JoeyBike

I had an incident with a BMW driver this morning. Not a big enough deal to recount BUT it got me thinking...

I would prefer to negotiate a city full of pick-up trucks and taxi cabs than encounter even ONE motorist driving a BMW. Perhaps the vertical grill is so unique that I just notice those cars more (like a full moon makes us notice weird events better). And there is/was a certain Yuppie stigma to those cars back in the day so my view of them may be bigoted.

Anyway, I was wondering. Is it just ME? Are BMWs so fun to drive (like 1960s VW Beetles) that the occupants become "possessed" by the ghosts of dead Formula 1 drivers the instant the motor growls? Anybody here OWN a BMW who can give me some insight? Any other observations? ANY car model seem worse than others to you for meathead operators?
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bulldog1935

By percentages, brands with a specific reputation do pick up like-minded clientele. A high percentage of Volvo drivers don't keep up with traffic and stop really early at traffic signals.
I drove 400 highway miles on cruise control this week. 3 BMWs, specifically, changed lanes very late to pass me and pulled back in front of me way too soon.

Juan Foote

I have read articles, both serious and not, that discuss the validity of the "BMW drivers are (insert derogatory description)".

Given the area I live in, the bigger issue are the pickup trucks, and more than that even are the distracted soccer moms/dads. Nothing worse than a parent behind the wheel trying to pay attention to a kid the back of the suv.

jefnvk

When I rode motorcycles, people riding most of the manufacturers got along just fine with one another, but the Harley and BMW folks were always their own little cliques.

Dunno if it has any relevance to the car drivers. I'd imagine both are owned by similar folks.

jimincalif

BMW must make their turn signals really hard to use, or maybe they are so expensive to fix BMW owners don't want to wear them out? Or maybe they're too busy fiddling with their iDrive knobs to bother with turn signals. In any case it's rare to see a BMW driver actually signalling his or her intentions. And they definitely have a higher propensity to race around a bike to make a quick right turn.

ItsJustMe

BMWs are not cheap. IMO people who buy them are spending the extra money to get the qualities that they possess. That is, fast acceleration and very tight handling. People who want those qualities are probably aggressive drivers. I think those drivers would drive like that regardless of the car that they are driving, but I think there's a self-selection bias at work here.

FBinNY 

I generalized about cars and their drivers for decades, and still do to a degree. I currently live in an affluent county (westchester, NY) and see plenty of BMWs and other high end cars every day, and suspect that it's not as much the car, as the drivers sense of empowerment (resulting from affluence and social status, which allow them to own such a car).


However a few years back I rode into a gravity wave, and crashed in a way that had me bleeding from both arms and legs, plus my face. (5 areas). Before I had a chance to do a quick field assessment, 3 cars stopped to help, and protect me from traffic. After the drivers were convinced I was basically OK, despite appearances, one driver came and said, he'd be happy to give me a lift home, but couldn't take the bike. I told him the I could drop both wheels, and the bike would fit into the trunk.

So he led me back to his brand new white Lexus, with a white velour interior. We stowed the bike, and he found a towel in the trunk to cover the seat, and asked if I could hold my arms in and not bleed onto the seats because it was his wife's new car and she might get upset about blood stains. You had to be there, but this guy went well above and beyond and destroyed my illusions about cars and their drivers.

johnnyace 

This has been my experience, almost without exception. They seem to believe that driving a BMW entitles them to special privileges and considerations not afforded to drivers of other vehicles. The most common issues I see/experience with them are: ignoring right-of-way, cutting off, not using turn signals (although this seems epidemic in Oregon, in general), and not stopping at traffic signals/signs.

They seem to believe that drivers of all "other vehicles" need to bow down and make way for them. I don't see the same behavior from Mercedes or Volvo drivers.

mconlonx

I think there are many fewer drivers of BMWs that are aggressive drivers who buy the cars for those traits, and many more who buy them as a status symbol and happen to be rich, self-absorbed, entitled ********.

For motorcyclists, it used to be the SUV/minivan drivers in the US. In Europe, they always dumped on the euro-equivalent, Volvo wagon drivers.

Nowadays, the scourge of my existence is Prius drivers...

Juan Foote

No doubt. Talk about a good scare!

bulldog1935

My buddy and I drove my car from Palo Duro Canyon to Cheeseman Canyon in 4 hrs 10 min, including stops (US 84, not Raton).
We were young and indestructible...It was an October weekday and there were many 5-mi vistas on the run.
Caught trout that afternoon.

