Street driving ettiquette. Am I a Bully?

[BillyGman]

I have a question for you guys. It's really one about sportsmanship, but also about social standards while behind the wheel.......

Now I know by asking everyone this, I'll be opening myself up to comments about safety, and the possibility of causing a traffic accident, so let me first address that issue before I even pose the question that I intend to ask.

Let's face it, very few of us (if any) have purchased a Marauder to drive mellow. I think there are very few people who will deny that, and of those who might try to, the first thing I'd ask them is: Why did you buy a Marauder then if you intend to drive it slow all the time? Why not a standard Crown Vic w/out the performance package? If you never drive fast or break the speed limit atleast once in awhile, then why wouldn't 220-230 gross HP have been enough for you? Why did you need to spend another 5K to have 300HP? Did you actually pass up the standard Crown Vic, or the Crown Vic w/the performance package to spend several thousand dollars more just for the mag wheels and the shiny tailpipes? I mean let's get real. Uh?

Okay, now having difused any potential criticizm about driving fast, which would be irrelavent to my intended question, I can now move on to ask away...........


I don't drive real crazy in moderate or heavy traffic. Yes, I drive fast sometimes, but I don't tailgate people, and I give my turn signals when I'm changing lanes, and when I'm turning. So even though I DO drive fast sometimes, I usually am curtious.

Here's the question......lastnight I'm driving on a main road that I know by heart, and one that is two lanes in each direction. It isn't a highway, but it's close to it since it IS a main route, that hasn't any parking on it, and does have break down lanes on each side.

It's well lit, and has traffic lights every halfmile, and in some places every quartermile(very tempting when traffic is very light). It goes through three sparsley populated towns (one of them is mine) and after 10:00 pm has very little traffic on any given night. It also has very wide and spacious lanes.

Let me also point out that I NEVER drink and drive at all, since I haven't even had a beer, nor a glass of wine in 22 years now(and I do NOT miss it). It's bad enough to drive after you've been drinking (which isn't even acceptable as far as I'm concerned) but it's just plain foolish to drive fast after you've been drinking. It's a much more lethal combination than driving fast while sober is.

So these two ricer boys (one in each of two cars) come flying by me. I see them coming and I was real tempted to hammer the gas pedal down, but I just mellowed out and let them pass since I was alreay doing 55 in a 45, and they were both doing about 75. So I knew right away before they even caught up to me that I would've had to bring it up to about 100 MPH to show them who's car is Boss. And doing 100MPH in a 45MPH zone is just plain insane, and it's where I draw the line.

Remember, this is NOT a highway I'm talking about. The speed limit is 45 MPH. It would be different if one of these ricers challenged me or even if I wanted to challenge them from a stand still at a traffic light, because that way by the time I took it up to 55 or 60MPH, I would've been a number of car lengths in front of them, and would've already proven that they cannot keep up w/my car as long as I didn't want them to.

So after they both go by me doing about 75MPH, they are both standing still at a traffic light about a mile up the road side by side, and reving their weed wacker sounding squirrel driven wheels under their hoods that they refer to as "engines", and w/black smoke coming out of their fart pipes. I pull up right behind one of them in the left lane. All three of us are waiting for the light to turn green, and then it does.......

They both take off, and I'm right on their bumpers and having to intermittenly let off the gas pedal to prevent my car from ramming into them and pushing them off the road. I kept on thinking to myself, "come on, why don't one of you move over so I can blow right by both of you?"

We then all had to stop for the next traffic light after getting up to about 60 MPH (in slow motion. It seemed like it took forever for their cars to get up to that speed, and they were in front of me). When the second light turns green, the same thing happened. So one of them finaly moved over and then I passed both of them, however they knew that they were no match for the Marauder, and they simply let me go by unchallenged.

I then tried to bate them by hitting my turn signal indicating that I was getting on the highway, and one of them followed me. I thought to myself "Great, now you're gonna see who's who, and what's what ricer boy." But even though I kept pretty close to the speed limit and even got into the passing lane, the guy wouldn't follow me, and he soon got off 2 exits ahead.

So what's the point of this entire story, you say? It's this......after I finally got off the highway, I thought to myself, "ya know Billy, those two guys knew eachother, and were just two friends having a little fun. They weren't running crazy in heavy traffic, nor on a congested street that has parked cars running along it, and an intersection every 200 feet. And they weren't passing people on the shoulder either. They were initially moving faster than I do on that street, but they weren't riding people's bumpers either.

