# Does this everyday driving scenario bug you like it bugs me? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 7, 2019, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-everyday-driving-scenario-bug-you-like-it-bugs-me/829098 "2019-02-07T02:28:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-everyday-driving-scenario-bug-you-like-it-bugs-me/829098/41 "2019-02-07T17:24:39Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > I understand. Just giving you a suggestion on how to achieve a more zen mindset while driving, since you said that that’s what you want. :shrug: Yep, and I appreciate the input. mmm ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-everyday-driving-scenario-bug-you-like-it-bugs-me/829098/42 "2019-02-07T17:28:55Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > We are approaching a traffic light. The ‘lead’ vehicle stops at the red light. The second vehicle - who is positioned behind the first vehicle and in the same lane, but ahead of me, pulls into my lane ahead of me in order to be first in line at the red light. He, in effect, ‘cuts’ in front of me in line. In my neighborhood the opposite problem exists. People play follow the leader, particularly at two lane left turns. If the first car is in the outside lane, then the next will slot into the same lane, and so on, sometimes until it blocks access to a mostly empty inner lane. Don’t come back with, “maybe they all are going to make a right turn after the left,” because many of them will move into the left lane after the turn. The last few cars don’t miss the light, because they just run the red. > [@minor7flat5](#): > > As a related minor annoyance, what about the person who plods along at 35 in a 45 zone for five miles in front of you, then when the road passes through a town and the limit drops to 25, that same person keeps on at 35. I don’t know why they do that–perhaps they just lock it in cruise all day long. That reminds me of when I lived in Austin in the 80s and 90s. People would pick a speed, and that was there speed, and it doesn’t matter what the signs say. 45 in a 50, then 45 in the 40, then 45 in the 35, all from the same car on the same road. Speaking of Austin and related to the OP. The cars there loved to shuffle. Approaching a red light a car would move over a lane to be ahead, which would cause the car behind to move the other way, and then the car behind that to move… ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-everyday-driving-scenario-bug-you-like-it-bugs-me/829098/43 "2019-02-07T17:54:28Z")
I live in Portland; I expect people behind the wheel to do the most unexpected or assholish things as a matter of course. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-everyday-driving-scenario-bug-you-like-it-bugs-me/829098/44 "2019-02-07T18:05:53Z")
> [@minor7flat5](#): > > Nah. I have always looked at it as a fluid backing up at a shut valve. The cars will naturally find their level. Now I will be wondering how many people are grumbling at me when I do such an act. > > On the other hand, if the cars are in the right lane with intentions of going straight, and the left lane is open, it bothers me a bit if they stay in the right lane blocking any right-turn-on-red. > I smile when I notice someone making an effort to move left as they approach a red light. This is when it bothers me the most, when I am approaching an intersection where I plan on turning right, but now I’m stuck behind some jerk who had to be first in line and is going straight and is blocking me from making a right turn on red. But if I’m going straight and someone cuts in front of me to be first, I don’t care, as long as they don’t dawdle when the light changes. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-everyday-driving-scenario-bug-you-like-it-bugs-me/829098/45 "2019-02-07T18:08:23Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > In my neighborhood the opposite problem exists. People play follow the leader, particularly at two lane left turns. If the first car is in the outside lane, then the next will slot into the same lane, and so on, sometimes until it blocks access to a mostly empty inner lane. Don’t come back with, “maybe they all are going to make a right turn after the left,” because many of them will move into the left lane after the turn. The one place I see this around here, the lanes merge after less than a block, so people get in the non-disappearing lane. I get in it as well if there is any room because the speed limit on that section of road is 30 and I don’t want to merge ahead of someone and go slower than they were accelerating to. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-everyday-driving-scenario-bug-you-like-it-bugs-me/829098/46 "2019-02-07T18:46:57Z")
Some drivers are much heavier on the accelerator pedal than others. When this happens to you, do you have to wait for him after the light turns green while he accelerates slowly? Or does he pull away from you quickly? In the former case you have good reason to complain; in the latter case his move was utilitarian. ETA: Where I live there’s a broad range of preferred speeds and accelerations. Perhaps in U.S., speeds are so close, car-to-car, that the criteria above scarcely apply. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-everyday-driving-scenario-bug-you-like-it-bugs-me/829098/47 "2019-02-07T18:47:48Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > This is nothing major, just an annoyance that I seem to encounter virtually every day. > > I am driving on a 4-lane road (2 lanes each direction). There is are two vehicles in the adjacent lane, I am alone in my lane. Both vehicles are ahead of me, all three of us traveling in the same direction. > > We are approaching a traffic light. The ‘lead’ vehicle stops at the red light. The second vehicle - who is positioned behind the first vehicle and in the same lane, but ahead of me, pulls into my lane ahead of me in order to be first in line at the red light. He, in effect, ‘cuts’ in front of me in line. > > This may be silly of me, but I consider this a breech of driving etiquette and a jerkish move. When I am the driver in that position, I always check to see if I am cutting in front of someone before switching lanes before the red light; if there is another vehicle, I stay in my lane. > > Whatta ya say? Does this get your goat too? Or do you not even give it a thought? I have done this myself, and even when there are no other cars in front of me - but only when I realize that the right lane is also a right turn lane, and if I am going straight, then I am holding up people who might want to turn right on the red light. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-everyday-driving-scenario-bug-you-like-it-bugs-me/829098/48 "2019-02-07T18:56:11Z")
