Driving rant: PLEASE stop this!!

[somecyguy]

Maybe, but there is an astonishing number of drivers who don't regularly check their mirrors.

So is it just redundant and unnecessary or an ******* move?

Unnecessary in my opinion. Either the person is not paying attention or they have an attitude problem which flashing them likely causes them to speed up and block you. I'm pretty impatient, if they are 3-4 car lengths past the vehicle on the right and they aren't moving, I whip around them. Frankly I don't care if it pisses them off, I don't Sunday drive.

 

[Cycsk]

Just curious, does anyone else do "flash to pass"? I usually come up on someone in the left lane and give them a few moments to notice and move over. If they don't (and clearly have room to move over) I give them a quick flash of the headlights to let them know I am there. Then if all else fails I will grudgingly pass on the right.

Mrs. Velo says that "flash to pass" is aggressive and pisses people off. Is anyone else using this feature or is Mrs. Velo right and I'm just being an *******?

A quick flash of the lights is the proper and friendly thing to do for someone who needs to move over.

Improper and unfriendly things to do include: tailgating really close to them, honking, pulling around and flipping them off, pulling around and slowing down, bumping them to get them out of the way (unless you are @isufbcurt on a Friday night).

 

[Cycsk]

And while we are on driving rants, why is it that American drivers only think they can merge in front of another car? I had one earlier in the week where a driver sped past me only to make a RH turn less than a minute later forcing me to slow down. There was clear road behind me.

I’ve had European colleagues baffled by this phenomenon. Every time a car wants to merge they always speed up and get in front, never slow down to go behind. Regardless of how much space is available in front or behind or if they intend to continue to drive faster than the car they just merged in front of.

The best way to merge is to find the vehicle you want to merge behind and get right in pace with them. It isn't a race to win. Rather, it is a race to "lose." If you focus on the vehicle you want to be behind, you almost certainly won't have to worry about the vehicles that are behind you.

 

[Cycsk]

OK. Here is another gripe that I seem to be encountering often these days. Drivers in the left turn lane don't pull out at all into the intersection, so when the light turns, they are stuck there for another cycle of the lights. It is bad enough when it happens at the Dakota/Mortenson intersection in Ames, but it is super frustrating at the Grand/13th intersection where there is no turn lane. I'm not suggesting that they pull out in a manner that might block traffic coming at them. Just pull out a little bit so that you can turn on yellow if not before.

 

[VeloClone]

OK. Here is another gripe that I seem to be encountering often these days. Drivers in the left turn lane don't pull out at all into the intersection, so when the light turns, they are stuck there for another cycle of the lights. It is bad enough when it happens at the Dakota/Mortenson intersection in Ames, but it is super frustrating at the Grand/13th intersection where there is no turn lane. I'm not suggesting that they pull out in a manner that might block traffic coming at them. Just pull out a little bit so that you can turn on yellow if not before.

Some of those people get stuck on language in the drivers manual about only entering the intersection if you are able to complete your turn. But my drivers ed teacher even confirmed that pulling into the intersection on the green and completing on the yellow if necessary is the correct move. It allows at least one left turning vehicle every cycle even if traffic is so busy there are no natural breaks.

One thing that has become the mode up here in the Twin Cities is people who are turning left gunning it as soon as the light turns green and turning in front of the oncoming traffic going straight.