway.

Coming out of a, usually, blind corner.

Rable rable rable

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > William Byrd
09/19/2018 at 12:09

sounds to me like you failed to be suitably awed and impressed by his car even after he gave you extra time to figure out just how awed you should be by dawdling next to you longer than he strictly needed to.... then he lost patience and gave up trying to impress the stupid peasant

this ones on you bro... be more impressed next time :P

(but yeah.... another day another douchebag amazing how many of them you find on the road)

ToyotaFamily > William Byrd
09/19/2018 at 12:09

It’s Northern Va, people don’t drive well on highways. Was this on 495?

Spanfeller is a twat > William Byrd
09/19/2018 at 12:12

How dare you asume I’m a competent driver?

WilliamsSW > William Byrd
09/19/2018 at 12:13

I had a yahoo do something similar to me the other day in an I8. As an added bonus he immediately slowed down to make a right turn without signaling.

I hope that tool totals that car, I really do.

Wacko > William Byrd
09/19/2018 at 12:13

Kinja'd!!!

my morning commute is now a construction zone for a fucken round about....

so now we have 2 lanes that merge into one for the construction and

nobody knows how to merge, everyone is just trying to get in front as fast as possible.

but once that fucken round about is built, then we will have all the fucken assholes who have no idea how they work and wait and block the roundabout for the miles of traffic behind.

GLiddy > William Byrd
09/19/2018 at 12:13

He’s living in a world entirely existing in his own head. Absent traffic signs or signals to the contrary, you are under no obligation to yield right-of-way. A merge sign would indicate that you must take steps to allow a merge, but other than that its on him.

I’ve found that people don’t signal anymore. They must think that I’m able to read their pea-brained minds.

Pet peeve: Take notice not to refer to a man like this as a “gentlema n”. What he did was definitely not gentlemanly. Ditto for calling women with abhorrent behavior “ladies”. I seem to see this far too often, especially from cops being interviewed on TV where they are likely to say things like, “The gentleman came into the convenience store and proceeded to rob the cashier and then raped and killed her.” WTF!!! Thats not a “gentleman”!

Svend > William Byrd
09/19/2018 at 12:19

Simple case of his ego being far bigger than his I.Q.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > William Byrd
09/19/2018 at 12:20

I’ve almost been hit by several Maserati s while out driving. Usually in the 348. The most memorable was the first month or so after I got the car. A lady in a Ghibli decided she needed to be in the other lane, right where my car was. If she would have signaled, or even looked, everything would have been fine. But she just started coming over lazily and didn’t react at all to my horn. I’ve had others pull out in front of me or do other stupid shit. I feel like that car is a magnet for inattentive drivers. It seems like I almost get hit about every 3rd time I drive it.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > William Byrd
09/19/2018 at 12:27

if we’re venting...

I manage a convenience store. one of my biggest challenges is finding decent employees. Well one that I had bee cutting a lot of slack decided to quit today.

No warning, no notice, he just didn’ t show up today. I called him and texted him when he was 10 minutes late, no reply . Then when he was 45 minutes late I texted ad just said “are you coming to work today. This asshole sends me a winy message about how it’s too hard to work and go to school,and school is more important. Also complain that the store only sells “generic crap” we bought out this store in April from a private owner who business was struggling. they catered to a hippy crow d with lo ts of off the wall organic, vegan stuff. Thing is when we took over 90% of their inventory was expired!

This kid is taking a part time EMT course. 2 nights a week and every other Saturday. so he goes to school like 12 hours a week and works 25ish. he’s also is getting paid 11 dollars an hour which is nothing to sneeze at, in northern W i. In fact before I was promoted to manager I made less than that.

So now I’m screwed because working 40 hours a week is too hard for this 23 year old man. or should i say boy.

I failed collage because I had to work 40 hours a week while going to school full time, but I never once considered just bailing on my employer, and co-workers. freaking lazy ass kids. (I’ m only 5 years older)

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > William Byrd
09/19/2018 at 12:29

Wow. How does this guy even wipe his ass after pooping?

William Byrd > ToyotaFamily
09/19/2018 at 12:31

Rt. 29/Lee Highway. Which isn’t really even a “highway” per se.

William Byrd > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
09/19/2018 at 12:31

With his middle finger?

William Byrd > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
09/19/2018 at 12:36

I ended up as part of a 4-car collision from someone who did that. I was clearly at fault, but I was dumb founded that someone was literally stopped in the middle of a wide merge area that lasted a good quarter mile .

William Byrd > farscythe - makin da cawfee!
09/19/2018 at 12:36

lol, well my boss Doug D. said that the Ghibli sucks so I believed him!

William Byrd > GLiddy
09/19/2018 at 12:38

Oh I should have put “gentleman” in quotes, that was definitely tongue in cheek. Or maybe it was temporal, at the time he merged, and at that part of the story, I had no indication that he was an “asshole” vs. a “ gentleman” . It’s pretty clear now.

William Byrd > Spanfeller is a twat
09/19/2018 at 12:38

That’s fair!

OPPOsaurus WRX > William Byrd
09/19/2018 at 12:41

i had a guy driving next to me. He slightly sped up and stuffed himself into the 20' between me and the next car insted of going behind me and the 300' that existed back there. Fuck these people.

Spanfeller is a twat > William Byrd
09/19/2018 at 12:49

I hate when people do this. But I hate it more when Im the one trying to merge, with my signal on, and the person in the lane I want to take speeds up and keeps the same speed as I do no matter if I accelerate or if I brake !

Chariotoflove > William Byrd
09/19/2018 at 12:59

I assume it’s a 50/50 chance of someone using their signal or a lane change, no matter what kind of car they drive. That’s why I get especially nervous and vigilant when I’m sitting in that potential blind spot zone. If someone isn’t the type to signal to me, then I feel they are even less likely to check their blind spot before doing something unexpected.