WTF is wrong with California drivers?

993 Views 21 Replies 18 Participants Last post by rpvitiello, Oct 29, 2003

rpvitiello

Discussion Starter · Oct 28, 2003

The other day I was driving on the parkway with my friend, well there was this one car doing like 60 in the left hand lane. As I come up behind I wait for them to get right. Well as I'm coming up apparently the person sees me and decides to hit there breaks. I'm like WTF? And then I see that's its a California plate. So I wait a min and she just keeps going. I finally go to pass on the right (I hate doing that but the right lane was actually clear) and as I do that she leans over across the passenger seat to give me the finger. At this point I just hit the gas to pass her. Then a car was coming up in the right hand lane so I get left to pass them. She then guns it and gets right to try and speed up and pass me on the right. And then she backs of seeing that the car is coming and then gets BACK IN THE LEFT HAND LANE! I mean I heard California drivers have road rage but come on that is a little ridiculous. I did NOTHING to provoke this women and she went psycho.

Also I don't know if the laws are different in California but its ILLEGAL to just drive in the left hand lane, and it's illegal to pass on the right. I here that in some states there are no laws against this. Is that true in California, or is it illegal and just everyone ignores the law?
Also if that is the case it would be nice if people checked the local laws before the drive in a different state!

1 - 20 of 22 Posts

Fo' Focus

· #2 · Oct 28, 2003

There are not many roads like that around here where that would apply. I somtimes forget that I am supposed to drive in the right lane but usually people don't care because i am going faster than the people in the right lane.

OmniFocus

· #3 · Oct 28, 2003

There is a lot wrong with California drivers, but I'm getting used to it.

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FocusOnPunk

· #4 · Oct 28, 2003

there are laws just about everywhere that the left lane is only for passing...that doesn't mean anyone cares or anyone enforces it. and lets be honest, you know you don't go to the library and get law books every time you cross borders.
not that im saying this lady was justified, i have huge problems with rude drivers, but i mean, choose your battles.

BUR_ZX3

· #5 · Oct 28, 2003

in Cali... the left lane is just a lane.... its cuz we're used to it being so congested that its all it can be.

but thats not typical of us.

rpvitiello

Discussion Starter · #6 · Oct 28, 2003

There are not many roads like that around here where that would apply. I somtimes forget that I am supposed to drive in the right lane but usually people don't care because i am going faster than the people in the right lane.

Lol I don't get how you can "forget" the left hand lane is for passing. Around here allot of people will even SLOW DOWN to get right to let you pass, if you want to go faster then they were going. No matter what if you drive in the left hand lane there WILL be a car behind you sooner or later trying to pass.

So do cops not enforce "left lane is for passing" at all in California?

you know you don't go to the library and get law books every time you cross borders.
not that im saying this lady was justified, i have huge problems with rude drivers, but i mean, choose your battles.

And also its not like she would have to read law books to know this is a law all she has to do is READ THE SIGNS on the highway. There are signs that throughout CT that say "keep right except to pass" "Slow cars MUST keep right" "no passing on the right"

Also this pisses me off because I was ran off the road by a driver like this, causing about $4,000 in damage to my car (luckily I had a connection and it only cost me $2,300) and of cores the other driver just kept going. Because of that I try hard not to piss anyone off, and in this case I did nothing other than try and drive, yet people STILL get pissed. I just don't get it?

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airforcefocus

· #7 · Oct 28, 2003

The issue is when a California driver get's out of state and drives where it is commnplace to pass on the left and then merge back to the right. It drives me nuts when people on a two lane road cruise in the left lane!

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South.O.C.

· #8 · Oct 28, 2003

You like to see when they get on the freeway , on ramp to the far left lane...... cut everyone off and sit there @ 55mph

or

you are at the flow of traffic they talgate you, pass you 10mph faster and 1 mile later they are holding up traffic yapping on the phone, and now they will not move from the left lane yap yap yap........

There is a lot of A-holes here, most of the time it'ds from the cell phone

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RainyZX3

· #9 · Oct 28, 2003

I'm just amazed you found a CA driver going only 60mph? It seems to me that in LA and surrounding areas, everybody drives way too fast and aggressive.
I go to school in NorCal now, and have yet to see one person merge on the highway sanely. They are usually going about 45-55mph. My roommate has a great saying, "there are some people who are alive simply because it is illegal to kill them."

