# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/101 "2019-02-12T16:20:39Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > 10 of 50 looks like a “minority of jurisdictions” to me. You want to quibble with that? No, I won’t quibble with that. And I will correct myself: there are just 8 states that state that the left lane is solely for passing, at least according to this [link](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1OuoaxUAluIz9WIeDTyrc1OovoN6hx_PXYRxfEfi94ic/edit#gid=0). But, also according to the above source, 49 states have laws on the books that state if you’re going slower than other traffic, it’s incumbent upon you to move over to the right lane. So when you originally stated, in post #63, that “the left lane is fair game for just driving and not passing.”, I contend that that’s not entirely correct. If I’m driving on a 4-lane (2 lanes each direction) interstate, and I"m in the left lane driving the speed limit, and you come up behind me, driving faster than I am, I am required to move to the right lane and allow you to pass. Would you agree? Again, I’ll retract my original statement about the left lane being for passing only. That’s the law in just 8 states. I stand corrected. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/102 "2019-02-12T16:51:16Z")
I think the biggest rule, more so than even “don’t be a jerk”, is “be sure you’re not the person you’re complaining about”. You might be doing stupid shit right now. > [@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. > [@Sitnam](#): > > No one knows how to do this so you get one long lane of cautious and yet responsible people and a **fast lane for pricks who are more important than everyone else.** **Bolding mine.** Sitnam, learn it, love it. They’re not “pricks”, they’re merging properly. I was pulling my camping trailer through OK last year, and turned left from a two lane road onto a four lane road. I turned so that I could be in the right lane, as is proper. But a mile (!) ahead, just past the traffic light, the right lane closed. But ALL the people were already in the left lane. WTF were they thinking? I had the whole lane to myself all the way to the traffic light. Naturally, some of the fine people, assuring themselves no doubt that they were excellent drivers, thought I was a prick. Two even tried to block me! What did they expect me to do? Were they going to let me and my trailer in? So I just drove on to the light, merged normally, and went on my way. I think I was out of OK before some of those folks ever made it through the light. As far as I was concerned, THEY were the “pricks”. > [@Gus\_Gusterson](#): > > You are driving a giant SUV, Ram “tough” pickup truck, or similar small-penis compensator (which is carrying nothing more than your fat ass). Maybe I have a giant SUV because it’s the only vehicle my massive penis fits in? Hmm? Anyway, can you please provide a list of cars that are acceptable for people with normal genitalia? I wouldn’t want to be accused of overcompensating and making you upset. KTHX. > [@CoastalMaineiac](#): > > The answer depends on your jurisdiction. Here in Maine, for example, we have a [state-wide law](http://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/29-A/title29-Asec2052.html) that mandates staying in the right-most lane except to overtake slower vehicles, and that law applies only on highways with a speed limit of 65 miles per hour or more, **no matter how many lanes there are**. **Bolding mine.** If this is the law, then what is the purpose of the extra lanes? Can you imagine a 6-lane LA freeway with everyone in the right lane? If traffic can take that, then why have more than two lanes? Because it can’t. ---
**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 12, 2019, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/103 "2019-02-12T17:14:29Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > Knowing that Ohio is not one of those 50 states, based on my knowledge of Ohio driving laws, I don’t think that is right. Sigh. Assholes from Ohio need to leave their laws are home when they come north, and observe our laws. Still, doesn’t Ohio law specify that you must observe signs? I see signs on I-90 all the time telling people to get the heck out of the way (“either keep right except to pass,” or "slower traffic keep right.). ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/104 "2019-02-12T17:23:58Z")
When you’re pulling out of a parking lot with the intent to turn left, stay toward the center of the driveway so people can get past you to pull out and turn right. ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/105 "2019-02-12T17:46:53Z")
Don’t expect that other drivers will know the right of way. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/106 "2019-02-12T17:47:07Z")
> [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](#): > > Don’t expect me to speed up just because you are honking or flashing your lights at me. In Ohio, at least, I do expect you to get out of my way. > [@](#): > > Except when overtaking > and passing on the right is permitted, the > operator of an overtaken vehicle shall give way > to the right in favor of the overtaking vehicle on > audible signal. ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/107 "2019-02-12T18:13:49Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > In Ohio, at least, I do expect you to get out of my way. Don’t forget, I’m slow. ---
