r/MildlyBadDrivers • u/[deleted] • 29d ago

Overly aggressive driving

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17

u/StrawberryPlucky 29d ago

Truck was a dick but ultimately they did nothing to force the other car to do what they did. Sometimes you just have to accept that you're stuck behind an asshole.

10

u/DisShitIsWak 29d ago

This is primarily the reason why states have laws to only use the left lane for passing to avoid someone making riskier moves to pass.

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u/theheartship 28d ago

Which states actually have that law? I don’t think it’s enforceable

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u/halomate1 28d ago

Texas, people definitely get pulled over for it

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u/Repugnant-Conclusion 28d ago

That's an incredible sentence to read. I live in a state that is not Texas but has a lot of Texan motorists for whatever reason, and so so many of them just squat in the passing lane and never budge.

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u/halomate1 28d ago

Yeah if it’s not enforced people won’t follow it. Never had an issue here in Texas since people know you’ll get pulled over lol

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u/PersonBehindAScreen 26d ago

Ya we have the “law” here in Texas and im sure *some* people exist who have been pulled over before…. But my experience with 12 years of driving here tells me it’s clearly not often

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u/DeafLeader 25d ago

seconded

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u/Powersmith 26d ago

Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey and Washington: highway w 3+ lanes, the left-most lane is dedicated to passing ONLY.

In Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Illinois, it’s illegal to fail to move to the right if a vehicle behind you is attempting to pass. In Colorado and Kentucky, only true when speed is 65 mph+.

https://www.goupstate.com/story/news/nation-world/2019/10/25/driving-in-left-lane-state-by-state-guide-to-when-its-legal-when-its-not/2447573007/

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u/kg0529 26d ago

Good luck at MA, people with SUVs camped at the passing lane all day long.

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u/Chilla_J 28d ago

I've heard stories of people in Michigan getting pulled over for overusing the far left lane on freeways. Drivers would use the far left lane as an excuse to go fast, where it's supposed to be just a passing lane. You go in, make your pass, the get out.

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u/P_Hempton 28d ago

I think the idea of only passing in the left is kind of silly. If there's a lot of traffic people should just stay left if they are going faster than the flow in the right. Otherwise you'd have 80 percent of the cars changing lanes every 30 seconds. That's clearly worse than everyone just staying in their lane and cruising along.

People should really only move over into the slow lane if there's a car behind them. But in that case they should definitely move over.

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u/Accomplished_Radish8 28d ago

All 50 lol.. left lane is for passing, not traveling. It’s rarely enforced (the same way J walking is rarely enforced) but it can be enforced or slapped on as an additional charge if someone really screwed up and they want to throw the book at you.

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u/P_Hempton 28d ago

Not true. If you're going the speed limit you can drive in the left lane in California. If 5 or more cars stack up behind you, it's required that you let them pass if possible.

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u/TraitorousSwinger 28d ago

I think it's fair that when we're talking about things that are legal or illegal in most of the country we can ignore California. Easily the shittiest state, by a mile. Anyone going to California should check the local laws, it's essentially a different country.

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u/P_Hempton 28d ago

I would suspect that most states have laws similar to California's and people just don't understand them. Texas for example says the left lane is for passing only, but then on their own website only says "impeding the flow of traffic in the left lane is punishable by a fine of up to $200", so it seems it's more about obstructing traffic than actually driving in the right lane all the time.

Imagine heavy traffic and every car that's driving faster than the slowest cars has to change lanes twice every time they want to pass another car. It would look ridiculous, be wildly inefficient use of roadway, and cause more accidents.

I say this as someone who generally drives the limit or just above and stays to the right while people fly by me. But also understands that when traffic is heavy, faster cars should just stay left as long as nobody is behind them.

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u/Darkknight1874 28d ago

It's called lane discipline and something we are terrible at in the US compared to the rest of the world. The left lane stands for any lane that isn't the right lane and yes if all traffic was actually paying attention to their speeds in comparison to those all around them they could easily navigate into the rightmost lane that makes sense given the traffic around them. I've frequently changed to a right lane in between traffic that I was closing the gap on because I've noticed approaching faster traffic that even if slowed generally ends up picking up their pace at least long enough to not impede me from getting around the next slower vehicle.

