Road Rage

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

You know what?

This guy looks almost exactly as I thought he might.

brianlux said:

I would categorize this little story under road rage.  I'm going to tip toe around certain subjects here because to me the bottom line of this subject is more about the decency- or lack thereof- of some people.  It has to do with the latest game some people are playing on the road. 

I drive a Prius.  That should tell you little or nothing about me personally that you may or may not know about me already.  It's just a car.  I know people of all types who drive a Prius.  For me it's about 1) longevity- my mechanic says I should have no trouble hitting between 300K and 400K miles with no major work needed other than one change of the big battery,  2) great cargo space for a small car.  I can carry up to 16 banker boxes full of books if I really pack carefully- about the same my wife can carry in her 4-Runner-, and 3) fuel efficiency.  I have done the math and so far, at 185 K miles, this car has save me about $12,000 in fuel expenses.  With some luck, I will eventually save most or all of the original price of the vehicle which I purchased new.

So here's the problem.  Where I live, there are a great number of people who drive large pickup trucks.  OK, fine.  Like I said, my wife has a 4-Runner.  But lately, the bigger the truck, the more these guys (and it's always guys) like to harass us small car drivers by getting right up on our bumper.  At night, this is particularly problematic because these guys like to jack up their mongo trucks and/or raise them up further with over-sized tires but don't adjust their headlights.    This happens a lot and, in fact, happened twice today.  The second time I'm pretty sure they guy tried to run me off the road.  He didn't know I have good reflexes and a lot of driving experience.  I think he felt kind of stupid afterwards. 

The bigger problem is that I've talked to other Prius and small car owners who have had the same problem.  This is not going to turn out well for someone with less driving experience.  It's gotten to the point where driving is like roller derby on steroids.  Every outing is an exercise in ultra defensive driving and, whenever possible, avoidance.  I don't know what the trip is with these idiots.  I suspect they are using something big and loud to compensate for something small and ...

...well, that's enough for this rant.

hedonist said:

People (appear to) make up for their dicks in many ways. In fact, I see some women pull this shit too.

Gotta say that the big truck/small dick theory is kind of tired and old. An easy dig, like a child. 

dankind said:

hedonist said:

People (appear to) make up for their dicks in many ways. In fact, I see some women pull this shit too.

Gotta say that the big truck/small dick theory is kind of tired and old. An easy dig, like a child. 

If you don't work in construction, agriculture, landscaping, etc., why the fuck would you buy a pickup truck if not to seem more manly? Might not be dick size but rather a general feeling of emasculation from the terrible burden of having to being a responsible adult. But it's a thing.

So many giant pickup trucks around my town just to run to the grocery store or drop the kids off at school. That's worthy of ridicule, IMO, especially when the vehicles (not to mention the meathead hockey dads behind the wheel) are much more dangerous to the community at large.

Check out that Bloomberg article I posted. It's a fairly well researched piece by the author of a book on pedestrian deaths in the US.

dankind said:

mickeyrat said:

brianlux said:

I would categorize this little story under road rage.  I'm going to tip toe around certain subjects here because to me the bottom line of this subject is more about the decency- or lack thereof- of some people.  It has to do with the latest game some people are playing on the road. 

I drive a Prius.  That should tell you little or nothing about me personally that you may or may not know about me already.  It's just a car.  I know people of all types who drive a Prius.  For me it's about 1) longevity- my mechanic says I should have no trouble hitting between 300K and 400K miles with no major work needed other than one change of the big battery,  2) great cargo space for a small car.  I can carry up to 16 banker boxes full of books if I really pack carefully- about the same my wife can carry in her 4-Runner-, and 3) fuel efficiency.  I have done the math and so far, at 185 K miles, this car has save me about $12,000 in fuel expenses.  With some luck, I will eventually save most or all of the original price of the vehicle which I purchased new.

So here's the problem.  Where I live, there are a great number of people who drive large pickup trucks.  OK, fine.  Like I said, my wife has a 4-Runner.  But lately, the bigger the truck, the more these guys (and it's always guys) like to harass us small car drivers by getting right up on our bumper.  At night, this is particularly problematic because these guys like to jack up their mongo trucks and/or raise them up further with over-sized tires but don't adjust their headlights.    This happens a lot and, in fact, happened twice today.  The second time I'm pretty sure they guy tried to run me off the road.  He didn't know I have good reflexes and a lot of driving experience.  I think he felt kind of stupid afterwards. 

