# Self-reported doper behavior that would baffle you to encounter in the wild **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 3, 2014, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580 "2014-05-03T13:28:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![randompattern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@randompattern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randompattern)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/41 "2014-05-07T19:43:01Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > The traffic circle in the village where I used to live gave the right of way to entering traffic. It was a very small village, so not a ton of traffic. > > [Pic here](http://03785e6.netsolhost.com/WordPress/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/9-18-Phillip-Sheridan-Somerset-OH.jpg). There sure is a lot of rubber on that curb. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2014, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/42 "2014-05-08T05:54:02Z")
> [@SmellMyWort](#): > > In the US, tailgating is following too closely so I think what you’re talking about is what we’d call being rear-ended. I would be surprised if the handbrake is strong enough to keep the car from moving at all when hit from behind. Plus, many cars don’t have a hand-operating parking (what we call it in the US) brake. But yes, it will do very little in an actual collision. Try stopping your car with it some time. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_York](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f6c823/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_York](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_York)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2014, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/43 "2014-05-08T07:31:39Z")
This must be the craziest Roundabout/Circle in the universe. [http://basementgeographer.com/magic-roundabouts-of-england/](http://basementgeographer.com/magic-roundabouts-of-england/) ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2014, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/44 "2014-05-08T08:07:06Z")
> [@SmellMyWort](#): > > Yeah, that’s weird. I drive through two, very busy, two lane traffic circles twice a day and no one uses signals. They seem to be designed in a way that you can pretty much tell where everyone is going based on what lane they are in. It has never once occurred to me that signaling within the circle would help in any way. Underline mine. In Spain the turn lights should be used for any maneuver, even if it’s evident. In a roundabout, they can be used to indicate “I’m staying in the roundabout longer than most would expect”, “taking the next exit” or “excuse meeeee, moving out to the next lane so I can exit without becoming a merry-go-round car”. When the roundabout looks like half the freaking town is there, lanes which would normally exit but which aren’t the outermost ones become a good simulation of a Christmas tree. Many traffic differences are America (continent, not country) vs Europe or America vs rest of the world; for example, turning right on a red light (try that here and if a cop sees you you’ll need a proctologist to remove the car). I think it’s important to distinguish between things which are linked to legal differences and those which are a matter of custom. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2014, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/45 "2014-05-08T08:29:08Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > I think it’s important to distinguish between things which are linked to legal differences and those which are a matter of custom. Where I live, no signals at a round-about: that’s the law. And no turning at red lights. And no bicycles on the sidewalks. Both the implicit racism seen here, and the rabid anti-racism it generates, would be out of place in Melbourne. As would concealed-carry. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_York](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f6c823/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_York](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_York)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2014, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/46 "2014-05-08T09:28:23Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > Where I live, no signals at a round-about: that’s the law. And no turning at red lights. And no bicycles on the sidewalks. > > Both the implicit racism seen here, and the rabid anti-racism it generates, would be out of place in Melbourne. As would concealed-carry. I live in Melbourne Australia, and you have to signal right or left when turning at roundabouts. A lot of traffic lights have cut-aways to allow turns on red lights. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_York](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f6c823/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_York](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_York)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2014, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/47 "2014-05-08T09:38:20Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > Where I live, no signals at a round-about: that’s the law. I forgot, You have to signal when leaving a roundabout. ( mainly the multi laned ones.) ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2014, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/48 "2014-05-08T14:37:56Z")
To get the thread back to the OP and not continue a roundabout derail: Eating. I’ve seen multiple Dopers say the equivalent of, “I hate eating. I want a bachelor chow-esque food that has all my nutrition and doesn’t taste terrible that I can just eat three bowls of a day for a couple of bucks.” I have never known anyone in real life that hates eating. Hates cooking, yes. But not straight up eating. But I guess there’s plenty of people on the internet who feel that way, because some guy got some “Soylent” meal replacement drink (yes, he actually called it that) funded on Kickstarter or IndieGoGo or something. Which really makes no sense to me, because he basically spent thousands of dollars and all that time and effort into making Ensure. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2014, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/49 "2014-05-08T14:50:36Z")
> [@Little\_Pig](#): > > I agree with OldGuy. These were things I was taught in Drivers Ed in high skool in the 70’s. I took driver’s ed in the 1970s, and they never taught me that. No one in Texas – or Oklahoma, or Arkansas – did that at the time either. Perhaps it was a regional practice. ---
