How to avoid people who try to race you?!

[WildHorse]

Nah, I look over an visibly laugh out loud at them lol.

I usually scratch my cheek with my middle finger.

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[Shifting_Gears]

One day you'll figure out, no one gives a shit about what you drive. That person in the Camry was not trying to race you, they we're just doing their own thing.

No one gives a crap about what you drive. They don't notice you, don't care, aren't interested. Hell, they don't give a crap about their own car, much less yours.

I’ve had people roll up next to me and do a 3 honk, stage me at a light, make a comment about my car to the passenger (window downs “better get ready for this guy to take off”) and 2-step launch on green.. people weave in and out of traffic to roll up and give “the stare”... I could go on.

Depends on where you live and what the car scene is. For me, it’s usually a few times a week.

They may not give a shit about my car, but they give a shit about racing my car.

 

[NoVaGT]

I’ve had people roll up next to me and do a 3 honk, stage me at a light, make a comment about my car to the passenger (window downs “better get ready for this guy to take off”) and 2-step launch on green

Has anyone, ever, actually asked "Wanna race?". I'm not saying that there's never a street racing challenge between random strangers. I am saying that probably 85-90% of what people think are challenges to race, aren't.

.......people weave in and out of traffic to roll up and give “the stare”...

People weave in and out of traffic, it usually has nothing to do with wanting to race. "The stare"??? Dunno about all of that. Maybe you're young and go out cruising at night, and naturally end-up getting challenged because that's the area and time of day you're in.

Here's the psychology lesson for the day;

When you are a car guy or gal, you're really into cars. You look at other cars, admire some, laugh at others. I like to play the game "What would I rather have other than my car" when I'm in traffic, just to kill time. I look at the vehicles around me, and decide if there's any I'd rather own than mine. Your car is very important to you. You baby it, love it, maintain it, fret over it, detail it, mod it, name it, obsess over it. And some of us morons spend waaaaaaaay too much time talking about them on internet forums.

You have to keep in mind one thing; you are in a tiny, tiny minority. I'd guess 95% of drivers don't give a rat's ass about their own vehicle, much less yours. They don't notice your car, aren't impressed by your car, don't care about your car, don't pay the slightest bit of attention to your car. And in fact many drivers are doing their damndest to ignore all other vehicles around them, and their own driving responsibilities.

Do not make the mistake of thinking others are into theirs, yours, and other people's cars like we are. Like I wrote above; 85%-90% of what people think are challenges to race, aren't. It's just the imagination running wild. If you're hugely into cars, and have watched The Fast & Furious too many times, you're apt to think that the normal behavior of bad drivers is a challenge to race. And of course age and maturity has a lot to do with this. To the young bucks out there trying to prove themselves, everything is a challenge from or to others, including driving.

Take the OP for example; "....I was minding my own business merging on the highway. Got up to 70 mph". No a Camry didn't challenge him or try to race him. 99% it was just someone trying to lane-change right so they could exit, and they had to speed up because the OP was driving like a bat out of hell on the entrance ramp. The Camry driver noticed him, did the time/speed/distance calculation, and realized he needed to speed up so he/she could make their exit ramp.

But to the OP, that was a challenge to race.

 

[WildHorse]

They don't notice your car, aren't impressed by your car, don't care about your car, don't pay the slightest bit of attention to your car.

Not entirely true. My buddies Black 17 GT doesn't get nowhere near the 'race attention' that my Grabber Blue GT gets. I think colour has a lot to do with it as well.

 

[2019fordmustang]

I've owned 3 GTs. Not once has anyone tried to race me. Not in 10 or so years of driving Mustangs. This is just a perceptual issue. People think someone's trying to race them, when they're not. In the OP's example, the Camry wasn't trying to race him. In fact it sounds to me like the Camry was trying to get over to the right to catch an exit.

There's probably a Camry owner somewhere right now bitching about how some asshat Mustang driver wouldn't let him over and he missed his exit. Wanna bet?? Hey!!! OP!!! Drop us a google maps image of exactly where this took place please.

Unless you're lined up at a light next to each other and having a conversation about racing, it's your imagination.

No man, this guy was on the left lane and I was on the right on two lane highway. Any time I would increase speed of my car he would full throttle. I reduce the speed and then again he would keep next to me. I mean it was just an example, the big picture is all these young kids in their teens or early twenties try to race u or brake check u when you are not even Interested. It is just annoying. It happens quite frequently. Even last night this guy is taurus SHO was honking and trying to race me.

 

[TheSnowmanMafia]

I've owned 3 GTs. Not once has anyone tried to race me. Not in 10 or so years of driving Mustangs. This is just a perceptual issue. People think someone's trying to race them, when they're not. In the OP's example, the Camry wasn't trying to race him. In fact it sounds to me like the Camry was trying to get over to the right to catch an exit.

There's probably a Camry owner somewhere right now bitching about how some asshat Mustang driver wouldn't let him over and he missed his exit. Wanna bet?? Hey!!! OP!!! Drop us a google maps image of exactly where this took place please.

Unless you're lined up at a light next to each other and having a conversation about racing, it's your imagination.

I've literally had a middle aged man with a child seat in the back try to race me in an S6. My wife and I thought he was kidding until he launched from the stop light...

I've had a 5.0 F150 gunning it over and over trying to get me to bite while the dude was yelling "LETS GO" at me...

I've had more low horsepower "tuner" cars than I can count try to get me to run.

I've had a high schooler in a Kia Optima roll their window down while going 55 on a main street and yell "want to race?!"

So yeah... people do in fact want to race...

