# You're Now A Traffic Cop -- Who Do You Bust? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 30, 2005, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-now-a-traffic-cop-who-do-you-bust/324248 "2005-09-30T20:40:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![The\_New\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@The\_New\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_New_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2005, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-now-a-traffic-cop-who-do-you-bust/324248/61 "2005-10-02T07:26:07Z")
> [@trublmakr](#): > > Yes, but the person in the lane has every right to stop and let the person back out as a courtesy, or if they want the space. So if one guy is waiting for your space, that means everyone else is obligated to do so as well? ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2005, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-now-a-traffic-cop-who-do-you-bust/324248/62 "2005-10-02T07:54:12Z")
When you make a left turn onto a two lane street, you enter into the left lane NOT the far right. TICKET! The posted speed limit the the maximum speed allowed given all the right conditions. If it is raining hard or snowing, you need to slow down. TICKET! A stop sign means you come to a complete stop. It does not mean slow down. Same goes for a red light right turn. TICKET! Tailgaters will not be ticketed, they will be shot. Anyone who has a “proud to be american” bumpersticker and can’t follow basic rules of the road will be beaten. As for the debate about driving in the left lane and someone wants to pass to “go with the flow of traffic”. If the posted limit is 55 and everyone else is going 65 except for the one guy in the left lane who’s going 55 - everyone else gets the ticket and a clunk on the head with a night stick. The posted limit is 55. Period. Just because everyone else is jumping off the bridge doesn’t mean you should. Show some backbone and follow the rules of the road. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2005, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-now-a-traffic-cop-who-do-you-bust/324248/63 "2005-10-02T10:52:21Z")
How do I know? I don’t. That’s the beauty part of free reign. I can do whatever I want. I can either give the benefit of the doubt or not. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2005, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-now-a-traffic-cop-who-do-you-bust/324248/64 "2005-10-02T22:54:17Z")
> [@The New Guy](#): > > So if one guy is waiting for your space, that means everyone else is obligated to do so as well? Ugh, dude. If I’m given the go ahead by the person coming up to back out, and I do so, and someone else goes around them, doesn’t it seem quite possible that I will HIT the person going around and behind me, AS I’M BACKING UP?? The lane is not that wide. What’s wrong with the jerkoff waiting the five seconds it takes me to back up and go forward? Is he that important? Or should I just sit there and ignore the person indicating that I should go ahead and back out, because there might be some ass that decides to go around that person and I might hit them? ---
**Author:** ![Ticonderoga\_2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4af34b/32.png) [@Ticonderoga\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ticonderoga_2)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-now-a-traffic-cop-who-do-you-bust/324248/65 "2005-10-03T04:17:56Z")
> [@trublmakr](#): > > Ugh, dude. If I’m given the go ahead by the person coming up to back out, and I do so, and someone else goes around them, doesn’t it seem quite possible that I will HIT the person going around and behind me, AS I’M BACKING UP?? But does he have the authority to give you the “go ahead” when there are _other_ people trying to get by? Does he speak for all other drivers as well as himself? Isn’t it your responsibility to make sure the way is clear before you back out? > [@](#): > > The lane is not that wide. Apparently it was wide enough for the guy to “go around the minivan and behind you”. > [@](#): > > What’s wrong with the jerkoff waiting the five seconds it takes me to back up and go forward? What’s wrong with you waiting the 5 seconds it takes him to drive past you? > [@](#): > > Is he that important? No, but he does have the right-of-way. Are _you_ that important? > [@](#): > > Or should I just sit there and ignore the person indicating that I should go ahead and back out, because there might be some ass that decides to go around that person and I might hit them? How did he “indicate” that you should back out? If he did indeed give you a signal that the way was clear, he obviously did so irresponsibly, since the way was NOT clear. In general, I’d say that yes, if someone waves you through, but you can see that another car is coming, that you should indeed ignore the person waving you through. The general rule in a parking lot is that those who are backing out of spaces should wait for through traffic to pass. Stopping and waiting for spaces is a bad practice, and causes congestion. If someone did that in front of me, I might be inclined to go around him as well. ---
