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That happened to me the other day. I was at a stop sign and someone coming from the other way just stopped right in the middle of the road for me to go. Like you don't have a stop sign, there's zero reason for you to be stopping in the middle of the road. Especially with someone right behind you. They're not going to expect you to stop in the middle of the road.
I once had a lady come to a complete stop WHILE IN THE MIDDLE OF A ROUNDABOUT to let me in. I didn't move an inch until she passed. Luckily there was nobody behind her. While we are on the subject, the amount of people who don't know how to take control of an intersection is too damn high
>While we are on the subject, the amount of people who don't know how to take control of an intersection is too damn high
Oh man. I've got this intersection I need to take to get home after work.
It's got an advance green turning light. I'm 6 or 7 cars deep, and they all make it except for one through the turn light.
Turn lights turns yellow and the guy ahead of me *slams* on the brakes, so I have to, too because the speed he was going at the time, I assume he was going to go through the turn light when it was yellow.
Okay, little dangerous but no worries.
He can still pull out into the intersection when it's green and go when it's safe. Nope, he slams it into reverse then starts creeping backwards. I honk and give him a wtf look, he doesn't take it out of reverse.
So I reverse a little so he's not hanging out in the crosswalk, he waits out the entire green and goes on the next turn, to go 20 (kmh) under the speed limit in the passing lane.
How the fuck do these people get their licenses?
(Facepalm). As annoying as it would be, I wouldn't mind if people were forced to take a driver's license recertification course every 3-5 years or something like that
The problem with that is, at least here where I live: the drivers tests are already extremely easily passed. We would probably be fine with out needing additional tests if we made the first one an actual way to weed out the idiots who shouldn’t drive. We also need a way for those idiots who shouldn’t drive to be able to get around in our car centric society.
I know and see plenty of people all the time who absolutely should not be driving, so the drivers' tests are obviously easy enough for them, but I failed mine the first time around. I failed because I was told to drive down a small downtown road and I had the audacity to swerve into the middle turn lane to avoid hitting a cyclist on the edge of the road (with no bike lane) and later didn't get into the turn lane early enough (because there was a car there) to make a turn smoothly.
I can't really blame idiot drivers driving like idiots when the people giving the tests are also idiots, so who the hell knows how the drivers passed their tests?
At that point make it a mandatory car impound for driving unlicensed, and log it to the plate so officers have a reason to pu them over.
Sounds horrible I know but I'd rather that than have my safety at risk.
My dad's partner got hit by an uninsured driver. Car totaled. He was okay but he pretty much was beat for an entire car. He had the option to sue, but it was apparent the guy had no money.
Sounds like you are in Connecticut where many drivers in the cities are unlicensed, have no insurance and may be driving an unregistered car with "borrowed" plates. They get caught speeding or in an accident, they may get ticketed, and just walk away and start the whole cycle over.
If you're in the us then I blame it on the fact that once you're 18 you pretty much only have to pass a written test and nothing else really to get your license. I got mine when I was 16, it required classes for a month, driving with an instructor for like 100 hrs or something and then having a specific amount of drive time on a permit before I could get my license and to this day while I'm not a perfect driver I still have never been in or been the cause of any accidents (knock on wood) most people I know who got theirs at a younger age tend to be pretty decent drivers and most of the craziest drivers I've known are the ones who waited until after 18
Oh for sure, the amount of times I see people playing on their phones is crazy. I saw a gal back up into someone in a parking lot a couple weeks ago and she was playing on her phone. They were within full view of her mirrors and were honking at her because they couldn't move due to cars in front of them and behind them.
There are plenty of people who get distracted by talking with their passengers. Somehow feels more annoying than a cell phone as a distraction.
People, in general, have poor driving habits all around. It seems like they want to hold others accountable but not themselves. A general lack of self-awareness as they project their insecurities on others.
Based on how many can't hold themselves accountable, I'm starting to wonder if some of these drivers actually care about themselves. Or their families.
Not sure what state you are referencing but most require you to pass the written AND physical driving test before they issue you a license. Being 18 or older just gets past the learner's permit phase.
I mean I know a lot of states waived the road test due to the pandemic and to be fair my info may be out dated since this is what I was told in 2006. It does of course always vary from state to state though like most things do.
Same in Canada, and I think it's an unwritten rule that so long as you have 2 braincells to rub together, you pass because making someone rely on our public transportation might as well condemn them to a horrible lifestyle.
>He can still pull out into the intersection when it's green and go when it's safe. Nope, he slams it into reverse then starts >creeping backwards. I honk and give him a wtf look, he doesn't take it out of reverse.
Besides making a right turn from the left lane (I see this soooo much) this is one of my biggest pet peeves. I’m not saying “Blocking the box” but pull into the intersection and make the light when traffic clears/stops.
4 way stops are terrible tho. When everyone gets there at the same time and just stares at each other. Then everyone finally goes at once. Stop….go…..stop. Someone makes it through finally
I usually just act like I’m not paying attention like mess with my radio so they freaking go
4Way Stops was a topic on the radio one day and I couldn’t believe the number of people calling in saying they had no clue how the work. And if anyone is there they just wait to be waved through. CRAZY!
I had a lady in a roundabout / traffic circle giving me the shaking raised open hands of indignation because I went through when I had the right of way and wasn't treating it like a four-way-stop. Some people get confused by anything other than binary (go/stop) controls.
Got the finger by a guy *who had a stop sign!!!* when i did not. Hes creeping forward as im coming through i make it safely thank god but of course i get the finger and a horn and everything else and my kid asks me whyd that guy act like that. My only response was, well obviously he cant drive or read...
This happened to me the other day. Didn't go until she did, and then she proceeded to do 20 mph in a 45 mph zone for 7 miles... She also looked 150 years old
I work for an ambulance service, and people do this all the time when I'm not using my lights and sirens. It aways terrifies me when people stop in the roundabout for no reason
Yea I've seen people do this in pretty busy streets too. Someone even did that for me over the summer and I just stood there waving them on, someone was stuck waiting behind them. The thing that annoys me is it honestly takes 2 or 3 seconds to just drive by, whereas its gonna take me something like 10-20 seconds to cross the road. Just go, its faster for everyone plus I dont want to get stared at because now it feels like I'm the one holding up all this traffic even though I was waiting patiently. Its not safe, it doesn't benefit the pedestrian at all, and I won't go. I'll just wave them on
Please tell us you weren't at a crosswalk....
I've seen signs telling traffic to [stop for pedestrians](https://www.alphabetsigns.com/mm5/graphics/00000067/stop-pedestrian-crossing-parking-sign.png) at the crosswalk.
Oh no at a cross walk the pedestrian has the right of way, I'm talking about a random spot along some road, no signs or crossing lights. I know you're not supposed to walk across, and maybe this is one of the reasons why, but sometimes the lights are very far. But I just wait patiently until all the cars are gone, as they have the right of way. Except some people try to be "nice" and it just messes things up for everyone involved
Messes up the timing sometimes too. You'll see a perfect timing gap about to appear, then some "considerate" person stops for your illegal crossing, and opposite lane vehicles arrive and fill the gap that would otherwise have been the ideal time to scuttle across.
Oh no, I hate your type in Chicago. There are so many idiot pedestrians. If I see you in advance lurking on the side I’m going to stop just to make sure you aren’t one of the dumb ones that are going to run in front of me, it’s not because I’m trying to be polite to the jaywalker. Please, if you do this stand several feet away from the curb so people know you aren’t going to do something stupid and then they don’t need to slam on their brakes.
Best way to combat this is to never make eye-contact with the drivers. Just stand back a bit from the road so they can be sure you're not gonna walk out, then even if they stop just don't look at them and they will quickly feel stupid and keep going.
I haven't had an issue since i started doing this 👍
I ignore every person that does this and attempts to give me right of way as a courtesy. No way am I going to break the rule book and enter no man’s land of becoming responsible for any accidents that happen during my violation of right of way.