They obviously knew eachother the way that they were talking back and forth and joking w/one another while their cars were side by side at those two traffic lights w/their windows rolled down. Their actions had nothing to do w/me. But here I come Mr. Big Bad Marauder driver, and I had to prove something to them. Right? BIG DEAL!!!

I must admit, that when it was all over, I thought, "Bill, why did you have to Bully those guys? They weren't tailgating you, nor did they challenge you. And neither one of them were even on side of you at a traffic light." So I think that I kinda learned something from that. It didn't show a whole lot of class on my part I must admit. Just cuz you can fly right by someone doesn't always mean that you should. I must admit that what I did was a bit tasteless. I'm sure that those guys didn't say, "Gee, that Marauder is really fast!". They probably said, "Who is this jerk behind us, and why doesn't he just go somewhere else and leave us alone?"

And I couldn't blame them if they did.

Is there atleast a few people here who can relate to what I've said. Just because we "CAN", doesn't always mean that we "SHOULD". There should be some lines that are drawn no matter how fast your car is. Otherwise, you do NOT own your car, it owns YOU!!!

I like driving fast some times, as well as racing my car at the dragstrip, and even occasionaly at a traffic light while alongside someone else when it's a wide open street that's uncongested, and doesn't have heavy traffic, nor hidden driveways, nor a whole lot of parked cars along side it. But that doesn't have to mean that the faster that I get my Marauder to move, the more obnoctious I will become.


...I didn't mean to make this post so long, and I just realized that I probably should've placed it in the Story forum, but I hope that this helps someone else see what I've realized through this little experience. Can anyone relate to, and even agree with what I've written???? Because if there isn't anyone who can, then quite frankly, I don't even want to be a part of this board anymore. But because there are so many great people on here, my guess is that there are a number of you who can relate and agree w/me on this.

[stevengerard]

I see where you are coming from, I hardly ever race anymore - just too dangerous, not for me but for the child running across the street or the other driver who hesitates or does something stupid. Since I have only had the Maurader 4 hours I can say I have already had to be patient, a few people trying to bait me at a light, can't do it, not with an engine that hasdn't been broken in. I get that all the time with my 442, in the end I just leave folks wondering about how fast it really is. Except last summer when I blew the doors off the guy in a new Lexus sports car on a highway in Michigan.

[BillyGman]

I think it's all good sometimes Steve. But, it just doesn't have to be where ever, and whenever. because if it is, there's something wrong, and you are out of control. And that's the way that I felt after thinking about this incident. "Out of control". We should be able to turn it on and off, when we believe it should or shouldn't be. It shouldn't be a kind of thing where, if you CAN do it, then you always will.

We should be able to tell ourselves "NO, NOT this time" atleast once in awhile. Because if we cannot, then we're acting like kids.

Do I luv doing a hairy burnout? Absolutely!!! Do I luv taking it up to 100 MPH? YES!!! But not anywhere, and any time that I can. The situation has to be as controlled as it possibly can on the street. There's always a risk factor on the street, but only the lesser risks should be taken, and it shouldn't be a constant thing every time we get behind the wheel.

And this whole thing that I'm bringing up isn't only about safety either. Like I said, if those ricers were challenging me, then maybe that would be different since there was hardly any traffic, and it was on a highly visible, and straight road. But they were minding their own business. They passed me because they were following eachother. They weren't challenging me at all.

So I should've minded my own biz, and let them mind theirs, instead of thinking tht I shouls jump in their between them, and show the ricers what "a real car can do"........

[rookie1]

No bullying went on that I could see from your story. Most car guys even ricer owners have an appreciation for power. The only thing we MM owners have to worry about is other drivers thinking we're the cops, that's a sickening feeling in those first moments when you think you've been nabbed.

I am curious as to why you felt the need to pre-defend your driving habits and your enjoyment of exceeding the legal limit. I didn't want a slow car or I would have bought one and I haven't noticed alot of politically correctness on this forum (in my short time here so far) regarding that subject.

