Originally Posted By wendebird >>Why is everyone so aggressive? California's probably one of the worst states for that.<< I was just going to add, I take it you've never driven in NJ or NY? Boy howdy, talk about some road rage. I've seen fist fights over so many things, one in particular was a 2 lane road going down to a one lane. Everyone was filing nicely, one behind the other, first the left lane, then the right, & so on. This one guy didn't want to let the next car go & they fought it out racing against each other, crossing over the line, etc. Finally the young kid let him go past. At the next traffic light, the man who was clearly wrong & wouldn't let the kid go got out of his car & punched this kid in the face. Aye yi yi. One of my biggest pet peeves is when I'm backing out of a parking spot & clearly I'm more than 1/2 way out of the spot, the car coming down the aisle does not stop & wait. They just zoom, swerving to get past me. I was always taught (drivers ed) to stop & let the car out. They're at a disadvantage. Another parking pet peeve is huge SUV's parking in Compact spots. Or plain old cars not parking within the lines. Aye yi yi, I've had some people park so crooked I couldn't get my car doors open.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan 1. You're driving down I-5 towards LA, and big rig A decides to pass big rig B by traveling exactly 1MPH faster than big rig B, which is traveling at 55 MPH. I've been trapped behind some of these slow-mo passing maneuvers for 5 mile stretches! Ugh. 2. People who drive in your blind spot. I was taught in driver's end never to do that, but apparently, lots of drivers are unaware that it's a problem to do that. 3. Passengers in other vehicles putting their nasty bare feet up on the dash board. Blech.
Originally Posted By MomofPrincess >>I was always taught (drivers ed)<< I'm starting to think that only about 3% of the nation actually paid attention and *retained* what was ever learned in Drivers' Ed! Wendebird, notice I said California must be "one" of the worst states, LOL! I have heard the horror stories from co-workers about driving back east while on travel. I'm too skeered to ever even attempt that! LOL Sounds downright frightening. Also, I hate people who flash their lights. First of all, if I am in the fast lane, I (personally, at least) am passing people in the slow lane, and chances are good I'm already going quite a bit above the speed limit as it is. I plan to move back over as soon as I can. DO NOT TAILGATE ME when it's obvious I too am trying to get around the slower drivers. I SEE YOU IN MY FREAKIN' MIRROR. Do not flash your lights, because then I may get a bit psycho on you and slow down. Way down. Just be patient, wait 10 freaking seconds, and you'll see me calmly change back over to the right-hand lane. Oh, and btw, buddy, I'll see ya at the stoplight. (What? Issues, you say? Me??!)
Originally Posted By trekkeruss <<I was just going to add, I take it you've never driven in NJ or NY?>> In NJ especially, I have noticed jerks who use the shoulder as a passing lane. That brings up one of my peeves: people who use off-ramps as passing lanes. When traffic is heavy, these drivers zoom up in the off-ramp and cut back into traffic at the last moment. Geez... they save what... two seconds?
Originally Posted By Ursula I was going 85/90 or so on the way to Palm Springs. This bonehead idiot plastic surgeon's nightmare of a woman in a Mercedes SUV box thing ZOOMS up behind me (I was in the autobahn carpool lane) and starts flashing her lights at me. Well, first off. It was a carpool lane and she was alone. Secondly, she crossed the yellows (do-not-cross lines). Thirdly, I was already going really fast and I wasn't about to cross the yellows just for her because lord knows I'd be the one to get the ticket. You know what I did? Nothing. I ignored her and kept my speed. She starts honking AND flashing her lights!! I'm all WHAT THE HEY? She zoomed behind me nearly clipping the car in the fast (non-carpool lane) and made her way to the next exit. What would you have done? I SO resisted the urge to just slow down in front of her, because I was certain she was going to cause a crash and I didn't want to be at a higher speed at impact.
Originally Posted By MomofPrincess ^ In that case, I would've done exactly what you did. Good call. What a PSYCHO. Get a freakin' LIFE, lady! UGHHHHHH!
