# Left Turn-Signal Laggers Draw My Ire **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 25, 2015, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-turn-signal-laggers-draw-my-ire/718534 "2015-04-25T22:11:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2015, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-turn-signal-laggers-draw-my-ire/718534/21 "2015-04-26T19:57:26Z")
> [@Tibby or Not Tibby](#): > > I don’t want the guy at the head of the left turn arrow light lane to pull into the intersection before the light turns green—that would be pretty stupid, and not very conducive to living a long life. I just want him to proceed forward into the left turn after the light turns green and it’s safe to do so…and not hold everyone up behind him for 5 minutes because he’s forgotten he’s driving on the roadway and not at home texting his idiot friends, or falling asleep at the wheel. That is exactly the scenario I was talking about, so we’re in agreement as to the circumstances here. > [@](#): > > This will, of course, go in one ear and out the other, because my guess is that you are in fact one of those nose-picking green-light laggers, aren’t’ you? Admit it. No, but I do drive the speed limit in the slow lane, even when everybody else is going faster. That probably pisses you off too, doesn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Nelson\_Pike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Nelson\_Pike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nelson_Pike)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2015, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-turn-signal-laggers-draw-my-ire/718534/22 "2015-04-26T20:22:42Z")
> [@Tibby or Not Tibby](#): > > I would, however, like to enter a large meat cooler where all of the laggers who’ve made me miss a left turn green light have been hung high on meat hooks. If any of you Dopers would like to help me in this endeavor, remember, you can usually pierce the skin and hook under the left clavicle, keeping the carcass viable and the brain conscious, so long as you avoid nicking the subclavian vein and artery. Then, I’d like just 45 minutes alone in there with my Craftsman electric drill and a 1/8" cobalt steel taper drill bit. There’s a much better point of insertion than a clavicle for the meat hook. Lower down. On the body’s center line. A natural opening. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2015, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-turn-signal-laggers-draw-my-ire/718534/23 "2015-04-26T20:34:06Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > copied from my post in a thread in MPSIMS: > > you know how there are some four lane roads, two in each direction, with no center turn lane? Where you make left turns from the left lane? Well, it bugs the shit out of me when I pull up to such an intersection, behind another car, at a red light, and they wait until _after the light turns green_ to put on their left turn signal. > > I swear to god it should be legal for me to… er… oh, I don’t know, do something I’d never actually do in real life. If it were legal, would you do it? I should be allowed to have rockets on my car…no one else, just me. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2015, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-turn-signal-laggers-draw-my-ire/718534/24 "2015-04-26T21:08:56Z")
> [@CoastalMaineiac](#): > > Okay, so they expect traffic to be coming because there’s no arrow. They should at least be pulling forward into the intersection while they “yield” to oncoming traffic. If they are actually waiting behind the stop line, they deserve every honk they get. > > Where do people learn to drive? Pulling into the intersection and waiting for traffic to clear on unprotected left turns was taught in drivers’ ed when I took it. It’s amazing how many people are unaware that it’s legal to do this. They think that somehow you’ll be blocking traffic . . . although cross-traffic is stopped. > [@Ethilrist](#): > > How does one car length make that much difference to you? If you’re getting incensed about whether or not people pull out into the intersection when they’re turning left, I have to assume you’re one of those people who will follow me through the intersection to complete your left turn, even if you have to run a red light to do it. One car length DOES make a difference; that’s the point of this thread. And there’s room in most intersections for more than one car. If you’re turning properly, there’s room behind you for my car too, without my running a red light. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2015, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-turn-signal-laggers-draw-my-ire/718534/25 "2015-04-26T21:15:19Z")
