Do many of you all find today's driving habits amusing??

[oscar]

The habit I do not understand is that a lot of people here in the DC area are leaving WAY TOO MUCH SPACE when stopping at red lights, often a full carlength or more. What you learn in driver's education may vary. I was taught to ensure you can see the bottoms of the rear tires of the vehicle in front of you and to leave extra space on a hill in case a manual-shift driver rolls back. I gather some people who learned to drive when carjacking was more of an issue may have been told to leave more space as an "escape route," although what good that does if you're in the middle lane of three has always been unclear to me. But either way, I've always thought as a courtesy to other drivers you keep aware of what's around you and you move up if possible to allow people to access the turn lane. I frequently wind up honking to try to get people to move up a little so I can get into the turn lane. If you're leaving a full carlength or more, I have no qualms whatsoever about honking in that situation. It's rude to sit there blocking the road like that. Some of them are so engrossed in their little electronic toys that they never realize they're the ones being honked at; others don't care or give the finger; others will move up.

That's a pet peeve of mine too, and applies also to drive-through lanes in fast food restaurants, where people will take their sweet time filling up the gap ahead of them, even when the line behind them is backing up into the street.

In addition to the anti-carjacking excuse (which as you note often doesn't make sense in city traffic), leaving some space ahead of you lets you pull up when the squeegee guy or other beggar comes by, to make clear than you really don't want your windshield cleaned, etc.  That was sometimes an issue where I used to work, where on my way home I usually took H Street N.W. which often was backed up on my way to an I-395 on-ramp.

[roadman65]

My favorite is when a light is short changing.  It happens a lot in Orlando where some intersections that are busy cut down on the green time during heavy traffic flow causing needless two to three light changes wait.  Then when it turns green for the second and third time still cars take their sweet time in moving after the light turns.  I mean duh, you have been sitting there longer than normal to pass through a simple intersection and you are careless to proceed further.

Thanks 1995, you just pointed out that some cannot be amusing as its causing me more gas money as a whole slough of idiots are careless even when they waiting in the same mess.

[1995hoo]

The habit I do not understand is that a lot of people here in the DC area are leaving WAY TOO MUCH SPACE when stopping at red lights, often a full carlength or more. What you learn in driver's education may vary. I was taught to ensure you can see the bottoms of the rear tires of the vehicle in front of you and to leave extra space on a hill in case a manual-shift driver rolls back. I gather some people who learned to drive when carjacking was more of an issue may have been told to leave more space as an "escape route," although what good that does if you're in the middle lane of three has always been unclear to me. But either way, I've always thought as a courtesy to other drivers you keep aware of what's around you and you move up if possible to allow people to access the turn lane. I frequently wind up honking to try to get people to move up a little so I can get into the turn lane. If you're leaving a full carlength or more, I have no qualms whatsoever about honking in that situation. It's rude to sit there blocking the road like that. Some of them are so engrossed in their little electronic toys that they never realize they're the ones being honked at; others don't care or give the finger; others will move up.

That's a pet peeve of mine too, and applies also to drive-through lanes in fast food restaurants, where people will take their sweet time filling up the gap ahead of them, even when the line behind them is backing up into the street.

In addition to the anti-carjacking excuse (which as you note often doesn't make sense in city traffic), leaving some space ahead of you lets you pull up when the squeegee guy or other beggar comes by, to make clear than you really don't want your windshield cleaned, etc.  That was sometimes an issue where I used to work, where on my way home I usually took H Street N.W. which often was backed up on my way to an I-395 on-ramp.

I mostly notice the "backed up into the street" phenomenon at the Mr. Wash Express on Van Dorn Street at Edsall Road in Alexandria. Even though they have two lines, the place gets so crowded, and the customers leave such big gaps, that the line spills out into the street and sometimes blocks the box at the intersection there. Yet people refuse to risk "losing their spot" and will hold up traffic unless the off-duty cops are there to move things along.

I can picture where you mean about H Street because I've encountered the squeegee men in that area on top of the I-395 tunnel (the way you have to loop around from WB Massachusetts to reach I-395), although I address those people by turning on my windshield washers when they approach.

