How Would You Like to Educate Your Fellow Drivers?
On Dennis Prager’s radio program yesterday, he devoted the entire third hour to a discussion of the annoying tendencies exhibited by many of the drivers with whom he shares the roads. At the top of his list was the driver who, while waiting to make a left turn at an intersection where there is a left-turn arrow, refuses to proceed with his turn after that arrow goes out. The lesson: unless there is a red signal indicating you have to wait, it is permissible to make your turn even after the green arrow is no longer illuminated; you just have to yield to oncoming traffic as you would at an intersection where there is no left-turn arrow.
Related to this and just as vexing to those unfortunates stuck behind such people is the driver who, when making a left turn, remains at the limit line when the light turns green rather than pulling into the intersection while waiting for traffic to clear as the law and common sense allow, thereby leaving the drivers behind him with no chance to make their turns before the signal changes to red. Mr. Prager said he takes it as a “point of pride” that as many people as possible are able to make their turn behind him, an opinion I wholeheartedly share.
High on my own list of driving frustrations, owing to my profession, are those drivers who refuse to pull the right and stop for approaching emergency vehicles. I’ve seen people here in Los Angeles who seem to think that a police car, ambulance, or fire engine going down the street with its emergency lights ablaze and its siren wailing is there to serve as their escort through heavy traffic. I once even had someone pass me as I drove code-3 down Central Avenue, apparently figuring (correctly) that if I was in such a hurry to get somewhere, I would not take the time to stop and ticket him. The lowest pit of Hell awaits him, whoever he is.
And now I put it to the Ricochet community: What are your pet peeves about your fellow drivers? (As time allows I’ll try to answer any questions you may have about the traffic laws.)
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Comments:
Re: How Would You Like to Educate Your Fellow Drivers?
Response to Midget Faded Rattlesnake (#23)
On a one-way street, pull to the right or left, whichever side offers the most room to the passing emergency vehicle. If the street is too narrow to offer room to get out of the way, keep going until you can find a spot to pull over. And drivers on both sides of the street are required to pull over, though as for myself I would never ticket anyone who failed to do so on the opposite side of a street divided by a traffic island.
Re: How Would You Like to Educate Your Fellow Drivers?
I think my number one pet peeve on the interstates I travel is when emergency vehicles are parked on the right shoulder, e.g., a traffic stop or a wrecker/repair vehicle, etc., and drivers refuse to move over a lane to allow emergency personnel to do their work safely. Because I'm in a semi, I can see these vehicles far in advance, and my efforts to move my rather wide vehicle over for these people is generally met with obstinate refusal by people in their cars who have no idea why I'm trying to move over, but who take it as their life's mission to block me just the same.
I used to relieve my frustration with a sign on my vehicle that read "You need to pull over and change the air in your head."
Apr '11
Re: How Would You Like to Educate Your Fellow Drivers?
Ah, the George Carlin "idiots and maniacs" complaint. I hear ya.
Re: How Would You Like to Educate Your Fellow Drivers?
Dave Carter: I think my number one pet peeve on the interstates I travel is when emergency vehicles are parked on the right shoulder, e.g., a traffic stop or a wrecker/repair vehicle, etc., and drivers refuse to move over a lane to allow emergency personnel to do their work safely. Because I'm in a semi, I can see these vehicles far in advance, and my efforts to move my rather wide vehicle over for these people is generally met with obstinate refusal by people in their cars who have no idea why I'm trying to move over, but who take it as their life's mission to block me just the same.
I used to relieve my frustration with a sign on my vehicle that read "You need to pull over and change the air in your head." · 27 minutes ago
Dave,
On behalf of cops everywhere, thank you. Like I said above, I work the streets, not the freeways, but from time to time I get involved with an incident on the freeway and it's among the more stressful things I do.
Aug '10
Re: How Would You Like to Educate Your Fellow Drivers?
My driving pet peeves:
Dec '10
Re: How Would You Like to Educate Your Fellow Drivers?
Paul DeRocco
Well, in a way. As someone who's received enough speeding tickets in his life to have accumulated pretty accurate stats, here in California the cops give you ten over, conditions permitting. You can blow through a radar trap at that speed and they won't bat an eyelash. So that's the realspeed limit. And I haven't gotten a speeding ticket in California in quite a few years now. · 1 hour ago
Non-enforcement of the law...add that to my list.
Question for Mr. Dunphy: do officers like to hear cheering when they have some [expletive] pulled over?
Dec '10
Re: How Would You Like to Educate Your Fellow Drivers?
Steven Potter: My driving pet peeves: · 3 minutes ago
Everyone seems to hate this, but I find that I very rarely encounter anyone driving under the speed limit. I'm the one getting passed because I drive the speed limit all the time. My theory is that most people subscribe to the idea that there is a posted speed limit and an allowable overage. I'm very binary about it: the limit is the limit. There is no -0/+10 under the number on the sign. Of course, the rent-a-cops on the base where I work have been known to give out tickets for 2 over, so that might influence my attitude as well.
Jan '11
Re: How Would You Like to Educate Your Fellow Drivers?
Do not stop in the middle of the block for jaywalkers. Not your problem. They can go to the crosswalk. Too dangerous otherwise
Apr '11
Re: How Would You Like to Educate Your Fellow Drivers?
