Why can't people leave my car alone? I'm not talking about positive experiences here. I'm talking the idiots.

Not too long ago, I posted about the idiot that opened his van door into my car and took a chip out of the paint.

Then yesterday, I had someone not paying attention let their car wander from their lane into mine on a main city street. When I drive I always watch my driving and the people around me because you never know what someone will do. The other day I witnessed a guy make a left turn from a through lane, not even a turn lane, and wipe out a guy coming from the opposite direct - he wasn't expecting that to happen and either was I. I did the good citizen thing and pulled over, called the police, and gave my "expert" witness testimony to the police about what I saw.

This idiot though is right next to me and I see him start drifting. I want to speed up, but there's a car in front of me preventing that.

I ended up slamming on my brakes because this guy is moving across the line and doesn't seem to care. Our mirrors collide and he continues on his merry way moving now into my lane. I pull off to check the damage thinking this guy did more than just clip the mirror and thinking he'll pull over too as it's very obvious he hit me. I was hands free on my cell phone at the time talking with a family member who heard the mirrors collide.

Fortunately (can I really say that?) all he did was clip my mirror resulting in some black finish marring my graphite paint, some deep scratches on the bottom of the mirror and mirror post. Thankfully nothing else such as the fender, rims/tires, etc. Any idea how to at least get rid of the black crap off?

If I knew that's all it was, I wouldn't have stopped to look and chased him down so he could pay for the damages. I don't know why the cars behind me didn't stop with me to at least give me the idiots license.

Just leave my car alone!!!!!

"You toucha my car, I breaka your face!"

 

The world is populated by idiots!
Pete

 

Wow! Sorry to hear about all your bad luck. With all the storys lately I'm glad mine is put away for the winter.

 

If you haven't learned by now at the tender age of 41 there's the mentatlity nowadays here in America it's.... "Hooray for me, the hell with you"

I've come to expect it by others but don't practice it myself

 

Sorry to hear that. Hope you get it worked out (fixed).

If indeed it's someone else's paint on your car, a clay bar should clean it off. Unfortunately, consider the possibility that the black marks are actually the plastic underneath your paint.

What I prefer to do is: When I see an idiot in traffic, I stay the hell away - slow down, take another route, disappear.

In the meantime, think about investing in some 3M PPF on areas of your car. It sounds like you use your XF as a daily drive and so you're going to need some protection from the inevitable parking lot bashes.

What color is your car btw?

 

I think nice cars are like magnets to trouble.....when I bought a new Corvette once...it didn't take a week before a rock hit the windshield right in front of the driver's line of sight.

 

try getting off the damn cell phone and leave some space between u and the car in front of u. Defensive and attentive driving wins out. I always drive like there is someone trying to kill me. Even hands free cell phone have been shown to be just as bad as drunk driving. Your hands may be free, but your mind is elsewhere. If u stay back from the guy in front of u you get less stone chips and don't rear end the guy in front as well as giving you room to manuver. Heck I don't even talk to my wife when I am driving, not that I talk to her when I am not(lol).

 

I've had so many close calls like that and I'm almost to the point where I want to buy a big ol' beat up pickup truck and just let the idiots run into me. Or, if they cut me off, I'll just plow into them. Hard.

Sorry to hear about your run of bad luck, that really sux.

 

Why do you think I daily drive a '92 Corolla? All above the above, save for the "just plow into them" part.

 

this is exactly why i drive my 05 CRD Liberty and 87 Wrangler .... as nice as the car is, the crossfire is very delicate so people just do not have the fear in them about hitting it ... and with the quality of drivers on the road we have that is about every 5 minutes. i let my 1/4 steel tubular bumpers do the talking ... "you can run into me ... but i can't guarantee my 87 solid box frame battering ram capped with 1/4 steel tube bumpers won't integrate you into the crumple zones of your small carelessly driven car ... as you see i am in my lane so so long as you stay in your lane you will be fine"

 

BTW Buckeyedad, if you re-read my rant I said he merged into me. I was ok with space with the car in front (except to be able to get out of the way from the idiot NEXT to me). And I was watching traffice around me while conversing hands free, otherwise I would have been hit. I think the problem was not with my driving, but the other persons.