**Author:** ![Basandre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@Basandre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Basandre)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-now-a-traffic-cop-who-do-you-bust/324248/66 "2005-10-03T04:57:28Z")
> [@Evil Captor](#): > > \ > If I get so much as a dirty look from said trucker, I’ll bust them for being disorderly. > > \ > No disrespectful tones from such people, or they get busted. One is required by law to be polite to police officers? I thought it was “drunk and disorderly”, not just “disorderly”. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-now-a-traffic-cop-who-do-you-bust/324248/67 "2005-10-03T05:06:08Z")
**Ticonderoga#2** , you seem to be taking this little backing-out situation a little too seriously. I don’t know where you live, but in my town, it’s quite common to stop to let someone back out just to be nice. The space I was in wasn’t even a good one, as I don’t often feel the need to nab the great spaces, and I don’t even know if my benefactor was waiting for it or had just stopped to let me out. Wouldn’t be unheard of. What kind of nervous Nellie would sit there and refuse the kindness on the off chance that some jackass would swing around and be in their path as they backed out? Most people would just back out, while of course still looking, which I did and that’s why I didn’t hit the guy that went around. Sure, you CAN go around the waiter, but don’t be surprised if you get backed into if you choose to do that. If you get this excited in MPSIMS, I can’t wait to see you in The Pit. ---
**Author:** ![Ticonderoga\_2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4af34b/32.png) [@Ticonderoga\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ticonderoga_2)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-now-a-traffic-cop-who-do-you-bust/324248/68 "2005-10-03T05:44:20Z")
> [@trublmakr](#): > > **Ticonderoga#2** , you seem to be taking this little backing-out situation a little too seriously. I don’t know where you live, but in my town, it’s quite common to stop to let someone back out just to be nice. I never suggested any differently. But as I said, one driver who wants to “let you back out just to be nice” does not speak for _all_ drivers who might be trying to get by. > [@](#): > > What kind of nervous Nellie would sit there and refuse the kindness on the off chance that some jackass would swing around and be in their path as they backed out? When you’re backing out of a space, you’re supposed to check to see if anyone’s coming. How does that make you a “nervous nellie”? I wouldn’t assume that just because you see _a_ stopped car, that it means it’s impossible for _another_ car to be coming. And I don’t know what you mean by “off chance”. You DID see the car coming. I wouldn’t expect you to do it on an “off chance”, only when an approaching car makes it neccessary. > [@](#): > > Most people would just back out, while of course still looking, which I did and that’s why I didn’t hit the guy that went around. So then what’s the problem? > [@](#): > > Sure, you CAN go around the waiter, but don’t be surprised if you get backed into if you choose to do that. Certainly, caution is always a good idea, but that doesn’t mean you should expect to be able to back out of a space without looking, as a birthright, and believe that everyone will automatically stop for you. > [@](#): > > If you get this excited in MPSIMS, I can’t wait to see you in The Pit. What lead you to believe I was excited? You have used a variant of the word “ass” in every post so far, have used all caps and multiple question marks (equivalent to shouting), and suggested you would brutalize people if you were a policeman. I don’t think _I’m_ the one who’s excited. Don’t get upset just because someone happened to disagree with you. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-now-a-traffic-cop-who-do-you-bust/324248/69 "2005-10-03T05:49:51Z")
I clearly didn’t back out of the space without looking. You must be the kind of person that would go around someone that was stopped to let someone back out, so I’ll let you have that. It’s just very uncommon for someone to do that here, so it kind of took me by surprise. Breathe already. ---