[BillyGman]

There are a few I've noticed who like to give lectures. One of whom I think might not even own a Marauder himself. So I was trying to prevent this thread from going in an off-topic direction that I don't care for it to go. That's all. Also, there are a couple very young and inexperienced drivers on this board, who are great guys (both of them are teenagers) and I wanted to make it clear that as much as I luv driving fast, and taking the power of my car to the limit, I don't use all of it's power anywhere, nor every day for that matter.

I DO appreciate your response, however I must admit that I'm not in total agreement w/you on this one. I keep thinking how if that was me and a fellow Marauder owner who I knew from this board, and some guy in another car started riding our back bumpers just to get our attention, and to show us that his car can dust us both, I would've probably thought the guy was a seriously egotistical moron since neither one of us challenged him at all, but were merely challenging eachother. Especially if the guy had a totally different car than we do, that wasn't even a RWD V8, and wouldn't even have been appreciated nor admird by either one of us Marauder owners.

I think that you just have to reverse the situation and put yourself in their shoes. That's what I'm doing. The next time any ricer boy challenges me at a traffic light, I'll show him what a V8 engine can do, and I'll have fun doing that, but this was different. Nobody was challenging me at all, and I just had to try and jump in there between the two.

I just didn't feel too mature doing that.

[Haggis]

BULLY!!

Then again.

[TAF]

This morning...I was saying my prayers....and as I have done EVERY morning for the last 6 months, Billy....I included this request...."Dear God, please also look after BillyGman. He's a REALLY good guy, sends me great PMs...and if there is any way in your Plan to provide him with a new Ford GT..." Then out of nowhere, on a warm spring morning, as the sun was coming up....a LOUD CRASH of thunder...BOOM!!!! And you know what God told me Billy? He had a Ford GT in his plan....until you did this^^^to those ricer-boys. He said "I could NEVER trust Billy with 550 HP".

Uh...so....sorry, Billy.

[BillyGman]

Okay, so i guess this entire thread is shot now.......thanks a lot Todd. Now i want to get that GT even more now just to see you in your Marauder to blow right by you!!!!!!!!

[BillyGman]

Uh, anyway, I still hope that I was able to get through a deeper message to those of you who are a bit more cerebral than Todd.

[TooManyFords]

No post is ever simple with you, is it Billy...

I think you need to see a priest to absolve you of your guilt.

Personally, I limit my street racing to only those that intentionally call me out at a light and we look at each other and smile before it turns green. I don't want hard feelings when the other guy loses.

Cheers!

John

[merc406]

You have your ET slip, you shouldn't feel the need to race on the street, besides, the JapCrap isn't in the same league as the Marauder.

[BillyGman]

No post is ever simple with you, is it Billy...

I guess not John. It must just be me.


.......or it's because of guys like Todd!!!!!

[SouLRioT]

I myself usally dirve above the limit, never really challanged either, but on the point of if I were driving side-by-side with a friend, I'd really only do that if we were racing, or at the light, because i'd rather be lined up the side-by-side. I hate it when its a two lane hwy and two cars are side-by-side. I'd just let you drive by, and rookie1 has a good point that they prolly thought you were a unmarked leo too. Bully no, guy who scared the crap out of them, more than likely.

[BillyGman]

You have your ET slip, you shouldn't feel the need to race on the street, besides, the JapCrap isn't in the same league as the Marauder.

yep.....I guess that my thinking on this is somewhere in the middle of your comments and NotTooMany Ford's comments. I do like to race once inawhile on the street from 0-60 MPH, or from 55-100 on the highway as long as traffic is very sparse, and there's wide open asphalt.

But loike you've implied, these Japanese beer cans weren't even in my league, and the guys driving them were young enough to my sons, and probably work at McDonalds by the looks of their cars. And I still focus on the fact that neither one of them really were challenging me. They were just friends having a good time when I jumped in to pounce on them both.

I think that I just cheapened our image, and the Marauder image by doing that, and I'm glad that there wasn't a whole lot of other motorists around to see that. I mean, you should've seen how I was harrassing them during their little race w/one another. i was darting back and forth from the left ane to the right lane almost playing tag w/both of their back bumpers as they were trying to get away from me even though they couldn't.

I guess it all sounds kinda funny, and Todd I'm sure is getting a kick out of this, but I just felt really juvenille after it was over. It wouldn't happen again, I can tell you that.

[merc406]

Your alright, and honest too..