# Driving Don'ts **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 10, 2019, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269 "2019-02-10T03:59:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2019, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/21 "2019-02-10T16:04:42Z")
> [@slumtrimpet](#): > > Those of you who are a bit hesitant to drive the speed limit on a winding country road; perhaps you’re enjoying the lovely scenery, or maybe there’s a snowflake drifting gently down, please pull over when it’s safe to let the fifteen cars behind you get along with their lives. tyvm. There is a “winding country road” I drive every day that is posted 40 mph (an odd speed, 35 and 45 are way more common). I have challenged visitors to travel this road for its 2.25 miles at 40 mph; it’s impossible. You can do it at 25 mph, but even that is pushing it going through one of the tight “S” bends. Then again, I rarely see another car while driving this road. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2019, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/22 "2019-02-10T20:34:37Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I second this. When someone doesn’t use their turn signal I get so angry I’m tempted to throw my beer at them. :mad: It gets me irate as I take it as a gesture that they’re thumbing their noses at me and others on the road. I take it personally, though I’m not sure why. ---
**Author:** ![The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_King_of_Soup)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2019, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/23 "2019-02-10T20:45:28Z")
I agree mostly with the OP but I would phrase it as "Do not screw up [right-of-way."](https://www.safemotorist.com/Articles/Right_of_Way.aspx) I do not want you to wave me in front of you in order to be nice. I do not want you to do this for anyone else. You are doing the most dangerous thing you can do on the road: making traffic move in unpredictable ways. If you come to a stop and invite me to turn left in front of you, you’re inviting me to get hit by the car behind you that, thinking you’re either turning left without signaling or are suddenly stricken with catalepsy, swings around you. This goes double if you’re driving something too big to see past. And, “Keep right except to pass” is a good idea everywhere, even surface streets, because you never know when an emergency vehicle will show up. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2019, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/24 "2019-02-10T22:47:52Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I second this. When someone doesn’t use their turn signal I get so angry I’m tempted to throw my beer at them. :mad: **kayaker** , you _know_ you shouldn’t drink and drive; you might hit a bump and spill your drink. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2019, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/25 "2019-02-10T23:27:19Z")
At a stop light, if the car in front of you doesn’t budge when the light goes green, do not drive right up against their bumper to nudge them forward. Actually, instead of honking, which can backfire if the dweeb in front of you takes it personally, just drive slowly forward, and they’ll see you looming towards them in their rear-view mirror. Every time, they take off like a SHOT. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2019, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/26 "2019-02-10T23:36:59Z")
If you are driving on the freeway with your hazard lights on you should be in the right lane. I appreciate that you might have a car problem, you might have changed a tire and be driving on a donut or you might just be uncomfortable driving in the current weather. To me, having your hazards on says that there is something wrong with your car and since you are usually going far less than the speed limit, you need to be in the right lane. Also, if traffic ahead of you is slow and there is a long exit lane coming up, do not get into that lane to try to pass a few cars on the right. I want to get off at that exit but I now have to wait for the traffic to move so that you can merge back in when I should be on my way. ---
**Author:** ![Covfefe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ee7513/32.png) [@Covfefe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covfefe)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2019, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/27 "2019-02-10T23:38:08Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > At a stop light, if the car in front of you doesn’t budge when the light goes green, do not drive right up against their bumper to nudge them forward. > > Actually, instead of honking, which can backfire if the dweeb in front of you takes it personally, just drive slowly forward, and they’ll see you looming towards them in their rear-view mirror. > Every time, they take off like a SHOT. I doubt that works on the majority of stationary stragglers who are texting. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_King_of_Soup)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2019, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/28 "2019-02-10T23:43:25Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > At a stop light, if the car in front of you doesn’t budge when the light goes green, do not drive right up against their bumper to nudge them forward. > > Actually, instead of honking, which can backfire if the dweeb in front of you takes it personally, just drive slowly forward, and they’ll see you looming towards them in their rear-view mirror. > Every time, they take off like a SHOT. You know you’re describing slightly different degrees of the exact same behavior, right? The horn is designed to signal other drivers to (at least) be alert to the traffic around them. It’s not an insult, it’s not a threat, and it is definitely (from a safety standpoint) preferable to closing the distance to a stopped car at an intersection. Frankly, even if I were distracted at an intersection, I think I’d prefer a honk to the much more aggressive behavior you prescribe, even though you are (in your post) nice enough not to actually hit me. ---
**Author:** ![The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_King_of_Soup)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2019, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/29 "2019-02-10T23:51:03Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > If you are driving on the freeway with your hazard lights on you should be in the right lane. I appreciate that you might have a car problem, you might have changed a tire and be driving on a donut or you might just be uncomfortable driving in the current weather. To me, having your hazards on says that there is something wrong with your car and since you are usually going far less than the speed limit, you need to be in the right lane. Also, if traffic ahead of you is slow and there is a long exit lane coming up, do not get into that lane to try to pass a few cars on the right. I want to get off at that exit but I now have to wait for the traffic to move so that you can merge back in when I should be on my way. If your hazard lights are on, you should be pulled over in the emergency lane. There are too many different types of vehicles, some of which can drive safely in, say, sudden heavy driving rain and wind, and many more which cannot, and in fact are dangerous to and endangered by everybody else. If you cannot drive safely, DON’T DRIVE. Pull over, turn your hazards on so you don’t get rear-ended, and stay off the road until there is little enough traffic for you to make it off the road or highway. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/30 "2019-02-11T00:20:04Z")
> [@Covfefe](#): > > I doubt that works on the majority of stationary stragglers who are texting. ☹ Even texters (easy to spot with their bent-down heads) peripherally spot me in their rear-view mirror. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/31 "2019-02-11T00:31:27Z")