 

[Hack]

You have to keep in mind one thing; you are in a tiny, tiny minority. I'd guess 95% of drivers don't give a rat's ass about their own vehicle, much less yours. They don't notice your car, aren't impressed by your car, don't care about your car, don't pay the slightest bit of attention to your car. And in fact many drivers are doing their damndest to ignore all other vehicles around them, and their own driving responsibilities.

I agree that probably something on the order of 95% of drivers don't care about cars at all. That means that I believe about 1 in 20 DO care about cars. Possibly it's only 1 in 40 even, depending on the day and the people around you on the road. But those people are out there. They may own a crappy car due to their financial circumstances and priorities, but they still care quite a bit about cars. And every day when I drive to and from work there are hundreds of cars on the road with me.

Unless you drive on empty roads every day you will encounter other people that love cars and think Mustangs are great. You will come across those people all the time.

I've had quite a few people challenge me and often it's because they think they will win no problem. Most common for me in the past was AWD cars wanting to go when the temperatures are sub-freezing. Some really fun times in cold vs. AWD WRX and Audis in my Fox. Sometimes people are just trying to get in front of you, but other times they actually are trying to challenge for the fun. The other day when I beat a motorcycle I don't think he was trying to race - just to get in front of me. But the C5 was too quick for him. So I do agree that sometimes people misinterpret what the other driver is doing. However, it's not that uncommon for people to want to race against a sporty car. People often think their cars and pickups are fast and that sporty vehicles really aren't much faster. Or they've added a turbo and done an engine swap and their car is pretty impressive. It happens.

 

[Shifting_Gears]

Has anyone, ever, actually asked "Wanna race?". I'm not saying that there's never a street racing challenge between random strangers. I am saying that probably 85-90% of what people think are challenges to race, aren't.



People weave in and out of traffic, it usually has nothing to do with wanting to race. "The stare"??? Dunno about all of that. Maybe you're young and go out cruising at night, and naturally end-up getting challenged because that's the area and time of day you're in.

Here's the psychology lesson for the day;

When you are a car guy or gal, you're really into cars. You look at other cars, admire some, laugh at others. I like to play the game "What would I rather have other than my car" when I'm in traffic, just to kill time. I look at the vehicles around me, and decide if there's any I'd rather own than mine. Your car is very important to you. You baby it, love it, maintain it, fret over it, detail it, mod it, name it, obsess over it. And some of us morons spend waaaaaaaay too much time talking about them on internet forums.

You have to keep in mind one thing; you are in a tiny, tiny minority. I'd guess 95% of drivers don't give a rat's ass about their own vehicle, much less yours. They don't notice your car, aren't impressed by your car, don't care about your car, don't pay the slightest bit of attention to your car. And in fact many drivers are doing their damndest to ignore all other vehicles around them, and their own driving responsibilities.

Do not make the mistake of thinking others are into theirs, yours, and other people's cars like we are. Like I wrote above; 85%-90% of what people think are challenges to race, aren't. It's just the imagination running wild. If you're hugely into cars, and have watched The Fast & Furious too many times, you're apt to think that the normal behavior of bad drivers is a challenge to race. And of course age and maturity has a lot to do with this. To the young bucks out there trying to prove themselves, everything is a challenge from or to others, including driving.

Take the OP for example; "....I was minding my own business merging on the highway. Got up to 70 mph". No a Camry didn't challenge him or try to race him. 99% it was just someone trying to lane-change right so they could exit, and they had to speed up because the OP was driving like a bat out of hell on the entrance ramp. The Camry driver noticed him, did the time/speed/distance calculation, and realized he needed to speed up so he/she could make their exit ramp.

But to the OP, that was a challenge to race.

I in fact, had a guy ask me today if I wanted to race. He was also asking me about my GT.

 

[MaskedRacerX]

I in fact, had a guy ask me today if I wanted to race.

In Florida, that's a gay pickup line, er, I hope you didn't take him up on it ...

 

[ugstang17]

I was minding my own business merging on the highway. Got upto 70 mph and this guy try in Camry next to me accelerating to keep up with me. I was trying to just get to 80 mph and then this guy trying to catch up fast.
I thought it to myself is it worth proving someone in a Camry how fast the 5.0 is and especially on a public road. This guy takes off and then slows down to get next to me so I can race with him.

Thought came to my mind I am a young dad and it's a public road I am not going race anyone. Felt bad losing to a Camry though.

How do you guys avoid random people who try to race you when you are in your mustang?

I laugh and wave them off. I also usually have the windows down when I am driving so I will also roll the windows up to insure I have no intent of wasting fuel on them.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

I've literally had a middle aged man with a child seat in the back try to race me in an S6. My wife and I thought he was kidding until he launched from the stop light.

Doesn't prove he wanted to race. About a year ago I was in front at a light. Four lanes I was in the curb lane. Took off as often at max street pace until the speed limit of 45. A half second later a Model S flies by in the far lane. Had no idea he was there. I'm guessing he thinks I was racing him. Accelerating hard doesn't = racing.

 

[Genxer]

TBH, I used to do some stoplight to stoplight runs back in the early 80s when I was a kid and it didn't mean going to jail if you got caught. We were all slower back then, and traffic wasn't as big of a concern. A Mustang today has twice the HP that it did back then. I see guys chasing each other on a crowded road now and cringe. With traffic now it would be hard to find a place in my normal travels that would even allow a full throttle run for very far. I'm also older and have seen / experienced a few things that make me way more cautious.

 

[Shifting_Gears]

In Florida, that's a gay pickup line, er, I hope you didn't take him up on it ...

Hahaha.. nope.

Next time someone asks me to race I’ll probably laugh uncontrollably.

 

[Jetnoise]

Go Speed Racer!!!! Go!!!
Chim chim the chump says pay em no mind cuz it's LE

 

[Andy13186]

put some 315s on the back and most cars are just scared if they know anything about modded coyotes lol

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