I have a reputation of being somewhat critical. For example, I often see people on the highway who I think are driving like idiots. In response, I mutter to myself, call them names under my breath, and point them out to my kids as an example of how NOT to drive.
But today I was exposed to someone who is a genuine public danger: I was on I-5 northbound at around 1:00 pm, when I saw a car swerve into view in my rear view mirror, appearing there as if by magic. They quickly moved up to within 2-3 feet of my rear bumper. Mind you, this was at highway speeds.
I slowed down a bit to encourage them to stop tailgating, and after a few moments they abruptly swerved back into the left lane, where they again sat right on the bumper of the car in front of them.
Over the next minute or so, this driver abruptly changed lanes several times trying to move up through heavy traffic. These were violent lane changes that caused the car to heel over to one side, then rock back and forth on its suspension. The driver would always zoom up to within a couple of feet of the car ahead of them, and then they would dart through the next opening that was just barely big enough for their car to fit through. And this all happened at between 55-65 mph. I watched slack-jawed, absolutely convinced that I was going to see a fiery wreck happen right in front of me, but in a few minutes they had swerved through enough pockets in the traffic to zigzag their way up and out of sight.
Like I said, I often see bad drivers. But I rarely see drivers that I know should be off the road because of the danger they represent. For your own sakes, keep your eyes peeled for a dark red Isuzu SUV, Nevada license no. 363 UTP.
And in all seriousness, if you know this car and/or driver, you need to stage some kind of an intervention. Take away their keys, flatten their tires, or something. If they continue to drive the way they were driving today, they WILL kill themselves, or worse, someone else. It’s only a matter of time.
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Did you consider giving this info to the police? They may actually try to contact the person to let them know that there was a complaint, which could actually scare them a little. I know Portland is a small town and everything but I’m not sure if the blog post is the most effective way to try to change this guy’s behavior.
Actually, I did call the Portland Police non-emergency line, and was told that unless I could call *when it was happening*, and an officer could observe the situation, there was nothing they could do. They didn’t even want the vehicle ID.
But really, I didn’t post this as a substitute for involving the police. I know it’s a long shot, but I honestly hoped that someone would recognize the vehicle and apply some personal pressure to the driver. Maybe the driver would recognize themselves, and reevaluate the way they drive. I know that’s a slim and forlorn hope, but it’s better than doing nothing.
I will never, ever understand the mentality of people who tailgate and it seems to be an ever-increasing practice. I make the trip between Portland and Salem on a fairly regular basis and I’ve taken to driving in the slow lane to avoid the road-ragers as best I can. They scare the hell out of me. My dad likes to point out that we share the road with drug addicts, wife/child beaters, and various other lunatics and it’s a good idea to keep calm because you never know who is at the wheel of the other car.
Over this summer we took a 16-day road-trip through Oregon, Nevada, and California. I had a little travel anxiety because of the dangerous driving I witness on I-5. I was really surprised to find the scariest drivers were the ones we encountered with a 100-mile radius of Portland.
But I’ve long suspected that Portland – which is oh-so-nice & PC on the surface – it a hot-bed of passive-aggression.
I’m not entirely sure what the heck is going on with Portland drivers lately, as I have a tendency to let TriMet take me everywhere (yay living close-in!) Saturday, though, I took my vehicle for a spin through a couple parts of town, and had two incidents. The first was in a parking lot where I accidentally started turning the wrong way down an aisle, which I quickly rectified, but the woman driving the white pick-up coming the right way down the aisle decided I needed to be cussed out.
Then, on 39th heading towards Sandy, I needed to get over to the right lane and a little blue car was following my blind spot closely. I used my blinker and slid over, and got honked at for my trouble. The little blue car moved to the left lane, sped up, then swerved as if this was Fast and the Furious and he was going to broadside my car into the overpass wall. I naturally slammed on the brakes and the horn, and he gunned his car and blasted through two yellow lights.
I should have let the idiot hit me, I’m planning on becoming one of those damnhippie carfree people this year and I could use the insurance money to buy a new bike.
I would have got out the cell phone and called 911 on that dude. The driver is clearly a danger and possibly drunk. I suppose now, to be legal, I would have had to pull over to the side, but that’s OK. Give the cops a license plate and car description and they should nail the dude in minutes.
When you see a crazy driver in action, call 911. If they can catch them in the act they can get them off the road; otherwise, they’ll keep going till they kill someone. (hopefully just themselves, but ya can’t count on that.)
…but that presumes that you have a safe (read: hands-free) way of calling 911 almost immediately, of course.
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