random driving poll...

[lauren grier]

lol
so I drive like a kamakazi, I am aware of my faults.. but something happened tonight, which happens all the time.. and I'm wondering if my reaction is the "correct" one/what everyone else does..

so say you're in pretty decent traffic.. but it's moving swiftly, not gridlock or anything... you're in the left lane- it's a two lane stretch of the highway.. so median is to your left.. then the slow lane to your right.
in the right lane there's an 18 wheeler who suddenly decides he wants to be in your lane.. but you're already half way past him. He puts his blinkers on and starts merging into.. you.

do you a) speed up and scoot around him--possibly still being clipped by the truck and def annoying him
or
b) yield to the truck-- probably having to slam on your brakes, and possibly causing a 65000 car pile up (ahahaha ok not that many)

[xboxmom]

I would probably gun it! Unless I didn't think I could go fast enough before he smashed into them then I would pump my breaks to alert the people behind me then smash them down hard and let the Bleeping truck come over and be pissed of the rest of the time while I am driving!

[Leila]

I don't actually drive, but I'm sure I'd panic and get squished if I were in that situation. I have a very serious fear of really big trucks to the point that we alter our route to avoid truck routes. Panic attacks. Ew.

[BrattyMeg]

I'd speed up too....I can't stand bad drivers.my pet peeve

[jessica31876]

how about honking the horn so he realizes what he is doing?

[carriesmom]

Originally Posted by xboxmom

I would probably gun it! Unless I didn't think I could go fast enough before he smashed into them then I would pump my breaks to alert the people behind me then smash them down hard and let the Bleeping truck come over and be pissed of the rest of the time while I am driving!

Ditto to all of it and probably some cursing and possibly some rude gestures if it was called for.

[lovely1m]

I am a horn honker, too.

[emmasmommy]

I'd speed up, lay on the horn and flip him/her off as I drive by.

[MamaBee]

Lay on the horn as I'm speeding around him... I love my horn... ha, ha...

[scrapmonkey]

Honk the horn really long - sometimes we are too close that their mirror can't pick us up and we end up in the blind spot (theirs is a much larger blind spot than ours). And sometimes they are not looking properly if they are preoccupied with such things as meeting their delivery deadlines, etc.

[Stacey42]

I hit the horn as I speed up. We get a lot of trucks on the main highway here because it is a short cut between interstates & they drive like it is an interstate which it isn't. It's a divided highway with stop lights and lots of opportunities for left turns across the median so you shouldn't just be barreling along as if it were 65 MPH with exits. But still they do (so do the out of town cars too) so I spend a lot of time communicating by horn.

[newfiemountiewife]

Yeah, sometimes you're in the blind spot so they have no idea you're there. That said, I speed up. My answer to most everything is "go faster" LMAO

[nun69]

so I am in the minority and say brake...reason being
1) he may not have seen you in his mirror
2) if traffic is not that bad and you are braking then the people behind you should be breaking
3) I think I woul drather take my chances getting hit in the rear than side swiped by a 16 ton truck into a guardrail/median

but that is just me and it would depend ont he situation....I also don't necessarily think you could be mad at him because he most likely didn't see you {they have major blind spots in those trucks}...but then again he could be a real A$$hole...so I guess it just depends....

[pewtertm]

Gun it and lay on the horn. But have to say, as the wife of a truck driver, more often than not it's not the trucker who isn't driving safely. Although in your example, he's definitely in the wrong...but I hear over and over about how people are cutting off rigs or moving over RIGHT in front of a truck...it takes ALOT longer for those rigs to stop or slow down than it does a car. Most people today seriously do not know how to drive safely on the road with others, let alone with the big rigs. Just my 2 cents.

[tuneskids]

Originally Posted by nun69

so I am in the minority and say brake...reason being
1) he may not have seen you in his mirror
2) if traffic is not that bad and you are braking then the people behind you should be breaking
3) I think I woul drather take my chances getting hit in the rear than side swiped by a 16 ton truck into a guardrail/median

but that is just me and it would depend ont he situation....I also don't necessarily think you could be mad at him because he most likely didn't see you {they have major blind spots in those trucks}...but then again he could be a real A$$hole...so I guess it just depends....

this is me too. I would rather have my car hit from the rear than a be pushed over and hit the median. I would probably be on the horn at the same time, cause you never know if he just randomly switched or if he really couldn't see you.

