oxideseven ,

I see this and worse daily here and I rarely drive.

I've seen this exact scenario but the "polite" person is in a normal lane, not a turning lane. I hate drivers here.

TimewornTraveler ,

is Randall on Lemmy?

itsgroundhogdayagain ,

Do what is expected of you, not what is polite.

dejected_warp_core ,

Rules of the road:

  1. Be predictable
  2. Nobody else is predictable
  3. Everyone is indifferent to your existence; you are merely a car to them
  4. Your phone wants to kill you - leave it alone
  5. The faster you go, the less of a difference 5mph makes - be safe, not fast
  6. FFS maintain your damn car
RockyBass ,
  1. Drive sober
  2. If you're even remotely tired, you're attention and reaction time is impacted more than you realize
Strawberry ,

really good point. Sleep on your friend's couch, get a motel room, sleep in your car in a Walmart parking lot.. Just don't drive when you're tired

pantyhosewimp ,

Example warning!

This is from real life.

I hit the road late in the afternoon after working most of the day. It was a 14 hour drive. I had to be there as soon as I could. With my own car. Getting to my mom when Dad died.

I pushed myself so much that I got so tired that I kept missing the freeway exits. I was desperate to pull over and go to sleep but I was also so exhausted that I kept driving past the turn offs unintentionally. A nightmarish feeling being in that situation. I only managed to make it by going turtle slow and then turning off at the next exit, and once on a regular road I just pulled over on the shoulder and fell instantly asleep.

I was 31 and physically fit. The point is, assume you are more tired than you think you are. Take it easy on yourself. Be cautious. If I had hurt someone I couldn’t live with myself.

3ntranced ,

Been driving between Chicago to Houston in single shot trips the past few weeks while relocating. Only 25 and can still stay awake for a good 42 hours or so before I collapse, but mix in the hypnotic highway constantly running past/the car vibrations and it's a different story.

So I always stop for coffee to make sure im mentally present before hoping on I45.

Maggoty ,

to expand on number 5, drive the flow speed! If traffic is moving at 55, yeah that sucks but you're not going to make up more than a minute or so by speeding through them. And if traffic is doing 75, don't do 55 unless you're desperately low on gas. The savings from not maneuvering so much are huge. (Unless you're driving EVs, they have constant power instead of gears and RPMs. Which is why they should be far more clearly marked.)

dejected_warp_core ,

This goes especially for EVs. Wind resistance really chews up your power budget once you're above 55mph or so. May as well run the heater with the windows down at that point.

model_tar_gz ,

A selfish asshole that drives predictably is safer than a generous driver that yields the row.

Smoogs ,

I’ve had pedestrians try to wave me to turn. It is as if they think are the only people on the road I have to consider. One got outright angry at me for not taking his gift with gratitude…there he was yelling at me, nearly being mowed down by a truck coming from an oncoming lane at a 3 way stop. And it still didn’t register to him the danger it would have been to himself and to me and the oncoming truck.

I like the idea of calling them would-be assassins even though assumes the general public are a whole lot smarter than they actually are.

dejected_warp_core ,

Runner up is the assassin that seizes the traffic circle, instigating collisions behind them, just to let someone in out of turn. Only their MO is to delay or prevent a destiny altering meeting of some kind; an advanced tactic.

Theharpyeagle ,

Nothing gets me closer to road rage than people waving me on when they have the right of way at a four way stop. Like yes thank you that's very polite, but we both could've been through this intersection if you'd gone when you were supposed to.

waz , (edited )

I try to never use "the finger" when another driver is being an ass. In that case I always just give them a thumbs down and a sad face.

I save the middle finger for people who are being "nice", especially when it is making things dangerous. I find it is the quickest way get them to just go.

I try to be coniderate while driving. Being predictable is safe. Deviating from the rules is dangerous. I think being safe more considerate than being "nice".

IzzyScissor ,

I've never thought about giving drivers like this the finger, but I'm absolutely going to from now on.

It's not being 'nice'. It's dangerous. That's deserving of a middle finger.

explodicle ,

And it gets them to stop doing it. There's no "oh don't worry I'm good" that they listen to.

Maggoty ,

The only two actual rules that apply to four way stops is everyone stops and the first person to start moving gets the right of way. All that crap about the first arrival or person to the right doesn't get applied in real life. They're noble ideas, but just fucking go if no one else is.

deweydecibel ,

All that crap about the first arrival or person to the right doesn't get applied in real life.

What the hell are you talking about? People obey the first to stop first pull out rule all the damn time.

