Baffling and obnoxious driving behavior

Discussion, in general

Re: Baffling and obnoxious driving behavior

Postby jbobsully11 » Thu Jan 19, 2017 7:10 pm

People who tailgate you when the next lane is clearly open are also fun. I once had someone speed up to me on a highway (I was going over the speed limit as it was), honk his horn for at least ten seconds, go around me, and do the same thing to the next few cars. If it was an emergency, it would've been faster to just go around everyone, which was definitely an option, so I don't know what that person's problem was.

I also once had someone swerve into my lane right behind me and honk at me for being there (I had just gotten my license, so I may have been going a little slowly, but again, the whole other lane was still open).
  • 5

Crimson847 wrote:In other words, transgender-friendly privacy laws don't molest people, people molest people.

(Presumably, the only way to stop a bad guy with a transgender-friendly privacy law is a good guy with a transgender-friendly privacy law, and thus transgender-friendly privacy law rights need to be enshrined in the Constitution as well)
User avatar
jbobsully11
TCS Moderator
TCS Moderator
 
Posts: 3644
Joined: Mon Apr 15, 2013 10:22 pm
Location: not the outskirts of nowhere anymore, NJ, USA
Show rep
Title: The Chronically Underemployed

Re: Baffling and obnoxious driving behavior

Postby Piter Lauchy » Thu Jan 19, 2017 8:04 pm

You people make me afraid of renting a car and driving it when I visit the USA one day.
  • 6

The Oatmeal wrote:Live life passionately and love everyone like they are family, because Jesus is always with you. Jesus loves you seriously bigtime. He'd hug you until your eyeballs exploded out of your skull if he ever met you. He'd windsurf across oceans of dead Nazis which he personally slaughtered just to tell you that your new haircut is the bee's knees. [...]
Praise Jesus, especially when it's sunny outside because Jesus would totally be cool with you praising while you get a nice tan.
User avatar
Piter Lauchy
Time Waster
Time Waster
 
Posts: 1090
Joined: Thu Jan 07, 2016 1:33 am
Location: Bier und Wurst
Show rep
Title: Idk, someone give me one

Re: Baffling and obnoxious driving behavior

Postby reallifegirl » Thu Jan 19, 2017 8:07 pm

Bostonians are the inspiration for the term "Masshole." I didn't know the tailgating thing but I make it a point never to drive in Boston. Bostonians also have a reputation for seeing drunk driving as nbd, and several of our state's highest-ranking legislators got their start as drunk driving defense specialists.


Admittedly, the only time(s) I've driven to Massachusetts, it was to Boston. So I may be biased by the Massholes who are otherwise giving the rest of the state a bad rep.

Who was ruled liable for the accident?


The other driver was ruled 70% liable by insurance, since even though the accident was from his error, I was the one who actually struck him. I did like that the policewoman who showed up to the scene after we dialed 911 was immediately on my side once we described the accident ("Oh, I absolutely hate it when people do that! *scribbles in notepad*")
  • 6

"I can believe things that are true and things that aren't true and I can believe things where nobody knows if they're true or not."

Encyclopedia Dramatica wrote:Reallifegirl: Is supposedly a girl in real life, but we all know that's false. Gets highest comment roughly 75% of the time, and has never had a single red-thumbed comment. Ever.
User avatar
reallifegirl
Time Waster
Time Waster
 
Posts: 1609
Joined: Tue Apr 16, 2013 5:21 pm
Show rep
Title: Officially allegedly female

Re: Baffling and obnoxious driving behavior

Postby cmsellers » Thu Jan 19, 2017 8:36 pm

reallifegirl wrote:Admittedly, the only time(s) I've driven to Massachusetts, it was to Boston. So I may be biased by the Massholes who are otherwise giving the rest of the state a bad rep.

It's like how people from Upstate New York actually drive really well for the most part, but a lot of people in Massachusetts cringe at the sight of a New York license plate because of the reputation NYC drivers have.

Though I swear NYC drivers aren't as bad as drivers in the areas immediately surrounding NYC. (You talked about Long Island; I talk about Connecticut and sometimes New Jersey; the Connecticut drivers I mostly deal with are from the Hartford area, but Southwest Connecticut is even worse, which I wouldn't have believed humanly possible until I went there.) With Boston, it seems to be the reverse. The suburbs aren't too bad (except the close-in ones like Cambridge), but the city itself is terrifying if you're not from there.
  • 1

User avatar
cmsellers
Back-End Admin
Back-End Admin
 
Posts: 9316
Joined: Sun Apr 14, 2013 7:20 pm
Location: Not *that* Bay Area
Show rep
Title: Broken Record Player

Re: Baffling and obnoxious driving behavior

Postby cmsellers » Thu Jan 19, 2017 8:46 pm

Piter Lauchy wrote:You people make me afraid of renting a car and driving it when I visit the USA one day.