[mtantillo]

I think 1995hoo sums up the issue pretty well. DC area is filled with a lot of "MFFY" types (Me First F__ You).

DC also has tons of tourists, and they are about as clueless as you can get. And won't hesitate one bit to bring a whole road to a standstill while they try to get over.

A couple other pet peeves of mine:
- Improper use of high beams. A lot of times I will see people driving down the road with high beams on for no good reason, blinding everyone in their path, and they refuse to turn them off when you alert them using your high beams. Some drivers do it on purpose, others seem to have improperly maintained headlights. Those pop-in/pop-out headlights that were used in the 1980's are notorious offenders, cars on lift kits are as well.

- Driving at night with no headlights. Came up behind a black car on I-66 the other night, barely saw him because he had no brake lights. He was driving from the dim lights of his DRLs, with zero situational awareness. I notice this a lot more lately.

- Signaling a left turn to make a right turn, and vice versa. The stick on the steering wheel works just like the steering wheel, folks. When you turn left and the left side of the steering wheel goes down, you push the stick down to signal a left turn!

- Blind adherance to the "move over law": Just because you see a cop doesn't mean you have the right to cut someone off in the adjacent lane to move over immediately. Some tractor-trailer drivers are bad about this.

- People using the shoulder to bypass traffic jams: Using an acceleration lane is a dick move, but at least it is an actual lane that is legal for someone to drive in. The people who use the shoulder though, what the heck is so important that you have to cut everyone else patiently waiting in line? I came up on an accident on I-270 a few weeks ago, and traffic was at a standstill while it merged from 3 lanes into 1. Some self important jerk comes up the left shoulder in a red pickup truck and passes about a mile's worth of traffic. Funny thing is, he was actually doing so semi-safely...he was only going about 25 MPH and had his flashers on. Still, not acceptable!!! You are not law enforcement, you are not a tow truck, you can wait like the rest of us. A few cars up in front of me, a guy blocked him, and much horn honking and middle finger flashing ensued.

- Being obnoxious with the horn. Okay, we all toot our horns occasionally, and sometimes we do it to wake up inconsiderate drivers who are too busy texting to notice the light is green. But a couple of weeks ago, I was making a right turn (on green), and a car on the cross street comes plowing through the red light and almost killed me. He had the nerve to honk at me as if I was doing something wrong and should get out of his way. Seems like that horn honk was an "admission of guilt honk". Another example, making a right on red is not "required". If I don't think it is safe, I am not going to turn, and no honking behind me is going to make me hurry up.

- Drivers in the city not yielding to pedestrians. When you're in the city, it is time to use those city driving skills...part of which is remembering that in the big city, there are people walking around. If they are crossing with the light, they go before you go, and that includes when the driver is making a left turn. I've occasionally been honked at as a pedestrian by a driver trying to make a left turn, the cars are clear, and suddenly the driver realizes a pedestrian is in the way.

- Drivers who think the little gap in the guardrail on a dual carriage roadway is for them to get around a traffic jam. The I-95 reversible lanes in Virginia, and the NJ Turnpike are two notorious examples of this. We're driving along in the road, and one set of lanes hits traffic congestion. So people try to cut out of the lanes into high speed traffic in the other set of lanes, and these people are very difficult to avoid, since they come out of nowhere with no warning. I'm sorry, it sucks being in the set of lanes that moves slowly, but that doesn't give you the right to slowly jump out in front of everyone else in the other road. This used to happen a lot on I-95 in Virginia, heading south. The HOV lanes would usually move faster than the regular lanes due to its design flaw of having no southbound entrance ramps south of Springfield. So the lanes were "starved" of traffic and people would jump from the regular lanes into the HOV. But then when you get to the truck scales, the HOVs come to a standstill, and often move slower than the regular lanes, because they first have to squeeze into one lane before the merge point. So all those people who cut into the faster HOVs are trying to cut out early. At least the new HOT lanes will have camera enforcement to prevent this from happening.

[1995hoo]

Regarding people leaving too much space..... The first of these, where I blast the horn at the guy, was a situation where the traffic had been horrendous and we'd all been crawling along for 15 or 20 minutes to go just over a mile. We finally get to the Beltway ramp and the guy starts to leave a huge gap so you can't get on the highway.

