road rage

[AutobahnSHO]

Lame video, woman in front keeps braking for no reason. Last 30sec or so though idiot in front gets out to yell and bang on the window of the cellphone video person.
Supposedly person in front was tailgating badly, person in front brakelighted them. Dummy then passed with not enough room, etc...


http://insider.foxnews.com/2015/02/01/woman-faces-criminal-charges-after-scary-road-rage-incident-north-carolina

[hotrodalex]

Brake checking is so dumb. She should have just pulled off the road and let her pass.

[AutobahnSHO]

Brake checking is so dumb. She should have just pulled off the road and let her pass.

Agree but I don't understand why dummies don't realize if someone is brake checking you, you are following too close for their comfort. AND, if you hit them, you would be held responsible. From the report it was just a tap on the brakes, not stopping like this dummy.

I brighted someone once, near Seattle in a rental on interstate I had never driven in the rain, some wacko cuts right across 3 lanes barely missing the back of a pickup-towed trailer and my front bumper. So he JAMS on the brakes, I cut to a different lane or very likely would have hit them. I stayed as far away as I could but ended up passing them later (far left lane was clogged up with all kinds of silly) and they saw me and acted all stupid again.

[FoMoJo]

Deranged.

[NomisR]

So did the first brake checking happen before the video and the crazy lazy was trying to get back at the person taking the video?  The whole thing is   and neither of them should be driving.  You don't brake check people PERIOD!

[Eye of the Tiger]

So did the first brake checking happen before the video and the crazy lazy was trying to get back at the person taking the video?  The whole thing is   and neither of them should be driving.  You don't brake check people PERIOD!

Right, you don't brake check people, you brake check brakes. Period.

[NomisR]

Right, you don't brake check people, you brake check brakes. Period.

Yeah, but you should be checking your brakes without people behind you.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Yeah, but you should be checking your brakes without people behind you.

A black cat ran out into the road. Boom. Doesn't matter what the lead car does. Don't tailgate.

[FoMoJo]

So did the first brake checking happen before the video and the crazy lazy was trying to get back at the person taking the video?  The whole thing is   and neither of them should be driving.  You don't brake check people PERIOD!

It seems that the crazy lady was tailgating the not-so-crazy lady who then tapped her brakes to get the crazy lady's attention who then passed her, almost running her off the road, and then the shenanigans seen in the video happened.

[NomisR]

It seems that the crazy lady was tailgating the not-so-crazy lady who then tapped her brakes to get the crazy lady's attention who then passed her, almost running her off the road, and then the shenanigans seen in the video happened.

Brake checking is bad, period

[Eye of the Tiger]

Brake checking is bad, period

Not if you want to make sure your brakes work.

[NomisR]

Right, i guess as a truck driver, you have to do that especially when heading into a hilly area.

[Eye of the Tiger]

So what do you do...

a) oil slick
b) smoke screen
c) nail drop
d) backward washer squirter nozzle

[FoMoJo]

Brake checking is bad, period

So is tailgating.  Oddly, it's women I see doing this most often.  It's like they're afraid to pass but want to try and push you to go faster.  Typically, I slow down a little bit when someone's tailgating me.

[NomisR]

So is tailgating.  Oddly, it's women I see doing this most often.  It's like they're afraid to pass but want to try and push you to go faster.  Typically, I slow down a little bit when someone's tailgating me.

I guess it depends on where you are.  But at least in CA, we run into the situation of rolling road blocks.  You would have someone, typically someone in a Prius, electric vehicle, a work truck/van that's typically carrying a lawn mower or an Astro van.  These individuals would be camping in either the passing (fast) lane, or the carpool (HOV) lane at or 5-10 below the speed limit, and 99% of the time, at EXACTLY the same speed as the person in the lane to the right of them.  Only when I'm lucky do I encounter someone on the right lane going faster that allows me to pass.  These people, luckily do not even look in the rear view mirror so they won't even know to brake check but these guys causes traffic jams.

Then you have those that typically drives something like a Nissan Altima or a Sentra and sometimes a Mitsu Galant that does the above except they actually look in their rear view mirror and would brake check.  And those are the same type drivers that would speed up whenever someone wants to pass them only to slow down when there's nobody trying to pass them.  These people need to be dragged into a field and shot because they not only cause traffic jams, they cause accidents.  This has nothing to do with tail gating but more about proper lane usage and etiquette that people today do not have.  And i'm talking roads that's 5-6 lanes wide and people intentionally moves into the passing lane without intentions to pass. 