**Author:** ![Ticonderoga\_2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4af34b/32.png) [@Ticonderoga\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ticonderoga_2)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-now-a-traffic-cop-who-do-you-bust/324248/70 "2005-10-03T06:05:35Z")
> [@trublmakr](#): > > I clearly didn’t back out of the space without looking. Nor did I say you did. Sorry if I wasn’t clear. I said you shouldn’t expect to _be able_ to back out without looking, not that you actually _did_ so. In other words, I disagree with your belief that seeing one person stop means that _everyone_ must stop. > [@](#): > > You must be the kind of person that would go around someone that was stopped to let someone back out, so I’ll let you have that. And in that assumption, you would be wrong. I said I _might be inclined_ to go around, _if_ someone were _waiting_ for a space. Around here, sometimes people wait an interminably long time for a space when they think it might be opening up. The person coming to the space may not have even gotten into the car yet, or even put their groceries in the trunk yet. If it were obvious that it was going to be a long wait, then I _would_ probably go around. But if they had simply stopped because someone was about to immediately back out, I would probably wait to be polite. But that doesn’t mean I expect the whole world to behave exactly as I do, and honk my horn in anger at them when they don’t. > [@](#): > > It’s just very uncommon for someone to do that here, so it kind of took me by surprise. Breathe already. I don’t know why it gives you pleasure to keep pretending I’m excited, when you are clearly the one who is excited. 😕 But hey, knock yourself out. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-now-a-traffic-cop-who-do-you-bust/324248/71 "2005-10-03T06:46:59Z")
Thought of a second choice: those who think they should inflict their choice of _music_ on others from a distance. Use a dB meter, verify that it is indeed a nuisance, then hand the boom-boom boy an axe handle. He can break up his noise box or go to jail. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-now-a-traffic-cop-who-do-you-bust/324248/72 "2005-10-03T06:53:38Z")
> [@trublmakr](#): > > I clearly didn’t back out of the space without looking. You must be the kind of person that would go around someone that was stopped to let someone back out, so I’ll let you have that. It’s just very uncommon for someone to do that here, so it kind of took me by surprise. Breathe already. Not to mention that the person going around was almost certainly driving in the lane going in the other direction, and so was wrong. I’m with you. Waiting ten minutes, blocking traffic starting with someone just getting in the car is stupid (unless there are no spaces at all.) Waiting for you when you have your backup lights on already is perfectly reasonable, and courteous. ---
**Author:** ![Ticonderoga\_2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4af34b/32.png) [@Ticonderoga\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ticonderoga_2)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-now-a-traffic-cop-who-do-you-bust/324248/73 "2005-10-03T08:21:07Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Not to mention that the person going around was almost certainly driving in the lane going in the other direction, and so was wrong. Not sure where you got that idea. > [@](#): > > I’m with you. Waiting ten minutes, blocking traffic starting with someone just getting in the car is stupid (unless there are no spaces at all.) Waiting for you when you have your backup lights on already is perfectly reasonable, and courteous. Assuming facts not in evidence. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-now-a-traffic-cop-who-do-you-bust/324248/74 "2005-10-03T09:56:09Z")
> [@Fish](#): > > I said I _don’t_ drive in the left lane often, except to pass, because I know that’s the rule. I still don’t see why it upsets people so much; the left-lane drivers complaining shouldn’t be there either except to pass, only they continue to be in the passing lane so they can pass everybody for 30-40 miles at a time. It feels as if they’re berating those slow-lefties for not following a rule they themselves choose to ignore. Here’s why. I mentioned this in the Pit last week, but it is relevant. Last week, I was driving home from work down a four-lane road on which people routinely drive about 20 mph above the posted speed limit. I wound up two cars behind someone driving just above the posted speed limit in the left lane and it wasn’t worth passing them, so I followed the car ahead of me at a reasonable distance. While I was doing so, someone came roaring up behind me and started tailgating _me_, even though the person going about the speed limit was two cars ahead of me, three cars ahead of him. The person behind me got fed up that I wasn’t going faster, apparently thought that tailgating me would improve the situation, and flipped _me_ the finger as he swung into the right land and passed me. The tailgater was driving a jacked-up pickup; I drive a compact car. In