In the vein of pet peeves, something that occurred to me earlier today: People who don't turn on their headlights in dark parking garages (especially underground ones, but it need not be underground to be dark).

The other thing that occurred to me was that people these days seem never to want to interact with a stranger at places like the grocery store or the shopping mall by saying a simple thing like "Excuse me" or the like–they will contort themselves into all sorts of strange positions to try to worm through a gap or to see around you when you're at the counter or whatever, when a simple "Excuse me" would be enough to get you to move over. I wonder how much of that sort of thing factors into some of the erratic behavior we see on the roads–they don't want to interact with other drivers any more than they would the other customers at the store. Could this perhaps be a symptom of people having "don't talk to strangers" drummed into them a bit too strongly when they were kids?

[Brandon]

Just plain aggravating: the guy who slams on his brakes at the end of the same exit only lane to merge back into the bumper to bumper traffic he was passing

Ah, I see you've experienced Chicago traffic.

Seriously though, that's a common tactic around here.  They'll use the exit only lane for a passing lane (even if you're going 55-60 mph).  I've seen them cut across the gore to use the entrance ramp as a passing lane as well.  That one makes me think "what the fuck!?!".

Drivers in Illinois (including Chicago) are notorious for slowing down for every fucking curve.  Folks, it's a freeway.  It's designed to be handled at 60-70 mph on the fucking curves as well as the straights.  They also seem to think you can enter a freeway at 40-45 mph and then speed up.  Every time I'm behind one of these jackasses, I think I'm going to get killed when I try to merge behind them.  Again, it's a freeway, damnit.  You use the ramp to get up to speed (60+ mph), look for a spot, modulate your speed, and then seamlessly slide into the stream.

[J N Winkler]

One pet peeve I have that I don't think has been mentioned before:  people who do driveway turnarounds at night instead of driving around the block.  What gives them the right to disturb people in the house behind the driveway by shining headlamps through their front windows?

[wisvishr0]

I leave a large-ish space when I stop behind another car at a red-light if there's no one behind me (or if I'm not causing someone to block a turn lane), and no one is immediately next to me in the adjacent lane. That's so I have enough clearance in front of me to change lanes if I need to while I'm stopped (without backing up). I always look behind me and assess the situation before I do it, and I don't do it often: only in places I'm not used to driving in. If someone pulls up in the lane next to me, I close the gap, because there's no way I'd have space to change lanes even if I had to.

[The Nature Boy]

One pet peeve I have that I don't think has been mentioned before:  people who do driveway turnarounds at night instead of driving around the block.  What gives them the right to disturb people in the house behind the driveway by shining headlamps through their front windows?

At night, traffic is usually sparse enough that I can pull off a three point turn to avoid this scenario. I feel weird about pulling into people's yards during the day.

[Brian556]

Quote from JN Winkler:

One pet peeve I have that I don't think has been mentioned before:  people who do driveway turnarounds at night instead of driving around the block.  What gives them the right to disturb people in the house behind the driveway by shining headlamps through their front windows?

The rudeness of shining headlights into windows at night is the reason I think that the use of high beams in residential areas should be illegal. There is absolutely no need for them at speeds of 30 MPH or less, in urban areas.

[wisvishr0]

The rudeness of shining headlights into windows at night is the reason I think that the use of high beams in residential areas should be illegal. There is absolutely no need for them at speeds of 30 MPH or less, in urban areas.

The problem is Maryland says in its manual to use high beams specifically for seeing people better, so my drivers ed instructor interpreted it to mean: "use it in residential areas to see if there are any people walking in the road at night, as long as there are no cars within 500 feet of you."

[1995hoo]

Our neighborhood has a problem of too many deer in the woods, as do many other local areas. I always use my high-beams on the way in or out at night specifically because of that hazard.

There are areas in where I use them whenever I can due to pedestrians dressed all in black wandering around in the street at night.

