Is this just a PHEV thing? Random road rage

[Nick72]

Had a lot of cars over the many decades but other than the bright red and black Merc AMG my PHEV seems to attract nutters.

Driving down the M6 this week and it's 3 lanes with a 50mph speed limit and average speed cameras. I'm in the second lane overtaking what is a nearly full left hand / near side lane. I'm doing 50 or 51mph real and the lane on the left are doing 44 it 45mph. So I'm overtaking. There's a car in front and adaptive cruise is on. Some Peugeot nutter is a car length behind me flashing his lights at me. The outer lane is empty by the way and I'm overtaking a largely full inner lane maintaining pace with the car in front. I'm not sure what this idiot wants me to do TBH. Then he darts out to the outer lane and cuts right across me in front probably a few feet off the front of car trigger the bright red brake thing on the HUD. Violent aggressive manoeuvre. He is shaking his fist and making other hand gestures pointing at me then pointing to the inner lane as if to say get into the inside lane. W T F. I'm overtaking and I'm at the speed limit and I'm behind a car in front maintaining stopping distance via the adaptive cruise. There's a whole empty outer lane to over take available. He's particularly angry. Then he pulls into a gap in the inner lane and since this is now doing about 40 to 44mph I naturally pass him in the middle lane. This makes him more angry and more gestures follow and which is returned by suitable hand signals and a laugh. Is it just me or can some people just not drive and are too dangerous to be behind the wheel. Plus he doesn't know me or what I could do to him fairly quickly in a self defence situation. I like to think I'm a careful driver and courteous BTW. No accidents that have been my fault and only a couple that weren't and not in any way. I've been driving for nearly 4 decades and driven things up 50 tonnes. Even flown a few things. 

This is not unique and seems to have occurred more with the PHEV than other cars. I've also noticed a pattern with the idiots and what they drive.

1. Pukegos (Peugeot) drivers

2. Land Rover & Range Rover drivers

3. Nissan SUV drivers (Quoshcow, eX Trail, Joke)

4. Hyundai SUV drivers

5. Audi drivers

Sometimes I wonder if this a "I bought the wrong car" envy or something else. What's wrong with these idiots?

Any similar patterns spotted?

Do RAVs make rage?

 

[Cyker]

TBH I don't think it matters what you drive, there's always some idiot like that.

I sometimes think my Yaris must be invisible to SUV drivers, the number of times I've had one just turn into me - Thank smeg for my London-driver psychic powers and the responsiveness of the Mk4, as it's often required me to brake sharply or dump some emergency beans in to avoid!

It's one of the reasons I tend to stay in the left lane, esp. as the outer lanes seem to attract all the crazies. That, and down here it's often the faster lane as all the crazies bunch up and grind to a halt in the outer lanes, but all the left lane drivers are holding a steady pace and good separation gap  

 

[ernieb]

I seem to get this experience almost every time I use the M1. The stretch I use frequently is full of 50mph and 60mph sections and sadly I see similar behaviour almost every trip. The one behaviour I really have a problem with is the 'I've got the right to the road" idiot who rampages down the outside lane only to decide at the very last minute that he should be on the slip road. No problem he just swings the steering wheel to the left and lets everyone else take the avoiding action required to avoid an accident. The good thing about these morones is that they do not seem to understand 'linked' cameras violently braking each time they see a camera and then accelerating again.

[Primus1]

It’s just poor driving standards everywhere, that’s why I think it’s important to have dash cams front and rear..

[Oscarmax]

There me thinking the speed limit is just form me, I just ignore these muppets or smile and wave to them. It all on the front and rear cameras.

[Flatcoat]

You want to experience road rage when towing a caravan. The number of drivers who clearly need eye tests given the bl88dy great white box behind the car that is apparently invisible to them. It is simply down to wider deterioration in societal behaviour, if they drive like to88ers they will behave the same in other aspects of their lives. Morons. 