Fo' Focus

· #10 · Oct 28, 2003

hell i merge on the highway doing 80

elderfeces

· #11 · Oct 28, 2003

in Cali... the left lane is just a lane.... its cuz we're used to it being so congested that its all it can be.

but thats not typical of us.

...what he said. now watch for my finger.

Ray

· #12 · Oct 28, 2003

rp, you seem to be on the affront of a lot of road rage.

SaTaNcLaUz

· #13 · Oct 28, 2003

hell i merge on the highway doing 80

i guess its a 'merge' if the other people are going 80

people are so [censored] stupid when they drive, i almost get hit every day

and you know who the dumbest drivers of all are? college kids, for supposedly being 'higher educated' they are ALL dumbasses behind the wheel (and walking across the street, idiots)

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Hitokiri

· #14 · Oct 28, 2003

And I thought Chicago drivers were the worst drivers..

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DirtyFocusZX3

· #15 · Oct 28, 2003

Hmmm i live in nor-cal and most people don't even drive 65, it's sad. They go 65 on their speedo but their speedos are usually off a bit so they're really going 63 or so. I usually just drive in the left lane going 70-75 the whole time passing car after car.

As for CHP, those are few and far between here.

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out-of-focus

· #16 · Oct 28, 2003

True, there are a lot of crappy drivers here in CA. The worst I have seen in my driving "career", but then again I have not been to New Dehli and other cities like that.

out-of-focus

· #17 · Oct 28, 2003

Hmmm i live in nor-cal and most people don't even drive 65, it's sad. They go 65 on their speedo but their speedos are usually off a bit so they're really going 63 or so. I usually just drive in the left lane going 70-75 the whole time passing car after car.

As for CHP, those are few and far between here.

Here on 680 and 580 on weekends looks like everyone is doing at least 75mph.

77Shawn

· #18 · Oct 28, 2003

I'd have to say what's wrong with Cali in general.

But seriously, you get that crap anywere. It never fails, you're just driving along minding your own business and you find the one moron on the whole damn road.

I just try not to piss anyone off too much when driving thru Detroit, you never know who's not a gun and a short fuse.
Good luck out there!

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2

spike

· #19 · Oct 28, 2003

there are many things that irritate me about cali drivers.

this is one of them- my wife was born and raised here. For about a year and a half she and her mother moved to texas where i lived at the time. after i first met her she explained to me that she thought that drivers in texas were extremely rude even compaired to cali drivers so i asked her why. she said that everytime she and her mother passed someone going the opposite direction on a rural/residential/farm road they would give her the finger.
i laughed and said that the people were waving and that she was mistaken. she didn't believe me at the time but i told her to pay more attention next time it happened. sure enough, the next day she told me i was right and that she and her mother just automatically assumed that any hand gesture was an automatic flipping of the bird because thats the only acknowlegement you get in cali. due to this they just started to ignore the other drivers and misunderstood the waving for flipping of the bird. i guess after living here for a few years i'll be the same when i go back to texas to visit.

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racer_alpha

· #20 · Oct 28, 2003

there are many things that irritate me about cali drivers.

this is one of them- my wife was born and raised here. For about a year and a half she and her mother moved to texas where i lived at the time. after i first met her she explained to me that she thought that drivers in texas were extremely rude even compaired to cali drivers so i asked her why. she said that everytime she and her mother passed someone going the opposite direction on a rural/residential/farm road they would give her the finger.
i laughed and said that the people were waving and that she was mistaken. she didn't believe me at the time but i told her to pay more attention next time it happened. sure enough, the next day she told me i was right and that she and her mother just automatically assumed that any hand gesture was an automatic flipping of the bird because thats the only acknowlegement you get in cali. due to this they just started to ignore the other drivers and misunderstood the waving for flipping of the bird. i guess after living here for a few years i'll be the same when i go back to texas to visit.

We are friendly, if you don't cut us off or stare at us we tend to throw out friendly waves.

But for the love of God, we get really, really agressive sometimes. Makes California drivers look like drivers-ed students.

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