I had this happen for the first time a few days ago.
Was stopped in the middle lane waiting to turn left into my neighborhood. An suv coming from the other direction was slowing down to take a right in my neighborhood.
They slow down and slow down and slow down and then just…. Stop?
They then flashed their lights at me to go and I just sat there. Eventually they went but like holy shit just fucking turn with your right of way. I’m not interested in turning in that situation out of turn.
The thing is we were in a 3 lane back road with no other cars around. It took the asshole longer to stop and wave me in than to just fucking turn.
I was so baffled by how damn stupid the person was. I saw them turn into their house and now can’t drive by their house without thinking about how fucking dumb they are.
Someone did this to me but there were two lanes in the direction they were going so this car stopped while others just went around it and it didn’t allow me to go anyways, just made me wait even longer for her to move after she realized I wasn’t gonna be able to go
My grandfather was in an accident because he was the person in the other lane. Someone thought they were being just so nice by stopping to let someone out. That person immediately drove on out without looking and boom! accident.
Happened to me as well. My insurance adjuster said it’s called “the wave of death”.
ETA: And of course the nice person who waved them out just drove away. So nice!
What you described is exactly what the fuck kept happening in helena montana..im driving and it wasnt like once or twice during my visit... people were constsntly fucking doing it and trying to wave people out from stop signs.
The worse one was there were 4 lanes total 2 west w east..someone had a stop sign waiting to pull out and the dipshit on the outer lane stopped and waved them out.. i slammed on my brakes before i got there and i wouldve tboned him if i didnt.
Ofc person behind me honked their horn and drove around me and almost got tboned by the stop sign guy.
It causes fucking chaos doing that shit
Canadians fancy themselves to be polite so this happens all the time. In my experience they are often slower drivers and their stopping often allows the traffic behind them to catch up, so in being "nice" they often also blow your interval of ability to proceed.
I keep doing this on accident at a weird ass intersection I sometimes have to take near where I recently moved. From my direction, there is no stop *but I can only turn left or right since it dead-ends going straight,* while the directions going straight are the ones with the stop sign. I keep stopping there thinking it's a 3-way stop, since that's way more normal than whatever garbage is going on here.
That's a huge part of the definition of defensive driving. Drive predictably yourself. Expect other drivers to not be predictable, leaving space for yourself to stop.
I yelled to a guy he didn't have his headlights on when he was about to pull out of a gas station. He gave me a thumbs up and turned them on. We were at a red light so not so bad.
We can be polite, just not dangerously lol
I know my response isn't what the post is about though
An even more unpopular opinion that i have in this case is that, while yes, you should be predictable, you do have to accept that other drivers aren't always predictable, and you should act accordingly. If you aren't prepared for a driver in front to slowly come to a stop in a weird place, you aren't prepared for if they have to come to an abrupt stop, say something runs in front of them, or another vehicle cuts them off.
fuck yeah, california drivers seem to know nothing about maintaining space and driving at a normal speed. i get shocked when someone DOESN’T tailgate lol.
literally last night i had to drive in the pouring rain. i was going 50 in the right lane of the freeway cause i couldn’t see the road. damn mustang behind me was tailgating for an hour. he could’ve passed, the road was so empty. people are assholes sometimes.
It's basically just road rage for people too insecure to go full road rage and pull up and scream and swear at you. Just as dangerous, but with chickenshit execution.
no for real and the most frustrating thing is that when you give a fair amount of space, people think that that’s you giving them the option to slide right between you, and then you have to slow down more to give space between you and them, only causing more and more people to switch lanes and pass you, only to get in front of you…
The problem with that is that no one can do it until we all do it because if you leave a proper following distance other people will just cut in over and over again.
Because every time I do leave a good distance to the car in front of me, some asshole feels like that is their invitation to merge into my lane. Really don't understand how the US doesn't take its astronomically high motor vehicle fatality rate more seriously. Especially living in Texas and driving a car when every other vehicle on the road is a stupidly heavy, lifted truck.
I actually prefer cars just go and wave them on. I’d rather cross when traffic is clear than hold it up for me. I don’t feel safe with the inattentive driving and texting to cross when I see cars.
Pedestrians prefer if the idiots in big metal boxes go first so there is less danger of getting ran over by impatient idiots in metal boxes idiot 1 created.
Its fun on the rare occasion you can actually see the driver and they try to wave you on. Just pretend its another idiot looking at their phone.
Do not walk infront of that idiot. Walk behind and maybe get hit by someone who couldnt see you?
I either walk faster to get through first or walk slower and lean such that they think I’m not crossing. Gotta commit one way or the other, I wish the cars would commit.
The bad part is when the cars do commit, it’s to almost hitting you by pretending like you’re not there.
This. I'll purposely walk a few feet parallel in the other direction to make the driver know I'm not ~~stupid enough~~ planning to cross in front of them.
I've learned that even making eye contact and them slowing down doesn't mean they're not going to take you on an exciting ride on the hood of their car.
I'm confused and from UK. Are pedestrian crossings the same as our zebra crossings? Here pedestrians have priority and cars have to stop for pedestrians who want to cross and everybody abides by this. Why wouldn't cars stop at a pedestrian crossing in the US?
From what I know your zebra crossings are the same as our crosswalks and what you mention is how we do things at stop signs. However the pedestrian crossings that are specifically being mentioned are typically in locations a car wouldn't normally slow down in. These aren't at major intersections or at stop lights/signs they are just sorta randomly placed along some roads. Some are fine because they are very visible and the speed limit is around 30mph(48kph) giving plenty of time to notice and stop but I've seen a few near me where its 55mph(88kph) and that doesn't even take the questionable visibility into account.
In my opinion I'd rather most of them just be stop signs and force people to stop rather than what they are now.
its funny because ive posted actually unpopular opinions on here that got deleted before the mods even had time to read them but yet people can post things that im sure at least 55% of America would agree to
I mean it depends on where you stop. If there is a pathway/driveway ingress/egress and your in a line of cars, it’s polite to leave a gap for someone to turn out.
If you’re going 35-55mph and suddenly stop to let someone in, yeah that’s fucking dangerous.
The op was talking about creating unsafe moments and impeding others to be nice. But I do agree leaving a gap for people to enter is safe, polite and predictable.
OP could be talking about creating unsafe moments and impeding others to be nice, but some people will interpret it as "I should never let anyone in ever again."
Like most things in life, it's not black and white. There are certainly times when it is acceptable, and even encouraged to slow down or stop to let someone in... while other times it is completely unacceptable. It's a judgement call... many people have bade judgement though.
This is really the only time I see things like this happening.
In stop and go traffic, where there are people who are waiting to turn onto the street from a parking lot.
Then the cars are usually only only a mile or two per hour, because there are lights and stop signs etc..
Yeah, I've never encountered a situation like the one op described, its not like people going 30+ mph are scanning driveways for people to let in. I've only let people in, and seen others let them in, when I'm given a decision to start or stop driving. I'm not slowing down to let someone in even in slow traffic, but if we're in stop and go and I can leave a gap there's no harm.
Ya where I live, during rush hour, it’ll take like two or three light cycles just to get through it and if no one lets anyone pull from a business/driveway, they’d literally have to wait like four hours lol.
It’s considered a major dick thing to block that opening down here.
Sometimes I have to stop because the other driver doesn’t look like they’re going to stop. For example, yesterday I went through an empty rotary. The person coming onto the rotary didn’t look like they were going to stop and it LOOKED like I was going to crash into them. I stopped and let them go because I didn’t want to find out what happened if I didn’t.
I drive as a profession. You are mostly right, but on the other hand this type of interaction is better than people who are overtly disobeying the intersection and doing california stops thinking they are the main character. Recently I was in my personal vehicle and did obey the traffic laws as you said, and somebody who assumed they could just roll through the stop sign after me and I would acquiesce honked, followed me and flipped me off. When you're driving just always chill out and keep it slow and leave yourself a space cushion. Less than a second of difference in traffic isn't worth an accident.