[junebug]

i chose speed up but it sort of depends on if there is anyone in front of me; what if i can't get far enough ahead of him because of another car in front of me. and same if there is another car behind me, lol. but i think i'd speed up and honk like crazy, and give him a dirty look! i have a lead foot myself. my mom is scared of my driving, lol. i am a bit of a speed demon, i can't help it. i like it! don't get me wrong, i'm also very cautious. always looking in my mirrors and i pretty much obey the speed limit maybe only 5 miles over. but any chance i can gun it is fun!

[alansrock]

BTW, this happened to me and I got a ticket for speeding. The cop that pulled me over saw it all happen and he said I should've slowed down. I told the cop that he should've pulled the truck over for wreckless driving instead of giving me a speeding ticket! I got the big R-O on that one!

[kristine]

I'd break, cause I'm a wimp and terrified of big trucks

[Paula]

I speed up and flash the one finger salute while going past. LOL

[scrapmonkey]

I'm going to follow up my earlier post with a nod to Angie (nun69) and Jami. If you are ever in an accident with those two scenarios, you want to have been in the slowing down scenario. If you slow down and are hit by a car(s) behind you, then the police will charge/ticket the car(s) behind you as they should have allowed enough space to allow braking. If, on the other hand, you try speeding up and get hit by the truck while passing and that truck had its signals on, it is considered your fault by the police. And of course, if you speed up like Jami did and get caught speeding it is again your fault. And if you have someone in your insurance quoting your policy like my DH, every little ticket counts and raises your premiums big time.

[jessica31876]

Originally Posted by scrapmonkey

If you slow down and are hit by a car(s) behind you, then the police will charge/ticket the car(s) behind you as they should have allowed enough space to allow braking.

Not always. We were rear-ended and the guy told the police officer we started backing up and neither my husband who was driving or the other driver were ticketed for the accident. We have a lawsuit now because the guy is still lying and his insurance company refuses to take responsibility for the accident.

[4noisyboys]

I've done both! It would all depend on where I'm at and if I think I could make it. When I drove my van, I would've braked because there is no way it would've sped up fast enough! Now, in my Infinity...I'd speed up, because when I put my foot down, that bad boy moves!

Oh yes...and I honk!! (never flipped anyone off before...except maybe my dh!)

[ColleenSwerb]

I voted speed up, but it does depend. I've driven on highways a LOT and had to deal with big rigs a ton (spent a lot of time I-80 going back and forth to school, which is a major cross-country highway for truckers). I have a lot of respect for those massive vehicles, and I have to agree that most people out there don't seem to know how to drive around them (not that I'm perfect, but I've seen lots of almost accidents caused by the fault of the car, not the rig).

Anyway, if there aren't a lot of ppl on the road, I'll speed up. If the rig needs to change lanes because the person in front of them is going too slow, I'll slow down. If there's no reason for the rig to change lanes, I honk the horn and let him deal with it until I pass him. I've never had a rig come close to hitting me because they couldn't see me. They have lots of mirrors on those things now.

[pewtertm]

I don't know about all rigs, but I know my husband's company trucks all have radar...if something is too close to the truck, alarms start going off. He's come home shaky a few times because someboy swerved in front of him, making his alarm go off, and then have to figure out a way to move over (or run the person over because they are not going fast enough).

[lizzyfizzy]

oh yes, you bet your buttons i speed up. UNLESS, there is incoming traffic in on the right and he has to get in to allow others on the highway. i really try to be mindful.

[crystalbella77]

Originally Posted by kristine

I'd break, cause I'm a wimp and terrified of big trucks

ditto

[LibbysMommy]

I voted speed up. Like the others though, it all depends on the situation.

[scrappurple]

I think I would automatically brake and HONK, FLASH HIGH BEEMS, ETC. Hmmmm

[Balinda]

I would definitely speed up and lay on the horn.

[Julie Billingsley]

honk and break. Of course I say this after I can think about it because IN the situation I can't say for sure what I'd do. But in general I'd rather risk getting clipped on the passenger front instead of smashed on the passenger back where my kiddo is.