Road-related pet peeves

[1995hoo]

I don't know if this is only  a common thing around here, but when I am out walking and just somewhat *near* a crosswalk and everyone stops for me, even though I am making no motions towards crossing the street.  It is annoying and a traffic delay. ('misplaced courtesy'?)

Heh. That definitely doesn't happen here. I've been partway across the street in a marked crosswalk and seen pickup drivers accelerate to blow through the crosswalk in front of me.

[VTGoose]

Agreed with both of these, but I think the worst variant are those who speed way up while not passing and slow way down while passing, so that you have to slow down for them every time they pass someone, but can't go fast enough to get past them when it's clear. It's a dreadful yo-yo effect that makes me seriously wonder what they think they're accomplishing besides being frightfully annoying to other drivers.

Truckers are the worst for this -- they micropass and take forever, then find they are actually able to go faster once the move back to the right. It must be a game to them, seeing how many cars they can stack up behind them.

[vdeane]

I don't know if this is only  a common thing around here, but when I am out walking and just somewhat *near* a crosswalk and everyone stops for me, even though I am making no motions towards crossing the street.  It is annoying and a traffic delay. ('misplaced courtesy'?)

Mike

I've read about police sting operations where they'll station a plainclothes cop near a crosswalk and ticket people who don't stop.

[Rothman]

I don't know if this is only  a common thing around here, but when I am out walking and just somewhat *near* a crosswalk and everyone stops for me, even though I am making no motions towards crossing the street.  It is annoying and a traffic delay. ('misplaced courtesy'?)

Mike

I made the mistake of not stopping for someone near a crosswalk in Gander, Newfoundland.  I still feel guilty from the nasty looks I was given.

"And if they're speedin', I'll stop them and write out a warning ticket. I'll write S.T.F.D.  Slow the $%*( down!"

[pderocco]

I don't know if this is only  a common thing around here, but when I am out walking and just somewhat *near* a crosswalk and everyone stops for me, even though I am making no motions towards crossing the street.  It is annoying and a traffic delay. ('misplaced courtesy'?)

There are some jurisdictions that go to great lengths to enforce these rules. Thankfully, I don't live in one.

I remember years ago when I was doing the Friday Night Skate in Santa Monica CA, the group was taking a break on the side of a residential street. A car came along, and came to a complete stop because a couple skaters happened to be in the crosswalk, though not facing the other side as if to cross. They waved the car on, and the driver wouldn't go. He got out in a blind rage, and told them to move off the crosswalk because otherwise it would be illegal for him to pass them, even if they waved him on. There was no cop anywhere in sight.

These sorts of things happen when people are obsessive sticklers for rules. All rules are based on simplifications of reality, because reality is infinitely complex. Rules are adapted to reality through ad hoc judgments, which work most of the time. Most people would have been able to see that the skaters in the group that happened to be between the lines were not waiting to cross, and would have driven through. An extra careful driver might have stopped until waved through by the skaters, and then proceeded. Bending rules through common sense produces more good than harm.

[1995hoo]

I don't know if this is only  a common thing around here, but when I am out walking and just somewhat *near* a crosswalk and everyone stops for me, even though I am making no motions towards crossing the street.  It is annoying and a traffic delay. ('misplaced courtesy'?)

Mike

I've read about police sting operations where they'll station a plainclothes cop near a crosswalk and ticket people who don't stop.

Back when Stanley Roberts did the "People Behaving Badly" segment for KRON-4 TV in San Francisco, he had a couple of installments in which the cops in local jurisdictions were doing something like that—a plainclothes cop would cross in a crosswalk that didn't have traffic lights controlling it and a couple of motorcycle cops would sit nearby to pull over drivers who didn't stop. He doesn't work for that station anymore, but I believe they've kept most of his videos online and you can probably find a segment like that on YouTube. Might take some effort, though, because off the top of my head I'm not sure what the titles of any of those were.


Edited to add—here's one and here's another.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

I think some states have laws that if a pedestrian is at the curb clearly waiting to cross that you have to stop to allow them to cross. Minnesota does not have such a law, which rankles some urbanists.

[1995hoo]

I think some states have laws that if a pedestrian is at the curb clearly waiting to cross that you have to stop to allow them to cross. Minnesota does not have such a law, which rankles some urbanists.