MixedRider

I find it depends on the model. Generally it is the lower end models that I find driving the worst. This goes for any luxury manufacturer... BMW, Merc, Audi, Land rover, etc... I think it is because they "think" they own a fast sports car and try to drive it like one. However, the low end of the luxury brands are just as quick as a Toyota corolla.


People who own the sports models or higher end models of luxury brands I find really enjoy/love their cars. When in traffic or near other drivers because they don't want their car damaged/dinged/etc...


But yes, Prius and Teslas are the worst. Period.

JoeyBike

Wow. Quite a response in a short time.

Thanks. It's not just me apparently. Yes, other models of cars do crazy things here and there and there aren't many Porsche motorcars here (which I am pretty certain that even I would drive like an @$$) to sample. Most motorists in CARS here seem to behave in a predictably bad manner or status quo. For me to even NOTICE some particular vehicle exceeding the normal ratf*** automobile idiocy would take a lot.

Cheers!
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birru

I'm in the Washington DC area so more expensive cars like BMWs (and Teslas for that matter) are a dime a dozen here. I don't see awful or aggressive driving as exclusive to them. The incidents I notice tend to be from various luxury SUVs, lifted pickup trucks, and white utility vans.

One of my cars (Miata) carries a stigma of its own, which sometimes seems like a magnet for drama. I had a pickup driver repeatedly cut me off and brake check me very aggressively, and had another cut me off in a parking lot with the driver smirking and saying, "Sorry, guess I didn't see your little f***** car." Good times.

genec

He probably drove a truck or something....

JoeyBike

Yeah, I was thinking ^that too. Or even a motorcycle, so he could relate.
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Number400

A jackass can drive anything, if only we had them limited to one or two brands!

FBinNY 

No, he worked on Wall Street. We had a nice conversation while I was bleeding all over his towel. He was just a nice guy who believed in doing good when he could. The point is that you can't judge a sheep by it's wool.

People will surprise you, and for the most part for the better (thankfully).

BTW- I wasn't that surprised by the offer. Someone always steps up and you never know who. What made it special was his willingness to risk facing his wife's ire over the bloodstains. Of course he might not have been thinking, then was stuck, but I prefer to think otherwise.

Shimagnolo

I sent the link to the OP to a former co-worker, telling him I thought he'd enjoy it..
He is a BMW owner, and has the misfortune of doing much of his driving in Massachusetts, especially the Boston area.
His response:


Enjoy is one description ... I'll be one of the first to say that I hate those kinds of BMW drivers because they ruin the reputation of a great car and the rest of us who *try* to not drive like ******** pay the price.

I say try because when a car has a reputation people act like ******** to you because they expect you, the BMW driver, to be an *******. I've been cut off (one time actually forced off the road into someone's front yard) by people so many times I've lost count, and it's, as far as I can determine, because they *expect*me* to pull ****, so they feel justified in making the first move.

When I stop in traffic to let someone in from a side road or parking lot I've more often then not see a look of surprise on the face of the person I'm trying to let in; sometimes they won't even take the opening I leave them, I presume because they don't believe I won't make a last second ******* move or something.

Then after awhile of putting up with crap like being intentionally blocked, cut off, and clearly derided, the temptation to act exactly like the other drivers expect us to is quite tempting. It's very difficult to not just say "**** it" and pull a BMW Driver Maneuver (c) and take the advantage for ourselves since the cars can do it. It's a self fulfilling behaviour ... one I *try* to never allow myself to lower myself to doing (and I'm always pissed at myself when I do; when I allow other drivers to drive me to road rage and pull a maneuver like that).

The trouble is, I don't really blame most people for feeling that way, because maybe 10% of us are enthusiasts, while most *are* ******* BMW drivers.

... and I so hate them for that.

indyfabz

It's not you. It's me.

JoeyBike

Nice one. Thanks.

SugarMonkey

My surgeon drives a BMW and has 23 bikes (he's the one who got me into cycling in the first place again after surgery) so they aren't all bad.

JoeyBike

Ever ride with him? I mean, in his car.
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SugarMonkey

I live near him so I see him pretty often.

bulldog1935

it's extrapolating again - we went from a notable percentage to all