# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Swampwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Swampwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swampwolf)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/41 "2019-02-11T14:16:16Z")
I know it’s just an apartment complex’s lot, and I know we have a fancy British-sounding name. But this ain’t England, dipshit! Here, we drive on the right! Once you swerve to the correct side of the lot, be prepared for my withering glare as we pass, for you shall receive it in abundance. And they’re just speed bumps, not stop signs. Your F150 can handle them at a little more than 2mph. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/42 "2019-02-11T15:04:48Z")
As a pedestrian, my #1 rule is the cross walk is NOT a parking lot. Don’t stop your car in the cross walk. It is there for pedestrians, not so you can can get to your destination two seconds earlier. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/43 "2019-02-11T15:07:33Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > Number #1: The Generous Driver! > > We’ve all met the guy who slows down so somebody else can turn into the lane or cut across. Y’now what? I won’t normally complain about this. Fine, fine, if it slows me down it’s ok. No big deal. Yep. It’s fine when the situation warrants it, but for god sake, if you have the right of way, don’t stop and wave me through. You aren’t seeing what I’m seeing. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/44 "2019-02-11T15:24:21Z")
The Generous Driver is especially dangerous at a rotary/roundabout/traffic circle. When you’re in the circle YOU HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY! I’ve had people in the circle STOP to let me in. AARRGGHH! I wave them on furiously, while smiling broadly and cursing them. ---
**Author:** ![SingleMalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/singlemalt/32/3961_2.png) [@SingleMalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SingleMalt)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/45 "2019-02-11T15:29:22Z")
The “[Zipper Merge](https://arstechnica.com/cars/2014/07/the-beauty-of-zipper-merging-or-why-you-should-drive-ruder/)”. Learn it. Love it. Use it. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/46 "2019-02-11T15:53:48Z")
> [@Covfefe](#): > > I doubt that works on the majority of stationary stragglers who are texting. ☹ Yeah. They aren’t paying attention to what’s in front of them. Notably the bright green traffic light. I doubt they are going to notice someone behind them creeping up. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/47 "2019-02-11T15:59:55Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > Number #3: The Car-Sitter. > > Don’t just sit in your car in a crowded partking lot, taking up a spot while doing nothing. It’s just… irritating. Sitting in your car in a parking lot? Fine. Sitting in your car while parallel parked on a busy street (or any street, for that matter) _with your door open to traffic_? You’re going to get your door taken off, at the very least, and you will very much deserve it. I can’t believe people even need to be told this, but they really do. And don’t put your goddamn blinker on if you have no real intention of changing lanes or turning. It’s not there for you to turn on and _then_ think about it. For that matter, _know where the fuck you’re going_. Every damned exit I pass I see a half dozen assholes trying to move over 4 lanes to get off. Did they just figure out this is their exit? Or are they just cutting in line at a busy exit? Usually some of both. They’re _all_ assholes. ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/48 "2019-02-11T16:06:48Z")
If you are in the right lane at a red light, and right turns on red are allowed, but you aren’t turning but are instead trying to get in front of everyone who is going straight, you are an asshole. Especially during rush hour. You are preventing people from making their turn and forcing them to wait for the entire light just so you can be first. ---
**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, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/49 "2019-02-11T16:24:46Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > I doubt they are going to notice someone behind them creeping up. Then you doubt incorrectly. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/50 "2019-02-11T16:32:15Z")
> [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](#): > > 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. It’s also a set-up for insurance fraud. They have right of way but wave you on, then they go forward and hit you, claiming you’re at fault as they had the legal right of way when you unexpectedly pulled out in front of them. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/51 "2019-02-11T16:37:29Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > For that matter, _know where the fuck you’re going_. Every damned exit I pass I see a half dozen assholes trying to move over 4 lanes to get off. Did they just figure out this is their exit? Or are they just cutting in line at a busy exit? Usually some of both. They’re _all_ assholes. Also: _own up to your damn mistakes_. If you realize you’re about to miss your exit, don’t barrel across four lanes, risking your life and more importantly, mine. Just go on to the next exit and turn around. You fucked up - but that’s your problem, not mine. ---
**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 11, 2019, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/52 "2019-02-11T17:45:17Z")
Your turn signal should more properly be called an “intention signal.” It should be used BEFORE you initiate a turn or lane change, to signal your intent. Far enough before that other drivers can see it and plan accordingly. It is not a “hey I am in the process of turning” signal – we can all see you turning, even without electrical indications. To those people who complain that signaling in advance allows other assholes to come up and cut off your lane change – so what? I hear this counterargument all the time. But the _possibility_ that a stranger _might_ do something selfish and dangerous does not mean you should definitely do something selfish and dangerous first. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/53 "2019-02-11T20:20:11Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > Your turn signal should more properly be called an “intention signal.” It should be used BEFORE you initiate a turn or lane change, to signal your intent. Far enough before that other drivers can see it and plan accordingly. It is not a “hey I am in the process of turning” signal – we can all see you turning, even without electrical indications. > > To those people who complain that signaling in advance allows other assholes to come up and cut off your lane change – so what? I hear this counterargument all the time. But the _possibility_ that a stranger _might_ do something selfish and dangerous does not mean you should definitely do something selfish and dangerous first. Well stated. The legality issue should speak for itself, but the key issue is courtesy. Not signalling is rude behavior, regardless of how many times they sir, maam, or hold doors open in face-to-face situations. Refraining from signalling as an attempt preempt potential rudeness form others borders on sociopathic, and just perpetuates a race-to-the-bottom in terms of civility. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/54 "2019-02-11T20:38:52Z")
