# 'tis the season - for Traffic Rants! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 22, 2004, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tis-the-season-for-traffic-rants/281196 "2004-12-22T19:00:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2004, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tis-the-season-for-traffic-rants/281196/41 "2004-12-24T08:13:30Z")
> [@This Year's Model](#): > > Lincoln & Colfax is one of the busiest intersections in town. Lincoln is one way, five lanes wide, and left turning vehicles are _supposed_ to yield to pedestrians. Ha ha. The only way to make it safe would be to have all the ped lights lit while no traffic is going anywhere. Ha ha again. Might happen if the city ever gets hit with a big enough lawsuit, but not 'till then. But a green _arrow_ is supposed to mean that you are making a protected turn. You aren’t supposed to have to yield to _anyone_ if you have a green arrow. That’s why it’s a green arrow. They wouldn’t have to stop all traffic when the pedestrians cross, they’d just have to not have the _walk_ signal coincide with the green arrow. If the turning cars simply had a solid green light when the pedestrians were crossing, then they wouldn’t be fooled into thinking they have the right-of-way. I’ve seen plenty of these types of major intersections, and what they usually do is to make sure protected turn arrows do not coincide with any walk signals that would be in the path of the turning cars. That’s what makes me think they goofed up. ---
**Author:** ![Sharky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@Sharky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sharky)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2004, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tis-the-season-for-traffic-rants/281196/42 "2004-12-24T09:09:44Z")
Well, I don’t have enough pent-up anger to recommend turnip sex for the offenders, but what pisses me off is when I’m turning southbound onto the highway from a side road and sit there waiting for a southbound vehicle to pass by, and they slow down at the last second and turn onto the road I’m turning from - without using their turn signal. They see you sitting there waiting but they don’t signal, which would allow you to pull out and proceed. Maybe it’s some kind of control thing for the weak-minded: “Ha-ha, made you wait”. Oh well, whatever. Life goes on. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2004, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tis-the-season-for-traffic-rants/281196/43 "2004-12-24T09:10:35Z")
> [@Rufus Xavier](#): > > I “seem to think that they do?”. I suppose I could be delusional, but if not, then in my city, people honk and carry on when cars are obstructing the free flow of traffic. I guess in your city, there is only one route to each and every destination, everyone accepts this, and no one gets upset about it. Unless, of course, it’s a parking lot where someone is waiting for a particular spot instead of going out of their way to find another spot in a different part of the lot. Then it’s the end of the world. Nope, as in my examples, there are a lot of spots where this back up to the left lane occurs, I’ve been driving in this city for 30 years and have yet to see someone honk or carry on, in these situation. And no, there isn’t just one route to each and every location. But as I described, on a large percentage of the roads here, there is no way to do the 3 right turns thing. It doesn’t work, you turn right and end up in a small cul de sac that dead ends against a huge wooded are, it doesn’t GO back out anywhere. Or as in my example of Dimond, you can’t turn right three times, if you turn right at that intersection to try and avoid waiting for the left lane, you go onto the HIGHWAY, which takes you about three miles south before you can get off again. And yes, it IS the only highway, one way north outta town, one way south outta town. > [@](#): > > No, I’m actually saying NO ONE should be allowed to stop their car in a lane that is intended for through traffic only so that they can get into a different lane when there are alternative courses of action available to them. So, should people who are holding up through traffic by being in a through lane, because they want to go straight through the light find some other route too? > [@](#): > > I’m not saying don’t wait your turn. I’m saying don’t block the progress of others needlessly. You want to talk grocery shopping? Fine. When you’re in line to checkout, do you stand where you are blocking the paths of people who are still shopping? How do you know WHICH other motorists are “blocking the way” with need, and which are doing it needlessly? Do you know their motives and whether they actually DO need to get into THAT left turn lane? > [@](#): > > I still disagree. I’m not saying that everyone should forsake this particular left turn and go to the next one, I’m just saying the overflow shouldn’t hang out in the through lane. … And you’ve appointed yourself driving God of who _needs_ to be in that lane/actually turn at THIS intersection etc. As another poster pointed out, you do NOT know who is in front of you, or why they’re waiting for that particular light As the other poster said, they might not be at all familar with the area, and don’t want to end up endlessly lost. Or it could be that their apartment building or the place their going is IMMMEDIATELY after the left turn. Perhaps they can’t afford all the extra gas of going 