Am I the only one being treated badly for the car I drive?

[11Huggerwhite]

We all have it happen but it's worse when your 16 and in your dad's ZO6

[Archias]

Originally Posted by Wayner2k2

Trust me, it's not you or the car. It happens to me on the daily. I wish it was because people cannot see a Big Black Silverado or a Black Camaro coming down the street before they pull out. But the truth of the matter is, we have become the ME generation. Therefore, they know you will hit the brakes when the ME driver pulls out. On top of that, 99% of the time you will do nothing about it to the ME driver.

^ This

In my Camaro, I wouldnt say Ive been particularly targeted for harassment so far aside from a few playful Mustangs here and there. Most of the the issues I run into stem from indecisiveness more than anything. People that take FOREVER to make a turn and have to slow down to a complete stop and thus force everyone to halt. People that cant decide if they either want to merge, or its clear so they meander between lanes half-assedly, or on a damned cellphone or other device. People that drive below speed limit in the left lane for fear they might be passed, god forbid. People that apparently have no idea where they are actually going - "Is this my turn? ...No... wait, is this my turn?" And guess what? You will stop for them, you will get out of their way, and you will pander to their poor driving.

I have always driven with a simple motto,

'if you are going to perform an action on the roadway, commit to it and execute it as quickly and efficiently as possible. Commit, and follow through.'

Because if you complete your maneuver this way, youll often be where you need to be before people have a chance to muck it up for you. And if you made the wrong turn? Find somewhere to turn around without impeding others.

So at times, I do become the asshole. I will overtake you and cut you off if you are impeding me with your antics. I will blow your doors off if you cant figure out which left you need to make or are not sure if you need that turning lane. I will not slow to accommodate your pansy lane change if you cant make up your mind if you want to merge or not. I will block you from coming out of that driveway if your too dense to realize its not an exit.

Does this make me a bad driver in my own right? An aggressive driver? Maybe.

As for targeting, Ill usually harass Challenger 300 drivers on occasion, and I get buzzed by the occasional ricer or mustang driver, but I usually get nothing but love from most, including the Prius drivers.

Also I dont mind the minivans revving at me, I usually attribute it not jealousy, but some people just want to see and hear that Camaro go!

/rant

[Jay_LHD3]

Only time I notice other drivers doing the stuff you mention is when I drive the speed limit. When I drive 5 or 10 over, normally just slightly faster than the pace of traffic, I don’t have any issues.

Sometimes I come up on a semi or slow vehicle that is bunching up traffic. At that point I back off and let all the road rage’ers go first as they believe tailgating less than a foot makes the car in front of them go faster!

[camarocpa]

Have you guys heard the reports of the FAA investigating people shining those laser pointers at planes that are landing/taking off? Well, in the few weeks that I had my Camaro on the road before parking it for the winter, I had two separate incidents of people intentionally pointing lasers at me from their vehicles. Has anyone ever had this happen to them?

Call me crazy, but this has never happened while I was driving my old POS Saturn or Contour...

[Archias]

Originally Posted by camarocpa

Have you guys heard the reports of the FAA investigating people shining those laser pointers at planes that are landing/taking off? Well, in the few weeks that I had my Camaro on the road before parking it for the winter, I had two separate incidents of people intentionally pointing lasers at me from their vehicles. Has anyone ever had this happen to them?

Call me crazy, but this has never happened while I was driving my old POS Saturn or Contour...

If someone did that to me and was trying to blind me, Id be calling State Patrol then tailing them until they got pulled.

[SSE 4 2SS]

Originally Posted by respawn

. Acting on perservation and instinct, I stomped the brake and threw it into 2nd gear to yield the lane. An orange light briefly lit up on the dash board, not sure what it was.
- Frustrated

I would venture a guess that the orange light you saw was the anti-lock indicator. If I'm not mistaken, if you get on the brakes hard enough to set off the antilocks, there is a light that comes on...

Feel free to correct me if this is wrong...

And it isn't necessarily you or the Camaro, it's just inconsiderate drivers... With talking and texting, eating, putting on makeup, reading etc, and moving (not driving) a vehicle down the freeway, things are going to happen.... As numerous folks have mentioned, drive defensively, stay alert.....

Good Luck, and thats a good looking car...

I'll be in your area (more or less) before too long... First week of March, I have a class to attend in Lafayette. I'm hoping my car is out of the shop by then, if so, I'll be driving it...

[rjcamaro]

I would have hit him and then when he got out of his car I would have hit him again.

[HDDAN]

Originally Posted by respawn

Sorry to vent here, but it is driving me crazy (no pun intended). I would like to consider myself a very nice person. I would be surprised if people thought I was a jerk in any interpretation. I am 35, married 15 years, 2 kids, same job (computer engineer) last 12 years... level headed. Never had a ticket in my life, drive conservatively and considerately.

BUT it seems that because I indulged myself and purchased a synergy green 2010 camaro as my daily driver that everyone assumes I am an ass or something. I can't drive down the street without someone cutting me off or trying to hit me.