[roadman65]

We no more teach people to wear white at night like we teach our society to ride a bike with traffic and not against it.  Yeah I have gotten scares myself driving and out of no where a person crosses the street wearing black usually jay walking too.   It is not amusing there as it is not at all pleasant or amazing to nearly injure another party. 

Also Florida, where I am at, I have been hearing that we have the highest pedestrian fatality rate of all the states.  That does not help either.

[oscar]

DC also has tons of tourists, and they are about as clueless as you can get. And won't hesitate one bit to bring a whole road to a standstill while they try to get over.

Don't forget the diplomats, who often combine cluelessness and/or asshole-ism with immunity.

[renegade]

A big peeve of mine is people who believe it is their obligation to stop and let someone out of a private driveway (gas station, shopping center, fast food restaurant etc.) when they obstruct traffic behind them.  I was let out of a bank parking lot once and the car in the next lane over did not share the enthusiasm of the driver in the curb lane.  My car was mostly destroyed, but I was otherwise uninjured.  Ever since then, I have refused to let someone out in a situation like that, and it aggravates me to no end whenever I see someone do that.

[roadman65]

I was hit once in Houma, LA as you say drivers turning right do not look ahead of them to see what is at or around the corner.  What is even worse is Houma, LA in many parts do not have dedicated crosswalks or even sidewalks for pedestrians there.

My friend who lives in Houma at the time says that they have not yet advanced that far in adding sidewalks outside the downtown areas especially in Bayou Cane, LA which is the unicorporated area of Houma to the Northwest along LA 24.

[roadman65]

Oh yesterday I went on a little mini road trip with two guys here on this forum.  We found that Innovative Way, a new roadway on the east side of town, is so pedestrian and bike friendly as they installed a bike lane and a sidewalk in an area where they will not be used for centuries as there is no development whatsoever along the ROW of the newly built arterial.

Yeah you are so right, Orlando in many places have no sidewalks or enough bridges for pedestrians to use.  However, if you put overpasses for people to use along OBT in the areas north of Sand Lake do you really think people will stop jaywalking in that region?  I think not.  Around Holden they put up middle of the block crosswalks and people diagonally cross OBT at the crosswalk!

[agentsteel53]

A big peeve of mine is people who believe it is their obligation to stop and let someone out of a private driveway (gas station, shopping center, fast food restaurant etc.) when they obstruct traffic behind them.  I was let out of a bank parking lot once and the car in the next lane over did not share the enthusiasm of the driver in the curb lane.  My car was mostly destroyed, but I was otherwise uninjured.  Ever since then, I have refused to let someone out in a situation like that, and it aggravates me to no end whenever I see someone do that.

you attempted to turn across multiple lanes, and checked only the nearest lane of approaching traffic? 

please shred your license.

[1995hoo]

....

Yeah you are so right, Orlando in many places have no sidewalks or enough bridges for pedestrians to use.  However, if you put overpasses for people to use along OBT in the areas north of Sand Lake do you really think people will stop jaywalking in that region?  I think not.  Around Holden they put up middle of the block crosswalks and people diagonally cross OBT at the crosswalk!

Absolutely correct. Around here there was a huge problem with people (the news reports said the vast majority were immigrants) trying to jaywalk across US-50 in the Seven Corners area. The speed limit there is 45 but traffic usually moves at closer to 55 or 60.

Bing Maps link here because it's faster than Google: http://binged.it/1odqFpH  The whole area from where the map says "Thorne Rd" all the way down to the intersection of US-50 and Patrick Henry Drive had a horrible problem with pedestrian accidents. So a very nice pedestrian bridge was constructed, although they dropped the ball a bit because on each side, the ramp is accessible from only one direction (you can see the pedestrian bridge under construction, and the ramps already in place, if you click to the "Bird's Eye" view and turn off labels). That means, of course, lots of the pedestrians don't use it and are continuing to try to run across the street. NOT a wise thing to do in that area at all.

