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I've figured out something that had given me road rage many times.

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Hubert Flottz Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 05:26 PM
Original message
I've figured out something that had given me road rage many times.
Why are there STILL a few crazy people on the road, driving around unattended in cars, with Bush/Cheney bumper stickers on them?

I think there are a couple of reasons...

1. They are so eat up with asininity, that they still haven't figured out for themselves, how to remove something that goofy and repulsive from their bumper.

2. Being typical Republics, they are far too stingy to pay someone who IS smart enough, to remove a stupid Cheney/Bush bumper sticker from a car and they have long since pissed off any democratic friends that they may have once had, who might have been bright enough to remove a bumper sticker.
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NanceGreggs Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 05:29 PM
Response to Original message
1. I think you're on to something there ... n/t
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valerief Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 05:31 PM
Response to Original message
2. Tailgaters piss me off more. nt
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Donnachaidh Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 05:35 PM
Response to Reply #2
3. tailgaters with cell phones piss me off even more.
What in god's name is sooo freaking important that you have to use a phone while driving at the same time?
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valerief Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 05:39 PM
Response to Reply #3
7. Tailgaters on cell phones in oversized SUVs with kids in the back piss me off more.
But maybe tailgaters on cell phones is redundant. Aren't they all on cell phones?
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mrreowwr_kittty Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 05:44 PM
Response to Reply #7
11. All of the above with Bush stickers take the prize!
And I've seen more than a few here in Arizona. What the hell are they talking about on that phone, anyway? What Rush said earlier today?
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Donnachaidh Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-19-07 09:58 AM
Response to Reply #7
50. not in my area
But then again, I'm a dinosaur. I have a cell for emergencies. PERIOD.
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CoffeeCat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 05:39 PM
Response to Reply #2
8. I hear ya....my pet peeve.
I don't mind waiting in long lines or even waiting in traffic. I'm
a very patient person.

However, I lose all patience when people tailgate me. I'm trying
to learn how to calm down when this happens, because it happens
a great deal--and I'm tired of being ticked off.

Who are these people anyway? If they left their homes ten minutes
earlier, they might not be in such a frenzy to get where they're going.

I usually have two small kids in the backseat, and it really offends me
when I see some jerk all over my rear view mirror. Do these people think
that being rude causes people to speed up? It's as if they think that
they're superior because they are more hurried.

I drive the speed limit or a bit over. I'm not going to rip through the streets because some
jerk is late for his anger management class.

I've pulled over and allowed them to pass. I've also moved my rear-view mirror so I
can't see them being jerks. People should not use their cars as extensions of their
psychotic, self-centered personalities.

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mrreowwr_kittty Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 05:46 PM
Response to Reply #8
15. What I wonder
Is how the hell they think tailgating ME is going to make all the cars ahead of us go faster?
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valerief Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 05:52 PM
Response to Reply #8
20. I'm tired of getting rear-ended by these me-first morons. I've tried different
techniques to repel them. I, too, pull over when it's feasible. When it isn't, I put on my hazards. When that doesn't work, I slow down to nearly a stop. That really pisses them off, but I'm afraid of them shooting at me one of these days. I'm really afraid of the trailer truck tailgaters. When all else fails, I lean on the horn. I only use my horn for tailgaters, never for "traffic." I, too, am patient with traffic.

I daydream sometimes about my car having a simple device that calculates the safe distance a car should be from behind while I'm traveling at a certain speed. If the car behind me trespasses my safe zone, a pipe squirts out red paint all over it. More practically, the device could take a snapshot of the car and send it to the police for follow-up. Or maybe a loud siren and flashing lights could go off.

I hate driving, because I hate reckless drivers. 50% of drivers are reckless, and that includes the police.
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Cabcere Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 05:55 PM
Response to Reply #20
24. If you could invent such a device, you'd be a millionaire.
:) I'm sure there would be a market for it, made up of reasonable people. And I'd buy one, too! ;)
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valerief Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 06:03 PM
Response to Reply #24
25. Oh, I'm sure it's been thought of before. It's so simple. However,
it would require rich people to change their driving habits, so it would never happen.
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Manifestor_of_Light Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 08:39 PM
Response to Reply #24
41. Drag chutes.
In Houston we need drag chutes and TAILGUNNERS!!!
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ben_thayer Donating Member (344 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 07:55 PM
Response to Reply #20
36. ME TOO!!
I've thought about a device that would blast Halon into their air intakes and (in my daydream) stall them dead!

And why does it always seem to be a DODGE RAM PICKUP??


:grr: :grr:
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valerief Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 08:01 PM
Response to Reply #36
37. Oh, it's every SUV, too. And tractor trailer trucks! nt
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eppur_se_muova Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 08:37 PM
Response to Reply #20
40. I'd like a button I could push to make my brake lights flare up extra bright.
Like *strobelight* bright.

