Impatient drivers passing on shoulder

[Pilgrim]

When I drive, I keep two things in mind:

1) Traffic laws.

2) Keeping traffic moving.

#2 is important and judgment is involved. There are times it's perfectly safe to pass on the shoulder, if you're looking at what's going on. And sometimes, it's better to make a safe shoulder pass than take a chance on getting rear-ended (if someone pulls a dead stop right after a blind turn, f'rinstance.)

There's an intersection on my way home where passing on the shoulder is an absolute requirement to have any chance of keeping traffic manageable. There is no left turn lane, traffic backs up half a mile in both directions, and the only way you get through the intersection is to carefully move around the cars stopped to make left turns. Traffic is only going 10-15 MPH at that point. So far I haven't seen a fender-bender at this intersection, which is almost miraculous. The city hasn't done a damn thing about this intersection because it's adjacent to a railroad track (state regs apply) and they have a long-term plan to move the road 100 yards east and build an overpass. Of course, that won't happen for 10+ years and we have a major traffic problem now.

 

[MonetBass]

What the hey is wrong with some people? They engage in reckless and illegal behavior and then insist they're in the right and act like angry baboons when told they were actually in the wrong.

And I've been seeing a lot of this, recently. It's depressing.

A lot of people are stupid and just don't care about anyone but themselves. I drive "aggressively defensive"; meaning, I assume everyone on the road is about to do something stupid, so I get out of their way as quickly as possible.

 

[TOOL460002]

the guy in the small pickup felt he got slighted, so he was balls to the wall to get back at the lorry, somehow
that's what FACE does to people in Thailand

The same thing will happen when they cause a near miss by their own illegal actions on the highway & they'll be hell bent that the other driver is at fault.

there's literally a plethora of seriously bad Thai drivers posted on YT
my friends & I share them online, because we've experienced it ourselves

I've been a lot of places & I can safely say that Thailand rates pretty high for dangerous driving, second to Cambodia in Asia.
If you want worse, you need to go to Africa.

I can vouch for Africa being worse, but Bangkok was a circus too. My dad got a license and rarely drove aside from trips out to the country, but never around town.

I can't count the number of times I was almost mowed down by a scooter doing 15mph on a SIDEWALK. The first time blew my mind, even though I had been warned.

But places like that are more just a mess. It's mostly low speed, no organization type traffic issues. Unless it's 3am you couldn't possibly go over 35mph. There's just too many cars all fighting for themselves.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Yeah, that's all over in the big cities, you've got to be listening for motorbikes to come up behind you. If I heard them coming I'd step to the side & watch until they were past me.
When I'd be standing at vendors in the mornings, waiting to buy food for breakfast, folks would race up on their motorbikes & slam on the brakes right next to your leg, ALL the time!
I finally started taking a defensive stance, with my arm reared back ready to elbow their head if they lost control while braking. Soon folks stopped doing it at places I frequently stopped.

You also have to be careful of being clipped in the head by those gigantic mirrors that cross-country buses have on them. I've seen guys get knocked completely out by them.

this is an example of the new kind
the old ones were more swung out to the sides & held up at 3 points by steel bars
they pack a serious WALLOP!

 

[hrodbert696]

My main driving peeve where I am are a couple of intersections where a side road meets a main road. In each, the side road has a stop sign and the main road does not. On a regular basis, for absolutely no reason, when I'm at the stop sign, cars approaching on the main road will suddenly stop and try to get me to go. I'm not talking about backed-up traffic where they're politely allowing me a space to edge in. I mean an open country road without another car in sight. They stop, flash their lights at me, wave their arms around. I sit and watch them and generally swear. I think they have some sort of fantasy that they're being nice and helping me out, as though I wouldn't be on my way a lot faster if they would just woosh by and GET THE EFF OUT OF MY WAY.

Stop sign means stop. No stop sign means no stop. Why is this hard to figure out?

 

[MJ5150]

Must be a New Hampshire thing. We got that all the time around Sunapee and New London.

-Mike

 

[hrodbert696]

Must be a New Hampshire thing. We got that all the time around Sunapee and New London.

-Mike

Maybe. I don't remember it anywhere else. I remember an urban Connecticut thing, that at an intersection with a light, if you were turning left and both sides got the green simultaneously (i.e. no green turn arrow), you always let the FIRST (only) left-turning car go before you went straight through the intersection. That seemed to just be custom and everyone did it, and it made sense, since there could be enough traffic that no one would ever get to turn left if you didn't. The stop sign thing I've only seen in NH (and not in the Seacoast area of the state) and it makes no sense at all.

 

[hbarcat]

My main driving peeve where I am are a couple of intersections where a side road meets a main road. In each, the side road has a stop sign and the main road does not. On a regular basis, for absolutely no reason, when I'm at the stop sign, cars approaching on the main road will suddenly stop and try to get me to go. I'm not talking about backed-up traffic where they're politely allowing me a space to edge in. I mean an open country road without another car in sight. They stop, flash their lights at me, wave their arms around. I sit and watch them and generally swear. I think they have some sort of fantasy that they're being nice and helping me out, as though I wouldn't be on my way a lot faster if they would just woosh by and GET THE EFF OUT OF MY WAY.