I've heard traffic planners refer to the concept as a pedestrian's "desire line." In other words, what's the most direct route from Point A to Point B? The pedestrian desires to walk that way and some of them will often do so regardless of what's legal or safe. I recall in London a number of the pedestrian crossings near Parliament had islands halfway across with fences such that the two crosswalks were not straight across from each other–you had to go through the fences and it made it a lot harder to try to run across against the light. (Bing view here: http://binged.it/1ogAWNx  One crossing is where the white vehicle is that's already made the left turn. The other is closer to the intersection below the bike box.) I'm sure if anything like this were attempted in most American cities, people would howl with outrage that they don't like being fenced in or that they think they're being treated like farm animals or some such.

A big peeve of mine is people who believe it is their obligation to stop and let someone out of a private driveway (gas station, shopping center, fast food restaurant etc.) when they obstruct traffic behind them.  I was let out of a bank parking lot once and the car in the next lane over did not share the enthusiasm of the driver in the curb lane.  My car was mostly destroyed, but I was otherwise uninjured.  Ever since then, I have refused to let someone out in a situation like that, and it aggravates me to no end whenever I see someone do that.

you attempted to turn across multiple lanes, and checked only the nearest lane of approaching traffic? 

please shred your license.

I interpreted the comment as being that as he turned into the first lane, the front of his car crossed into another lane and someone speeding down that lane hit him. I'm sure we've all encountered the situation where you're trying to turn out of a gas station or a 7-11 or whatever (the bank, in this example) and the driveway configuration is such that you're going to protrude across the line even as you turn into the nearest lane.

Of course, that doesn't mean it's OK not to check the other lane, but I'm not about to pass judgment when I wasn't there to observe the situation. Suppose the person who stops to let you in is driving a big SUV, you can't see over it, and the person waves to indicate the way is clear....but it's not. You weren't there to see "renegade" in the collision and neither was I, so it's not like we can know what happened.

[Zmapper]

–This comment is not politically correct, but I think it's valid in many areas: Immigration affects driving because people arrive from countries around the world with wildly different driving cultures and they have trouble adjusting. This is far more so for older people, of course. I grew up in the 1970s/1980s and there were a lot of local kids my age who were born in Vietnam or Korea and whose parents had grown up in those countries but relocated due to the wars or the wars' aftermath. The kids were as American as could be. Their parents were absolutely not and tended to be much more tentative and hesitant on the roads, especially the Interstate. I say that not to stereotype but just to recognize reality, as it's also true Americans have trouble dealing with road rules in some other countries, such as France's "priorite" system of yielding to the right even if the other road is of a lesser class.

I've heard good-faith arguments put forth that immigrants here illegally are more likely to drive cautiously; unlike citizens who realistically would end up with a hefty ticket at the worst for a car collision provided they weren't drinking, toking, or driving too unreasonably, they have to seriously consider the risk of being deported.

On the other hand, the completely unbiased source that my car insurance agent casually estimates a full quarter of the driving population drives without insurance (purchasing a one month policy every year to register their vehicle). Given that immigrants and/or non-white populations are statistically more likely to have limited incomes, and that people with limited incomes are more likely to cut "frills" like car insurance from their budget, then it would be a logical conclusion that non-native populations are more likely to drive without insurance.

[1995hoo]

In Virginia, it's legal to drive without insurance provided you pay the "uninsured motorist fee" each year. From the DMV website:

The Virginia Uninsured Motor Vehicle (UMV) fee allows a motor vehicle owner to register an uninsured motor vehicle. At the time of registration, the motor vehicle owner must certify whether the vehicle is insured or uninsured.

If the vehicle is uninsured, the motor vehicle owner is required to pay to DMV a $500 uninsured motor vehicle fee in addition to normal registration fees. Payment of the $500 fee does not provide the motorist with any insurance coverage. If involved in an accident, the uninsured motorist remains personally liable. This fee is valid for twelve months but may be prorated for a shorter amount of time.

Motor vehicle owners who falsely certify that they have insurance and are found by DMV to be uninsured face stiff penalties. In addition to facing suspension of all driver and registration privileges, compliance includes payment of a $500 statutory fee, a $145 reinstatement fee and filing proof of insurance for three years. During the three-year period, insurance companies cooperate with DMV by providing notification if a policy is canceled. This requirement to maintain proof of insurance enables DMV to ensure that these motor vehicle owners maintain liability insurance on their registered vehicles.

