What happens to PEOPLE when they get behind the wheel?

[Baz]

I dunno if I've just got one of those faces that people hate, or what....But I've just had an interesting experience in Tesco's car park....

 

It's a nice day, I'd had quite a pleasant morning up to this point....I decided that I had an hour or two to kill before a fillum that I wanna see (Starring Rachel Weisz, one of my favourite human beings ) comes on, so I'd just pop to Tesco's for Washing-up liquid, Cat litter, Cream slices, and a Toilet seat....As You do....I was wobbling along in the eleven, window open, feeling good, with not a care in the world....And then I reached Tesco's car park....

 

Driving along at a moderate speed as always (I find supermarket car parks very dangerous places), I noticed the front of a new-model Ford Mondeo emerging from one of the "aisles"....I slowed down, and he continued to emerge, looking the other way, oblivious to my existence....A grubby looking, baseball capped oik, driving a BRAND NEW Mondeo (how do these prats afford nice cars?) was now blocking the whole of my lane, so without any drama (no honking of horns, gesticulating, or shouting - Not my style), I slowed to a stop, allowing him, his female passenger, and the two toddlers in the back of the car to pull out in safety....

 

What do You think happened when he eventually saw me? A little nod, or wave in acknowledgement of my patience perhaps? No....He chose to shout, at the top of his voice, out of his open window (and in front of at least two small children) "ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT, YOU F**KIN' C**T!!!!"

 

Now I don't class myself as naive, but I honestly couldn't believe what I'd heard, and it took all of my self control not to turn the car around, go after him, and cave his head in....But again, that's not really my style! It's really little wonder that "Road Rage" claims lives, with imbeciles like this loose on our roads.

 

PEOPLE, Eh?

[Mr_Bo11ox]

You shoulda smashed into him! Twat.

[Mr Lobster]

In his particular case, I would suspect that this particular 'gentleman' is the same behind the wheel or not. In short, a complete and utter **** (insert expletive of choice) all of the time....

[Guest]

I don't know what it is with car parks in general to be honest, they're probably my least favourite bit of car ownership.Here are my findings:1. Women almost univerally seem to drive a bit too fast in car parks, even if they're the sort who drive really slow on the road. I have absolutely no idea why!2. Some people will angrily circle the same 20 spaces for 5-10 minutes rather than just park a 30 second walk further away, so if you get one of those spaces, take the opportunity to have a sandwich, let the engine warm up, have a play with the radio, etc.3. Non-disabled people with personal plates or badly-fitted bodykits tend to park in disabled spaces at least as much as disabled people.Baz - just take pleasure in the fact that you managed to upset someone who is obviously a prick, without even doing anything! Nice one!

[Albert Ross]

One of the reasons I LOVE TO DRIVE MY LANDROVER!!!!!Go ahead, pull out, make my effing day!!

[Mr_Bo11ox]

3. Non-disabled people with personal plates or badly-fitted bodykits tend to park in disabled spaces at least as much as disabled people.

People with those silly plates + barry bodykits do usually tend to be disabled in one way or other I find.

[wuvvum]

One of the reasons I LOVE TO DRIVE MY LANDROVER!!!!!Go ahead, pull out, make my effing day!!

Ditto, but replace "Landrover" with "Volvo 245".Well done for keeping your cool Baz - if that had been me his shiny new Mondeo would now be sporting a series of torque-wrench-shaped dents on most of its body panels. Twunt.

[r.welfare]

What a complete tool. Baz, I salute you for keeping your cool. This berk is obviously a great role model to his children, and I bet his "life partner" wakes up everyday really proud that she lives with him.I've started to employ more defensive driving techniques (mainly in the interest of improving economy), but it never ceases to amaze me how thoughtless other drivers - and pedestrians - sometimes are. Like you though I work on the basis of whether I would say/act in such a way if we weren't in cars.As to his choice of wheels, Panaroma last week (about sub-prime credit) probably answers that question...either that or it's a company car. Shame you can't find out who he works for and massively waste his time a la One Foot In The Grave.Not all new Mond drivers are like that though - AnthonyG, have you taken delivery yet?

[bigstraight6]

What a prime example of vermin you encountered there Baz, at times like this I find being 6'2" and 17 stone a distinct advantage, many times have I got out of my vehicle just for a chat in similar circumstances only for the offensive individual to drive off sharpish

[MrRegieRitmo]