Here in Virginia, for many years the law said you had to "yield" to pedestrians in crosswalks. A year or two ago it was amended to say you have to "stop," which the statute defines as stopping and waiting until the pedestrian has cleared your lane of traffic. (So, for example, about a mile from my house there is a mid-block marked crosswalk, uncontrolled by lights, across a road that has four lanes and a center two-way left-turn lane. The law as it now stands means that if I step off the curb, all five lanes must stop, but each one can start moving again as I clear that lane while the other traffic must continue to wait.) So far, from what I've observed, compliance is non-existent. If it's a busy street, you cross at your own risk regardless of whether the crosswalk is marked.

A couple of years ago, I saw a woman get hit when she was crossing in an unmarked crosswalk; the driver who hit her was turning out of a gas station and appeared to be playing with her phone. The sound of the "thump" when the struck woman hit the hood (let's just say she was not slight of stature) disturbed me for several days after it happened. Then while we were waiting for the cops and trying to direct traffic around the woman who was lying on the pavement, some redneck in a pickup tried to run me off the road for "blocking his lane."

[webny99]

This may be unpopular but I actually think stopping for pedestrians should only be required if they're actively crossing, not just within sneezing distance. As a pedestrian I ideally time my approach to start crossing when no vehicles are immediately present, and then only anyone that arrives after I've started crossing needs to yield.

I've also noticed a trend in shopping plazas of stop signs at crosswalks being replaced with yield signs (often accompanied by "State Law: Yield to Pedestrians Within Crosswalk"), which I strongly endorse. Reinforce that pedestrians have right of way, but don't require a full stop if none are present.

[Max Rockatansky]

When I'm out running I just find it easier to cross the road whenever there is a traffic clearing rather than wait at a crossing.  The odd interactions at crossings tend to kill my momentum. The state (California) more or less legalized the practice recently.

[VTGoose]

Here in Virginia, for many years the law said you had to "yield" to pedestrians in crosswalks. A year or two ago it was amended to say you have to "stop," which the statute defines as stopping and waiting until the pedestrian has cleared your lane of traffic.

Virginia also says "No pedestrian shall enter or cross an intersection in disregard of approaching traffic." (Code of Virginia § 46.2-924).

For many years the town of Blacksburg and Virginia Tech preached "Yield to pedestrians" on Blacksburg Transit buses and other media. This greatly irritated drivers since it gave pedestrians (mainly college students) a sense of entitlement, that they could step into traffic at any point and any time and the driver would have to come to a screeching halt for them. Luckily there were no injuries since town drivers were well-versed in watching out for people jumping into the street to cross. A couple of years ago the message was changed to "Heads up Hokies" to promote that basic kindergarten lesson -- "Look both ways before crossing the street." The new message gave equal weight to both pedestrians and drivers in who had to stop at a crosswalk -- cars when someone was IN a crosswalk and pedestrians when there was oncoming traffic. The side piece of it was because of too many distracted pedestrians who had their eyes glued to their cell phone instead of watching where they were going, including stepping into traffic.

Bruce in Blacksburg

[vdeane]

This may be unpopular but I actually think stopping for pedestrians should only be required if they're actively crossing, not just within sneezing distance. As a pedestrian I ideally time my approach to start crossing when no vehicles are immediately present, and then only anyone that arrives after I've started crossing needs to yield.

It's probably not unpopular here, but it definitely is in New Urbanist circles.  I think the reason is that many people are very afraid of traffic and don't want to do anything that would even look like crossing until the cars are already stopped.

A lot of New Urbanist positions with respect to traffic and infrastructure are motivated by how safe people feel and how comfortable they are walking, not just whether they're able to walk or how safe something is in absolute terms (this is also why they like boulevards more than freeways; crossing a bridge over a freeway may be safer in absolute terms, but crossing a boulevard feels more inviting than walking over a bridge or under a viaduct).

[mgk920]

I think some states have laws that if a pedestrian is at the curb clearly waiting to cross that you have to stop to allow them to cross. Minnesota does not have such a law, which rankles some urbanists.

Wisconsin also has such a law and signs are frequently posted to that effect at public road crosswalks statewide.  But then again, that is for people who are actually *crossing* the road or street.

Mike

[Quillz]

I don't know if this is only  a common thing around here, but when I am out walking and just somewhat *near* a crosswalk and everyone stops for me, even though I am making no motions towards crossing the street.  It is annoying and a traffic delay. ('misplaced courtesy'?)

Mike

Same thing happens with me. I guess it's good, I'd rather they stop than ignore me and zoom by (which has happened). I just kind of stay towards the back of the sidewalk and I think people get the idea I'm not crossing.

