I do this:
I never do this:
I rant in traffic. I holler at other drivers through closed windows, pointing out their foibles, because it helps me vent my frustration, and because it’s FUN. Often, my rants will make Jurphette crack up. And one of her all-time favorite rants of mine is the one about creeping through lights.
“The light is red, you idiot! It means STOP! No, it doesn’t mean GO SLOWLY. It doesn’t mean TRY TO SNEAK PAST ALL THE MOVING CARS. It means STOP! What, you think that MAYBE, if you go REAL SLOW, nobody will notice that you’re there, and you can slip between all the large solid objects whizzing past you? SNEAK SNEAK SNEAK? Good plan ass-for-brains. Let me know how that works out. Hey look, opposing traffic has a yellow light… now it’s red… we’re going to get a green and you’re not creeping OHMYGOD- IT’S- GREEN- ON- OUR- LIGHT- COME- ON- YOU- IMPATIENT- MOTHER- LOVING- GOAT- GO-GO-GOOOOOOOO!”
…as I roll quietly past his vehicle, which is still stopped at the line. She was in tears, tears I tell you, from this rant. I can still get a giggle out of her just by saying “maybe if you go REAL SLOW”.
I do it if there are no pedestrians around (which, in my town, is pretty much the case always, everywhere). Mostly I do it because 1) I have very short legs and at anything more than a short light, I tend to squirm around a bit, 2) I’m very, very impatient, and 3) I’m actually a horrid driver, very much the poster child for “Rude and Impatient Young Driver.” Also, I’m in New Jersey, where traffic laws are merely suggestions.
Anecdote: I’m driving with my sister through St. Louis last week on a road trip (leaving a car dealership to get a warning light checked out, actually…fun stuff). We’re on a local highway, which one escapes me at the moment. There’s not much traffic. We’re in the left lane; a biiiiig dump truck is in the right lane. We’re approaching a red light. The truck slows down - plenty of room to spare. We see him glance to the left (it’s a T-intersection), see that there’s no traffic turning in front of him, and accelerates on his merry way through the red light. :eek:
What I think is really great is when I am parked next to a “creeper” at a red light when suddenly the left turn green arrow comes on and, in their impatience, they accelerate and then slam on their brakes realizing it isn’t the “real” green light…
Reckon these are the same folks who keep pushing the elevator button, over and over, while waiting on it to arrive?
I was going to say this, but you beat me to it.
It’s the “I don’t want to just stand here doing nothing—I want to make at least some progress” phenomenon.
Actually, I only push the elevator button once. Same with the crossing signal.
It’s just the car.
I don’t think it usually has anything to do with progress. At least in my situation, it’s totally about boredom.
I push the elevator button multiple times, just because I am bored with waiting for the elevator.
Do you people understand why you’re not supposed to be out in the intersection in the path of cross traffic? That it’s not just about you?
Remember, it’s legal to turn right on a red light everywhere in the United States except New York City, unless explicitly marked “no turn on red”. I live in an area with a lot of tourists and I hate getting stuck behind drivers (almost invariably with out of state plates) who don’t know this.
I commute by motorcycle and I’ll drop into neutral if it doesn’t look like I’ll be moving anytime soon, so I won’t creep up unless a gap half a car length or more opens up because someone’s liable to try to squeeze in front of me if I leave that much space.
I can’t believe how long I’ve been waiting to write this.
If you see me doing this, it’s because I’m trying to tune in my radio. Overhanging electrical wires play havoc with reception, but moving ahead 6 inches can alleviate the problem, especially with am stations. I’m sure I’m not the only one either. So all of you who are precariously perched on your driver’s ed. high horse might want to rethink a little. Not everyone is a much worse driver than you.
Of course, all caveats about not doing this when you are first in line, or creeping actually into the intersection, or of giving the appearance of creeping into the intersection apply. Also, I do acknowledge that there are bad drivers (as evidenced by this thread) who really do just want to wear on their brakes, drivelines and fellow drivers’ nerves and do this for no reason other than to be idiots.
There is a valid reason for this, or at least there used to be. The old time road sensors were smaller and sucked. There were several lights that you couldn’t trip except in a one square millimeter location. So you used to have to stop, then an inch at a time try to settle on the presure plate. If you missed it you would have to either back up, which isn’t a great idea, or try to hit it with the back tire. Cause if you missed it, you would have to wait for the whole cycle until the pity change and it would take like 5 minutes, wheras if you tripped the sensor and it knew you were there it would only take a minute or so to give you a turn.
wolfman beat me to it. The traffic light right around the corner from my house has this problem. Either creep little by little, sit for a half-hour, or cheat. Since cheating is illegal I tend to wait. Forever. And ever.
Auto transmission ---- sitting in gear holding with brake VS going into neutral then back to drive at the light change. Which is best for the vehicle? Over the long run…
Do most of you feel that in big construction back-up on expressways where there is no way to get off the road – in the hot summer time – that the air cooled motorcycle idling down the shoulder is really trying to cheat and get ahead of you and should be blocked?
If the motorcycle stays in line and shuts down, do you slip past him as he restarts because he let a cars length or two grow in front before he restarted? Do you honk and yell and flip the bird in either case?
Do you deliberately approach quickly and stab the brake just off his bumper so it appears you are going to ram him? Do you add a horn blast just so see them panic? Do you deliberately creep on motorcycles just to see them squirm?
Do you ever think about any of this?