Common Courtesy/Rules of the Road
- Thread starter BKK Jack
- Start date
y??? that has to be one of dumbest ideas... s*** just let them drive their car into the store and park it in there if the handicap lots aren't close enough... and honestly half the handicap cars i see are normal people who have a handicap thing hangin from their mirror, this one lady at work uses one b/c she drives her elderly father around but she uses the handicap sign all the time regardless of her father being in the car or not... i would imagine the majority of people do this....
I strongly believe that it needs to be harder to get your licence than it is currently.
Here in Ontario, Canada there are plenty of people that feel that since they pay their taxes just like you that they have just as much right to be in the left lane as you, even if they are only travelling at 95 kmh (speed limit 100 kmh).
I used to give people their space and would politely flash them with the high beams to let them know I wanted to pass. Few people would ever bother to move over. I used to give people a lot of time before I resorted to passing right and I always felt bad about doing it. Myself, I would stay right except to pass and I would always return to the right lane as soon as I reasonably could.
Now I have grown to jaded and I won't bother to wait before passing right. If I pull up behind someone in the left lane I don't bother to flash since no one pays attention. If they don't move over within the first 5 seconds (if they are able), I pass right and be done with it. I still feel uncomfortable about passing on the right, but I would rather pass quickly on the right than impede the whole flow of traffic.
R
Here in Ontario, Canada there are plenty of people that feel that since they pay their taxes just like you that they have just as much right to be in the left lane as you, even if they are only travelling at 95 kmh (speed limit 100 kmh).
I used to give people their space and would politely flash them with the high beams to let them know I wanted to pass. Few people would ever bother to move over. I used to give people a lot of time before I resorted to passing right and I always felt bad about doing it. Myself, I would stay right except to pass and I would always return to the right lane as soon as I reasonably could.
Now I have grown to jaded and I won't bother to wait before passing right. If I pull up behind someone in the left lane I don't bother to flash since no one pays attention. If they don't move over within the first 5 seconds (if they are able), I pass right and be done with it. I still feel uncomfortable about passing on the right, but I would rather pass quickly on the right than impede the whole flow of traffic.
R
Az Mazda Driver
Member
- :
- Mazda 3
haha apparently you ve never been to scottsdale umm the kids and adults down here with this SUV's and trucks think their the s*** and speed like no other and think they always have the right away..... Scottsdales not ment for Sedans or small cars.
...Wow. This thread has blown me away. I can't believe there is a single person on this forum that hasn't disagreed with the OP except for Evo Scooter. And for a good reason too, safety.
In Edmonton, hardly anybody flashes their lights to try and move someone out of the way. It's considered rude over here. I'm appalled by this thread b/c you guys drive like huge jerks.
I can see both points of view here - I am both kinds of driver - the slow and the fast.
Most of the time, I drive around 10 km/h over the limit just like everyone else in traffic. If someone chooses to drive slowly or at the limit, that's no reason to get up on their bumper and ride it. You're probably only making them nervous and afraid to make the lane change.
The worst is when someone rides my ass and basically puts his SUV headlights in my rear hatch window. I can't even see anything in my mirror. This happened last weekend, was doing 90 on our 80 limit freeway. I didn't even see him coming up from the distance b/c he must have been driving so fast. I look up in my mirror and all of a sudden, his headlights come full on into my window, blinding me. He must have had to slam his brakes to avoid hitting my bumper and I swear he was probably 2 inches from it. I thought what an a*****e, so I proceeded to brake test him several times and then purposely blocked him as there were 2 semi trailers lined up on the right lane. He was getting so mad, he did everything: he flashed his headlights; swerved back and forth; got up on my bumper, fell back, only so he could rev his engine and catch up and brake on my rear end again. He even decided to be really smart by flashing his right signal light. I wasn't really sure but I think he wanted me to move over. Because I wasn't sure, I flashed my left signal light which pointed towards the concrete divider and continued to block.