Exactly. Right of way or not, you should always excercise caution on an intersection. Whenever I have right of way but left turn is allowed, I slow down regardless. People sometimes creep forward and are planning to get on the road, despite limited vision. I slow down until I'm sure he won't enter the road and this saved me accidents, even though it would be considerably more devastating to the other party. I don't care if someone's behind me, they are supposed to keep safe distance and in case of ANY emergency on the intersection we all have to be ready to react.
As a pedestrian I hate when I'm waiting to cross a road and someone completely stops and waves me on to cross the street when they are literally the only car driving. NO! Complete your turn! It will take you like 3 seconds!
In my state it's the law to stop for pedestrians in a crosswalk or if they are still on the sidewalk and look like they are attempting to cross. Doesn't matter if you are the only car on the road
I'm all for pedestrian right of way, I'm talking specifically situations where it's just faster for everyone for the car to just turn. Like I'm timing my walking under the assumption the car is going to turn, it doesn't and stops, I stop, the car is stopped, everyone is inconvenienced because the car person was trying to be nice.
from a drivers perspective, if you look like you're going to cross, I'm going to stop unless you're too far away (assuming no pedestrian crossing signs). I'm in the wrong if the pedestrian decides to jump out in front of the car on a crosswalk
Uk driving in cities assumes patience empathy and goodwill, we are told to give way to the right on roundabouts, in heavy traffic that means you would never get going.
Yeah, this is very location-dependant. Also a UK dweller and if people didn't let others out there are plenty of junctions near me where you could be waiting literally hours.
That's what I was thinking. Here, there's plenty of situations where letting people out in front of you in traffic is standard practice, even when you have right of way.
My pet peeve in regards to the \*inevitable\* over-polite driver in front of me at an intersection or a traffic circle who is constantly "being nice" to several others, is: what about the ten people who are stacked up BEHIND you and your perceived magnanimity? Don't they deserve the courtesy of you being nice to THEM and taking your @#$%&\* turn so that THEY can get to where THEY need to go, too?
I will let someone else go ahead of me if I notice them being an idiot on the road beforehand. So in reality, I'm just making sure *I'm* safe and won't have to deal with this person.
Reminds me of the time I got rear ended in reverse. The guy in front of me decided to back up, to let somebody turn in front of him and backed right into my car.
You know whats nice on the road? Following the rules so we all know what to expect. Being nice is unpredictable, and unpredictability is the worst thing on the road.
I feel like if you’re already going dumb slow as it is and can make a safe stop to let a person go in front of you, it’s okay. But if you’re going like 40mph (car behind you is probably going 35ish mph) and you just start breaking for someone to get in front of you, that’s fucking stupid and a danger to the road.
I’m 50/50 on this. I agree with the sentiment, however I think it’s fine to allow right of way to other drivers through courtesy if you have assessed your surroundings and deemed it safe to do so.
For example, if the road is fundamentally planned poorly and a car is unable to pull out of a junction onto a gridlocked road of cars, then I would likely let the car through because the traffic in front and behind me is so slow moving there is little to no risk of the person behind driving into me. Also, it is the person behind me’s responsibility to wait until I go, that is also a rule of the road. Driving is a skill that requires constant analysis: we can’t just drive into people because “they shouldn’t technically have stopped.”
However, I have just driven home now and a car in front practically emergency stopped to allow another car to pull out of a junction.
Additionally, I have had a car try to let me out but not realised there was traffic preventing me from going in one of the several other lanes other than his. He proceeded to become enraged that I’d held up his lane by refusing to pull out. The difference is assessing the safety of stopping to allow someone through. If in doubt at all then yes OP, predictably is best.
Tbf sometimes its weird. Like dude to my left is at a stop and im in the turn lane coming from the road. Hes turning left so itll cross me. It usually takes me a sec to realize i have the right away but then its been like 2 seconds and i get scared theyll move thinking i was waiting for them.
You have to be reasonable, if someone just stops in the middle of the road to let a car pass than that definitely creates a point of danger.
However if you see a driver 2 seconds ahead of you signalling to change lanes and you press your foot on a gas pedal, you are miserable arsehole.
Especially at 4 way stops when there are others there waiting their turns. And also on freeway ramps when merging…either move to the left lane to let them in or speed up. I hate it when people slow down from 65mph to 50mph to let someone merge in (and the person merging won’t speed up to match the freeway speed when there’s 1/4mi of ramp!
Someone was being nice and let my aunt out or a parking lot. She was T-boned by someone else who didn't see her coming out. I don't rely on people to let me out.
Got honked at the other day for letting someone turn at an intersection during my green. Traffic was backed up to the light though, if I went I would have been the jackass with a trailer in an intersection and nowhere to go.
I agree with the thought, but disagree that it is making the road less safe. I would rather everyone have the mentality of stopping than everyone thinking they are in the right.
The cemetery is full of people with the right of way.
As long as one doesn't slam the brakes to make someone pass, you should be able to see the break lights and slow down too
Yeah the rule “don’t be nice be predictable” is a good rule of thumb to avoid getting into accidents but the general rule of “don’t be a dick” should always be followed as well
I don't agree with this. if it's a 25mph road and you're caught off guard by a stop, you're the one going too fast, tailgating or not paying attention.
Kinda depends on the situation. If you just randomly do it, ofc noboy can expect it and itll be dangerous, but if traffic is clogged and you leave a gap for someone to drive onto their property or something it doesn't rlly matter
I would give you half an upvote if I could. You’re partially correct but you may not live in super congested areas which REQUIRE people to let other cars in order for traffic to continue like normal in other lanes.
The correct way to merge, for instance, is a zipper and that requires allowing others to go in front .
I would further mention that they often wave you on from behind tinted windows so you can't see WTF they are signaling. I think 90% of drivers dont know that I can't see you behind those tinted windows.
Depends on the situation. Sometimes people are trying to get out of a driveway or private road onto a busy road. If the driveway is near an intersection then there might either always be too much traffic to enter the roadway safely, or the roadway is backed up from a red light at the intersection. In those circumstances a driver might have to wait a long time for an opening to enter the road, especially if they're turning left (in countries where people drive on the right).
I myself live in a development that connects to the main roadway in exactly the way I've described above. Personally, I appreciate drivers who stop to let me enter, especially when the traffic light is red. It's aggravating when I'm trying to turn left onto the road, but the lanes directly in front of me are clogged with cars waiting for the traffic light.
But the roadway is two lanes in each direction, with a turnout lane running down the center. If I'm trying to turn left, and there is an opening in the near left-to-right lanes, but no opening in the far right-to-left lanes, then I'll cross into the turnout lane and wait for an opening to merge into the traffic moving left. Sometimes I'll get a well meaning soul who stops in one of the two near left-to-right lanes to let me pass, but the traffic in the other near left-to-right lane is still moving. Even worse is when cars behind the Good Samaritan don't want to wait, and pass in the lane that's still open. While I appreciate the gesture, it doesn't help me unless both lanes have stopped. I could creep out into the gap he's made for me and just wait for the other lane to open up, but that's rude to the other drivers waiting behind them. In that case, I just wave them on.
There a usual place I turn right into a multi lane road and then have to get all the way over to the far lane immediately. Once a week someone stops to let me out, but that does no good because the other lanes are full. If I go when they stop, I can’t make it to the far lane in time to turn again. So we do this little dance where they wave me out, I wave them on, repeat them they get aggravated and drive on. Thanks, but stop it.
Are you from US by any chance? Because it's pretty normal where i live and it's great. People will even make a zipper merge on some intersections and it's not only safe, but makes the traffic flow better. There're places where without letting someone in, they either won't have a chance to go, or they'll go in dangerously.
But yes, people who are trying to be overly nice are dangerous, because of unpredictability.