Compared to most of Europe, Americans are terrible drivers. I was stunned at how well Finns drive, and I've heard Germans complain about how all you need to get a license here is a pulse, which is pretty much true, though I'm pretty sure a pulse is optional in Connecticut.

Compared to most of the world, Americans are awesome drivers. Koreans drive on sidewalks at street-traffic speeds. Turks drive in the wrong lane. Hong Kongers take sharp corners at 80 kph. People from all three jurisdictions treat red lights and stop signs as guidelines. And I've been told that Egypt, Indonesia, and Brazil are worse than any of those places, which makes me both terrified and confused.
  • 6

User avatar
cmsellers
Back-End Admin
Back-End Admin
 
Posts: 9316
Joined: Sun Apr 14, 2013 7:20 pm
Location: Not *that* Bay Area
Show rep
Title: Broken Record Player

Re: Baffling and obnoxious driving behavior

Postby Twistappel » Thu Jan 19, 2017 9:52 pm

cmsellers wrote:Also, I have a really old, non-aerodynamic vehicle; I promise you I'd lose in a real drag race.)

That reminds me: When people attempt to challenge you to a drag race when you are driving an obviously, objectively inferior vehicle. What exactly are they trying to prove?
  • 4

You say "New World Order" "communist echo chamber" like it's a bad thing.

The TCSer formerly known as "Sister Morphine’
User avatar
Twistappel
TCS Junkie
TCS Junkie
 
Posts: 2640
Joined: Thu Dec 05, 2013 11:07 pm
Location: The People's Republic of Colorado
Show rep
Title: Failed the Turing Test

Re: Baffling and obnoxious driving behavior

Postby Cordslash » Thu Jan 19, 2017 9:53 pm

Pffffft. Drive in Africa and then complain. Here rules really are guidelines, and very few actually obey them.

Taxis use the emergency lane as a matter of course. No one says anything because taxis do what they want anyway.

My pet peeve is people who don't know how a zip merge works, pushes ahead of you and then are extremely pissed off because you actually waited your turn to merge from two lanes to one. Because their bumper is slightly ahead of yours at that time......

Oh, and also someone who tailgates you within city borders on a two lane one way street. Fuck you! This isn't a highway where I have to give way to faster vehicles! I'm turning at the next traffic light you asshole!
  • 7

*The artist formerly known as CmdrVimes*


Hancock, John.
User avatar
Cordslash
Resident Dickhead
Resident Dickhead
 
Posts: 1340
Joined: Mon Apr 15, 2013 12:32 pm
Show rep
Title: Blackboard Monitor

Re: Baffling and obnoxious driving behavior

Postby Twistappel » Thu Jan 19, 2017 9:57 pm

Cordslash wrote:My pet peeve is people who don't know how a zip merge works, pushes ahead of you and then are extremely pissed off because you actually waited your turn to merge from two lanes to one. Because their bumper is slightly ahead of yours at that time......

The local news in Memphis recently ran a story about how police were recommending that people adopt the "controversial" and "potentially dangerous" practice known as "zipper merging", in order to improve the flow of traffic.

So yeah... apparently in Tennessee, zipper merging is somehow considered more dangerous than the way Memphians ordinarily drive, which... have you ever seen Death Proof?
  • 5

You say "New World Order" "communist echo chamber" like it's a bad thing.

The TCSer formerly known as "Sister Morphine’
User avatar
Twistappel
TCS Junkie
TCS Junkie
 
Posts: 2640
Joined: Thu Dec 05, 2013 11:07 pm
Location: The People's Republic of Colorado
Show rep
Title: Failed the Turing Test

Re: Baffling and obnoxious driving behavior

Postby Cordslash » Thu Jan 19, 2017 10:21 pm

Also: the dreaded 4 way stop.

It's really simple, first car to hit the white line gets to take off first. Right? Wrong.

Especially if two (or three) cars get there at about the same time. Then there's the inexplicable waiting where you all think the other one is going to go....

Eh, a few years ago I decided "fuck it" and now drive off first in those scenarios.

"You hesitated!"
  • 11

*The artist formerly known as CmdrVimes*


Hancock, John.
User avatar
Cordslash
Resident Dickhead
Resident Dickhead
 
Posts: 1340
Joined: Mon Apr 15, 2013 12:32 pm
Show rep
Title: Blackboard Monitor

Re: Baffling and obnoxious driving behavior

Postby CarrieVS » Thu Jan 19, 2017 10:37 pm

Cordslash wrote:Also: the dreaded 4 way stop.

It's really simple, first car to hit the white line gets to take off first. Right? Wrong.

Especially if two (or three) cars get there at about the same time. Then there's the inexplicable waiting where you all think the other one is going to go....

Eh, a few years ago I decided "fuck it" and now drive off first in those scenarios.

"You hesitated!"