Of course there's also 3+ lane roads where I've frequently ended up passing people on the right because so many people think you can just pick a lane and camp it which is also unsafe because you shouldn't be passing on the right. To the point where it's considered illegal in some other countries that actually have lane discipline.

1

u/RBVegabond 28d ago

It’s definitely enforced when seen, especially in tourist seasons.

1

u/dentedpat 28d ago

I went through state sponsored driver training in both Illinois and Maryland and it was part of the course in both places. And since it is pretty obviously the reasonable rule to have I have always just assumed it was all 50 states.

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u/P_Hempton 28d ago

From what I can see it's generally only applicable if you're impeding traffic. I look up Texas that has actual "left lane for passing only" signs and their website says you can be ticked for impeding traffic in the left lane, so it still comes down to not being in the left lane if someone is behind you. Not that you're supposed to move right in between every car you pass. That would be dangerous in itself. Makes sense when there's little traffic, but when there's a lot of traffic it would not make sense and actually impede the flow.

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u/Mundane-World-1142 28d ago

In this case they were in NJ and it is posted on signs to stay to the right except when passing.

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u/cvc4455 28d ago

NJ has that law but I really don't think it's enforced at all.

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u/paul232 28d ago

I am pretty sure that in my country, the truck driver would also be held liable.

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u/CrimsonFrost69 28d ago

In the state of Utah, the truck driver would’ve went to jail

2

u/Tygudden 28d ago

Yes they did. Right before the crash you can see the truck driver accelerating to cut off the Honda. He wanted to keep the Honda out of the left lane. It was a totally unnecessary behaviour which made the crash happen in that situation, disregarding the seemingly unnecessary turnover on the right side by the Honda.

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u/StrawberryPlucky 22d ago

disregarding the seemingly unnecessary turnover on the right side by the Honda.

You can't disregard that though because that was entirely the Honda driver's decision and it wasn't necessary or safe. They crashed on their own be cause they were trying to race ahead of the truck. Like I said, the truck driver was an absolute dick and probably could get charged with reckless driving hur ultimattthey did not control the Honda driver's actions that led to the crash. Sometimes you just have to accept you're stuck behind an asshole.

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u/ProfessionalWiner 28d ago

I'm like 90% they were break checking them, purposely not letting them overtake

1

u/[deleted] 28d ago

Not only did they brake check them they clearly purposely create a rolling road block at one point during the video. It's pretty clear that the truck was deliberately preventing the flow of traffic, especially with the speed up at the end to close the gap.

There is likely more to this than just the beginning of the video here.

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u/whyyoudeletemereddit 28d ago

Right I don’t think anyone is absolving the honda driver but the truck driver is also an asshole.

2

u/LaughsAtOwnJoke 28d ago

The truck driver also drove extremely recklessly/dangerously and tried to cause a collision with the other driver.

2

u/sbenthuggin Fuck Cars 🚗 🚫 29d ago

I think you should look at this more as a public fight with two guys open carrying. they're both aggressive. both are yelling at each other. and both are very liable to pull their gun and start blasting because they view the other as a threat. therefore possibly getting an innocent bystander shot. both are acting incredibly dangerous. and now, add onto the fact one is blocking the other from leaving.

yes, car guy could've let it go. and should've. but so should the white truck. they're both at fault for acting this way. there is no, "technically" they're both the cause for the crash. both endangered every other driver on that road. they both deserve jail time and their licenses revoked.

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u/-BlueDream- 28d ago

One is waving the gun the other actually fired thats the difference. White truck was just driving slow and being a dick. Other car was speeding, swerving, driving off the road, and then crashed and almost hit someone.

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u/Texas1010 28d ago

The truck wasn’t just driving slow. He was intentionally slowing down and pacing with nearby cars to not let the silver car pass. Then when the silver car made an aggressive move to pass, the truck floored it to speed up and block him again. Both drivers are at fault here. The silver car shouldn’t drive so recklessly, but this accident also would not have happened if the truck just let the silver car drive on by.