Oh of course, there's the sporadic braking person that brakes for every single corner or curve even though you can easily do in a Ford transit van going 90mph, but because these dickwads, typically in a Camry or Prius, cannot drive, they have to brake.  And of course it creates a negative ripple effect that creates a backup in traffic.  These people should not have a license.. and there's the asshole guys in a previous generation BMW or Audi on the cell phone that does the same thing because they're on the cell phone.

[Eye of the Tiger]

I shit you not I have coasted to a near dead stop in the right lane of an (otherwise empty) interstate with a tailgater staying right behind me too oblivious(?) to pass. I remember because I was hauling a motorcycle in the back of my pickup that day.

Also, the last speeding ticket I got was only because I was speeding up to avoid a tailgater. At least we both got pulled over. But holy shit, what do I have to do to get people to realize I don't want to be their butt buddy?

[Rupert]

Right, you don't brake check people, you brake check brakes. Period.

Brakes don't check people, people check people.

[AutobahnSHO]

hehehe    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtnYKxUcfuE

semi heheheh   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zW7fDB0DmCo

this dummy down under  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qayQPk96g8

[Byteme]

It's like they're afraid to pass but want to try and push you to go faster.  Typically, I slow down a little bit when someone's tailgating me.

Pretty much what I do.  If they fly up behind me and then sit on my bumper really close and I'm on the interstate and I'm on cruise control I just hit the coast button at about 10-15 second intervals 9drops the speed 1 mph, or 1 kph depending on the car, for each push) until they get bored with their little game and pass me.  Amazingly, I've had people sit behind me on an interstate and slow from about 75 to below 65 and continue to hang right on my bumper even though there was little traffic and they could have easily passed me at any time.  I never do this if traffic is heavy.  If it is I just ignore them or change lanes if I can do so without inconveniencing someone else.


I used to keep my speed up and just touch the brakes hard enough to light the brake lamps without slowing my speed.  Now I think that's too dangerous so I don't do it anymore.

[FoMoJo]

I used to keep my speed up and just touch the brakes hard enough to light the brake lamps without slowing my speed.  Now I think that's too dangerous so I don't do it anymore.

Very true.  Sooner or later, you'll encounter someone who'll be taking pot shots at you if you brake check them.

[NomisR]

Pretty much what I do.  If they fly up behind me and then sit on my bumper really close and I'm on the interstate and I'm on cruise control I just hit the coast button at about 10-15 second intervals 9drops the speed 1 mph, or 1 kph depending on the car, for each push) until they get bored with their little game and pass me.  Amazingly, I've had people sit behind me on an interstate and slow from about 75 to below 65 and continue to hang right on my bumper even though there was little traffic and they could have easily passed me at any time.  I never do this if traffic is heavy.  If it is I just ignore them or change lanes if I can do so without inconveniencing someone else.


I used to keep my speed up and just touch the brakes hard enough to light the brake lamps without slowing my speed.  Now I think that's too dangerous so I don't do it anymore.

Were you lane camping the passing lane though?

[hotrodalex]

I'll stay behind someone for a few minutes if they're camping in the passing lane and there's no other traffic. Usually they get the message.

(I don't get close enough to count as tailgating or be dangerous, just enough to make it obvious they need to move over)

[Byteme]

Were you lane camping the passing lane though?

I never do that. 

[NomisR]

I never do that. 

Ok, if that's the case then it's ok.. maybe that guy's trying to exit or trying to pass another lane camper?   Then again, probably not.

[Byteme]

Ok, if that's the case then it's ok.. maybe that guy's trying to exit or trying to pass another lane camper?   Then again, probably not.

No, usually there is no one in the left lane so they have every opportunity to pass.   And if they have an exit coming up that is still no excuse for riding my bumper.

[NomisR]

No, usually there is no one in the left lane so they have every opportunity to pass.   And if they have an exit coming up that is still no excuse for riding my bumper.

Yeah, people are idiots sometimes especially if you're already going speed limit.  The only ones I have problem with is those that enters the freeways at 35mph in a 65mph road and takes their sweet time to accelerate.  You're talking about over 40% differential in speed, that's dangerous yet these people don't seem to realize that the onramp is made for acceleration.  These people and the lane campers are the ones that I would probably end up tailgating.

[JWC]

I don't tap my brakes to check brakes or tailgaters though it may seem that way to them. When someone is behind me and there is room for them to go around, I tap the brake pedal to turn off cruise control to slow down further so they don't have to speed up as much to get by safely.

[AutobahnSHO]

which probably gets interpreted as brake check (though makes sense)

[Byteme]

which probably gets interpreted as brake check (though makes sense)

So tap the clutch pedal, if driving a manual, or push the cancel button on the cruise control.  Both actions will disengage the cruise control without lighting the brake lamps.

[hotrodalex]

I always press the cancel button. Much less interruptive than tapping the brakes.