Why do I do this? B/c SUV's/trucks think they can run my little import off the road. I'm already technically speeding, he shouldn't be speeding more than the 10 km/h tolerance; it's illegal. It's dangerous. And had he given me room behind me like most ppl do, then I probably would have just moved over.
He actually gave me a bit of a scare, b/c I thought for sure he was gonna hit my rear. If I wasn't driving a new car, I would have just slammed my brakes and taken his insurance money, assuming he even had insurance.
To top it off, I was pretty ticked after all that, I dropped it into 3rd and floored it. His headlights turned into a spec in the distance. He eventually caught up and as I was taking my exit, he tried to stare me down only to see me give him the finger all the way up the exit ramp. My a-holeness only comes out when blatant a-holes like that show up.
Don't get me wrong, in most situations, ppl will wait safely behind me until there is an opportunity to pass or just pass me on the right. Most of the time, I will move over before they have to do this.
Sometimes I feel like speeding too, if I'm in a hurry or feel like it. I'll either wait safely behind people until I get the opportunity to pass or I'll just immediately take the open lane, right or left, and pass to avoid any frustration/bitterness (same as rainman, most of the time, there is not point waiting for someone to move over). However, I would never flash my lights, swerve around, turn my signals without the intent of actually changing lanes.
Sorry for the long rant, I just couldn't believe the response after response of "bad drivers". Those "bad drivers" probably simple choose not to speed b/c really, who wants to pay a speeding ticket. If you don't want tickets, don't speed. And they will continue to block you if you ride them or if they know you're about to cut them off.
In Edmonton, hardly anybody flashes their lights to try and move someone out of the way. It's considered rude over here. I'm appalled by this thread b/c you guys drive like huge jerks.
I can see both points of view here - I am both kinds of driver - the slow and the fast.
Most of the time, I drive around 10 km/h over the limit just like everyone else in traffic. If someone chooses to drive slowly or at the limit, that's no reason to get up on their bumper and ride it. You're probably only making them nervous and afraid to make the lane change.
The worst is when someone rides my ass and basically puts his SUV headlights in my rear hatch window. I can't even see anything in my mirror. This happened last weekend, was doing 90 on our 80 limit freeway. I didn't even see him coming up from the distance b/c he must have been driving so fast. I look up in my mirror and all of a sudden, his headlights come full on into my window, blinding me. He must have had to slam his brakes to avoid hitting my bumper and I swear he was probably 2 inches from it. I thought what an a*****e, so I proceeded to brake test him several times and then purposely blocked him as there were 2 semi trailers lined up on the right lane. He was getting so mad, he did everything: he flashed his headlights; swerved back and forth; got up on my bumper, fell back, only so he could rev his engine and catch up and brake on my rear end again. He even decided to be really smart by flashing his right signal light. I wasn't really sure but I think he wanted me to move over. Because I wasn't sure, I flashed my left signal light which pointed towards the concrete divider and continued to block.
Why do I do this? B/c SUV's/trucks think they can run my little import off the road. I'm already technically speeding, he shouldn't be speeding more than the 10 km/h tolerance; it's illegal. It's dangerous. And had he given me room behind me like most ppl do, then I probably would have just moved over.
He actually gave me a bit of a scare, b/c I thought for sure he was gonna hit my rear. If I wasn't driving a new car, I would have just slammed my brakes and taken his insurance money, assuming he even had insurance.
To top it off, I was pretty ticked after all that, I dropped it into 3rd and floored it. His headlights turned into a spec in the distance. He eventually caught up and as I was taking my exit, he tried to stare me down only to see me give him the finger all the way up the exit ramp. My a-holeness only comes out when blatant a-holes like that show up.
Don't get me wrong, in most situations, ppl will wait safely behind me until there is an opportunity to pass or just pass me on the right. Most of the time, I will move over before they have to do this.
