Pass-ive agggressive

Drinking and driving is illegal. So is drinking as a passenger. Since using a cell phone while driving is the equivalent (or texting, more) of being DWI....stands to reason, huh?

Oh, and the argument is that the passenger with the cell isn't driving? But they are a distraction to the driver. Its not the dialing, texting (which is so bad) it is the transference of the attention out side the immemdiate sphere of the vehicle.

A newer mutli task study revealed: persons do task A, then do task B, which has a multi task element (and predictably do poorly here), then do A again, no multi tasking. They do worse the second time they do A. They are learning to be poorer performers. Is this the infamous El Dorado of "cells/technology/multi tasking" is making us stupid(er?).

I've been watching poor lane control over the last several years. Most of the time, early on, it was cell phone use and then texting. Now days I see both, electronic device use, and no device use, and poor lane control. I am thinking that is a product of the aforementioned study.

Do you just make this stuff up???

So now you want to ban talking to passengers?

What about having children in the car? They're certainly a distraction.

You guys are making me shake my head in disbelief at your "logic".

No, its not made up and its not logic. That's how humans process. They use language and tend to "fill in" or expect/anticipate when they can't complete the communication loop. IE, passenger talking on the cell phone...driver can't hear the others response and a part of their attention attempts to process that, not word for word, but its a blank space that is subtly being paid attention to - which is a version of multi-tasking, which is what we're not so good at. When the passenger is talking to the driver, and vice-verse, the communication is complete. Often a passenger may see something hazardous and even if they don't say something, they may blank out verbally which can shift the drivers attention to focus on the new visual information.

Argue with that if you want, but its true. (Yes, I am psychologist in human performance with a lot of experience just in this little realm)

No, this is not advocating a ban on passengers talking, or, as sometimes as a pleasant thought it might be, a ban on children in the car. Its that the cell phone use in cars should be banned. I sometimes sit quite uncomfortably when my friend drives with his hands free unit. He's not so great a driver to begin with and when using the phone the degradation in attention and control is immediately apparent.

I can't argue with that.

Yes, thank you, people like me with their fragile ego's so need need the bow downs, as I often imagine I am a bit of a Easter island stone statue.

Also; another example: Why does someone become annoyed when, for example, on a train, another person is on the cell phone to someone else? Its the same situation.

I'm good with all this...as soon as we legalize pot.

I placed this in the "Perfect Line" to discuss strategies/reactions to a particular scenario, to wit: motorists who become seemingly agressive after being passed.

What do you do that works or doesn't work? How do you react to or avoid the situation? Etc.

There are some new and returning riders out there and on here who may benefit from such a discussion; I know that drivers in general are, or at least seem to me, more aggressive than when I first learned to ride 30 years ago.

Re: cellphones- I understand the various sentiments and personally agree 100% with shut the fuck up and drive approach, it just is not meant to be the topic of this particular thread.


Seems reasonable?

I haven't experienced people becoming aggressive after being passed although I am sure it does happen. But I have noticed them being annoyed when passing them after they sit at a light on their phone, which may be evidence of the same mindset or reaction as straight up passing. So maybe that's where the cell phone divergence started (admittedly with my participation)...and maybe where it will end.

You really don't have too many choices with a'hole drivers. Either speed up or fall behind.

I do know that the more years that go by I'm a little less inclined any way to be first. Plenty of times now if I get into a situation where there's endless packs of vehicles in front of me for miles on end and it would just be constant in and out passing I'll pull over and take a break for 5 or 10 minutes and let them all get far ahead. The hurry factor rides both ways. Us and them.

In most places in the US the level of violence has decreased (homicide/assault/rape) and yet over the same time line the general feeling is of driving becoming more aggressive. That somehow doesn't make intuitive sense. There are no real stats on aggressive driving, at least those that don't end in a police report of some sort. Perhaps it is a conditioning, not unlike most people think violence is increasing (generally due to media over reporting) when its not. It would be very interesting indeed if there was a positive correlation to lower violence and driving aggression.

I am onboard with that...

For the situation you outlined the only real solution is to ensure that you can make a clean pass without telegraphing your intentions, hang back a little, downshift, and get the hell around them and leave them a distance behind. Don't hang around to see how they feel about being passed. If you don't have the room or skills to pull this off safely, hang back and enjoy the ride at a slower pace; or do as mentioned above and pull over and take a 10 minute break.

