Was I too nasty? Be honest... - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

blackmercedes · #1 03-25-2003, 03:39 PM

On my way to the city this morning, I had a white 2003 S-Class behind me. It's the newest model with the "open" headlamps. Nice car.

The person driving comes RACING up behind me. I'm doing about 60km/h in the 50km/h zone already, so I keep my speed. He tailgates me all the way through the residential streets until we get to the main road.

I'm on the ramp, but have a yield sign, so I'm watching for an open spot. The fellow in the S-Class is giving me the finger and obviously screaming at me. Nice. There is FINALLY an opening, and I whack the throttle to WFO. There is TONS of gravel on the pavement, left over from winter use. My rear tires are spinning, and I'm throwing a huge spray of rocks, some golf ball sized, onto the hood of the MB.

He darts out behind me, nearly causing a crash as there really wasn't space for both of us to get out. Nice. He tailgates me some more, but can't get around, despite there being three lanes of traffic. We're doing 90km/h in the 70km/h zone, but traffic is pretty tight.

Everytime he gets close to my bumper, I ease my right side tires onto the shoulder a bit, and spray him with dust and rocks, sometimes mud. He's REALLY mad.

We get to 137 AVE, heading into the city, and he finally gets an opening. He passes me, guns it, and runs the red light. He's gone. Nice.

So, what do you think? I probably should have just left him alone, not aggravating this idiot anymore, but I just could not help myself with peppering his car with rocks.

G-Benz · #2 03-25-2003, 03:45 PM

I can't say it was the most mature thing in the world to do, but day after day, while passively enduring the pea-brained maniacs performing such mindless acts of aggression, I occasionally decide to take one on as well.

It's a bit satisfying...for a few minutes...then I regret stooping to their level.

I usually just hope that a cop is within striking distance just as the moron performs one of his/her stupid road stunts...only THEN do I feel vindicated!

BENZ-LGB · #3 03-25-2003, 03:46 PM

...if you don't mind looking like the guy in your avatar before your time. Just my opinion.

PC Dave · #4 03-25-2003, 04:31 PM

It's tempting to think the guy in the S-Class was a major a-hole, and deserving of anything you could dish out. OTOH, maybe he was just extremely late for something. Who knows? I'm not about to condemn you, been there, done that, but I've also been in his shoes (at least in the probable perception of those around me).

I hope as I've gotten older and more mature(?), that I just let things slide more, especially on the roads. In the same circumstance, I will often just pull over on a residential street and let the guy go by. Not for karmic brownie points necessarily, but I just don't enjoy the stress of someone behind me obviously massively stressed themselves - let the guy two blocks up who's about to be tailgated by the same guy be the one who bears that (or pulls over).

From all your posts here, John, you don't strike me as a jerk, so I'd write it off to a one-off natural reaction to a guy who pushed things too far. I wouldn't lose sleep over it, but I also wouldn't use it as a template for similar situations in the future.

#5 03-25-2003, 04:45 PM

IMO you were right. I think that people who tailgate have no respect for other road users. He might reconsider his driving habits when he's fronting the bill at the body-shop.

420SEL · #6 03-25-2003, 04:48 PM

There is no excuse for tailgating someone, I don't care if he was late for his first child's birth or his monther's funeral. He got what he deserved whether he was a jerk or not.

G-Benz · #7 03-25-2003, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Manu
IMO you were right. I think that people who tailgate have no respect for other road users. He might reconsider his driving habits when he's fronting the bill at the body-shop.

A chronic tailgater annoys me to no end and is unreasonably dangerous, no matter what the circumstances!

Like PCDave, I choose to pull over and let the offender go around me. I can either keep my pace, and assume the tailgater won't flinch, or if they do, deal with the police report, insurance hassles, possible physical injury, obtaining a reasonable alternate vehicle (while wondering if my current damaged one is going to be fixed right, not to mention obvious loss of resale value) and waste of precious valuable time.

I think it would me more advantageous to just let them pass. I especially take this to heart when I my rearview mirror is filled with a chrome SUV grille!

Jim Anderson · #8 03-25-2003, 05:12 PM

Question: How can you tell if he's a cronic tailgater? Once he MIGHT have a decent reason. I remember driving an in-labor wife to the hospital and being anoyed at resistance. It turns out I really had over 24 hours.

I assume you didn't get an comradory from this guy (fellow MB driver.)