A couple of weeks ago I was driving home late at night and another car behind me kept creeping up closer than I liked -- but I realized it was because the guy behind HIM was tailgating -- less than a car length back on a 50 MPH road. A fourth car pulled in behind him -- then after a few minutes lit up the Christmas lights. We all slowed down to pull over, but it was the guy in back he wanted. YES! The MD Highway Patrol pulled over a tailgater! First time in my life I've seen one pulled over.
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IDemo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 08:49 PM
Response to Reply #40
43. That's a great idea.
Possibly doable with the bright LED's now available.

I'd also like a license plate that could turn into a scrolling banner when I had something to say to a tailgater.

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valerief Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 09:19 PM
Response to Reply #40
46. Wow! Amazing. I've never seen a tailgater caught. I like the strobelight idea, too. nt
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dysfunctional press Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 09:01 PM
Response to Reply #20
44. why would you use your horn for tail-gaters????
you sound like the kind of person who has no business getting behind the wheel. people who are afraid to drive really shouldn't- they're the ones who put everyone else at risk.

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valerief Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 09:21 PM
Response to Reply #44
47. You wouldn't believe how many tailgaters stop tailgating when I do that.
As I said, I only do that when all else fails.

And I'm not afraid of driving. I'm afraid get hit by a reckless driver. I don't drive under the speed limit and I drive in the right lane. What more do you want? Do you expect me to drive like the criminal drivers? Sorry, no can do.
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aint_no_life_nowhere Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 09:52 PM
Response to Reply #2
48. I hate tailgaters too, but I also hate those who force you to tailgate
By that I mean those who simply will not let you establish any space between your car and the car in front. In California, where I live and where I hate to drive, if there's any space at all between your car and the one in front, someone will dive right in there and then you're right up against their bumper and have to ease off. That's fine once in awhile, but it happens repeatedly and seemingly by people who are changing lanes just for the heck of moving ahead half a car length even though everyone is going at 70 mph +. And when I ease off from all these cars diving in front of me to jam themselves into the space ahead of me, then I get another guy coming up from behind and about 12 inches from my rear bumper. He too eventually tries to pass and jam himself into the space in front of me, if just to gain one car length.
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ComerPerro Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 05:36 PM
Response to Original message
4. some are still actually proud they voted for the asshole
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valerief Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 05:39 PM
Response to Reply #4
9. Yeah, but they all have Alzheimer's like Charlton Heston, so you have
to make allowances for their illness.
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ComerPerro Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 05:45 PM
Response to Reply #9
13. in that case, I am disturbed that they are on the road
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valerief Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 05:54 PM
Response to Reply #13
22. They're no different from the other a$$hole drivers. They just forget where
they're going.
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ComerPerro Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 05:55 PM
Response to Reply #22
23. shit, I've done that myself. "Where the hell was I going?"
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valerief Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 06:04 PM
Response to Reply #23
26. Time to rip off that Bush/Cheney sticker, pal! nt
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Hubert Flottz Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 05:45 PM
Response to Reply #9
14. A republic might forget a lot of things, like Gonzo and Libby just did
But I'll bet they can tell you to the last penny, how much money they have in the bank...SOMEWHERE!
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valerief Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 06:04 PM
Response to Reply #14
27. That's what they live for. Literally. nt
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Canuckistanian Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 05:36 PM
Response to Original message
5. Sounds like a business opportunity
"Your Bush/Cheney bumper stickers removed cleanly and safely! Don't be the laughingstock of your neighborhood! (discounts for service members and Democratic converts)"
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GoddessOfGuinness Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 05:37 PM
Response to Original message
6. Override the road rage with a little tune...
I sing this little number when I get pissed by some rude driver:
You drive like a freakin' maniac...
You driiiive like a freakin'
like a freakin'
like a freakin'
LIKE A FUCKIN' MANIAC!!!

The tune starts out mellow, with an easy voice...sort of Simon & Garfunkelish, then the last line is delivered with an angry grind from the back of the throat. If there are little kids in the car, I dispense with the "fuckin'".

You could easily change the lyrics to "You are such a freakin' maniac" so it will apply to offensive bumper sticker morons.

Peace, man. :hippie:
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Vexatious Ape Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 05:42 PM
Response to Original message
10. Living in the Christian fascist stronghold of suburban
Atlanta I used to see a lot of those--not anymore. I think your theory will stand any test given. I think these people are so brainwashed by Rush and Hannity that they couldn't bring themselves to do it--not without their inner Rush scolding them brutally.
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Jonathan50 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 05:47 PM
Response to Reply #10
16. I'm probably further out from Atlanta than you.
But I still see a lot of Bush stickers of one sort or another.

Just keep in mind what Forrest Gump had to say: "Stupid is as stupid does, sir".
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Vexatious Ape Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 08:31 PM
Response to Reply #16
39. I'm in McDonough. I have seen a huge decrease in
Bush 04 stickers. Still a lot of yellow ribbons on SUV's however.
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bobbolink Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 05:44 PM
Response to Original message
12. If bumperstickers "give you roadrage" you need to rethink your driving.
I don't care to be hit by a roadrager and have my life permanently and disasterously altered, whether it's a liberal or conservative roadrager.

