Road rant inspired by the funny picture thread.

[jamil]

If you allow a person to merge in front of you, there is no reason to hit your brakes.

That's true, but there are also some real asshats that force their way in where there's no room. No turn signal, just cut you off. The only choice is to break hard or let them hit you. Then you hope the person behind you is paying attention.

People just need to be courteous. Use your turn signals. Wait for an opening, don't make your own.

Abortion threads? Race threads? Politics, religion, gun rights, immigration, tax threads?

You thought THOSE got people mad at each other.

No.

Nothing compares to driving etiquette threads. You want to see some real fury and anger... try and tell someone on the internet how they should drive.

Now listen here 'G'. You don't get to tell me how to OP a thread! Damn whippersnappers think they invented the damn internet. Sheesh. And stay off of my lane!

 

[churchmouse]

As to the "Lane" thing.......

If I am rolling along in my lane and someone "Makes me alter course or speed through ignorance it is just ****ing wrong.......wait until I pass you to pull out especially if there is not a car behind me for half a mile. Left turn on red is when the lane is clear.
Use your damn signal. Put down the ****ing phone and do it right please.
Stay "IN" your lane while texting. Put those peoples life at risk so you can tweet where you are and not mine please.

The yellow light means prepare to stop not accelerate.

I could go on but you get my drift. Yes, it is my spot in the lane when I occupy it. The space is filled up with me. Not to be shared.

 

[KLB]

As to the "Lane" thing.......

If I am rolling along in my lane and someone "Makes me alter course or speed through ignorance it is just ****ing wrong.......wait until I pass you to pull out especially if there is not a car behind me for half a mile. Left turn on red is when the lane is clear.
Use your damn signal. Put down the ****ing phone and do it right please.
Stay "IN" your lane while texting. Put those peoples life at risk so you can tweet where you are and not mine please.

The yellow light means prepare to stop not accelerate.

I could go on but you get my drift. Yes, it is my spot in the lane when I occupy it. The space is filled up with me. Not to be shared.

People are always trying to share my lane with me.

The ones I really love are when I am in the right lane coming up on someone to the left and they suddenly decide to move over in front of me.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Nope. Not even close to the same thing.

Do those of you that are against it plant yourselves in the left lane and refuse to move over for someone driving faster? Then get mad if someone has the audacity to actually pass you?

Nope I don't. Especially now that it's illegal to do so. I do however make sure I'm in the correct lane for my upcoming exit at least a mile or more before I "have" to be there. Same as when I see a sign saying, "Right (or left) lane ends in 1 mile" due to construction.

 

[jamil]

As to the "Lane" thing.......

If I am rolling along in my lane and someone "Makes me alter course or speed through ignorance it is just ****ing wrong.......wait until I pass you to pull out especially if there is not a car behind me for half a mile. Left turn on red is when the lane is clear.
Use your damn signal. Put down the ****ing phone and do it right please.
Stay "IN" your lane while texting. Put those peoples life at risk so you can tweet where you are and not mine please.

The yellow light means prepare to stop not accelerate.

I could go on but you get my drift. Yes, it is my spot in the lane when I occupy it. The space is filled up with me. Not to be shared.

You'd love driving in Mississippi. Once you make eye contact, you've given them permission to pull out in front of you.

 

[Brandon]

This lane share didn't go as planned. Gap wasn't big enough for the car to try... to important to just hit the brakes and wait a minute.
[video]https://youtu.be/UAlSskuIWHE[/video]

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

I guess it's because I'm getting older, but these days, I try to get over as soon as I see the merge sign, and then let people get over in front of me if they need to.

I'd rather let in a few selfish drivers than to stubbornly hold my position and deny someone who made an honest mistake and didn't get over sooner.

And, I agree with GFGT and others, it doesn't matter as much how or when drivers merge, as much as it matters how fast drivers are able to get through the end of the bottleneck. And, if it doesn't matter, why not just kick back and relax.

 

[churchmouse]

This lane share didn't go as planned. Gap wasn't big enough for the car to try... to important to just hit the brakes and wait a minute.
[video]https://youtu.be/UAlSskuIWHE[/video]

And I will bet you a Cheeseburger she is Pi$$ed off.

 

[ArcadiaGP]

And I will bet you a Cheeseburger she is Pi$$ed off.

You're playing fast and loose with these cheeseburgers.

