P>   This just happened to me. I’m cruising up the fast lane passing a
P>   couple of cars and before I have a chance to pull over to the middle
P>   lane, this punk kid in a Honda cuts over and tries to pass me on
P>   the right.

P>   I hate Hondas, I mean, really really hate Hondas, so I say to myself,
P>   self, time to smoke this fool. I have a Plymouth Acclaim LE with the
P>   3.0 V6.

P>   I blew by him easily and the race was on. He never did pass me again
P>   and I had it up to 105 at times. There were very very few cars on the
P>   road, or I wouldn’t have done this, BTW.

P>   It did feel real good!!!! God I love over-drive.

Get a grip. Driving an Acclaim over a 100 mph, you’re lucky you’re
here. BTW, overdrive is usually slower than third gear, so I’m not
sure what this had to do with your little race – maybe you loved the
excellent fuel economy of the overdrive at those speeds?

Jeff Goss

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -

>russo…@eng.umd.edu (Matthew T. Russotto) writes:

>>In article <oeXsoc2w1…@sms.business.uwo.ca> s5ell…@sms.business.uwo.ca (Steve Elliott) writes:
>>}Usually, it is difficult to provoke me on the road to speed.  But it is
>>}awfully trying at times.  I get harassed by teenage punks on the road all
>>}the time to race.  Usually this is the pattern:
>>}
>>}1) I see the idiots usually blazing up from behind in my rearview.  I
>>}always move over out of curtosity.  I think that moving over is an
>>}invitation for them to harass me.

>>}My Question is how do you netters handle this problem?  Please discuss any
>>}creative and safe ideas that will thwart the punk’s ambition and yet
>>}allow some satisfaction for myself.  I have gunned it occasionaly but I
>>}know this is unsafe BUT DAMN, is it ever satisfying leaving those cars in

Before you condem all teenagers – remember what you did within a first year
or so of getting your driver’s license.  I can’t name one person (at least
male) that hasn’t tried to find what the top-end of his parant’s car was.  
Now some of us bough our own cars – mine a ’70 GTO.  I think the only thing
that kept me from being another statistic (like a guy in my class who
wrecked his father’s corvette TWICE! – totalled it the second time and
fortunately for him only resulted in one leg being 1" shorter than the
other) was the fact that is was my money wrapped up in the car…all my
money.

I remember quite vividly the jerk who thought my coming to a complete stop
at right-turn-on-red deserved a honk on the horn.  A guy in his two-door
oldsmo-buick.  Needless to say I took my time making that turn.  He then
thanked me by laying on the horn as he passed – er.. tried to pass the
extra blast on the horn prompted me to accelerate and show him the
taillights again.  I made it my civic duty to insure this guy did not
exceed the 35mph speed limit.  Not to say that my maneuver was any better –
but it seems idiots come in all shapes, sizes and ages.

Last but not least – The secretary came to me asking what I though of the
mustang GT.  I was at the time an owner of a Mustang LX 5.0.  I said it was
a reasonable sports car for its price – and very fast for its price.  I
asked for whom she was considering it.  She said for her 16 year old son.  
I advised her not to buy it for him sighting my experience with the GTO.  I
said her son should have a financial stake in whatever car he drives.  The
trick of giving the kid the slow car doesn’t work – just about any car will
do 80mph.  She said no problem – he’s using some inheratance he got.  Red
flags go up – but she’s not listening.  About 6months later she calls me
into her area.  She says her son had a major accident – $6000 worth.  A few
dollars short of totaling the car.  Since he paid cash and had no
comprehensive (or whatever its called) insurance he had to pay the damages
out of his own pocket (dip into the inheratance).  It seems he was showing
off at a mall and lost control of the car – going over a curb and sidways
down a 10ft slope into a ditch.  Plenty of trees to arrest his motion.  He
was lucky IMHO.

If you have a young male driver (not to be sexist but I remember only 1 or
2 girls that actually drove exceedingly fast) in your family – I’m willing
to bet he’s done more than his share of stupid things behind the wheel.  
I don’t have children yet, but if my child where to show an interest in
automotive racing I would definitly take him to the drag strip – show him
the proper and legal way to race.  Drag strips are relatively safe,
straight line with little chance of car to car contact and a very little
chance of hitting anything.  I feel that an organized sanctioning
body – with all its rules – can teach respect for safety much better than
the just say "no" campaign that is so often used.

