Why do Porsches (and the ilk) send other drivers into rages??

[mikefocke]

Originally Posted by Shawn Stanford

I went to the movies yesterday in my '05 Cayenne and the closest spot was being encroached by a Ford Explorer. I'm thin enough, so I centered in the spot, opened the door and eased out. It was pretty tight; I doubt the average American would have been able to get into the Explorer without a lot of huffing and puffing, or maybe a hand full of Crisco to ease his passage.

I come out after the show and - as I expected - there's a fingertip-sized dent with a paint nick and a line of door-edge paint on my door. The guy in the Explorer obviously took exception to me correctly occupying the parking spot he'd encroached upon.

Ha ha, buddy! Joke's on you. Your Explorer was newer and the damage you just did is probably the smallest dent I've got.

I hope you got a few "before" pictures. Of your car and his license plate and positioning.

[Shawn Stanford]

Originally Posted by mikefocke

I hope you got a few "before" pictures. Of your car and his license plate and positioning.

Seriously not worth it. My Cayenne is an '05 with 175k miles on it. When I said it was the smallest dent on the truck, I wasn't joking.

[stephen wilson]

Originally Posted by Anker

Its actually quite funny to appear to accept a challenge to drag race and then let the idiot blast off all by himself.

Hah, I did that once by accident. A sportbike rider gave me the thumbs-up, so I gave it back, as in " I like your ride too". Yeah.... that's not what he meant !

[CoBeerToad]

I've learned the best way to handle a tailgater is to:
1. Move over
2. If you can't move over, start to pull off the side to allow them to pass
3. If you can't do either of those things, then ignore. It's super, super hard to do, but trying to use your car to force your will, will not 'teach them a lesson" and attempting to brake check or slow down just makes everything worse. Cars are dangerous and while every tailgater needs to die in a fiery hell, you don't want to be the one responsible.

Maybe I've just driven too many miles or maybe I'm just too old now (44 1/2), but ignoring others becomes much easier the more you do it.

On the main subject, I don't see it too often. When I was a kid and saw a flash car, I would rev up the engine on my rusted out POS '77 Lincoln (4 mpg), but all I wanted to see was the other car take off because I thought it was neat.

[DarkStar]

Cruising home yesterday, I almost had to get out of my car at the red light and beat someone bloody. I'm driving normal behind a Jeep Cherokee with a ton of 2x4's on his roof. I'm not tailgating or honking or anything, I'm just cruising as I'm getting closer to home. Guy randomly looses his ****************, starts by sticking half his body out the window to flip me off, pointing at the **************** on his roof and then proceeds to start attempting to brake check me. I'm still a couple cars behind him..... But at one point he does slam on his brakes hard enough that I almost have to come to a complete stop. If I didn't get a phone call at this time, and had to turn, I would have done something. I'm usually the calmest person behind the wheel but when you start endangering peoples lives because your'e a crack head, I will break your jaw.

I don't get some people.

[Nine8Six]

Originally Posted by DarkStar

... at one point he does slam on his brakes hard enough that I almost have to come to a complete stop.

Had that once :/ Not fun... and beyond weird also lolll

The Remedy: light up a fragrant incense stick in ashtray, one fat candle in the passenger's foot-well, two hands on the steering wheel, and practice meditation with this at volume 10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSl900ABpjA

[BIGJake111]

Originally Posted by JayG

You sir are being an ass. All slowing down does is escalate the issue



If someone wants to go faster than you, just move over and let them pass.



I tend to drove a bit fast and if someone comes up on me, I move over and let them go by. I ask that others do the same when I come up on them. Unfortunately there are lots of rude and inconsiderate drivers that don't move over or worse slow down as they think that is teaching the person behind a lesson. All it is doing is showing you are an inconsiderate asshat.



I have no problem with someone driving slow or at a speed they are comfortable at. I don't expect nor want them to match my speed, especially when I am in one of my Op-cars and they are in a Prius or whatever. Drive what ever speed you want, just don't hold up people behind



All they have to do is move over and let the faster traffic pass. In many states, that is even the law.



Lets face it, a Porsche is safer at 20+ over than most cars are at the speed limit

+986 to the above post.

That being said I'll admit to some ass like behavior myself. I tend to drive in a German manner. Back roads I keep my distance and when I get a broken yellow *and a clear line of site (I swear there are so many areas I can see for miles with no passing and others completely blind where it's broken)* I pass slower traffic.

