Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
When we moved here ten years ago, you never heard a car horn. Never. What a difference a decade makes.
Honking is just bad behavior. If someone isn't paying attention, popping the horn is a polite way to get their attention, but laying on the horn is rude. The problem is that more people do not pay attention to the lights anymore, so you get more honkers.
One thing I've noticed here that really bothers me is the fact that people are right on your tail at stoplights. Just this afternoon I had a girl behind me on Capitol that kept stopping so close to me that I couldn't even see her windshield wipers! That's just too close for my comfort. If someone rear ends you, I don't want to get taken out too! Back off!
This is a good point - when you stop in traffic, you generally should be able to see the tires of the car in front of you. The idea is that you give yourself a safety zone for driving around that car in an emergency, or if you get hit from behind.
I saw something similar yesterday morning on I-85 South. An 18 wheeler was behind me in the right lane,and he went to move to the left lane. He did so without looking and ran a car completely off the road at 65 mph. She had to then stop suddenly, because they were approaching a bridge and the choices would have been hit the bridge wall edge or fall to the road below.
The truck driver never once touched his brakes, didn't slow, didn't stop.
This is an interesting story - while truck drivers are generally more skilled than normal drivers, they pilot huge vehicles with large blind spots. When you are in your car, never coast along a truck, get in front of or behind it, to avoid becoming a static image in the mirrors or blind spots and possibly getting run over.
I see lots of drivers that pace semis and its a very dangerous behavior. The truck can simply run over or crush a car, and you shouldn't drive next to them.
This is a good point - when you stop in traffic, you generally should be able to see the tires of the car in front of you. The idea is that you give yourself a safety zone for driving around that car in an emergency, or if you get hit from behind.
I frequently see people with a safety zone of two or three car lengths. A tad ridiculous I think, especially on short lights.
I think one of the worst things about drivers these days, beyond a lack of true driving skill and respect for the vehicle they are piloting, is lack of respect for others. Rather than let faster traffic buy, people feel a need to block them. Rather than let people merge, people feel a need to keep them out. Rather than let people know your intentions, people don't use signals and merge safely. People don't use their rear view mirrors.
Remember, you don't know what circumstances are "driving" the other guy to do what he or she is doing. Do they have a medical emergency? Are they just bad or impatient drivers? You don't know, just let them do their thing and you'll be less stressed out for it. Its not a race, but nor is it a defense game.
I frequently see people with a safety zone of two or three car lengths. A tad ridiculous I think, especially on short lights.
Yes, safety zone is typically 6-10 feet. Three car lengths could be 40-60 feet, and yes, that would be ridiculous. Then again, I see daily people that stop about 20 feet from the intersection's white line, and those that stop 15 feet beyond the white line. FYI to those of you wondering why you don't get the arrows or lights, the sensors are behind the line, not in front of it. You can't trip them if you're not there.
You didn't understand that because you are actually a law-abiding citizen. I do believe driving passed a stopped school bus is a federal crime and worth up to at least 4 points on your license, if not a state crime in just about every state. That person behind you will eventually lose their license if they make it a common practice to drive passed stop school buses..in either direction.
Quote:
But then yesterday I was honked at for stopping for a school bus to let out some kids. Seriously. I did not understand that.
Quote:
Yeah... that's happened to me with the school bus thing. Weird, isn't it? I guess I should mow down those kindergartners?
This needed to be posted again as Frank is correct:
Quote:
Originally Posted by frankpc
Not to parse this, but the nuance in NC is it is legal to pass a stopped school bus traveling in the opposite direction when you are on a four lane (or more) divided highway *or* a road of four lanes (or more) with a center turn lane.
North Carolina School Bus Stop Law (http://itre.ncsu.edu/ghsp/sbswlaw.html - broken link)
Practically speaking I often see lots of inconsistent behavior from folks traveling the opposite way when a stopped school bus is on a five lane road.
Frank
I see to many drivers stopping for a school bus on a 4-lane road with a center turn lane stopping for the stopped school bus in the opposing lane. You don't have to stop. A school bus route will not require a child to cross that many lanes of traffic. It's these scenarios is where people are probably getting honked at by other drivers.
Yes, the issue with cell phones/texting/doing something besides driving (a friend of mine saw some guy brushing his teeth--and spitting out the window, EWWWW--the other day) is a problem in every locality, not a local thing. But the addition of the sheer amount of traffic with each passing year makes it both a "quantitative" and "qualitative" problem here.
I'm sorry, but the whole idea about transplants bringing their bad driving habits here is pure hogwash. There are bad drivers everywhere but I prefer to drive in NYC than here why?
-drivers here refuse to yield and let you merge into traffic even with enough space. Yeah same problem in NYC but they do let you in if you are persistent enough
-drivers here DO NOT use signal lights when switching lanes or making turns
- drivers here will ride your bumper like no other going at high speeds- now that is scary!
- waiting till the worst possible moment to drive out of a shopping center or subdivision forcing other drivers to slow down to avoid an accident
- drivers here drive too fast for rain and snow conditions
- waaay too many car accidents here
BTW Cars are manufactered with a horn in the steering wheel for a reason. it is to get the other drivers attention and prevent accidents. Excessive honking is rude,but tapping on your steering wheel is part of defensive driving if the situation calls for it.
Last edited by truserenity; 02-23-2011 at 07:44 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
that is beyond grotesque! YUCK!
