This may sound like a rant...

[seagrace]

Heading out of town in rush-hour traffic, a Prius driver cuts me off, then when I honk at him, brake-checks me to the point where I nearly ran him down. A few miles later, an elderly woman in an Escalade just decides to merge into the space I am occupying.

This morning I ordered a windshield mount for my Gopro. The next time this happens, and I am unable to stop, I will at least have video evidence.

Sheesh, people. You will get there, just be patient.

[Scottiemom]

I rarely use my horn and it's for that reason. I don't want some fool to brake check me out of spite. When I do use it, it's primarily a tap to "wake up" a driver who is seemingly obvious to his/her surroundings.

I try hard to never get upset or out of sorts while driving because I wouldn't want to do something stupid. Down here in the Rio Grande Valley, you may be the only one obeying the rules of the road. Most everyone here considers them to be "mere suggestions" at best. Everyday when we go out we are on frontage road for a bit. There is always some fool who turns left from the far right lane (3-4 lanes over), so we are always on the lookout.

Dale

[bucky]

Dennis12 wrote:
go pro or not. you hit him is the ass it's your fault. Keep control of your vehicle

No longer true. Video evidence of unsafe driving wins every time.
A suggestion for dash cams does not include GoPro models. They do not have long enough battery life and do not record over older vid that has not been saved for whatever reason.
I run a dash cam at all times towing and will probably buy another one for each passenger vehicle. Too many clowns out there now that B&B has shut down.

[free_radical]

seagrace wrote:
Heading out of town in rush-hour traffic, a Prius driver cuts me off, then when I honk at him, brake-checks me to the point where I nearly ran him down. A few miles later, an elderly woman in an Escalade just decides to merge into the space I am occupying.

This morning I ordered a windshield mount for my Gopro. The next time this happens, and I am unable to stop, I will at least have video evidence.

Sheesh, people. You will get there, just be patient.

All I can say honk politely,maybe people wont get mad,:)

Dash cam seems to be a must nowadays..

[DSDP_Don]

rickeoni wrote:
In the new age of driving, a turn signal, or the intent to change lanes means that you have to brake and let them in. The art of shoulder checking has all but disappeared with the advent of backup cameras, lane awareness sensors, self parking cars, oh and the total societal switch to entitlement. Those of us left with manners and an appreciation of safety and good driving habits are on the endangered species list.

Hit the nail on the head.

[rk911]

rickeoni wrote:
In the new age of driving, a turn signal, or the intent to change lanes means that you have to brake and let them in. The art of shoulder checking has all but disappeared with the advent of backup cameras, lane awareness sensors, self parking cars, oh and the total societal switch to entitlement. Those of us left with manners and an appreciation of safety and good driving habits are on the endangered species list.

bingo! after casually talking with folks who have "smart cars" i got the sense that the attitude was 'i don't have to pay attention...the car will save me'.

[rickeoni]

In the new age of driving, a turn signal, or the intent to change lanes means that you have to brake and let them in. The art of shoulder checking has all but disappeared with the advent of backup cameras, lane awareness sensors, self parking cars, oh and the total societal switch to entitlement. Those of us left with manners and an appreciation of safety and good driving habits are on the endangered species list.

[seagrace]

monkey44 wrote:
My problem with attempting to keep several truck lengths between me and the vehicle in front - someone always thinks that space it their slot, and take it. Very difficult to maintain safe distance in this kind of situation.

Sometimes, it makes me want to slip aboard the Starship Enterprise and borrow one of those 'disappear' ray guns.

THIS!!!

Keep in mind, I said the guy brake-checked me, I didn't say I rear-ended him. He was an aggressive driver, and the part I left out is that he did the same thing to the trucker in front of me, then about a half mile down the road, I got to smile and wave as I rolled past him while he was stuck in the other lane.

[monkey44]

My problem with attempting to keep several truck lengths between me and the vehicle in front - someone always thinks that space it their slot, and take it. Very difficult to maintain safe distance in this kind of situation.

Sometimes, it makes me want to slip aboard the Starship Enterprise and borrow one of those 'disappear' ray guns.

[jfkmk]

Oasisbob wrote:
BTW If you ever do splatter a sworm of Prius they come off easily sith soap and water.

:B

[rhagfo]

tinstartrvlr wrote:

Dennis12 wrote:
go pro or not. you hit him is the ass it's your fault. Keep control of your vehicle

Not always. Brake checking under the OP's circumstances can be considered reckless driving (a criminal offense in most states) but most people don't have video to support the facts.

X2!
If you have proof that they cut you off and slamed on the brakes for no reason, you can sue them, and their insurance will need to pay, if they have any!

[suprz]

This is the exact reason i have dash cams especially in the rv

[jplante4]

The big problem here (other than the fact that Mass drivers have always been the worse drivers in the country) is the left laners. Get on the road, get into the left lane, stay there regardless of whether they're passing anyone and cut across 2 or 3 lanes of traffic at their exit to get off. Major cause of road rage. Flashing your high beams at them only makes them more resolute that you're not getting by. Try to pass them on the right and they speed up.

And for the "get a law passed" comments, there is one called failure to keep right which the state troopers ignore themselves.

[ctilsie242]

Get a Go Pro camera. I had a swoop and squat happen in front of a car ahead of me, and if it were not for the footage of my dashcam, the person who caused the wreck would have gotten the insurance money. Another incident was someone popping into reverse and slamming into the vehicle behind. A third incident was someone running a red light and T-boning a Smart car, which caused it to go into another vehicle. That case taught me to avoid small cars, since the Smart car driver was actually sued for the damage that his vehicle did to the other car... even though it was knocked around (spun like a top) by a light runner.

That is very common, especially here in Austin. It is called "crash for cash". I don't praise Russia much, but one law they have on the books is that all vehicles have to have front dashcams. This tends to help a lot with finding who was really at fault.

[time2roll]

path1 wrote:
Blame the victim??? file an accident report because you rearended somebody.
See who they blame.

GoPro may well prove the cut-in and dangerous brake check.
He said, she said you... are right but the video probably would show reclass driving on the part of the lead car.

As for me I just leave enough room for at least three cars to pull in even if stop and go traffic. Those that cut in don't usually last long as they seem to have a need to dart out again and cause anguish to some other driver.

I look forward to the day some type of video recording is standard on all new vehicles.

[Veebyes]

If rush hour is on your list of fun things to see try The Beltway around Washington. You won't be bored.

I have been running with a dash cam for a couple of years. Good thing to have. It does not lie. It also records your speed while it records the happenings outside.