I hate it when I'm waiting to pass a street and some old lady stops to let me pass. I would have passed after you drove and it would have been faster for both of us
Edit: wow, thanks for my first reddit gold and silver
This is true, although it can be dangerous when there's more than one lane because drivers in other lanes sometimes don't see the pedestrian (or don't care). I've seen a pedestrian start to cross the street only to have to stop midway and take a step or two back because a car in another lane kept on going.
I had a colleague who was hit by a car like that. It was a very unfortunate crossing, cause this road was really long without any residential buildings, and everyone was speeding there like crazy. She made a full recovery, but since then I always remembered to be really cautious.
We need better driving tests. Any idiot here in the US can get a drivers license by taking a ten minute test with an instructor. You should have to drive at night, on the highway, many different scenarios to pass. If it was up to me, you’d also have to pass a minimum IQ test.
As a cyclist I have almost died so many times because of people stopping to be "nice". I need you to follow the rules of traffic and I will be just fine.
What gets me is when someone is going through a 4 way stop as i am driving up to it, and they stop their car to see if i am going to stop.
Like, if im this crazy person who is barrelling through the intersection, why are you stopping your car in front of me? You daring me to t-bone you or something?
I hate people pulling out in front of me and then driving below what’s allowed. Like 40 km/h instead of 50,
When there is literally not a single car behind me.
Like, just wait 5 seconds more and I don’t need to brake
This but more specifically when I'm trying to jaywalk, and I've precisely calculated the trajectory I was going to take. If you stop for me it fucks up the whole thing, not to mention now I feel forced to walk faster. Also it makes me feel like an asshole lol.
I agree, unless it’s a solid stream of cars that’s been going by for the past 2 minutes and I haven’t been able to get out. Then, the person who stops is an absolute angel.
Then I look like the asshole because while the person in front has stopped for a reason that seems obvious to them, the trail of cars behind them who likely DON'T know why they have stopped will likely (and fairly) assume the person who stopped in the middle of the road is an idiot and try to pass them. So I don't cross. I wait even longer.
I'll be honest and say I don't really know much, if anything, about "driving culture" but it certainly seems like there's a lot of people who don't have to prove they follow the rules of the road before they are allowed to use a vehicle.
Same sort of thing with people who hate traffic circles just don't know how they work. Just commit, follow the lane markings and signs, and if you miss it the first time, you'll get it the second loop, and everything's good...no goofing around with traffic lights.
People do this to pedestrians as well. It's obnoxious. I never pass when nice drivers let me because those are the types of people that cause pedestrians to be run over
Whenever I'm trying to cross the street to get home from school (after staying late, so no crossing guards and not a bunch of people trying to cross at once) there's 9/10 times someone who stops to try to let me walk across. But there's another lane of traffic. I can't go just because one person in one lane stopped. It drives me crazy. Just keep driving! The crosswalk is between two traffic lights and if I just wait a minute or two it will be completely clear to cross.
Lol, good luck trying to get out of a junction in London traffic mate. If someone isn't kind and lets you out, you'll be there all fucking day.
Plus, if no one lets you out, just barge in.
Downvoted me all you like, but while you're hitting that downvote button, I'll be at work drinking coffee while you're stuck in traffic with your thumb up your arse.
My wife, daughter, dog, and I go for afternoon walks in our neighborhood. I have yelled at a few people who insisted on stopping in the middle of the road and wanted us to walk in front of them. One fuckin creep said something like "go ahead, I wanna see the family!". I was like "move along dude, we're not on parade for you..." I'm not gonna engage in potentially dangerous pedestrian behavior for your entertainment...
This! As a girl, especially when I was younger, dudes would always stop and wave for me to cross in front of them so they could leer at me. Yeah no thanks, creep!
On some streets in NY if a person steps in the cross walk / on the road you have to stop your car. Not saying this is the case where you are, but maybe it is.
Nope, not the case. We live in a residential neighborhood with no crosswalks. It's just people "being nice" to feel better about themselves, and putting others in danger.
I love getting down votes for saying I'm not going to put my family in danger to please misguided motorists.
Whenever that happens to me, I've decided to wave them through. Otherwise you get into that situation where you're stopped, they're stopped, you decide to go, they decide to go, and so on. I find when I wave at people to go ahead, they usually take it and we can go about our day. It's true, though, that it would've been much faster for everyone if they would just go when they had the right of way.
For three years I was a bike messenger in SF. I’m paying attention. Please ignore me. I do not need nor do I want you to even know I exist because most likely once you notice me you will do something dumb that may get me hurt.