JonEFive ,

Yes, but there are also a lot of times where they don't in my personal experience. If there's a question about who technically got there first - like two cars approach at roughly the same time - the rules aren't always followed as written by other drivers.

Maggoty ,

Not in my experience. Of course, as long as people are actually stopping, someone already stopped has an advantage. But that's a difference between East and West Coast US driving. In the East people come to a complete stop before moving again. In the West they'll slow down a lot, nearly stop even. So there's definitely regional characteristics. But the most common law is that of our childhood, possession is 9/10ths of the law.

KroninJ ,
@KroninJ@lemmy.world avatar

First to stop is the safer option. I feel that most people around here follow that too.

It also has a rare benefit of seeing the interaction between a majority first-to-goers at a 4 way.

JonEFive ,

Growing up, there was a four-way stop near my house that one of my friends absolutely hated. It was a pretty busy intersection, and he hated that drivers didn't seem to follow the rules that the person to the right goes first or whatever.

One time when I was driving, he was shocked like "what are you doing!? Its not your turn, you're gonna cause an accident!" when I went. I was like "what are you talking about?" I had driven through that intersection hundreds of times and never really thought about it. When I payed attention to the way the intersection flowed, I figured out the unwritten understanding that I and everyone else approached it with. It was basically just "stop and wait for a car or two to go before proceeding". There was no guaranteed order that I could come up with, it was just that everyone in the area seemed to understand.

Written rules are great if everyone is following the written rules. If you follow the written rules at that intersection you'll be fine, but you're likely to annoy someone for a moment. Nobody is going to be confused if you wait, just impatient.

I agree with you. More important than following rules is to pay attention and adapt as appropriate. If you're the only one following the written rules, there's a chance that you're the one acting unpredictably.

Maggoty ,

Yeah the written rules seem logical. But they just don't match with human behavior.

Cryophilia ,

Found the Cali driver

Maggoty ,

Nope, been all over the country. It's always been that way.

starman2112 ,
@starman2112@sh.itjust.works avatar

Yeah this comment should not be so far in the negatives. I much prefer calling someone a dickhead for going before their turn than screaming "YOU HAVE RIGHT OF WAY" at some dipshit who's holding up traffic because they feel like being nice

Potatos_are_not_friends ,

In some towns, these yokels will stop in the middle of the street to wave you to jaywalk.

Like Jesus Christ, NOOO! Stop being polite!

MBM ,

This'll sound unhinged but I think commuting by car is a lot like playing League of Legends (emotionally)

Swedneck ,
@Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de avatar

commuting by public transport is a lot like playing stardew valley

because you're playing stardew valley on your steam deck

DerisionConsulting ,

"You shouldn't do it"

MeanEYE ,
@MeanEYE@lemmy.world avatar

Also worst design for crossroad EVER.

sibannac ,

it sucks that is a common revision in most cities I've been in. Let's just have a highway with 8 lanes and have a tiny turn lane in the middle into a major road without lights at the turn it'll be great. Not to mention it splitting the city in half and pedestrians who don't want to walk a mile to the next crossing cross this 8 lane highway splitting the city in half.

MeanEYE ,
@MeanEYE@lemmy.world avatar

When I saw this sketch I immediately recollected all those traffic accident compilations from YouTube. Who in the right mind designs a road such that is cuts 8 lanes and thinks it's safe enough.

marcos ,

Yes. The future serial killer is clearly the person that designed this shit. The one waving is just a useful idiot.

MeanEYE ,
@MeanEYE@lemmy.world avatar

Indeed.

pantyhosewimp ,

Looks like it might be a stroad.

https://youtu.be/ORzNZUeUHAM?si=-MgK7wtqZ6YUJA2J

JonEFive ,

I grew up in Michigan and this traffic pattern is insane to me. In intersections like that in Michigan, there is no left turn. You drive past the intersection, after which there will be an immediate turnaround. You get into the turnaround lane, go back towards the intersection, then approach the intersection from the opposite side so that you can turn right.

It's so common that it blows my mind how it isn't more normal nationwide. Michigan left

MeanEYE ,
@MeanEYE@lemmy.world avatar

Even this intersection is not a good design if you ask me as it still forces you to cut who knows how many lanes, but at least it's a bit safer. Best would be overpass, but that's more expensive.

UncleGrandPa ,

As a pedestrian I had to turn my back to make a guy stop trying to "help" me get in a fatal accident. He was bound and determined to get me killed... By being a "nice guy"

solsangraal ,

do people in the middle turn lane actually try to get people on the side road to go before them? wtf is even the point of that?