I have sold the GTO years ago, and recently, I had sold the Mustang LX.  I
do enjoy the occasionaly stop-light cames (depending on my mood) but the LX
was so plain looking it hardly ever got a second look.  The only ‘race’
that I had was against a 3000GT turbo.  On a 4lane road that narrowed to 2
lanes – I decided to pass him since he dicided to do 35mph in a 40 zone.  
As I passed in the right lane – he gunned it.  As I signaled to pull back
into the left lane ahead of the GT I noticed it wasn’t safe anymore (he had
moved up)  So I floored it until a sufficient gap was there.  I suspect
either he didn’t know how to drive his car, didn’t have the revs / wrong
gear or didn’t have boost – but in any case he fell behind.  With an
automatic trans and V-8 gear selection isn’t very important.  I admit it
was fun – the real danger was minimal.  I met the guy a few traffic light
latter (I was turning left and he was going straight).  After ex-changing
some mutual compliments about each other’s car I invited him to go drag
racing – he said he’d think about it but he never called….

I’ve always wanted to see a nice Porsch 3.6 Turbo take on the hords of cars
at the drag strip (there is a street class – sometimes called the trophy
class) especially the legions of 5.0′s.  Any takers?  esp. in the Maryland
area?  Please leave you M3′s at home – unless heavily modified – unless of
course you don’t mind being embarassed (just had to add that last remark
.

Dirk

>In article <oeXsoc2w1…@sms.business.uwo.ca> s5ell…@sms.business.uwo.ca (Steve Elliott) writes:
>}Usually, it is difficult to provoke me on the road to speed.  But it is
>}awfully trying at times.  I get harassed by teenage punks on the road all
>}the time to race.  Usually this is the pattern:
>}
>}1) I see the idiots usually blazing up from behind in my rearview.  I
>}always move over out of curtosity.  I think that moving over is an
>}invitation for them to harass me.
>}My Question is how do you netters handle this problem?  Please discuss any
>}creative and safe ideas that will thwart the punk’s ambition and yet
>}allow some satisfaction for myself.  I have gunned it occasionaly but I
>}know this is unsafe BUT DAMN, is it ever satisfying leaving those cars in

        This just happened to me. I’m cruising up the fast lane passing a
        couple of cars and before I have a chance to pull over to the middle
        lane, this punk kid in a Honda cuts over and tries to pass me on
        the right.

        I hate Hondas, I mean, really really hate Hondas, so I say to myself,
        self, time to smoke this fool. I have a Plymouth Acclaim LE with the
        3.0 V6.

        I blew by him easily and the race was on. He never did pass me again
        and I had it up to 105 at times. There were very very few cars on the
        road, or I wouldn’t have done this, BTW.

        It did feel real good!!!! God I love over-drive.

–
Peter R. Cook       | Home of Black Dragon Management, PRC Music (BMI), &
p…@world.std.com   | Schizomorgothica Records. Also home to Blue Steel,
Marlborough, MA USA | providing acoustic, blues, and metal original music.
Up the Irons!!      | TAMA, Paiste, DW5000A, and Vic Firth Customer forever!

<some parts about punks mixing gasoline and testosterone snipped>

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -

>Steve Elliott (s5ell…@sms.business.uwo.ca) wrote:
>: My Question is how do you netters handle this problem?  Please discuss any
>: creative and safe ideas that will thwart the punk’s ambition and yet
>: allow some satisfaction for myself.  I have gunned it occasionaly but I
>: know this is unsafe BUT DAMN, is it ever satisfying leaving those cars in
>: the wake.

>: Please Advise.  (on this issue   )

>And the boy did it right in front of a COP!!!!!
>HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH. Cop pulls him over and I pass by laughing hysterically
>right at his face! He flips me off, but in the long run, I don’t have a
>fine to pay.  Moral: Just be patient. One day, you will be blessed with
>such an event and will make up for every cut-off, look , etc. that
>you’ve ever been given. I’ts been a month since, and I still giggle
>whenever I remember that wonderful day.

>GOD, What a great feeling!!
>"TM"

I have been lucky enough to have two such incidents:

1.  Driving to work on a four lane road.  Two beater pickups in front of me,
messing with each other; I can’t get past them.  We come to a traffic light.
Both stop side by side.  After 15 seconds, one just takes off!!!  *** The
light’s still red, and there is left turn traffic from the cross street pulling
out in front of us. ***  The second car to turn left after he goes is a Texas
state trooper!!!  See your comments above, begining with HAHAHA….