Your post made my heart rate increase & I wasn't even there! I would just see red! Trouble is, the thing that stops me retorting back is the thought that you don't know who you're dealing with - there are too many knife wielding nutters out there looking for any excuse you can give them! We were at the lights once with a car in front of us, somebody who knew them decided to come over & start a chat at their window. The lights turned green but we still sat there whilst the car in front enjoyed a chat with a pedestrian. So dad hoots to let them know that we were waiting - what did they do? Hoot back & gave the middle finger before finally driving off! We made it through the lights though. Is anybody ever in the wrong? Are they f*ck! My earliest memory of an idiot was when I was about 5yrs old, so this would have been about 1987 - we'd just visited Tescos in Baldock when we lived in Hertfordshire. Must have been in the green 245 I would guess, although I could be wrong. Something had happened involving trollies in the supermarket, although I'm not sure what. The other bloke would have had to have done something inconsiderate with his trolley to upset dad, who then called him a prat. Next thing I know we were making our way home & mum & dad were aware that this baffoon was following us in his menacing Allegro! (I thought Indians only drove Datsuns in the 70s & 80s!) Unfortunately we got stuck at the lights & I remember my mum suddenly spotting the knob head walking up to the drivers side of our car & we had this feeling of dread at what might happen next. I can't remember whether dad wound down the window or let him shout through the glass but he basically shouted at dad to "Keep your mouth shut in future!" Thankfully that was the end of it, but even then something came out of nothing due to the intolerance & inconsideration of others! These days though, we'd have probably been shot dead by the culprit, gangland style, even in somewhere like Baldock!

[pogweasel]

Just hope that karma strikes him down with cancer.

[AnthonyG]

Like you though I work on the basis of whether I would say/act in such a way if we weren't in cars.Not all new Mond drivers are like that though - AnthonyG, have you taken delivery yet?

Thats a good philsophy to adopt Mr W. I have generally given up saying anything, as the amount of psychos in West London is pretty high - I was called a soppy c**t by the partner of a girl who couldn't reverse a car in a narrow road - yet funnily enough she said 'thank you' after I reversed back.! I'm just glad I don't live in the South London badlands and get to go home and relax in West Wales every two weeks (one of the reasons for purchasing a new car).Yes I have taken delivery of the new Mondeo - and a very good car it is too - very Audi/Volvo like feeking of solidity, and a very flexible engine. (2 litre petrol). Looks a bit plain as it's an 'Edge' (base model) although it still came with A/C and Cruise Control - Some alloy wheels might be on the cards soon.PS Hirst - you're spot on about car parks being the worse part of car ownership, I generally park as far away as possible from the crowd!

[pogweasel]

I wouldn't bother with wanging alloys on your Mondeo TBH.I don't quite know this obsession that manufacturers have with fitting 18in shiny wheels to family fare. Nice damage-resistant steels & a bit of sidewall can be a good thing. Recently took a trip in a Focus ST170 thing - very fast but the ride quality on big wheels & low-pro's was horrendous compared to our steel-shod TD wagon. In fact I have also been running my BMW on 15inch alloys with 55-pro tyres of late, it's very pleasant after the crashyness of rubber-band 40's, even with the super-stiff suspension it has.

[Marty]

One of the reasons I LOVE TO DRIVE MY LANDROVER!!!!!Go ahead, pull out, make my effing day!!

Ditto, but replace "Landrover" with "Volvo 245".

Ditto, but replace with dented, dirty 18 year old BX driven by 20 stone bloke with shaved head.And breathe!, With Pog on the Karma front, just imagine some day him mouthing off to a hooge gorrilla who leaps from his car weilding a large iron bar....

[r.welfare]

At 5'9" and about 12 stone dripping wet, I'm probably the least threatening bloke there is. Which is probably why I keep calm and stay behind the wheel, avoiding eye contact!

[MrRegieRitmo]

With Pog on the Karma front, just imagine some day him mouthing off to a hooge gorrilla who leaps from his car wielding a large iron bar....

Fresh from his stint in the Cadburys advert playing Phil Collins!

[corKtina]

you mean that wasnt the real Phil Collins?i find a disapproving frown is about the nearest to road rage I get nowadays....if you saw the standard of Irish driving you'd know why.....(over 300,000 on provisional licenses here (out of popultion less than 5 million)...allowed to drive solo onward of second license (wtf!)...no wonder theres carhage on the roads here ...)

[chester drawers]

2. Some people will angrily circle the same 20 spaces for 5-10 minutes rather than just park a 30 second walk further away, so if you get one of those spaces, take the opportunity to have a sandwich, let the engine warm up, have a play with the radio, etc.

I’m quite fond of striding purposefully towards one of their intended spaces, shopping in hand, pausing for a moment next to the occupying vehicle & then buggering off just at the point when X5 man thinks his luck’s in. Childish, but tremendous fun!

[marinast]