Maggoty ,

I've had people do it, usually it's when the road is packed and they realize it's your only chance. So there's no risk of getting hit like the comic shows. But I've also seen people try it exactly like the above. To be fair the guy turning left here should just turn right and make a U turn at the next light.

Leviathan ,

Yup. Be predictable, not courteous. You'll save lives.

I'm fine with moving forward and using his car as my new stop line until the lane is clear. He's the asshole for assuming everyone waiting behind him wants to be as courteous and patient.

scrubbles ,
@scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech avatar

Thank you!

You're not being kind by doing this! You're being kind to the one person you see but being an asshole to everyone behind you! Follow the rules of the road and everyone will get on better.

ameancow ,

Nothing like getting to a 4-way stop and the cycle is going smoothly then some dipshit starts waving cars and throws everything out of whack and next thing you know everyone is inching forward at the same time.

Equally bad, the entry drives into shopping centers are often made to not stop when entering the lot, this way during busy shopping times traffic won't back up out into the street. This is a normal, common thing, usually plastered with signs "INCOMING TRAFFIC DOES NOT STOP" and you still get people stopping and waving cars through, thinking they're doing anyone a favor, when instead it's confusing everyone as to what the rules are at the intersection. Then cars start driving around each other and you get to hear that sickening "scrrrunch-POP" as the other lane started moving without noticing the rules had changed.

I have a feeling these are the same people who push a full cart into the self-checkout having never used a self-checkout in their lives.

Semi_Hemi_Demigod ,
@Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world avatar

People always complain about Altimas because they're unpredictable, but the absolute worst offenders I see are Honda CRV drivers specifically because they're trying to be polite on the road. I'd take some busted Altima weaving through traffic over a CRV who decides to be nice and stop at the end of the onramp so they don't cut anyone off.

Leviathan ,

Another thing that enrages me is people who think driving slowly is safer for whatever reason.

Getting on the highway? Let's SLOWLY merge at 60% the speed of oncoming traffic.

Changing lanes from stationary traffic into a full speed lane? I won't wait for the lane to clear, I'll just turn signal and move into the lane REAL SLOW because that's safe.

Turning right? Let's slow down to a complete stop and force traffic to a halt so I can turn right.

As a delivery truck driver I can't tell you how many people think that everyone else can just stop on a dime for them and they're being safe because they move over at a snail's Pace.

BigBananaDealer ,
@BigBananaDealer@lemm.ee avatar

fucking hate getting stuck behind some slow driver when trying to get on a highway. like fucker we are supposed to be reaching highway speed on this ramp not when we reach the highway🤬

JonEFive ,

There is an on-ramp for the highway near me that's pretty long. It's long because it's a very straight fast-moving section of highway. In other words, the on-ramp is designed to give you adequate space to get up to highway speed. The number of people who immediately merge into the first lane without getting up to speed is too damn high.

Everythingispenguins ,

I used to have a job where I drove a box truck. It was slow empty and painfully slow full. It was also speed limited to 75mph. So I would tend to hang out with the semis on the hwy. One time I was driving down the hwy and this guy in a pretty new Volvo( so the fast ones) was coming down the on ramp. I could see he was going to merge right in front of me so I slowed down to give him some space. I figured he would want to be in front of the slow box truck. As he got close to the merge he slowed down so he was even with me. I gave him a little more space to merge in front of me and slowed down again. He had plenty of room left in the on merge lane if just used the skinny pedal. Instead he waited until was almost out of room then started honking at me. I did my best to speed up my painfully slow box truck but I am sure he has to slow down to the point he was merging at 45mph as everyone was doing 75-80mph. I am sure he was cursing me too because he wasn't willing to get up to hwy speed before merging.

stalfoss ,

I was taught it was the responsibility of the car getting on the highway to match the speed of the cars on the highway. If you’re already on the highway, keep a constant speed so the people getting on can match you. So he kept having to slow down because you were also slowing down. Just like the assassin pretending to be nice in the diagram, I think you were technically in the wrong here.

Everythingispenguins ,

He never got up to hwy speed if he had he would have easily merged in front of me. I only slowed down by 5 to 10 mph.

AngryMob ,

Right, but its not your responsibility to slow down at all. Its kind of you to do so when the merging vehicle picks up on your intention, but when they don't, it makes a miscommunication like you describe.

