Irrational rage from slower vehicles at traffic lights

Soldato
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18 Feb 2010
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Newcastle-upon-Tyne
I drive a high-performance electric vehicle. I always stick to the speed limits (honest). But if I'm first at the lights, there aren't lots of pedestrians about and the road ahead is clear I will certainly use that performance to get up to the speed limit quickly.

I did this today in a 50mph zone. I quietly and effortlessly got up to that speed and stuck to it, cruising along for about 10 seconds with other vehicles far behind me. The next thing I know, one of the vehicles behind me (a white van) decides to undertake me at what must've been at least 80mph. He applied his brakes hard to slow down for a Truvelo camera and sped up again once he had cleared that. He continued to weave in and out of traffic ahead that was likely doing the speed limit.

I am curious whether others with high performance vehicles (electric or combustion) have experienced this sort of reckless neanderthal-style behaviour? This doesn't happen very often and fortunately most drivers have a bit more sense and self-control. But I have experienced this in the past as well. And not from a man in a white van, but from a middle-aged woman in a small hatchback.
 
Man of Honour
Joined
13 Oct 2006
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90,812
I experience this kind of driving all the time and I don't drive an electric vehicle and not really a high performance vehicle though my current one has a reasonable amount of grunt. There are so many terrible drivers out there and it seems to be getting worse.

Yesterday on my way to work for instance a driver pulled out infront of me, dawdled, then stopped at the lights and was going left but didn't indicate so until they were actually mid turn, etc.
 
Soldato
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5 Apr 2009
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Plenty of people about in cars that take 5 minutes to reach 90mph but once they're doing it, woe betide anyone in their way daring to drive at the limit :p
 
Soldato
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28 May 2007
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18,196
I don’t get people who insist in driving in the right hand lane TBF. If the lane to your left is clear just pull in and let life go on.
 
Soldato
OP
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18 Feb 2010
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Newcastle-upon-Tyne
What makes you think that the behaviour was in any way related to your car?

Not the same thing, but I found more people wanted to race me in a 3.0 Z4 than an XKR with twice the power.

He was driving behind me quite normally for a while before the traffic lights I mentioned. Not aggressively. He also gestured out his window after passing the speed camera (gleefully speeding up after it). It just seems logical the traffic light acceleration caused his reaction, given the sudden switch in his behaviour. Or maybe it was a huge coincidence, he was on the phone to his wife at the time and she told him he needed to do some chores when he got back.

I once got overtaken in a 30 zone (going 30) with average speed cameras by a taxi driver lol

Heh, I've had this as well. Not sure what the driver was trying to achieve.


Thanks for the suggestion nam, although I don't have any footage of this driver to upload.

Also quite funny seeing the responses here regarding driving in the right lane. I was in the right lane because there was a lot of traffic in the left lane at the lights. Why join a queue of traffic including large vehicles when there's a nice free right lane? I was planning to move to the left lane a bit further on and indeed I did. But it wasn't long before I could see that van speeding up behind me in the left lane and I wasn't going to move into its lane given it was clearly speeding.
 
Last edited:
Associate
Joined
7 Jul 2009
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599
Also quite funny seeing the responses here regarding driving in the right lane. I was in the right lane because there was a lot of traffic in the left lane at the lights. Why join a queue of traffic including large vehicles when there's a nice free right lane? I was planning to move to the left lane a bit further on and indeed I did. But it wasn't long before I could see that van speeding up behind me in the left lane and I wasn't going to move into its lane given it was clearly speeding.

I'm guessing you drive a Tesla?

Previously you mention that you used the performance to get ahead of the line of traffic to your left. Furthermore, you state traffic was well behind you for a period of 10 seconds.
Clearly the second the left lane was clear you should've observed the highway code and moved left.
However, you decided to assert your powerfully built company director persona upon the van driver by not moving over, unsurprisingly he undertook you.
You aren't the Police so let them worry about his speeding.
 
Soldato
Joined
17 Aug 2009
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10,712
What makes you think that the behaviour was in any way related to your car?

Nothing to do with the car at all. Sounds more like an opportunity to get in a quick brag.

Its common behaviour from people who do not want you "holding them up" by doing the speed limit when they know there are no cameras.

So in this situation with OP in his high performance electric vehicle doing the speed limit in the right hand lane, he was obstructing the driver who was happy to speed but was obliged to undertake in the left lane which was either clear or everyone in it was speeding.

I mean it's stretching reality if the left hand lane had at the same time, a lot of traffic and he managed to speed past you in it.

Probability says it was plenty empty and he passed you on the left because he wanted to exceed the speed limit and you were holding the speed limit in the right hand lane.

Something out of nothing.

Meanwhile where I am there's a few exceptional road thugs in BMWs who in the evenings will, on regular single carriageway through town, do road racing and overtaking at 50-60mph in a 30.

I should make a post about how it's related to the performance of my vehicle as I maintain the speed limit ;)
 
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