Appropriate penalties for not going when the light turns green

[Rothman]

And if you're 3 or 4 cars back in the line, it doesn't seem nice to honk. The guy in front of you can't do anything about it.

The honk isn't meant for him, but for the bozo at the front of the line.

The problem is that the person in front of you is most likely going to think it's intended for them, while the person it's meant for may have no idea where the honk even came from, much less that it's intended for them. There's still a chance it gets their attention, but it's usually at the expense of offending the driver directly in front of you.

It never ceases to amaze me how many people do NOT honk anymore.

In some places, the response might be a gunshot.

I'm finding this line to be the modern-day equivalent of the razor-blades-in-apples Halloween story.

Apparently, honking (and to a certain extent, road rage in general) is not a thing in Texas because of concealed carry.

And it is noticeable that drivers there are quite calm relative to drivers the Northeast. Even so, I still got honked at twice while driving there, both times for passing on the right and cutting in front of a left lane camper. Perhaps it was aggressive to them (i.e. they may not have thought they were left lane camping), but the supposed cutting them off wasn't even close enough to blink by NY standards. I chalked it up to the more relaxed driving mentality leading to complacency, since I found Texans to be pretty good about KRETP overall. I do wonder how those drivers would do on the Thruway - based on my experience, they'd be honking every couple of miles for the amount of passing on the right and cutting in that occurs on the reg... and with no regard for Texas-sized following distance.

How many times have you been down to Texas?

[webny99]

How many times have you been down to Texas?

Twice, for about 8 days total.  667 miles logged in TM, FWIW.

[webny99]

So you're just supposed to sit there obediently for fear of offending someone? To hell with that. Why should I be stuck at a red light because some jackass won't look up from his phone?

Honking is a solution... not denying that at all. It just becomes an increasingly less effective solution for every additional car that's between you and the offending car. By the time you're five or more cars back, there's very little point IMO.

[MikieTimT]

A good taunting.

Failing that, doe in heat urine from the sporting goods section dumped down the HVAC vent at the base of the offenders windshield.

[dlsterner]

Some of these penalties are venturing into MMM territory ...  Waiting for the helicopters with giant magnets to pick up the guilty cars and dump them into the river ...

[Scott5114]

^^^^

It never ceases to amaze me how many people do NOT honk anymore.

Having learned to drive in Oklahoma, I never got in the habit of using the horn. I'd heard too many stories about people responding to it by brandishing a firearm. (For instances where horn use is meant to avoid a collision, my brain instinctively jumps to evasive maneuvers rather than using the horn).

In Las Vegas, nobody goes immediately when the light turns green because there are enough red light runners that it's prudent to take a few seconds to check to make sure that the way is actually clear.

[LilianaUwU]

In Las Vegas, nobody goes immediately when the light turns green because there are enough red light runners that it's prudent to take a few seconds to check to make sure that the way is actually clear.

Ditto over here in Québec, where the worst drivers from all of eastern Canada all seem to be.

[1995hoo]

Today's Pearls Before Swine is appropriate for this thread. (Sorry about linking; posting via my phone and it makes it a nuisance to find the image URL.)

[formulanone]

It's just a horn, not sure why people get so elevated to the extent of personal offense or a user's fear of death. Most people just realize their mistake and literally move on. It's only absolutely rude if it's used lazily in a residential area and certainly more so at night.

To be honest, I might only use my horn 2-3 times of year at most.

As long as I'm in confession, I once held up an obnoxious night-time tailgater at a knowingly-short protected arrow (once I noticed a police officer at the other facing side of the intersection) so as to make sure they'd get a red light just as I went through the yellow light. They suddenly waited very patiently, and now there was no more tailgater.

I was a much more impetuous and stupid driver in my youth but sometimes I get a giggle out of moments like that.

[In_Correct]

Well I certainly do not. If I hear a horn honking, and it is usually from a Freight Truck, I do not know where they are, and causes distraction trying to figure out what they want. Fortunately, in Texas, I have yet to encounter this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tq7luLwp1I

[webny99]

As long as I'm in confession, I once held up an obnoxious night-time tailgater at a knowingly-short protected arrow (once I noticed a police officer at the other facing side of the intersection) so as to make sure they'd get a red light just as I went through the yellow light. They suddenly waited very patiently, and now there was no more tailgater.