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Hubert Flottz Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 05:52 PM
Response to Reply #12
19. I installed a death ray button on my dash that soothes me right away.
It's just a little three dollar wireless "dummy" switch that says "Death Ray" on it and it don't really do anything...but I reckon it's the thought that counts anyway!
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bobbolink Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 05:53 PM
Response to Reply #19
21. I'm glad it don't (sic) really do anything.
Just don't hit me in your rage.
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nadinbrzezinski Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 05:47 PM
Response to Original message
17. Careful there I saw a vehicle parked the other day
with a W on it... up close... it was the lcgo for a local club

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spanone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 05:49 PM
Response to Original message
18. They're just as ignorant and arrogant as the prick himself.
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Bluzmann57 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 06:15 PM
Response to Original message
28. We should take pity on these people
after all, it has to be difficult going through life like that. Think about it, being a non thinking, uncaring zombie like creature has to be miserable. No original ideas, no compassion, no real life outside of being a drone, come on, that would stink.
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Solo_in_MD Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 06:15 PM
Response to Original message
29. How do you feel about motorcycles who latne split
In CA its legal, and I do it here on the east coast where its safe
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Hubert Flottz Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 06:55 PM
Response to Reply #29
31. I feel like people don't always see other people on a motorcycle
I've almost been run over when I was riding street bikes many times. By people backing out or pulling out in front of me when I was riding the speed limit and obeying the law. I've ridden in storms where I was blinded by rain and road dirt from running without a front fender. I've hit birds and bugs galore and almost ran into a wild turkey that flew up out of a ditch and across the road in front of me in a bad curve. I had a yellow Jacket fly into my nose and sting the inside of my nose until I looked like the Hulk. Had people lock up their brakes if front of me on wet rainy days and been all over the road trying not to trash myself and my scooter on their rear bumper. I've been hit by rocks flying out of coal and gravel truck beds without tarps and flying out of truck tires. And I've walked around bent backed and bow legged for a couple of days at a time, from riding an old hard tail chopper for several hundred miles at a time. And then I got old!

Be careful and drive defensively every time you get on the road in, or on, anything. The "other guy" will kill you, if you are not careful, at all times! Things happen very quickly at a high rate of speed and especially on two wheels. Ride to live...but live to ride. I love the feeling of freedom. Feeling freedom probably ain't nearly as easy for dead folks...
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Solo_in_MD Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 07:07 PM
Response to Reply #31
34. I commute most days on a MC, weather permitting.
And it can get crazy out there. DC drivers are not real polite about bikes either. However, I can not beat the mileage or the cost per mile. Some days are more adventurous than others and I try to stay off the belt way.
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Hubert Flottz Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 07:48 PM
Response to Reply #34
35. An orthopedic surgeon who I used to hunt and fish with some...
called them "Murdercycles" and said he'd gotten rich fixing some of the damage they'd done to people. I said, "well that right there proves they ain't all bad...so buy us another beer!"



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Solo_in_MD Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 08:21 PM
Response to Reply #35
38. I do ATGATT, headlight modulater, high visibility clothing and still they don't see me
I mark one or two cars a year is seems. Some better than others. Occasionally I get to yell right in their face...scares the poop out of them. Riding in DC is an adventure.


Defintions for non-riders:
ATGATT: All The Gear, All The Time. Means riding pants, jacket, boots, gloves, and full face helment every time.
Headlight Modulator: Alternates between high and low beam durng daylight hours. Some people hate it, but at least they see me.
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stevedeshazer Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 06:18 PM
Response to Original message
30. I consider it a public service
I'm a truck driver. I drive at least 350 miles a day.

Defensive driving involves looking ahead and anticipating traffic problems. I'm grateful when these drivers advertise their low IQ's. It makes me a safer driver.

It's just like having a billboard on your vehicle that screams, "I'm a dumb shit and may change lanes without signaling".
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Hubert Flottz Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 07:00 PM
Response to Reply #30
32. I think everybody on the road should take a Defensive Driving
Edited on Sun Mar-18-07 07:02 PM by Hubert Flottz
class. I know that what I learned in the mandatory DD classes that I took while in the military, saved my old hide on many occasions.
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ScreamingMeemie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 07:01 PM
Response to Original message
33. It sucks to be wrong; that's why they're still there.
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Manifestor_of_Light Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 08:42 PM
Response to Original message
42. They are all around me in close in suburbia
I live in old 1950s suburbia which has gotten very expensive. Everybody around me has a pickup or an SUV; the young couples usually have 2 SUVs. Big ones.

Meanwhile, I'm driving a 13 year old Japanese car and my SO is driving a 12 year old American made land barge that his elderly stepmom quit driving. We're just not hip. And we do our own yardwork too.

We just don't fit in.


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Clark2008 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 09:03 PM
Response to Original message
45. I have, too.
Other drivers.

:P
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RB TexLa Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-18-07 10:02 PM
Response to Original message
49. Never having road rage is very nice

Maybe I'm strange that I have no concerns about other vehicles on the road.
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Ganja Ninja Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-19-07 10:04 AM
Response to Original message
51. Perhaps we could cover their W stickers with one that says ..
"I'm a moron". It takes less time and effort and it says essentially the same thing.
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