Bullies of the Road

Hey guys,

Has anyone else noticed themselves being bullied on the roads while in your mini-truck?
Now that fuel is dirt cheap everyone is driving fast again.
I go 55mph (though speedometer is reading 100kmh I know I'm going 55mph because of my GPS) in my mini-truck on the highway.
I know that is slower than the speed limit, but I go the same speed in my Dodge truck too. The difference is people tend to stay backed off while I'm in my Dodge till they can find a spot to pass. Whereas, in my mini-truck they tail me.

So that is the disadvantage of smaller cars is people get the mentality that they must get around you. (and push you in the meantime)
I'm sure the smart car owners see this aggressive behavior exercised towards them as well (regardless of how fast you are going).

That was the only good thing about $4.00 gas is that people started driving slower and less aggressive because it ate into their wallets to speed or accelerate too fast.

Anyways, so I'm just complaining because it kinda sucks the joy out of a drive when people aren't giving you proper space.

~Josh

 

Yah. All the smiles and waves make up for those butt heads though. I've noticed that daytime running lights do seem to help hold people back from pulling onto the road in front of you though.
Jim

 

Yes, I agree. Even if you are going the speed limit, people act like there's a $50 reward for passing a mini-truck or something.

 

Its 100 points here.

-250 if you get passed by a mini truck though.

 

when that happens i don't "brake check" anyone, but i'll hold my speed and put my left foot on my brake just enough to turn on my brake lights. that usually gives them the notion that i may slow down and will back them off a bit without causing them to rear end me.

 

Hey Milt, Yeah I will definitely try that one. My brake lights are bright, so they will probably back off out of caution just seeing the lights. Good idea.

And yep, I do drive with my lights on all the time so people will see me better.

 

I drive a Smart as my commuter and it is a small car thing. I have a lead foot so it's not like I'm going slow. The one I love is when you are doing 15-20kph over the limit and someone in a SUV who has been tailgating you for 3kms passes you so close that you could roll down the window and touch his truck, pulls back in so close that you have to brake so as not to be hit by him, then slows down to about 5kph less than what you were doing originally. I don't speed up when people pass. I let them go, but this happens all the time to me. I've said this for a while now that the biggest problem I've had with the Smart is other people attitude towards it. Passive agressive buttheads abound!

My advice is to try and ignore them as best you can and don't let their personal inadequacies spoil your enjoyment of your truck.

 

It is just not a mini thing. 3 months ago 2 people north of here on the highway were cut off and clipped causeing them to have very serious accidents they were both in full size cars. It is just a idiot thing I think.

 

I like the smart cars. If I didn't need all the other vehicles I have I'd trade one in for a smart car. Very cool little vehicles and I like that they can actually go 65+mph with ease. (and really do get good fuel economy).
Maybe someday I'll have an open slot for one of those too.

 

Windmill your right it does happen to larger cars too but I did notice a definite increase in it happening to me since I bought the Smart three years ago. You just have to drive normal, not back down, and try to ignore them.

jtpc, yeah I just got it for a commuter. I don't have kids to take places or lots to tote around(that's what the Sambar is for!) so the Smart was perfect. Plus ours were Diesel when they first came here(Canada)! Even with my heavy foot I'm still getting about 55-60mpg! I had a MINI before. I loved that car but premium gas only and with my lead foot I was getting about 25mpg. As far as a driving car, the MINI wins hands down but I figure I save about $5000 per year in fuel costs($1.50/L premium gas to $1.40/L diesel) by driving the Smart over the MINI and that goes along ways to buy other toys. It wouldn't be so bad now that gas prices have gone back down(.95¢/L premium gas to .78¢/L diesel) but still the Smart is by far the cheapest thing around on fuel bills. Now if the service charges were only cheaper...

 

I don't think it's just with the minis. I see that kind of behavior with most of the smaller vehicles like bikes and SmartCars. Somehow, down here in Texas people seem to think the bigger their pick-up is, the more macho they have. Sad but true.

 

I drive on farm to market roads here in Texas and have not noticed any tailgating on the minis. If someone is coming hard and fast I will either move over or get off the road. I have noticed also that some folks driving toyota prius hybrids are driving a bit aggressively. I drive a Dodge 2500 4x4 diesel and consider myself courteous but sometimes aggressive. Twice in one week a prius has tailgated me to the point of only seeing the roof of the car. I was exiting off of the interstate and had the right of way with plenty of room. The first time, I shook my head. The second, I brake checked them. I have replacement bumpers, so a little prius wont do anything to my truck. As a rule of thumb I always move over when someone is on my tail.

 

Yes texasnativeson, some even here in Oklahoma are kinda anti-green movement and as a result of their hate of such policies, they take it out on efficient cars because they feel it is a threat and they somehow think that such cars will lead to the outlawing of their gas guzzlers. (and in a sense that is happening slowly with the future rules for fuel efficiency)

But seriously, I know guys who actually hate (and I mean hate) the prius and for no good reason. They are just anti-green movement.
And I don't agree with all of the 'save the environment' crap that is being tossed around in washington all the time either, however I do like the idea of efficient, non-polluting transportation.

So there are those who believe cars like the smart shouldn't even be allowed on the roads (mostly because they think small vehicles = slow vehicles and people don't want anything in their way (seeing their lives and where they are driving to are SO important)).
But I'm not one of these type. I think that the new wave of smaller vehicles will be much needed when fuel gets high again. If gas doubles in price people need vehicles that get double the fuel economy. (unless they can somehow convince their employer to pay them twice as much or something)

As for the pulling over thing, Here we have tons of signs on the sides of the road (kinda like speed limit signs) that say "Do not drive in the shoulder". They are trying to eliminate anyone who can't keep up. Some older people around here will go 40-45mph and spend most of the time driving in the shoulder so as not to get run over.
So its kinda frowned upon to do that here. (Hence they put up tons of these signs)
General belief is if you can't go the speed limit, stay off the road (I suppose).

But hey, if fuel will go up to $4.00+/gal again, even the hummers will start slowing back down like they did this summer and smart cars will start looking cooler to the general public.
People will start bugging me at all the gas stations again asking "what kinda mileage do you get with that?".
In the meantime, I'll just enjoy the silence/privacy while fueling up.