I had the misfortune to be on the end of some most disturbing driving this afternoon.I was driving to work (not in any rush!) at about 2pm. On the way I had to turn left (more like straight on but a bit to the left...) via a mini roundabout at the top of a hill. This roundabout is a nightmare because when travelling in my direction the right hand approaching road is on a bend, meaning it is blind. Added to this the road is on a slight slope so cars tend to be travelling fairly quickly when they approach it. Immediately after turning left you drive down a hill with speed humps down it, nasty ones too so no point of trying to go too fast.Anyway, coming to the roundabout the car in front leisurely turned left, I stopped and seeing nothing coming turned left too. Driving over the first hump I looked in my rear view mirror to see a mini cab steaming towards me, I was doing less than 20mph; he must have been doing nearly 40. By the next speed hump he wanted to overtake, but a car was coming the other way so he decided not to, by the next he was along side me swearing and acting like a right twat but a car was trying to turn out of a side road so he had to emergency brake, slewing in behind me and was by now filled with rage.I was starting to think this guy was on drugs!He then overtook me on the third speed hump, drove in front of me and then stopped! He then got out ranting and thinking this was looking a bit dodgy I decided to drive around the inside of his car as there were no parked cars blocking me. I drove to the bottom of the hill but he had caught up, 'Jesus' I thought 'What’s wrong with this guy!'I drove straight over at the main road at the bottom, he was right behind me, and his car was much quicker than mine so I did not try to put my foot down. Driving around quiet backstreets I was becoming concerned, I even drove past my work with him behind hoping one of my work colleagues was there. Alas not!Getting back to the main road I drove right into view of a CCTV camera and slowed. By this time he had overtaken me and blocked the road. He then got out ranting and raving and came over to my car. It is a main road and very busy. Thankfully there were more than a few puzzled onlookers looking on. He opened my door and took my keys out of the ignition (being a 'shite' Rover 214 the engine kept running, you can take the key out while it is going you see!) I got out and asked for them back. At this point a guy on the pavement yelled at the bloke 'what are you doing you twat! You lay a finger on that bloke (me) and he'll have 50 witnesses'Now the best bit, he then said 'get back in your car you stupid fat Turk and piss off!'Which he did, after throwing my car keys onto the pavement. Truly unbelievable stuff. Two women asked me if I was ok and said could not believe what he was like.I got back into my car keys in hand and, well, drove to work. All that over him speeding onto a blind roundabout and muggins here being the unlucky one in his way.I'm not violent, but under the right circumstances I would defend myself. But this was one scary thing. I'm finding that these days drivers are becoming more self righteous, are becoming more unwilling to accept that others will follow the rules of the road better than them and are increasingly without patience. Peoples general attitudes towards others are decreasing to a point where even if you show some generosity on the road other drivers behind you think you are some sort of twat.This in turn forces people to become less willing to let others out, which in turn makes those wanting to pull out think the other drivers are twats. It's a circle which seems no sign of stopping, sadly.Sorry for the rant guys.

[marinast]

Just hope that karma strikes him down with cancer.

This gentlemans Karma must be in a bit of a lame state as he was driving a Nissan QX.

[pogweasel]

I'd have just let him tail me all the way to the cop shop. Sounds like a twunt.

[marinast]

I was thinking of doing that but I had to keep moving otherwise he would have got out of the car and god knows what could have happened.Sometimes there is safety in numbers, he pretty much destroyed his arguement to passers by by acting in the way he did.

[Baz]

Sweeping generalisation here, but IMO taxi/minicab drivers (along with bus drivers) are the biggest arseholes on our roads....The lowest of the low....

 

....You it seems, were unlucky enough to encounter the LOWEST, of the lowest of the low!

[RedSparrow]

Ah don't get me started.Another quick example - 4x4 driver living up to their reputaion;Little Chef car park, loads of spaces - near empty infact, bloke in one of those Humm Vees (that are actually a Nissan or something) decides he is the king of the world and parks diagonally across the two disabled parking spaces so neither can be used!Needless to say, he wasn't a blue badge holder. I could hardly believe my eyes!

[Baz]

4x4 driver living up to their reputaion

I find VW Toerag drivers to be the worst....Without fail, they seem to drive dangerously fast, dangerously close, and with complete disregard for other road users....TOSSERS!

[vicsmith]

That retro road rage story is fantastic - "Keep your mouth shut in future" - superb, it`d be great to use something like in an altercation now, like if someone cuts you up and you end up alongside them at the next of lights, try shouting "take extra care" or "brush up on your manouevering" if it happens in a car park, but in a really loud, angry voice.

[MrRegieRitmo]

At this point a guy on the pavement yelled at the bloke 'what are you doing you twat! You lay a finger on that bloke (me) and he'll have 50 witnesses'Now the best bit, he then said 'get back in your car you stupid fat Turk and piss off!'Which he did, after throwing my car keys onto the pavement. Truly unbelievable stuff. Two women asked me if I was ok and said could not believe what he was like.

TBH these days I wouldn't even have faith in anybody to help me out, I would assume it would be a case of 'eyes to the ground!, eyes to the ground!, 'mustn't make eye contact!'. So it was nice to hear that people did this time!

[marinast]

It was all a bit like a dream really, I was driving to work in no hurry and actually enjoying the fact that the roads around the job were clear, plus the sun was out! Yes he was a mini cab driver, even had his tax disk sellotaped to the windscreen in classy stylee. I don't hope Kama strikes him down with Cancer.There is no cure for Aids mind.....

[bigstraight6]

Ah don't get me started.Another quick example - 4x4 driver living up to their reputaion;Little Chef car park, loads of spaces - near empty infact, bloke in one of those Humm Vees (that are actually a Nissan or something) decides he is the king of the world and parks diagonally across the two disabled parking spaces so neither can be used!Needless to say, he wasn't a blue badge holder. I could hardly believe my eyes!

Never Then that type of vehicle is the favoured Pikey mode of transport