[Mike2222]

Best guess for an explanation is like @ernieb mentions, this particular driver needed to turn off at the next exit and perceived a gap in the inside lane which happened to be in front/adjacent to you, but also perceived access to this gap to be his/her god-given right and your life/safety could be forfeited to access it.

 

[Mike2222]

I wouldn't say this behaviour is specific to the Rav4, but I have had a feeling that there has been an increase in truly lunatic motorway manoeuvres in the last 6-12months, albeit only by my own experience/observations. In previous years the road rage g!ts tended to be either fluorescent low slung M or RS cars, or massive hulking range rovers Brown nosing you at 74+mph in the outside lane to imply their purchasing power gives them a different set of speed limits.

 

However I have observed a significant uptick in wildly dangerous lane swerving and undertaking at speed in recent months, from vehicles of all types and 'sporting' quality. At least an M/RS car has a good chance of having strong brakes and suspension, capable of executing emergency manoeuvres when required, but watching a 2004 vauxhall zafira (usually spewing black exhaust) swerve 3 lanes at 80+mph around lorries and caravans (simply implying more blindspots, not a jab at caravans) on a busy motorway gives more anxiety for a colossal/unavoidable pile-up 😱! 

[Nick72]

Thanks all, that's reassuring whilst not being reassuring. It's not the RAV but just a deterioration in driving standards, increase in unnecessary risk raking, and a total loss of manners and considerate behaviours. 

And just a general increase in a88holes. 

I need to go back to what I was driving over 23 years ago. A 62 tonne main battle tank. That should sort it out. It would be pancake Tuesday on steroids. 

[Pannett]

I suggest that there are two possibilities which may provoke some irritation. Firstly, if you are using adaptive cruise control at a set speed, the RAV 4 may have an innaccurate speedometer, say 2 - 3 mph below the true speed. So you might be travelling at 47 - 48mph in a 50 limit. Many years ago, when I regularly travelled on motorways and the limit was, say 50mph in roadworks, I was occasionally tailgated by HGV's. It was only when I had my first TomTom showing the true speed that I realised that I was travelling at 48mph, so an HGV driver on a tight schedule might be annoyed at being 'held-up' Secondly, in order to hold a set speed, the rear brake lights may come on when the car uses regen to control the speed. I don't know whether your RAV4 or our Corolla self-charging hybrid does so, but our previous Octavia PHEV switched on the brake lights regularly when using regen, which I only noticed when doing a night drive and saw the red reflections from the signage in the rear mirror. I only had one bad incident, when a young driver overtook me, then slowed up suddenly and flashed his brake lights a few times.

[TonyHSD]

Absolutely not a car thing but a human inhumanity! ⛔️

There is no excuse for poor driving but those who drives bad never thought of wanting an excuse.  ⚠️

Defence driving technique and nerves of steel are the most in the current driving environment. 

A common reason why drivers are behaving like that these days is obvious

 - using drugs and other  narcotics plus drink driving.  
 
The cure is only one - self driving cars for all trade to replace lorry, bus and van drivers.

For private drivers: 

Cars should be able to limit speeds, rate of acceleration, distance to vehicle ahead and ability to test and recognise drivers conditions like been drunk, use of drugs, tiredness or poor driving skills.

Many will jump against these, but when you experienced all that op had on daily basis like I do , you will understand and see that there is no other way around. 
👍

[Puglet]

Hardly surprising, in recent years we been the new favourite driving school route and some of the 'driving standards' they being taught are a bit slack from when I was learning to drive decades ago, even allowing for the usual learner driver challenges.

P.S. I drive a Peugeot, but will let it slide, but with you on the big SUVs, think some of them their previous car was Fiat 500 or an original Mini! 