Sometimes I feel like speeding too, if I'm in a hurry or feel like it. I'll either wait safely behind people until I get the opportunity to pass or I'll just immediately take the open lane, right or left, and pass to avoid any frustration/bitterness (same as rainman, most of the time, there is not point waiting for someone to move over). However, I would never flash my lights, swerve around, turn my signals without the intent of actually changing lanes.
Sorry for the long rant, I just couldn't believe the response after response of "bad drivers". Those "bad drivers" probably simple choose not to speed b/c really, who wants to pay a speeding ticket. If you don't want tickets, don't speed. And they will continue to block you if you ride them or if they know you're about to cut them off.
mountjonas
Member
- :
- 2013 VRM MS3
i'll agree that people here in the US can't drive for s***. it's not limited to any state, it's the whole country. i had a chance to drive in the philippines and while it's mostly chaos, the one thing they had going was that if you wanted to pass someone, you lightly tap your horn and they'll move over. simple as that. no one got offended, everyone moved on. here we treat the horn as "get the **** out of my way" instead of "hey, let me pass you"
what pisses me off the most is when i'm waiting at a red light, the instant it turns green, some asshole behind me is laying on the horn because i'm not moving already. it's happened so many times i'm expect it at every light. no sooner than i take my foot off the brake pedal do i hear someone freaking out because traffic isn't moving.
what pisses me off the most is when i'm waiting at a red light, the instant it turns green, some asshole behind me is laying on the horn because i'm not moving already. it's happened so many times i'm expect it at every light. no sooner than i take my foot off the brake pedal do i hear someone freaking out because traffic isn't moving.
mountjonas
Member
- :
- 2013 VRM MS3
that's fine. i usually box people like that in so they can't get around me, just to piss them off more.
mountjonas said:
lol, yeah. I read the long post above your just now and i didnt know what to think. Ive been in that situation and done that before in my small ass car, but ive also driven my bro's silverado 2500 and been on the other end of that. Its harder to get around traffic in something that big and would be so much better if slower people just kept to the side of the road. I understand giving someone room if they cant possibly get over. I give people room when there is nothing they can do about the position their in, but if they can speed up or get over or something im gonna ride that ass untill it gets outa my face lol.
- :
- 92 & 16 Meyatas
Olestra said:
"I'm appalled by
this thread b/c you guys drive like huge jerks."
(poke) and then you proceed to describe how you "brake test" hime and "block" him in??????????????????
It's all good, but...
lol~ that reminds me of my trips to NYC. I swear the people must all be drag racers with incredible reaction time 'cause if I didn't get going within 50 milliseconds of the light turning green, someone would always honk at me. In my hometown, honking is considered very rude, and people don't honk unless the other driver is being really dumb (not moving for like 8+ seconds).
Back on the topic of bad drivers, I've read everyone's comments thoroughly. I know bad drivers upset us, but quite frankly I don't think it's worth the trouble to block, brake-test, pass them, etc. for the sake of everyone's safety. I mean seriously... what good could come out of it? Would that jerk of a driver change his ways? No! Because if s/he were smart enough to correct their misbehavior, you wouldn't be in such situations in the first place. They "believe" that they are right no matter how wrong they may be in reality, and the majority of us go pretty far for things we believe in. Worst case scenario, someone could get seriously injured or even die as a result of our testosterone-driven actions. It's all fun and games until someone throws a towel, right?
So next time you run into a jerk, ponder that for a moment, and consider moving over so s/he can disappear from your sight quickly. Soon or later, "they" will either collide into something stationary or better yet, our donut loving public servants. *^_^*
jeg0024 said:
lol~ that reminds me of my trips to NYC. I swear the people must all be drag racers with incredible reaction time 'cause if I didn't get going within 50 milliseconds of the light turning green, someone would always honk at me. In my hometown, honking is considered very rude, and people don't honk unless the other driver is being really dumb (not moving for like 8+ seconds).
