Those Crazy L.A. Drivers…
Published by Toni June 21st, 2005 in Uncategorized.As a Southern California and L.A. county resident, I’m more or less used to idiot drivers and hotheads on freeways. On Saturday we ran across a guy who was both.
We were driving to a friend’s barbecue and had to enter the 405 freeway from the 10 freeway. Southern Californians know that the 405 is notorious for being crowded and filled with idiot drivers who think that their lives are more important than others around them.
As expected, the transition to the 405 was very crowded, especially since you end up going in only two lanes. What made it worse is that, because of construction, the right lane was forced to merge into the left lane. We were already in the left lane (which had a long line of cars), but we noticed that several cars still headed for the right lane (which had a shorter line of cars). We knew that these cars would try to cut in to our lane, which wasn’t fair. My boyfriend vowed not to let anyone cut in front of us.
Sure enough, as the right lane merged into the left lane, a jetta tried valiantly to squeeze in front of us. I muttered, “Oh hell no, he’s not cutting in front of us” and my bf tried his best not to let him in. The jetta driver of course was just as stubborn and started flipping us off (my bf retaliated and flipped him off too), and at the last second my bf relented and let him through.
This is where it gets weird.
The guy stops his car in front of us and gets out, yelling and screaming at us. My bf started yelling at him too. The guy then starts driving off, but then throws an empty water bottle at us. Can you believe that shit?
He continues to be a real dick to us by remaining in front of us and cutting us off whenever we’d try to get in a different lane. After a few minutes he seemed to grow tired of his little game and left us alone for a while.
Eventually we found our exit, and my bf leapt into action. He wanted to have the last word.
As we exited, we neared the guy’s car again and my bf yelled out, “COCKSUCKER!” as we drove off.
But the idiot wasn’t done. To our surprise, he actually followed us. Now, to be honest, I myself didn’t see him follow us, but my bf said that he did, and now he was quite concerned.
We drove around a bit in the hopes of losing him, and after a while, we did.
My bf was worried that the guy was crazy and might try to track us down, but I doubt it. He may be a hothead and a moron, but I don’t think he was crazy.
I guess we should have let the guy through our lane to prevent this whole escapade from happening, but at the same time it’s not fair that jerks like this are allowed to step all over people who follow the rules. He knew from the start that the right lane was going to merge (since there was a sign that indicated it), yet he chose that lane because it was shorter than the left and figured, “Eh, I’ll just cut in front of someone.”
I just wish that more drivers will wake up and realize that their lives aren’t more important than others and show respect for their fellow drivers.
But I guess that’s too much to ask for.
6 Responses to “Those Crazy L.A. Drivers…”
Leave a Reply
Note: If your response doesn't show up right away, it's possible that my Akismet spam catcher accidentally caught it. Don't worry, I'll rescue it from the moderation bin so there's no need for you to resend it.
You should always pack a firearm while driving on the 405.
I respect your bf for not letting that dipshit take cuts. Shame on him for thinking he could bypass others by cheating and then failing to yeild the right of way. What a douche bag.
You should have called the cops via cell phone when he threw the bottle.
i can’t believe you had a run-in like that with someone! it’s the stuff of news reports. and some people are so “lost” in their madness that they will follow people who have somehow offended them in traffic and continue more retaliation. some people think the rest of the world will fall to the side to them them through, and when it’s supposed to be give and take, all he does is take. that’s why my mum won’t be really mean in traffic and tells us not to even honk at someone, afraid that he/she will be incensed to pursue us - and we often drive alone, or without male company, whatever help that is.
Did you get his license plate number?
I don’t know if it is still true, but there used to be a number that you could call to anonymously report vehicles that were producing an unusual amount of smog or environmental emissions. The owner of that vehicle would then be summoned to hook their car up to a sniffer and get inspected. On top of the time and energy to have their car inspected, I think there was a fee, too.
So if you got this guy’s license plate number and you thought that maybe his care was in violation of California’s clean air standards, you might consider reporting him to the Department of Motor Vehicles (anonymously, of course). It is, after all, your civic duty.
This should go without saying, but you should only do this if you think that he may be a smog offender, not just because you want to get back at him for road rage. Then if you see him again in the future, and it appears that he still has an emissions problem, you might want to report him again.
Like I said, I don’t know if California is still doing this, but it may be worth checking out.
I hope you don’t get pissed at me but I must speak openly.
Your man shouldn’t do that shit unless he’s ready to throw down. The situation was already over and he instigated it even more. I can understand road rage. I have had it arise many times. Flipping people off is cool, just try to not let it get any further than that. The end result of two people fighting on the roadside is never good. Thank goodness you weren’t hurt by your boyfriends blatant starting of shit. Why would your man yell at him and have the last word, then do a complete dick tuck when the guy got pissed again?
I’m gonna’ have to talk some sense into him.
Bug- Believe me, it has been tempting to bring a firearm when driving on the 405. There are just way too many jerks on that highway.
wyn- If I were the one driving, I most likely would have folded and let the guy through from the beginning. I would have been terribly annoyed, but at least I wouldn’t drag myself in a mess like that.
Dave- We didn’t get his license number, but I don’t understand what you’re getting at with the smog offenders thing.
Ronald- I totally understand your concern. I wasn’t happy either when my bf decided to yell out like that. He tends to do that to stupid or jerk drivers. It’s a bad habit he needs to break.
If you report him as a smog offender, he will be required to submit his car for inspection, which will cost him time, convenience and maybe even a little money. Plus you can do this anonymously. And repeatedly.
Or at least you could; I don’t know if California still has this “smog offender” hotline.