[Nick72]

2 hours ago, Pannett said:

I suggest that there are two possibilities which may provoke some irritation. Firstly, if you are using adaptive cruise control at a set speed, the RAV 4 may have an innaccurate speedometer, say 2 - 3 mph below the true speed. So you might be travelling at 47 - 48mph in a 50 limit. Many years ago, when I regularly travelled on motorways and the limit was, say 50mph in roadworks, I was occasionally tailgated by HGV's. It was only when I had my first TomTom showing the true speed that I realised that I was travelling at 48mph, so an HGV driver on a tight schedule might be annoyed at being 'held-up' Secondly, in order to hold a set speed, the rear brake lights may come on when the car uses regen to control the speed. I don't know whether your RAV4 or our Corolla self-charging hybrid does so, but our previous Octavia PHEV switched on the brake lights regularly when using regen, which I only noticed when doing a night drive and saw the red reflections from the signage in the rear mirror. I only had one bad incident, when a young driver overtook me, then slowed up suddenly and flashed his brake lights a few times.

I use Waze for GNSS speed, so already factored. I was doing the speed limit which was about 4 or 5 mph greater than the cars in the lane I was overtaking. 

[Nick72]

52 minutes ago, Puglet said:

Hardly surprising, in recent years we been the new favourite driving school route and some of the 'driving standards' they being taught are a bit slack from when I was learning to drive decades ago, even allowing for the usual learner driver challenges.

P.S. I drive a Peugeot, but will let it slide, but with you on the big SUVs, think some of them their previous car was Fiat 500 or an original Mini! 

I'm really sorry to hear that. I did also once have a Peugeot which did in fact make me very angry and constantly irritable. A brand new 3008 GT 300 PHEV. It was the worst car I've ever had even if I add up all the problems with all other cars over the past 35 or so years. With zero exaggeration it spent most of the 10 months I had it in the dealership fixing all manner of serious issues and in the end they didn't fix it so they had to take it back permanently. It's why I went to Toyota. 🙂

[Rhymes with Paris]

I don't think any good ever came out of any road rage.

As I used to warn a young relative of mine, if you keep leaping out of the car and challenging people at every little slight and mistake, you are going to finish up at best with your head slammed in a door a few times, and at worst,in a wooden overcoat.

As did a work colleague who cut up a car in a company van near Liverpool, and of course blamed the innocent car driver, this driver however was a muscled up steroid monkey, and the van driver's head got caught between the drivers door and frame before he could get out and fight.

[AndrueC]

Sounds like a particularly stupid but otherwise unremarkable idiot to me.

It reminds me though of behaviour that I've never understood. These days I'm happy to sit in lane one with the ACC set at 60. I'm never in a hurry and it saves fuel. Every now and again someone will come up behind me then sit behind me for several minutes before finally overtaking and continuing off into the distance.

I don't understand it. Are they so dozy that they haven't noticed that they've come up behind me and had to slow? Do they think I will speed up once I see them behind me? Are they scared to change lanes and overtake?

It makes no sense to me.

[Puglet]

1 hour ago, Nick72 said:

I'm really sorry to hear that. I did also once have a Peugeot which did in fact make me very angry and constantly irritable. A brand new 3008 GT 300 PHEV. It was the worst car I've ever had even if I add up all the problems with all other cars over the past 35 or so years. With zero exaggeration it spent most of the 10 months I had it in the dealership fixing all manner of serious issues and in the end they didn't fix it so they had to take it back permanently. It's why I went to Toyota. 🙂

BUT, my Peugeot has a big sprinkling of Toyota inside, engine/mechanicals ala Aygo, hence why I'm on here and also happy to report had over 15 years of fault free happy motoring. I take your point, if the 'french' had been let loose on our Peugeot 107's mechanicals then I wouldn't of bought it. Unfortunately, from the french styling point of view, pleased to report they did manage to mess that up, cos the rear ends of these cars can leak like a sieve, but ours has been ok so far. 