Like others have said, the strategy that works best for me is to pass as quickly as you can and put some distance between your rear tire and the passed car. If you get far enough away, they tend not to latch on to you. I have happened across a few shitwhistle aggressive drivers who either can't stand to be passed or maybe are in the mood to race. With these, either pin the throttle and leave no room for doubt (if on a fast bike) or just let them go on their shitwhistle way and drop back or turn onto a different road. It's really not worth fighting about, especially when the other person is bringing a big steel blunt instrument weighing a few thousand pounds to the fight.

Most of the time, it takes two to road rage.

Here in MI, the enhanced penalties for DUI-homicide have just resulted in more hit-and-run incidents. The reasoning is that if the person can get away and hide for awhile, it's impossible to charge him with DUI. They'd rather take the hit-and-run charge because the penalty is a lot less. Many times, if the vehicle is undriveable, they'll take off on foot.

This is wise. Also good is the idea of a re-route. If road A is busy, dip to road B.

Hence the word play on passive-aggressive in the title.

I see plenty of people who get aggressive behind the wheel step out and morph to a mild mannered office worker.

Behind the wheel = a sense of power; otherwise, not so much.

I don't know, at some point everybody became a "gangsta", I guess; must've missed the memo. I've been flipped off by a woman who had to have been in her late 70's before, not riding, and she had failed to stop at a stop sign! What the hell is that & where do you go with it?

I can't say I have been tailgated after passing....I have been drag raced....I don't get that either....

The other day I was on a 2 lane road 50 mph speed limit....come up on a line of about 4 cars behind and antique car....he was doing maybe 40 MPH....when the road straighted out he pulled over but didn't stop to let people pass...I went around and was probably doing 55-60 to get around him because the passing zone was ending. and traffic was coming the other way. Luckily I was paying attention because the pickup infront of me got on the binders hard. You could smell burning brake pads. The whole group was now down to 35mph.....there as an old guy driving a brand new Mustang convertible GT put puting along...he kept the entire line of cars behind till we entered the next town and then he pulled over......every single driver either flicked him off or yelled at him...it was kinda funny....what a douche nozzle...

Oh and the antique car caught up to the pack

Its human nature,some part of each human doesnt want to be beat.

Like a race they dont even know they're in.

String of cars mosying along up a slightly curvy road,car drivers cant do corners so they have to go slow,corners take skill and attention so they are flat out of luck.

Then there's a passing lane and the whole pack of them starts doing crazy shit to stay at the front or at least gas it hard.
1st,2nd,3rd,4th place,all think they're going to the front.

Its best to give em half a beat on a bike before passing them all,sometimes the slowest becomes the fastest and veers wildly to go where they want.

I'll tell you, I've taken the hang back and enjoy the ride approach, gut feeling, only to pass a radar set up right about where I would've been well above the limit! To me, this approach is a mental challenge too-call it a Zen exercise : rather than ruminate about being slowed down, drop the ego and go with the flow. It works, for a few miles.

The scenarios which prompted me to post are nothing new to me, but with light to no traffic at that time, it got me to thinking about it more- mostly because I was in the mood to just putt around that evening.

The one car was well below the posted 45 at @ 25mph, on a straightaway; when I passed from a couple car lengths back my speed was around 55 when resuming the lane and had not yet slowed when I noticed the aforementioned vehicle was now 1/2 car length back-that's not pacing, it's intentional. Alarming when there are only two of you on the road, especially at night.



And thank you all for getting this back on track.

The going "gansta" theme has some credibility I think. White culture often has appropriated black culture (see, for example R&B - soul morph into rock n' roll) and rap filter into white culture, then "gangsta rap". This wouldn't have happened at the level it had without the stunning influence of the media & internet, which is much more prevalent these days than in the 50's. Perhaps people have morphed into the "bad ass" culture by such repeated and widespread exposure. Then they are ensconced in their safety zone of a car, minding their own business, and feel they've been "disrespected" (with a pass or whatever) then somehow feel the need to strut their feeble identities.

I've had a few of these in the recent weeks:

• Woman flipped "da bird" at me while I made a nice quiet pass on a two lane, on my BMW, passing at maybe 62 mph in a 55. Wait, maybe a 43 year old, overweight, beat up Chevy Cavalier driver is actually an ADV Rider fan!
• Woman in the left lane leisurely plodding along at 1-mph faster (maybe) than the two semis she didn't want to sit behind. She too, flipped me the bird because I was somewhat crowding her to get the hell moving as my exit was coming up! Another ADV fan?