“Yield” does not mean “Stop”. Yes, technically, you can stop, but I think it’d be easier to merge with traffic moving along at 60-70 MPH if you were going somewhere near that speed!!! Ahhhh!!!
If you’re nervous, if you’re white-knuckled, stay home!
Really, for the love of god, fuckin’ MERGE! Not many cars can do 0-60 in 2 seconds, so please do not slam on your brakes at every friggin’ on ramp!!! Trust me, you’re safer MERGING!!!
I think you’re right, Delta-9. At least it’s been getting worse in California. A buddy of mine said, “It’s starting to feel like Boston”. I’ve started honking at people who run the red light on the tails of other cars. My theory is, if they know other people are offended maybe the ones who still have some sense of shame left will stop. I doubt I’m being effective, but I feel better.
Merging should be considered an art. I got caught behind a moron who merged into freeway traffic at 40mph last night. I want a paint gun for those cars.
Unfortunately there are no immediate consequences for being stupid and the average idiot manages not to eliminate themselves from the gene pool while young and grows to reproduce quite successfully. That’s why there are so many of them and they all seem to be in front of me when I am trying to drive somewhere.
Those red light runners need to go. The other day on the way to work the light turns green and everyone starts going through the intersection. Just as everyone is rolling, some guy busted the red light on the left turn lane coming from the opposite direction. This was about 10 seconds or so into his red light, so he is way late running the thing.
All the little commuters dutifully stomped down on their brake pedals except for one redneck in a big truck. That guy’s eyes sure did get big when he saw me coming.
Bingo on that point :). So many idiots are stuck in a world created by people that created traffic paterns, automobiles, etc.
This could be a whole new thread, but think about it: about 5% of the people designed or created what the other 95% are left to use. Too many people are overhwhelmed by their cars, their cell phones, the traffic signals, the very WORDS themselves on traffic signs. Traffic control is an engineering feat, and yet look at the dopes out there left to survive it.
And, if you are turning your car, please just TURN already and get it over with!!!
Thank you thank you thank you for allowing me to vent:
HEY YOU IN THE 40K SUV!!
YEAH YOU!!!
Now I know it cost a lot but heres a tip-
When you come to the 1/2" bump in the road on a 45MPH highway, YOU DON’T HAVE TO STOP!
I have seen two accidents in the past couple months
the first was as above; The Landrover slammmed on it’s brakes to crawl over the bump I regularly travel over in my Accord at 45-50- a MB plowed right into him.
The second was a Toyota land Cruiser that stopped to roll over a MANHOLE COVER!?!?!? He stopped in an intersection and was crunched by a Celica.
C’mon people, it won’t hurt your 18"tires to hit a tiny little bump!
I drive a fairly new car. When my light turns green, there better not be anybody left in the intersection. And then they get pissed out me for almost hitting them.
Sometimes I feel like they took “Starman” to heart. “Green means go. Yellow means go very fast”
My latest tactic is to beep my horn at them as they run the red light and flip them off. I want to make sure they don’t think the horn is hurrying them along. And if they want to come back and discuss it, I’m more than willing. They don’t seem to comprehend that running a red light can kill someone.
In that movie, the main character (sorry I’m bad at names) learned his name was a killing word. When another character used it… Mwaaaaa-DEEB! Shit started exploding everywhere.
I’m thinking I need a mwaa-DEEB button in my car! (Apologies to Sci Fi fans who loved that movie and know how to spell Mwa-DEEB!)
Everytime some idiot bumped their bass in my direction… MWAAAA-DEEB!
Everytime some SUV cut me off because I drive a low-to-the-ground sports car… Mwwwaaaaaa-DEEB!
MikeG: “C’mon people, it won’t hurt your 18"tires to hit a tiny little bump!”
It might… if they have Firestone tires!
Er, actually Dune is a phenomenal book that was made into a highly questionable movie. The name is spelled “Maud’dib”, are you sure you got the rest of that right though?
I was struck by a car last night while bicycling home. The woman who struck me thought she could just give me a courtesy wave and keep going, but traffic was thick and I was able to chase her down on foot. She thought I was going to get violent. No, I’ll do worse: I’m going to drive her insurance premiums up.
Sure, when you’re making a right turn into heavy traffic, look to your left for your interval. BUT WHEN YOU ACTUALLY TURN: LOOK WHERE YOURE GOING! Pedestrians and cyclists are continually being hit stepping into the crosswalk with a “walk” signal by idiots taking a right trun on red.
To the many people who think that one car length between me and the vehicle in front of me, when we’re going 80 km/h is plenty of room to make a left turn between, let me assure you that you are WRONG! Furthermore, when you hit the gas, then the brake just as I’m getting to the intersection, it makes me edgy. Just to let you know. I hate slamming on the brakes to avoid you, and I hate swerving into the next lane while praying that there is enough room. Please, wait for a real break in traffic. The squealing of my brakes should have been the first clue, but I guess we’re not all bright.
To the lady in front of me that pulled into the middle of the intersection (with me behind) who did miss no less than 4 REALLY LONG breaks in traffic where a left hand turn actually COULD have been safely made, several times over, and then wouldn’t turn on the amber light either, and then gunned it leaving me in the middle of the intersection facing a light that had turned red 5 seconds ago, UP YOURS! And to the doofus coming from my right who should have seen how I was trapped in the middle of the intersection, could you have possibly waited until I at least managed to make the turn before slamming on the gas and heading straight towards my van? I would appreciate it. It’s not like I had a choice about where I was going to go. I couldn’t back up, I couldn’t stay in the middle of the intersection blocking off traffic, I pretty much had to go forward.
