vRS - road rage magnet?

[fiisch]

I must admit, I've had a few angry gestures when I've been testing the car's top speed.  It must be jealousy....

[JoseDB]

Not had any issues with the vRS, which considering its bright green is a little surprising. But then I don't drive it too often, and when I do its a sedate cruise on some long journey so not doing anything which might provoke a reaction.

The S1 however is another story! No end of wallys trying to play or having clear jealousy issues. Had one guy this week in a 10 year old Megane buzz up behind and then tailgate me as I overtook a couple of cars on a dual carriageway, a heavy brake test and he nearly spun his car reacting to it (I have to admit I laughed as it served him right for trying to intimidate me), then he decided to tailgate more despite me pulling to the left lane for him to pass once I completed my overtake (because you know, I understand how multi lane roads work, unlike many!), 150mph later and he was history (I thought a spurt to 100 would do it but he was a persistent bugger!). I really wasn't comfortable with him buzzing around so close and so hence the excessive speed - I wouldn't normally do that, but it was a straight, wide open dual carriageway in good conditions and with no other vehicles ahead in sight so...

And it seems that when you overtake on single carriageway then because you are driving a loud shouty hot hatch it means you get flashed by the overtake-ee, even on a dead straight road with nothing coming and they were doing 40 in a 60, and you weren't tailgating and you indicated to pass. Just the sight of the type of car makes people react, I can only presume that's what many vRS owners are experiencing according to this thread.

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[Richf]

Brake testing and doing 150mph on a public road is nothing short of moronic

[JoseDB]

And the guy piling up to 4 feet from my bumper wasn't? I wasn't willing to allow him to continue to sit there and endanger myself. I should point out that I dropped to forth and then left foot braked (something I am used to doing from track days) with my right foot on the throttle, so I immediately sprung forward again, there was no chance he was going to hit me based on my manoeuvre.

And the fact he was then happy to detour from his original speed to continue to harass me making me fear for my personal safety (meaning I didn't want to slow down, as he likely wanted to make me stop so he could have a go about the brake test) was why I chose speed to lose him.

In the situation it was no less dangerous than doing it on a German autobahn, it's not like I was overtaking other cars with a closing speed differential of 80mph, not to mention it was a blast up to that speed and then coast back down to sensible figures (I did have cruise set to 75 before he turned up, but continued at 80 odd once I'd got a few hundred yards between us), I'd never do that kind of speed on the public road without the reason I mentioned or if there were other vehicles ahead.

I also only did it as I knew the road layout ahead, in a mile or two there was a roundabout which would allow me to pick any exit and he would not see which due to a kink in the approach to it, and so ensuring he could not follow.

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[StevesTruck]

When we were deliverring fast stuff and had someone trying to egg us on we used to go with "point and laugh", let them think they were actually "beating" you as they overtake and start clapping and cheering "go on lad" out of the window.

 

They never got it, but their streak of pee/20 stone (never anything in between) girlfriend normally found it funny.

Edited 20 February, 2015 by StevesTruck

[skovirg]

Had one guy this week in a 10 year old Megane buzz up behind and then tailgate me as I overtook a couple of cars on a dual carriageway, a heavy brake test and he nearly spun his car reacting to it (I have to admit I laughed as it served him right for trying to intimidate me)...

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You seem so proud of your behaviour that congratulations must be in order.  I wonder if the meagane driver had a family? Maybe a couple of kids?  Perhaps if he had spun his car as a result of your idiotic braking actions and speed you would have found out when you were in court charged with causing death by dangerous driving.  Perhaps then you wouldn't find it so funny that you laugh.  Then again, who cares about the driver of a 10 year old megane eh? Clearly not you. 

 

I'm sure that like many people, you think that you're the best driver on the planet, have the best car and the quickest reactions but as someone who has seen many fatal accidents caused by utter madness such as this, tried in vain to save wasted lives and seen first hand the devastation it causes to families in the short and long term, this post makes me sick.  

[Yogi-Bear]

And the guy piling up to 4 feet from my bumper wasn't? I wasn't willing to allow him to continue to sit there and endanger myself.