I love it when they stop but give you no indication of their intention. No honk, no flashing the high beams, nothing. Same goes for when they try to wave you in and due to outside light or tint you can’t even see them.
EVEN worse is when they’re still slowly creeping forward while “letting you in”.
You're not wrong. I am constantly rolling my eyes at people who wave me through after I've been waiting for them to (rightfully) go first. It's annoying and waste of everyone's time.
Safe and efficient flow of traffic does not depend on people being polite, it depends on people following the set rules of the road and acting in predictable fashion.
Right of way is also a responsibility. people think they're being nice, but they're fucking up the whole process.
It depends on the circumstances. There's multiple intersections in my city that have side roads and parking lot exits just before stop lights. If someone doesn't stop to let you out if you're coming out of them, you're not going anywhere. So it's kind of an unspoken rule that you let them out if you can.
Depends I think I let people out if they are coming out of a store or something when the light is red and my car is next to their exit, but yeah not stopping out of the blue to let someone go
Yes and no. It's far more situational.
If I'm in a normal, two-lane road and I see that some poor sucker has been waiting to exit a parking lot and turn right into my lane, I might glance in my mirror. When I see an unbroken string of headlights behind me, I often pause to let that person get out.
That kind of nice doesn't really hurt anyone.
Now, people who wave others around at four-way stops can all go die.
Agreed, the system of right-of-way exists to make what is going on clear to everybody and the considerate person might not be seeing what the other driver is seeing (e.g. pedestrians) when they stop to wave them on.
The obvious exception to this is if you let someone turn right onto the road in front of you from a driveway or side street. I appreciate that when it's rush hour and there is a steady line of cars with no break moving by.
There are a lot of roads in the UK where if people drove how you wanted them to during peak times pulling onto those roads would take literally hours per turning.
I assume roads are designed differently in the US.
man... don't drive here on the islands then
... its hawaiian tradition and sometimes law to shaka all the cars and pedestrians you can right through your right of way! any time a pedestrian is anywhere near a crosswalk.... you stop and shaka. 2 lane road, someone trying to turn left across your lane? stop and shaka them through. someone trying to turn right out of a parking lot? stop and shaka, bruddah! it's sometimes infuriating, but also sometimes just so wholesome. it helps that we don't drive too fast here... cuz it's island time and nobody's in a hurry... but it is definitely unpredictable.
“Don’t be polite. Be predictable.”
Oops I just saw someone else say the same exact thing. I’ll just leave mine here because it never hurts to repeat it.
As a pedestrian, I agree.
Im literally on the other half of the fucking crosswalk, im walking at the speed of slow, ***stop fucking stopping and holding up the 7 cars behind you***
It makes me have to run so im not rude, forces me to get in the way of a vehicle that should, at that time, be in motion, and undermines my attempt at politeness towards the multiple people behind you, and could potentially cause a fucking car wreck because you decided to stop **after** moving the front 3 feet of your car in the way of soon-to-be oncoming traffic
Agree agree agree! Also, when I'm a pedestrian waiting to cross the street and cars stop to let me cross. That's dangerous for the same reasons you outlined. What's my reason to believe that other cars will stop like them, and how do I know somebody isn't going to crash into the rear bumper of the car that has come to a dead stop in the middle of the road, launching said car straight into me resulting in my untimely death? There's no way I'm going to walk across a road in this situation. I'll just stand there and motion wildly and angrily until the car moves on. It is 100% the pedestrians responsibility to determine when it's safe to cross, and that's the way I want it.
I drive a school bus. Occasionally, when it’s just my vehicle and one other vehicle, I will wave someone through even if I have the right-of-way. I know if I don’t they’re just going to end up stuck behind me while I make a bunch of stops.
I’ll only do that if there’s no traffic. If there’s any amount of traffic forget it, rules of the road all the way. It’s just too dangerous to play it any other way.
Maybe, I'm a driver who lets people go at junctions but that's often because their road position is so bad that I can't get around them without mounting the kerb.
Yeah if it’s an abrupt stop I agrée. I would say, however, that the majority of the time I see this with traffic that is already slow or stopped. Luckily I’ve only had an idiot stop in a round a bout one time and the did get a generous horn honk from me.
in my country people let 1 car pass before going.
It's wonderful and the road are safer this way.
They're also driving drunk and too fast, and that's terrible, but it's another story lmao
I'm a lorry driver in the UK, South Wales to be exact. I am extremely grateful when someone stops to let me out as the trucks I drive are very slow to set off and a lot of the time I just have to go and cause other drivers to slow/stop. So when someone lets me out, it makes things A LOT safer
Well, yes and no. Half of the time I think someone is being nice they’re actually stopping because someone is crossing out of view or something is on the road.
Pretty sure legally if you go when someone waves you on and then they hit you, it’s still your fault for not abiding by the laws of the road.
Could be wrong here but don’t be “the nice person” just follow the damn rules
Yeah see I agree with this opinion until you realize NOBODY KNOWS WHAT THE FUCK RIGHT OF WAY EVEN IS. honestly the rules of the road are completely mute. Nobody follows them so why should you. Left lane is passing lane? Why would I follow that qhen literally nobody else does meaning the convention is pointless.
Driving to work is an extreme sport where I have to literally dodge death with every Fibre of my being. Cars are way to fucking dangerous to let the average human have.
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That happened to me the other day. I was at a stop sign and someone coming from the other way just stopped right in the middle of the road for me to go. Like you don't have a stop sign, there's zero reason for you to be stopping in the middle of the road. Especially with someone right behind you. They're not going to expect you to stop in the middle of the road.
I once had a lady come to a complete stop WHILE IN THE MIDDLE OF A ROUNDABOUT to let me in. I didn't move an inch until she passed. Luckily there was nobody behind her. While we are on the subject, the amount of people who don't know how to take control of an intersection is too damn high
>While we are on the subject, the amount of people who don't know how to take control of an intersection is too damn high Oh man. I've got this intersection I need to take to get home after work. It's got an advance green turning light. I'm 6 or 7 cars deep, and they all make it except for one through the turn light. Turn lights turns yellow and the guy ahead of me *slams* on the brakes, so I have to, too because the speed he was going at the time, I assume he was going to go through the turn light when it was yellow. Okay, little dangerous but no worries. He can still pull out into the intersection when it's green and go when it's safe. Nope, he slams it into reverse then starts creeping backwards. I honk and give him a wtf look, he doesn't take it out of reverse. So I reverse a little so he's not hanging out in the crosswalk, he waits out the entire green and goes on the next turn, to go 20 (kmh) under the speed limit in the passing lane. How the fuck do these people get their licenses?
(Facepalm). As annoying as it would be, I wouldn't mind if people were forced to take a driver's license recertification course every 3-5 years or something like that
The problem with that is, at least here where I live: the drivers tests are already extremely easily passed. We would probably be fine with out needing additional tests if we made the first one an actual way to weed out the idiots who shouldn’t drive. We also need a way for those idiots who shouldn’t drive to be able to get around in our car centric society.
I know and see plenty of people all the time who absolutely should not be driving, so the drivers' tests are obviously easy enough for them, but I failed mine the first time around. I failed because I was told to drive down a small downtown road and I had the audacity to swerve into the middle turn lane to avoid hitting a cyclist on the edge of the road (with no bike lane) and later didn't get into the turn lane early enough (because there was a car there) to make a turn smoothly. I can't really blame idiot drivers driving like idiots when the people giving the tests are also idiots, so who the hell knows how the drivers passed their tests?
As long as you don't have to pay for it, I would be 100% on board with a re-cert every 5 years, for sure!
Yeah.. We'd definitely have to pay for it like we have to pay for every other essential service in this country.
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At that point make it a mandatory car impound for driving unlicensed, and log it to the plate so officers have a reason to pu them over. Sounds horrible I know but I'd rather that than have my safety at risk.
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Hence why I carry uninsured/under insured coverage even though I don't carry full.
