Rude drivers, exit only

The Times' Highway 1 columnist Ralph Vartabedian takes on rude drivers:

Betty Jo McDonald of Camarillo finally found perfect justice meted out to a rude driver on the 101 Freeway not long ago. "I was driving in the fast lane, not driving slow by any means, when a man behind me began tailgating, honking, gesturing and flashing his lights," she recalled. Hemmed in on all sides, she couldn't get out of the speeder's way for a while. "I finally drove 80 to change lanes and get away from this maniac," she said. "To my delight, the Highway Patrol chased him down. It made my day -- maybe my week!" Wouldn't we all like to have that experience at least once? In my last column, I listed 10 uncivil and dangerous behaviors that I routinely see on the highway. Not to be outdone, drivers from around Southern California poured in their own experiences about the rotten driving they experience. The biggest single new complaint I received involved drivers who fail to use their turn signals.

TELL US YOUR RUDE DRIVER STORIES

Comments

[steve g]

I had the same thing, but with a gray ford mustang and this was on saturday! Damn you gray mustang! I would have followed you but i was with my girlfriend. Grrrrr.

[Hugh Jorgan]

Are you people nuts? You should never drive faster than you want to crash. The tailgater was either fleeing the CHP, or is in desperate need of learning to control Road Rage. Get out of the lunatic's way, but don't endanger yourself in the process.

[IonaTrailer]

Betty Jo needs to shut up and get the hell out of the way. It's just plain rude to obstruct traffic.

[IonaTrailer]

Betty Jo needs to shut up and get the hell out of the way. It's just plain rude to obstruct traffic.

[IonaTrailer]

Betty Jo needs to shut up and get the hell out of the way. It's just plain rude to obstruct traffic.

[Kate]

It's possible to be passing cars to your right and be unable to move over because you haven't passed all of them yet, and at the same time have a bully come up fast from behind. I don't see that she was unequivocally obstructing traffic.

The biggest problem is that people don't pay attention. I can't tell you how many times someone has cut me off, or made a dangerous turn or lane change without signaling, because they're eating, talking to a passenger, or holding a phone up to one ear. You know what? You're driving. Focus on that.

[Brandon]

Robert is right. If you're in the far left lane and no one is obstructing your path in front of you... you should be driving no less than 80mph. And if someone is behind you obviously wanting to go faster, such as headlights on during the day.... get out of their way.

[Jill Elder]

Betty Jo McDonald, you shouldn't be driving in the left-most lane. Leave that for people passing and faster traffic. Sorry, but you were in the wrong on this one.

[Lel Rose]

I wholeheartedly agree. If you're in the left lane and someone is tailgating you, it's because your going too slow!

[Robert Hurdle]

Betty Jo McDonald needs to attend traffic school. The lane furthest to the left is not the "fast lane," it is the PASSING lane. If she wasn't in the process of passing someone, she should not have been driving in that lane. The fact that she says she was hemmed in all sides shows that she was not passing anyone. The fact that she says she sped up in order to change lanes means she was not obstructed by a car in front of her in her lane. She is actually wrong for obstructing traffic. What if that other driver was having a life threatening emergency? It is not her job to enforce the speed limit by clogging up the passing lane. If the cop had seen the whole event, she would have gotten a ticket for obstructing traffic.