[vdeane]

I don't know if this is only  a common thing around here, but when I am out walking and just somewhat *near* a crosswalk and everyone stops for me, even though I am making no motions towards crossing the street.  It is annoying and a traffic delay. ('misplaced courtesy'?)

Mike

Same thing happens with me. I guess it's good, I'd rather they stop than ignore me and zoom by (which has happened). I just kind of stay towards the back of the sidewalk and I think people get the idea I'm not crossing.

Some jurisdictions actually ticket people who don't do that (since the law also includes pedestrians "waiting to cross", which in practice means anyone nearby, because who can tell the difference unless they're walking away?).  Enough people are afraid to try crossing unless the cars are already stopped that the trend is for more of this, not less.

[hbelkins]

This has probably come up before but it is still annoying . . .

Those drivers who are at, just under, or just above the speed limit, but going slower than you are. You pull out to pass, get about to the driver's door, and they wake up and decide "today is the day that none shall pass." They either speed up or match your speed, leaving you hanging in the left lane with a choice of grossly exceeding the speed limit or braking to slow down to drop back behind them for a later attempt.

A converse to this is the person who roars up to pass but then sits in your blind spot instead of moving on down the road. Again, the choice is to speed up to get clearance or brake so their higher speed gets them past you.

I don't know if you are referring to passing on a two-lane road or a multi-lane road, but in the case of the former, I was taught in driver's ed to hit the brake and/or slow down to allow the overtaking vehicle more time and space to complete the pass. If I'm on a four-lane with free-flowing traffic, I just maintain my speed.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

I don't know if you are referring to passing on a two-lane road or a multi-lane road, but in the case of the former, I was taught in driver's ed to hit the brake and/or slow down to allow the overtaking vehicle more time and space to complete the pass. If I'm on a four-lane with free-flowing traffic, I just maintain my speed.

I'm guessing the former is what was meant. I run into that scenario fairly frequently when I move to the left to allow merging traffic to enter, which sometimes they get up to speed too quickly for me to get back in front of them to the right.

One thing I have noticed a lot more in the last couple years is that if there is a slower vehicle in the middle lane and both the left and right lanes are clear, traffic wishing to pass the slow middle lane vehicle will increasingly opt to pass on the right even though the left lane was also open. Legal, but goes against conventional wisdom.

[PNWRoadgeek]

The fact that people cut in front of you and speed past you when you are just trying to have a good drive. Also when people almost rear end you and honk at you.

[LilianaUwU]

The fact that people cut in front of you and speed past you when you are just trying to have a good drive. Also when people almost rear end you and honk at you.

If people damn near rear end you and fly by you, maybe it's a sign to speed up...

[PNWRoadgeek]

The fact that people cut in front of you and speed past you when you are just trying to have a good drive. Also when people almost rear end you and honk at you.

If people damn near rear end you and fly by you, maybe it's a sign to speed up...

You are right. We need to speed up and give them a taste of their own medicine!

[Rothman]

The fact that people cut in front of you and speed past you when you are just trying to have a good drive. Also when people almost rear end you and honk at you.

And now for a great game of AITA...

[PNWRoadgeek]

The fact that people cut in front of you and speed past you when you are just trying to have a good drive. Also when people almost rear end you and honk at you.

And now for a great game of AITA...

I view those threads on Reddit way too much....

Anyways, another peeve I have is that some state DOTs don't build freeways, even if we absolutely need to build them, all because of NIMBYs.

[Rothman]

The fact that people cut in front of you and speed past you when you are just trying to have a good drive. Also when people almost rear end you and honk at you.

And now for a great game of AITA...

I view those threads on Reddit way too much....

Anyways, another peeve I have is that some state DOTs don't build freeways, even if we absolutely need to build them, all because of NIMBYs.

You're making this game way too easy.

[PNWRoadgeek]

The fact that people cut in front of you and speed past you when you are just trying to have a good drive. Also when people almost rear end you and honk at you.

And now for a great game of AITA...

I view those threads on Reddit way too much....

Anyways, another peeve I have is that some state DOTs don't build freeways, even if we absolutely need to build them, all because of NIMBYs.

You're making this game way too easy.

Lol

Well, then I probably should get off this forum and go outside. Actually driving on roads is better than looking at a bunch of people talking about roads, though I don't think I'll be doing that this late.

[Revive 755]

I find it irritating where there is a traffic signal with a single left turn lane and good visibility of opposing traffic and it is set for left on green arrow only, yet on one or both sides of that signal there are unsignalized left turn lanes, sometimes to the same destination and across the same number of opposing lanes as at the signal.