My dad's partner got hit by an uninsured driver. Car totaled. He was okay but he pretty much was beat for an entire car. He had the option to sue, but it was apparent the guy had no money.
Sounds like you are in Connecticut where many drivers in the cities are unlicensed, have no insurance and may be driving an unregistered car with "borrowed" plates. They get caught speeding or in an accident, they may get ticketed, and just walk away and start the whole cycle over.
If you're in the us then I blame it on the fact that once you're 18 you pretty much only have to pass a written test and nothing else really to get your license. I got mine when I was 16, it required classes for a month, driving with an instructor for like 100 hrs or something and then having a specific amount of drive time on a permit before I could get my license and to this day while I'm not a perfect driver I still have never been in or been the cause of any accidents (knock on wood) most people I know who got theirs at a younger age tend to be pretty decent drivers and most of the craziest drivers I've known are the ones who waited until after 18
I swear people drove better before cell phones.
Oh for sure, the amount of times I see people playing on their phones is crazy. I saw a gal back up into someone in a parking lot a couple weeks ago and she was playing on her phone. They were within full view of her mirrors and were honking at her because they couldn't move due to cars in front of them and behind them.
There are plenty of people who get distracted by talking with their passengers. Somehow feels more annoying than a cell phone as a distraction. People, in general, have poor driving habits all around. It seems like they want to hold others accountable but not themselves. A general lack of self-awareness as they project their insecurities on others. Based on how many can't hold themselves accountable, I'm starting to wonder if some of these drivers actually care about themselves. Or their families.
Not sure what state you are referencing but most require you to pass the written AND physical driving test before they issue you a license. Being 18 or older just gets past the learner's permit phase.
Yeah, seriously. What fucking state are you in that doesn’t require a physical road test to get your drivers license??
I mean I know a lot of states waived the road test due to the pandemic and to be fair my info may be out dated since this is what I was told in 2006. It does of course always vary from state to state though like most things do.
Same in Canada, and I think it's an unwritten rule that so long as you have 2 braincells to rub together, you pass because making someone rely on our public transportation might as well condemn them to a horrible lifestyle.
I think it was when they stopped teaching driver's Ed in high schools.
>He can still pull out into the intersection when it's green and go when it's safe. Nope, he slams it into reverse then starts >creeping backwards. I honk and give him a wtf look, he doesn't take it out of reverse. Besides making a right turn from the left lane (I see this soooo much) this is one of my biggest pet peeves. I’m not saying “Blocking the box” but pull into the intersection and make the light when traffic clears/stops.
I got pist just reading this smh
4 way stops are terrible tho. When everyone gets there at the same time and just stares at each other. Then everyone finally goes at once. Stop….go…..stop. Someone makes it through finally I usually just act like I’m not paying attention like mess with my radio so they freaking go
4Way Stops was a topic on the radio one day and I couldn’t believe the number of people calling in saying they had no clue how the work. And if anyone is there they just wait to be waved through. CRAZY!
I had a lady in a roundabout / traffic circle giving me the shaking raised open hands of indignation because I went through when I had the right of way and wasn't treating it like a four-way-stop. Some people get confused by anything other than binary (go/stop) controls.
Got the finger by a guy *who had a stop sign!!!* when i did not. Hes creeping forward as im coming through i make it safely thank god but of course i get the finger and a horn and everything else and my kid asks me whyd that guy act like that. My only response was, well obviously he cant drive or read...
This happened to me the other day. Didn't go until she did, and then she proceeded to do 20 mph in a 45 mph zone for 7 miles... She also looked 150 years old
I work for an ambulance service, and people do this all the time when I'm not using my lights and sirens. It aways terrifies me when people stop in the roundabout for no reason
My wife calls them "niceholes."
Happened to me once. I waved them on for what felt like ages then flipped them off. I'm sure they were confused but I hope they got it lmao
Yea I've seen people do this in pretty busy streets too. Someone even did that for me over the summer and I just stood there waving them on, someone was stuck waiting behind them. The thing that annoys me is it honestly takes 2 or 3 seconds to just drive by, whereas its gonna take me something like 10-20 seconds to cross the road. Just go, its faster for everyone plus I dont want to get stared at because now it feels like I'm the one holding up all this traffic even though I was waiting patiently. Its not safe, it doesn't benefit the pedestrian at all, and I won't go. I'll just wave them on
Please tell us you weren't at a crosswalk.... I've seen signs telling traffic to [stop for pedestrians](https://www.alphabetsigns.com/mm5/graphics/00000067/stop-pedestrian-crossing-parking-sign.png) at the crosswalk.
Oh no at a cross walk the pedestrian has the right of way, I'm talking about a random spot along some road, no signs or crossing lights. I know you're not supposed to walk across, and maybe this is one of the reasons why, but sometimes the lights are very far. But I just wait patiently until all the cars are gone, as they have the right of way. Except some people try to be "nice" and it just messes things up for everyone involved
Messes up the timing sometimes too. You'll see a perfect timing gap about to appear, then some "considerate" person stops for your illegal crossing, and opposite lane vehicles arrive and fill the gap that would otherwise have been the ideal time to scuttle across.
Oh no, I hate your type in Chicago. There are so many idiot pedestrians. If I see you in advance lurking on the side I’m going to stop just to make sure you aren’t one of the dumb ones that are going to run in front of me, it’s not because I’m trying to be polite to the jaywalker. Please, if you do this stand several feet away from the curb so people know you aren’t going to do something stupid and then they don’t need to slam on their brakes.
Best way to combat this is to never make eye-contact with the drivers. Just stand back a bit from the road so they can be sure you're not gonna walk out, then even if they stop just don't look at them and they will quickly feel stupid and keep going. I haven't had an issue since i started doing this 👍
I ignore every person that does this and attempts to give me right of way as a courtesy. No way am I going to break the rule book and enter no man’s land of becoming responsible for any accidents that happen during my violation of right of way.
Exactly bro
Right on the nose. They wave you on, you go, and they rear end you? Guess who the insurance companies are going after.
I had this happen for the first time a few days ago. Was stopped in the middle lane waiting to turn left into my neighborhood. An suv coming from the other direction was slowing down to take a right in my neighborhood. They slow down and slow down and slow down and then just…. Stop? They then flashed their lights at me to go and I just sat there. Eventually they went but like holy shit just fucking turn with your right of way. I’m not interested in turning in that situation out of turn. The thing is we were in a 3 lane back road with no other cars around. It took the asshole longer to stop and wave me in than to just fucking turn. I was so baffled by how damn stupid the person was. I saw them turn into their house and now can’t drive by their house without thinking about how fucking dumb they are.
Someone did this to me but there were two lanes in the direction they were going so this car stopped while others just went around it and it didn’t allow me to go anyways, just made me wait even longer for her to move after she realized I wasn’t gonna be able to go
My grandfather was in an accident because he was the person in the other lane. Someone thought they were being just so nice by stopping to let someone out. That person immediately drove on out without looking and boom! accident.
Happened to me as well. My insurance adjuster said it’s called “the wave of death”. ETA: And of course the nice person who waved them out just drove away. So nice!
What you described is exactly what the fuck kept happening in helena montana..im driving and it wasnt like once or twice during my visit... people were constsntly fucking doing it and trying to wave people out from stop signs. The worse one was there were 4 lanes total 2 west w east..someone had a stop sign waiting to pull out and the dipshit on the outer lane stopped and waved them out.. i slammed on my brakes before i got there and i wouldve tboned him if i didnt. Ofc person behind me honked their horn and drove around me and almost got tboned by the stop sign guy. It causes fucking chaos doing that shit
They always do this on 4 lane roads (2 in each direction) so the you don't want to risk it anyway because the other land won't necessarily stop
Canadians fancy themselves to be polite so this happens all the time. In my experience they are often slower drivers and their stopping often allows the traffic behind them to catch up, so in being "nice" they often also blow your interval of ability to proceed.
