Re: Advice to Explorer Drivers

I haven't looked around, but I hope their are other newsgroups for all of 
the other car/suv/truck models that cut in front of you. I would hate to 
think we "Ford Explorer uber station wagon" owners were the only vehicles 
that had idiot drivers.
Tom

"C. E. White" <cewhite3@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message 
news:13ocrcl7naadnfa@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>I had an Explorer almost run me off the road this morning. This prompted
me 
>to give Explorer drivers a little friendly advice - When using your turn 
>signal as a virtual bumper, please be sure that your intended victim can 
>actually see your turn signal.
>
> Here is what happened -
>
> I was driving towards Raleigh NC on I-40 at the I-540 Interchange. This
is 
> one of those interchange where an off ramp from one interchange
continues 
> on to the next as a separate lane and the right two lanes can both exit.

> However one can also continue on straight (one lane is exit only, the 
> other is an exit and a thru lane). I am in the exit/thru lane, intending

> to continue on I-40. A car coming from the first interchange pulls in 
> front of me forcing me to slow. I could not move to the middle lane 
> because there is an Explorer in the middle lane coming up from behind. 
> Therefore I slow and stay behind the slightly slower moving car at a
safe 
> distance (3 car lengths more or less). The Explorer pulls beside me so 
> that his rear wheel panel is about even with my front wheel and then 
> matches my speed. As we approach the exit, the Explorer starts drifting 
> into my lane. Assuming he doesn't see me, I politely honk the horn. 
> Instead of moving back into his lane, the driver in the Explorer moves 
> further into my lane and tries to force me into a car to my right in the

> exit only lane. I lay on the horn and manage to keep from hitting either

> car, but I am really pissed. I think (but I am not sure) that the
Explorer 
> had its turn signal on. I say I am not sure, because the Explorer never 
> pulled clearly in front of me. He was riding along in a position where
the 
> rear corner of his uber station wagon was hidden behind the A-pillar of
my 
> small sedan (a Mazda3). If the signal had been on, and I had seen it, I 
> would have made room for him, even though there was literally no one 
> behind me for at least 200 yards (i.e., plenty of room behind me to
change 
> lanes). So the moral of the story for Explorer drivers (and others), if 
> you want to bully your way into a slot between cars, at least make sure 
> your intended victim sees your turn signal. Don't assume that people in 
> smaller vehicles have seen the small, poorly located turn signals on the

> rear of your vehicles. The rear turn signals of older Explorers, 
> particularly the ones with the yellow European style rear turn signals, 
> are not as obvious as you might think. Fortunately there was no
accident. 
> The Explorer owner did eventually move into my lane (but too late to
exit) 
> and he/she slowed way down - probably out of embarrassment at almost 
> causing a 2 or 3 car pileup. I don't know if they were on a cell phone,
or 
> if they didn't see me in their rear view mirror, or if they assumed I
saw 
> their turn signal and that I would slow down to let them in, or if the 
> driver was just an arrogant SOB trying to pass one more car before the 
> exit. I am just glad no one was hurt - this time.
>
> Ed
>