Why are people such nasty SOBs when they drive? (1 Viewer)

[MarkHastings]

(b) car accessories worth more than the car

SO True!

I guess when the sub woofer is more expensive than the entire car, it really doesn't matter if the bumper is about to fall off by the vibrations.

 

[Steve_Tk]

(c) utter disregard for common sense - e.g. huge spoilers will be attached to the car in preference to mending the conspicuous rust patches

So true also. I love seeing a huge wing on a Toyota Tercel with 93 HP. Now that is nice.

Anyone notice how people now are sitting so far back in their seat that when you look you can't even see them. Their whole face is blocked by the section between the front and rear door. How the hell do they see what's going on?

 

[ThomasC]

I think in the U.S., we refer to altered cars like Andrew described as "pimped". I haven't heard any reference to the driver itself, just the car. Let me confer with my popular culture expert(s) and I'll get back to you.

 

[Brett_H]

Andrew,

Perhaps the best US version of "boy racer" would be "rice boy". See here, although that page hasn't been updated in a while.

I have heard the term boy racer but ricer, rice-boy, or some variation involving rice seems more popular.

-Brett.

 

[Clay Kilpatrick]

I agree with Jay H. If you want to see just how bad drivers can be try riding a bike everywhere. The drivers that are the most fun are the ones that don't think you should be on the road, will get right next to you, and then try to push you off the road.

Even though I almost get hit at least once a day, and know that if I get hit, it going to be pretty messy, I find that riding my bike everywhere is much more relaxing than driving. I dread everytime I have to drive somewhere anymore.

Clay

 

[Eric Kahn]

Andrew, because of the reletive low price for gas here in the states and the avialibility of cars a few years old with V8 engines (camaro's Mustangs, used police cars, ETC) at what you would call really low prices, we have 2 versions of "racer boy" here, the ones that get old camaros and mustangs and spend all there money on the engine to go really fast and the group that buys the 4 cylinder imports and spends an even larger quantity of money making them go fast and adding accessories of dubious taste, alot of which slow the cars down and make it obnoxious like the 5 inch chrome "fart pipe" on the exhaust

The "hot Hatches" as you call them are very rare here, because you could always go out and get a V8 mustang for about 10% more than one, they just did not sell here
They are selling a little better now since the camaro is extinct and the mustangs price has risen faster than the other ford lines

and for the really crazy, anyone with a Motorcycle endorsment on their license can pick up a new Kawasaki ninja or Suzuki Habayusi 1300 and do the quarter mile in under 10 seconds and hit like 180 mph (if they ae really brainless) right off the showroom floor, no graduated licenses here


AARRGG! forget to do spell check before posting

 

[Malcolm R]

Probably wouldn't see this in the US for a few reasons:

1. Minimum legal drinking age is 21, so the younger boy racers wouldn't be legally able to drink (not to say they don't, but they'd be secretive about it).

2. Open container laws in the US make it illegal to operate a motor vehicle while consuming alcohol (again, not to say some don't, but they wouldn't be hanging out of cars with cans in their hands).

3. American men don't sing (unless drunk).

 

[andrew markworthy]

3. American men don't sing.

I should also have said that 'singing' is an approximate term. Perhaps 'tribal grunting' would be nearer the mark.

Eric, big V8 engined cars tend to be expensive beasts over here, both to buy and maintain (I think it's largely due to petrol prices, but fairly or unfairly, a lot of American performance cars have a reputation over here for being less easy to handle than European counterparts). You do occasionally see Camaros and Mustangs on the road, but they tend to be owned by genuine enthusiasts rather than tosspots like boy racers. If someone over here is after a fast car other than a hot hatch or a 'real' sports car, it'll tend to be a Subaru Impreza (and if - horrible thought - a boy racer gets a bit more money, then an imported Lancer Evolution or Skyline). I'm grateful that boy racers so far haven't discovered the Volvo turbos (used as pursuit vehicles by a lot of Brit police forces), which are now pretty cheap.

 

[Grant B]

When I moved over to the UK I brought my Ford 2.3 liter Xr4Ti...luckly customs thought it was a Ford Sierra Xr4i and marked it as such ...so my insurance was cheaper. The mechanic said it was built more like a truck then a Sierra (same exact body style)

I think I hit a nerve with this thread

It's funny on how different LA & SF is driving.Maybe because there are almost no freeways in the city but one thing that strikes me is that in LA people refuse to make eye contact with you when in their car. Maybe because San Francisco is unusual in driving it's normal to look at the other driver and see what they are doing....plus throw in pedestrians and bikes and you get a very interactive way of driving.
Around here I feel like a neutron bomb went off (never see people walking or biking) and it's ruled by driverless car that try to cut you off or not get in the lane you need to be in. Sort of the 'Terminator world' with Hummers & SUVs instead of killer flying robots.

 

[LewB]

and for the really crazy, anyone with a Motorcycle endorsment on their license can pick up a new Kawasaki ninja or Suzuki Habayusi 1300 and do the quarter mile in under 10 seconds and hit like 180 mph (if they ae really brainless) right off the showroom floor, no graduated licenses here

As a true believer in Darwin, I think there ought to be legislation passed that requires these 'folks' to sign organ donor cards. So that they may eventually do good for someone else.

