Why do people do this while driving? (Somewhat near accident last night)

[chrisa]

I was driving on the highway last night, and it was a dark night. I could see decently well, but I was going 50 mph (the speed limit). There was nobody else on the road, except for this pickup truck in back of me. I was in the right "slow" lane, and he was in the middle lane (there were 3 lanes).

He had the right of way, but he was way in back of me (I could only see his headlights in the distance in my rear view mirror), and I was merging in a little bit. Suddenly, he hits the gas and goes 80 - 90 mph to catch up to me (he was way back there, so he must have been flying), and cuts me off right as I'm merging, causing me to need to hit the brake and slow down to almost stopping. I was like "wtf?" I'm not a mad driver or anything, and I didn't even honk my horn, but I practically smashed into the side of him because of this. He could have just went into the left lane to pass me out. It seems like many drivers have zero common sense.

The funny part is, he slowed back down again to 60 mph or so when he got ahead of me. lol. Is it a power thing? Why are people willing to practically get in an accident just to do dumb stuff like that which doesn't make any sense? :(

[raccoon]

1. Two possibilities occur to me: (1) Driver is just an a-hole,

(2) they are trying to cause an accident so they can sue somebody.

[Monique1]

2. I find this a common occurance

[raccoon]

3. In my state, if you rear-end somebody, you are at fault, period. If that is the case

where you were when this happened, he might have been trying to cause an accident.

Then again, it might be just a dumbass power thing--trying to force somebody else to slow way down to avoid hitting them. Hopefully someday a-holes like this will learn better--the hard way.

[chrisa]

4. Haha. Luckily, I was just going 50 mph.

I was able to stop in time. I think it was just an idiot in a pickup truck, looking to act "macho" on the road. Pretty sad.

[MiddleFingerMom]

5. I used to run into that alla time...

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...ALWAYS male drivers. I think it was a territorial thing.
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MINE!!! MINE!!! MINE!!! MINE!!! MINE!!! MINE!!!
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Once, after I had merged in FRONT of one of these guys (who
EASILY could have just switched to the passing land -- it was
just me and him), I saw him in my rearview mirror gesturing
ANGRILY with his hand towards the ground in between us and
I could almost HEAR the "MINE's" that he was shouting in a rage.
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I gave him a little fluttering finger wave (I found that SO
much more effective against assholes than flipping them off).
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[hedgehog]

6. I see it all the time - blinker on, plenty of space in the lane,

I pull out to pass the guy in front of me and all of a sudden all I see out the back is someone's bumper. Then, as soon as i get back into the right lane, the jerk pulls in front of me and slows down.

Variation: Drive down the road at 65, see someone ahead doing 55. Pull over to the left, pass, pull back into the lane well ahead of other car. 2 Minutes later, same car blows my doors in passing me, pulls in front of me, then drops back to 55.

[petronius]

7. Was your lane ending, or did you just want to be in the middle?

I think there's two possible reasons:

1) some people just hate to be passed or be behind (ever notice how when you pull around someone they speed up - probably unconsciously - until you're a car-length or so ahead, then they slow back down?)

2) on a dark road it's easy to go fast when someone is out ahead showing the way. I frequently have people fly up behind me at night and pass, only to slow down to the speed I was originally going once they have to navigate the darkness unaided.

Or of course, he was probably just a prick...

[raccoon]

12. I think people who just hate to be passed are in great need of therapy.

I worked for a lunatic who "couldn't stand for anybody to pass her on the road." Trust me, you don't want to work for such a person.

[petronius]

13. I agree that some (a lot of) people have a serious problem, and hating

to be passed is just a symptom. But I also suspect that it's a subconscious reaction for a lot of otherwise normal people and they may not even know they're doing it. I can often predict, when passing someone, the moment when they're going to ease off and drop back. It's weird...

(None of this obviates your point about therapy, of course, in all cases. :) )

[TreasonousBastard]

8. I supect just assholishness. Once, on the Garden Stare Parkway...

I was in the left lane, doing around the limit, because there was a left exit up ahead. Absolutely no other traffic except one guy behind me who kept flashing his lights.

So, I slowed down. Now he's flashing his lights hysterically and blowing the horn. Why he didn't just pass me on the right, I have no idea.

So, I slowed down some more, imagining the stroke he was having.

I finally got off, and he was so obsessed he followed me on to Rte 17, flashing and honking. Last I saw, he was backing up to get back on the Parkway.

[Curmudgeoness]

9. LOL, that would have made my day! Idiots. nt

[david13]

10. Stupidity, obnoxiousness, it's all very common american or perhaps

human situation.
No courtesy. They can never show any courtesy on the road, you know, allow someone to pull out, yield the right of way to someone.
We, what rides motorcycles know, that whenever one of them in a car gets beside the motorcycle? They think it's a race. And they have to try to speed up to cut in front of the motorcycle. Do you think any of them ever win? No.
dc

[One_Life_To_Give]

11. Mass Driver?

In Boston, blinkers are the mark of amateurs. They will speed up just to keep themselves in front of you.