 

[churchmouse]

You're playing fast and loose with these cheeseburgers.

Yeah it could bankrupt me.

 

[Brandon]

Cheeseburger

 

[jamil]

This lane share didn't go as planned. Gap wasn't big enough for the car to try... to important to just hit the brakes and wait a minute.
[video]https://youtu.be/UAlSskuIWHE[/video]

And I will bet you a Cheeseburger she is Pi$$ed off.

That was plain stupid. She didn't want to get temporarily stuck behind the truck in her lane so she tries to wedge in front of the truck. The trucker could have played it better--a lot of cars passing him on the right means he probably shouldn't be in the passing lane. And he probably could have taken better steps to avoid contact. But as I see it she was clearly the main cause of that mess.

 

[Brandon]

Cars in the right had a bigger gap and rolled the dice. He was trying to pass a truck while others kept getting in front of him. Let him make his pass, wait the minute and get on with life. It's really simple.

Better steps to avoid contact - What steps could he have taken?

 

[eldirector]

Are the cars in the "through lane" stopped or moving significantly slower than those still in the lane that is ending? If so, you waited to long. Should have merged when your speeds still matched. Not my problem... you can wait for a break in traffic.

The "zipper" only works when traffic is moving at similar speeds. If you are rushing passed folks, and breaking hard to "merge", you are doing it wrong.

 

[tatic05]

Wow, I didnt know my comment on that thread would create a whole different thread. I feel proud...

I agree with Jamil on this. The way I see it you have a$$hats in one lane trying to rush ahead of everyone and then you have a$$hats in the other lane not letting anyone in. How about trying to not be an a$$hat. Like the point was already made, I would rather slow down a mile from the merger than slowing down 2 miles away. 2 miles away would take longer to get through than 1. Pretty basic math there. For those that think if everyone would merge ASAP and there would be no accordion effect are wrong too. There are a$$hats who brake for no reason or ride the brake through the entire zone.

 

[jamil]

Are the cars in the "through lane" stopped or moving significantly slower than those still in the lane that is ending? If so, you waited to long. Should have merged when your speeds still matched. Not my problem... you can wait for a break in traffic.

The "zipper" only works when traffic is moving at similar speeds. If you are rushing passed folks, and breaking hard to "merge", you are doing it wrong.

I think you have it backwards. You waited to long if your lane is significantly slower than the through lane. At that point you can't really help but make people in that lane break when you merge. And if the through lane is aready significantly slower, it won't take long for the ending lane to slow right with it.

 

[maansmit]

Yeah it could bankrupt me.

You are a mod now, people should be buying you cheeseburgers...

 

[jamil]

You are a mod now, people should be buying you cheeseburgers...

I dunno. Does Fenway have a policy about Mods taking bribes?

 

[JettaKnight]

If the traffic "zippers" together 1/2 mile before the restriction versus 10 ft, it still zippers together and you're still limited by the construction zone traffic limit. There'd still be stopped or slowed traffic because of the merging and lowered speed limit. It's not like we'll all be cruising along at 65mph, then zip together at the construction zone and continue to cruise. No, if the traffic is sufficient it'll stop and backup as everybody adjusts.

If you're the only guy/gal that is not getting over until the last minute and then wondering why everyone else is being the ***-hole, it's entirely possible that it's not everyone else that are the ***-holes.

But now you've pushed the traffic back farther and are affecting crossroads, exits, entrances, etc. Plus, that's a half mile of extra padding needed to push traffic through using one lane.

If it's soooo cool to merge early, then why even have two lanes at all?

If there's a half mile of clear road - USE IT!

 

[JettaKnight]

Along these same lines, it irritates me no end when people try to establish "spacing" between themselves and the car in front of them when a red light turns green. If everyone stepped on the gas at the same time and remained bunched up until clear of the intersection, more cars could make it through the light, reducing backups in that situation. Again, that's a theoretical situation and I realize it's never going to happen.

It will work with automated cars.

But, with humans, we need more distance because we need more time to react and brake. At a stop light, I need about 2". As I accelerate, I need a cushion to allow for reaction.

Heck, with "smart traffic" stoplights are unnecessary. Computerized cars need a very small gap to get through and cars can travel in all directions at full speed. Computers are faster at reacting and judging timing of traffic. For a computer, running through an intersection at full speed and missing another car by one foot is SOP, for me, it's time to change my pants.