Don’t decide that it’s really, really crucially important that you get to the nail salon to get a manicure, so you jump in your car with near-bald summer tires in the middle of the biggest snowstorm of the year and then slide down a hill and smash into several cars. Because then you ruin many people’s days, and you find that your insurance is null and void for driving with summer tires in a snowstorm, and you have to pay a lot of money and if you don’t you will be sued. and it does not matter if you cry. ---
**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 11, 2019, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/55 "2019-02-11T20:39:13Z")
Please just do what is expected and legal. In residential 'hoods here, people will stop when there is no stop sign and wave madly at you to “go ahead!” Nope, sorry, you have the right of way and I’m not moving until you get your ass across the intersection. It only takes once to be on the guilty side of a lawsuit. Please don’t throw your car door open into oncoming traffic. I really don’t want to make a choice between swerving into oncoming cars and running your dumb ass over. It hasn’t come to that yet, but only because I’ve been able to brake in time. If you’re going to turn left at the stoplight, put your turn signal on as you approach the light. That way, people will know to move to the right lane to go around you when the light changes. Waiting until the light turns green to signal is rude, passive aggressive, and really fucking annoying. ---
**Author:** ![MN\_Maenad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e95f7d/32.png) [@MN\_Maenad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MN_Maenad)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/56 "2019-02-11T20:40:01Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > Number #3: The Car-Sitter. > > Don’t just sit in your car in a crowded partking lot, taking up a spot while doing nothing. It’s just… irritating. I think the key in this one is the “crowded parking lot” part. If you’re at the mall during Xmas shopping season, and there are very very few open spots, please think about whether you really need to be taking up one of them. > [@Shoeless](#): > > If it’s raining, if it’s foggy, if it’s dark enough that streetlights have come on and everyone else has their headlights on, **turn your lights on!** I almost killed my passenger once turning left when the oncoming gray truck didn’t have his lights on while it was raining. And why is it always the gray cars that don’t turn their lights on? That’s the hardest color to see! > [@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. What the hell are you driving? My Prius sure doesn’t “loom”. And it’s shorter than most trucks and SUVs, so there’s no way they can see me. A quick beep on the horn is the only thing I can do. ---
**Author:** ![Celidin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Celidin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celidin)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/57 "2019-02-11T20:45:58Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > Number #2: The Last Minute Lane Change! > > For the love of all that’s holy, plan ahead. Shoving your way into a crowded lane at the last minute just slows things down for everyone. And it’s pretty jerkish to zoom past people and then shove in ahead of them anyway. This is factually incorrect. As described in innumerable traffic studies, which were researched and collected for the book [Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (And What it Says About Us)](https://www.amazon.com/Traffic-Drive-What-Says-About/dp/0307277194/ref=sr_1_1), utilizing **all** lanes of traffic until the point of the merge is the most efficient use of that piece of roadway, and thus the _actual_ quickest way for everyone. And if everyone was properly using all lanes of the roadway prior to the merge, then no one would be “zoom[ing] past” so there won’t be any petty bad feelings. I read Traffic a few years ago and the logic and facts presented within that book turned me from an early merger into a late merger. I won’t be able to do justice to the argument here at work (without my copy to reference), so I’ll leave it at that. Or another way to put it: > [@SingleMalt](#): > > The “[Zipper Merge](https://arstechnica.com/cars/2014/07/the-beauty-of-zipper-merging-or-why-you-should-drive-ruder/)”. Learn it. Love it. Use it. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/58 "2019-02-11T20:47:29Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > The Generous Driver is especially dangerous at a rotary/roundabout/traffic circle. When you’re in the circle YOU HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY! I’ve had people in the circle STOP to let me in. AARRGGHH! I wave them on furiously, while smiling broadly and cursing them. I have a mini-roundabout at the end of my road. When I was driving home a while ago, a helpful bus driver decided, in rush hour, to stop and wave a family of pedestrians across the road. Leaving the ass end of the bus entirely over the roundabout, totally blocking traffic from 5 different roads while a toddler slowly waddled over the road (holding mummy’s hand). I was impressed. Around half the locals don’t seem to realise it is a roundabout anyway, despite it being clearly signed as such. It’s possible to drive right over it- otherwise long vehicles wouldn’t have space to turn, but you’re not supposed to go over unless you have to, it’s to be treated like a normal sized one. There’s laws about it and everything. Despite that, I’ve had number of near-misses there when I’m using it like the roundabout it is, and some complete tit tuning right decides to take a shortcut (UK, other way) when I’m going straight on or turning right from the opposite side. So, instead of us both going round 3/4 of the circle in a clockwise direction, thus elegantly avoiding each other, the tit takes a sharp right and effectively goes 1/4 of the circle in the wrong way, apparently expecting me to do likewise. 99% of the time they follow this up by angrily blaring the horn at me for the sin of following the actual rules of the road, rather than the imaginary ones in their head. ---
**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, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/59 "2019-02-11T21:11:20Z")
> [@MN\_Maenad](#): > > What the hell are you driving? My Prius sure doesn’t “loom”. And it’s shorter than most trucks and SUVs, so there’s no way they can see me. A quick beep on the horn is the only thing I can do. Dodge 1500 truck, so it’ll sit a bit higher than your Prius, and thus, more viewable in a 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, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/60 "2019-02-11T21:17:06Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > If you’re going to turn left at the stoplight, put your turn signal on as you approach the light. That way, people will know to move to the right lane to go around you when the light changes. Waiting until the light turns green to signal is rude, passive aggressive, and really fucking annoying. This times too much. I’d say they do it more out of complete obliviousness, than anything. Truly bothersome, though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269.md?page=4)