Originally Posted By PlainoLJoe I tend to do the barely tap the brakes so the lights go on but you dont actually break move when that happens. Than I get on the gas while just holding the break on a little bit, but still not breaking. They tend to back off. Not all cars can do it, but my break has a bit a travel before the breaks engage.
Originally Posted By LadyKluck >>Mine is people not being conciderate to motorcyclists.<< I agree with this 100%, but how about a little condsideration from them too! Nothing makes me more angry than a dude on a motorcycle who seems to think the lanes don't apply to him. I have seen this more and more lately and one of these days I'm gonna just open my dang truck door on one of these jerks. The lanes are there for a REASON. Just because you and your piece of junk bike can fit in between the cars doesn't mean that's your own personal lane buddy! GRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!
Originally Posted By wendebird >>Just because you and your piece of junk bike can fit in between the cars doesn't mean that's your own personal lane buddy!<< Now see, that's legal in California. I think if traffic is moving under 30 MPH (please correct me if I'm wrong) they can pass between cars. Neing from NJ, everytime I'm at a red light & a motorcycle whizzes past me to get to the line, it freaks me out.
Originally Posted By Ursula Two guys here at work ride bikes to work and they say that it is legal to share lanes and they can use it as a personal lane. But, when traffic is slow or stopped, they can only go five miles per hour faster than the automobile traffic.
Originally Posted By TALL Disney Guy Hoping to get through a light during rush hour and BLOCKING AN INTERSECTION cause you're stuck out there when it "reds" on ya---ARRRRRGH!!
Originally Posted By TALL Disney Guy And wendebird, I'm totally with ya on the "pulling out of a parking space" thing! Oh! One that drives me crazy, which is ironic, because the rest of the time I love politeness and it touches me...people who stop BE-FORE you at a 4-way stop and sit there and wave you on while you're waiting for them to go. This is the one time in life where being nice bothers me, lol....it's a 4-way stop. YOU stopped first. So GO first! Don't mess up the flow. Just a quirk, I guess.
Originally Posted By LadyKluck Its not legal here for motorcycles to go in between/through traffic but we have SOOOOOOOO many Californians moving into the state that they just bring those habits with them, not realizing they aren't IN California anymore!!
Originally Posted By PlainoLJoe <<Two guys here at work ride bikes to work and they say that it is legal to share lanes and they can use it as a personal lane. But, when traffic is slow or stopped, they can only go five miles per hour faster than the automobile traffic.>> exactly correct. But they also can go wizzing by you during non traffic times either. They still have to follow the law which states speed must be safe for current conditions. <<Its not legal here for motorcycles to go in between/through traffic but we have SOOOOOOOO many Californians moving into the state that they just bring those habits with them, not realizing they aren't IN California anymore!!>> yeah that is becoming more and more of an issue. The rider is responsible for finding the rules of the road in the area they are riding. Whether visiting or living.
Originally Posted By EdisYoda While I'm all for state's rights, I think the previous two posts point to why traffic laws should be the same in each state.
Originally Posted By PlainoLJoe but the laws are dictated by the needs of the roads and its citizens.
Originally Posted By avromark At least less oncoming traffic stops wildly flashing their lights at me like they did in the 90's, some manufacturers include DRL as a safety feature and in some district's it's the law. I don't go phycotic when you don't follow local customs here... But please use your lights for safety when it's past dusk and before dawn. Please do not go around with your ill-aimed driving lights when you're behind other traffic, do I really need to flip my mirror up, do you see any better when your 10 metres behind me with all your auxillary lighting on? As well you may be blinding oncoming traffic, driving lights should be used when needed not when there is a lot of traffic around. I don't use mine if there's already a lot of illumination from surrounding traffic. As well when i'm driving the SUV, no my high lights are not on, truck lamps are mounted higher, I don't need your highs in my face as you approach me.
