Being that I am forced to travel on the interstate to and from work into Boston on a (week)daily basis for about 35mi each way; I’ve felt there is a need to vent and put down another set of “rules” of how to drive.
yes, there is the “legal rules of the road” and i don’t have a major gripe with them. But there should be an additional set of “Social Rules of the Road”
Here are some (in no particular order):
#1.) In a 3 lane highway, the far left lane isn’t the slow lane.
#2.) Upon entering the highway, a time period of 30 seconds or a distance of 1 mile must be observed before entering the “fast” lane. (There is no need to rush into the ‘fast’ lane when you are barely doing the speed limit)
#3.) Riding someones bumper when there is a lane open on either side of you should be banned. Your putting yourself and others in danger for no good reason; and making yourself out to be a dick.
#4.) If you are unsure of whether or not your car will fit in between the two cars next to you; your right, don’t do it.
#5.) Putting your blinker on when ‘cutting’ in on someone will only make the patron behind you speed up; be ware.
#6.) You should be able to anticipate “Solar Glare” well enough ahead of time. There is no need for hundreds of cars to slow to a crawl because you didn’t know the sun was out today.
#7.) Riding someones bumper in traffic isn’t going to get you further faster; it’s simple physics. Two objects can’t occupy the same space at the same time. (Feel free to make sexual jokes at this one; I did.)
#8.) If you are going to “make a maneuver” take a brief look (and see that there is a Semi-Truck 10 feet in front of you).
I was talking (read: arguing) with my mom the other day about the “real” way to drive and the way to pass your road test. No one drives like that, it’s absurd that’s what you have to pass. I have seen so many people who cant drive for shit and I just wonder why they’re on the road. Most of them arent even old people!
I do, however, disagree with number 2. Everytime I get on a highway, it’s merge, check for cops in immediate area, then fast lane. Although, I do make sure I reach the merging point with at least 4000 RPM’s in second gear.
As for number three, there is nothing that pisses me off more than people who do this.
Don’t pass on the right. It makes you look like an asshole when you are weaving in and out of traffic.
Corollary: Don’t travel 5 under in the passing lane, talking on a cell phone. If you are completely oblivious to other vehicles on the road, you are a danger. Not to mention you force others to pass you on the right, making them look like assholes.
If you are in the far right lane, and vehicles are trying to merge onto the highway, and the lane to your immediate left is clear, you should move over and let merging traffic merge on to the highway.
I hate driving. I am one of those “defensive” drivers, I never speed, always signal well in advance, and know which lane to stay in while I am driving on the highway.
For some reason this makes a lot of people angry with me. I like these “things that piss me off about other drivers” lists, because in my experience on the road, NO ONE wants ANYONE to drive like that.
It’s like, “Hey, I hate it when people are driving too slow in the left lane” but at the same time, they get all pissed off when someone is driving the speed limit in the right lane!
Which is it that you want? I am staying in the right lane, driving the speed limit, and you are all upset! JUST FUCKING PASS ME ASSHOLE!!!
Why the fuck are you driving on my ass? JUST FUCKING PASS ME ASSHOLE!
God damn it I fucking hate people. Driving is one of the things that really stresses me out. People drive like fucking idiots. It’s like when you get in a car, you lose 100 IQ points…
Why the fuck are these people allowed to drive?
FUCKING SHIT! JUST FUCKING PASS ME ASSHOLE!
I swear to god. One of these days I am just going to slam on the brakes and LET that asshole slam into me, just to ruin his day. I really don’t care if I get injured, or if my car gets totaled… Just so I can fuck his day up and teach that asshole a lesson about driving on my ass.
[quote]tmoney1 wrote:
10) If you are in the far right lane, and vehicles are trying to merge onto the highway, and the lane to your immediate left is clear, you should move over and let merging traffic merge on to the highway.[/quote]
That’s a good one too. I spend most of my time on the highway in the right lane, I always check to see if there are cars that are about to merge and give them plenty of room to do it.
Of course this makes everyone else all mad at me for changing lanes, because everyone else is SO FUCKING IMPORTANT and can’t be bothered to allow someone else to use THEIR fucking highway…
People really make me mad. I just hate people. If everyone followed the rules of the road, everyone would be much happier.
[quote]tom8658 wrote:
People in the passing lane going 5 under, talking on a cell phone really grind my gears.
I hate passing on the left, and when someone is completely oblivious to other vehicles on the road, this is occasionally the only option.[/quote]
Don’t you mean you hate passing on the right?
Some asshole did this to me a few weeks ago, the fucktard actually used the SHOULDER to pass me! Then he just swerved two lanes over to get into the leftmost lane, just driving like a complete and total assfuck.
Asshole. I was actually wishing out loud for him to slam into the wall, or lose control and roll his car over and die.