Stop sign means stop. No stop sign means no stop. Why is this hard to figure out?

I'm with you on this one. It's even worse with a busy 4 way stop with multiple lanes in all directions. The only way it works smoothly is if everyone pays attention to when they arrive at the line and then goes as soon as it's their turn.

Then someone refuses to take their turn but instead points at other cars and waves them on one by one as if conducting a symphony orchestra. Inside their head they're a professional air traffic controller and their effort will get everyone to work ten minutes faster. Chaos always ensues.

 

[sissy kathy]

 

[Jeff Scott]

 

[hbarcat]

HA HA !!

 

[J-Bassomatic]

 

[guy n. cognito]

My main driving peeve where I am are a couple of intersections where a side road meets a main road. In each, the side road has a stop sign and the main road does not. On a regular basis, for absolutely no reason, when I'm at the stop sign, cars approaching on the main road will suddenly stop and try to get me to go. I'm not talking about backed-up traffic where they're politely allowing me a space to edge in. I mean an open country road without another car in sight. They stop, flash their lights at me, wave their arms around. I sit and watch them and generally swear. I think they have some sort of fantasy that they're being nice and helping me out, as though I wouldn't be on my way a lot faster if they would just woosh by and GET THE EFF OUT OF MY WAY.

Stop sign means stop. No stop sign means no stop. Why is this hard to figure out?

Amen! I hate that!

 

[Robroy]

I drive 150 miles a day on my round trip commute. I've driven in 42 of our 50 states. I've not only seen it all, but have noticed different "problem" driving styles in different states. i.e. in Washington state, slow drivers will camp out in the passing lane, creating gobs of road rage. In Kentucky, turn signal use is rare. etc.

There are things people need to do that can really reduce risk. One of the most obvious is, when you are on a two lane road and need to make a left turn, try to gauge the approach of oncoming traffic and adjust your speed so you don't have to come to a complete stop before turning. That one is HUGE.

Another is crosswalks. In most states, you only have to stop for a pedestrian if they are in your lane or the lane to your immediate left or right. Don't block traffic to wait for a slow pedestrian that is two lanes away from your lane. It is actually MORE dangerous to do that. You risk rear end accidents behind you for no reason.

I don't stop for red arrows any more in many places where I know the road. And a LOT of people don't. There is no reason to, other than the technicality that the left turn light is red. This is why so many of them now have been turned to flashing yellow. The engineers are getting smart. It is stupid to sit at one of those lights where you can see in all directions that there are no cars coming. This is especially frustrating when they are long lights. The result is similar to the result of prohibition - people just started ignoring an unreasonable law.

Passing on the right when someone is making a left turn can be dangerous, especially if it is a cross street - i.e. someone going the opposite direction may be making a left as well. But one can use their God given eyeballs to see if anyone is coming, and then safely proceed around the car. This matters when traffic is heavy in both directions and the car could be sitting there building up a mile of cars behind it.

And when someone is tailgating me, i ignore them if there are cars directly in front of me. I move over and let them by if there are not.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

I've driven in 42 of our 50 states. I've not only seen it all,

Have you seen big lorries smashing small pickup trucks off the road, like in the video I posted?
I have

slow drivers will camp out in the passing lane, creating gobs of road rage. In Kentucky, turn signal use is rare. etc.

I thought both those problems were nationwide. I know driving 10 mph slower than the speed limit in the passing lane is a pastime around here
and it seems like only about 20% of the drivers actually use their turn indicators

 

[Robroy]

Have you seen big lorries smashing small pickup trucks off the road, like in the video I posted?
I have




I thought both those problems were nationwide. I know driving 10 mph slower than the speed limit in the passing lane is a pastime around here
and it seems like only about 20% of the drivers actually use their turn indicators

They just seem to be worse in those states. Washington drivers are notorious for camping out in the "cruising" lane. And I can't believe the lack of turn signal use in Kentucky.

 

[hbarcat]

Northern Wisconsin drivers are notorious for not liking to use the gas pedal. They just sort of let the engine idle speed move them slowly from point A to point B.

And they assume the entire road is their lane and they like to drive right down the middle. When two cars occasionally meet, they reluctantly maneuver to the right edge of the road and slowly pass by. Unless they know each other, in which case they stop and roll down their windows and chat for awhile.

 

[bluesblaster]

now that there was funny, even funnier if it was a front wheel drive vehicle

 

[bolophonic]

In the last two years, I have seen at least five or six people passing other drivers on hills or blind curves. I have been driving for 30 years and only seen it once before. It is the most ultimate combination of "I don't care about anyone/I don't care about myself." I think people should lose their license immediately for doing that.

 

[Jeff Scott]

In the last two years, I have seen at least five or six people passing other drivers on hills or blind curves. I have been driving for 30 years and only seen it once before. It is the most ultimate combination of "I don't care about anyone/I don't care about myself." I think people should lose their license immediately for doing that.

When I lived in L.A. and spent lots of time on the Angeles Crest Highway I'd see guys on their cafe bikes doing that all the time. Many times they ended up off the road and down a 2000' cliff!