I have considered doing this, but to a left lane camper not a tailgater. Never actually followed through on it though, since (a) the protected phase is a decent length, and (b) well, they were turning left, so I can't get too worked up about the left lane thing, even though it does annoy me greatly when people camp on the left for miles for an upcoming turn (and this particular case, those miles are entirely freeway until the intersection in question - the 800 ft warning sign for the intersection is my personal merge point unless I'm already passing).

[Brandon]

How many times have you been down to Texas?

Twice, for about 8 days total.  667 miles logged in TM, FWIW.

Having driven there more, I take "Drive Friendly, The Texas Way" on the welcome signage to be a joke.

[epzik8]

How many times have you been down to Texas?

Twice, for about 8 days total.  667 miles logged in TM, FWIW.

Having driven there more, I take "Drive Friendly, The Texas Way" on the welcome signage to be a joke.

Thanks for the heads-up if I ever go there.

[steviep24]

Mark Rober's solution. And if none of his horns do the job there's always his glitter bomb.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lv8wqnk_TsA

[Jim]

Dilbert and Dogbert's de-trafficator is probably a bit harsh for most cases of annoying drivers.

[Rothman]

How many times have you been down to Texas?

Twice, for about 8 days total.  667 miles logged in TM, FWIW.

Having driven there more, I take "Drive Friendly, The Texas Way" on the welcome signage to be a joke.

Thanks for the heads-up if I ever go there.

Having driven all around Texas, I find grouping all Texan drivers together to be a questionable practice.

[oscar]

How many times have you been down to Texas?

Twice, for about 8 days total.  667 miles logged in TM, FWIW.

I've been to Texas dozens of times, most recently this March. Almost 20,000 miles in TM.

Some Texas drivers are nice (especially in rural areas where they'll pull over on well-paved shoulders to let you pass). Others, not so much. But none of them nearly as bad as in south Florida.

[webny99]

Having driven there more, I take "Drive Friendly, The Texas Way" on the welcome signage to be a joke.

"Friendly" is probably a stretch, but there is definitely a more casual / less aggressive driving style than the Northeast. Even at high speeds, there's less tailgating (and when it does occur, it's because of a slow moving car in the passing lane, not "I'm just going to tailgate the fastest car in sight at all costs"), less passing on the right, etc. Doesn't mean there aren't fast drivers (and of course, tons of big trucks). It's not even that the drivers are any better (in fact, you could argue they're worse in terms of being clued out, especially in heavy traffic), but the vibe is just more relaxed.

Having driven all around Texas, I find grouping all Texan drivers together to be a questionable practice.

We can definitely agree on that. Part of the difference may also be attributable to the higher speed limits. When I used TX 130 earlier this year, traffic was intermittently moving below the speed limit, but it didn't create a giant brake-fest of drivers trying to weave through traffic as it would on a rural interstate here - in fact no one seemed to really mind at all. OF course, it's a lot easier to accept moving below the speed limit when the limit is set appropriately and that means driving 70-75 rather than 55-60 as it would here in NY.

[formulanone]

How many times have you been down to Texas?

Twice, for about 8 days total.  667 miles logged in TM, FWIW.

I've been to Texas dozens of times, most recently this March. Almost 20,000 miles in TM.

Some Texas drivers are nice (especially in rural areas where they'll pull over on well-paved shoulders to let you pass). Others, not so much. But none of them nearly as bad as in south Florida.

Every city area has a handful of discourteous, ignorant, or weaving drivers, but I also don't get that constant vibe in Texas. We tend remember the one yahoo who cut off everyone else or that tailgater and chalk it up to "everyone's bad".

In my unofficial experience, Texans do tend to be a little more inept in parking lots in bigger cities. South Florida is good practice for that kind of thing, because there's a lot more people not paying attention.

They're pretty calm and polite in rural areas, but I can say that about almost any rural spot at any given time.