Whats up with cagers from Texas?

[Toecutter]

Sometimes, I swear that being highly adept at driving, as well as being courteous and trying to live by the Golden Rule, is a curse....

At least I'm modest....

 

[FJRBluesman]

I have found over my 8+ years here in this ummm...state, is that the attitude here is "if you don't like what i'm doing, go the hell around." No one moves over for anyone, especially in the metros where there are multiple lanes to choose from. They don't care about what is polite and they don't pay attention to what is going on around them. It's been very hard to get used to and has caused some high blood pressure many many times for me. We have a lot of road rage in DFW and I blame a significant portion of it on this issue. People just don't care about their fellow human beings anymore when they get behind the wheel and it's pretty fricken sad. It's all a race to everyone and ego gets in the way way too often.

Thanks for opening the door...
While I love the great nation of Texas and her people (my adopted home state), when I visited there many years back in the DFW area, they had a campaign going on TV and billboards, "Drive Texas Friendly". Well.... I noticed stop signs seem to be optional, red lights or lights that just changed red were to go thru cause you needed to get thru. Made SoCal look tame.

After seeing these things many times in a few day period, I came to the conclusion it would be really scary to ride a bike in Texas, or at least the DFW area.

Now I have spent a great deal of time in San Antonio, and did not notice this type of behavior, maybe it's regional. :blink:

 

[odot]

Man, I tell you....them drivers in New Mexico are ******* pricks. They have no clue about the "rules of the road". All driving like taxi cabbers in New York.

 

[fjrchik]

I have found over my 8+ years here in this ummm...state, is that the attitude here is "if you don't like what i'm doing, go the hell around." No one moves over for anyone, especially in the metros where there are multiple lanes to choose from. They don't care about what is polite and they don't pay attention to what is going on around them. It's been very hard to get used to and has caused some high blood pressure many many times for me. We have a lot of road rage in DFW and I blame a significant portion of it on this issue. People just don't care about their fellow human beings anymore when they get behind the wheel and it's pretty fricken sad. It's all a race to everyone and ego gets in the way way too often.

Thanks for opening the door...
While I love the great nation of Texas and her people (my adopted home state), when I visited there many years back in the DFW area, they had a campaign going on TV and billboards, "Drive Texas Friendly". Well.... I noticed stop signs seem to be optional, red lights or lights that just changed red were to go thru cause you needed to get thru. Made SoCal look tame.

After seeing these things many times in a few day period, I came to the conclusion it would be really scary to ride a bike in Texas, or at least the DFW area.

Now I have spent a great deal of time in San Antonio, and did not notice this type of behavior, maybe it's regional. :blink:

Yep you nailed it. It is scary here. Give me LA any day. Don't even get me started on how poorly they take care of their cars here, throw their trash out the window or into the bed of the truck (which of course, goes flying right out) and think nothing of letting their car doors hit another car. My car has received 4 times the paint scrapes it had in 4 months since moving to the north end of the metro than I had in 3 years in the south end. Apparently people in Plano and Frisco think cars are throw away items, instead of something of great expense that most people would like to keep nice.

But enough complaining, I will absolutely give the cagers down in and around Hill Country a big thank you for being so swell! Every time I'm down there, they pull right over and let the bikers through. They certainly don't have to and I really appreciate it from them. Maybe that's why San Antonio drivers are better.

 

[Texan]

I can summarize this thread;

"Wherever you live, the cage drivers suck."

 

[YukonG]

The same idiots congregate in Oklahoma also...

What gets me is when you are patient, you are close enough to the vehicle up front that he/she should know you need by, you wait, and you fukin wait, then you either start getting closer or are forced to pass on the right, when you finally make it around the idiot he/she is usually really pissed.

WTF???

 

[High Desert Rider]

I have to say that Missouri has to rank pretty high on the rolling road blocks!! No matter where you are in the state this is a common occurrence.

Another thing that scared/pissed me off was when I was cruising through some good back road twisties and came upon a farmer pluga-luga-luggin five miles an hour on his international harverster.

Put it this way, I discovered the braking distance from 80 - 0. Was about half a combine better than what I thought it was gonna be.

 

[Anthony Martinez]

DFW was mentioned, so I'll take the opportunity to remind everyone that while it's technically in Texas, you can't blame the rest of the state for it.

I'm a native Texan, though I've never stayed put in one place for more than four years. As such, I've experienced horrid drivers all over the globe. As far as I'm concerned, there are no drivers in the developed world that are more terrible than those of Georgia. The closer you get to Atlanta, the less capable the cage pilots. It's really a pity, because you have to go through those horrible drivers to get to some of the best motorcycling this country has to offer.

I can't say that I've noticed people parked in the fast lane any more often here in Texas than anywhere else in the US. I'm one of those crazy folk that drives in the right hand lane until I come up on someone/thing that needs passing. Given my average speed, that happens fairly often (both on the FJR and in my truck).

 

[DeweyIsgod]

I'll just mention that technically, these folks are violating the law.

