I wrote last month about studies that show that rich people do tend to behave like jerks, supporting a prejudice that I have long held based on personal observations. In particular, people who have expensive cars tend to be rude drivers.
There is an example of this from the UK where the driver of a Mercedes Benz couldn’t be bothered to wait in line at a stop light to make his turn, but instead decided to go into the lane for traffic going in the opposite direction so that he could make the turn immediately.
Unfortunately for him, a pedestrian saw him changing lanes and stopped in front of his car and insisted he get back in the correct lane. The driver was furious and after his yells for the pedestrian to move did not produce the desired results, even tried to intimidate the pedestrian to move by repeatedly bumping into him with his car. But showing extraordinary nerve, the pedestrian refused to yield and instead called the police who arrived remarkably quickly.
So charming and quaint, these Brits.
Imagine -- each one assuming the other does not have weaponry to hand!
I live in Silicon Valley (California), and people around here have joked for a long time that BMW drivers in particular are aggressive and not terribly law-abiding: “He’s a nice guy most of the time, but then he gets in his BMW…” However, in the last few years, I find the drivers of expensive cars are not standing out to me any more because most drivers seem distracted and drive badly. Whereas I used to get cut off deliberately, now it seems to be done most often by someone who simply doesn’t see me or understand our relative positions. A good friend is convinced they’re all fiddling with their phones.
Riffing off Mr. Butler, and off-topic: British urban design is just so beautiful. Compare this street to a typical crappy American strip commercial or desolate urban wasteland.
On Topic: So very hilarious. Kudos to the dude.
rockwhisperer: I agree. Have a friend who is a Porsche driver, and he fits the stereotype. What annoys me even more are the macho idiots who drive 5,000 pound stupid useless vulgarities like they are driving a sports car with good engineering (stopping and handling capacities). Why are you tailgating in a Nissan Armada, man?
On the other hand, there is cluelessness of the opposite character as well. “Well…I am going to merge onto a freeway at 25 mph. And then mover over to the far left lane and dawdle at 15 below the flow of traffic” Prius drivers are especially bad at this.
In my experience, there are two classes of obnoxious drivers: middle-aged, affluent white men from Connecticut driving European sports cars, and people driving American cars. Your mileage may vary. Much of my driving is in rural Upstate NY, where most locals either drive American cars, or Hyundais. I can’t tell you how often I’m either stuck behind one of them driving way too slowly, or being tailgated when I’m doing at least the speed limit. American cars or Hyundais are overrepresented engaging in this behavior.
I find it odd that someone was filming such innocuous events to happen to catch that -- was it perhaps enough of a occurrence they were lying in wait to make a point?
fentex,
I think you are right. The person filming is a cyclist (his bike is parked at the side) and that road seems to be one used by a lot of cyclists. It may be that enough cyclists would turn left onto that street only to be startled by cars that were going in the opposite direction right at them and this particular cyclist had had enough.
bmiller
That is Georgian urban design in an extremely expensive part of London, our modern stuff isn’t necessarily any better than yours and even in Georgian times those houses would have been for the rich.
fentex
The guy’s a cycling activist, so yes he was waiting for someone to overtake into the oncoming lane, which as shown by the bicycle painted on the road is part of a designated cycle route.
What. An. *ssh*l*. The driver should have been hauled in for assault for hitting the guy in the street with his car.