I dont mind the driver next to me revving an engine at a stop light out of fun but, for instance this morning, the highway goes down from 3 lanes to 2 for construction and this silver older model grand am in the right lane finds himself behind a dump truck so he blantantly pulls into my lane. I really had to make a split second decision to LET him hit me or slam on the brakes. He saw me. No question. Also no question that if I held my lane he was going to hit me. I have never been in a significant accident but knowing a repaired car isnt the same as a new one and not to mention whether this clown had any insurance at all... Acting on perservation and instinct, I stomped the brake and threw it into 2nd gear to yield the lane. An orange light briefly lit up on the dash board, not sure what it was. I was just furious!

Problem is, this isnt an isolated incident. At least once a week, I am driving the speed limit, listening to the stereo and some jerk will stop short or swerve in front of me for no apparent reason other than to piss me off.

I can only imagine they assume that because I am driving a sports car that I must be some douche bag, but that couldn't be further from the truth. It IS making me want to start driving that way though. If I inherit that reputation just by getting behind the wheel, I might as well live up to it, no?

Any one else being treated like this on the road?

- Frustrated

What is unique about that? You are describing everyday driving in Boston. Try it on a motorcycle some time. The right of way rules around here go like this;
The biggest dented, rusted shit box has the right of way
Then the biggest vehicle has the right of way.
This can be trumped by any 10 year old former police car that has been turned into a taxi cab.
Next is any rice burning car with the wing and wheel treatment.
Then, believe it or not, Kamakazi bicycle riders and joggers.
A nice car can still cut off a motorcycle, so a Camaro is not at the bottom, a motorcycle is.

[Lauryn200]

Originally Posted by HDDAN

What is unique about that? You are describing everyday driving in Boston. Try it on a motorcycle some time. The right of way rules around here go like this;
The biggest dented, rusted shit box has the right of way
Then the biggest vehicle has the right of way.
This can be trumped by any 10 year old former police car that has been turned into a taxi cab.
Next is any rice burning car with the wing and wheel treatment.
Then, believe it or not, Kamakazi bicycle riders and joggers.
A nice car can still cut off a motorcycle, so a Camaro is not at the bottom, a motorcycle is.

Definately let the "biggest,dented,rusted shit box have the right of way".

I let them in,cut in front or do whatever they want....

[Milk 1027]

It has nothing to do with the camaro. There are dumb drivers everywhere

[Ghost1LE]

I had someone try to hit me before, two dumb ass teenagers and as I passed they were laughing. It's hard not to want to get out and just go off, but it just doesn't make anything better, so I just ignore those type of people and I drive carefully because people just don't give a F**K. I feel like it's even worse for me, I'm 17 and I drive a 2011 Camaro but people don't know that I work hard for the car I drive and I pay every dime that goes into the car including gas so I feel like it's my right to drive it. Just ignore everyone and enjoy your ride!

[oldfriend]

Over time one will learn that to deal with a a$$hole / jerk, is to turn in to a bigger one even for just a nano second !

[oldfriend]

Originally Posted by HDDAN

What is unique about that? You are describing everyday driving in Boston. Try it on a motorcycle some time. The right of way rules around here go like this;
The biggest dented, rusted shit box has the right of way
Then the biggest vehicle has the right of way.
This can be trumped by any 10 year old former police car that has been turned into a taxi cab.
Next is any rice burning car with the wing and wheel treatment.
Then, believe it or not, Kamakazi bicycle riders and joggers.
A nice car can still cut off a motorcycle, so a Camaro is not at the bottom, a motorcycle is.

AND i do now why ,,,,,BONES

[AZ MSCL]

Originally Posted by respawn

Sorry to vent here, but it is driving me crazy (no pun intended). I would like to consider myself a very nice person. I would be surprised if people thought I was a jerk in any interpretation. I am 35, married 15 years, 2 kids, same job (computer engineer) last 12 years... level headed. Never had a ticket in my life, drive conservatively and considerately.

BUT it seems that because I indulged myself and purchased a synergy green 2010 camaro as my daily driver that everyone assumes I am an ass or something. I can't drive down the street without someone cutting me off or trying to hit me.

I dont mind the driver next to me revving an engine at a stop light out of fun but, for instance this morning, the highway goes down from 3 lanes to 2 for construction and this silver older model grand am in the right lane finds himself behind a dump truck so he blantantly pulls into my lane. I really had to make a split second decision to LET him hit me or slam on the brakes. He saw me. No question. Also no question that if I held my lane he was going to hit me. I have never been in a significant accident but knowing a repaired car isnt the same as a new one and not to mention whether this clown had any insurance at all... Acting on perservation and instinct, I stomped the brake and threw it into 2nd gear to yield the lane. An orange light briefly lit up on the dash board, not sure what it was. I was just furious!

Problem is, this isnt an isolated incident. At least once a week, I am driving the speed limit, listening to the stereo and some jerk will stop short or swerve in front of me for no apparent reason other than to piss me off.

I can only imagine they assume that because I am driving a sports car that I must be some douche bag, but that couldn't be further from the truth. It IS making me want to start driving that way though. If I inherit that reputation just by getting behind the wheel, I might as well live up to it, no?

Any one else being treated like this on the road?

- Frustrated

I think you are simply encountering a rash of bad drivers as opposed to people making assumptions because you're driving a Camaro. While someone may rev their engine at a stop light, very few people want to intentionally cause a collision.