CoupleMemes

Everytim

About 20 years ago we went to Wales for a holiday. And when going on trips we always would leave about 3 or 4am to miss most of the traffic.

So it's about 5am and along the way I catch up with another car, an older Porsche, and I overtake them move back over...and he starts to keep up with me.
About 5 or so minutes later he overtakes but stays next to me and gives me a thumbs up, then pulls in front.
Ok, weird.
I follow behind for 10 minutes until I see him gesturing to overtake, so I do. He gives me the thumbs up and a wave and a cheesy grin, then sits behind me for about 5 or so minutes (probably with the big cheesy grin on his face) then overtakes etc etc. We then 'escalated' it to a little bit of acceleration on the overtaking manoeuvres for a giggle. (Though there was no speeding or danger.)

Bearing in mind I was driving a POS ford fiesta filled with suitcases, roof rack with bikes, a wife, and 2 kids, and he had a Porsche.

We carry on doing this for about 90 minutes, keeping each other awake and alert but also entertained.
Then when I thought he was going to overtake he slowed down as he got to my side and made gestures that he was going to pulling off the motorway. Thumbs up. Waved. Cheesy grinned at me. Then roared off.

I remember him whenever I see posts like this. And I wonder if he remembers me.

When we got to Wales and I woke the family up I tell them about 'The Mysterious Porsche Driver™ ', who kept me alert and entertained on the lonely deserted motorway of doom but the wife thinks I'm making it all up.
Then it became a 'joke' that there wasn't ever another driver but a guardian angel. An old Porsche driving guardian angel 😀. Which I may have believed if I was ever religious.

We've been on many holidays and trips since and it's never happened again.

Really? Those people who cant figure out how to engage their cruise control are the bane of my road tripping existence.

Especially when they pass you oh-so-slowly forcing you you to slow down to get in the passing lane behind them when you encounter the next few cars, then they slow down while passing, only to speed up again 2 miles later after you overtake them....

Its about the mildest possible of infuriating, but its like water torture.

When someone goes flying by me I follow along about a half mile behind and let them probe for cops.

Had a friend in school once tell a story about speeding with another driver ahead of him and all of a sudden there's a cop on his ass, lights on. Buddy pulls over to the next lane and the cop points at him and continues to go after the other guy.

When he told the tale, he said he got lucky and the cop pointed at him to warn him before going after the other guy.

I later realized that he probably got lucky that he failed to understand the cop was trying to pull them both over, but nothing came of it (that I heard of anyways).

It is called a fuzz sweeper, follow a raging asshole that is speeding.

Edit: AaaaaAAAAAAAaaaAAAAAaaaAAA 🎶 #Family

all truckers get this designation

It's those single serving kind of friends, ala the plane scene in fight club.

Temporary human mutual benefit alliances. You ride along, notice a fellow driver is placing safety over convenience. So, when car homie needs a slot to change lanes, you adjust your speed to hook them up. Next time, maybe they give you a headlight flick when they notice something coming from behind that is placing convenience over safety.

It's just humans being decent to each other on the road, but it fulfills a pretty deep human need for connection in one the worst settings for human connection.

Then, when they or you take an exit finally, you wave, give a honk, and move on.

But I'm telling you, and you find someone that you can drive like that with, it's awesome. On a really long drive, you can sync up and make better time with less stress. If you get a small group going? Awwwww yiiiiissssss.

I've had the good fortune of hooking up in a group a handful of times over the years. One time, going up to Ohio, a group formed and when one guy signaled and went into a rest stop, we all followed him in and just made small talk until he was done. Went like that all through until right over the Ohio border, where we had to split off for our individual destinations. We'd switch off positions, give hand signals back down the line when something was wonky ahead.

Never exchanged names, never talked about anything serious. But those were some great road friends

No, but you do start to consciously personify the drivers – contrasting the extreme depersonifying that driving encourages (see: "carbrain"). It's all wild, baseless speculation, and you know that, but it's fun to construct a fake traveling buddy in your head based on tidbits and wonder if maybe they're doing the same to you.

(Edit: I will note that I see this as kind of an "orphan-crushing machine" type of wholesome, showing how insanely isolating car travel is through how the human mind will cling onto the tiniest scraps of closeness with another person.)

For sure. Surely women do this too, right?
It's a driver thing, right?

Exactly.

As a car hating random stranger I can still 100% see this being an anime I'd watch

...until the chill guy you've been silently sitting across from the whole ride looks at the station you're entering, sighs, gets up, briefly hesitates, then wishes you a nice evening before leaving. You didn't know you had established a bond until you felt the sting of it breaking.

The 6 pickup trucks behind you riding your ass for only going 5 over the speed limit till there's enough room to illegally pass... I hate driving.

What was fun was once I was in a convoy of like six cars going from my college to the bay area (a bunch of music geeks and I drove together). And halfway through the drive a couple more cars joined our convoy. It was kind of neat hanging out and meeting the new people at the rest area. Normally we all just go to our own gas stations and hope to meet back up on the road, yknow. That trip was special.