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.

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"

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.

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"

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!

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.

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.

model_tar_gz ,

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

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.

TimewornTraveler ,

is Randall on Lemmy?

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.

RidcullyTheBrown ,

I was the car they were waved into a few hours ago. But the car doing the waving was from the incoming lane (left lane on this picture) so it didn't even register that they stopped. I wasn't even looking left, I was just suddenly cut off and hit the brakes as a reflex all the while wondering what happened and why my car is slowing down.

agamemnonymous ,
@agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works avatar

This intersection is the start of my daily commute. Drive to the median, clear of traffic in both directions, then check incoming traffic before proceeding

4am ,

Rhode Island in shambles

floofloof ,

This applies when you're a pedestrian waiting to cross too. There are always those drivers who think they're doing you a favor by stopping one of the lanes of traffic so you can walk out into the other. They smile and wave and look baffled when you don't take the bait.

ramirezmike ,

yesterday a guy tried to wave me to cross then started angrily raising his hands like "FUCKING GO!" completely oblivious to the car that flew past his left side in the opposite direction

Fredselfish ,
@Fredselfish@lemmy.world avatar

Had guy asking me to turn like that and when I refused he gave me the finger as he finally drove on. How come they hold up traffic and then get mad at you for not driving into on coming traffic?

Bertuccio ,

It reveals how they weren't actually being polite. They were doing it for themselves, not you, and you denied them their "good deed" dopamine.

Subverb ,

You're right of course, but in a broader sense there is literally no action that anyone takes that is altruistic. We only do things that benefit us or, rarely, our group as a whole.

Empricorn ,

"Death waits for no one!"

But seriously, glad you're safe...

Karyoplasma ,

Oh god, this reminds me of a cringe mistake just after I was getting my license. I was driving up to a crosswalk and there was a kid standing next to, maybe 8 or 9, holding their hand out. You know, just like they learn at school that they should do that to make it clear they want to cross even tho the car is supposed to stop anyway. I saw this and what did I do? I thought the kid waved at me and my new license, so I just drove past and waved back. What the fuck, brain?

Takumidesh ,

Generally pedestrians have the right of way at crossings (unless it's controlled with a light) in my state and neighboring states, most crosswalks even have signs that inform you to yield to pedestrians.

MBM ,

Feels like at least part of the issue is multi-lane pedestrian crossings. Most of the time that should either be single-lane, a traffic light or a tunnel/bridge.

Player2 , (edited )

In an uncontrolled crossing the pedestrian always has the right of way (North America and Europe at least). They should almost never 'wait' to cross

floofloof ,

If you trust every driver to follow the rules exactly and have their eyes open, you can risk your life by walking out. Otherwise you might wait anyway. And the rules about right of way depend on your country and state.

Kusimulkku ,

Always where? There's a bazillion different rules about this depending on where you live

Player2 ,

North America and Europe, I made an edit for clarity.

ReveredOxygen ,
@ReveredOxygen@sh.itjust.works avatar

Doesn't matter if I have the right of way, I'm not walking into the other lane (going 35 mph) and hoping they don't kill me

Player2 ,

I'm not saying you should be reckless, but too often I see people be either uninformed or unwilling to exercise their rights. To be fair, I do write with something of an urban bias, where thankfully those kinds of speeds are much less common.

Maggoty ,

lmao. That may be true in some places but in others it requires a crosswalk. Also, the rules aren't going to pay your hospital or funeral home bills.

Player2 ,

By crossing I mean a crosswalk, some sort of markings on the ground

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