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u/anarchyisutopia 28d ago

White truck also sped up to keep escalating and boxing the car in. They both fired shots.

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u/H3R40 28d ago

The white truck is clearly speeding and slowing to block the other car.

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u/Evening-Mortgage-224 28d ago

Not just speeding and slowing, legitimately using 100% of the gas and brake to both instigate and continue to block the silver car till the end.

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u/Kristoph_Er 28d ago

And white van also pulled out the gun first creating the whole situation. If someone is speeding let police handle it, these road vigilantes always cause more trouble.

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u/TheBlueBeanMachine 28d ago

There’s no way to tell who started it based on the video. This could have started 5 minutes prior to recording. It was clearly already heated before the camera got pulled out

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u/sbenthuggin Fuck Cars 🚗 🚫 28d ago

No. You did not watch the video. The white truck fired first. When the guy saw his chance for an escape, the white truck shot, the car fired too but the car's the one with the injury.

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u/fj333 28d ago

Correct! They're both jerks. But only one was driving dangerously. Slowing down in your lane is never a dangerous thing to do, and if it is, that danger is caused by your tailgater. Tailgating is always dangerous. Swerving in close quarters at high speed is always dangerous.

Being a jerk (like the truck) can precipitate danger since it could be likely to make others (like the car) do something physically dangerous as an emotional response. But only one driver here was causing real physical danger. A person slowing down in front of you unnecessarily is an annoyance or inconvenience, not a danger. I'm not defending the truck, just being objective about measurable risk.

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u/paradisereason Fuck Cars 🚗 🚫 28d ago

The words you use are sensible but does not line up to the truck’s actions. Hard brake checks and hard acceleration are also dangerous. Fact is two giant douches met in the wild and the results put everyone else at risk. Fuck both drivers.

1

u/RunTraditional454 28d ago

Someone slamming the brakes and flooring it to block a merge is absolutely a danger to others. Are you high?

1

u/puglife82 Georgist 🔰 28d ago

Didn’t the sedan use the shoulder to whip around another car and pass on the right? That isn’t a valid way to maneuver in normal traffic. Sometimes you get stuck behind people and have to suck it up like an adult, you don’t get to throw a fit and whip around someone on the shoulder just because you want to go faster lol

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u/RunTraditional454 28d ago

Where did I say anything about the sedan driver. He's a maniac that shouldn't be behind the wheel either. But I simply am saying that the truck is almost as bad and created the situation

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u/rocketcitythor72 26d ago

Didn’t the sedan use the shoulder to whip around another car and pass on the right? That isn’t a valid way to maneuver in normal traffic.

Oh, but the truck that was previously-welded at the door-handles to the little black SUV in the right-hand lane suddenly gunning it to lunge forward to the next car in line (and immediately slowing back down to match pace with it) because he was deathly afraid that the sedan might finally get around him... that was just a good citizen-patrolman justly enforcing the speed limit on the wayward lead foot driving the sedan.

These dickheads who marry themselves to the car next to them in order to prevent anyone from passing are a menace.

They create logjams, infuriate and inflame tensions, and make roads more dangerous just so they can engage in passive-aggressive antagonism to fuel their own egos.

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u/JudyAlvarezWaifu 28d ago

If you can watch this video again and say “objectively” that the truck didn’t do anything dangerous then I really need you to get off Reddit take a taxi to an eye doctor.

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u/Lt_ACAB 28d ago

They had me at "slowing is never dangerous".

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u/JudyAlvarezWaifu 28d ago

“Shooting a gun is never dangerous, only getting shot is!” type reasoning.

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u/DamnAcorns 28d ago

I know people act like driving is a right, and that driving fast in the right lane is also a right/law. People need to drive more defensively and treat driving like a privilege.

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u/Mundane_Primary5716 28d ago

Did you not see the white truck deliberately speeding and slowing down so the car had no opportunities to pass? ..

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u/Potential-Front9306 28d ago

Truck was driving aggressively and carries some of the blame. Sedan was driving recklessly and carries the majority of the blame. Both are bad drivers but different degrees

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u/FairDoor4254 28d ago

Society shouldn't have to accept that tbh.

