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I'll play devils advocate - why did you wait so long to move over if you knew your turn was coming up? Putting your turn signal on doesn't entitle you to change lanes - you need to assess other cars, their speed, and merge when appropriate, right?
Also not that it matters, but I'm not aware of any 2-lane roads in Cary that are 40mph. What road was it?
I didn't "wait so long" and you know what you can do with your pontification - I was there, you weren't and you can either accept my version or move on. Case closed.
I didn't say it was a 2-lane road. I don't remember the name of road as it was not my usual course. It may have been a 45 and as usual I was driving 5-7mph over and that should tell you what you seem to need to know.
I didn't "wait so long" and you know what you can do with your pontification - I was there, you weren't and you can either accept my version or move on. Case closed.
I didn't say it was a 2-lane road. I don't remember the name of road as it was not my usual course. It may have been a 45 and as usual I was driving 5-7mph over and that should tell you what you seem to need to know.
" I am at a safe distance, far enough ahead of her, have given ample warning and am within the rules of the road, was not having any of that nonsense and get into the lane as I was running out of road before the turn."
That led me to believe it was more than 1 lane. You also said she passed you to get in front of you. I guess I'm confused.
Anyhow, I stand by my statement. Not saying you're necessarily one of them, but there's lot of people who throw their turn signal on and consider that their right to cut someone off and jam themselves in. It doesn't work that way.
What constitutes aggressive driving? Tailgating? Speeding? Weaving in/out of lanes to move through traffic? All of the above?
IMO, yes, all of the above apply. However, let's not ignore the flip-side of the story. Is tailgating really tailgating if the person in front of you is moving 5mph or more under the speed limit for some reason (usually texting or some other phone related BS)? Is "speeding" a form of aggression when there's a vehicle at or under speed in the far left lane of 540, 440 or I40? Is it aggressive to give someone a little horn action when the light turns green and they're clearly looking down at their phone?
I'm not saying there is not a problem with aggressive driving in NC, I've seen and felt it personally. I have also seen and been frustrated and dumbfounded by those who just can't seem to stay focused on driving, those who can't put their idiotic phones down to make the commute to/from work.
IMO, phones generate much of the problems on roads today. Technology should be added to all cars that prevent the operation of internet, phone, text while a car is moving great than 5mph, for ALL phones in the car!
What constitutes aggressive driving? Tailgating? Speeding? Weaving in/out of lanes to move through traffic? All of the above?
IMO, yes, all of the above apply. However, let's not ignore the flip-side of the story. Is tailgating really tailgating if the person in front of you is moving 5mph or more under the speed limit for some reason (usually texting or some other phone related BS)? Is "speeding" a form of aggression when there's a vehicle at or under speed in the far left lane of 540, 440 or I40? Is it aggressive to give someone a little horn action when the light turns green and they're clearly looking down at their phone?
I'm not saying there is not a problem with aggressive driving in NC, I've seen and felt it personally. I have also seen and been frustrated and dumbfounded by those who just can't seem to stay focused on driving, those who can't put their idiotic phones down to make the commute to/from work.
IMO, phones generate much of the problems on roads today. Technology should be added to all cars that prevent the operation of internet, phone, text while a car is moving great than 5mph, for ALL phones in the car!
Why would you want to do that to passengers, even if it was a good idea to do to drivers? Some people use their phones for GPS and the like.
People have always had gripes with "other drivers" even before cell phones existed.
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Why would you want to do that to passengers, even if it was a good idea to do to drivers? Some people use their phones for GPS and the like.
People have always had gripes with "other drivers" even before cell phones existed.
So maybe they need another option for their GPS. I have a great Garmin that I use.
Cell phones are not a necessity, they are a convenience. If you need to use a phone in a car, then pull over. It's not a huge deal if nobody had cell service in a vehicle, though there are plenty who think they will die without it. I am sure 911 would still be available, because that only makes sense. The gripes weren't like they are now with other drivers, too many distracted and aggressive drivers make the roads much more dangerous now. Fortunately, the safety features in our vehicles make accidents less deadly in our current age.
So maybe they need another option for their GPS. I have a great Garmin that I use.
Cell phones are not a necessity, they are a convenience. If you need to use a phone in a car, then pull over. It's not a huge deal if nobody had cell service in a vehicle, though there are plenty who think they will die without it. I am sure 911 would still be available, because that only makes sense. The gripes weren't like they are now with other drivers, too many distracted and aggressive drivers make the roads much more dangerous now. Fortunately, the safety features in our vehicles make accidents less deadly in our current age.
Totally agree with this. And it's just going to get worse as a generation who grew up on cell phones and can't do ANYTHING without their cell phone starts hitting the road.
IF you have a newer car (some don't) the better safety features may make accidents less deadly - but that in itself is a double-edged sword.
I know from personal experience that the resulting bodily injury, brain injury from concussions, and spinal cord injuries - can create a truly life-altering experience - lifelong pain, permanent memory impairment, loss of time from work and subsequent loss of job, huge hospitalization and therapy bills, severe brain injury, loss of the ability to walk or speak or see normally, loss of the ability to ever hold a job again due to permanent disabilities - and worse - consider for a moment being severely injured in a car crash and being surrounded by dead family members. A mother you love lying lifeless in front of you, your little 9 year old brother lying dead in your lap - their lives suddenly and horrifically taken - a forever changed way of living in an instant due to someone who just HAD to respond to a text while on the road.
If nothing else, disable texting and apps - Facebook, You Tube etc., and cameras while driving. Texting and taking selfies, posting videos and responding to posts while "driving" account for a huge number of the accidents. And require only hands-free phone use. Yes, you'll still have some distraction because studies have proved that talking on the phone while driving takes away focus on the road, but at least people wouldn't have their faces glued to their phone or their hands off the wheel.