The bigger problem is that I've talked to other Prius and small car owners who have had the same problem.  This is not going to turn out well for someone with less driving experience.  It's gotten to the point where driving is like roller derby on steroids.  Every outing is an exercise in ultra defensive driving and, whenever possible, avoidance.  I don't know what the trip is with these idiots.  I suspect they are using something big and loud to compensate for something small and ...

...well, that's enough for this rant.

dash cam mounted in the rear. submit video to the local chp outpost.

California still requires a front plate dont they?

I don't know if anyone read this a few weeks ago, but it definitely struck a chord regarding pickup truck owners where I live: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-11/the-dangerous-rise-of-the-supersized-pickup-truck.

JeBurkhardt said:

brianlux said:

I would categorize this little story under road rage.  I'm going to tip toe around certain subjects here because to me the bottom line of this subject is more about the decency- or lack thereof- of some people.  It has to do with the latest game some people are playing on the road. 

I drive a Prius.  That should tell you little or nothing about me personally that you may or may not know about me already.  It's just a car.  I know people of all types who drive a Prius.  For me it's about 1) longevity- my mechanic says I should have no trouble hitting between 300K and 400K miles with no major work needed other than one change of the big battery,  2) great cargo space for a small car.  I can carry up to 16 banker boxes full of books if I really pack carefully- about the same my wife can carry in her 4-Runner-, and 3) fuel efficiency.  I have done the math and so far, at 185 K miles, this car has save me about $12,000 in fuel expenses.  With some luck, I will eventually save most or all of the original price of the vehicle which I purchased new.

So here's the problem.  Where I live, there are a great number of people who drive large pickup trucks.  OK, fine.  Like I said, my wife has a 4-Runner.  But lately, the bigger the truck, the more these guys (and it's always guys) like to harass us small car drivers by getting right up on our bumper.  At night, this is particularly problematic because these guys like to jack up their mongo trucks and/or raise them up further with over-sized tires but don't adjust their headlights.    This happens a lot and, in fact, happened twice today.  The second time I'm pretty sure they guy tried to run me off the road.  He didn't know I have good reflexes and a lot of driving experience.  I think he felt kind of stupid afterwards. 

The bigger problem is that I've talked to other Prius and small car owners who have had the same problem.  This is not going to turn out well for someone with less driving experience.  It's gotten to the point where driving is like roller derby on steroids.  Every outing is an exercise in ultra defensive driving and, whenever possible, avoidance.  I don't know what the trip is with these idiots.  I suspect they are using something big and loud to compensate for something small and ...

...well, that's enough for this rant.

My wife calls them penis trucks. There are tons of them where I live, and you are right, very few are driven by women.

JeBurkhardt said:

Ledbetterman10 said:

dankind said:

hedonist said:

People (appear to) make up for their dicks in many ways. In fact, I see some women pull this shit too.

Gotta say that the big truck/small dick theory is kind of tired and old. An easy dig, like a child. 

If you don't work in construction, agriculture, landscaping, etc., why the fuck would you buy a pickup truck if not to seem more manly? Might not be dick size but rather a general feeling of emasculation from the terrible burden of having to being a responsible adult. But it's a thing.

So many giant pickup trucks around my town just to run to the grocery store or drop the kids off at school. That's worthy of ridicule, IMO, especially when the vehicles (not to mention the meathead hockey dads behind the wheel) are much more dangerous to the community at large.

Check out that Bloomberg article I posted. It's a fairly well researched piece by the author of a book on pedestrian deaths in the US.

Many reasons. If you buy a dryer or refrigerator or something, it pays to know a guy that has a pickup truck. My uncle is my guy. And trust me, he's the least "trying to be more manly" guy I could think of.  If you go camping, hunting, fishing, or skiing, you can keep your equipment in the cab. You can keep a bicycle in there if want to drive somewhere to bike. My friend who has a lake house doesn't keep his jetski at the lake house anymore because it was once vandalized, so he takes it to and from the lake in the cab of his truck. You could even put down some padding and have a nice romantic night under the stars with your lady friend....should the mood strike you. 

That's not to say there's not these type of guys, but you shouldn't paint everyone with a broad brush.....

The need for a truck in a lot of different situations is pretty obvious. I have owned 2 different trucks and would like to have another one at some point because they come in handy at times. None of mine however were lifted 40" with coffee can size exhaust pipes and the emissions systems modified to "roll coal". I love this picture though because of the guy in the bed of the truck with his shirt partially tucked in so everyone can see his belt buckle! Not even a week ago I was out shopping, and I saw a guy doing the exact same thing. His had an eagle on it.