Following NJ 2.7T's rant, Minnesota-style...

[snowcat]

All of you who do not live in Minnesota should be glad you don't drive on our highways. We have the WORST drivers on the planet! Here's my favorite Top Ten list:

1) The Left-Lane Vigilante. Sees you coming from a half-mile back and swerves over in front of you to slow you down, just when you get ready to pass by. Usually a minivan.

2) The Passing Grudge. This winner putts along and as soon as you approach to pass he speeds up to race you. Even worse this has happened to me on two-lanes and almost got me killed!

3) The Merge Moron. Classic. Guy in slow lane sees you coming down the ramp and speeds up to make sure you cannot enter the freeway.

4) The Merge Moron II. Comes down the ramp on a 70-MPH freeway going 45 and does not speed up for about a mile. This is pretty much everyone here. Also usually will follow the white line all the way to the bitter end in a lane-ends situation.

5) The Right-Hand Passer. I always laugh at this one. You are flying along in the left lane (we don't have a choice here sometimes because the slow lane is usually going 40 on a clear day) approaching an entrance ramp with cars merging on. Some young punk comes up behind you at about 90 in an Escort and whips around you on the right just as cars are merging on going 45. Then he slams on his brakes to avoid rear-ending them. Did he not SEE that??? If he would have given me a minute I would have moved over for him. Dumba$$.

6) The Gawker. Absolutely ANYTHING along the road will stop traffic for miles. Even a hot dog wrapper. I sat in gridlock yesterday morning for a couple miles until we got up to a cop sitting along the highway doing paperwork. Then everybody took off like rockets. UGH!!!

7) The Cop Fearer. Will NOT pass a cop, even if he is going 10 miles UNDER the limit. You should be worried he would pull you over for STUPIDITY.

8) The Drafter. No matter how fast traffic is moving everyone feels it necessary to drive three inches apart. Even during a blizzard.

9) The Brake Slammer. This one angers me more than any of them. Car is moving along at 70 MPH and suddenly nails the brakes. For NO REASON. The winter version of this is why we have 250 accidents everytime we get an inch of snow. "Gee, not sure why I spun out of control..."

10) The Loud Piper. Okay, this is just a filler to get to ten. Every person with a pickup truck feels the need to announce his arrival from 50 miles away by removing his mufflers, even on a brand-new truck. Why do people think that's cool???

Oh yeah, and any reaction to this behavior is considered road-rage and you will be made an example of in the news' twisted accounts of the "Minnesota Road-Rage Epidemic".

I feel much better now. Thanks.

[Grapeking]

Right Lane Avoider: will NEVER, EVER drive in the right lane, even when he is clearly the slowest vehicle on the road. Four lane (two each way) highway? Gotta be in the laft lane. Six lane highway? Center lane or left lane. Doesn't matter if cars are queued up behind for miles, or passing on the left and right simultaneously.... this person can't EVER seem to get in the right hand lane.

[absolutcq20v]

We have them just as bad here in MD...sadly enough I've been forced to evolve into a 'right lane renegade', one who treats the right lane as the passing/travel lane because all the slow traffic is in the left lane.

I drove across PA last Friday, and I gotta say, they OBEY the 'keep right except to pass' law out there...I liked it! Of course as soon as I crossed into MD, things were back to normal.

[atgmartin4.2]

Then again most of these people live up north half the year, so all bets are off.

[Grapeking]

pleasure to see people move over to let you pass on the left. Good road manners there.

[Fairfax 2.7T]

[All Wheel Driver]

-The Entrance Ramp Stopper: 65mph highway, long entrance ramp.
They stop on the entrance ramp waiting for a hole in traffic to pull out. (undoubtably slowly)
*Hello, you accelerate and match speed, that is why the entrance ramp is 1/4 mile long!*

-The Left Lane Hog:
They cruise at 50 in the left lane, oblivious to the car behind them wanting to go at least the speed limit. When you go to pass them in the right lane, they speed up and race you (similar to the "Passing Grudge" but left lane specific).

-The Yield Ignorer:
They have a yield sign at the entrance to the roadway which they proceed to blow through without looking. The car with the right of way is forced into oncoming traffic or to slam his brakes to avoid a bad collision. (This happened to me 2 times at the same road near my house. Next time, I'm hitting them!)
Then they proceed to give you the finger for blasting your horn at them, even though they were completely in the wrong.

Which brings me to the final one...

-The Finger Giver:
They give you the finger for blowing your horn at them when they make a reckless move into your lane, or across 2 lanes to an exit ramp, or going straight from a turn lane, basically whatever they can do wrong, but not realize it.
You honk to avoid an accident, they thank you with a wave of the middle finger and a few mouthed profanities.

[absolutcq20v]

[4Driver4]

Slams on his brakes to let a car merge from the on-ramp rather than continuing on at a set speed. This makes it make more difficult for the poor car on the ramp to merge and can often result in a "braking duel" where each driver tries to let the other go first and ends up with both cars stopped.

[4Driver4]

This animal stops in a travel lane to let on-coming traffic turn left in front of him. Usually he picks a multi-lane road for this stunt and stops in the left lane. This "one-two punch" activity not only creates back-ups and potential rear-enders behind him, but when cars pass him on the right they t-bone the poor sap making his left.

Of course, the left turner will go when waved on by the over-courteous driver, regardless of other traffic. If he does not go, the over-courteous driver will stay in place until the left turner gives up and turns.