[GBgraham]

4 hours ago, Nick72 said:

Thanks all, that's reassuring whilst not being reassuring. It's not the RAV but just a deterioration in driving standards, increase in unnecessary risk raking, and a total loss of manners and considerate behaviours. 

And just a general increase in a88holes. 

I need to go back to what I was driving over 23 years ago. A 62 tonne main battle tank. That should sort it out. It would be pancake Tuesday on steroids. 

IMHO absolutely nothing to do with the breed of car, well maybe a BMW lol. And wouldn't we all like to have a James Bond type mini-guns fitted to blast these morons into the the sky highway. I will stick my neck out and blame mostly drug effects to the really bad behaviour, it must be with such irrational morons gracing the UK roads.

On the numerous times in numerous makes when we have driven back to the UK from Greece and back again we meet many types of aggressive drivers in the different countries we travel through, these aren't odd instances but built in to the psychi of the nationals.                                            Greece really is the worst, my car, my road and I'll do what ever I want too and don't you get in my way because I don't queue and I don't follow so beware.                                                                                                              Italy is definitely the most impatient, fastest and aggressive. Say if you are in the outside lane and following at the speed limit and/or in a queue in front the Italian driver doesn't care it will try and enter your tailgate with headlights continually flashing and rarely with the horn blearing.                      Imo the best are the fore and the worst the latter, Holland, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Belgium and France on a whole are quite disciplined but do have their moments but I will put the UK at the end of this list as I feel so many of the British road users are failing in road manners, patience and awareness.

The list starting with Greece, Italy and so on with the UK slotting in around the middle is also the worst to best for road deaths so this sort of backs up my observations. 

In short enjoy your RAV4 but do this with respect for others and ignore the morons !  

[Cyker]

11 hours ago, ernieb said:

I seem to get this experience almost every time I use the M1. The stretch I use frequently is full of 50mph and 60mph sections and sadly I see similar behaviour almost every trip. The one behaviour I really have a problem with is the 'I've got the right to the road" idiot who rampages down the outside lane only to decide at the very last minute that he should be on the slip road. No problem he just swings the steering wheel to the left and lets everyone else take the avoiding action required to avoid an accident. The good thing about these morones is that they do not seem to understand 'linked' cameras violently braking each time they see a camera and then accelerating again.

Ahh those are classic ones - The Jerker and the All-Lane Sweeper  

 

6 hours ago, Nick72 said:

I need to go back to what I was driving over 23 years ago. A 62 tonne main battle tank. That should sort it out. It would be pancake Tuesday on steroids. 

With the current trend of automotive design, we might not be far off everyone driving something not far removed from that in a few years time!  

The German slang for an SUV is hausfrauenpanzer (lit. House Wife Tank) after all...   

 

4 hours ago, TonyHSD said:

Absolutely not a car thing but a human inhumanity! ⛔️

There is no excuse for poor driving but those who drives bad never thought of wanting an excuse.  ⚠️

Defence driving technique and nerves of steel are the most in the current driving environment. 

A common reason why drivers are behaving like that these days is obvious

 - using drugs and other  narcotics plus drink driving.  
 
The cure is only one - self driving cars for all trade to replace lorry, bus and van drivers.

For private drivers: 

Cars should be able to limit speeds, rate of acceleration, distance to vehicle ahead and ability to test and recognise drivers conditions like been drunk, use of drugs, tiredness or poor driving skills.

Many will jump against these, but when you experienced all that op had on daily basis like I do , you will understand and see that there is no other way around. 
👍

This is something I disagree with - IMHO, such drivers should be retrained or banned. Driving is a privilege, not a right, and the situation we're currently in all down to a lack of enforcement. There is virtually no culpability or consequence for being a scumbag driver - Insurance covers them and they're unlikely to suffer any debilitating injury and are thus free to continue driving like idiots.