 

I don't think anyone is saying his behaviour was reasonable, but the sensible thing for you to do would have been to slowly take your foot off the gas and slow your speed, letting him pass.  If he doesn't want to pass, then pull over and stop, or come off at the next junction to do so.  If he still tailgates you and won't go away, then phone the police and let them deal with it.

 

There is absolutely nothing you can say to justify driving at 150mph on a public road.  And if you think otherwise, you really need to take a very hard look at yourself.

 

Edit:  Oh, sorry, you couldn't call the police because you'd already been moronic by slamming your brakes on in front of him.  Guess that was your first mistake...

[Richf]

Both brake testing and doing 150mph can result in jail time as well as being totally moronic

[V6Jules]

The key to aggressive drivers is almost always slow down and let them pass and get on with it. Why stoop to their level by driving dangerously?

[Geek42]

To be fair there is some low level subconscious element of this everywhere. I find that if I set the cruise control on the motorway (in my non-vRS, standard family car) there are numerous incidents of people changing their speed apparently to frustrate me, but it's when they're quite close to my speed in the first place. If the road's quiet and I'm not holding anybody up I'll quite happily pass somebody with my cruise set only a tiny bit faster than they're going, but this almost always leads to them matching my speed when I get alongside. I'm quite sure that they don't even know that they're doing it. If I boot it (or even accelerate gently) to get by they'll slow down again as soon as I'm clear. I sometimes get annoyed about it, but I know that they (or at least most of them) don't mean it, so I don't flash them or hoot, or try to make a point in any way.

 

I think that to amplify this to the level that is being described on this thread requires a lack of common sense and respect for other road users on the part of both drivers though. If you suffer from that many road rage incidents then there is undoubtedly a requirement to take a long hard look in the mirror. There is no appropriate use for the word "win" in any sense here, especially if you claim to be the one not doing the racing.

[pipsyp]

I think we need to lighten up guys.....

Lets face it I would put money on it that most of us regularly break the national speed limit but then are happy to adopt this "holier than thou" attitude on a face-less forum.

I will agree 150mph is perhaps a little excessive (sorry Jose, that post wasnt going to return you with any praise I guess) but come on.....this isnt a place for lectures.

We all encounter road rage now and again. Sometimes we let it fly, otherwise we perhaps get too involved/over-commit...which 9 times out of 10 you look back on and regret immediately...sometimes perhaps we start it. In the high stress world we live in, where out road infrastructure is about as chaotic as its ever been and with so many varying levels of driving skill (and in some cases lack of) we're sadly never going to see the back of it....until the day the car as we know it has died a death and we just get into some 4 wheeled recepticle (maybe no wheels at all!) And it just takes us where we want to go with no intervention or drama. They'll be sad days but they'll be coming.

[JoseDB]

To answer the question about if I care about the Megane driver, the answer is a resounding NO! If he spun out and killed himself it serves him right for acting like a **** in the first place - if he has a family/kids maybe he should have thought about them before driving that way! I realise this is a very cold and insensitive view, but I have absolutely zero time for people that feel the need to harass other drivers on the road when they have done nothing wrong.

And yes, you can all respond saying what a **** I am for having this attitude, it doesn't bother me, it's really simple in my world, either drive courteously or fall into the 'I really don't care about you' category.

 

I think I also made it clear that I wasn't keen on the slow down/stop approach as this guy was clearly wanting me to do that (plus I wasn't willing to slow down in front of the cars I had JUST overtaken as then you get into the situation Geek42 mentions of people driving in circles around each other), I agree than I antagonised him with the brake test, but if he didn't realise that was a warning he was driving like a prat in the first place then that's not really my problem. And as for pulling off - I did at the next roundabout, I just made a gap so he couldn't follow me.

