The Race Reflex

No, still no "American Society" posts. It was a busy day. But I do feel a good rant boiling up.

I was driving along, at a speed ...er... slightly in excess of the limit. I was in the passing lane because, of course, I was passing cars. As I went to pass a pickup truck, I came to the sudden realization that despite the fact I was going significantly faster than the truck when I started to pass, I was no longer passing them. I checked my speed... Yep, same speed.

I looked over at the truck, just as the three idiots in the truck were cheering and giving each other high-fives.

They were celebrating that they had prevented me from passing.

This was one of the more obvious instances of what I have termed the "Race Reflex." It seems there are some monkeyheaded cockbites who, when presented with a car that wants to pass them, take it as a personal insult and/or an excuse to drag race.

They don't typically celebrate, but it has been happening to me with an ever increasing frequency. (Which is odd, because I don't drive nearly as crazy as I did even two years ago.)

At its best, it's immature and annoying. Typically, after preventing the other car from passing, they will resume their original speed and, subsequently, the reason the other car tried to pass them to begin with. The process begins anew, with the poor sap trying to pass left very unhappy. Plus, messing with the flow of traffic is a) Rude and b) Probably illegal.

At worst: People, other drivers make quick decisions on if they should pass a car or not. On a two lane road (You know, where the passing takes place in the lane where opposing traffic travels) speeding up and preventing a person from completing a pass effectively blocks a lane. That could, in turn, lead to an oncoming car hitting the person attempting to pass: damaging the passer, the oncoming car, and probably you.


Not to mention, someone could potentially get Killed.

In short: if you want to drive like dipshits who pulled their licenses out of cracker-jack boxes, do it on your own time, Twinkie. Stay the hell out of my way. I have no desire to be run off the road, killed, or even so much as inconvenienced by you NASCAR fanboys (Hint: You are the NASCAR fans who give all other NASCAR fans a bad name) who think they need to be in front of everyone else on the road.

Let's hope you all learn your lessons before you hurt someone or are the victims of a Road-Raging maniac.

Rock on, and drive safe.