**Author:** ![sps49sd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@sps49sd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sps49sd)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/108 "2019-02-12T18:31:26Z")
> [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](#): > > Don’t expect me to speed up just because you are honking or flashing your lights at me. If I flash my lights at you, it means ‘please move from the far left lane to the next one to your right, which has room for you, and is moving at the same speed as you, and perhaps you are not aware of the vehicles behind you that would like to pass’. You don’t have to move, but then I will pass on your right when I get an opening. And there probably won’t be as much clearance as you would like when I return to the far left lane. It’s nothing personal. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/109 "2019-02-12T18:53:17Z")
> [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](#): > > Don’t forget, I’m slow. That’s fine, so long as you are not illegally interfering with the flow of traffic. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/110 "2019-02-12T19:11:59Z")
The car pool/toll lane -Don’t get into it if you’re not a car pool or paying the toll -Don’t get into it if you won’t drive the speed limit. Yes, the people in the next lane over are only doing 15 mph, but that’s the point. If you use this lane, you get to drive 65. If that’s too scary, get the fuck out of the lane. Around here we also get racers on the freeway. Fuck these assholes. Go race on country roads instead of weaving in and out of commute traffic on a multi-lane interstate. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/111 "2019-02-12T19:28:09Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > **Bolding mine.** If this is the law, then what is the purpose of the extra lanes? Can you imagine a 6-lane LA freeway with everyone in the right lane? If traffic can take that, then why have more than two lanes? Because it can’t. In California all lanes on a freeway are independent travel lanes. In the Bay Area I observed that middle lanes typically moved faster than the left lanes during rush hour. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/112 "2019-02-12T19:32:16Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > And as a matter of courtesy, if you’re driving thru a parking lot and it’s raining, it’d be really decent of you to allow pedestrians to get to their cars or the store without making them wait in the rain for your lazy, dry ass to mosey by. True. On the other hand, if you are a pedestrian jaywalking across a busy street, get your face out of your phone to see if someone is about to mow you down, and move your butt. ---
**Author:** ![CoastalMaineiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/113 "2019-02-12T19:33:35Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > **Bolding mine.** If this is the law, then what is the purpose of the extra lanes? Can you imagine a 6-lane LA freeway with everyone in the right lane? If traffic can take that, then why have more than two lanes? Because it can’t. The purpose of the other lanes is spelled out in the law: overtaking slower vehicles. The center lane is for overtaking the right lane, and the left lane is for overtaking the center lane. It’s essentially the same rule as the German Autobahns. Keep in mind for the sake of perspective, the entire state of Maine has only about one-fourth the population of Los Angeles, and 70 times the land area. The kind of traffic that exists out there is non-existent here. There is only one highway in the state with more than two lanes in each direction, and that would be about 40 miles of the Maine Turnpike (Interstate 95) from the New Hampshire line to the I-295 interchange in South Portland. The vast majority of the state is two-lane, undivided rural roads. The nearest traffic signal is eight miles away from my house, and the weather affects travel times much more than the amount of traffic on the roads. So yes, it can work, you just have to have roads that aren’t filled to capacity all the time. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/114 "2019-02-12T20:11:07Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > The car pool/toll lane > > -Don’t get into it if you’re not a car pool or paying the toll > -Don’t get into it if you won’t drive the speed limit. Yes, the people in the next lane over are only doing 15 mph, but that’s the point. If you use this lane, you get to drive 65. If that’s too scary, get the fuck out of the lane. The one thing on that is that I have occasionally been in a carpool lane (not locally, but on trips), and have had cars suddenly pull from that 15mph lane into the high occupancy lane. I can see where someone would be a bit timid about passing cars at such a high relative speed. > [@](#): > > Around here we also get racers on the freeway. Fuck these assholes. Agreed > [@](#): > > Go race on country roads instead of weaving in and out of commute traffic on a multi-lane interstate. :eek: No, just no. Find a closed course, please. ---
**Author:** ![Snake\_Plissken\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Snake\_Plissken\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snake_Plissken_1)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/115 "2019-02-12T20:17:01Z")
…directs you to stop, the green light directs you to GO! Don’t just sit there! It’s not going to change to another, prettier color. Go, dammit! GOOOOOO!!! ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/116 "2019-02-12T20:19:05Z")