Driving instructor here. I spend 8 hours a day in traffic with new drivers. If drivers would get over their territoriality so that people could merge and switch lanes smoothly, the accident rate would plummet. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-everyday-driving-scenario-bug-you-like-it-bugs-me/829098/49 "2019-02-07T19:10:35Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > OP, if it bothers you enough, why, throw your empty beer can at him! Beer can? Hell, if you’re going to risk an open container violation at least make it worth your while. Go with an Everclear bottle. Can’t get much higher proof and the empty delivers almost as much of a head whollop as the drinking. As to the OP, I see this behavior daily. It ranks somewhere below cuddly kittens on my list of annoyances. ---
**Author:** ![Jet\_Jaguar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jet_jaguar/32/3562_2.png) [@Jet\_Jaguar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jet_Jaguar)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-everyday-driving-scenario-bug-you-like-it-bugs-me/829098/50 "2019-02-07T19:11:34Z")
Like others have said, as long as they don’t force me to swerve or brake harder to avoid them, and they pull away quick enough that they don’t hold up traffic behind them, then I don’t mind. Some of the side discussion reminds me of another driver behavior that I find annoying. I don’t know if there’s a term for this, but I call them “pacers”. That’s when you’re driving along on a multilane road and a faster car comes up from behind, or maybe you come upon a slower car, and in either case once they are alongside they match your speed and just sit next to you. You speed up, they speed up. Slow down, they slow also. I hate it because if you have to swerve for some emergency, you can’t because you’re boxed in. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-everyday-driving-scenario-bug-you-like-it-bugs-me/829098/51 "2019-02-07T19:12:22Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > The one place I see this around here, the lanes merge after less than a block, so people get in the non-disappearing lane. I get in it as well if there is any room because the speed limit on that section of road is 30 and I don’t want to merge ahead of someone and go slower than they were accelerating to. If there was any logical explanation for the behavior, I’d give them a pass. I’ve seen people around here make a long line in the disappearing lane, just because that’s where the person in front of them went. This is a mostly Boulder behavior, though. The farther away I get the less I notice it, so it doesn’t seem to be much of an issue in Denver. I think mostly it is a problem of Boulder drivers acting unpredictably and irrationally. They love to suddenly give way, when not called for. I don’t mean being nice and letting someone in when you’re already stopped. For example, there is no need to come to a full stop in a roundabout to let somebody in, when all they would have had to do was keep going and the person could have gotten in after a few cars. Or the most dangerous I see, stopping in the left lane and waving a car through to make a left turn in front of them, when the turning car can’t see the right lane, and may turn directly into the path of a car that isn’t expecting them. I’ve had people start gesticulating wildly at me when I’m the turning car and I refuse to go, because I can’t see that the right lane is clear. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-everyday-driving-scenario-bug-you-like-it-bugs-me/829098/52 "2019-02-07T19:57:52Z")
To me, there’s a big difference between changing to the left lane while the dotted line separates the lanes, and cutting left across the solid line that separates the lanes close to the intersection itself. That line is solid for the express reason of telling drivers not to change lanes at the last moment – you are supposed to have made your choice before that point. Like so: > **[Traffic Signs And Line Marking Information | RACV](https://www.racv.com.au/on-the-road/driving-maintenance/road-safety/road-rules/traffic-signs-and-line-markings.html)** > > What is the difference between a stop and give way line? Learn the road rules for traffic signs & line markings for our roads. Click here for more information. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-everyday-driving-scenario-bug-you-like-it-bugs-me/829098/53 "2019-02-08T01:05:00Z")
> [@Jet\_Jaguar](#): > > Some of the side discussion reminds me of another driver behavior that I find annoying. I don’t know if there’s a term for this, but I call them “pacers”. That’s when you’re driving along on a multilane road and a faster car comes up from behind, or maybe you come upon a slower car, and in either case once they are alongside they match your speed and just sit next to you. You speed up, they speed up. Slow down, they slow also. I hate it because if you have to swerve for some emergency, you can’t because you’re boxed in. We have a whole passel of drivers here in Las Vegas that think the speed limit is “however fast the car right in front of me is going.” If you do 45 in a 45 zone, they will be right on your ass, doing 45. If you speed up to 55, they do too so they can stay right on your ass. Slow down to 35, and they will too so they can stay right on your ass. I had one guy stay there even when I slowed down to 15 mph, for about 1 full minute. As soon as he changed to another lane, he sped up until he was tailgating some other poor bastard. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-everyday-driving-scenario-bug-you-like-it-bugs-me/829098/54 "2019-02-08T10:41:17Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Driving instructor here. I spend 8 hours a day in traffic with new drivers. If drivers would get over their territoriality so that people could merge and switch lanes smoothly, the accident rate would plummet. Maybe. But I would arrive at my destination 7 seconds later! mmm [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-everyday-driving-scenario-bug-you-like-it-bugs-me/829098.md?page=2)