• Welcome to Autism Forums, a friendly forum to discuss Aspergers Syndrome, Autism, High Functioning Autism and related conditions.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Private Member only forums for more serious discussions that you may wish to not have guests or search engines access to.
    • Your very own blog. Write about anything you like on your own individual blog.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon! Please also check us out @ https://www.twitter.com/aspiescentral

I was cut off by another car, thus the horn...

Sherlock77

Sherlock77

Well-Known Member
V.I.P Member
Make that my small car vs. a massive Mercedes-Benz SUV (GLE as I recall)

The ignorant driver suddenly cut in front to make the same left turn I was lined up for, with no warning

I missed the left turn arrow, that wasn't the issue, it was cutting me off

Yes, I blared my horn, the driver deserved it, and two more times as I encountered the giant SUV further down the road

I would never follow the the other vehicle or threaten violence, but I think the horn was worth it, I have heard that I shouldn't sound the horn because you shouldn't provoke the other driver, as you don't know how they will react... But am I supposed to be just a pushover and do nothing when that happens? :angry:
 
I understand the use of the horn. If nothing else than to alert the other driver of his poor driving. that said, you are always risking a possible bad situation these days just calling attention to yourself. People are crazy out there.
 
Aspiecats said:
I understand the use of the horn. If nothing else than to alert the other driver of his poor driving. that said, you are always risking a possible bad situation these days just calling attention to yourself. People are crazy out there.
Click to expand...

I know... Calgary is a relatively safe city, just not sure what the line is, my honking a block later was probably uncalled for, but I was angry though
 
I always thought you weren’t supposed to use your horn except in cases where life and safety are at risk, because you’re devaluing it for real emergencies. Then again, unnecessary use adds noise and confusion in traffic. Great emotional release, but not a safe driving practice.
 
Definitely in LA, l never honked, and l never even looked who was driving the car. To many people minus a happy meal.
 
The Pandector said:
I always thought you weren’t supposed to use your horn except in cases where life and safety are at risk, because you’re devaluing it for real emergencies. Then again, unnecessary use adds noise and confusion in traffic. Great emotional release, but not a safe driving practice.
Click to expand...

You're probably right, there are times when I'm too reactive, I guess I want justice, not sure what the car horn has anything to do with that :rolleyes:
 
Probably best to reserve it for when it serves some purpose. To let a driver know you are there in situations they may not see you. A small toot when you are in line at light and when the light goes green the first car doesn't move (as if they didn't notice the change).

But just to express anger I would avoid.
 
Honking is also related to culture some cultures like honking in home country then bring it here when they immigrate, noticed in the last 40 years much more prevalent. police and fire truck do not use their sirens in the last 15 years. but horn us by private vehicles is increasing.
 
Yup, a few good points, I just get ticked off when something like that happens right in front of me, not sure what I'm supposed to do in that situation, being too passive seems like I'm doing nothing and/or being weak...
 
Last edited:
Sherlock77 said:
Make that my small car vs. a massive Mercedes-Benz SUV (GLE as I recall)

The ignorant driver suddenly cut in front to make the same left turn I was lined up for, with no warning

I missed the left turn arrow, that wasn't the issue, it was cutting me off

Yes, I blared my horn, the driver deserved it, and two more times as I encountered the giant SUV further down the road

I would never follow the the other vehicle or threaten violence, but I think the horn was worth it, I have heard that I shouldn't sound the horn because you shouldn't provoke the other driver, as you don't know how they will react... But am I supposed to be just a pushover and do nothing when that happens? :angry:
Click to expand...
If they didn't see you, honking the horn to tell them you exist is a good idea. Otherwise, it is meaningless. They might even enjoy confirmation they inconvenienced you. Accept that there are idiots out on the road and let it go. It isn't worth the agitation.
 
Bad drivers drive me up the wall. (No pun intended)

I get this a lot when I drive. Even when people blatantly disobey the rules and I have to take evasive action, they still get upset with me if I honk my horn or put out my hand in frustration.

But I have to be careful since there are a lot of aggressive people on our roads. Once they even followed me out of anger even though I did nothing wrong. I slowed them down because I had to stop since there was a massive hole in the road.
 
Last edited:
Feeling passive or weak is irrelevant and a bad way to view it. They didn't cut you off because they saw you as inferior or target you for domination and shame. It's really simple: if they cannot think far enough ahead to plan their turn then they didn't have the foresight to premeditate an attack on your dignity. Their driving had nothing to do with you, and any other vehicle would have gotten the same treatment.

People (like ND's) who pay attention to what they're doing and analyze social interactions tend to do everything deliberately and for a reason. Too often these attributes are projected onto others and deviousness is assumed. For example, if the situation was reversed and you cut them off it would have been a purposeful choice...except you wouldn't have done it at all because you know it's dangerous and rude. The other driver did not put any thought into it, instead it was an animalistic reaction to very few, crude datum.

In this specific situation there's a lot to be said about class differences and vigilante enforcement of status superiority (read: anyone in a Mercedes is allowed to drive like a twat). However, people who drive fancy vehicles are prone to irresponsibility anyhow (it's probably leased) and the GLE is one of those "cheap" Mercedes for posers who will do anything so people mistake them for successful. I hope it's clear there's a pattern of reckless behavior in the other driver that existed long before they crossed your path. Ergo, their action was not personal, just another thoughtless, desperate act in a life dedicated to such.