1/2 a mile down the road and out of their way each day. I don’t know LA, maybe the blocks are little tiny and perfectly set up so that only a few car lengths exist from light to light, making it economical and time saving to simply use a different intersection. In my neck of the woods (sometimes Literally the woods), most of the time it would be not simply “go to the next light” but a really unreasonable inconvenience to make. Same with many other places I’ve seen, New Orleans is a good example, they start closing up some of the streets, and some of them only have side streets that are one way. And boy can it get convoluted. Vegas. Holy Cow. Now that I think of it, much like YOUR city, these are touristy places, with lots of people who aren’t always sure of where they’re going. But, okay, continue to “dislike” these people, not that anyone could stop you, it’s just seems really useless and nonproductive to me. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2004, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tis-the-season-for-traffic-rants/281196/44 "2004-12-24T09:19:34Z")
> [@Futile Gesture](#): > > Thread summary; > > - Everyone else should get off the road. They are in my way. > > - All other drivers are selfish and stupid. > > - I know more about traffic management than the professionals paid to know about it. > > Anything I’ve missed? Umm, yeah. Coming into the thread earlier and saving me from useless attempts at piercing the void, when YOU cut to the chase in a few phrases. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2004, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tis-the-season-for-traffic-rants/281196/45 "2004-12-24T09:31:06Z")
> [@robertliguori](#): > > … At this point, my friend took his book, hopped out of the car, stood in front of the interloper’s car, and resumed reading. Slowly, my line edged forward. The woman in the other car shouted abuse at my friend, who replied, “That’s nice, ma’am.”. We continued to inch forward. The shouting woman told my friend that she had a gun. Again, my friend replied that this was nice, and resumed reading. The woman told my friend that she had called the police, and they were coming to arrest him. My friend replied that due to the woman’s manuver, the police would not be able to get into the parking lot to arrest him, and furthermore that if she actually did have a gun… > At this point the woman confirmed this by pointing said gun at my friend. My friend got back into my car at this time. You both rock anyway, for at least making a statement against complete assholery, even if you weren’t successful in stopping the interlopers. Gah, that whole experience sounds like our state fair. And one VERY rude jerk who had a fit when I asked him if I could work in. Luckily for me, it was summer, everyone had their windows down, and heard his nastiness and abuse at my innocent request. the guy in front of HIM let me in, and so did everyone else for rows around that had heard his tirade. The fair let out at midnight, with probably a couple of thousand cars still in the lots. I wonder what time that guy finally got out? Oh, sound carries quite far in the clear air of an Alaskan summer, my son and I got to the road and could see back down the slope about 20 cars, and people were STILL letting people in front of them, with him being held behind. 😃 Sometimes, the good (well at least the Civil) among us do win one. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2004, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tis-the-season-for-traffic-rants/281196/46 "2004-12-24T13:44:57Z")
> [@blowero](#): > > I’ve seen plenty of these types of major intersections, and what they usually do is to make sure protected turn arrows do not coincide with any walk signals that would be in the path of the turning cars. That’s what makes me think they goofed up. That’s a good point. I’m going downtown Sunday; I’ll try to remember to eyeball the lights and see if there is an actual arrow or just solid greens. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2004, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tis-the-season-for-traffic-rants/281196/47 "2004-12-24T21:06:15Z")
To people that seem to forget how to drive on the ice from the time they went to sleep the night before to the next day… Particularly the idiot woman on the corner of Baxter (north south) and Northern lights (east west). First of all, she slid out of control going north on baxter and ended up facing slightly north, but in front of the traffic trying to head west on NLs. All she would have had to do at this point, would be to back up slightly and continue on down Baxter to the north. But no, she adds idiocy to insult (to those waiting patiently for her to clear the intersection) by backing up and ending up pointing EAST on NL, facing back toward traffic waiting to go west. Then she backs up several more times, so that she eventually ends up facing south and maneuvers herself halfway across the left side through lane and the left turn lane, so that she can (I assume) head back up south on Baxter the road from which she’d just lost control. People, if you live in a state where snow and ice is a factor for much of the year (dakotas, wisconsin, minn, etc) do yourself a favor, take a course on HOW TO DRIVE ON ICE. And if you’re fresh off the plane from California, do US a favor, don’t drive til spring, just please, don’t. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tis-the-season-for-traffic-rants/281196.md?page=2)