To feel intimidated by expensive cars whilst driving?

[malificent7]

A bit of a generalisation here but I often find BMW, Mercedes, Audi cars etc drive much faster than me...often tailgate me and overtake when I'm on Maxim speed limit.
I feel that a certain kind of go getting person has the money to buy such cars and this is a wflwcted in their driving. This makes no sense I know! I can't help feel intimidated when a beautiful BNW or Mercedes drives behind me. I gave a bimbly Honda jazz!/

While we are at it....it's never those bloody tail gaters who get caught speeding is it?!

I find it is usually BMW and Audi drivers who drive like twats. I'm a confident experienced driver, I travel a lot for work all over the country, don't dawdle or middle lane hog. Those brands often, not always, attract a certain type of personality. If someone gets right up my backside and there's no need, I like to slow down, and periodically touch the brake pedal just lightly enough to make my brake lights come on. On slower roads the windscreen washers also make them back off. I have on occasion been known to clearly mouth get out of my bloody boot whilst making eye contact in the rear view mirror.

Lots of cars are leased so people don't actually own them!

Also this! They might think they're flash but at least I own my car, it's what my nan would've called fur coat and no knickers

What drives me nuts is people dawdling along 30mph in a 50 zone

Why? Keep back & overtake them when you can.
My Mum is 70 and drives slow as does my 18 year old newly qualified driver DD.

Anyone else amused by the latest BMW ads? Where someone is ringing a relative with significant news, and they don’t care because they’ve just got a great deal on a BMW? So they know their customers are egocentric arses who don’t give a shit.

@TheNebulousBoojam those aren't adverts for BMW, they are for a car hire firm

I find that maybe 7 times out of 10, if someone is driving like a twat then they are in an Audi or BMW. Those cars seem to attract those kind of drivers in my experience.

Ok, but the image still holds for me. Obviously wasn’t paying enough attention!

The twattiest drivers in London are general white van men.

*generally

I drive a new Audi and have noticed that other drivers treat me differently now. Like they expect me to drive like a knob and will let me go first kind of thing.

I don't think I drive any differently although the car is only about 6 weeks old so maybe I'll change?

DS1 has had a BMW since he was 19. A lot of people automatically assume he’s a boy racer who will drive like a twat when it’s not the case at all. He’s a very competent, considerate driver who, also, drives tracked vehicles, LGVs and mini buses when he’s working. People react totally different to him when he’s driving something other than his BMW.

We’ve got a BMW on order. I won’t drive it like a twat because I’ve not driven like a twat for the past 30 years. If anything I’ll be more cautious because I’m too scared of scratching the bloody thing.

I refuse to be intimidated by anyone in any situation. On the roads I’m too busy focusing on driving safely and working out where I’m going to worry about twats. Twats can jog on.

Im afraid i have to agree with what seems like a gross generalisation that people who drive those sorts of cars tend to be more aggressive impatient drivers, tailgating etc. It says something about a person who feels the need to own or lease these big powerful cars although I'm sure some of you are lovely, the ones I know personally are not!

I'm a natural speed demon. After I got £100 fine & points, I now stick to limits as religiously as I can. Sticking-to-limit makes me view limits as targets more than ever.

Now I 'always' drive to limits, other drivers are frequently up my backside, much more than before. On speed-awareness course the main thing I learnt is how few people know NSLs (I was guilty of not understanding the repeater system). A lot of people REALLY don't pay any attention to speed limits; they don't know or don't care. Hence they dawdle OR they tail-gate with no prospect of overtaking.

I drive with my job and I often get tailgated in residential areas as I observe the speed limit. In the last week I have witnessed such reckless driving with BMW and a motor bike. I know these vehicles are powerful however they are going to stop you killing yourself or others. The bike nearly killed me!

I saw an interesting study where a set of zebra crossings were observed for a time period to see who stopped and who didn't.

It was found that the more expensive the car the less likely the driver was to stop for pedestrians. Now whether flashy car drivers become dicks or dicks drive flashy cars is another question :) i suspect the latter.

You are being intimidated by them because they are more intimidating, often more aggressive drivers. There is also evidence that money makes people more ego-centric, even people who inherited start believing they DESERVE to be wealthy that they are rich through their own achievements 'i'm rich because i'm better' even though this makes no sense (i'm talking to you Trump). its also easier to get richer is you are already wealthy (think no interest to pay on mortgages/loans, no need to rent anything. wealth accrues interest over time, you get better offers on deals and better rates from good credit etc etc....anyway i'm deviating.

All of the above are big generalizations of course i'm sure plenty of rich people are lovely and plenty of poor folk driving volvos are dicks, we are talking populations trends here.

It’s funny but I find it’s Honda Jazz drivers that drive like twats, always going far too slowly for the road, not noticing the traffic lights have changed and not using their indicators. Now if we see anyone driving badly the first thing one of us will say is Honda Jazz?
BTW I’m and advanced driver and I don’t drive aggressively.

I drive an Audi and I find it’s people in cheaper cars driving like dicks around me like in their heads they’re having a race with me. Maybe it’s because I’m a woman?

As a passenger I notice that as well, it is usually faster cars. My DH drives within the speed limit and we get overtaken by BMWs and Mercs most of the time, and I've seen a few be pulled over by police. The other week we watched someone overtake a whole cue of cars and speed away on the main road and as we pulled into town he was right in front of us.

Please don't assume all big car drivers are rich wankers. I sometimes drive my employer's 4x4 merc whereas my personal car is a clapped out Renault.

I find people drive more twattishly around me if I'm driving our bmw compared to when im driving our ford. Male drivers in particular.

I do want to add that I've also observed owners of expensive cars driving normally. Some people are just aggressive drivers.

Honestly, just ignore it.

I drive a small battered white van for work, folks often drive up my bum in a 30 limit but it doesn't bother me because a) visibility out of the back is poor so agressive driving is easier to ignore b) I don't give a damn and c) when I get into a national limit it accelerates very fast. I love taking tailgaters by surprise doing that.

I normally get tailgated by tiny little Peugeots.

Personally I don't worry about fancy cars - I always think they have more reason to avoid expensive prangs than me in my sturdy old lump of a car.

I am not intimidated by car brands. I drive according to the conditions and where I am driving and adhere to the speed limits. I have lost count of the number of times I have been tailgated and then overtaken, only to pull up behind them at the next set of lights or junction. You have to wonder at people who are covering the same distance and yet feel the compunction for it to cost so much more in fuel while only cutting a minute off their journey.