> [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](#): > > You know you’re describing slightly different degrees of the exact same behavior, right? > > The horn is designed to signal other drivers to (at least) be alert to the traffic around them. It’s not an insult, it’s not a threat, and it is definitely (from a safety standpoint) preferable to closing the distance to a stopped car at an intersection. Frankly, even if I were distracted at an intersection, I think I’d prefer a honk to the much more aggressive behavior you prescribe, even though you are (in your post) nice enough not to actually hit me. Driving forward behaviour is VASTLY more effective and non-confrontational than honking behaviour, the latter quite often eliciting bird-flipping or angry hand waves. No such reactions, at all, have arisen from my driving forward, as they promptly heed the wake up call. ---
**Author:** ![Covfefe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ee7513/32.png) [@Covfefe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covfefe)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/32 "2019-02-11T00:49:12Z")
All car horns should come with volume control levels, really. I heard that idea for the first time recently and thought, of course. A person who would get agitated by a soft honk would probably be off kilter as to be emotionally provoked if they thought someone was toying with them or violating their space by inching up behind them. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/33 "2019-02-11T00:50:28Z")
Yeah, except for the idiot who rear-ended my pickup doing that shit because she didn’t grok the reason I wasn’t moving (yet) was because there were _two other vehicles in front of me_ that weren’t moving yet. So she hit my truck. Of course, if she had _put her fucking phone down_ she might have been more aware of what the hell was actually going on. It’s not that I was inattentive or whatever - it was because if I had tried to move at that point I would have rear-ended someone else. Probably the only reasons we didn’t have a chain reaction accident was, first of all, there wasn’t room for her to get up enough speed and, oh yeah, I was in a _truck_ and she was in a significantly smaller vehicle. So yeah, maybe consider there is a REASON someone isn’t doing a jack-rabbit launch from a standstill sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/34 "2019-02-11T01:25:33Z")
> [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > Taking your question in good faith, I’d say that it’s a great rule of thumb that on most multi-lane roads, in normal traffic conditions, we should all make an effort to stay out of the left lane except when necessary for passing or making turns. > > But before we get to codifying that suggestion for every conceivable driving scenario and exception, I think it would be great to enforce it on highways to start. I can’t begin to tell you how often I see cars loitering in the left lane for no reason. They accumulate tailgaters and force people to pass on the right, which is unsafe. I see it every day. Every. Damn. Day. > > I suspect one reason for this is that we mostly enforce speed violations. Some states do make an effort to enforce staying out of the passing lane, but we should emphasize this much more. I agree with you absolutely on travel between cities. I don’t know that it’s really reasonable or even meaningful advice when you are in a rush hour city traffic on a high way that’s 4 or 5 lanes across: if I am going 10-12 miles in conditions like that, I often stay in the next-to-left most lane because there’s less merging in and out–but it rarely traveling faster or slower than the lanes on either side. On surface streets? I don’t think it’s even an ideal. In busy city traffic, waiting to get over until less than a block away means struggling to insert yourself into a crowded lane that’s not moving any faster than you are, anyway, and encourages risk-taking. And if it’s not crowded, it doesn’t really matter, does it? There are three lanes, it’s pretty easy to go around someone if they are in the left lane in preparation for a turn. Plus, city traffic just seems to move the speed it moves. You shouldn’t be going much faster or slower than anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/35 "2019-02-11T02:17:04Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > So yeah, maybe consider there is a REASON someone isn’t doing a jack-rabbit launch from a standstill sometimes. Um, not sure if I called such a REASON into question, to begin with. ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee7513/32.png) [@Mona\_Lott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lott)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/36 "2019-02-11T03:41:50Z")
Don’t pass the snow plow. ---
**Author:** ![sps49sd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@sps49sd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sps49sd)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/37 "2019-02-11T06:53:20Z")
I was almost T-boned due to an idiot thinking he was being ‘nice’. 4 lane undivided street, I’m in the no. 1 lane (left lane, ‘passing lane’) driving past a grocery store. This dumbass in the right lane ahead of me brakes to slows down; I figure he’s turning in to the store parking lot without signaling, no big. Nope. He’s stopping to allow someone in the parking lot to come out and turn to that person’s left. This person and I can’t really see each other because Dumbass is between us. So they see Dumbass wave them on, but they don’t see me. Until the cross in front of Dumbass. My (15 yo student driver) daughter hit the brakes and swerved left a bit, they stopped maybe a foot into our lane. I figure Dumbass lets people go at 4-way stops because he can’t figure out who is next, which makes it harder on everyone else stopped to figure out who is next. ETA: In my state, using the horn for any reason other than to prevent a collision is illegal. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/38 "2019-02-11T07:49:53Z")
Double left turn lanes: STAY IN YOUR FUCKING LANE!! ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/39 "2019-02-11T11:20:06Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > Double left turn lanes: STAY IN YOUR FUCKING LANE!! Same for multiple right turn lanes. And don’t fucking honk at _me_ when I’m the one turning into the correct lane. ---
**Author:** ![Gus\_Gusterson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@Gus\_Gusterson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gus_Gusterson)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/40 "2019-02-11T12:51:08Z")
You are not driving a semi. You don’t have to swing left to make a right turn, nor do you have to swing right to make a left turn. You are driving a giant SUV, Ram “tough” pickup truck, or similar small-penis compensator (which is carrying nothing more than your fat ass). You can survive driving over a manhole cover. Don’t swerve to avoid it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269.md?page=3)