We all complain about other drivers, some of us more than others. It doesn't look like they're going away anytime soon, so I thought about starting a blog where I rant about bad drivers and provide driving tips. (Because you know, I'm NEVER one of those bad drivers!)
Then I got to thinking, well, I already have a neglected blog devoted to ranting, so why not use it? So when drivers annoy me, I'm going to rant about it here and feature a driving tip to help the poor sap. We'll call this feature, Driving Tip #1 and so on.
I should probably start off by asking the question, why be a courteous driver? I honestly don't think many people have pondered this question or they'd be better drivers. We seem to have these blinders on when we get in our vehicles and instead of seeing other drivers as other people, we see them as obstacles that are frustratingly in our way. There are living creatures in those other cars and they'd appreciate it if you'd lead, follow or get out of the way! They'd also appreciate surviving their encounter with you. If we follow proper driving etiquette, traffic will flow better and we can all get where we need to go in one piece. You can also avoid making all other drivers hate you.
Today I will start with a post I made to Facebook a week or so ago. I was annoyed because I had to sit at a light three times (despite being only the second car in line) during a snowy morning commute because the woman in front of me did not know how to establish herself in an unprotected left turn lane. Traffic was stacking up behind us and she was literally creating a traffic jam on our side of the intersection as the left turn lane backed up into the other lanes. She was making a snowy, dangerous situation much more worse and frustrating.
Driving Tip #1: "When the light turns green, not the green arrow, but just plain old green, you pull your jalopy OUT INTO THE INTERSECTION. You don't go to the center of the intersection, that would cause trouble for a left turner on the other side, but you get your ass out there! MOVE IT!"
From: http://my.opera.com/slackwrdave/blog/2009/03/29/driving-101-the-unprotected-left-turn
Once you've established yourself in the left turn lane, you may proceed with your turn when the oncoming traffic breaks enough for you to make it through the intersection. If oncoming traffic does not cease until their light turns yellow or red, because you've established yourself in the unprotected left turn lane, you are allowed to complete your turn on a yellow or red light. BY LAW, all the other traffic in the intersection must yield to you at that point, so for the sanity of those waiting patiently behind you, complete your left turn!
2 comments:
A friend of mine linked me to this on Facebook... http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite?blobcol=urldata&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1251702929880&ssbinary=true&fb_source=message ...and evidently, Colorado law is backward from most states.
Evidently, it's illegal to establish yourself in the lane here. Colorado law makers would rather you sit at an intersection for 30 minutes or more during rush hour and cause grid lock than for at least one car to make it through per cycle.
How dumb! I'll take my chances with a ticket! >:-(
Use your gears to help you slow down. Shifting an automatic transmission into neutral will disengage the engine from the tires and thus, help it decelerate — a good move when you’re trying to come to a stop on an icy patch of road. If you’re coming down a hill and don’t want to brake yourself into a skid, it will help to shift into a lower gear.
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