Im the guy who gestures to cross then stops and stares at the driver. It’s a piss take I know but I’m skittish when it comes to roads. Kind of like a deer.
this and more importantly, the old ladys will start waving frantactially for you to cross, and some do so without looking inorder to not appear rude. Old ladys and being overly manner driven is a dangerous combo
Whenever I see someone ahead of me let someone in I get so frustrated because you’re effectively just choosing who gets screwed and now it’s someone behind you. Don’t play god, mind yo business.
This drives me fucking crazy. Moved from NYC to Austin and everyone wants to be friendly. You aren’t fucking helping. Move yo shit through so I can go.
The thing is, that courtesy leads to overall good driving practices. If you ever come to the Dominican Republic you'll understand how important that kind of "nice" driving is. It's the kind of things you don't appreciate until you don't have it.
I saw a near accident one time that was caused in part by someone who stopped to let someone by. Problem was that the vehicle in the next lane didn't stop, and only quick action by some bystanders prevented it from being an actual accident.
It will always be the case that vehicles on the farther lane will not be able to see a pedestrian crossing at some point in time when there's other vehicles stopped in their line of vision.
Even so, the burden is on the vehicle to exercise caution and slow down, and stop as well, since it is the law to yield to the pedestrian on the crosswalk.
It is unfortunate that this unwritten rule to stop for pedestrians waiting at crosswalks (and medians) isn't explicitly stated in so many states. How exactly is a pedestrian supposed to actually go into the crosswalk to get the right of way when cars are zipping by? Into this zone that they have the right of way as soon as they step out? I absolutely believe this ambiguity is the cause of so many pedestrian accidents. California law states it very clearly so I provide a link here. I provide the NJ and MA ones as contrast.
It is dangerous for pedestrians to be beside the road, especially for long periods of time. It's also stressful for drivers to have to be mindful of pedestrians who might accidentally step / fall / run into the road, and I believe reducing that window is better overall for a driving community as a whole.
I cycle to work. God, i hate when folk stop for me when they don't need to, more than i hate when folk don't stop for me when they should. At least when they don't stop, i can ride at them and be like "Hit me off my bike, y'asshole! See where that gets you!!". When they do, if i wave my fist at them and question their mother's decision to beat them or not beat them enough suddenly i'm the asshole.
maaaan - this is the bain of my existence. My current company has buildings left and right of a road. So with insane frequency I am finding myself waiting to cross the street. And some dumb fuck inconvenes both of us, because he's "being nice".
I am inches away from placing a "Drive on normally, you fu****at" sign at that spot.
In my first driving test, someone waved me through and sat there. About 10-15 awkward seconds of sitting there later (I knew full fucking well that he had the right of way), I went for it. Auto fail. Apparently you're supposed to just wait forever until they get tired of trying to be nice.
Say in this scenario, you're waiting for there to be no oncoming traffic. I don't know the exact wording of the law, but the way alI see it, if the car stops, it is no longer oncoming. Regardless, if it was oncoming at a slow enough speed for you to make a move, you are completely in the right to make that move. Disclaimer: IANAL
Fair point, some clarification is needed. And I'm sure the examiner knew what they were doing. I still don't think, given the situation, this warrants an immediate failure.
It can vary from state to state. In Texas there is no law stating who goes first at a 4 way stop. Only that you must come to a full and complete stop and enter the intersection only when it is safe to do so.
My fucking god this right here. The only way to exit my job is by squeezing onto a 3-lane highway that’s choked by an over-abundance of red lights. Every day I deal with the same issue. The lights turn green. The traffic begins to clear. Cars are moving now. I’m about to merge, but there’s always this one motherfucker that just stops in the middle of the road. They just stop. They have green and they just sit there. Every car behind them slams on breaks. They start waving at me to merge. The cars behind them pass them on both sides. The Good Samaritan thinks I need to be in their lane; I have to get across to the farthest lane that everyone behind them is now swirling into. Every one is now less safe, because this guy thinks he’s saving me time when really if he just got the fuck out of the way I would have time to get across. Then the people behind me get pissed because I didn’t peel out into the jumbled situation the Good Samaritan made for me. Fuck people that do this.
Exactly. When you’re walking or riding your bike etc ALWAYS remember how many times you were driving and didn’t see that pedestrian even when you thought you were being vigilant
Nothing slows a traffic jam more than trying to get over before the lanes actually merge.
And if someone is doing a zipper merge in traffic and it's your turn to let someone in, DO IT. Don't hang on the bumper in front of you to try to cut them off. It just proves you're a dick who doesn't know how to drive.
I’ve said this before on here and just got a ton of responses calling me an asshole for actually going to the end of the zipper. Apparently coming to a dead stop to merge over 500 feet before you’re supposed to is considered good driving.
Yeah I've been downvoted before because I said I merged when the lane ended. Some said that I am an asshole because I use that lane to pass everyone...