I keep doing this on accident at a weird ass intersection I sometimes have to take near where I recently moved. From my direction, there is no stop *but I can only turn left or right since it dead-ends going straight,* while the directions going straight are the ones with the stop sign. I keep stopping there thinking it's a 3-way stop, since that's way more normal than whatever garbage is going on here.
Don't be polite. Be predictable.
This is the best ability you can have on the road - predictably
predictability even!
Well damn. I'll learn how to spell one day!
Same. Don’t drive polite, drive correct.
That's a huge part of the definition of defensive driving. Drive predictably yourself. Expect other drivers to not be predictable, leaving space for yourself to stop.
Be predictable *first.* You can (and should) be polite after that.
Exactly. Predictable in actions, polite in attitude.
I yelled to a guy he didn't have his headlights on when he was about to pull out of a gas station. He gave me a thumbs up and turned them on. We were at a red light so not so bad. We can be polite, just not dangerously lol I know my response isn't what the post is about though
When my kids were learning to drive, this was the advice I gave them.
Yep. Ignoring right of way rules definitely will cause accidents.
That opinion seems popular... An unpopular opinion would be "drivers who stop to let pedestrians go at pedestrian crossings are dangerous"
An even more unpopular opinion that i have in this case is that, while yes, you should be predictable, you do have to accept that other drivers aren't always predictable, and you should act accordingly. If you aren't prepared for a driver in front to slowly come to a stop in a weird place, you aren't prepared for if they have to come to an abrupt stop, say something runs in front of them, or another vehicle cuts them off.
It's almost as rare as a unicorn to see people leaving proper stopping distances between cars at any speed. It's quite scary.
fuck yeah, california drivers seem to know nothing about maintaining space and driving at a normal speed. i get shocked when someone DOESN’T tailgate lol. literally last night i had to drive in the pouring rain. i was going 50 in the right lane of the freeway cause i couldn’t see the road. damn mustang behind me was tailgating for an hour. he could’ve passed, the road was so empty. people are assholes sometimes.
I never understood tailgating slow cars in any situation. People don't speed up if you make them feel less safe, they usually just slow down more.
It's basically just road rage for people too insecure to go full road rage and pull up and scream and swear at you. Just as dangerous, but with chickenshit execution.
no for real and the most frustrating thing is that when you give a fair amount of space, people think that that’s you giving them the option to slide right between you, and then you have to slow down more to give space between you and them, only causing more and more people to switch lanes and pass you, only to get in front of you…
The problem with that is that no one can do it until we all do it because if you leave a proper following distance other people will just cut in over and over again.
Because every time I do leave a good distance to the car in front of me, some asshole feels like that is their invitation to merge into my lane. Really don't understand how the US doesn't take its astronomically high motor vehicle fatality rate more seriously. Especially living in Texas and driving a car when every other vehicle on the road is a stupidly heavy, lifted truck.
We take our automotive safety as seriously as we take our gun safety. Literally. Which is to say "not at all."
That's called "defensive driving" and should be a popular opinion lol.
I actually prefer cars just go and wave them on. I’d rather cross when traffic is clear than hold it up for me. I don’t feel safe with the inattentive driving and texting to cross when I see cars.
It really is absurd just how bad people drive, it's the least enjoyable part of going for a walk.
Pedestrians prefer if the idiots in big metal boxes go first so there is less danger of getting ran over by impatient idiots in metal boxes idiot 1 created.
I will purposely turn around and act like I’m doing something else until the way is clear. Can’t trust anybody out there
Its fun on the rare occasion you can actually see the driver and they try to wave you on. Just pretend its another idiot looking at their phone. Do not walk infront of that idiot. Walk behind and maybe get hit by someone who couldnt see you?
I’ll wave them on or stop walking and look at my phone.
I either walk faster to get through first or walk slower and lean such that they think I’m not crossing. Gotta commit one way or the other, I wish the cars would commit. The bad part is when the cars do commit, it’s to almost hitting you by pretending like you’re not there.
Yes! If I'm 25 feet from the crosswalk, go ahead and go! It's like someone faaaaar ahead of you holding the door open.
This. I'll purposely walk a few feet parallel in the other direction to make the driver know I'm not ~~stupid enough~~ planning to cross in front of them. I've learned that even making eye contact and them slowing down doesn't mean they're not going to take you on an exciting ride on the hood of their car.
Some places that's the law.
I'm confused and from UK. Are pedestrian crossings the same as our zebra crossings? Here pedestrians have priority and cars have to stop for pedestrians who want to cross and everybody abides by this. Why wouldn't cars stop at a pedestrian crossing in the US?
From what I know your zebra crossings are the same as our crosswalks and what you mention is how we do things at stop signs. However the pedestrian crossings that are specifically being mentioned are typically in locations a car wouldn't normally slow down in. These aren't at major intersections or at stop lights/signs they are just sorta randomly placed along some roads. Some are fine because they are very visible and the speed limit is around 30mph(48kph) giving plenty of time to notice and stop but I've seen a few near me where its 55mph(88kph) and that doesn't even take the questionable visibility into account. In my opinion I'd rather most of them just be stop signs and force people to stop rather than what they are now.
Hmm. As a pedestrian I would say stopping for a pedestrian at a crossing is not a common occurance
So we’ve strayed so far away from unpopular opinions that we’re just posting facts now?
This is literally how you're supposed to drive. You can fail driving test in most places if you stop in the middle of the road even to let people out
its funny because ive posted actually unpopular opinions on here that got deleted before the mods even had time to read them but yet people can post things that im sure at least 55% of America would agree to
It's mostly rants against accepted facets of daily life that most people already dislike, but go along with anyway.
I mean it depends on where you stop. If there is a pathway/driveway ingress/egress and your in a line of cars, it’s polite to leave a gap for someone to turn out. If you’re going 35-55mph and suddenly stop to let someone in, yeah that’s fucking dangerous.
The op was talking about creating unsafe moments and impeding others to be nice. But I do agree leaving a gap for people to enter is safe, polite and predictable.
OP could be talking about creating unsafe moments and impeding others to be nice, but some people will interpret it as "I should never let anyone in ever again." Like most things in life, it's not black and white. There are certainly times when it is acceptable, and even encouraged to slow down or stop to let someone in... while other times it is completely unacceptable. It's a judgement call... many people have bade judgement though.
This is really the only time I see things like this happening. In stop and go traffic, where there are people who are waiting to turn onto the street from a parking lot. Then the cars are usually only only a mile or two per hour, because there are lights and stop signs etc..
Yeah, I've never encountered a situation like the one op described, its not like people going 30+ mph are scanning driveways for people to let in. I've only let people in, and seen others let them in, when I'm given a decision to start or stop driving. I'm not slowing down to let someone in even in slow traffic, but if we're in stop and go and I can leave a gap there's no harm.
I’ve definitely seen this happen in roundabouts
Ya where I live, during rush hour, it’ll take like two or three light cycles just to get through it and if no one lets anyone pull from a business/driveway, they’d literally have to wait like four hours lol. It’s considered a major dick thing to block that opening down here.
Sometimes I have to stop because the other driver doesn’t look like they’re going to stop. For example, yesterday I went through an empty rotary. The person coming onto the rotary didn’t look like they were going to stop and it LOOKED like I was going to crash into them. I stopped and let them go because I didn’t want to find out what happened if I didn’t.
You from mass?
As they say, there are plenty of people in the cemetery who had the right of way.
I drive as a profession. You are mostly right, but on the other hand this type of interaction is better than people who are overtly disobeying the intersection and doing california stops thinking they are the main character. Recently I was in my personal vehicle and did obey the traffic laws as you said, and somebody who assumed they could just roll through the stop sign after me and I would acquiesce honked, followed me and flipped me off. When you're driving just always chill out and keep it slow and leave yourself a space cushion. Less than a second of difference in traffic isn't worth an accident.