And to those of you who were upset about red light running, considering that I got into the left hand turning position QUITE sometime before my light turned red, I really don’t see what choice I had about completing my turn. I could have stayed in the intersection, blocking off all traffic that did have the green light, but I thought that wouldn’t go over well.
I think that since most of the roads I travel on during the day don’t have a turning light, most of my pet peeves do involve left hand turns. It’s customary here for two vehicles to pull out into the intersection to wait for their chance to make the turn. Since two cars are IN the intersection, if the only break comes when the amber light comes on, both have to move then. Due to red light runners, sometimes you get stuck in the middle of the intersection, and then you get some asshole trying to mow you down to prove a point. What point, I’m not sure. But usually, I find that people just can’t tell when they can make their turn and when they can’t. Some people cause accidents by trying to make their turn when there isn’t enough space, and others won’t move until all traffic is clear (like when we have a red light). It’s just a MESS!!!
Every morning, on my way to the Beltway (a thread in its own right), I go down N. Kings Hwy. to Telegraph Rd. There are two right turn lanes and two left turn lanes from N. Kings onto Telegraph.
Hey, folks in the curb right-turn lane? You have to turn into the goddamned curb lane on telegraph!! You cannot just turn into any of the three lanes, especially when there are people turning right from the lane to your left who have the goddamned right of way for those other lanes!! Stop it!!!
Also, the right- and left-turn lanes on N. Kings are separated by a solid white line. Do you know what a solid white line means? It means Do Not Fucking Cross. It means you can’t simply drift from the left lane over across that line to make a right turn, dummy.
Along the highway I drive to work on there are several signs that state “Slower Traffic Use Right Lane,” which is something that shouldn’t HAVE TO BE POSTED ANYWAYS…yet hundreds of apparently illiterate morons can’t fucking comprehend!!! Let me tell you assholes here and now THE LEFT LANES ARE FOR PASSING AND FASTER TAFFIC GODDAMMIT!!! This goes for the interstate too, so keep your slow ass out of the fucking fast lanes!!!
The thing that pisses me off the most is when motherfuckers change lanes when they are going slower than the traffic in the lane they’re switching to. Fuck those moronic pieces of shit. Goddammit, use your fucking accelerator when you fucking change lanes you fucktards!
And use the fucking turn signal when you change lanes or turn, it’s there for a fucking reason.
In north Austin, there is a major east-west road that cuts through a residential and heavily businessed area. At one of the main intersections, the right hand lane is turn only during rush hour, but there is nothing physical to bar your way from going straight. Because it is a main intersection, sitting throught the light can take 5, 6 minutes. I have been stuck behind some fucking retard who wants to go straight from the right-hand turn lane so often, I just want to get out of the car and beat them senseless.
A lot of people posting here seem to be unversed on the true meaning of stoplight colors.
[li]Green; Does not mean go. When the light turns green it means that, “You may proceed, if it is safe to do so.” If there is a car that is already in the intersection, that vehicle has ownership of the intersection until it is able to safely vacate it. (This practice does not apply to gridlocking bastards. Unfortunately, you are still not allowed to slam into them.) Any drivers worth their sparkplugs know not to enter an intersection until there is adequate opportunity to go entirely through it.[/li]
If you have proceeded into the intersection in order to make a left turn, do not worry if the light turns red. You are entitled to the opportunity to complete your turn. Do not remain in the intersection until the light turns green again. You will be breaking the law at that point.
[li]Yellow; In states like mine (CA), yellow now means that you must stop so that your vehicle is not in the intersection at any time while the light is red. No more of the, “Halfway or more, through the intersection” rule applying here.[/li]
[li]Red; Stop, that’s it. Just stop your vehicle and do not enter the intersection unless directed to do so by an officer of the law or to permit safe passage of an emergency vehicle. People who run red lights well after they have turned red are basically attempting to commit manslaughter and should be charged so after a certain number of prior offenses.[/li]There we have it folks. Please remember that once you are in the intersection, you have control of it. Do not be intimidated by other poor drivers. If you are gridlocking the box, I hope you are run over by a Mack truck. Gridlocking is one of the most offensive and potentially hazardous (see: emergency vehicles) practices.
One more point. Always pull to the right when making way for an emergency vehicle. Pretend that they are racing to rescue your own relatives from a burning house. People who pull to the left, or worse yet, do not yield for emergency vehicles should be cited on the spot and fined heavily.
PS: If you don’t use your turn signals, we’ll find you and one day torture you mercilessly for it.
Really basic physics:
Distance and Velocity are different! On a two lane highway where passing is suicide, if you are behind me going 70 mph, and I am going 70 mph, and the car in front of me is going 70 mph, and the car in front of it is going 70 mph, and the car in front of it is going 70 mph, (repeat ad nauseum), then getting really close to my back bumper doesn’t get you where you want to go any sooner. If I was one inch or 200 feet behind the car in front of me, and we are all going 70 mph then getting closer doesn’t make any real difference. Back the fuck off you myopic pig-feltching idiots!
Love those assholes driving around with the brights/high beems on, right in your mirror or face.
I plan on installing 500,000 candlepower spot lights on my back bumper and flicking them on when someone tailgates or rides behing me with their high beams on.
How’s that burned retina doing? Oh…you say you can’t drive anymore? What a shame.
I’m teaching my daughter to drive. I think the best advice I can give her is: “Assume everyone else on the road is an idiot. If something stupid and dangerous can happen, it probably will.” Operating the vehicle is the easy part - figuring out what the other guy is gonna do is the challenge. I wish we still lived in the boonies…
