I have been noticing a HUGE uptick in aggressive driving when it comes to trucks lately.
Blatant, not mistaken or accidental issues.
Live in AZ so this may be isolated. However, I have been sandwiched, passed in emergency lanes, swerved at and passed only to have brakes slammed on after passing.
I know what you are all thinking, perhaps you are driving too slow or in the wrong lane. However, these things couldn’t be further from the truth.
Just would like to know if anyone else has been experiencing this as well.
Safe driving all!
Even in EV-happy California, I'm keenly aware of what Tesla represents to many. Not actual facts, just the symbolism for the knee-jerk crowd. Everyone assumes we're Leftist greenies with a hard on for kale and tofu as we tool around in our Zero-Emissions vehicles in vegan leather seats.
Here are the factors I think cause a self-selected profile of drivers to react negatively to Tesla drivers. Note, this is my own observation of a trend or patterns of behavior. Obviously there are exceptions to this and I'm not attempting to speak in absolutes here. Most people guessing at my political ideas from my car would probably get a lot wrong.
1. The recent election went Biden's way. People are still upset about this. Some people still think there were shenanigans. Nothing is set in stone yet in the minds of some. Your Tesla is a locus of that frustration for those who assume a lot, or have ideas about Tesla drivers and our political persuasions.
2. Die-hard ICE cars may dislike us, or feel threatened by EVs, and want to posture and show dominance. It's male (usually) posturing and it has everything to do with perception. You're the EV-driving Lefty (in their minds) and although we're obviously of different political persuasions, this is all it takes for some.
3. Boy racer types don't (necessarily) hate us but do want to see what our car is capable-of. This is more true if they know what you're driving or know you're in a Performance vehicle. Maybe they want to 'beat a Tesla'. Now, the truck example is way too aggressive for a friendly impromptu speed contest, but I've seen a lot of this posturing from muscle car drivers (Chargers and Camaros) and the occasional BMW, Civic Si or SiR, Suby, and any number of hot hatches. Often the invitation is a close pass (close to your rear end) which is meant to incite some type of response. It's a shot across the stern, if you will.
4. Some people think you're rich/wealthy and hate you for that reason. This is sad because so many of us had to work our bums off to get the cars we have.
5. Some people are just crazy or venting their vehicular spleen and driving like morons everywhere and tailgating everyone.
Either way, it's definitely not just your imagination playing tricks on you and I don't think it's your driving, because slow drivers will attract road rage from everyone if they clog the 'fast' lanes. I experienced the same thing when I drove a smart car or a FIAT 500 Abarth. In the smart, people tried to 'push me around' due to being so tiny. Intimidation techniques. In the Abarth, I attracted boy-racer types trying to goad me in to a contest, usually a friendly contest though.
Road rage is a separate phenomenon that won't necessarily be related to profiling. The truck in the aforementioned example is basically engaging in aggressive male posturing in a dominance display and displaying contempt and disrespect. You'd be hard pressed to find stories of this type of posturing from females, though I'm not saying it never happens.