 

I don't think I'm God's gift as a driver there are MANY more qualified than I, but I am a significantly more capable driver than 95% of people on the road, particularly at speed/limits of handling as I have a lot of experience on tracks (which is normally the only place I advocate serious speed!). I'm not proud of the events that played out, just recounting the facts and the reasoning behind them. There are many other occasions where plonkers have done stupid stuff around me, and I've just pulled over and they have gone on their merry way, the point is this guy took some serious umbrage and wanted to have a fight about it, which I wasn't interested in so took the easiest course of action available to me at the time (and again, it was 1 burst of acceleration up to about 150, it wasn't like I drove for the next 10 miles like a loon at this speed, it was a 10 second event to make sure I lost the guy!).

[skovirg]

Jose, I think that you need help. Your arrogance knows no bounds.

 

I'm not sure why you think that you're a "significantly more capable driver than 95% of people on the road" as your car keys and your brain seem to be in different places.  V6jules is bang on. 

 

Still, the way you drive is no concern of mine unless it affects me directly and thankfully we are a long way apart - geographically and morally so I'll bid you a good day and happy motoring. 

[Richf]

If you think brake testing another driver on the road is a reasonable way to act you have clearly identified a training need in your own driving, the fact that you think its ok or that you feel another drivers actions somehow give you the right to drive like that is worse.

 

You may not care about the other guy , but you think its ok if he killed himself crashing due to your actions , give me strength !! 

 

If he had crashed you could be had up for causing death by reckless driving , yes it would be your fault

 

If you really react in such a manner to another driver challenging your manhood , you must have a real sense of inadequacy

[JoseDB]

I'll just point out that I'm within my rights to brake as hard as I want, and if the guy behind is so close he hits me/loses control avoiding me then it's only going to be his fault. I only have to say the car I was overtaking wandered towards my lane or something was in the carriageway ahead of me so I was taking avoiding/braking action

 

As I said, I knew you would all enjoy taking my response apart - please do continue

[V6Jules]

I'm pretty sure brake checking is illegal? Not sure how hard it would be to prove but if the police saw you do it I would guess they would pull you for dangerous driving? I'm no expert though.

We all loose our rag sometimes and might join in with a bit of rage as no one is perfect but really we know we shouldn't

[TomLux]

We all loose our rag sometimes and might join in with a bit of rage as no one is perfect but really we know we shouldn't

 

+1.

I challenge anyone to look back at encounters of road rage (not having initiated the situation) and say that they would act exactly the same way again with hindsight. I have had my share of road rage encounters and I like to believe that most of the times I reacted reasonably and defused the situation. But I know that at times I have been carried away and probably aggravated it (with no consequences I have to say). We are after all just human and sometimes just being the bigger man and swallowing your pride doesn't always work.

[Geek42]

It's true that I'm no angel, my wife has suggested I should get a BMW because I drive like a BMW driver, but all things are relative. In over 20 years of driving I have been involved in one way or another in a road rage incident on just 2 or 3 occasions, and all of them quite minor. When it was my fault (more accidentally than out of malice) I've felt bad enough about it to try an apologetic wave straight away. On one occasion when it wasn't my fault I continued to drive in a passive manner, but flipped the guy the bird, which caused him to double up on his rage and I have never done it again since!

 

I'm not trying to be holier than thou (although I'm aware that I can come across this way in real life as well as on a message board!), but there are posts on here that make it sound like jumping in a vRS turns road rage into a regular occurrence with no apparent fault on the drivers part. It's the frequency coupled with total innocence that I don't buy. 

[Richf]

Brake testing gone wrong (Warning NSFW language)

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYDbQYacPjI

 

 

More http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/11323006.Driver_sought_by_motorway_police_after_crash_leaves_Bradford_woman/

Edited 20 February, 2015 by Richf

[Matty70]

Saw this footage on the telly the other night, former soldier delivering medical supplies poor bloke was in a right state after this "incident".

The family and me are returning to Blighty in the summer camera's to be installed before we arrive I think that programme "crash for cash" bought home the joys of driving in the UK not !!!.

