# Driving ranty-rants **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 31, 2011, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-ranty-rants/576655 "2011-03-31T18:24:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-ranty-rants/576655/21 "2011-04-01T02:31:38Z")
I run into this (heh) on a semi-regular basis on my way to work - I have to merge onto a fairly fast and furious neighbourhood road that has a bus stop halfway down the merge lane (and about half the time, a bus stopped in it). It’s an accident waiting to happen. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-ranty-rants/576655/22 "2011-04-01T02:38:47Z")
Thought of another thing I run across on a far-too-regular basis - when there is room for two cars going the same direction at an intersection, and you’re making a right turn, for the love of all that’s holy, make your right turn from as far right as you can, instead of blocking me from going straight through on the green light. YOU can turn throughout the red light; I’m stuck here now that the light has turned, and for no good reason. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-ranty-rants/576655/23 "2011-04-01T03:04:16Z")
If your intention is to coast out into the road a hundred feet in front of me and then make me slam on my brakes because I’m suddenly going 25 instead of 50 as you take your sweet ass time getting up to speed, why the fuck couldn’t you have waited ten seconds for me and the guy behind me to go by first? There’s no one behind us for a mile! ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-ranty-rants/576655/24 "2011-04-01T03:35:09Z")
I know you want to be in my lane. (I don’t know why, since there is no-one in your lane for about a mile.) I can tell you want to be in my lane, not because you are doing something sensible, like using your directional, but because you are slowly edging into my lane. Right beside me. Instead of speeding up, or slowing down, or using your transporter to get around me, you are apparently planning to nudge me out of my lane. It doesn’t work that way. Basic physics. I am here; there is no room for you. Speed up, slow down, or insert your ear-plugs because I will ride my horn right behind you for eight miles if you keep this up. ---
**Author:** ![SarahFox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dec6dc/32.png) [@SarahFox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SarahFox)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-ranty-rants/576655/25 "2011-04-01T04:09:19Z")
I can’t stand when people ride their bikes down the middle of the road instead of the sidewalk or bike lane. Nor can I stand it when people walk down the middle of a specified bike only lane. Just the other day this girl just walked right into the bike lane as I came on my bike and I crashed into her sticking out backpack and almost fell to the ground. Like an air head she just walked off like it was nothing Malchik gey pokazhi mne lyubov ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-ranty-rants/576655/26 "2011-04-01T04:37:35Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > If your intention is to coast out into the road a hundred feet in front of me and then make me slam on my brakes because I’m suddenly going 25 instead of 50 as you take your sweet ass time getting up to speed, why the fuck couldn’t you have waited ten seconds for me and the guy behind me to go by first? There’s no one behind us for a mile! I have been wondering that for a long, long time. I have also wondered many, many times why they have to pull out in front of me and then turn left right away when there was no one behind me. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-ranty-rants/576655/27 "2011-04-01T10:46:36Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > I pit people who, when exiting a parking lot in the middle of the block on a major thoroughfare, insist on turning left and making everyone behind them bide their time while they wait for break in both directions. > > Particularly when people start honking their horns at them and they look back with an innocent and bemused “what do you expect me to do?” expression on their face? This one falls squarely under the “tough shit” category. Just practice your patience and wait your turn. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-ranty-rants/576655/28 "2011-04-01T12:04:33Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > This one falls squarely under the “tough shit” category. Just practice your patience and wait your turn. Exactly. Sometimes people need to actually turn left. Suck it up and wait or get pissed at the traffic engineers who failed to put in separate turning lanes. In others word don’t hate the driver, hate the lane. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-ranty-rants/576655/29 "2011-04-01T12:40:55Z")