I delt with a bike lane passer once. He got by me cause I would'nt do that. A bit later I saw red flashing lights working through traffic and comming up behind me. I thought my dealings got me in trouble but when I got over he passed me. A bit later I saw him parked in said bike lane behind said bike lane passer

And being a former taxi driver (wish it was in an MB) I've collected skills that I bring to bare on drivers like that and have always out done them.

blackmercedes · #9 03-25-2003, 06:01 PM

During the entire time we wound our way through the residential streets, he was making obscene gestures and visibly screaming at me. Now, he might have had some sort of emergency, but you have to keep in mind where we're driving at this moment. These are narrow residential streets with lots of folks around. There's a couple school zones (he REALLY lost it when I slowed for those) and this was at 8:30 AM, and there were lots of kids in those zones.

There are driveways, pathways, and lots of hidden stuff. Now, the boulevard is quite wide, and the sidewalk is set back a decent distance, so I don't feel unsafe driving the posted limit, even a few klicks over on the less populated bits. But, I doubt a police vehicle would hurry through this area much faster than we were already going.

He didn't "ease" through the red light at 137 Ave. He BLASTED through it, taking a whopper of a chance.

In hindsight, I shold have just let him go by at some point. Had I not been aloe this morning, I would have. Then, I whacked open the gas to jump out onto the main road. Normally, feeling the gravel, I would have immediately backed off, but I just kept my foot it this time.

mikemover · #10 03-25-2003, 06:23 PM

John,

I don't think it was immature or inappropriate at all. There's a world full of *********s out there, and somebody's got to confront them!

Today I was driving on the interstate here in Atlanta, and was going through a very congested construction area, speed limit 45mph, but there was heavy traffic and a lane was closed, so we're only going about 15mph or less...There's this moron in front of me in a POS Pontiac Grand Am who is SERIOUSLY tailgating the semi-truck in front of him, the nose of his car was practically under the rear doors of the rig...and he's randomly swerving left and right, as if doing so was going to get the truck to move or something?

He almost drives right under the damn truck a couple of times, because he was almost too close to stop when the truck had to stop. When we got past the construction area, he passed the truck, waving his arms and was all upset, then he pulls into the right lane and I pass him. As I'm passing by, I look over and notice that he has a neckbrace on, and a bandage over his nose, and the front of his car has collision damage!!!! I guess some people just never learn their lesson! Idiot.

Mike

longston · #11 03-25-2003, 10:30 PM

I love John's stories of his jaunty little road trips through greater Alberta. It's the main thing I've missed about Mercedes Shop.

I just hope this dude was French-Canadian.

blackmercedes · #12 03-25-2003, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by longston
I love John's stories of his jaunty little road trips through greater Alberta. It's the main thing I've missed about Mercedes Shop.

I just hope this dude was French-Canadian.

Spring break is coming, and we've got a "Mercedes" road trip to the Badlands and the Rockies planned over the whole week. Might have some new material...

jw-260E · #13 03-26-2003, 12:34 AM

It sounds to me that the only person you were endangering was yourself, at least at first. However, you would have felt awfully bad if that jackssa had whacked a bus full of kittens or something in that intersection. Not that it would be your fault: that guy was responsible for his flagrant stupidity.

Course, you could look at it another way, and say that he might have felt more threatened/annoyed than you did. He might consider tailgating an inch off you bumper perfectly acceptable, and see the hailstorm unleashed on his front end as a direct threat/attack. And respond by trying to get the dell around you, etc.

I enjoy such stories of road rage. To a degree, I live vicariously through them--I'm much more timid (especially considering my boy racer age) having at most leaned on the horn and flipped off a very stupid person in a Ford Exped-gargantuan that nearly drove over my benz.

Oh, on a side note: which of your many vehicles were you slinging that S-class with?

#14 03-26-2003, 12:35 AM

The grown up in me says you should have just moved over and let the idiot drive by. He'll be the pigeon for getting the ticket down the road at some police speeding trap.

The kid in me (which usually gets his way

) says....

Nice move! Spreading his hood with all kind of paint chipping pebbles! Niiiice.

PS Had a motorist in front of me once get pi$$ed off at something I'd done. He hurled his mostly full McDonald's chocolate shake out his sunroof in an attempt to have it land on the hood of my car. It exploded on the pavement instead and completely missed my RX-7.

Pretty good idea on his part, though. I have to give 'im that much.

The Warden · #15 03-26-2003, 04:41 AM

My response to tailgaters depends on my mood...I'll either try to let him pass, or I'll just slow down (all the way to 50mph on a 70mph freeway once) in an effort to get him to pass me.

Sometimes, when he comes around to pass, I'l speed up just enough to not let him get by me...but that's only when the guy's been a complete jerk or I'm in a bad mood.

In my girlfriend's old POS Taurus, I was tempted to just slam on the brakes and collect the insurance $$...