I used to get people trying to trick me into turning in front of them all the time in the company car for the last company I worked for.
Usually go like;
Me: making right turn out of a parking lot see a car with their blinker on presumably turning into the place I'm leaving so I creep forwards a few feet.
Other car: sees me creeping forwards and think I'm going to turn in front of them so floors it.
Happened so many times I don't even move until they're already halfway turned.
My favorite one;
Me: making a left turn onto a main street
Other car: making a left turn onto the side street I'm on
Other car: waves me out
Me: just looks at him
Other car: backs up a bit and waves me out
Me: just looks at him
Other car: backs up a bit more and waves me out
Me: "I see where this is going..."
Other car: puts it into reverse to continue the dance
Me: floors it as soon as they shift into reverse
Other car: puts it into drive as fast as they can and tries to ram me
A prius is a lot quicker than people think...dude's lucky I was in the company car because I'd have gotten out at the next light and slashed their tires if someone did that to me in my personal vehicle -- can't really do that in a car with the company phone # on the side in big lettering.
About 20 years ago I was following a friend in a car and we ended up a few cars apart. I called his mobile and just said “which way are we going at the roundabout”. The person on the other end was very confused, it wasn’t my friend but the car directly in front of me. I’ve no idea how that happened but was incredibly bizarre and I think the other driver was more freaked out than I was.
As another semi-pointless counter-story, I was in SF once at a red light and I noticed a guy jumping out at cars on the road, but not actually moving towards them, just lifting his arms up and flailing.
So, my teenage self decided to teach this guy a lesson. When I started driving towards him, before he could jump at me I turned my car at him and drove right in his direction. It scared him half to death and he jumped backwards.
I've pushed other folks' cars out of traffic or into a station before, and there's nothing like that sheepish smile you get as you wave them off and get on your way.
On the other hand, I've also had a borrowed, beaten-up car break down in peak hour in the inside lane and no-one is letting me push it over two more lanes to the plentiful parking on the side. I waited for about two minutes for someone to give me a gap before I realised "hey, car is beaten-up anyway, if it gets hit, it's just another scratch". Waited for a small gap and just started pushing. Not particularly suprising that people with their nice clean paintjobs don't want to plow into a beaten car just to prove a point :)
Pet peeve: no matter what you do in a truck someone gets mad.
You’re either driving too fast or too slow. You try to stay in the slow lane but catch up to the person going 45 on the interstate who speeds up as soon as you get next to them trapping you in the fast lane until you give them ‘incentive’ to let you back over.
I could go on and on but my government mandated 30 break was over six minutes ago and there’s people to annoy on the two lane highway I get to drive on until Texas.
More like: the driver stops and gestures me to walk over the road. As I step in front of the car, they suddenly jump on the gaspedal and drive over me.
A game I used to play back in the day when I had to drive on the interstates was to maintain sufficient distance to the car in front of me so that anyone could trivially make lane changes, etc. The amazing side effect was that typically the cars behind me would start doing the same thing. It was mildly pleasurable.
Okay, story time. So a friend of mine is a tram driver. He fondly recalls the time when some idiot had parked across the tram line to go inside a store. Much use of the horn got said idiot out, but he didn't see the problem; "Why don't you just drive around me?" he shouted. My friend shouted back "Why don't you come up here and try that?" The idiot actually came up, sat down in the tram driver's seat, and then promptly deflated as he realised there is no steering wheel, a tram runs on tracks. He got up, with a very long face, and left to move his car to the tune of laughter from passengers and bystanders.
I live in an NJ suburb. If I see a car speeding around I’ll ring their doorbell and ask them to stop. If they don’t, first warning is air out the tires and second warning is losing your windshield. I’ve never had to ask three times.
Am important tip that want mentioned in here. At any even slightly risky maneuvers like the ones described, I stand up in the pedals and move my head to make obvious eye contact with the driver. Something about the exaggerated head movement seems to be really effective at getting people to pay attention. I guess we're all just hardwired to notice when someone notices us.
I used to knock on these people's windshields to ask them to move on busy roads. I had to stop doing that after one person tried to run me over a few blocks later (they missed and hit the sidewalk). Others were content to simply scream, or back up onto me.
Usually go like;
Me: making right turn out of a parking lot see a car with their blinker on presumably turning into the place I'm leaving so I creep forwards a few feet.
Other car: sees me creeping forwards and think I'm going to turn in front of them so floors it.
Happened so many times I don't even move until they're already halfway turned.
My favorite one;
Me: making a left turn onto a main street Other car: making a left turn onto the side street I'm on
Other car: waves me out
Me: just looks at him
Other car: backs up a bit and waves me out
Me: just looks at him
Other car: backs up a bit more and waves me out
Me: "I see where this is going..."
Other car: puts it into reverse to continue the dance
Me: floors it as soon as they shift into reverse
Other car: puts it into drive as fast as they can and tries to ram me
A prius is a lot quicker than people think...dude's lucky I was in the company car because I'd have gotten out at the next light and slashed their tires if someone did that to me in my personal vehicle -- can't really do that in a car with the company phone # on the side in big lettering.
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