other words, the person driving the speed limit in the left lane indirectly endangered me and directly led to me being insulted. Still, my first target would be tailgaters. My second would be red-light runners. I understand the need to push making a left turn on yellow, especially at long lights, but if there’s a green light for traffic going at right angles to you, and you’re making a left turn across traffic, you won’t be able to convince me that the last time you saw the light it was yellow or green. My third would be a toss up between people who flip lit cigarettes out of their car windows and people who park in fire lanes. Drunk drivers and people who drive like idiots are also on the list somewhere; people who drive the speed limit in the left lane aren’t, although if there’s a long line of traffic behind them, I might try to alert them to the situation. CJ ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-now-a-traffic-cop-who-do-you-bust/324248/75 "2005-10-03T11:59:31Z")
My biggies: People who take more than one parking space. I do sympathize with them – my car was new once – but this is just unacceptably rude. When I see someone doing this, I’ll call in a flat-bed wrecker and have the car moved to a location at least a mile away. I’ll leave a little note at the old parking spot(s) giving precise directions to car’s new location. Bicylists who ride in the street. Sooner or later, you’re going to get yourself killed. You exponentially increase the stress level of every driver who has to pass you. Use the freakin’ sidewalk. When I was a kid, we always rode our bikes on the sidewalk. Not once, ever, did the police yell at us for it, or even look at us twice ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-now-a-traffic-cop-who-do-you-bust/324248/76 "2005-10-03T13:13:00Z")
Anybody who drives before sun-up without their lights on, but _especially_ those who speed whilst doing it. Common on Bell Road here in Nashvegas, before dawn. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-now-a-traffic-cop-who-do-you-bust/324248/77 "2005-10-03T13:49:29Z")
Being a long time walker, I would site: People who park at a bus stop. The sentence would be having your car run over by a bus. People who stop at a red light in the walkway. I always want to ask them if they expect me to crawl over their hood or go through their car’s interior (excuse me, excuse me). ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_Holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a5b964/32.png) [@Mycroft\_Holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_Holmes)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-now-a-traffic-cop-who-do-you-bust/324248/78 "2005-10-03T14:37:20Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > Anybody who drives before sun-up without their lights on, but _especially_ those who speed whilst doing it. > > Common on Bell Road here in Nashvegas, before dawn. Actually DRL (Daytime Running Lights) for cars (not just motorcycles) seem to prevent accidents (and are mandatory in Canada, Norway and Sweden). [Cite](http://www.jr2.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/band59/b59-3.html) and [cite](http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/transportation/59613_get25x.shtml). I have often thought that I was able to see other cars much better in bad weather or in twilight (which lasts a looooooong time at our Nothern latitudes). This is definitely one thing where a ticket isn’t warranted. ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_Holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a5b964/32.png) [@Mycroft\_Holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_Holmes)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-now-a-traffic-cop-who-do-you-bust/324248/79 "2005-10-03T14:39:16Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > Anybody who drives before sun-up without their lights on, but _especially_ those who speed whilst doing it. > > Common on Bell Road here in Nashvegas, before dawn. Actually, I just realized you might be whooshing us all. Before sun-up? Isn’t that **night** when it’s dark, and you’re **supposed** to have your lights on? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_Holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a5b964/32.png) [@Mycroft\_Holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_Holmes)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-now-a-traffic-cop-who-do-you-bust/324248/80 "2005-10-03T14:41:32Z")
Oh shoot, I need some coffee badly. I just realized **Bosda** wrote **without** their lights on. Please ignore me, I’m an idiot. [sub][sub]slinks off to hide[/sub][/sub] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-now-a-traffic-cop-who-do-you-bust/324248.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-now-a-traffic-cop-who-do-you-bust/324248.md?page=5)