To the idiot 20 year old on the skateboard that came flying across the lane in front of me, without looking. I almost hit you. That would have made me feel terrible. Probably not as bas as you would have felt, but terrible nonetheless. Do me two favors. First, walk across the intersections like pedestrians are suppose to, after looking BOTH ways. Second, don’t breed. Seriously, stay out of the gene pool. ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-ranty-rants/576655/30 "2011-04-01T13:07:39Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Personal hate for: > > - people who swerve to the left before making a right turn. Gah! Or who swerve to the right when making a left turn. My route to school has a lot of one-way cross streets alternating left and right, and IME it seems that those turning left are more likely to do that swerving thing. Whichever way it goes, though, I seriously don’t understand it. A little swerve is understandable if you think you’re going to curb your vehicle, but why swing four feet over into the next lane? My own additions: If you’re making a turn and there’s a dedicated turn lane, get in it completely to do your turn. Don’t straddle lanes. Of course, straddlers tend to get half-way into their lane _really far back_ and then slow the fuck down, slowing down two lanes of traffic. Got bike lanes on your street? They’re not part of the motor vehicle lanes. Stop driving in them. I _laff_ big time when I see incensed bike riders pound on your car and startle you out of your cell-phone conversation. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-ranty-rants/576655/31 "2011-04-01T14:10:43Z")
When you\* syphilitic cock-weasels make a right turn into a parking lot there’s no reason to fucking STOP right before you turn! You’re not going to flip your 1988 Toyota Tercel when you’re already going 10 MPH. \*only applies to people who do this. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-ranty-rants/576655/32 "2011-04-01T14:40:07Z")
Oh, I had one more and couldn’t remember it before. I was, um, reminded :mad: of it this morning: - People who don’t SCOOTCH THE FUCK UP in the turn lane. When everyone is standing in line, not moving, safe following distance is NOT _more than a fucking car length._ Scootch the holy bejeesus on up already - leave enough space so you can see the bottom of their tires, fine, but not so much space a pickup could parallel park in the gap, m’kay? Traffic waiting to turn stacks up behind you, spilling into the I’m-going-straight lane, and then _everyone_ misses their turn at the green light. _pant_ _pant_ SCOOOOOTCH! UUUUUPPPP! _pant_ _wheeze_ _cough_ ---
**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:** [April 1, 2011, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-ranty-rants/576655/33 "2011-04-01T15:00:04Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Personal hate for: > > - people who swerve to the left before making a right turn. Gah! How about people who swerve to the left before making a LEFT turn? Specifically a U-turn? Yeah, I know, there won’t be room. That didn’t stop The Most Interesting Driver in the World in downtown DC the other day. This person was approaching a green light and braking. I was a pedestrian waiting to cross, so the braking annoyed me, as I wanted him to go through the light so I could cross afterward. Then he swung into the leftmost part of the street, and I realized he was probably turning left at the intersection. Then he put his RIGHT blinker on. Okay, I thought, probably just put the wrong turn signal on; there’s no street to the right, so he can’t be turning right. Then he made a left U-turn. Of course, since he started from far over to the left, there’s no room for him to come all the way around, so he has to stop, crosswise across all lanes, and shift into reverse, backing up to get room to turn. He has to do this _three times_ in order to get turned around, all the time holding up traffic that would like to get through the light before it turns red. Worst U-turn (and preparation) I’ve ever seen. Here’s another piece of work. A guy – we’ll call him Pinhead for reasons that will shortly become clear – comes into the bus park-and-ride parking lot just as the last bus is loading passengers. The bus is down at the far end, though; there will be time before it reaches the second stop near the entrance on its way out. Time everyone wants to _use_ to get parked and get on that bus. Three cars are right behind Pinhead also rushing into the access road into the parking lot. There’s a parking area entrance on the left, just off the access road, immediately by the second stop; otherwise you’d have to drive down toward the oncoming bus and would likely miss it. Fortunately there are almost no cars in this parking area, so everybody has time to swoop in and get parked as the bus rolls up and loads at this second stop. Or they would have had time, had not Pinhead stopped diagonally across the entrance to the parking area to _let out a passenger_. Blocking both lanes. Picture this: not only was there room – scores of empty spaces – for Pinhead to pull into a parking space, let his passenger out only feet from the bus stop, and be out of everyone’s way, BUT ALSO after letting the passenger out, Pinhead drove to such a spot ANYWAY to turn around and exit the lot after the drop-off. He was going to be there ANYWAY but first he _stopped_ in everyone’s way. But before doing so, he had a _conversation_ with his passenger, who held open the rightside passenger door to talk to Pinhead. With the bus coming and cars piled up waiting. people who will be docked salary if they miss this bus. Someone honked – once – not very long – and Pinhead’s passenger shook his head in disgust at the honk. Why did they do it? I think I know: because, although pulling in out of the way to let the passenger out would have had the passenger only feet from the bus stop, there was a line, and by stopping right next to the end of the line, Pinhead could let his passenger get in line _just ahead_ of people scurrying across the parking lot. In other words, it was to cut off people who had already parked. Not to mention the people who couldn’t park because Pinhead blocked the entrance to do this. And neither Pinhead nor Pinhead-passenger were in a hurry – the passenger, after all, was clearly going to make the approaching bus. _Screw_ everybody else. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-ranty-rants/576655/34 "2011-04-01T15:24:18Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > - big ol’ dualie pickups, the ones that are shiny and unscratched and clearly not “work” trucks in any way. Damn penis replacements. Oh gods yes. Can we move to license large trucks and SUVs for industrial and agricultural use only? You’re in fucking suburbia, get a damn minivan. ---
**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:** [April 1, 2011, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-ranty-rants/576655/35 "2011-04-01T15:42:20Z")
> [@kushiel](#): > > Oh gods yes. Can we move to license large trucks and SUVs for industrial and agricultural use only? You’re in fucking suburbia, get a damn minivan. I didn’t mind oversized pickups and humongo-SUVs until some members of my condo association got together and banned my small plastic sailboat-on-a-trailer from parking anywhere in our property (even the spot I _own_) because it’s a “recreational use” vehicle, but they still allow their own Hummers and camper-vans to park there. As soon as I heard about the meetings, I attended, but their minds were already made up and the vote already secured, pre-discussion. They even used the argument that the boat trailer blocked drivers from seeing children who might dart into the road. Presumably the children in question would have been shorter than the 24" trailer and yet still visible through a Hummer. _Now_ I kind of resent those vehicles. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-ranty-rants/576655/36 "2011-04-01T16:02:39Z")
If the only consequence of what the guy in front of you is doing is that you have to _wait_, then I have no sympathy for you. The thing that drives me crazy are the reckless, aggressive drivers who weave in and out of heavy traffic, tailgate, and do stupid stuff like move to block cars who have signaled a lane change. Those are the ones that are causing accidents. ---
**Author:** ![somepumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@somepumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/somepumpkin)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-ranty-rants/576655/37 "2011-04-01T16:16:01Z")
Please get out of the left lane. The operator of the car that is “Camped-Out” in the left lane is either an ignorant driver, or a raging asshole. If you know you shouldn’t be there… if you know you are holding someone up, then you are being an asshole. Please just let the faster traffic go by. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-ranty-rants/576655/38 "2011-04-01T16:21:47Z")
> [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#): > > Exactly. Sometimes people need to actually turn left. Suck it up and wait or get pissed at the traffic engineers who failed to put in separate turning lanes. > > In others word don’t hate the driver, hate the lane. Understood, but what pisses me off is when people insist on making a difficult left turn into traffic with people waiting…when not 500 yards away there is a light out of the same parking lot, with a left turn arrow, that they could be safer turning at, and that is actually _further_ in the direction they are going (i.e., closer to their destination). That to me smacks of entitlement. I am too lazy to drive over there so I’d just rather make this difficult left turn and endanger everyone. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-ranty-rants/576655/39 "2011-04-01T16:31:14Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Oh, I had one more and couldn’t remember it before. I was, um, reminded :mad: of it this morning: > > - People who don’t SCOOTCH THE FUCK UP in the turn lane. When everyone is standing in line, not moving, safe following distance is NOT _more than a fucking car length._ Oh hell, I’d be happy if they actually got into the turn lane before the light turned green. How do you not know that you’re going to be turning until the light turns _and then_ sit there several more seconds doing nothing until you decide to get over into the turn lane that’s been completely empty for the entire light cycle? You’re just trying to ensure a couple more people are stuck sitting through another light, aren’t you. Bastards. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-ranty-rants/576655/40 "2011-04-01T16:33:39Z")
I enjoy the fact that right turn on red is an option. As such, sometimes I opt not to turn right on red and make everybody behind me wait. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-ranty-rants/576655.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-ranty-rants/576655.md?page=3)