The adding of all these ADAS systems are just making good drivers lazier and worse, so we're seeing a net reduction in driving ability and standards. Bad drivers will just disable them or buy cars that don't have them, so they basically are hitting the wrong group of people, while the bad ones are unaffected - A typical result with all these well-meaning but badly thought-out schemes.

The fundamental problem is that, at the end of the day, the powers that be don't care - As long as they're seen to be doing something, they don't care whether it has any effect or even a negative effect. If they generate revenue in the process (Why ban someone when you can get loads of juicy fine revenue out of them?), even better.

[Oscarmax]

Coming back from Sainsbury's today were were in the righthand lane approaching a roundabout in a 30 mph zone, a muppet screamed up behind us and was flashing his light and tried to overtake force his way in, he veered around the back of us and nearly took out the vehicle on our nearside rear quarter, and blasting his horn, he then turned left at the roundabout, not before giving us a one finger salute.

The stupid this is I have front and rear cameras, if I had the mine too I could easily upload the footage to the local police, I have the incident, the road rage and clear view of his identity.

What a muppet.

[Nick72]

16 minutes ago, Cyker said:

Ahh those are classic ones - The Jerker and the All-Lane Sweeper  

 

With the current trend of automotive design, we might not be far off everyone driving something not far removed from that in a few years time!  

The German slang for an SUV is hausfrauenpanzer (lit. House Wife Tank) after all...   

 

This is something I disagree with - IMHO, such drivers should be retrained or banned. Driving is a privilege, not a right, and the situation we're currently in all down to a lack of enforcement. There is virtually no culpability or consequence for being a scumbag driver - Insurance covers them and they're unlikely to suffer any debilitating injury and are thus free to continue driving like idiots.

The adding of all these ADAS systems are just making good drivers lazier and worse, so we're seeing a net reduction in driving ability and standards. Bad drivers will just disable them or buy cars that don't have them, so they basically are hitting the wrong group of people, while the bad ones are unaffected - A typical result with all these well-meaning but badly thought-out schemes.

The fundamental problem is that, at the end of the day, the powers that be don't care - As long as they're seen to be doing something, they don't care whether it has any effect or even a negative effect. If they generate revenue in the process (Why ban someone when you can get loads of juicy fine revenue out of them?), even better.

Totally 100 percent agreed

[Cyker]

16 minutes ago, Oscarmax said:

Coming back from Sainsbury's today were were in the righthand lane approaching a roundabout in a 30 mph zone, a muppet screamed up behind us and was flashing his light and tried to overtake force his way in, he veered around the back of us and nearly took out the vehicle on our nearside rear quarter, and blasting his horn, he then turned left at the roundabout, not before giving us a one finger salute.

The stupid this is I have front and rear cameras, if I had the mine too I could easily upload the footage to the local police, I have the incident, the road rage and clear view of his identity.

What a muppet.

You might have more luck than me if you have a clear shot of their face, but when I've submitted clips in the past via the website the police have been completely uninterested so I stopped bothering.

 

[Nick72]

1 hour ago, Puglet said:

BUT, my Peugeot has a big sprinkling of Toyota inside, engine/mechanicals ala Aygo, hence why I'm on here and also happy to report had over 15 years of fault free happy motoring. I take your point, if the 'french' had been let loose on our Peugeot 107's mechanicals then I wouldn't of bought it. Unfortunately, from the french styling point of view, pleased to report they did manage to mess that up, cos the rear ends of these cars can leak like a sieve, but ours has been ok so far. 

Yep that's pretty much a Toyota 👍

[ernieb]

There is a game you can play when driving on a motorway - try to overtake a Tesla. You'd certainly have to break the speed limit because almost 100% of the ones we see are already in the outside lane travelling at the speed limit or well over.

[Oscarmax]

11 hours ago, Cyker said:

You might have more luck than me if you have a clear shot of their face, but when I've submitted clips in the past via the website the police have been completely uninterested so I stopped bothering.

 

I not going to report them, I have let it go I don't let these muppets worry me.