On the highway I prefer the middle lane if 3 and the right if 2 but move to the left when passing. If I am passing I do so briskly to move myself to a pocket with no traffic. Taking my Porsche (now this is only in Mexico that I do this) to 90 plus on a straight open section of interstate to pass and move back to 80 or so in the right with no traffic around me is best for me and everyone else as long as signals are used etc etc.

Now what I do that is immoral is not tailgating but rather if I see someone riding in the left lane. Not using it for passing and either myself or see others have to pass them on the right. I at times will once I get around them on the right, (after providing ample time for them to merge right which speed yellow usually helps out with.) move back into the left.

I place my car infront of theirs and slow to usually about 5 under or less if needed so that the idiot usually talking on their phone just cursing in the left at 2 over blocking the entire system will finally move right. The moment I see their signal on I downshift speed back up to 10 over and merge back to the middle lane. With the left lane now clear.

[Oldcarguy]

Sorry in advance for the long post, but I need to vent because this just happened to my wife again yesterday.

We've had our home in the Catskills since 2007. Retired here full time in late 2015. Love it. State Hwy 28 is our main access to practically everyplace. Beautiful two lane road through the mountains, speed limit 55 mph for the most part, 35 / 45 mph through the towns. I race karts and we both do HPDEs and AX, so we are not street racers.

We never tailgate, pass only under safe conditions in legal passing zones, and we always signal our passes. On Hwy 28 we generally drive 60 - 65 in the 55 zones. Never speed through the towns.

Now that we are on Hwy 28 regularly, we often encounter other locals driving 35 - 50 mph max in the 55 mph zones. We always wait patiently at a safe following distance and then pass when legal and safe. More often than not, one or more of the following happens when we pass (no matter if we are in the Explo Sport, S5, or 986, or if it is me or my wife driving):

1) the driver we are passing sees us and floors it to try and keep us from passing (yeah, good luck with that)
2) honks and / or gives us an obscene gesture, shakes their fist, etc. out their window as we pass.
3) speeds up and tailgates us (and I mean I can't see their license plate) until one or the other of us turn off.

These are not people on weekend sightseeing drives (we get a lot of that), this usually occurs during the week. In all my decades of driving in Houston, Dallas, Austin, Europe and SE Asia, this is the most consistently bizarre behavior I have ever seen in the US.

Frankly, if these people exhibited this behavior in Texas they would either be eventually shot or run off the road. No kidding.

We just ignore them except for the few times they have actually followed us, then I pull into the first available LEO establishment and they bug off. I never try to outrun or otherwise engage the tailgaters.

So many angry? resentful? people in such a beautiful place. We don't know what's going on with them, but we're glad that we live in our world instead of theirs.

[Disaster]

Originally Posted by Oldcarguy

1) the driver we are passing sees us and floors it to try and keep us from passing (yeah, good luck with that)
2) honks and / or gives us an obscene gesture, shakes their fist, etc. out their window as we pass.
3) speeds up and tailgates us (and I mean I can't see their license plate) until one or the other of us turn off.

Yep. I've seen this behavior multiple times. I'm not sure if sometimes passing a person doesn't "wake them up" and then they speed up to the speed limit...and then often beyond because...well...people are competitive and don't like to be passed.

It is bizarre behavior whatever the reason.

On a recent trip in the Allegheny Mountains in PA, (might have been rte. 219) I came popped over a hill only to see a guy tooling along at maybe 5 under the speed limit in a Dodge Magnum wagon. It was a road with lots of fun curves which I didn't want to take at 5 mph below the yellow signs.

I moved into the oncoming lane and stayed on the throttle. Should have been a smooth pass...really long straight away going into a blind corner. As I came up on him he started accelerating and the 15 mph difference in our speed changed to zero. I pressed the pedal to the floor and he matched my speed. There was no way I could out accelerate a Dodge Magnum but I thought he might back off. He didn't till we were well within triple digits and a car appeared coming around the corner.

I decided to stay on it and enjoy the road. It was great fun driving on this almost empty road except for him. He would drop way back in corners but come on like a locomotive every straight stretch. Finally he passed me at what must have been close to his tire limit speed on a really a really long straight stretch. I dropped my speed and never saw him again.

I hope he didn't go over the edge of the road somewhere.

[BIGJake111]

I once was on an unfamiliar road in the right lane at a light and noticed after stopped that my lane ended not far ahead. Considering the 70 year old in the tarus beside me I decided I'd take first as I was near some enjoyable mountain twisties. Expecting to easily get ahead by using maybe half throttle in second. Low and behold grandpa kicks it lol. I was already committed and it wasn't hard to give more go juice and get ahead but he caught me way off guard.