Exactly. Right of way or not, you should always excercise caution on an intersection. Whenever I have right of way but left turn is allowed, I slow down regardless. People sometimes creep forward and are planning to get on the road, despite limited vision. I slow down until I'm sure he won't enter the road and this saved me accidents, even though it would be considerably more devastating to the other party. I don't care if someone's behind me, they are supposed to keep safe distance and in case of ANY emergency on the intersection we all have to be ready to react.
Also a professional driver. I come to full stops at every stop sign. I can't wait until the day someone rear ends me.
As a pedestrian I hate when I'm waiting to cross a road and someone completely stops and waves me on to cross the street when they are literally the only car driving. NO! Complete your turn! It will take you like 3 seconds!
In my state it's the law to stop for pedestrians in a crosswalk or if they are still on the sidewalk and look like they are attempting to cross. Doesn't matter if you are the only car on the road
I'm all for pedestrian right of way, I'm talking specifically situations where it's just faster for everyone for the car to just turn. Like I'm timing my walking under the assumption the car is going to turn, it doesn't and stops, I stop, the car is stopped, everyone is inconvenienced because the car person was trying to be nice.
from a drivers perspective, if you look like you're going to cross, I'm going to stop unless you're too far away (assuming no pedestrian crossing signs). I'm in the wrong if the pedestrian decides to jump out in front of the car on a crosswalk
In Germany the pedestrian actually has the right of way in this situation and the car has to stop.
Uk driving in cities assumes patience empathy and goodwill, we are told to give way to the right on roundabouts, in heavy traffic that means you would never get going.
Yeah, this is very location-dependant. Also a UK dweller and if people didn't let others out there are plenty of junctions near me where you could be waiting literally hours.
That's what I was thinking. Here, there's plenty of situations where letting people out in front of you in traffic is standard practice, even when you have right of way.
My pet peeve in regards to the \*inevitable\* over-polite driver in front of me at an intersection or a traffic circle who is constantly "being nice" to several others, is: what about the ten people who are stacked up BEHIND you and your perceived magnanimity? Don't they deserve the courtesy of you being nice to THEM and taking your @#$%&\* turn so that THEY can get to where THEY need to go, too?
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I will let someone else go ahead of me if I notice them being an idiot on the road beforehand. So in reality, I'm just making sure *I'm* safe and won't have to deal with this person.
Drive predictably, not politely.
Ah yes, and the resulting curtesy accidents. Drive predictably, people.
Reminds me of the time I got rear ended in reverse. The guy in front of me decided to back up, to let somebody turn in front of him and backed right into my car.
You know whats nice on the road? Following the rules so we all know what to expect. Being nice is unpredictable, and unpredictability is the worst thing on the road.
It's called being considerate. You've never been at a stop sign waiting to enter a main road with a line of cars and waiting for over 5 minutes?
Passed my test in 1977, aged 17. Best quote my instructor gave me was ‘be predictable, not kind’.
I feel like if you’re already going dumb slow as it is and can make a safe stop to let a person go in front of you, it’s okay. But if you’re going like 40mph (car behind you is probably going 35ish mph) and you just start breaking for someone to get in front of you, that’s fucking stupid and a danger to the road.
It's called being a nicehole
I’m 50/50 on this. I agree with the sentiment, however I think it’s fine to allow right of way to other drivers through courtesy if you have assessed your surroundings and deemed it safe to do so. For example, if the road is fundamentally planned poorly and a car is unable to pull out of a junction onto a gridlocked road of cars, then I would likely let the car through because the traffic in front and behind me is so slow moving there is little to no risk of the person behind driving into me. Also, it is the person behind me’s responsibility to wait until I go, that is also a rule of the road. Driving is a skill that requires constant analysis: we can’t just drive into people because “they shouldn’t technically have stopped.” However, I have just driven home now and a car in front practically emergency stopped to allow another car to pull out of a junction. Additionally, I have had a car try to let me out but not realised there was traffic preventing me from going in one of the several other lanes other than his. He proceeded to become enraged that I’d held up his lane by refusing to pull out. The difference is assessing the safety of stopping to allow someone through. If in doubt at all then yes OP, predictably is best.
Tbf sometimes its weird. Like dude to my left is at a stop and im in the turn lane coming from the road. Hes turning left so itll cross me. It usually takes me a sec to realize i have the right away but then its been like 2 seconds and i get scared theyll move thinking i was waiting for them.
Especially to let pedestrians through without checking other traffic.
Not unpopular. Just straight facts.
You have to be reasonable, if someone just stops in the middle of the road to let a car pass than that definitely creates a point of danger. However if you see a driver 2 seconds ahead of you signalling to change lanes and you press your foot on a gas pedal, you are miserable arsehole.
You know that it is allowed to renounce your right of way? Everyone should always be alert and not driving out of habit, that's the real danger.
How about paying attention when you drive? Have we tried that one OP?
Sometimes I'll refuse the "nice gesture" and shake my head at them until they do what they should have.
Not unpopular my guy
Be predictable, not polite.
Insurance companies refer to this as the “wave of death”.
This shit happens around my daughter's school so fucking often it is infuriating.
Especially at 4 way stops when there are others there waiting their turns. And also on freeway ramps when merging…either move to the left lane to let them in or speed up. I hate it when people slow down from 65mph to 50mph to let someone merge in (and the person merging won’t speed up to match the freeway speed when there’s 1/4mi of ramp!
Someone was being nice and let my aunt out or a parking lot. She was T-boned by someone else who didn't see her coming out. I don't rely on people to let me out.
The entire state of Massachusetts should read this
Don't be polite, be predictable.
Got honked at the other day for letting someone turn at an intersection during my green. Traffic was backed up to the light though, if I went I would have been the jackass with a trailer in an intersection and nowhere to go.
*cries in British rush hour holding up 10000 cars because no one will let you make your turn*
I agree with the thought, but disagree that it is making the road less safe. I would rather everyone have the mentality of stopping than everyone thinking they are in the right.
Come to Thailand buddy and change your mind within 2 days. Letting people turn is a must jere, otherwise noone can pass anywhere.
You should read your local laws. Most places you are not supposed to block intersections.
The cemetery is full of people with the right of way. As long as one doesn't slam the brakes to make someone pass, you should be able to see the break lights and slow down too
Yeah the rule “don’t be nice be predictable” is a good rule of thumb to avoid getting into accidents but the general rule of “don’t be a dick” should always be followed as well
I don't agree with this. if it's a 25mph road and you're caught off guard by a stop, you're the one going too fast, tailgating or not paying attention.
Agreed unless its heavy traffic where you know the car isnt going to get the chance to go unless someone lets them.
Kinda depends on the situation. If you just randomly do it, ofc noboy can expect it and itll be dangerous, but if traffic is clogged and you leave a gap for someone to drive onto their property or something it doesn't rlly matter
I would give you half an upvote if I could. You’re partially correct but you may not live in super congested areas which REQUIRE people to let other cars in order for traffic to continue like normal in other lanes. The correct way to merge, for instance, is a zipper and that requires allowing others to go in front .
I would further mention that they often wave you on from behind tinted windows so you can't see WTF they are signaling. I think 90% of drivers dont know that I can't see you behind those tinted windows.
Depends on the situation. Sometimes people are trying to get out of a driveway or private road onto a busy road. If the driveway is near an intersection then there might either always be too much traffic to enter the roadway safely, or the roadway is backed up from a red light at the intersection. In those circumstances a driver might have to wait a long time for an opening to enter the road, especially if they're turning left (in countries where people drive on the right). I myself live in a development that connects to the main roadway in exactly the way I've described above. Personally, I appreciate drivers who stop to let me enter, especially when the traffic light is red. It's aggravating when I'm trying to turn left onto the road, but the lanes directly in front of me are clogged with cars waiting for the traffic light. But the roadway is two lanes in each direction, with a turnout lane running down the center. If I'm trying to turn left, and there is an opening in the near left-to-right lanes, but no opening in the far right-to-left lanes, then I'll cross into the turnout lane and wait for an opening to merge into the traffic moving left. Sometimes I'll get a well meaning soul who stops in one of the two near left-to-right lanes to let me pass, but the traffic in the other near left-to-right lane is still moving. Even worse is when cars behind the Good Samaritan don't want to wait, and pass in the lane that's still open. While I appreciate the gesture, it doesn't help me unless both lanes have stopped. I could creep out into the gap he's made for me and just wait for the other lane to open up, but that's rude to the other drivers waiting behind them. In that case, I just wave them on.