In all the years I have been in Germany 14, I have never seen or been involved in any road rage, all I have had is a very scarey moment when tootling down the autobahn with an Audi A6 up my trumpet I was only going along at 130 mph, an old boy in an old and battered Twingo pulled out into "my" lane (he was no more than two car lenghts in front by this time no signal either) I hit the brakes swearing waiting for the impact audi man veered off into the hard shoulder breaking As he went, no impact result,the Berb was fish tailing like mad( is that the right description) as the speed dropped from 130 to 60, old boy pulled back in with a apologetic hand up, I gave him a wave back just to say no worry's. I could of gone mental at him but didn't no point. Big inhale and carried on with my journey. A few miles later Audi man passed me gave me a smile and a thumbs up.

As I will be VRS-less, I should have nothing to worry about when back yeah right.

Happy motoring Briskies.

[krisby]

I am a firm believer in getting up to speed quickly, whilst I am an advocate of flooring it, I don't expect everyone to but do appreciate those that can do 0-40mph in less than 1/2 a mile. I also appreciate those that indicate properly and in busy traffic don't lane hop every five seconds. Overall though, its just slow driving that really ****es me off, I know the speed limit is not a target, but it is my right to drive at it, not have it dictated to by some slow driving old weiner.

 

However, on the subject of some cars drawing more attention, I tend to agree in part, though I think there are a massive mix of people who are holier than thou or just psycho. I tend to notice that Audi A3s are particularly bad at sitting in the overtaking lane and not overtaking, whilst also leaving a massive gap to the car in front. Despite my last 3 cars being a Merc C320 petrol, Mondeo ST220 and BMW528i, I've not had people trying to race me, though I wish they would, as it is preferential to people that dither and think they are saving fuel by taking 2 minutes to reach 30mph. If everyone was more considerate for the people behind them we would all get where we are going quick and safer, as well as more people getting through when the lights change, but these nimrods fail to notice that because they took 5 seconds to get in gear, then pulled away slower than a clown on a bike, that only 2 cars get through and the 3rd guy takes the risk of going through the red light.

 

I was heading to golf one recent Saturday morning, on the M3 heading south, was raining (didn't bode well for golf), I approached a train of cars in the middle lane, they were doing 65ish, I went past at 75ish. The Audi A4 Avant that had been at the back of the train seemed to then wake up and pulled into the over taking lane behind me, I then pulled into the middle lane after passing the cars, he did not, though was not gaining on me either, so when I approached the next train of cars I indicated and pulled back out again, he then seemed to come up close-ish behind me, closer than I preferred in the rain, so again after overtaking I pulled back in again, he still didn't, then as I approached the next group of cars, he was at that awkward position, just off rear bumper a couple of car lengths back, not safe to pull out, so I didn't, I didn't even indicate, I just waited for him to slowly go past, which he then seemed to do a 65mph again. So I pulled out behind him, waiting for him to clear the cars, by now it dawned on me he was just being a massive *****, for no reason, he finally pulled in, no indicator, so I flawed it some 100yds in front pulled into the middle lane in front of him, he then flashed me several times and then kept his high beam on for 10 or so seconds. My blood boiled, more through frustration, as I wanted to ask this a$$hole what I had done wrong and try to understand what was going through his head to suddenly start driving like a dangerous *****, whilst ignoring the Highway Code in the process.

 

Sorry, Noob vent over.

[decuk]

Haven't read all of this topic, but the bit I have, I agree with Jose GB on the quick braking thing. Was easier with my manual car before though. Footbon throttle. Dab brake. Works every time

[octavianestate]

Next time you boot it to 150mph i hope the county police helicopter comes out to play and you are caught.

Look forward to seeing you on police camera action. Don't be proud, you should be ashamed by rising to it. From someone who admits they do regular track day events you should know better. Keep to the track and off the roads. There no place for you acting like that.

[V6Jules]

I really dont understand why you would want someone to crash into the back of you or just crash though, just to prove a point? How does this help anyone other than risking injury and increased insurance premiums on both parties

[JoseDB]

Yea, they always get the chopper out for people that spend 10 seconds breaking the speed limit! I think they reserve that for people on the run from the police (which I have no intention of doing - blues and twos and I pull over). Bit of a silly statement really.

There was never any chance of them hitting the back of me, I wouldn't do it in a way that could risk that. And yes, to prove a point to the guy that he doesn't own the road and to have some respect for people who were just minding their own business.

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