Meanwhile in England:

Image
  • 10

A Combustible Lemon wrote:Death is an archaic concept for simpleminded commonfolk, not Victorian scientist whales.
User avatar
CarrieVS
TCS Redshirt
TCS Redshirt
 
Posts: 7103
Joined: Sat Apr 20, 2013 7:43 pm
Location: By my wild self in the wet wild woods waving my wild tail
Show rep
Title: Drama Llama

Re: Baffling and obnoxious driving behavior

Postby iMURDAu » Thu Jan 19, 2017 11:14 pm

One of my favorite driving phenomena occurs when getting on I-81 southbound from the Hagerstown Wal-Mart. The exit for the on ramp is two lanes that merge into one. There's a sign that says ALL TRAFFIC MUST MERGE INTO LEFT LANE or something very similar, its been a while since I've been there. And everytime I play the role of the asshole in the left lane who causes the headache because everyone merges into the right lane. Cars ahead of and behind me will whip into the right lane as if they're about to drive off a cliff. And I just sit there minding my business simultaneously obeying the law and inspiring rage fits.
  • 5

“This is going to become a bad meme,” Todd observed.
User avatar
iMURDAu
TCS Chomper
TCS Chomper
 
Posts: 6752
Joined: Fri Apr 19, 2013 10:08 am
Location: twitch.tv/beakstore
Show rep
Title: King of Fuh

Re: Baffling and obnoxious driving behavior

Postby Absentia » Thu Jan 19, 2017 11:50 pm

cmsellers wrote:Compared to most of the world, Americans are awesome drivers. Koreans drive on sidewalks at street-traffic speeds. Turks drive in the wrong lane. Hong Kongers take sharp corners at 80 kph. People from all three jurisdictions treat red lights and stop signs as guidelines. And I've been told that Egypt, Indonesia, and Brazil are worse than any of those places, which makes me both terrified and confused.


Reminds me of the stories my dad tells from when he used to go to Puerto Rico for work. He said people would straddle the line and try to pass between cars in adjacent lanes.
  • 7

User avatar
Absentia
TCS Moderator
TCS Moderator
 
Posts: 1786
Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2015 4:46 am
Location: Earth
Show rep

Re: Baffling and obnoxious driving behavior

Postby cmsellers » Wed Mar 01, 2017 9:04 pm

Going to HEB, the intersection before I get there I can usually make a right on red if there are three or fewer cars ahead or me, or any cars after three are considerate enough to pull towards the midlane. Today, I was unable to make that right with two cars in front of me, because the second car left a huge gap between it and the car at the light. I get stuck behind the one driver in Texas who doesn't tailgate, and apparently "not tailgating" is such a foreign concept to them that they believe you need to leave two car length's distance even when stopped.

I do understand why they didn't pull close to the midline though. With the space they left, at least two cars could have passed them on the right if they had.
  • 1

User avatar
cmsellers
Back-End Admin
Back-End Admin
 
Posts: 9316
Joined: Sun Apr 14, 2013 7:20 pm
Location: Not *that* Bay Area
Show rep
Title: Broken Record Player

Re: Baffling and obnoxious driving behavior

Postby Sekhmet » Sat Mar 04, 2017 2:12 pm

cmsellers wrote: the second car left a huge gap between it and the car at the light.

I was taught to leave a large space (4 car lengths - the number of cars behind you, slowly creeping up as people stop behind you) in front of you at a light to provide a buffer to help reduce the damage that might be caused by a person who can’t stop. This isn’t the most practical in a large city and people will think you’re crazy but if you do it right you never need to stop completely at a light. They many have been someone who learned this as well.

This doesn’t mean you don’t pull up to let someone in the right turn lane though.
  • 3

So remember, If the women don’t find ya handsome, they should at least find ya handy. –Red Green
Sekhmet
TCS Regular
TCS Regular
 
Posts: 384
Joined: Thu May 02, 2013 9:59 am
Location: "City", British Columbia
Show rep

Re: Baffling and obnoxious driving behavior

Postby cmsellers » Sat Mar 04, 2017 4:18 pm

Sekhmet wrote:
cmsellers wrote: the second car left a huge gap between it and the car at the light.

I was taught to leave a large space (4 car lengths - the number of cars behind you, slowly creeping up as people stop behind you) in front of you at a light to provide a buffer to help reduce the damage that might be caused by a person who can’t stop. This isn’t the most practical in a large city and people will think you’re crazy but if you do it right you never need to stop completely at a light. They many have been someone who learned this as well.

Nope. They were completely stopped about two and a half car lengths from the first car. As I think about it, the idea may have been that it would let them accelerate faster when the light turns green, which is true, but doesn't matter since you're still limited by the speed of the car in front of you.

I also did the slow down in hopes the light turns green trick when I lived in rural areas, but only do it in Austin on 15th Street, which is programmed to have a green wave if you drive the speed limit.
  • 0

User avatar
cmsellers
Back-End Admin
Back-End Admin
 
Posts: 9316
Joined: Sun Apr 14, 2013 7:20 pm
Location: Not *that* Bay Area
Show rep
Title: Broken Record Player

PreviousNext

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 20 guests

cron