Twice in the same day, an idiot driver has almost caused an accident with me by not obeying stop sign procedures.
#1: I’m approaching a 4-way stop. An ‘Astro’-type minivan is coming to a stop on the road from the right. He stops, I stop, he goes, I go. Then I slam on the brakes for the car behind the Astro that didn’t feel the need to stop at the stop sign. She puts her hand up to the window as if to signal ‘I need to keep immediately behind that Astro.’ Fine, I figure. My van’s big, and maybe she wouldn’t lost track of the person she was following. But then at the next signal, they turn opposite ways. bitch
#2: I’m approaching an intersection where I have no stop signs. The road to the right comes to the intersection at about a 45[sup]o[/sup] angle, so that its traffic is mostly facing me. (Also, my street veers slightly left.) Suddenly, a woman there decides that I’m probably going to turn down her street, so she can pull out even though I have on my left blinker indicating that I’m either continuing on my left-veering street or turning left fully, in either case I have the @!#?@! right of way! Another screeching stop, a puzzled look from her, and another shot of adreniline racing through my blood.
(I’d say something about Maryland drivers, but now that I’ve moved here and gotten my tags, I’m an MD driver too. )
You know, **AWB, ** when I think of all the times I have nearly collided with other drivers, just by assuming that since I know/obey traffic laws, they will too…I should be gray by now.
My personal pet peeve is the Death Of The Blinker. People just don’t use them anymore; I don’t know when the memo went out that blinkers are passe these days, but it drives me insane. People changing lanes/merging/turning…I’m just supposed to know, through psychic powers, exactly what their plan is, and then compensate for it. If I don’t, they honk and give me the finger, like I’M the problem, for not being aware at all times of their mysterious plans.
And then there’s the morons who leave their blinkers on. Forever. Right blinker blinking, while the driver is changing lanes to the left. I don’t know about you, but on my car, the large blinking arrow is pretty prominently displayed on my dash; how can anyone miss that? It even makes noise, for God’s sake! “Plink/Plink/Plink/Plink/Plink…”
As for four way stops don’t even get me started! I nearly had an accident on Thursday. I was first to stop at the intersection and I intended to turn left. Normally the oncoming car would have had the right of way, to go straight, but a four-way is first come first served. So I start to turn left in front of the other car and she starts rolling through as well!! I lean on the horn and see her face turned towards mine with a WYF expression. How do some people live to grow up?
I like whichever genius suggested that, if you leave the blinker on indefinitely, the car should just turn in that direction after fifteen seconds or so.
I continue to use the turn signal, although in California it’s considered a sign of weakness. “Quick, he’s attempting to merge and/or turn - cut them off!”
The death of the blinker is all too true. It’s enough where if someone does show enough courtesy to use a blinker, I will go out of my way to make sure they can get in my lane.
I’m just glad people around here are familiar with SOP at four-way stops. Seems to be the only thing they know other than how to drive in a straight line.
I love the folk who give a blink or even less-the half blink to indicate that they’re thinking about making a lane change, at 70 while talking on their cell phones.
The law in Texas for a 4-way stop is that whomever is sopped first has the right of way, and in the case of simultaneous stops, the automobile on the right has the right of way. This gets terribly confused by those who never really quite stop.
Last night, delivering pizza (I must love ot drive), I noticed someone tailgating me. I was drving slightly slower than the speed limit, looking for my address. I realized that I had passed it (probably because I was worried about the tailgater), so I decided to just pull off and let him by. There was absolutely no shoulder, but there was a driveway just ahead on the left. I signalled to turn in. Just as I was about to turn in, he decides to pass me. If I hadn’t glimpsed him in my mirror as I turned, he would’ve sideswiped me.
My problem is suburban drivers thinking all street have 4-way stops, usually they stop then go thinking I’m supposed to stop at the 2-way stop. So far close but no accidents, for me.
On New Year’s Eve (during the day, before people were plastered), a woman in a big SUV blew right through a stop sign, in the rain, and slammed the back end of my poor little Honda. She was on a side road, I was on a busy road. I had no stop sign.
She didn’t go through an ordinary stop sign, no, she went through one of those Giant Stop Signs, like they were for the visually impaired. She claimed she couldn’t stop in time. Funny, I was looking right at her (checking the side road), knowing I was going to get plowed, and her vehicle never even swerved on a wet road. I stomped on the gas hoping to clear the intersection, and almost did…
Man, I haven’t been spun around like that since the last carnival ride I was on. At least I didn’t feel like puking this time.
So, in order to know what a @!#?@! stop sign means, I guess you have to see it first. Maybe if she weren’t on her friggin’ cell phone, she would have noticed the sign, but that’s a whole other rant.
BTW, I had a big rust spot where I got hit that I was meaning to get repaired. It’s gonna get fixed now, and for free!
Hey, AWB, i’m just up the road in Baltimore. If possible, i think the drivers up here are even worse than those in the DC area. While i’ve found that drivers around Washington can be ignorant and stupid, up here you can also add “actively homicidal” to the mix.
Some rules for surviving Baltimore:
Never, ever, accelerate away immediately the light turns green, or you are more than likely to be t-boned by one of the thousands of red light runners.
Check at least five times before venturing beyond a stop sign, and be very careful even if you have right of way, because street signs mean so little to local drivers.
If you happen to be out of your car and walking, never step into a crosswalk or obey a green “WALK” sign, because neither of these things mean anything to Baltimore drivers. On many occasions, when i’ve been driving, i’ve been honked at repeatedly by drivers behind me for allowing pedestrians to cross the road when the pedestrians had right of way.
There is one redeeming feature about this behavior. It is the one aspect of Baltimore life that seems to apply almost universally, regardless of race, gender, age, or level of affluence.
Wow! It’s been 15 years, but someone has finally gotten the reference! “@!#?@!” is indeed exactly what Q-bert says when he gets bonked on the head! Bravo! 1000 points!
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