Your first honk was warranted, but the pursuit honks were not. Something to work on moving forward is how you appear to others. One honk is a reasonable objection to someone's bad behavior, multiple honks are desperate and crazy. Let most things go as your time and energy are better spent on literally anything else. Not to mention, if there were a face-to-face confrontation, the other person would not apologize, but double-down and even lie to save face. There's no winning no matter how right you are.

Don't get me wrong as I don't want to advocate for loose morals or tolerance for dangerous driving. However, there's nothing you can do to police others' actions and attitudes. Instead, your main focus should be on what you can do to preserve your safety, property, and psychological well being when you inevitably run into bad actors.
 
Road rage is full on in my state. People will follow you home and assault you. Best to ignore. And road rage assaults have increased overall.
 
Sherlock77 said:
But am I supposed to be just a pushover and do nothing when that happens? :angry:
Click to expand...

Yes, if you should stray south of your country's border. Otherwise throw those dice and see what happens.

The difference between living in "cowboy country" and winding up in "the wild west". ;)
 
Last edited:
Lysholm said:
Feeling passive or weak is irrelevant and a bad way to view it. They didn't cut you off because they saw you as inferior or target you for domination and shame. It's really simple: if they cannot think far enough ahead to plan their turn then they didn't have the foresight to premeditate an attack on your dignity. Their driving had nothing to do with you, and any other vehicle would have gotten the same treatment.

People (like ND's) who pay attention to what they're doing and analyze social interactions tend to do everything deliberately and for a reason. Too often these attributes are projected onto others and deviousness is assumed. For example, if the situation was reversed and you cut them off it would have been a purposeful choice...except you wouldn't have done it at all because you know it's dangerous and rude. The other driver did not put any thought into it, instead it was an animalistic reaction to very few, crude datum.

In this specific situation there's a lot to be said about class differences and vigilante enforcement of status superiority (read: anyone in a Mercedes is allowed to drive like a twat). However, people who drive fancy vehicles are prone to irresponsibility anyhow (it's probably leased) and the GLE is one of those "cheap" Mercedes for posers who will do anything so people mistake them for successful. I hope it's clear there's a pattern of reckless behavior in the other driver that existed long before they crossed your path. Ergo, their action was not personal, just another thoughtless, desperate act in a life dedicated to such.

Your first honk was warranted, but the pursuit honks were not. Something to work on moving forward is how you appear to others. One honk is a reasonable objection to someone's bad behavior, multiple honks are desperate and crazy. Let most things go as your time and energy are better spent on literally anything else. Not to mention, if there were a face-to-face confrontation, the other person would not apologize, but double-down and even lie to save face. There's no winning no matter how right you are.

Don't get me wrong as I don't want to advocate for loose morals or tolerance for dangerous driving. However, there's nothing you can do to police others' actions and attitudes. Instead, your main focus should be on what you can do to preserve your safety, property, and psychological well being when you inevitably run into bad actors.
Click to expand...

Yeah... Once again I was wrong, lesson learned... All good points
 
I can understand that. I sometimes did things like that too. I don't do it now though, I'm actually a little surprised about how calm I am now. If someone does something stupid in traffic, I just wait for them to finish and then I continue on my way. I experienced some chest pain a couple of times and it made me think I should calm down and not stress myself over things like stupid people in traffic.

And these days people seem to be much more angry than before. So you never know what kind of lunatic is driving the other car. Maybe he'll blow a fuse and just go nuts if someone honks or flips him a finger. It happens more often these days I think.
 
Last edited:
I was once driving when an expensive car with two well-dressed men cut me off. It appeared quite deliberate: "I know you are there but I'm going to cut unsafely in front of you and make you hit your brakes just because I want to get ahead." Traffic was heavy. They were doing this repeatedly to gain one car length at a time, which made their average speed 1 mph faster than the rest of us.

I muttered a curse under my breath and gave a quick toot on the horn because I had to hit the brakes hard. My passenger became outraged, feeling his masculinity had been challenged. As it happened, they ended up in the lane to my right again, and it slowed down. They lost what they'd tried to gain. Fine by me. Trying to get ahead like that in bumper-to-bumper traffic is futile.

My passenger pulled a gun out and brandished it at them. Boy, was I surprised! I thought I was going to die right there. If I didn't go down in a hail of bullets between our cars, I'd end up in front of a judge arguing that I had no idea he was going to do that.

In the end, nothing happened. I don't think the other car even noticed, and nobody called the police on us. I never took the fool anywhere, nor did I ever ride with him again. It was a decade before cell phones, so that might have been a factor.
 
I used to always be in a hurry and be tense driving. No longer. I am relaxed and gladly yield the ROW anyone who wants it. I'll go out of my way to avoid busiest times and routes.
 
WhitewaterWoman said:
I used to always be in a hurry and be tense driving. No longer. I am relaxed and gladly yield the ROW anyone who wants it. I'll go out of my way to avoid busiest times and routes.
Click to expand...
I was relaxed until that happened

Right now my work commute passes through downtown, because it's the only way to get home, I will also look for the least congested routes as much as possible...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New Threads

Top Bottom