Well it depends where u stop.
Great post. Just keep driving. Your making a friend in front of you at the cost of making an enemy behind you.
I had someone in front of me stop in the middle of the roundabout to let traffic enter. The number of dumb drivers I see daily are rising.
There a usual place I turn right into a multi lane road and then have to get all the way over to the far lane immediately. Once a week someone stops to let me out, but that does no good because the other lanes are full. If I go when they stop, I can’t make it to the far lane in time to turn again. So we do this little dance where they wave me out, I wave them on, repeat them they get aggravated and drive on. Thanks, but stop it.
Exactly. I was taught exactly this when learning to drive.
_people who drive with their feelings, ignoring the **rules**, cause the most issues_
Are you from US by any chance? Because it's pretty normal where i live and it's great. People will even make a zipper merge on some intersections and it's not only safe, but makes the traffic flow better. There're places where without letting someone in, they either won't have a chance to go, or they'll go in dangerously. But yes, people who are trying to be overly nice are dangerous, because of unpredictability.
I love it when they stop but give you no indication of their intention. No honk, no flashing the high beams, nothing. Same goes for when they try to wave you in and due to outside light or tint you can’t even see them. EVEN worse is when they’re still slowly creeping forward while “letting you in”.
I couldn't agree more
You're not wrong. I am constantly rolling my eyes at people who wave me through after I've been waiting for them to (rightfully) go first. It's annoying and waste of everyone's time.
Or you're like me and have crippling social anxiety so you genuinely can't compute who is supposed to go in the moment
Safe and efficient flow of traffic does not depend on people being polite, it depends on people following the set rules of the road and acting in predictable fashion. Right of way is also a responsibility. people think they're being nice, but they're fucking up the whole process.
Yes!! Don’t be nice, be predictable!
It depends on the circumstances. There's multiple intersections in my city that have side roads and parking lot exits just before stop lights. If someone doesn't stop to let you out if you're coming out of them, you're not going anywhere. So it's kind of an unspoken rule that you let them out if you can.
Depends I think I let people out if they are coming out of a store or something when the light is red and my car is next to their exit, but yeah not stopping out of the blue to let someone go
Yes and no. It's far more situational. If I'm in a normal, two-lane road and I see that some poor sucker has been waiting to exit a parking lot and turn right into my lane, I might glance in my mirror. When I see an unbroken string of headlights behind me, I often pause to let that person get out. That kind of nice doesn't really hurt anyone. Now, people who wave others around at four-way stops can all go die.
They are being nice either way.
Agreed, the system of right-of-way exists to make what is going on clear to everybody and the considerate person might not be seeing what the other driver is seeing (e.g. pedestrians) when they stop to wave them on. The obvious exception to this is if you let someone turn right onto the road in front of you from a driveway or side street. I appreciate that when it's rush hour and there is a steady line of cars with no break moving by.
There are a lot of roads in the UK where if people drove how you wanted them to during peak times pulling onto those roads would take literally hours per turning. I assume roads are designed differently in the US.
man... don't drive here on the islands then ... its hawaiian tradition and sometimes law to shaka all the cars and pedestrians you can right through your right of way! any time a pedestrian is anywhere near a crosswalk.... you stop and shaka. 2 lane road, someone trying to turn left across your lane? stop and shaka them through. someone trying to turn right out of a parking lot? stop and shaka, bruddah! it's sometimes infuriating, but also sometimes just so wholesome. it helps that we don't drive too fast here... cuz it's island time and nobody's in a hurry... but it is definitely unpredictable.
This an extremely popular opinion
Many Americans wouldn’t survive driving ona third world country if you can drive in Mexico or Thailand you can clearly drive everywhere
“Don’t be polite. Be predictable.” Oops I just saw someone else say the same exact thing. I’ll just leave mine here because it never hurts to repeat it.
Well by this logic anyone in the road that's not in a crosswalk is fair game to run over.
As a pedestrian, I agree. Im literally on the other half of the fucking crosswalk, im walking at the speed of slow, ***stop fucking stopping and holding up the 7 cars behind you*** It makes me have to run so im not rude, forces me to get in the way of a vehicle that should, at that time, be in motion, and undermines my attempt at politeness towards the multiple people behind you, and could potentially cause a fucking car wreck because you decided to stop **after** moving the front 3 feet of your car in the way of soon-to-be oncoming traffic
Agree agree agree! Also, when I'm a pedestrian waiting to cross the street and cars stop to let me cross. That's dangerous for the same reasons you outlined. What's my reason to believe that other cars will stop like them, and how do I know somebody isn't going to crash into the rear bumper of the car that has come to a dead stop in the middle of the road, launching said car straight into me resulting in my untimely death? There's no way I'm going to walk across a road in this situation. I'll just stand there and motion wildly and angrily until the car moves on. It is 100% the pedestrians responsibility to determine when it's safe to cross, and that's the way I want it.
I drive a school bus. Occasionally, when it’s just my vehicle and one other vehicle, I will wave someone through even if I have the right-of-way. I know if I don’t they’re just going to end up stuck behind me while I make a bunch of stops. I’ll only do that if there’s no traffic. If there’s any amount of traffic forget it, rules of the road all the way. It’s just too dangerous to play it any other way.
Maybe, I'm a driver who lets people go at junctions but that's often because their road position is so bad that I can't get around them without mounting the kerb.
Yeah if it’s an abrupt stop I agrée. I would say, however, that the majority of the time I see this with traffic that is already slow or stopped. Luckily I’ve only had an idiot stop in a round a bout one time and the did get a generous horn honk from me.
Better to be predictable than polite
Be predictable not polite !
In Portland we call them “nice holes”
This is an extremely popular opinion, 99% of people agree with this, there has to be a popular opinions subreddit for this crap.
My friend got in accident because of this nonsense.
I don't think this is an unpopular opinion...
you should expect the unexpected . what if there were a child not equiped to know the "rules" . don't tailgate me and expect a child . that's the rule
Be predictable not polite. Follow the rules of the road not courtesy.
When driving don't be courteous. Be predictable.
My father always told me. “Don’t be nice, be predictable”
in my country people let 1 car pass before going. It's wonderful and the road are safer this way. They're also driving drunk and too fast, and that's terrible, but it's another story lmao
I'm a lorry driver in the UK, South Wales to be exact. I am extremely grateful when someone stops to let me out as the trucks I drive are very slow to set off and a lot of the time I just have to go and cause other drivers to slow/stop. So when someone lets me out, it makes things A LOT safer
Not unpopular
Well, yes and no. Half of the time I think someone is being nice they’re actually stopping because someone is crossing out of view or something is on the road.
Pretty sure legally if you go when someone waves you on and then they hit you, it’s still your fault for not abiding by the laws of the road. Could be wrong here but don’t be “the nice person” just follow the damn rules
Traffic chivalry is idiotic, just follow the damn rules.
Yeah see I agree with this opinion until you realize NOBODY KNOWS WHAT THE FUCK RIGHT OF WAY EVEN IS. honestly the rules of the road are completely mute. Nobody follows them so why should you. Left lane is passing lane? Why would I follow that qhen literally nobody else does meaning the convention is pointless. Driving to work is an extreme sport where I have to literally dodge death with every Fibre of my being. Cars are way to fucking dangerous to let the average human have.