 

[Steve_Tk]

I like Darwin's ideas and I don't have any sympathies for the guy that drives like a nut on a bike, wrecks, splatters his head on the pavement and doesn't get up. No tears shed here. I do feel bad though for the Family of 4 that swerves to miss the before mentioned idiot and crashes into a tree. So I think the required organ donating is good, but would never happen.

 

[LewB]

So I think the required organ donating is good, but would never happen.

I hear ya'. Just trying to figure out how to yield something good from the stupidity.

 

[Bruce Hedtke]

alot of which slow the cars down and make it obnoxious like the 5 inch chrome "fart pipe" on the exhaust

I have no idea why someone would put this on their car. The sound it makes is one of the most irritating noises around. How they can drive around with that constantly whining and not go nuts is beyond me. I'd be ripping that thing off after the 4th intersection. I guess I'm just not cool enough to understand.

Bruce

 

[Jeff Blair]

I think it is the same everywhere. I used to drive a '88 red RX-7. I was almost forced off of the road almost every day. usually by someone in a 20 ton SUV on the cell phone. And, when you honk, they either give you the "deer in the head lights" look, or flip you off.

As for the "getting what you deserve" category... One day I was turning onto a street from a side one, now keep in mind that this is in the middle of a 20 mph school zone. I turned, and so did the guy in the $50k SUV behind me, it was the new Caddie one. Well, he was on my bumper for about 1 min, and then passed me doing about 40, the normal speed limit. Well, cops like to hide out at the begging, and end of this little strip, next thing I know a cop pulls out, and "trys" to pull the guy over. It takes the cop about 5 blocks before the guy pulls over. I guess he was too busy talking. I know I wouldn't want to pay that ticket.

 

[andrew markworthy]

How they can drive around with that constantly whining and not go nuts is beyond me.

Bruce, two possible reasons spring to mind:

(a) precisely because it irritates other drivers.

(b) Mongo like big noises. Mongo see Formula 1 race. Formula 1 noisy. Mongo go to garage. Tell garage man 'make Mongo car noisy'. Garage man say 'me make Mongo car noisy'. Mongo pay garage man money. Mongo get noisy car. Mongo pleased [thumps chest vigorously].

 

[Danny Tse]

How they can drive around with that constantly whining and not go nuts is beyond me.

I replaced my factory air filter assembly on my 97 Acura Integra with one of those special air intake systems, and while it was never as "whiney" as the "fart pipe", I was going nuts everytime I step on the gas pedal. I must be getting too old.....must be the reason I purchased a Camry.

 

[Bruce Hedtke]

Andrew

Mongo is such a good word for these bozos. Of course, with their high performance 110 hp Honda's, all they can emulate of the F1 cars is the sound.

Bruce

 

[Robert_Z]

I agree with Jay H. If you want to see just how bad drivers can be try riding a bike everywhere. The drivers that are the most fun are the ones that don't think you should be on the road, will get right next to you, and then try to push you off the road.

Anyone who tries to push a cyclist off the road is a psycho. That said, I hope you obey the traffic laws over there. Here in Austin, cyclists run red lights and stop signs. They will cut in front of several vehicles stopped at a signal and then take off a couple of seconds prematurely and expect everyone behind them to go around. thi is during rush-hour traffic. I repect a cyclist's right to be on the road, but they need to obey the law as well.

Regarding why drivers are nasty SOBs when they drive, it is because they ARE nasty SOBs. Although they may not always show it, something as simple as dealing with traffic congestion can show a person's true colors.

 

[andrew markworthy]

I repect a cyclist's right to be on the road, but they need to obey the law as well.

Hear, hear. [Before I start this little rant I should stress that I am scrupulous in giving space for cyclists]. Something that drives me nuts where I live is driving into work during rush hour and being held up by cyclists meandering along (it's a narrow road and there's always traffic coming the other way preventing overtaking without getting dangerously close to the cyclist]. The reason for my annoyance is that there is a cycle path specially built for these guys that runs alongside the road, but they insist on using the road. And before anyone says 'well cycle paths get clogged up with pedestrians' this one is completely clear (especially of cyclists) and free of bumps, potholes, etc. So the car traffic gets held up by selfish bozos. And of course the cycle track was built using revenue from the enormous car tax Brit drivers have to pay, but to which cyclists contribute not one penny.

 

[Kevin P]

I have an idiot driver story to pass along. As I was coming home from work yesterday, I was approaching a light that had just turned yellow. I was going to go through, since I was close enough--stopping at that point would have been a hard stop. Then this car, coming across from the left (his light was still red) honked his horn and blew right through the intersection. He didn't even slow down. I had to slam on the brakes to stop before the intersection. I honked at him as well. If I had been there a second earlier he would have T-boned me. It's bad enough that he blew through a red light, but he even honked, as if he was doing it deliberately. He didn't have hazards on, and no flashing light on his dash or on the car, so it wasn't like he was going to a fire or anything.

Another thing that irks me is when someone runs a stop sign or red light, or otherwise cuts me off when I have the right of way, and we both have to slam on our brakes to avoid a collision, they have the nerve to honk at me as if I cut them off.