Avoided Getting Hit Three Times Today!

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First time I was in an 'exit-only'right-hand land. There's a woman in a SUV to my immediate left. We're side-by-side which I don't like at all. At the last minute, she decided she needs to exit and pulls over. I'm immediately on the horn as I was prepared. I see her pull left, so I hit the gas to zoom past.

Second, I'm in the right lane with a car to my left, following a curved entry into an upscale shopping village. Her lane turns into "left only", rather than hitting her brakes, she cuts me off...really, really close. She got a good dose of horn. Another woman, not paying any attention to the obvious street signs...or exits.

Third, and finally, I'm out this evening running a late errand. I'm stopped at a red light, with four lanes wide going in the same direction. Light goes green, I pull out. One idiot ran the light turning left in front of me. Another behind him decided to do the same. Except he gets blocked dead in the middle of the intersection as all four lanes of traffic were now into the intersection. I lay on the horn and hit the brakes. Ditto for the car to the left of me. I can't go forward as he's right in front of me about 15' away. This is about 9:45p! He tried to blow through a hard-red-light (>4sec) to 'sneak' through.

I encounter driving like this regularly. Rude, clueless, texting or talking (which is now illegal here). They screw-up and rather than WAIT, they pull in front of someone, cut them off, cut across 4 lanes of roadway because they're in the far, left lane oblivious, and suddenly realize they need to exit...NOW!I MUST MAKE THIS EXIT

The impulsive hip/hop/flip/flop/hipster contingent or the clueless 30/40-somethings who believe they're competent to both carry on a conversation and remain alert behind the wheel. Usually in the left-hand lane with half a dozen cars behind them wanting to pass, but unable to.

Fortunately, I avoided all three without a scratch. But WOW....three very close calls in ONE DAY! Whew.....
 
Running against the light is illegal, failing to yield when making a left turn is illegal, but a vehicle that enters an intersection under a green/yellow has the right of way to clear the intersection even after the light changes. So, your word against his, without witnesses. Let him clear is the best option for you.

Your other two issues are because of people who don't shoulder-check and possibly don't use mirrors. It might be also a result of you driving in the other vehicle's blind spot, which isn't illegal but is a bad idea. Accelerate or brake slightly to re-position.

For an educational experiment, sit in your car in the normal driving position (ie not leaning left or right to get a better mirror view) and have a helper stand behind you three or four feet to the right of your vehicle's side. Start them off a good distance behind you (say, 15 feet) so you have a clear view of them in your mirror.

Now have them walk towards you, and without making any attempt to get a better mirror view by moving, yell to stop when they dis-appear from your mirror view. You may be surprised how far behind the are when this happens. That is your blind spot for that particular vehicle, and you probably won't see them again until they are parallel with your driver's door.

In all likelihood, the blind space you discover will be big enough to fit an entire vehicle, and certainly a motorcycle. It also will give you an idea of the space you should not position yourself in traffic. And it's why we shoulder-check.

That sums up all you can do. It isn't perfect, but it helps more than you might think. You can't correct other's bad driving, and even though it's tempting to carry a box of Driver's Manuals in your passenger seat to throw at others while out-and-about, it does't actually work.
 
I could write a novel. My opinion is 90% of the drivers out there are either clueless, too aggressive, ignorant or a combination of all. Tailgating, driving too fast in the right adjacent lane, not staggering...yada, yada, yada. If I had a nickel for every time the bozo behind me gave me a tap on the horn in bumper to bumper traffic because I failed to move up that additional foot I'd be a rich man. You see, Mr. Moron behind me, I got this extra pedal thingy that's connected to another thingy that I'd rather not wear out.
 
Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
I wish I had a dash cam. If we all had dash cams we could upload all this into its entire sub section of had driving.


I wish I had a pixel board with a bunch of programmed messages I could display to the idiots around me.
 
Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
I wish I had a dash cam. If we all had dash cams we could upload all this into its entire sub section of had driving.