> [@Snake\_Plissken](#): > > …directs you to stop, the green light directs you to GO! Don’t just sit there! It’s not going to change to another, prettier color. Go, dammit! GOOOOOO!!! If the intersection is clear and safe to proceed. I have had many times when cross traffic was full of assholes who block the intersection. I have also had many times when the light turns green, the person behind me honks, and then the semi blows through in front of me. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/117 "2019-02-12T22:00:29Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Don’t get a blowjob while trying to drive. I know it’s _supposed_ to be this super hot thing to do but in reality it’s horrible any way you look at it. For one, how can you truly enjoy a bj if you have to devote your awareness and concentration to driving? Conversely, how can you drive safely if you are distracted by getting a blowjob at the same time? In theory it might sound appealing but in reality it sucks (lame pun actually intended). Ever read “The World According To Garp” by John Irving? Oral sex can have dire consequences I for one had not thought about before reading a certain scene. Ouch! I still remember reading the book with great pleasure and warmly recommend it. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/118 "2019-02-12T22:07:22Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > The one thing on that is that I have occasionally been in a carpool lane (not locally, but on trips), and have had cars suddenly pull from that 15mph lane into the high occupancy lane. I can see where someone would be a bit timid about passing cars at such a high relative speed. I understand that, but if drivers are willing to manage this, then they don’t belong in the lane. > [@](#): > > :eek: No, just no. Find a closed course, please. That’s fair. Do your street racing off the interstate, ideally on a course. Also, they should stop doing freakin’ doughnuts everywhere. No one cares about your neat-o moves. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/119 "2019-02-13T00:56:17Z")
The issue I discussed with the drivers bulling their way in was indeed people using and busing a turn lane. This is a problem because the full lane isn’t expecting to have people suddenly shove in at the last moment, and the people trying to turn get stuck behind idiots who fucking stop and plead for somebody to let them in, due to their own poor planning. The issue got so bad at one intersection that the traffic department finally put up physical barriers, as drivers would take the turn lane, go down, and then try to merge mid-intersection. And I’m pretty sure they had to replace several barriers and some drooling morons drove over them. Another, somewhat related oboxious habit is people who don’t damn well pull forward. You’re supposed to leave space between cars, yes, but not entire car-lengths! It’s been a particular problem for me as the Legion of Obliviousness don’t notice people trying to get them to move forward three feet so the next few cars can turn and get out of the way. This is a simple thing, but apparently too many people can’t quite wrap their heads around it. ---
**Author:** ![moes\_lotion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@moes\_lotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moes_lotion)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269/120 "2019-02-13T03:43:12Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > When you’re pulling out of a parking lot with the intent to turn left, stay toward the center of the driveway so people can get past you to pull out and turn right. My neighborhood has many smaller one way streets that are technically one lane with parking lanes on both sides, but are wide enough at the intersections for two cars. More often that not, if I am following another car and approaching an intersection, once the car ahead of me is past the parking lanes the driver will pull over to the right side and signal to turn left, meaning that if I want to turn right I have to wait for them to have an opening in the cross traffic going in both directions before they clear the way. I am always tempted to pull up beside them on the left and signal my right turn but so far I’ve just sat behind them and muttered to myself… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-donts/829269.md?page=7)