@The King Prawn
"Passing on the shoulder around someone waiting to turn left. Again, your impatience is no one else's crisis."
Can't argue with your other points, but I'd say this one depends on the circumstances. If someone is stopped, waiting to making a left turn on a single lane road why should traffic just sit there if there's room to safely go around - so long as you don't ride in or block the shoulder?
It's also worth considering that a driver conscious of traffic building up behind them might feel more pressured and try to turn before they have safe clearance. Not a rational act, but we have to presume there will be irrational drivers.
I always try to leave room for others to pass me. If I'm turning left, I get as far left as possible. When I stop at a light where a right turn is allowed, I try to leave room for turners to squeeze by - either by moving to the left lane, or as far left as possible on a single lane. Especially in California, where the lights last an eternity. I miss Jersey traffic circles.
Dec '10
Re: How Would You Like to Educate Your Fellow Drivers?
Cutlass: "Passing on the shoulder around someone waiting to turn left. Again, your impatience is no one else's crisis."
Can't argue with your other points, but I'd say this one depends on the circumstances. If someone is stopped, waiting to making a left turn on a single lane road why should traffic just sit there if there's room to safely go around - so long as you don't ride in or block the shoulder?
I travel down a two lane every day. Several times a year we have some specific types of collisions on it: someone passing a left turner who can't see the oncoming vehicle turning left, and someone who assumes the person slowing is turning left but is actually turning right. It's not the people who carefully go around the waiting car that scare me; it's the people who do it without ever slowing down. It is actually legal in this state (RCW 46.61.115), but the lack of caution when doing it is simply ridiculous.
Re: How Would You Like to Educate Your Fellow Drivers?
Steven Potter:
My #1 as well. More generally, I despise about 90% of the drivers I encounter on my way to school. Seriously, learn to drive, Atlanta.
Re: How Would You Like to Educate Your Fellow Drivers?
King Prawn,
Re: Question for Mr. Dunphy: do officers like to hear cheering when they have some [expletive] pulled over?
It warms the heart.
Aug '10
Re: How Would You Like to Educate Your Fellow Drivers?
The King Prawn
Steven Potter: My driving pet peeves: · 3 minutes ago
Everyone seems to hate this, but I find that I very rarely encounter anyone driving under the speed limit. I'm the one getting passed because I drive the speed limit all the time.
I'll neither confirm, nor deny, being in the "speed limit up to +5" driving group, but this is something I've run into since I started working again this year. On average once every couple of weeks there seems to be someone that drives 40 in a 45 and has multiple cars backed up behind them in the left lane. Of course, I notice it when I'm in a rush and need to make sure my commute is the most efficient. Murphy's law in action.
I really only care about this on the way to work. If I'm driving home I don't mind as much. It would probably help if I leave early enough to buffer for these annoyances.
Feb '11
Re: How Would You Like to Educate Your Fellow Drivers?
People who are going straight or turning left who won't pull up 1.5" to allow you to make a "right turn on red" when there is no one coming either way on the cross street.
Jul '11
Re: How Would You Like to Educate Your Fellow Drivers?
Women that put on make up while driving in rush hour traffic. In theory this could be men too but I have only seen women do this so far.
Aug '10
Re: How Would You Like to Educate Your Fellow Drivers?
Jack Dunphy: Response to Midget Faded Rattlesnake (#23)
On a one-way street, pull to the right or left, whichever side offers the most room to the passing emergency vehicle. If the street is too narrow to offer room to get out of the way, keep going until you can find a spot to pull over. And drivers on both sides of the street are required to pull over, though as for myself I would never ticket anyone who failed to do so on the opposite side of a street divided by a traffic island. · 9 hours ago
Thanks, officer!
I always tried to do the right thing in these situations, but having not being confident about what exactly is the right thing to do has lead me to confusion and split-second hesitation that might've wasted the emergency responders' valuable time. You don't want to waste time thinking in these situations, you want to know what to do instantly and do it!
Edited on March 17, 2012 at 1:36pmAug '10
Re: How Would You Like to Educate Your Fellow Drivers?
Eye makeup, too? As my dad said, "You'll poke an eye out!"
Mar '12
Re: How Would You Like to Educate Your Fellow Drivers?
Called a rolling roadblock
Paul DeRocco: My pet peeve is what I call inter-lane magnetism: the tendency, on a road where there are two or more lanes in each direction, for people to drive at slightly different speeds until they're right next to each other, and then to unconsciously match their speed, preventing the people behind them (that is to say, me) from getting by them.
It's usually quite unconscious, but when I lived in Portland, OR, I noticed a fair number of people who would do it intentionally, as if their mission in life was to enforce the virtue of driving slowly on others. They would block the left lane by matching the speed of someone in the right lane, until the car in the right lane took an exit, at which point they'd floor it and speed up until they were next to another car, and then slow down again. One day, that happened to me three different timeson US-26 between Portland and Hillsboro. · 11 hours ago
Aug '10
Re: How Would You Like to Educate Your Fellow Drivers?
Paul - I would add a third category: Drivers that are unaware there are others on the road at all, fast or slow.
May '11
Re: How Would You Like to Educate Your Fellow Drivers?
Drivers who flick cigarette butts out the window.
Clear justification for car-to-car gunfire.