Posted on 03/19/2007 1:45:07 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
Bwhahahahahhaha
I don't get it. Are these people driving on the shoulder to cut in at the front? Isn't that illegal already?
Agreed! When I used to live in Dallas, this was the causes of numerous delays.
Love it! My license plate reads "Wrshp JC" and that on the back has helped me a lot when I want to say bad words to someone who has no courtesy on the road. How funny!
I agree. Unless you are going to pull over to help, the kindest thing you can do is get out of the way and move along.
"I've seen multiple semi's do this and it gives me pure joy to watch it."
I was about 1/2 mile from my exit in stopped interstate traffic with a truck in front of me playing the lane blocking game. He'd move back and forth as people tried to get past him. I watched his eyes in his mirror and when he turned from watching for a second I blew around him in the emergency lane. He was flipping me off with both hands as I passed him.
The Minnesota State Patrol and Department of Transportation say the same thing - use both lanes until the last moment - traffic flows faster. In the land of Minnesota nice they have to encourage it. Here's what it comes down to - lots of passive aggressive people that want to play traffic cop by blocking lanes etc.
What you did doesn't bother me, you just needed to get off at an exit, I can't stand the people that refuse to properly merge and cut in at the front.
If they are driving on the shoulder, ticket them.
Otherwise, the road is there to be used, and you should merge as smoothly as possible as close to the merge point as possible.
If they wanted you to merge a mile earlier, they would have forced you to do so. The merge lane exists so you can get up to speed and merge.
What I hate is people who block a perfectly good lane a half-mile from it's end so they can squeeze into the next lane. It makes it terrible to be in the "merging into" lane, and throws off everything.
If nobody move over until they were within a quarter mile of the final merge point, there would be few people "speeding forward and cutting in" because the lane would be full of stopped cars like the other lanes, and people in the next lane would be happy to let people in because they wouldn't have already been forced to let a dozen people in.
It's bad enough they don't teach good merge manners in driver's school, but are they going to legislate bad manners now?
Move your car over just enough so that it will block the strip on the side of the road.
This certainly can't be about 2 lanes of traffic that merge at a specified point. Nobody would be so down-to-the-bone stupid as to suggest that both lanes shouldn't be used until the merge is required.
Meanwhile, it is the big 'ol pickup truck with some good 'ol boy with an American Flag or military bumper sticker of some sort that waves you in, with a pleasant smile on his face.
Well, I seem to have a reading comprehension problem. I see now that the problem he is addressing is cars that drive past a line of stopped cars waiting to exit, and then cut in the front.
However, it is possible that some people were driving on the left, and if the backup is too long they simply didn't realise it was a backup to exit until they were too late to get over into the "back of the line".
And while it is annoying to have people do this, it's bothersome that the elected official feels safe in admitting he almost "lost" it. We are turning into a very angry, bitter people, willing to commit violence for such a small slight as being delayed a few seconds by a rude driver.
. . .life is just not always fair or perfect; and certainly dealing with accidents or roadwork can challenge ones patience; which is where this should issue should stay. Probably escalate 'road rage' as they debate this for the next year as it must solidify one's sense of entitlement to 'smooth AND 'fair' sailing'. .
The truth is, in the end; it probably does not change the timing of 'where you are' anyway; or rather; the timing of how long it takes you to negotiate the dreaded pass. . .and it may even make it shorter (?) . . .
(Meantime, where do you draw the line. . .how about a ticket for those drivers who will not let you IN the line; despite your blinker going; those who will make it almost impossible for you to pass them; as they stay under five miles of limit in 'pass lane'. . .etc. and frustrations ad nauseum. . .)
Some Lib is trying to make traveling more perfect experience; by solving a pet peeve by imagining if he can get the the 'nannystate' on his side; his delemma will be made 'better'. . .; but think even going there is an invitation to potentially worse scenarios. . .
Can we leave it to our own imagination; that these folks meet their own Justice; if in fact they really deserve it (sometimes just a mistake no doubt; or other rude drivers not letting them in to begin with. . .) we can then suck it up some patience; and move on. . .so to speak. .
More stupid revenue enhancement for the state.
Exactly. Good post.
I'm thinking if you blocked it with your scooter, you would pretty much be completely on the shoulder and then maybe people wouldn't let you back int.
BTW, for all of you blocking the shoulders -- a lot of police will give you a ticket for doing this. If someone is driving on the shoulder, they are already a lawbreaker, and unlikely to take kindly to your blocking them.
Police don't want citizens to take the law into their own hands, and see too many accidents and worse caused by shoulder-blockers. If the other driver isn't allowed to drive on the shoulder, neither are you, and they will consider you to be doing so if you are over enough to block the shoulder.
Anyway, it just takes one time when you later read that somebody with a medical emergency couldn't get to the hospital because they were stuck in traffic and somebody was blocking the shoulder and wouldn't let them by to understand that sometimes people's time IS more valuable than yours, and if they are willing to risk a traffic ticket there might be a good reason.
I noted someone else said they drove a half mile on the shoulder to reach an exit. I think most of us wouldn't mind people getting on the shoulder in a traffic jam to work their way to an exit, we only get upset if they pull back in off the shoulder. But how do you tell?
"Nobody would be so down-to-the-bone stupid as to suggest that both lanes shouldn't be used until the merge is required."
And yet I frequently encounter truck drivers blocking off the closing lane as far as a mile from the bottleneck. Why do they do this? They're not trying to merge, they're trying to force others to merge sooner than need be.
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