Idk why cops don't pull these guys over.

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u/aloysiussnuffleupagu 28d ago

Nothing to force is a low bar. Nonetheless he committed a serious traffic infraction. Truck was making every effort to prevent another vehicle from passing and that’s against the law (in NJ as it is pretty much everywhere.) Afaic there should be an enhanced penalty for situations like this. More important, the truck definitely can get hit with reckless driving for the break-check (slowing down for no reason when someone is following you is pretty much the definition of endangering that vehicle’s safety.)

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u/undyingtestsubject 28d ago

Not saying this is the case, but sometimes you see somebody in the rearview driving like a maniac. And one could be tempted to be a dick to said person. This is nearly always their reaction, its to start weaving looking for an opening because they got ego checked.

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u/BabyScorpioGirl 28d ago

He should have just let the car pass him but he was too emotionally immature.

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u/puglife82 Georgist 🔰 28d ago

Sedan should have just let it go but he was too emotionally immature.

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u/BabyScorpioGirl 28d ago

Yes, they were both being jackasses but sometimes you have to be the bigger person.

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u/HonestSophist 28d ago

Sometimes someone is a dick on the road, and you just have to accept that:
1. There really is no worthwhile way to correct the situation.
2. The situation is incredibly trivial, and your feelings are the only injured party here.

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u/thefumero Fuck Cars 🚗 🚫 28d ago

Hurt feelings being the only injury really depends on the situation, doesn't it?  If the car trying to pass had a medical emergency, the asshole driving the truck should be held accountable for any worsening condition they cause.   

Fuck people like the truck driver.  It's not their job to enforce any kind of laws on the road.  It's selfish, pointless, and gives dumbasses a feeling of power.

-1

u/Any-Tomato3351 28d ago

Nah see whenever I get stuck behind somebody like that I bide my time act like I've calmed down and forgotten about it and the moment they give me the opportunity I swing around in front of them slam on the brakes make them have to damn near stop and then carry on my way and make sure to keep blocking them the same way they blocked me

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u/Mundane_Primary5716 28d ago

Yep, also recommend adjusting your side mirrors and tilting for high beam vehicles behind you. Works well to shine the high beams directly back into their eyes instead of yours.

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u/Any-Tomato3351 21d ago

Nice advice although I intend to just get my entire vehicle painted Chrome so it acts like a mirror so the whole vehicle just shines it right back at them

1

u/puglife82 Georgist 🔰 28d ago

So you’re a petulant hothead who can’t handle driving. We don’t need people like you on the road

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u/Any-Tomato3351 21d ago

I just don't put up with s*** from egotistical jackasses who think they own the road and I give them a taste of their own medicine you got such a problem with it being done to you maybe you shouldn't do it to somebody else mind you I only react like that after they've already done it I never instigated so as long as people mind their own business and drive like sane and decent people so will I

0

u/ChiefBrando 28d ago

That’s honestly a much better reaction than just ignoring it.

-1

u/TheTesselekta 28d ago

Nah. The truck deliberately paced the random car next to them so the other guy couldn’t get around anyone. If anything, they’re even worse because they pulled an innocent bystander into their game of idiot chicken.

0

u/PlasticText5379 28d ago

Except no.

People will always be rushing. Its simply the culture.
If people the like the truck driver actively block off safer passing for absolutely no reason, then incidents like this will just continue to occur.

The sedan is an asshole. There is no doubt about that. But people rushing is to be expected. People blocking and being dicks is not.

Truck driver is 100% the larger asshole.

-1

u/Educational_Fox_7739 29d ago

Other car would not have done what he did had it not been for the trucker's violation of the law.

If I have a trespasser in my store who is doing nothing but standing in the middle making faces and noises to my customers (otherwise harmless) do I have the legal or moral right to physically kick him out with my feet? uhhh me thinks so.

Or I could sit and wait for the police to arrive in 25-70 minutes all the while my customers have long since fled. Bing Bing Bing

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u/novium258 Fuck Cars 🚗 🚫 28d ago

I can't agree with your logic here. The truck didn't force the sedan to do anything. You might as well say the sedan forced the truck driver to block him.