Think I may be purchasing a cheap dash cam just for this.
 
Originally Posted By: ndfergy
Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
I wish I had a dash cam. If we all had dash cams we could upload all this into its entire sub section of had driving.


I wish I had a pixel board with a bunch of programmed messages I could display to the idiots around me.


I have wished this many times. I also thought of preprogramed messages, such as "Stop hypermilling in the left lane."
 
All the best drivers in the world are here on BiTOG.
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Originally Posted By: sleddriver
First time I was in an 'exit-only'right-hand land. There's a woman in a SUV to my immediate left. We're side-by-side which I don't like at all. At the last minute, she decided she needs to exit and pulls over. I'm immediately on the horn as I was prepared. I see her pull left, so I hit the gas to zoom past.

This is very common for me. The key is knowing that a lot of people are not punctual at all. These are the people who are habitually late, never paying attention, etc. It affects every aspect of their lives including how they drive. Not getting into the proper lane until the last minute for starters. Drive the whole way in the wrong lane and then cause a massive issue at the last minute almost crashing into sand barriers happens all the time on my commute to work.

Drive very defensively. Never drive on the sides of people so that if they have to cross laterally they won't hit you. Always expect people to want to switch lanes when they near an exit and when they're coming in from an on ramp.
 
Sounds like a good day driving around NYC or Long Island. It seems to be getting worse, and once the motorcycles are out in full force it adds a totally new dimension to driving around here.
 
People texting, talking on their phones, putting on makeup, shaving, reading the paper, late to work, etc, etc, etc. The roadways are dangerous You better be a defensive driver to survive.
 
Originally Posted By: ndfergy
I could write a novel. My opinion is 90% of the drivers out there are either clueless, too aggressive, ignorant or a combination of all. ...


Mostly, they're just idiots. /thread
 
Originally Posted By: bbhero
So the driver talking to someone else in the car is illegal??
I think he means talking on a cellphone-but talking to other people in the car seems to be a problem for some as well. I just wish that cellphones would be disabled while in motion, period-but we all know there's FAR to many $$$ involved for that to happen.
 
Yeah the first thing I do when I'm in the front of the line is wait for all the people to run the light before I can go. Sometimes it's 3 or 4 cars will blow through. I also say to myself, good thing half these people are on their phones and not paying attention anyways, otherwise their would be a lot more red light accidents.

It gets bad around here especially on the weekend, people drive 10 times worse than on a weekday trying to get to work. Maybe trying to get to little johnny's soccer practice Saturday morning is more important than getting to work on time. idk.
 
I remember posting that video of the person cutting me off.. and getting a bunch of observers here telling me I was driving in blind spot etc etc.. So I dont post idiot driver video anymore.

"you were riding in his blind spot"

no we both accelerated I was passing... and he sped up to keep me in his blind spot I'm not going to go 45mph in a 35mph through a speedtrap.

not "me driving in his blind spot"

PS get a dashcam its awsome you dont have any he said she said when some texter plows into you.
 
Originally Posted By: sasilverbullet
$5 says you live in the Austin area...crazy up there!
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Truth spoken... but its not us natives. Its that 2/3 of the population came from "somewhere else" over the past 20 years, and its a horrible mix of driving styles from places all around the country. There's no single, consistent set of driving behaviors, you never know WHAT the people around you will do. Get me outta this place!
 
You can't control the actions of other people but you can control your own. It sounds like you are a very good driver but need to change your mindset about other drivers. Maybe take the National Safety Council Defensive Driving course. No sense being part of the problem by your horn blowing. I have had to make many adjustments in my life to learn to cope with bad drivers, bad neighbors, bad merchants, bad bosses, bad coworkers, bad on and on. I have often used the phrase, "it's always *&@^%#$ something,"
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and my wife always reminds me that it will be that way until I am in Saint Boniface cemetery in Elgin, Nebraska.
 
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