We all seem to forget that driving is a privilege, not a right. In the interim, since change will be slow, if people jump on the bandwagon at all, make the penalty so severe people will think twice about what they are doing - you drive and text/post/or have your hands otherwise on your phone and get into an accident, you lose your license for 10 years. You drive without a license and do it again, you lose your license for good. Period.
Safety HAS to come first. It's up to us and the phone manufacturers, and the car dealers (adding emergency braking in EVERY car standard and other safety features standard). At some point, someone has to wake up. But most won't until they become one of the victims. Don't think it can't happen to you. It has happened to me and my family 3 times now - all due to distracted drivers. The life I once knew gone forever.
So I left work at a different time than usual today, and knew I'd be in the height of rush hour traffic, so I decided to take the long way home, set Waze to No Highways, and took back roads though the RTP Cary area.
While I am doing 47-48 in a 40, 30s-40s brunette in a late model white Mercedes disregards my 5-10 seconds-long signal and is not letting me turn into the lane I need to get in. I am at a safe distance, far enough ahead of her, have given ample warning and am within the rules of the road, was not having any of that nonsense and get into the lane as I was running out of road before the turn. Next I see Self-righteous Arrogant Angry Entitled Mercedes lady throwing her hands up in disbelief and with steam coming out of her ears, passes me at high speed just to get in front of me. 300 feet later we are both at the same stoplight.
So by avoiding the rush-hour NASCAR maniacs on 40 I was rewarded with even worse stupidity. Sheesh, some people taking things way too seriously and with way too much drama.
I'll play devils advocate too, as someone who has handled auto accident claims for 25 + years....if you were far enough ahead of her what was the issue? How was she not letting you in? Did she speed up when she saw you were trying to get over? If so, yes a-hole. But if you were using a GPS it sounds like you weren't sure where you were going and maybe didn't give as much notice or room as you thought.
Having two newly licensed drivers in my house, I constantly stress to them - your issues are not everyone else's problem....it's not everyone's job to look out for your mistakes (and most people don't drive defensively the way we were taught when I was learning) - your turn signals, brake lights, etc are for everyone else's benefit - USE YOUR SIGNALS and make sure your car is in good working order. They know - if you miss your turn, it will take you 30 to 120 seconds to turn around and go back, instead of cutting over and causing an accident (which will take a helluva lot more time). You don't drive where you're not looking (this has so many applications) and so on and so forth.
As I've said the driver's ed program here is scarily lacking, but what's even more scary is how people hand over the keys to 16 year olds and don't make them follow the rules of the state - I talk to kids with their level 2 license all the time who are driving after 9 and driving with more than one friend in the car. Parents don't know/don't care about the rules. And there's no common sense. Talked to a kid last night who was out driving after dark in the pouring rain. Where was he going? Out to dinner with his friends and oh by the way the local roads were really crowded so he decided to take I40. Good job parents!
I’m just saying... not too familiar with Raleigh’s roads, but in Charlotte.... drivers who aren’t “aggressive” are probably the most dangerous.
I77 around I277 in particular, people mosey around and go 10 under that makes people slam on their brakes or weave (the speed limit is 55. No need to go 45.... ).
Then there are those aggravating people who are too scared to merge onto the interstate and they eventually go into the shoulder, stopped with their turn signal on. It’s dangerous for others merging on and the cars flowing on the interstate.
if you were far enough ahead of her what was the issue? How was she not letting you in? Did she speed up when she saw you were trying to get over? If so, yes a-hole.
yes
But if you were using a GPS it sounds like you weren't sure where you were going and maybe didn't give as much notice or room as you thought.
yes, to the first part, and no to the second, not the case
And to m### continuing to lecture about an incident he/she didn't witness, I am not one to simply put on a signal and expect someone to move over, was not the case.
I had reasonable and safe distance, signaled, had safe distance, began my lane change, she advanced, I was part way though my lane change, by the time I was fully in, after throwing her hands up in a hissy fit she gunned it to zoom around me, only to get one car length ahead. Senseless.
I'd like to think that my past 1.5 years posting here as a reasonably good netizen and citizen that I have enough cred to post experiences without being trolled, this will become disincentive for me to continue.
I'd also like to think that, and given the context of this thread, that I am not the only one seeing this kind of road behavior here to arouse suspicions of my experience's veracity. Especially given the number of posts I've made here on driving.
And to m### continuing to lecture about an incident he/she didn't witness, I am not one to simply put on a signal and expect someone to move over, was not the case.
I had reasonable and safe distance, signaled, had safe distance, began my lane change, she advanced, I was part way though my lane change, by the time I was fully in, after throwing her hands up in a hissy fit she gunned it to zoom around me, only to get one car length ahead. Senseless.
I'd like to think that my past 1.5 years posting here as a reasonably good netizen and citizen that I have enough cred to post experiences without being trolled, this will become disincentive for me to continue.
I'd also like to think that, and given the context of this thread, that I am not the only one seeing this kind of road behavior here to arouse suspicions of my experience's veracity. Especially given the number of posts I've made here on driving.
I didn't lecture you, but you may consider this one - if so I apologize in advance. You cut her off - just because she was going a speed that you don't agree with, doesn't make it ok. It's up to you to be aware of other cars around you, including their speeds, when you make a lane change. Yes it may have been courteous of her to hit her brakes to let you in, but that's not her responsibility just so you can get over to make your turn.
Driving stupidity is EVERYWHERE, it's not isolated to the Triangle. The more cars on the road, the more opportunity there is for you to witness someone doing something stupid, or for you to do something stupid yourself. It's cool to vent about a random driving incident you had, but don't act it's unique to this area.
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