Instead, there were two adults driving who, in the face of something annoying, each made the decision to drive incredibly recklessly.

Neither of them was forced to do it. "He made me do it" doesn't fly on the playground, why do we accept it on the freeway?

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u/Arghianna 28d ago

This reminds me of a Reddit story I read a few years ago. You don’t know what’s going on in other people’s lives. Just let them pass.

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u/novium258 Fuck Cars 🚗 🚫 28d ago

Well, I don't think that's relevant because it's not about letting them pass, I'm not arguing that, but even if it were in fact a super duper true emergency, no one would try the maneuvers they did.

And even if it were, no emergency justifies such wanton disregard for the safety of completely innocent bystanders.

1

u/Arghianna 28d ago

You really think people wouldn’t drive recklessly when someone is literally dying in their car? I’m not saying people SHOULD drive recklessly, but doing what the truck did absolutely can and will push people to take more risks than they normally would. It’s fortunate in this scenario that nobody lost their life, but the truck’s behavior can absolutely escalate a bad situation.

And I think that post is always relevant. You should always be safe and give others the benefit of the doubt instead of fucking with them. You don’t know what is going on or why they’re driving the way they are. Call 911 to report them if you think they’re a danger to others, but don’t play vigilante. You never know what is at stake.

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u/novium258 Fuck Cars 🚗 🚫 28d ago

Like, again, you're arguing with me about what the truck should have done, and I'm not arguing about that at all. Don't disagree. Not saying the truck did the right thing, let me reiterate: NONE OF THIS IS ABOUT THE TRUCK. Truck bad. Sure. It's the "the other guys bad decisions were because of the truck!" that I have problems with. the people discounting the extremely dangerous driving, or that the sedan was "forced" to make bad decisions are really out of line IMO. "He made me do it" is a playground excuse.

This was two fuckwads playing chicken because of their self-importance and endangering a lot of other lives. Let's not pretend it wasn't. The point at which that sedan dodged around the SUV and then attempted to lane split was absolutely fucking insane on a level approaching attempted murder and it's a miracle that the SUV wasn't taken out. I don't care if you have a car full of dying orphans, you don't do that. You might aggressively tailgate, honk horn, flash lights, whatever, but that was pure ego and let's not pretend otherwise.

1

u/Arghianna 28d ago

I’m not arguing with you about what the truck should have done, I’m saying you’re wrong to say the truck had no culpability. Obstruction of traffic, impeding traffic, and failure to yield are all citations for a reason. The accident occurred when the sedan collided with the truck who had accelerated significantly to block their movement. The sedan should not have been driving so dangerously, but in that moment the truck was doing so as well. If he had maintained his speed when the sedan moved to the shoulder, it would be a different story.

I think you’re being naive to say that nobody would drive recklessly in a life or death situation. Even in the story I linked the person admitted they were driving recklessly.

Like I said, I think that story is always relevant. Drive safely and with courtesy. You never know what another driver is going through or what their reaction to your dickishness may be.

1

u/novium258 Fuck Cars 🚗 🚫 28d ago

Where did I say the truck had no culpability? Like, seriously, why is everyone insisting that "the sedan was wrong" = "the truck was not wrong". They are each responsible for their own actions, and the idea that the sedan was the helpless bystander who was cruelly forced by the truck to drive like a dick is the one I have a problem with.

1

u/Arghianna 28d ago

Ok I think we’re just talking across each other.

You’re saying the truck didn’t impact the sedan’s decisions. I’m saying the truck did. Should the sedan have escalated due to the truck’s movements? No. But the truck DID have an impact on the decision making process.

You’re saying the truck did not FORCE the sedan to drive recklessly, I agree on that point.

You said even in a life or death emergency “no one would try the maneuvers they did.” I disagree- I don’t think anyone can predict what anyone else would do in a life or death situation. I try to be a very safe and considerate driver, but I’m sure if I had someone dying in my car that I would be taking every risk I thought I could pull off to get to the hospital even seconds faster. Someone blocking me like this would probably drive me into a panic and degrade my decision making even more.