It's an idiotic thing to do and I don't know how many people do it; I also don't know how many people drive without insurance and without paying that fee. Either way, Virginia insurance regulations require that your policy provide uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage up to your policy limits. Under the circumstances, that's a good thing. (In other words, for those unfamiliar with insurance, say the other driver is at fault in an accident and your coverage provides higher limits of liability than the other driver's insurance, say because he's an idiot who buys only the statutory minimum coverage. The damages in the accident exceed what his policy will pay. Your insurance will kick in for the remainder above his policy limits, and your insurance carrier then has the right to sue him to recover those amounts because ultimately he's responsible for them.)

The real problem, of course, is that so many of the people who don't have insurance are what we call "judgment-proof": You can sue them and win, but you'll have a hard time recovering any money because they don't have any and because almost every state's law allows the person owing the money to protect certain parts of their income from being garnished (in order to ensure they can buy food, for example, which is reasonable).

[agentsteel53]

I interpreted the comment as being that as he turned into the first lane, the front of his car crossed into another lane and someone speeding down that lane hit him. I'm sure we've all encountered the situation where you're trying to turn out of a gas station or a 7-11 or whatever (the bank, in this example) and the driveway configuration is such that you're going to protrude across the line even as you turn into the nearest lane.

"taking the turn wide" is, to me, synonymous with "turning across multiple lanes".

so, I reiterate: if you can't see ALL the lanes you're wanting to enter, then don't begin your turn.

yes, there are super shitty driveways out there where one has to basically make a radius-zero turn or encroach multiple lanes.  I'm okay with waiting.  it's quite rare to have an intersection with no break in traffic due to an upstream traffic light capturing the mainline.  or, if traffic is that heavy that someone is making room for you, then it's entirely appropriate to make a three-point turn as needed.  traffic won't have moved.

[Brandon]

A big peeve of mine is people who believe it is their obligation to stop and let someone out of a private driveway (gas station, shopping center, fast food restaurant etc.) when they obstruct traffic behind them.  I was let out of a bank parking lot once and the car in the next lane over did not share the enthusiasm of the driver in the curb lane.  My car was mostly destroyed, but I was otherwise uninjured.  Ever since then, I have refused to let someone out in a situation like that, and it aggravates me to no end whenever I see someone do that.

you attempted to turn across multiple lanes, and checked only the nearest lane of approaching traffic? 

please shred your license.

I interpreted the comment as being that as he turned into the first lane, the front of his car crossed into another lane and someone speeding down that lane hit him. I'm sure we've all encountered the situation where you're trying to turn out of a gas station or a 7-11 or whatever (the bank, in this example) and the driveway configuration is such that you're going to protrude across the line even as you turn into the nearest lane.

Of course, that doesn't mean it's OK not to check the other lane, but I'm not about to pass judgment when I wasn't there to observe the situation. Suppose the person who stops to let you in is driving a big SUV, you can't see over it, and the person waves to indicate the way is clear....but it's not. You weren't there to see "renegade" in the collision and neither was I, so it's not like we can know what happened.

Still, the license should be shredded.  One has an obligation to check all lanes and enter the roadway only once all lanes are clear.  It's a pet peeve of mine, having people pull out, trusting that you won't change lanes on them.

[agentsteel53]

Still, the license should be shredded.  One has an obligation to check all lanes and enter the roadway only once all lanes are clear.  It's a pet peeve of mine, having people pull out, trusting that you won't change lanes on them.

that's an artifact of people driving too far to the left compared to the lane they should be in.  they should not be changing lanes - they should have changed lanes a long time before.

if you're going to make a right turn, it is sufficient to check just the right lane strictly, and then give a casual check to the second-most-right lane.  (assuming you can make the turn tightly; if not, add one lane to this calculation.)

if someone's initiated changing lanes (turn signal, inching to the right side of their lane, slowing down when there is no reason to do so for going straight, etc), then the right lane is theirs.  if they have not, then the right lane is yours. 

[1995hoo]

As I said, since I wasn't there and didn't see what happened, I'm not in a position to pass judgment, and neither are any of you. For example, I'd like to know how fast the vehicle that hit him was going at the time.