**Author:** ![Fool\_in\_the\_Rain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8491ac/32.png) [@Fool\_in\_the\_Rain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fool_in_the_Rain)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2014, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/50 "2014-05-08T15:19:51Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > In my experience: > > If you want to pass a car that’s in the left lane but slower moving, flash your lights at them to get them to move right. > > If a big truck is passing you, flash your lights to tell them that there’s enough clearance to movee back over to the right in front of you. > > At night, flash your lights at oncoming cars if their lights aren’t on. > > In daytime on the highway, flash your lights at oncoming cars about a speed trap they’re about to drive into. This is my experience also, plus: Flash lights at a driver with directionals on to let them know they can turn left in front of me. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2014, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/51 "2014-05-08T15:45:47Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Flashing your lights here means two things only: > a. watch out (there’s a speed trap or a road obstruction coming up) > b. you can pull out in front of me from a side street. Here in the Chicago area it’s both of those and the “let me pass” thing. To indicate a desire to pass, it is seen as a bit aggressive, in my experience. I do not use that signal myself. While driving through bits of Western and Central Europe, I did not see it as an aggressive gesture. It felt more like a polite tap on the shoulder and “excuse me” sort of thing, but the driver generally wouldn’t glue themselves to the bumper of your car and flash their lights like in a disco, like they do here. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2014, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/52 "2014-05-08T16:56:37Z")
Well, this thread is a good example – someone asks a question, one person answers, and 30 people jump in to argue about that answer instead of answering themselves. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2014, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/53 "2014-05-08T20:26:39Z")
> [@gallows\_fodder](#): > > Well, this thread is a good example – someone asks a question, one person answers, and 30 people jump in to argue about that answer instead of answering themselves. In my experience, that’s actually typical behavior in the wild. I suppose I might hang around argumentative types, though. Threads here are far more organized, structured, and on-topic than my usual day-to-day interactions. Anyhow, the only real thing that jumps out to me is how Dopers, as a whole, are quick to pull the “end the relationship” trigger at what seems to be the slightest sign of trouble. It may not be a fair characterization, but that’s the impression I get. I’ve never encountered such quick “dump-his/her-ass” in the wild. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2014, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/54 "2014-05-08T21:18:12Z")
An adult crying at work over not wanting to do something. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2014, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/55 "2014-05-08T21:33:52Z")
> [@SmellMyWort](#): > > I always use my signal when changing lanes and turning corners. My observation above is both as a driver in the circle and as well as from when I’m waiting to enter the circle. While waiting to enter, I don’t think watching the signals of the vehicles already in the circle would improve the flow. To put it another way, I don’t think I’m missing opportunities to proceed into the circle due to a lack of signaling from drivers in the circle. The way the traffic circles I’m familiar with are designed, the vehicles exiting the circle are pretty much going straight by the time they are far enough around the circle to even see a signal or they are in a lane that can only exit at that point (outside lane). Maybe it’s a bigger deal with single lane roundabouts but I don’t encounter those as often and when I do they aren’t busy and I usually don’t have to wait for traffic at all. But I think **madmonk** ’s question–which I share–is why are you thinking so much about whether to signal in the first place? Isn’t it best just to reflexively signal whenever turning the wheel far enough? Avoiding cognitive load while driving in order to concentrate on… well, driving… seems wise to me. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2014, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/56 "2014-05-08T23:18:33Z")
Correct, and that’s my self-reported behavior that I find baffling: people who decide on a case by case basis when to use a signal. What’s the downside of always using it when making a change in course? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2014, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/57 "2014-05-08T23:30:44Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > An adult crying at work over not wanting to do something. Amen. If that ever happened here, I don’t know what I’d do? It’s a fire worthy offense, right? I’d hate to be stuck with a claim, but I don’t want any sobbing going on. Maybe I should preemptively send a no-tears memo. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2014, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/58 "2014-05-08T23:48:48Z")
[QUOTE=pulykamell;17360143 Anyhow, the only real thing that jumps out to me is how Dopers, as a whole, are quick to pull the “end the relationship” trigger at what seems to be the slightest sign of trouble. It may not be a fair characterization, but that’s the impression I get. I’ve never encountered such quick “dump-his/her-ass” in the wild.[/QUOTE] I almost always see the opposite, people trying and trying because 1) time already invested, or 2) don’t see what is really happening. I think the backlash you see here is from those of us who have so often seen more harm come from hanging on then cutting lose. I know in my life, I should have ended almost all my relationships must sooner and quicker than I ended up doing. (with, of course, enough exceptions to keep me confused and unsure) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/59 "2014-05-09T00:00:18Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I almost always see the opposite, people trying and trying Really?! That’s not what I see at all. I thought it was practically a meme around here that if a “trouble in romance land” thread comes up, you can count on the vast majority of responses being “dump that loser” without consideration that we’re only getting one side of the story. I have never met a more unsentimental group of people as I have here. That’s not necessarily _bad_, but it’s very different from what I see “in the wild” as the thread asks. ETA: I’m talking about people _responding_ in such threads, not OPs who start such threads. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/60 "2014-05-09T00:04:21Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Amen. If that ever happened here, I don’t know what I’d do? It’s a fire worthy offense, right? I’d hate to be stuck with a claim, but I don’t want any sobbing going on. Maybe I should preemptively send a no-tears memo. Weeps silently. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580.md?page=4)