I lose complete sight of him in the corners but on the straights driving maybe 12 over he would catch right back up lol

[Oldcarguy]

Originally Posted by Disaster

. . .He would drop way back in corners but come on like a locomotive every straight stretch. Finally he passed me at what must have been close to his tire limit speed on a really a really long straight stretch.

Originally Posted by BIGJake111

I lost complete sight of him in the corners but on the straights driving maybe 12 over he would catch right back up lol

Yeah, these "straight-away supermen" are really quite the drivers. I'd love to get them on a race track in some wheel to wheel driving

[kk2002s]

From the number of threads this is a common occurrence for must of us. I too see different behavior between my common Box SUV and the P-car.
There's challenges direct and sublet. You notice it when someone just has to pass you and when you don't bite, they drive normal.
The tailgaters - either your a Porsche and expected to blow down the hwy @90-100 mph but your just cruising 5-10 over in the flow so you can relax and enjoy the drive
OR
It's first thing in the drive and your warming up the car, going the speed limit (especially in the 25 mph residential) not letting it all hang out.

The best was driving home on the interstate one night, top down stereo blasting. A new Ferrari pulls up in the right lane and matches my conservative 74 mph, revving their 12 cylinders - the challenge was on. I just dropped the hammer (Tom Cruise Days of Thunder reference) to 3rd and unleashed the fury of 252 HPs. That Ferrari was so intimidated they just pulled off on their exit never to challenge a 986 S again.

Maybe I was that guy - "Why do Ferrari's send Porsche drivers into rages???"

[BIGJake111]

I will say. When driving the box as apposed to any of the family Toyotas I do see one behavior that I really appreciate. If I'm in the left lane in my speed yellow boxster even 8 car lengths behind someone the guy up front gets over.

Maybe people are more afraid of being tailgated by the box then any other car but even if I was a massive tailgater which I'm not I would rarely even need to. People see it coming, they get over, then I merge over as well once past.

I will note that people are way more willing to get over on the two lane interstates in the area rather than the 3. People on the 3 lane sometimes want me to pass on the right which I would really rather not do.

[steved0x]

I had this just the other day, driving home in the Boxster from Gainesville (45 minutes away from home) I exit the interstate onto highway 441 (2 lanes, mostly 55-60) and within a few minutes I am caught up to some big white SUV looking thing going maybe 10-15 under the speed limit. I stay with it a few minutes until I get a clear zone to pass, I pass, slow back down to 60, and then a moment later this SUV is up on my tail for a while, then he makes a pass and roars off into the distance, now at maybe 15 over. Maybe the my glorious exhaust (I did downshift to 3rd to get by him) work him/her up out of their hypnotic stupor and they had to speed back up to make up for lost time?

[spinedoc]

Originally Posted by kk2002s

From the number of threads this is a common occurrence for must of us. I too see different behavior between my common Box SUV and the P-car.
There's challenges direct and sublet. You notice it when someone just has to pass you and when you don't bite, they drive normal.
The tailgaters - either your a Porsche and expected to blow down the hwy @90-100 mph but your just cruising 5-10 over in the flow so you can relax and enjoy the drive
OR
It's first thing in the drive and your warming up the car, going the speed limit (especially in the 25 mph residential) not letting it all hang out.

The best was driving home on the interstate one night, top down stereo blasting. A new Ferrari pulls up in the right lane and matches my conservative 74 mph, revving their 12 cylinders - the challenge was on. I just dropped the hammer (Tom Cruise Days of Thunder reference) to 3rd and unleashed the fury of 252 HPs. That Ferrari was so intimidated they just pulled off on their exit never to challenge a 986 S again.

Maybe I was that guy - "Why do Ferrari's send Porsche drivers into rages???"

LOL....you would have lost that race.

I was driving home last year, and there's a local guy who has a Yellow Lamborghini Gallardo, and I saw him on the highway ahead of me. There were virtually no other cars around, and I decided to get past him, I dropped a gear and flew by him waving to him. Didn't see him at all for a few minutes and wondered if he had turned off. All of a sudden. FLASH....he went by me like a thunderbolt, we got up to our exit and he was smiling from ear to ear and laughing.

Point is Boxster's are fun, but they aren't supercars.

I did race a Ferrari 308 GTSi once, and beat him, but to be fair, his car was over 20 years older than mine....Even then, I didn't beat him by much.

To the point of the OP, I ignore most of those people. To me, the worst are the Corvette folks. There are literally dozens of people in my area that have Corvettes, mostly C5's, C6's, and C7's. They see a Porsche and want to challenge them. I don't even bother. In a straight line drag race, a Boxster is going to lose to a Vette, unless it's an older C4 or something. On a track, it might be a different story.