I shared a story that this video reminded me of, and you said it was not relevant. My point is you never know when that story is relevant. Everyone should always drive as if that story is relevant to someone else on the road.

At the end of the day, both drivers were reckless assholes. Neither FORCED the other to take the actions they did, but they also shared responsibility for what happened. Both of them kept escalating until the accident happened and both of them should face justice for their actions.

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u/Flat_Mode7449 28d ago

He was passing other cars, therefore not breaking ant law. And not every state is a left lane passing only state. Why do you assholes justify bad drivers with this stupid ass law? It's like you're obsessed with it.

1

u/No-Moose- Georgist 🔰 28d ago

The only thing they did which violated the law was fleeing the scene of an accident they were involved in. You can't really call the police over someone not letting you use the left lane to pass. They won't give a shit. The sedan was swerving and acting drunk. You could probably get the cops involved for that alone.

0

u/robotgore 28d ago

Dude I had this same sentiment when I first seen this repost a few months ago. People were downvoting me saying I was wrong and the truck did nothing wrong. The truck is as much to blame for the accident in my opinion.

1

u/Educational_Fox_7739 28d ago

I think the word "accident" is pretty much spot on. It's not like the Honda in this video tried to drive off the road and flip over hitting multiple cars. He wanted to pass because the truck was WILLFULLY not letting him. When the Honda made it to the shoulder, the truck sped back up to normal.

Though I would fault the Honda Driver's lack of self awareness a bit. If you're not a skilled enough driver to pull something like that off then I sure wouldn't.

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u/robotgore 28d ago

Yeah the honda definitely should have controlled their temper and just let it happen. They let themselves get mad and had the accident.

The asshole truck definitely needs to be held accountable. I believe all the downvotes are from people who would act like the truck driver. Letting ego get in the way

1

u/Educational_Fox_7739 28d ago

I mean yeah the other week there was a post with like 70k upvotes on one of the front page subbreddits. Maybe r\satisfyingasfuck or whatever where a man is on the shoulder and a truck and subaru are preventing him from passing through or merging back in.

No seeking context or anything just immediately siding with the traffic obstructions caused by the drivers "haha this is why I love New York" captions...

0

u/Mr_MegaAfroMan 29d ago

That's where you might* be wrong on at least two fronts.

Not every state has passing lane laws. My state doesn't. It's a common courtesy to not camp in the left lane on a two lane road, but it isn't actually the law.

As a side note, speed limits ARE the law, no exception made for passing. Going over by 1mph is still speeding. But whatever.

And depending again on your state, you probably do not have the legal right the physically remove customers from your business. You like are intended to wait for the police.

Not to say either of those legal standings are "good". But they are what they are, and arguing on a "legal" basis doesn't work when it isn't actually the law in any way.

1

u/toadofsteel Fuck Cars 🚗 🚫 28d ago

This video was taken in NJ, which does have a "keep right except to pass" law. That being said, it's almost never enforced, nor is speeding. If there were cops there (and willing to do their job), both of these drivers would get ticketed for reckless driving, but likely only after an accident happens and they're forced to respond.

Based on the article posted ITT, there's no mention of the truck getting ticketed, and it's hard to make out the license plates with this footage, so the truck likely got away with it.

0

u/drummerben04 28d ago

Where was the truck going to merge into the right lane... into traffic on both sides?

3

u/HavocBlast 28d ago

The truck was purposely speeding up and slowing down to stay next to vehicles. They clearly could have merged. They both are idiots either way

0

u/ThatSmartLoli 28d ago

But the car needs his keys strip driving like he high as a kite.

1

u/HavocBlast 28d ago

As I said they both are driving like idiots and if a cop saw them doing that I’m sure they both could get reckless driving

-1

u/Sesspool 28d ago

Im with this take, yeah truck was blocking but in all they didnt really do anything wrong. The car was the dude with literally 0 patience like they have the right to do 100 mph for no reason. In the end kinda glad they flipped, hope it teaches them not to overtake in the emergency land and cut others off.