On the subject of left turn signals, let’s pit those who don’t use them at unprotected intersections. 'Bout 10 years ago, I would’ve rammed a very large van when the driver failed to signal and failed to yield. Something told me to wait to see what the asshole was going to do and I ended up missing the van’s rear quarter by a couple feet. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2015, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-turn-signal-laggers-draw-my-ire/718534/26 "2015-04-26T21:23:34Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > That is exactly the scenario I was talking about, so we’re in agreement as to the circumstances here. Wait…what? So, we agree on the scenario (i.e. waiting in line at a left-turn arrow light when the arrow is red) and you side with the guy first in line who waits an ungodly amount of time to proceed forward after the light turns green? Often not doing so until at least one driver behind him beeps his horn? You think he’s a cool and courteous driver by making those of us not lucky enough to be in his head-of-the-pack position have to wait an additional light cycle, simply because he wants to finish his nose-picking or testicle shuffling before turning at the green arrow? Really? I’m guessing you’d side with Vlad the Impaler, too—his disregard for courteousness toward fellow community members was about the same as yours. And, according to my history book, Vlad was a left-turn lagger, too. > [@Ethilrist](#): > > No, but I do drive the speed limit in the slow lane, even when everybody else is going faster. That probably pisses you off too, doesn’t it? No, you can drive backwards with your head stuck in a turkey carcass in the slow lane for all I care. Just don’t be all granny 10 miles below speed limit slow poke in my fast lane, ace. Jeesh, you’re as bad as those chicks over in the \*“oh, my, it’s snowing…I’m going to die” \*pit thread! ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2015, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-turn-signal-laggers-draw-my-ire/718534/27 "2015-04-26T21:25:13Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > No, but I do drive the speed limit in the slow lane, even when everybody else is going faster. That probably pisses you off too, doesn’t it? No, but it shows your stupidity isn’t limited to giving the OP grief as if you are obviously right when everyone else in the thread clearly agrees with the OP. Going the speed limit in the slow lane is suicide. You will be rear ended, because people will expect you to go the speed of traffic. And, yes, you can get a ticket. We covered this is Driver’s Ed. You really do come off as the type of guy who wants to frustrate others because who gives a shit about anyone other than yourself. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2015, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-turn-signal-laggers-draw-my-ire/718534/28 "2015-04-26T21:29:00Z")
I heartily endorse this pitting. I live in a part of the country with the most polite, but equally stupid drivers. Horn honking, short of a wedding or an emergency is frowned upon. Bet the jackasses in the straight/right turn lane to my entrance ramp coming out of work will wave in three drivers coming out of McDonald’s in, making everyone else wait through another cycle. In the straight /left turn lane, they’re too busy breakingup a fight between Bubba and Sissy in the back of the minivan to notice when the arrow comes up. Does anyone honk to get their attention? No, we’re southerners, dammit, we’re more polite than the folks up north, bless their hearts. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2015, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-turn-signal-laggers-draw-my-ire/718534/29 "2015-04-26T21:40:24Z")
> [@Nelson\_Pike](#): > > There’s a much better point of insertion than a clavicle for the meat hook. Lower down. On the body’s center line. A natural opening. I’m afraid I don’t understa… …oh, goodness. :eek: **Nelson Pike** , you are indeed a naughty, naughty man! ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2015, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-turn-signal-laggers-draw-my-ire/718534/30 "2015-04-26T21:58:03Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Going the speed limit in the slow lane is suicide. You will be rear ended, because people will expect you to go the speed of traffic. And, yes, you can get a ticket. We covered this is Driver’s Ed. I don’t believe for one second that your driver’s ed taught you that you shouldn’t drive at the speed limit in the right lane. That’s where slower traffic belongs. The tickets are issued to people holding up traffic in the passing lanes. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2015, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-turn-signal-laggers-draw-my-ire/718534/31 "2015-04-26T23:00:30Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > That’s why you’re not supposed to turn your wheels to the left while you’re waiting to turn: if you get rear-ended, you’ll be pushed forwards, not into oncoming traffic. Oh, I know - that’s one of the few things I actually remember from driver’s ed. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2015, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-turn-signal-laggers-draw-my-ire/718534/32 "2015-04-27T13:12:19Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Going the speed limit in the slow lane is suicide. When? I’ve been driving this way for 45 years and haven’t died yet. Heck, I haven’t even been rear-ended. > [@BigT](#): > > And, yes, you can get a ticket. We covered this is Driver’s Ed. And, no, I can’t. > [@Minnesota Driver's Manual](#): > > Driving faster than the posted speed limit is illegal. You might want to take a gander at your local state’s driver’s manual in case there are any other laws you’re breaking while you put the lives of everybody else on the road at risk. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2015, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-turn-signal-laggers-draw-my-ire/718534/33 "2015-04-27T13:57:35Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > I don’t believe for one second that your driver’s ed taught you that you shouldn’t drive at the speed limit in the right lane. I’m guessing that your “Driver’s Ed” wasn’t a self-taught course with Matchbox cars on a Twister mat. They use different rules. ---
