[jmg]

I heard this quote the other day:

"Don't be nice, be predictable."

That doesn't mean I'm not thoughtful and courteous, what this means to me is that:

If they are trying to turn onto the road with moving traffic, I'm not going to wave them in while I stop traffic unexpectedly. That causes accidents.

If someone signals to get into my lane, I'll let them in, I'll even let off the gas. However, if they are going significantly slower than everyone behind me, I will not slow down excessively because they are not comfortable with the flow of traffic. If they are comfortable at their speed, they can stay at their speed... behind me.

If someone is in the passing lane and the second lane is going faster, they are in the wrong lane. If I just sit behind them and match their speed, now there are 2 cars in the wrong lane. If the person behind me does the same, now there are 3 cars in the wrong lane and we have created backup. Multiple people in the wrong lane makes it difficult for anyone to pass the slow cars. That causes traffic and potential accidents. Instead, I will go around them and potentially piss them off. Now there is one less person in the wrong lane, and it's that much easier for all the other cars to pass the slow car in the passing lane. My point is this: Bad drivers getting pissed off is less important to me than the proper flow of traffic in a safe and efficient manner.

At a 4 ways stop, I will not confuse the other drivers by being "nice" and giving someone the right of way to go if it is not their turn. That will cause accidents. Cars that arrive first, will go first. Cars to the right have the right of way if all cars arrive at the same time. Period. No confusion.

I will treat an intersection with a broken light exactly the same way as a 4 way stop sign. No, 4 cars in a row cannot go at the same time. Do not wave people through, follow the rules.

I will never brake check anyone.

I will never use my vehicle as a weapon or to threaten anyone.

I will always use my blinker when changing lanes. Not because it's nice, but because I want others to know what my intentions are. If they don't want to let me in, then speed the fuck up or maintain their speed so I can time my merge to be as respectful to the flow of traffic as I can. I don't care. After I turn my signal on, what they shouldn't do is creep slowly into my blind spot from 3 car length back then SLOW DOWN AND SIT THERE like a jackass. That's either being passive aggressive or stupidly unaware of their surroundings. Both are signs of a bad driver. They WILL get the horn, because:

I will always use my horn to inform other drivers of my presence, that is it's purpose. It is not used in anger. To these drivers: don't take it as anger, take it as an attempt to inform you that I am here, because your actions indicated otherwise.

I will never tailgate. Using the 3 second rule, I will always have enough room to brake, even if they brake suddenly. I will look past their vehicle to see what the traffic is ahead of them. If they are only going 15 MPH, the 3 second rule reduces that following distance significantly. So if they think I'm tailgating, they should increase their speed, and the distance will increase.

I DO NOT OWN THE ROAD, and neither does anyone else. If anyone acts like the road belongs to them, they will get the horn to remind them that they need to know there is someone else on the road besides them, because that's what the horn is for: to inform uninformed drivers of your presence.

I drove this way before I considered myself a bimmer driver.