Road rager on Beltway 8

[USA1]

i think that mean guy the OP described was joe817..
he doesnt have an alibi .

[joe817]

Whaaaaaa??? Nonononononononono. It wasn't me. I don't even know where a Beltway is!

[Abraham]

Avoiding eye contact is a variation on "hear no evil, see no evil " etc. This sort of passivity can work against you.

Years ago I worked in downtown Houston. I liked to eat at some of the places close to market square. Invariably, on my way to one of these restaurants, some pan handler would accost me if I didn't meet him eye to eye. I could always spot them coming my way. I'm sure they reasoned I must be a soft touch given I wear a suit and tie. Certainly, "laser eyed" contact didn't always prevent them from begging, but act even slightly intimidated by avoiding eye contact and they just might put their hands on you.

As evidence of this: On our way to lunch one day, a pan handler demanded fifty cents, yep, an exact amount, from my co-worker. We'd been so embroiled in our conversation we hadn't noticed this bit of flotsam sidle up to us. We were startled into stopping and the bum loudly repeated his demand and put his hand on my lunch mate's shoulder, whereupon said lunch mate decked him with a punch so fast and devastating the bum landed on his behind in the gutter. I was shocked. This guy is of slight build, mild mannered, (I'd never heard him raise his voice in three years of knowing him) and a CPA. Turns out he'd been a boxer in college.

No eye contact also applies to bullies I have known too...Look at the ground when they approach and they interpret that as cowering in their presence. There is a difference between escalating and simply standing up for yourself.

Knowing one from the other is the key.

[cowboymd]

I was in the inside lane. Yes this is the fast lane and I was going a little over the speed limit. I would estimate this guy was doing something like 85-90 mph when he came up behind me.

just so you know , i was at home at that time ..i have witnesses

Me too!

But wait....now you have angered the Blue car by cutting him off. Now you have to deal with his road rage . But at least your car is faster than his.

[joe817]

Abraham, that is perhaps true when at arms length with another person: "Avoiding eye contact is a variation on "hear no evil, see no evil " etc. This sort of passivity can work against you." Proximity is the operative word.

In the discussion we are referring to both parties being in cars...not face to face. As they say in conflict resolution, distance is your friend. IMO, in this scenario of road rage, one stands a decent chance of de-escalating the situation when avoiding eye contact.

But given your scenario, I agree with you, providing you know your "enemy", so to speak, as you did.

[thorkyl]

Well it was not me, my truck will only do 77 before someone calls the pollution hotline.
I drive a 20yr old pre power smoke ford 7.3
For some reason the south belt and the north west belt are the worst for road rage.

[Excaliber]

Actually, I disagree about keeping your eyes forward and pretending the person doesn't exist. If you think they are a hot head and are passing you while mad, it's always better to be able to see something coming from them, such as them throwing something at you or even pulling a gun and pointing it at you while passing.

I have to agree. You need to check to make sure that there isn't a greater threat developing than what you've already seen.

I also agree that there's nothing to be gained by maintaining eye contact. Use a quick glance to see what you need to, then get your eyes back on the road and your vehicle someplace other than alongside his.

[Abraham]

The eye contact scenario refined:

Maintaining eye contact with a "road rager" while driving would be unwise from a number of perspectives.

Employing discreet eye contact, if one encounters a rager while driving (as a component of self preservation) is quite another...

[KD5NRH]

Well it was not me, my truck will only do 77 before someone calls the pollution hotline.

So? What could be better when you're trying to leave some twit behind than a noxious smokescreen?

[USA1]

Well it was not me, my truck will only do 77 before someone calls the pollution hotline.

So? What could be better when you're trying to leave some twit behind than a noxious smokescreen?

James Bond style

[wheelgun1958]

God is great..beer is good...and people are crazy!

[Purplehood]

I was in the inside lane. Yes this is the fast lane and I was going a little over the speed limit. I would estimate this guy was doing something like 85-90 mph when he came up behind me.

The whole road rage thing is inexcusable, but left lane hogs are just as annoying to me. Why not leave the "fast lane" open for those who want to go fast?

So how fast is fast? The guy was in excess of the speed limit by 6 mph. That isn't fast enough and he needs to get out of the way? Should he be doing a minimum of 100mph? Please move to Germany and drive on the Autobahn.

[dicion]

So how fast is fast? The guy was in excess of the speed limit by 6 mph. That isn't fast enough and he needs to get out of the way? Should he be doing a minimum of 100mph? Please move to Germany and drive on the Autobahn.

You obviously don't know the beltway.

6 over is right-lane speed. If you're not going 70, you will get run over.

There's the speed limit, and then there's what people actually drive... Trying to justify left-lane usage by saying 'im going over the speed limit' is not practical.

The left lane is the passing lane, plain and simple. If you are being Passed on the right in it, no matter if theyre passing you at 80mph, you are doing it wrong, and should move over and let them pass on the left.

Now, if the person was approaching SO FAST that you did not have time to move over between the time you saw him, and he was on your right side, then obviously, you couldn't move over. Not your fault. My question, however, is why were you in the left lane to begin with if there was (apparently) noone in the right lane next to you before this car came.

Not blaming anything on you, but I'm just saying how some people take the 'AAARGH!! LEFT LANE FOR PASSING ONLY!!! DIE!!!' thing way too seriously, so why give them fuel to their fire. Just move to the right lane whenever you can, even if there is noone directly behind you, just in case some crazy dude doing 100 suddenly appears on your rear and wants to pass.

[Purplehood]

So how fast is fast? The guy was in excess of the speed limit by 6 mph. That isn't fast enough and he needs to get out of the way? Should he be doing a minimum of 100mph? Please move to Germany and drive on the Autobahn.

You obviously don't know the beltway.

6 over is right-lane speed. If you're not going 70, you will get run over.

There's the speed limit, and then there's what people actually drive... Trying to justify left-lane usage by saying 'im going over the speed limit' is not practical.

The left lane is the passing lane, plain and simple. If you are being Passed on the right in it, no matter if theyre passing you at 80mph, you are doing it wrong, and should move over and let them pass on the left.

Now, if the person was approaching SO FAST that you did not have time to move over between the time you saw him, and he was on your right side, then obviously, you couldn't move over. Not your fault. My question, however, is why were you in the left lane to begin with if there was (apparently) noone in the right lane next to you before this car came.

Not blaming anything on you, but I'm just saying how some people take the 'AAARGH!! LEFT LANE FOR PASSING ONLY!!! DIE!!!' thing way too seriously, so why give them fuel to their fire. Just move to the right lane whenever you can, even if there is noone directly behind you, just in case some crazy dude doing 100 suddenly appears on your rear and wants to pass.

I obviously DO know the beltway as I drive it every day to and from work. What I am talking about is the Mario Andretti idiots that zoom down the fast lane and expect you to move out of the way just because you are doing 80 mph and that just isn't fast enough. If you see my Charger or Challenger (both SRT's) tooling down the beltway in the fastlane and exceeding the speed-limit, don't expect me to move aside.

[sss]

So how fast is fast? The guy was in excess of the speed limit by 6 mph. That isn't fast enough and he needs to get out of the way? Should he be doing a minimum of 100mph? Please move to Germany and drive on the Autobahn.

I don't really care how fast he goes as long as he leaves the left lane open when a faster car is approaching. Please move out of Texas if you don't intend to follow the rules: http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/V ... tn.545.051" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;