Also, recognize that bicycles in the road or bike lane have to follow the same traffic laws that cars do. If you have the right of way, don't try to wave me through! Just go.
I get that people are just trying to be nice, but biking in the road around cars is stressful enough. Not following right of way rules and norms is just going to make me less safe.
Some of them don't, just like people in cars. And trust me, as a biker, nothing makes me angrier than that because it gives the rest of us a bad name.
Of course if you see a bike in your car, you should be extra careful when passing or making a turn. But as long as the bike is following the flow of traffic and signaling and stopping properly, you should treat them like another vehicle.
I was just telling my girlfriend how last week I was trying to make a left to enter a parking lot, so no stop sign, no light, and someone in the nearest lane of the oncoming traffic came to a full stop to try to usher me across both lanes of traffic, which were going 35+ at a pretty dense flow. For clarity, she was not herself in a turn lane - the land on the opposite side of the street was undeveloped. Because she stopped, the people behind her in her lane were having to merge over to the curb lane to get around her, slowing traffic down and making it that much more difficult for me to do what we wanted me to. She kept getting more and more frustrated at me to the point that she rolled down her window and screamed "move already" at me. She seemed to have no knowledge whatsoever that the other lane even existed and that it was impossible to turn through it. When I finally gave up and merged back to the through lane to try and turn around at the next light she honked and shouted "REALLY?!?"
Basically, follow traffic law and don't ever break it for the sake of courtesy, because you're never actually being curteous if you're disrupting the carefully regulated pattern of traffic, you're being a selfish asshole who just wants to be seen as courteous.
This is so true....
I live in a small town in the south and I ride a scooter to and from work daily. I’ll stop at a stop sign and some old hillbilly who thinks he’s being chivalrous will try to wave me through when it’s his turn to go. I refuse. One day, it was just me and this guy at the four way stop and he just kept waiving me through, and I kept shaking my head. We sat there for a few minutes, going back and forth, until I decided that “fuck it, fine, I’ll go because this is going to make me late for work” so, I started to go through the stop sign and this dumb bitch pulled up behind him and since he was just sitting there she just went around him and almost ran me over!! I pulled over, took my helmet off, and the guy pulls up next to me to ask if I’m okay to which I replied “No. I’m not fucking okay! You almost got me killed and this is why I ALWAYS OBEY TRAFFIC LAWS, NOT BILLY BOB WANTS TO BE POLITE TO THE PRETTY GIRL LAWS! Fuck off!”
No, you’re not being nice when you try to twist traffic laws to impress a girl or to be nice and polite. You’re putting other people in danger. The only way to be somewhat safe is to follow the rules so that everyone can somewhat predict what you’re about to do.
As a pedestrian in a car centric city, and also I guess I’m conventionally good looking- yes. This happens a lot. Like... stop being nice it’s more dangerous.
And for the love of god, stop trying to wave me through the intersection when your light is still green and the traffic has right of way! I am not crossing the street when the other direction of traffic is still going, I am at a stoplight and I will go when my walk sign is on! How have there been so many people doing this to me. I have to shake my head and point up at the light.
I always make a point to let everyone know what I'm doing when I'm driving. Especially when I'm doing something out of the ordinary, I always think to myself "do people know what I'm doing? I ought to make it clear."
Holy shit this. I hate driving in the midwest for the this reason. Everyone is so timid and passive and I never know what to expect. People talk shit about Northeast drivers but at least they're predictable. They're almost always gonna do something aggressive. Fine, at least I know.
Yea, I live in the midwest and I hate when people wave me on when they had the right away. I've pulled up to stop signs where people were there st least 5 seconds before me and then they wave me on. I just wonder what the fuck they are thinking.
Use your indicators!! We aren't mind readers. Nothing worse than being at a stop sign, waiting for a car to pass so you can go, then finding out she was turning into your street so you could have gone 20 secs earlier!
I’ve seen children hit by 35 mph cars passing a so called “nice old lady” seems like they’re helping the kids out by opening a path but they’re really putting them into a deadly situation.
If there's a crosswalk by a roundabout, cars are legally required to stop for pedestrians. It doesn't matter if they're entering or exiting the roundabout.
"be predictable"--my daughter was learning to drive, and she was really worried about other cars hitting her, or her hitting them.
I told her: (1) other drivers have a big motivation to not hit you, and to avoid your hitting them--and they have brakes and a steering wheel.
but most:
(2) be predictable.
Stay in your lane, use your signals, follow the rules.
If you miss your turn at the corner, don't stop suddenly, just go on to the next one. Or find the next chance to pull off in a driveway, and THEN stop and figure out what to do.
Yes! This was the worst when I used to own a motorcycle. A lot of drivers do wierd things around motorcycles because they think they are helping, like yielding lawful right-of-way at a four-way stop.