2.  I’m exiting the freeway.  A kid driving some type of small pickup  (hmmm,..
never noticed the common thread here…    )  is on the frontage road, 3 to
4 car lengths behind.  He has to yield to me as I exit the freeway.  Instead, he
guns it.  I just move on over on top of him.  We both take the cloverleaf to the
light.  He pulls alongside and yells, ‘Where’d you learn how to drive,
as&h#$e??’  I calmly ask him to repeat the question; he does.  I ask ‘Is that a
rhetorical question?’  After a very perplexed look, and about 5 to 10 seconds,
he says, ‘Oh yea?  Well f&$K you!!’, and takes off.  I just giggled…
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Steve Cutchen       Upon reflection,these opinions may not even be my own;
scutc…@arco.com          they’re certainly not my employer’s…

|> considering that these teenagers account for a large part traffic
|> fatalities.
|>
|> My Question is how do you netters handle this problem?  Please discuss any
|> creative and safe ideas that will thwart the punk’s ambition and yet
|> allow some satisfaction for myself.  I have gunned it occasionaly but I
|> know this is unsafe BUT DAMN, is it ever satisfying leaving those cars in
|> the wake.
|>
|> Please Advise.  (on this issue   )
|>
|> Thanks in Advance.
As a just-post teenager, I think I understand.  There was nothing to do as
a teenager.  Nothing!  You’re too cool to do most things, and not mature
enough to do most other things.  That leaves you with /dev/null.  So, we kind
of reach out for that kind of thing.  Everyone is a teenager at some point,
and if you didn’t have these kind of wild feelings, you were probably in the
minority, even though there’s nothing wrong with it.

Yes we cause the majority of traffic fatalities, we have the highest insurance
rates, and we’re all-around pretty dangerous.  You can live like an adult
your whole life, but to what end?  Now, I hate people who try to drag me in
their Yugos just as much as the next guy, but there’s just nothing to do
about it in the end.  nothing.

–
——————————————————————–
|      Pete Heist of NT Bell Northern Research V.O. Support        |
——————————————————————–

s5ell…@sms.business.uwo.ca (Steve Elliott) writes:

>Some other observations:  Most of the harassing cars are modified
>Mustangs and strangely Honda Civic Si’s.  I get the occasional Z-28.  But
>the common thing is some punk-ass teenager at the pilot seat.  This
>happens to me at least 3-4 times / week.  

Only 3-4 times a week?  I remember a time and some places where it would
happen to you 3-4 times an hour!  And, of course, the cars are annoying
because the punks who want to race can’t afford your red calipers.  
That’s why kids invented the Deuce Coupe, etc etc.  

Best solution?  Wait for a time when there is cop in the vicinity,
then give the high sign, tach it up, and watch what transpires.
Particularly good if the cop used to be street racer.  Where I grew
up, that cop would ‘tap’ on a tailight with his flashlight as he walked
up, and write you up for a broken light as well as the traffic violation….

Second best solution?  Tell those kids to come down here or visit some
other town where about half the F-250 pickups run red lights.  One good
t-bone will cure them, permanently.

–
 James A. Carr   <j…@scri.fsu.edu>     |   "It’s never confusing though,
      http://www.scri.fsu.edu           |  because ultimately it all fits
 Supercomputer Computations Res. Inst.  |  – it’s just cockeyed and fits  
 Florida State, Tallahassee FL 32306    |  and is fire."  -  Norman Maclean

The kid went through the red light and got a pulled over.  :-) !

John.

Get a radar gun.  When they take off, hit them with the radar.  Should
put some fear into them, presuming they have radar detectors.

–
Matthew T. Russotto     russo…@eng.umd.edu
Some news readers expect "Disclaimer:" here.
Just say NO to police searches and seizures.  Make them use force.
(not responsible for bodily harm resulting from following above advice)

: I have fought temptation in almost every instance.  (One punk actually
: swerved into my lane to get me to bite).  It really pisses me off
: considering that these teenagers account for a large part traffic
: fatalities.

: My Question is how do you netters handle this problem?  Please discuss any
: creative and safe ideas that will thwart the punk’s ambition and yet
: allow some satisfaction for myself.  I have gunned it occasionaly but I
: know this is unsafe BUT DAMN, is it ever satisfying leaving those cars in
: the wake.

: Please Advise.  (on this issue   )

 Seeing that I’ve been on both sides of the issue, I feel I can answer
this.
Lemme tell you a story. SOme punk kid and his girlfriend were driving
behind me ( the girl was in the passenger seat, none of that kinky
stuff) At the stop sign, he sets beside me and then guns it. I’m in
the slow lane. He passes me, quite easily ( I wasn’t racing or nothin’)
and gives me a "I-just-passed-you-up-and-impressed-my-girlfriend-all=
at-once-smile) , then cuts me off and California-rolls a right turn at
the stop sign. And the boy did it right in front of a COP!!!!!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH. Cop pulls him over and I pass by laughing hysterically
right at his face! He flips me off, but in the long run, I don’t have a
fine to pay.  Moral: Just be patient. One day, you will be blessed with
such an event and will make up for every cut-off, look , etc. that
you’ve ever been given. I’ts been a month since, and I still giggle
whenever I remember that wonderful day.

GOD, What a great feeling!!
"TM"