Was coming back from cars/coffee a few weeks back, and saw a young guy pull up in a Dodge Viper SRT-GTSR w slicks on it. A Corvette C7 GS pulled up next to him and they started revving.....Why the Vette even bothered, I'll never know. The Viper smoked him so bad it was ridiculous. Predictable before it even happened.

[Drphil]

I See this a lot on our 3 lane highway on my commute to work, and I have done what jake does, if I have time and the idiot crusing in the left lane is causing a back up of traffic and refuses to move over- a warning to others in SC that might not want to move out of the left lane- our state highway patrol will pull you over for impeding the flow of traffic as it is a PASSING lane not cruising lane so if you insist on this behavior you may get a ticket, I know several that have! But I have to say its usually work trucks that will do this, however yesterday it was a county deputy! he was 2mph under limit sitting in left lane backing up traffic- nice they have badge numbers on the cars- I called him in to dispatch in sherrifs office lol!

[jb92563]

I wonder if the self driving cars of the future will have an "Agressive" setting to mimic a road rager and get you to your destination 30 seconds faster. I don't think people will accept granny mode chauffeuring.

I often ponder my own destiny and my occasional risky spurts of enthusiasm and wonder if it helped me avoid disaster or rushed me towards it.

So far so good but I tend to think back on some of those things and make a mental note not to do it again. Best to leave the high speed antics to the track rather than messing with unpredictable and often irrational regular drivers that barely passed high school physics and have no clue what they are doing.

I do feel a bit guilty at times when I have provoked a Honda to try and stay with me in the twisties. They typically try to chase and get themselves in trouble quite quickly and if lucky, just scare themselves as they over reach their own and the cars capabilities.

A momentary evil grin, then a bit of guilt. I figure the planet is over populated with Hondas so running a few through the Darwin Award test is OK right?

Also I've noticed that when I'm driving slower (The Speed Limit) other folks around slow as well as they must think that something is wrong or my detector has picked up the LEO's.
They would be right with that assumption!


"As I sit here I am traveling at 1000 mph to the east, due to the rotation of the Earth.
The Earth is hurdling in its orbit around the Sun at 67,000 mph.
Our solar system is traveling 514,000 mph around our Galaxy.
Our Galaxy the Milky Way is traveling through space at 1,300,000 mph.
So officer, I DO know how fast I was going, it was 1,814,000 mph plus or minus 68,000 mph.
What did you clock me at?"

[Fintro11]

Originally Posted by jb92563

I wonder if the self driving cars of the future will have an "Agressive" setting to mimic a road rager and get you to your destination 30 seconds faster. I don't think people will accept granny mode chauffeuring.

I often ponder my own destiny and my occasional risky spurts of enthusiasm and wonder if it helped me avoid disaster or rushed me towards it.

So far so good but I tend to think back on some of those things and make a mental note not to do it again. Best to leave the high speed antics to the track rather than messing with unpredictable and often irrational regular drivers that barely passed high school physics and have no clue what they are doing.

I do feel a bit guilty at times when I have provoked a Honda to try and stay with me in the twisties. They typically try to chase and get themselves in trouble quite quickly and if lucky, just scare themselves as they over reach their own and the cars capabilities.

A momentary evil grin, then a bit of guilt. I figure the planet is over populated with Hondas so running a few through the Darwin Award test is OK right?

Also I've noticed that when I'm driving slower (The Speed Limit) other folks around slow as well as they must think that something is wrong or my detector has picked up the LEO's.
They would be right with that assumption!

Oh Hondas lol, I had a 90's Honda Civic tailing me and revving just before a downhill sharp s section. I buzzed through no problem, on the first corner he slid perfectly sideways into the curb hitting both side rims. Could hear the crunch sound from the bottom of the hill, needless to say he did not even look over at me at the lights

[jb92563]

Originally Posted by Fintro11

Oh Hondas lol, I had a 90's Honda Civic tailing me and revving just before a downhill sharp s section. I buzzed through no problem, on the first corner he slid perfectly sideways into the curb hitting both side rims. Could hear the crunch sound from the bottom of the hill, needless to say he did not even look over at me at the lights

Hehehe, I just love that. Perhaps I really am evil at heart.

[xzyfsk]

I had a Jeep on my tail. I was going 10 over on a country road. I came to a 90 at 60 mph that was marked at 25 mph and I didn't touch the brakes. That was the end of the Jeep problem.