**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:** [April 27, 2015, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-turn-signal-laggers-draw-my-ire/718534/34 "2015-04-27T14:14:42Z")
The only people who deserve a meat hook up the ass more than left turn laggers are the dipshits that insist on leaving five feet of space between them and the car ahead of them. Like the LTLs they usually have their nose buried in their goddamned phone, and the result is the same; half the amount of cars get through the light. Before anyone chimes in with “I do that in case I get rear ended”, perhaps you do - this board is made up of the most virtuous and well intended individuals - but I would bet anything the rest of the 99% are preoccupied with their devices. Pay some fucking attention. I sure wish they’d ban texting / talking without hands free while driving. I bet I could shave twenty minutes off of my commute. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2015, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-turn-signal-laggers-draw-my-ire/718534/35 "2015-04-27T14:53:10Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > The only people who deserve a meat hook up the ass more than left turn laggers are the dipshits that insist on leaving five feet of space between them and the car ahead of them. Then they get out of the car and go into the convenience store and leave five feet between them and the guy in front of them in line, as if that person has Ebola. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2015, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-turn-signal-laggers-draw-my-ire/718534/36 "2015-04-27T16:13:36Z")
I endorse this pitting of these loathsome knaves ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2015, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-turn-signal-laggers-draw-my-ire/718534/37 "2015-04-27T16:41:39Z")
I want to commission a study. I hypothesize that the left-turn laggers who hold me up at the turn signals are the exact same douches who block me in the grocery store aisles with their diagonally positioned carts and big fat asses, then always manage to get in front of me at the check-out line. Then, they really start pissing me off because they’re always the chuckleheads who wait until after the cashier completes her check-out before they start fumbling around looking for their coupons and checkbooks (yeah, it takes them 5 minutes to find their checkbook and another 5 to write the check). Or they start chatting up the cashier into a long conversation that she obviously does not want to engage in (_hint: when the girl starts flitting her eyes back toward the waiting customers, that’s your clue to shut your pie hole and beat it out of the store_). I can’t tell you how many times these sweet Publix checkout girls apologize to me for the last moron’s delinquency. Sometimes I feel compelled to hand them a bouquet of flowers for having to put up with these miscreants all day. They are also the same idiots who always take the baggers up on their generous offer to wheel their cart out to their pretentious cars—thus depriving me of a bagger to bag _my_ groceries! (Publix baggers ask this routinely, but most of us non-knuckle draggers typically graciously decline the offer…because it’s really meant for little old ladies or people with infirmities…not asshat Prius drivers). And, they further draw my intense ire when, at the last minute, they decide to go back to the aisles to get the maxi-tube of KY-jelly they forgot, or replace their Depends underwear with a more absorbent brand. Well, they gotta get past me, first. I routinely turn my head toward them as they saunter past me and sneeze loudly in their general direction. But, I always apologize for my _“accidental”_ sneeze (it’s the only time I’m passive-aggressive). **Ethilrist** , was that you I saw at Publix last week? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2015, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-turn-signal-laggers-draw-my-ire/718534/38 "2015-04-27T17:12:36Z")
Naw, I was outside, parking diagonally across three parking spaces. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2015, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-turn-signal-laggers-draw-my-ire/718534/39 "2015-04-27T17:17:56Z")
I knew that was you! :mad: ---
**Author:** ![JcWoman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jcwoman/32/2889_2.png) [@JcWoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JcWoman)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2015, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-turn-signal-laggers-draw-my-ire/718534/40 "2015-04-27T18:52:34Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Then they get out of the car and go into the convenience store and leave five feet between them and the guy in front of them in line, as if that person has Ebola. Five feet of space is nothing. What you really meant was five car-lengths. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-turn-signal-laggers-draw-my-ire/718534.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-turn-signal-laggers-draw-my-ire/718534.md?page=3)