In Texas, as in many other states, it is illegal to impede the progress of another vehicle regardless of speed on a multi-lane road. I was talking to a HPD traffic officer who mentioned that law is what they will ticket for if they believe an accident was caused by the front vehicle (i.e. slammed on brakes). But he actually said that you could both be 20 over the limit and the front car would legally deserve a citation.

Now enforcement is another issue. Personally, I recommend finding the statute - printing it out - carefully rolling it around a lead pipe - and depositing it in the front seat of violators when you are finally able to pass.

 

[Leskid]

Sometimes, I swear that being highly adept at driving, as well as being courteous and trying to live by the Golden Rule, is a curse....
At least I'm modest....

Keep right except to pass

Slower drivers keep right

etc....

In Quebec, these are like the speed limit and the legal drinking age (18)... they're apparently more 'suggestions' than anything

But look at the map in my signature of visited states & provinces. It's universal. I frequently need to take a chill pill and resolve myself to realizing that even if you flash your lights, honk and creep behind them, off to the left, all that's going on in the little pea-brain of the clog in front of me is "wow, what a bad driver that idiot is, behind me"

At least in Socal, you're allowed to shoot people as you pass them. Or so the legend goes.

 

[jmdaniel]

I'm a native Texan, though I've never stayed put in one place for more than four years. As such, I've experienced horrid drivers all over the globe. As far as I'm concerned, there are no drivers in the developed world that are more terrible than those of Georgia. The closer you get to Atlanta, the less capable the cage pilots. It's really a pity, because you have to go through those horrible drivers to get to some of the best motorcycling this country has to offer.

There are plenty of places in the "developed" world that are worse than anywhere in the US. Spend 10 minutes on the road in Shanghai, and you will thank God or whoever that we have stripes on the roads and the concept of right-of-way is grasped, however tenuously.

 

[Anthony Martinez]

I still consider China "developing" (at a ridiculous rate). I lived in Asia for a good bit. I'd rather ride my motorcycle in Bangkok than Atlanta.

 

[atxrider]

There are plenty of places in the "developed" world that are worse than anywhere in the US. Spend 10 minutes on the road in Shanghai, and you will thank God or whoever that we have stripes on the roads and the concept of right-of-way is grasped, however tenuously.

Agreed. Shanghai was a new experience for me as well. A local described the stop signs, lights, crosswalks, and traffic lanes as "guidelines" no one really follows. I went there expecting to rent a motorcycle for a few days and ride around. My mind changed on the taxi ride from the airport to my hotel.

Regards,

Davy

 

[WBill]

Funny: We were just behind a Texican driver along the I 40 in AZ, and he wouldn't move over for anyone. We were in our giant cage, and he acted like we weren't even there. Semi's sports cars, anybody had to pass on the left. Up till then, I thought Maryland drivers were the worst. Maybe he was originally from the Free State. We actually took a chance and passed him on the left, only to have him he step on it, to catch up and linger, again, in the left lane. Que muchacho!

As for NM, I noticed this summer that drivers around Santa Fe and Taos are often up in the clouds while driving. I saw one lady who was apparently singing and ringing her finger cymbals while doing 80 on the I 25. Give those people wide berth. They'll kill you! Shanti, dood, WBill

 

[flyball]

I agree, Texans think they own the road, "by God I got the right to be in this lane and if anybody don't like it they can kiss my ass!". But my experience has been that we ain't the worst. Try this on your FJR- Brazzaville, Congo!

 

[Dr. Rich]

I remember as a little boy, my mother telling me that it was very simple.... Texans wanted their half out of the middle!

 

[airboss]

How about we just take the speed limit off the interstate, and in a couple of years after the carnage is over, I'll get back on the bike.

Years back on my only trip to Germany, I had a hired car with driver. Driving the autobahn he would pass, go back to the Right lane, pass go back to the Right lane. I noticed everyone did than, so I remarked on how courteous all the German drivers where. My driver told me it wasn't courtesy, it was fear, hanging out in the left lane would get you eaten by a big a$$ Mercedes.

 

[jmdaniel]

The common practice on the autobahn when I was there, should you find yourself behind a DA dawdling in the left lane, was to simply turn your left turn signal on. If you noticed a car behind you with the signal on, you needed to get on over. Here in the US, that would be considered telling some self absorbed prick that you needed to get by, resulting in contrarian behavior.

 

[Moon Man]

I have only driven DFW extensively, but I never found it worse than any other state. I actually found it much better than Michigan. If you want courteous drivers move to MN, they all drive the speed limit in the right lane.

When i moved to Michigan from MN i found heaven. 70 MPH through the whole state, and you can look a cop in the eye doing 85 indicated and wave. I have never gotten a ticket here for anything under 95 on the freeway and 83 on the 55MPH highway.

 

[Bounce]

there are no drivers in the developed world that are more terrible than those of Georgia. The closer you get to Atlanta, the less capable the cage pilots.

the i285 motor speedway on a bike was "interesting".

the wall lane at 95 mph with people 6" off each others bumpers