Back on the topic of bad drivers, I've read everyone's comments thoroughly. I know bad drivers upset us, but quite frankly I don't think it's worth the trouble to block, brake-test, pass them, etc. for the sake of everyone's safety. I mean seriously... what good could come out of it? Would that jerk of a driver change his ways? No! Because if s/he were smart enough to correct their misbehavior, you wouldn't be in such situations in the first place. They "believe" that they are right no matter how wrong they may be in reality, and the majority of us go pretty far for things we believe in. Worst case scenario, someone could get seriously injured or even die as a result of our testosterone-driven actions. It's all fun and games until someone throws a towel, right?
So next time you run into a jerk, ponder that for a moment, and consider moving over so s/he can disappear from your sight quickly. Soon or later, "they" will either collide into something stationary or better yet, our donut loving public servants. *^_^*
lol i think most people were directing their frustration at people who are driving slower then the posted limit or driving the posted limit in the far left lane and wouldn't move over when some one faster came up on them... at least thats how i was looking at it... i dont' recall anyone complianing about some one doing the speed limit in the correct lane and riding their ass...
Evo Scooter
Member
- :
- 2003 Mitsubishi Evolution VIII & 2007 Mazdaspeed3
Olestra said:
OK how did I get singled out? I drive on the right, pass on the left, go with the flow when in traffic, only drive fast when alone or on the track. I don't cut people off nor do I tailgate. Do I brake check, yes but if someone flashes me I move over.
I'm confused.
Last edited:
SeminoleMan
Member
- :
- '03.5 Sunlight Silver P5
Olestra said:
The left-lane is a passing lane, so if you're sitting in that lane at barely over the speed limit you are impeding traffic whether you feel they are speeding or not. I think in your situation more awareness is a good idea - you should know who's around you at all times. You aren't doing yourself any favors by engaging a driver who might be speeding or driving aggressively. Blocking and brake checking them makes you no better than he and puts you at risk more than moving over.
The problem with everyone is that they feel a sense of entitlement - some to speed, others to sit in the left-lane doing barely the speed limit. The bottom line is that courtesy and awareness makes traffic flow better - look to the autobahn if you question that.
Last edited:
Evo Scooter said:
Actually being singled out was a good thing... the rest of us got bunched into "you're a bunch of senseless jerks who drive like aholes"
To clarify at least my stand: If you are on a 4 or 5 lane hwy as most freeways here in LA are and the traffic is light DO NOT cruise at the speed limit on the frigin fast lane... there are 3-4 other lanes in which you can do so... left lane is for passing...
Having said that: if a car is going 20+ miles over the speed limit on the fast lane and passing dont expect it to get out of your way immediately and start riding his ass....
If I had a dollar for every POS car who was doing the speed limit on the fast lane and floored it as soon as I switched lanes to pass them I would be rich...
and finally: DOnt brake check... you are just putting your life at risk... at 60 MPH if you get rear ended collecting insurance is going to be the last of your worries... either get the hell out of the way or gradually slow down... either way the guy riding your ass will get out of your rear bumper
I agree with Tsunami and Seminole man btw....
Last edited:
SeminoleMan said:
precisely. In some states, it's actually illegal to sit in the passing lane blocking faster moving traffic behind you.. whether or not you are speeding. The driver education needs to be made a hell of a lot better to fix these problems. For whatever reason, in CT there are signs all over (pretty much whenever the highway changes from 2-3 or 3-2 (or 3-4, etc) lanes...
They look like this: | PASSING LANE | TRAVEL LANE | SLOW VEHICLE LANE |
Also, either before or after these signs and whenever you cross into the state, there are signs saying "Keep right except to pass". In NY there is nothing of the sort, and I've driven on every mile of every major highway in the state... Yet from what I've read the laws in CT and NY regarding this issue are the same. There is a painful lack of awareness among the drivers here. When I'm going 70 in a 65 zone and you are doing 40 in the left lane because it's cold outside (but the roads are dry.. no snow on them for days.. ), what the hell do you want me to do? Should I pass you on the right (traffic permitting), which would be a very unexpected move since passing on the right is illegal? Should I just patiently wait behind you while every other asshole on the road passes the two of us on the right? Should I give a quick flash of the highbeams (during the day) or flick my headlights off and on (at night)? Should I chirp the horn, which you probably won't here over the 50 Cent you're blasting in your "whip"??
WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!? bah.. Why should I go through the trouble to figure out the most courteous way possible to alert you that you are blocking the smooth flow of traffic (illegal in many areas), when you don't have the decency to be courteous to me?
Here's what I usually do in this situation: I come up behind the slow-moving vehicle in the left lane, waiting at a safe following distance for the speed they are traveling. I'll also get off the throttle (or turn off the cruise control) as soon as I realize they are traveling slower than I am so that I don't fly up on them. Then I'll wait 5-10 seconds after the lane to the right is safe to enter (from their point of view), and then I'll do the quick single flash of the high beams. Wait another 5 seconds, --- oh wait crap, by this time 5-10 cars have already passed both of us on the right, and now the passing lane has been routed around us, causing a very erratic flow of traffic when people coming down the onramp get aquainted with a pack of 80mph traffic.
Never in my years of driving in CT did I ever need to take any measure to let someone know they were blocking traffic; I never even had to put any thought into it! A little bit of courtesy and awareness on the roads goes a long way, but people on the highways in NY don't have an ounce of it. I finally realize why they need an Escalade ESV to drive in alone -- no smaller car would have room for their huge sense of road-going entitlement.
Yesterday I was on a 2-lane (with marked shoulders) road following the river on my way to school. The speed limit is 55 mph on the road, although it is in an area with houses (they are always pretty far back from the road). I came upon a car doing TWENTY miles per hour in my lane. Luckily, a passing zone soon opened up and I spooled up the turbo and passed the Suzuki Esteem wagon. I got my car up to 60mph and went on my merry way to a midterm. About a minute later, the Suzuki flies up right on my bumper and starts madly swerving and flashing their high beams at me. I tap the brakes just lightly enough to get the brake lights to come on, they continue their rage. I press the brakes a bit harder, taking my speed down to 40 (still a 55 zone).. they persist. I stop the car (not rapidly.. at a normal rate). They are forced to stop behind me as there is oncoming traffic in the other lane. I put my car in neutral, and pull up the e-brake. I open my door, step out of the car, and turn around toward the suzuki. I yell "Are you mad?! What is the matter??". They give me the finger, and then roll down their window, saying "You flew past me back there!" to which I responded "You were going 20 in a 55, there was a passing zone, I gave safe following distance.. what the hell is wrong with that?". Here's the kicker.. they respond "The roads might be icy, it isn't safe to go any faster". I respond "get some damn snow tires, the roads are FINE".
What a nice little bit of stress right before a midterm. At least I got to see the "omg I'm going to die tonight" look on their face when I stepped out of the car.. not to say that I'm an imposing figure at all, 5'10" 135lbs.. basically look like I'm 14. I guess they expected me to just take their s***. What I think is funny is that they didn't think it was safe to go any faster than 20 in a 55 zone on a DRY road, yet they had to be going at least 70 to catch up to me after I passed them, just to let me know that the roads weren't safe? ******* moron.
there's my rant for the day (poke)
Olestra said:
You have got to be kidding!?! Everyone else is an asshole, but you are brake-checking and blocking ???? Who's the asshole in in the situation you described? Don't bother to respond to that, it was rhetorical.
Thanks to Kansei, I was able to read the laws regarding this subject in Virginia. Nowhere does it say anything about the speed limit, as in "should said douche-bag be driving at or above the posted limit, SDB shall not be required to yield.
The bottom line is: No matter what speed you are driving, be it 40, 60, or 160, if you are being overtaken, you should yield and move over.
You are the problem
