Quote:
Originally Posted by UFO
Yeah, it's amazing how I can catch up to cars on the freeway but the second I go to pass them we're both suddenly going the same speed. I'll flick the cruise control up a few MPH and, low and behold, we're still both doing the same speed. It's the same as merging, it's as if being passed will bring embarrassment on their family.
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It's this Texas thing about winning. They don't really want to go faster. They just don't want you in front of them, because that implies they lost.
And for people who think they experience this in other parts of the country, it's not quite the same thing in Texas. In most states, if someone speeds up when you try to pass, you can call them on it by either speeding up abruptly or slowing down. Although there are some outliers, in general those people will pretend it wasn't intentional, that they weren't trying to be assholes, and they'll leave you alone. In some cases it might take a few tries, but usually they start to feel guilty about their behavior and back off.
In Texas, people accept the challenge and double down, making it very obvious they're trying to block you or keep ahead of you, and seemingly EVERYONE does this. People will pace you for miles, speeding up and slowing down as necessary to keep irritating you and trying to trap you behind slower moving traffic. They will do spectacularly stupid things to try to block you in. If you drive here, at least once every time you venture out you'll find yourself saying, "What an asshole!" This entire state is filled with them.
Example: Near my house there's a six lane road (three each direction) with a curve in it, and although the speed limit is 45, people usually slow down to about 35 on that curve. I had a clear lane on the far right but needed to get over to the left at an upcoming intersection, so I sped up to the speed limit to go around the cars in the left two lanes. As I passed the guy in the brodozer in the center lane, he took that as a challenge and slammed down the accelerator to block me.
I sped up to 50 to fake him out, and he took the bait. Then I slowed abruptly to cross behind him. I had a good car length between us when I swung in behind him (he thought he was "winning"), and when he saw what I was doing, he slammed on his brakes and actually skidded a little to try to cause me to hit him. This car being as nimble as it is, I was already around ahead of him on the other side before he could make another move. He hit the accelerator again and gave me the finger as he went by.
I experience something like this every day. Just yesterday I almost got to witness a guy in a minivan rear-end the guy in front of him to keep me from getting to an exit off a highway. I try my best not to ever telegraph my intentions, because as soon as you do some piece of shit here will try to win by blocking you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by geezerbrzeezer
Most people just want an unscathed A to B.
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In most places that's true. Not here, though. They look at A to B as an opportunity to win traffic.
Quote:
Originally Posted by geezerbrzeezer
But, given your opinion, how could you possibly expect that a glaring example of this fraternity would understand 'flash to pass'?
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I agree. I
never flash at someone in front of me. It's not saying, "Excuse me, please let me pass." It's an open challenge for vehicular warfare.