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From: alien@gcc-opus.ARPA (Alien Wells)
Newsgroups: net.auto
Subject: Re: left lane hogging
Message-ID: <185@gcc-opus.ARPA>
Date: Tue, 8-Jan-85 13:37:35 EST
Article-I.D.: gcc-opus.185
Posted: Tue Jan  8 13:37:35 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 12-Jan-85 01:14:48 EST
References: <2155@nsc.UUCP> <19100002@rna.UUCP>
Reply-To: alien@gcc-opus.UUCP (Alien Wells)
Organization: General Computer Company, Cambridge Ma (creators of Ms. Pacman)
Lines: 121
Summary: 

In article <19100002@rna.UUCP> serge@rna.UUCP writes:
>
>Before you slow down you should take a peek at the roof of the car to see if
>it has police lights. 

One piece of advice.  If you think it might be a cop, slow down to get in the
right lane, do not speed up.  I have had a couple of friends (in different 
states) pulled over by the following 'trick':
	- You're travelling in the left lane at 55-60 with a car to your right
	- A cop comes up at fast speed in the left lane (usually at night)
	- You speed up to pull into right lane to let him by
	- He clocks you at faster speed and tickets you.

As to coming up to slow people in the left lane (something that happens to me
a lot for some reason), the best technique I have found is to give a very
brief flash as you are still approaching.  This gives the other driver (if
he is reasonable) time to notice you and pull over before you even reach him.
If this doesn't work, wait till he has a clear opportunity to pull over, then
flash again (again, do it briefly).  The other driver is a lot more likely to
consider a brief flash to be a polite request than a long, annoying flash or
multiple flashes.  Of course NEVER TAILGATE.  Not only are you asking for it,
but keep in mind that some of the assholes out there are real crazies.

Mind you, the *problem* varies a lot from state to state.  In MA, people drive
like they own the road and they don't give a shit about anyone else.  They
don't interpret flashing lights as a polite request, because they would never
politely request anything.  In many other places I have been (NH, VT, and even
western MA come to mind) people almost seem embarassed that they have to be
asked and almost melt out of your way.

I drive a lot, on especially bad roads (a 42 mile commute from NH and sanity
into MA), so I have a couple of interesting stories about crazies if you 
don't mind.

The first is a case of a gentleman who was driving down US 3 at about 60 in
the left lane.  I tried the above procedure and got no response from him.  At
the first opportunity, I tried to pass him on the right.  He gunned his car
to stop me, then slowed down to 60 again when I was trapped behind him.  He
kept this up for about 15 miles (unfortunately, he was taking the same route
I was).  Finally, US-3 ends into 128, and we both took 128 north.  Breathing
a sigh of relief (it would be hard for him to block me with 4 lanes to play 
with), I saw him jamming on the brakes.  He stopped in the middle of the exit
(blocking it thoroughly), got out of his car, came back to me, and demanded to
know what right I had to go faster than him.  If he was younger, he would punch
me in the mouth!  Sigh!  Young drivers aren't the only idiots on the road.

Another case on the same road was when I got behind a 60's chevy and again used
the above procedure.  We were the only two cars on the road for at least 1000 
feet.  He did nothing, but stared at me in his rear view mirror.  I stayed 
behind him for about 30 seconds, then gave up and started passing him in the
right.  He turned and stared over his shoulder at me until I was almost level
with him, then swerved sharply into the right lane, staring at me the whole 
time.  Luckily, I avoided an accident and only got pushed into the break-down
lane, but I gunned out of there at about 95.  I sure as hell don't want to be
around someone like that.

A third case on the same road (at night this time, going the other way) was
when I used the above procedure and the guy wouldn't budge.  I passed him on
the right and he put his brights on and started tailgating me.  He did this
for about 10 miles, going over 100 mph at one point (I don't like someone
tailgating me at 100mph ...).

For the next one I go to sunny CA, on that road (the beginning of it freeway)
that goes from 101 in Mountain View to Milpetas.  I was driving there and 
got caught behind a young woman driving a black Trans Am.  As soon as I 
flashed her (no pun intended) she slammed her brakes on as hard as she could.
Rather than try to see if my brakes in my Pinto were better than hers, I just
pulled over to the right lane.  She shot past like a rocket.  I then pulled
into the left, passed the car she had been next to, then pulled to the right.
She came flying up at about 90, pulled beside me, and started jumping up and
down birding me for all she was worth.  It was so funny, she was red in the
face and there was this look of total, unadulterated hatred!  I was laughing
my ass off.  (I don't think this made her feel any better, but at this point
I didn't care.)  It was pitiful after this.  She really didn't want to go as
fast as I was, but her macho mentality wouldn't let her let me go either, so
she kept falling back and gunning forward, falling back and gunning forward.

By the way, one thing I have noticed is that people don't mind having 'sporty'
cars going faster than them as much as cheapo-economy cars.  I used to have
problems quite often in my old Pinto and Civic, but most of them have gone
away with the Prelude and Cordia.

My last story has nothing to do with getting someone out of your way, but does
demonstrate how vicious crazies can get, so I pass it on as a warning.

For the next a*****e, we go to the notorious Mass Pike (I-90) where I had the
misfortune of commuting at rush hour one day.  Everyone is going 60-65 mph
with about one car length between cars.  A hole opens up in the middle lane,
but no one in the left bothers to go there, seeing that there is an unbroken
chain of cars in the left as far as the eye can see.  The guy behind me tries
it.  He gets in the middle goes as far as he can, then puts his left turn 
signal on.  Now, the turn signal is the second least used part of the car in
MA (the most is the seat belts) and when someone with MA plates puts it on
it does not mean 'I would like to turn', or even 'Warning, I am about to do
this', but rather 'I'm turning.  Make me a hole or I will wreck your car'.
The car in front of me knew the appropriate Massachusetts response, he pulled
to within 2 feet of the car in front of him and leaned on his horn.  (A good
interpretation would be 'Fuck you asshole, your car is worth more than mine'.)
He then pulled back toward me and I saw the inevitable coming.  As he pulled
back and put on his turn signal, I pulled to within 2 feet of the car in front
(praying as I did) and leaned on my horn.  He obligingly turned off his turn
signal and pulled back even with me.  I sighed in relief and pulled back to a
more sane 1-2 carlengths as this a*****e pulls left, right into my lane.  Let
me draw you a picture:

		me -> |II| <- him

Get it, both of us in the left lane at the same time!  Well there wasn't a 
whole lot I could do at that point, so I pulled behind him (I'm not totally
insane) at which point he started making gestures to me (I think he wanted me
to pull over to the side of the road so he could bash my face in, but I might
be wrong ...).  This did nothing, so he started throwing things at me.  He 
started with his cigarette, then started methodically emptying his change
drawer!  Fortunately, he was a lousy shot, but I had all this change bouncing
on the road in front of me, bouncing over my car, and hitting behind me.  I
couldn't even back away!  And there was no way to change lanes.  And then it
dawns on me, there is a toll booth coming up!  Boston is rife with stories of
people who carry baseball bats in their trunks just to bash peoples windshields
in.  I was getting really worried.  Luckily, he took 128 and I was safe ...

					Alien