be careful out there (NJ loonies)

[rdsmith3]

So I was riding to work the other day. I went up the on-ramp to an interstate highway that is part of my commute. The traffic is almost always bad on this road, and this time was no exception. I was close to merging on the main road, looking for my spot to get in, and there were two cars ahead of me. I was checking my mirrors to make sure I did not get rear-ended. All of a sudden, I saw a guy in a Toyota SUV driving on the shoulder at a good rate of speed in an attempt to go around all of us. It really annoyed me. I don't know why I did this, but I honked at him as he drove by. I have a FIAMM Freeway Blaster horn, so it is pretty loud. I noticed he glanced over at me.

I merged onto the road and worked my way over to the left-most of three lanes of heavy traffic. I was riding down the highway, very slowly, and I noticed a vehicle making its way over to the middle lane, next to me. It is Mr. My-time-is-more-valuable-so-I-will-drive-on-the-shoulder in the SUV. Uh-oh, I though. pay attention.

He pulled right next to me and rolled down his window. double uh-oh, I thought, as I was planning my escape route. Remember, this is New Jersey, part of the greater New York City metro area. Road rage and firearms are both common. There are also a lot of guys who think they should be in "The Sopranos" and carry that sort of attitude.

He says to me "How many miles on that thing". I glanced at him, evaluating whether he looked threatening, and pretended I didn't hear him. He said it again. I decided I did not like this situation, and the prospect of being beside this guy for an extended period of time. I quickly took off and rode between the left and middle lanes for a loooong way. I split the lane and passed so many cars that I got far away from him.

Moral -- be slow to honk and quick to lane split.

[ebiker]

So I was riding to work the other day. I went up the on-ramp to an interstate highway that is part of my commute. The traffic is almost always bad on this road, and this time was no exception. I was close to merging on the main road, looking for my spot to get in, and there were two cars ahead of me. I was checking my mirrors to make sure I did not get rear-ended. All of a sudden, I saw a guy in a Toyota SUV driving on the shoulder at a good rate of speed in an attempt to go around all of us. It really annoyed me. I don't know why I did this, but I honked at him as he drove by. I have a FIAMM Freeway Blaster horn, so it is pretty loud. I noticed he glanced over at me.

I merged onto the road and worked my way over to the left-most of three lanes of heavy traffic. I was riding down the highway, very slowly, and I noticed a vehicle making its way over to the middle lane, next to me. It is Mr. My-time-is-more-valuable-so-I-will-drive-on-the-shoulder in the SUV. Uh-oh, I though. pay attention.

He pulled right next to me and rolled down his window. double uh-oh, I thought, as I was planning my escape route. Remember, this is New Jersey, part of the greater New York City metro area. Road rage and firearms are both common. There are also a lot of guys who think they should be in "The Sopranos" and carry that sort of attitude.

He says to me "How many miles on that thing". I glanced at him, evaluating whether he looked threatening, and pretended I didn't hear him. He said it again. I decided I did not like this situation, and the prospect of being beside this guy for an extended period of time. I quickly took off and rode between the left and middle lanes for a loooong way. I split the lane and passed so many cars that I got far away from him.

Moral -- be slow to honk and quick to lane split.

Glad to see you distanced yourself from that nut.

There are Loonies everywhere, it seems. Hell, you gotta be a Loonie to even drive a gas guzzling SUV.

"Thank GOD for General Motors and their development of the automatic transmission. It gave the shiftless an ability to drive"--anonymous.

Ed..

[yjleesvrr]

I find this post rather amusing. Northern VA by far has worse drivers than New Jersey/New York. While Virginians don't have the Tony Soprano complex, they do drive in a daze. Northern impatience, Southern discipline.

I'm much more nervous in Fairfax than I am in Union/Morris/Somerset.

p.s. - Interesting and timely article on Motorcycle Online about road rage. Scary.