Basically, i'd just describe it as being predictable. And bending the rules (even to be kind) is not predictable, usually.

biddy ,

I have a question on this. Let's assume everyone is a perfect driver and must have at least a 2 second following distance at all times. If there's a free flowing queue of traffic on the highway with 2-4 second gaps between, merging in is impossible without someone slowing down and letting you in. Every time I merge this situation stresses me out.

stalfoss ,

Merge into the gap, then slow down slightly to extend the space in front of you, and let the guy behind you slow down to extend the space in front of him. It’s not complicated

Leviathan ,

At 100 km/h (low-end highway spreed), or 1,666 m/minute, or 27.7 m per second, a 2 second gap leaves approximately 56.6 m (185.6 feet) between cars. With the average car length being ~4.9 m (~16 feet), even the absolute worst driver can merge in a space ten times the size of the average car, assuming they're matching highway speed.

Most people have no actual concept of how long 2 seconds actually is or how much space it would leave in reality.

biddy , (edited )

Yeah, obviously you "can" merge, but in doing so you insert yourself into the middle of a 2 second gap creating 2 × less than 1 second gaps. Like I said, in this hypothetical everyone is a perfect driver that always follows the rules, so that's not an option.

For that matter, the driver behind should see that you are about to merge into a gap that's too small and slow down to leave a space that's at least 4 seconds big.

I'd also like to point out that your attitude to driving is terrible, the size in meters of anything on a highway is irrelevant, 2 seconds is not a lot of time to react and slow down a car at 100, and that just because you "can" do something doesn't mean you should.

MajorHavoc ,

Instead he waited until was almost out of room then started honking at me.

People who haven't learned the physics of large trucks spend a surprising portion of their driving time competing for Darwin awards.

I want to will this not to be a problem anymore, but still see it all the time. I'm thankful that I've seen a lot of truckers react in surprisingly aware ways that save lives.

But every time I see it, I can't help but think that driver's luck isn't too likely to hold through too many more times making that move.

Jolteon ,

Getting into the fast moving lane from slow traffic is difficult no matter how you do it. The best way I found is to actually go slightly slower than the person in front of you to get a gap, then use that gap to accelerate.

Leviathan ,

Yeah, that's because you know how to drive. I can't tell you how many people just turn in front of a truck and expect it to slow down for them. Playing with their lives.

Anticorp ,

People are fucking stupid. People behind the wheel of a car are even more stupid.

Velonie ,

Happens all the time as a cyclist at 2 way stop signs. No I don't want to go through when you've stopped and are waving me on but the other direction hasn't. I usually just shrug and point at my stop sign

starman2112 ,
@starman2112@sh.itjust.works avatar

Especially as a cyclist, there's a solid chance they're literally trying to kill you

aeharding ,
@aeharding@vger.social avatar

That's just a shitty road design

johannesvanderwhales ,

Very normal when small sidestreets are intersecting with larger roads.

aeharding , (edited )
@aeharding@vger.social avatar

45 mph multilane traffic, with unsignalized intersection of cross traffic? No, it's a shitty design. Just because it's normal where you live, doesn't mean it's a good design.

How to fix? Just a few examples...

  • Signalize intersection
  • Slow down thru traffic
  • Roundabout
  • Reduce thru lanes, increase turn lane offset
  • Prevent left turns from side street
atocci ,
@atocci@kbin.social avatar

I came to this thread to complain about a road I know that's exactly like this, but I just checked it out on Google Maps to make sure I'm complaining with proper details. and it looks like they actually added traffic signals sometime in the past few months!

johannesvanderwhales ,

Not every side street is worthy of building out a whole intersection for, or slowing down traffic for. Maybe if there actually is that much traffic turning left, but I suspect if that were the case it's likely at very specific times of day. And what, are you going to restrict cars off the side street to turning right and then making a u-turn? That's not better, especially if it's a long way to the next intersection.

This is just a common as dirt configuration, especially in rural areas. I don't find it remarkable at all.

aeharding ,
@aeharding@vger.social avatar

And what, are you going to restrict cars off the side street to turning right and then making a u-turn?

Yes. If there is not enough traffic for a better treatment, and the intersection cannot be made safer intersection, then left turns should be prohibited.

This is just a common as dirt configuration, especially in rural areas. I don’t find it remarkable at all.

Multilane thru traffic with turn lanes is not a typical rural configuration, at all.

biddy ,

Rural areas shouldn't be this busy. This design is fine as long as it's quiet, but it would take 1 more car waiting to turn left to back up the whole upbound road.

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • random
  • xkcd@lemmy.world
  • test
  • worldmews
  • mews
  • All magazines
    •