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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!bonnie!akgua!sdcsvax!sdcrdcf!hplabs!ems
From: ems@amdahl.UUCP (E. Michael Smith)
Newsgroups: net.auto
Subject: Re: left lane hogging
Message-ID: <796@amdahl.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 21-Dec-84 17:02:05 EST
Article-I.D.: amdahl.796
Posted: Fri Dec 21 17:02:05 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 23-Dec-84 01:49:27 EST
References: <1401@druxv.UUCP> <568@voder.UUCP>, <768@oliven.UUCP> <283@wjvax.UUCP>
Organization: Amdahl Corp, Sunnyvale CA
Lines: 41

> OK, come on now, let's have no vendettas on the freeway.
> So some jerk is tailgating you.  Get out of his way with
> a minimum of fuss.  He'll get his eventually, and it's
> DANGEROUS for you to give it to him.
> 
> A friend of mine makes a practice of blocking drivers who
> he thinks are acting jerkish.  As a result of this he has
> been side-swiped once, and has had a side window broken out
> by a thrown crowbar.  No Thanks!
> -- 
> 

I have also seen a *LARGE* pickup truck with *VERY* solid bumpers
pass on the shoulder, get in front of the 'slow, careful' driver, and
hit the brakes *HARD*.  Needless to say, the truck 'won'.

When it comes to roadwars, auto-arguements, and what have you, I second
the motion: No egos on the freeway, please!  I was two cars back and
still had to take evasive manuvers to aviod the mess.  Any one slower
than you is a jerk, anyone faster is an *ssh*le, so we are all both
of these in other peoples eyes *at any giver moment*. (Smiths first
theory of J&A ...) It *IS NOT POSSIBLE* to 'teach someone a lesson'
one way or the other. There are a large number of people on either side
of the individual.  If everyone spends their time trying to convince the
other guy that he/she needs to change to be more like them, we will
just end up raising the average risk level a great deal and giving each
driver mixed signals.

If someone is going faster, get out of his way.  If someone is going
slower, be patient.  Iff they haven't noticed you *carefully* consider
some *non threatening* communication that you would like to pass.
Convention in the US is a *SHORT* blink of the lights, in Germany it
is a left turn signal even though there is no lane further left of you.

Driving is a cooperative effort, not a confrontational arena...

-- 

E. Michael Smith  ...!{hplabs,ihnp4,amd,nsc}!amdahl!ems

No one would dare claim these opinions.