…and the cars they drive

 

I’m really a patient guy except when it comes to getting from point A to point B either in one of our cars, 2015 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, our 2008 Chrysler Pacifica (we really love that car and wish it was still being made), or my Suzuki Hayabusa. I experience more bad drivers on my bike than in the car or the Jeep, mostly because drivers don’t respect motorcycles. I really think that over half of the drivers are bad with you of course being in the good group, I hope. See if you can relate to any of my experiences. I have even categorized them so here we go.

Cloggers

Vehicles driven: Buick, Cadillac, Prius, Leafs, dump trucks

These are the people, who for some reason, don’t know what the speed limit is, that they can actually go that speed, and maybe even five mph over. Some just poke along in the left hand lane. I think there must be some sort of governor built-in their car. The Prius and Leaf drivers are notorious for this and maybe are trying to save the planet. But Cloggers are not limited to cars, Dump trucks are HUGE cloggers. They take off from a stop signal so slow and take for ever to get up to speed. I’m thinking of petitioning Wisconsin to limit their travel to times when I’m not on the road like 11 pm-7 am. Only kidding if you drive one of these beasts. Cloggers are also the people who sit at the light when it turns green. Hello! Green means go. Go now, go!

Weavers

Vehicles driven: Beaters, Subaru WRX, Audi

These are an interesting group because they are in a super hurry. Yup, even more impatient than I am. Because of all my motorcycle riding experience I tend to spot these drivers sooner. These are the drivers that will weave in and out of traffic just to get where ever they’re going faster. I get a great laugh when I see weaving in rush hour traffic and when traffic comes to a stop, they are right next to me. Hey, I’m not that bad. Heck, one time I saw three mini vans do the weave together like it was a NASCAR race. I love when I’m in a group in the left lane passing the slower cars on the right and another driver roars up in the right lane thinking, like Mosses parting the Red Sea, poof, there’s an opening. These tend to be the younger drivers and I’ve seen it happen in all kinds of cars such has beaters, Subarus, Audis, you name it.

Stop ops

Vehicles driven: Just about everything

These drivers bug the crap out of me and this happens most when I’m ridding. They see me coming and with nobody even close to being behind me just roll right through the stop sign. Apparently it is optional for them. A friend of mine calls these St. Louis rolling stops because apparently they are even worse down there. I don’t mind the ones who get up to speed so much but most of them are pokey. Why?

Clueless Drivers

Vehicles driven: Buick, Cadillac, Minivans

These are the scariest drivers out there because they are not paying attention to the road and vehicles around them. Most of them are on their cell phones blabbing to somebody about nothing important and driving their car is just a background activity. You can see these drivers as you come up on them, especially from behind, because their speed varies and they are drifting between the lines. Normally, I am against government regulations but conversations on the road should be hands-free. When I’m out with the fam and we see something like this, one of us says, “On the phone.”

Line Skippers

Vehicles driven: Any car with Illinois plates

These are the drivers that, even though they see the signs that a lane is closing, run up right to the merge and expect to just skip in the front of the line. I hate this. I said Illinois plates because I live in Wisconsin and see those drivers do it most of the time. We have names for the people for Illinois such as flat landers, penny heads, and some others not as nice.

Tic Tac Toers

Vehicles driven: Minivans, SUV’s or any people hauler

It might be a while but remember when you played the game you could go up a side, across, or diagonal. These drivers do more of the diagonal when they are in parking lots. These are the ones who think the yellow, or while lines, designating a parking row don’t apply to them. When I have to go to the grocery store to pick something up I see this happening all the time and about 90% of the drivers are women. I have gotten wacked once and the lady said she didn’t see me. Well duh, when you’re not paying attention, that’s going to happen. Lucky for me she hit me while I was driving my 1975 AMC Pacer, which was built like a tank, and she suffered more damage than I did.

Ash Trays

Vehicles driven: Just about everything

I’m going to preface this by letting you know that I am not a smoker and can’t stand the smell of cigarette or cigar smoke. I won’t even go to the health hazard but hey, if you gotta smoke, you gotta smoke. Here’s what don’t understand though. For those that are driving and having a butt, that’s fine but the last time I checked, there is an ash tray in every vehicle so when not use it? Instead, most drivers just flick their butts out the window. I’ve even seen them come out of a sunroof. Some of the women drivers get fancy and hold their butt out of the window for a while and then flick it. Maybe for show or something. And this would be why? When riding my bike I have even had some of them hit my helmet. Good thing a wear them. I don’t want to go all green on everybody but please don’t do that!

About Road Rage

So I’ve gone over all the types of drivers I see but I want to caution you about Road Rage. Avoid it at all costs. I’ve seen guys stop at an intersection and get out of their cars with baseball bats. Both got hauled away by the cops as they should have. By honking your horn or giving them the bird you have now joined into the fight. It’s not worth it. Think about it. Would you be willing to go to jail because somebody else is driving like a jerk? I want to conclude this post by sharing with you two great examples. This one is about a guy in a Camero who is in too much of a hurry and see what it gets him. This one shows what motorcyclists have to deal with. Mature audiences only. The rider is entertaining. OK, there’s my rant. I feel better now. I’m sure there are others so feel free to chime in and we can compare stories.