My baby is my daily driver, which I enjoy every mile (approx 80+ per day). Unfortunately I'm not rich enough to afford the cost of two vehicles.

Sonoronos, she's metalic graphite.

Also, I got a fax from an accident investigator on the one I witnessed in November. I wonder which one he works for, the hitter or the hittee? I should find out soon enough. Maybe I'll get a day off and have to go to court.

 

Honestly.....the general public doesn't have any respect for each other!!!! I doesn't even matter what kind of car u drive, because they will still park close, ride ur bumper, etc. I'm with u man I don't understand if people don't care about their own vehicles or what. Just park far as hell like I do!!!!

 

Atlanta traffic. 98 kia sephia. Rear ended 5x last year, 3 of which happened in teh same month, by folks who arent paying attention and dont know how to drive with a manual at red lights. Then there's folks who wait for the last 2 feet to merge and expect me to give way....so they wrestle down the emergency shoulder and try to take my front with them. Then theres the horde of semis who serve to claim a lane thinking no ones there....but Im there, meep meep. Im buying a freight train horn to install on my kia. Its gonna be nice scaring the #$%$#% out of one of these turkies when I toot the train horn.

 

if you ever see someone drinking coffee and talking on a cell phone while they are driving and not paying attention, it is always fun to do quick lil' swerve from your lane to theirs right in front of them. good fun
just kidding, of course.

 

Great color. I wonder if you can install flickering daytime running lights like they have on motorcycles. Or maybe it's time you installed a louder exhaust? Fart can Hondas are annoying, but I've never failed to look around to find the source of that annoying noise...

I think the real issue is just the amount of miles you put on your car. 80 a day, 5 days a week is 1600 a month. There's no better car to drive in, but the statistics show that the more you are on the road, the more likely you are to end up in some kind of traffic mis-hap.

The only other thing I can recommend is to just drive like a freaking granny and go 5 under the speed limit. Then EVERYONE will notice you,

 

Part of the trouble is that many of the big tubs can not see us when we are beside them. Many big tubs also have very large blind spots. Most big tubs don't know how to set their mirrors should they choose to use them. I have been chased out of the left hand lane so often that I am very careful about who or what I pull along side of. If I haven't made eye contact with them I'll only pull up beside them if I have somewhere to go should they decide that my lane looks nicer than theirs.

Once they start coming, blowing your horn and flashing your lights doesn't seem to even slow them down. Since you are invisible to them, sound and light is only a nuisance, easily ignored.

I have even been backed into while stopped. This tub was blocking an intersection and decided to make room for others to get through. She couldn't see my headlights which were shining below her bumper. She had to back up 10 feet to get me. No problem. Trailer hitch dead center in the hood for about 6 inches worth. Would have been enough to **** off a less good natured person.

 

Unfortunately there is no simple solution.

The idiot that swiped me was a little 4 door Toyota somethingorother. Just coming back from lunch I saw a minivan slam on its brakes because she almost didn't see the schoolbus stopped with its lights flashing and STOP sign sticking out. Almost blew through. I saw it from a long ways back, so just not paying attention to her driving.

I think an IQ test should be required along with the other tests they make you take to get your license.

And a psychology evaluation. If you are prone to be a road-rager, or think your a little (or a lot depending upon your point of view) better than the person next to you, you get a different kind of license. You know how a DUI restriction causes you to have to blow into a device that measures the alcohol content of your system before you can start the ignition? Imagine a device that measures your hear and brain waves. If it detects that you're getting angry or having feelings of superiority, your car shifts into "granny" mode that doesn't allow you do go above a certain speed limit and turns on your lights and horn to bring attention to yourself that you're being an idiot.

Oh well. Probably never happen. That's why I carry higher car insurance to cover other peoples moments of brainless-ness.

 

And every one of us thinks that we are better than the average driver!!!

 

No. I don't think it, I know it.

 

get yourself a Glock .45 compact, keep that bad boy tucked up under your seat. It always does the trick for when the hoodlums start acting up, ay!