I just hate people. When they are driving, it’s like they lose all mental ability. It just really pisses me off that idiots are allowed onto the highway.
driving can be a very unpleasant experience.
I find that it helps to leave with time to spare, turn up the music, and stop giving a fuck about people riding your bumper when you’re already doing 15 over in the slow lane and the left lane is wide open.
people are idiots for the most part, I decided to stop letting 'em get to me.
totally agree with you skaz05, its just as bad in england.
though i must admit, 2 people just sitting in the middle and fast lanes both going at the speed limit or less(see this almost daily), makes me undertake them up the left (or the right for you yanks) just to display my disgut at their disrespect of the highway code. if i had a loud hailer or a tank, id tell the to move over, but i dont. and tailgaiting is one of the most dangrous things a driver can do on the road, so i dont do this to make them move
In Houston and pretty much every other city I have been in, the rules are
1)expect crawling traffic. Forget about fast and slow lanes.
2)cut people off if you expect to get anywhere. Rude, maybe but if you drive politely the entire city will cut you off instead and you will not move an inch in five hours.
3)keep your middle finger ready. Don’t be scared to swerve threateningly (with out actually leaving your lane) should you encounter a jack ass who keeps his speed just fast enough to prevent you from switching lanes when you need to and who speeds up with you as you try to get around him. Flick him off when you finally find a hole to change lanes. Throw your coffee cup out the window at his car if he honks. Extremely therapeutic in this by now super aggravating state.
4)learn who the real og’s are and how to differentiate them from the fakes with cheap rims. Don’t flick off the real og’s. Or bikers. Real bikers on Harleys with funky beards, leathery skin and biker gang jackets. Not yuppies on crotch rockets or middle aged yuppies in a suit on a harley. You can flick them off when necessary. Don’t swerve or throw your coffee at bikers, yuppees or not. It could easily result in death which, as bad as death is alone, causes even more major traffic jams.
5)Know your route well. If you haven’t driven it, study a map to plan for exits, the most optimal lane to occupy and when and approximately what distance you will travel.
6)Take the time a given distance should require and multiply it by four. Yes, give 15 minutes an hour. You will invariably encounter a wreck or some other reason for a jam. Even with 4x the time you need, you will still probably be late on a regular basis, but everyone understands.
Bring a book. If you happen to inexplicably find the roads clear, you will need to kill some time. This is rare though, so make the book a title you are not all that interested in finishing. Joke books, trivia and bathroom books in general are perfect.
Learn to deal with it. You will have the blood pressure of a 60 yr old fat ass by the time you hit 30 otherwise.
In rotaries (roundabouts, circles, etc), especially in New England, the car with the lowest value always has the right-of-way, regardless of local laws
Exception: Big assed 18 wheelers and loaded logging trucks have the force of physics ensuring the right-of-way.
[quote]hedo wrote:
For some reason people with NY Lisc. plates will only drive 50 in the left lane when they come to Pennsylvania. I don’t know why that is?
[/quote]
LOL, I dont know why that is, either.
That said, I think CT drivers are FAR worse than any other group of drivers I’ve ever encountered. I shit you not, I saw a guy reading a book while driving 50mph on a highway where people regularly do 70+.
And Skaz, where do you live? I’m never going there. Those drivers sound awful.
[quote]SteelyD wrote:
In rotaries (roundabouts, circles, etc), especially in New England, the car with the lowest value always has the right-of-way, regardless of local laws
.[/quote]
SF,cali area same rules. if my car is less expensive than yours, i assume youll stop
That said, I think CT drivers are FAR worse than any other group of drivers I’ve ever encountered.
[/quote]
x2
If someone is riding your ass, even though you are going 80mph in the fast lane on I-95, here’s what you do:
This obviously works only in the daytime. Put your lights on. Not the running lights, which only switch the headlights, but the ones that switch on both head and tail lights. The bastard will think you slammed on the brake when the red lights come on, and guarantee, you’ll hear his tires screeching behind you as you leave him in the dust.
HAHAHA!
That said, I think CT drivers are FAR worse than any other group of drivers I’ve ever encountered.
x2
If someone is riding your ass, even though you are going 80mph in the fast lane on I-95, here’s what you do:
This obviously works only in the daytime. Put your lights on. Not the running lights, which only switch the headlights, but the ones that switch on both head and tail lights. The bastard will think you slammed on the brake when the red lights come on, and guarantee, you’ll hear his tires screeching behind you as you leave him in the dust.
HAHAHA!
Hey, whaddya want?? I’m from CT, bitches.
[/quote]
It sounds like you could cause an accident that way, if there’s someone behind the “victim”. I’m not sure if I really care, though, the asshole shouldn’t be tailgating on the interstate anyway.