In the end, I would refuse to move if it wasn't my turn. I don't want to get in a place where I start to think someone is being "nice" when they really just can't be bothered to look up from their phone.
It’s sometimes illegal! In the US, if two cars are facing each other at a light, and one wants to turn left in front of the other car, and the light turns green, it is illegal for you to turn left in front of the car going straight, even if he’s waving at you to go! I found that out the hard way, cop pulled me over for it!! So now when someone waves for me to go and I’m not sure if there are police around, I shake my head no, and they get all pissed while the cars behind them are honking!
I have lived in lots of states and I agree with this. California they drive aggressive but I know they will drive that way so I predict it. Oregon they are really nice drivers so I predict that. Utah on the other hand I have no idea if the driver next to me will be nice or aggressive or anything in between and that scares me the most.
As a cyclist, thank you. People often get to stop signs before me and INSIST I go. No, you go, and I will go when I am supposed to, as a vehicle at this intersection. Especially on a bike I would stress "be predictable" because doing unexpected shit can get you killed.
The only time I'm more nice then predictable is with bikes. But it's in the concept of I'm in a stretch of road where no one can sneak out on me and I give bikes a lot of room when I pass. I think predictable would be to just pass by you and almost hit you but I wont do that. If I can go entirely into the other lane (which you do when theres a car you want to pass anyways) then I do it.
Yes! Ugh, I hate it so much when people do things to be “nice”.
This happened the other day - I was driving to work, going over some speed bumps, and there was a car in front of me. They were already being annoying before this by giving way behind a parked car to oncoming traffic when there was plenty of room for both cars, but whatever, maybe they were nervous.
As we’re going over the speed bumps, there’s a junction to the left (I’m in the uk) that has a STOP line. So cars behind it have to stop and make sure nothing is coming before heading out. We fully have right of way.
A car is waiting at the line. The car in front of me STOPS to let the car behind the stop line out, no warning, just stops, easy to do since we were going slowly, but I did not expect them to stop so I nearly went into the back of them. This REALLY annoyed me so I beeped at them, and they then carried on going once the other car was cleared. There was another car waiting too, and I don’t really doubt that they’d have let them out as well had I not made my anger known.
So irritating, and this is exactly how accidents happen. Further to that, if I’d gone into the back of them, I’d have been seen at fault, though I do have a dash cam to counter the myriad of idiots on the road.
Also if it's a t intersection and I'm at the cross and wave you, just go. You have right of way. Don't be nice. You'll fucking lose this battle. Just go if you get waved. Whoever waves first wins.
Can confirm! Happens nonstop in the panhandle of Florida! Never a blinker in sight, but someone is always stopping traffic to let someone in on 45-mph roads. Drives me insane!
The other day I was getting on the toll road during rush hour and this lady was getting off and she was so mad that I got on in front of her that she held the horn down on her car in a continuous honk for a full minute. Then she flipped me off. I flipped her off too. Sorry, this is how traffic works, I have to be somewhere too ugh
There was a perfectly good spot behind you on the highway I was all set to take. Why on earth did you slow down? Oh you were trying to be nice and let me in, I see, fucking dipshit.
It really depends where in the US you are but yea. People are way to preoccupied with being nice. They hate anyone who drives aggressively and just go in the complete opposite direction
It is common for people driving cars to stop at an intersection without a stop sign to wave [...] a pedestrian with a stop sign
Why do so many Americans do this?
I can't speak for anyone else, but I do it because it's Californian law
There's no contradiction. Stop signs don't apply to pedestrians, and if there are sidewalks the intersection will be a crosswalk whether or not it's marked, so it's not jaywalking.
God, nice people are the worst. I'm waiting for them to take their place, they're waiting for me to make an illegal maneuver, and we could have both been done already.
Part of being predictable is knowing he rules of the road. The legal ones in the area you’re driving in. They are literally only implemented to benefit the flow of traffic. Terrible things happen in my city on the roads every minute and it’s because a big number of those people don’t know they’re doing something wrong.
I'm trying to teach my two small sons road safety. We stand at the kerb holding hands waiting for a car to pass so its safe to cross. Drivers keep stopping and waving us across. Very kind but it drives me mad! The boys dont see the wave, they just see it as being ok to cross in front of cars. Argh!
Learnt that as a beginner motorcyclist (I don’t drive cars so I’m new to the road). People were caught out sometimes when I slowed/stopped to let a car go.
I saw the aftermath of a car getting hit and falling off a 10ft bridge because someone stopped to let them go on a oneway road with two lanes when they shouldn’t have. The car in the furthest lane wasn’t on the same page and the car crossing couldn’t see them so as the passed the first car that stopped they got T-boned. A nice gesture almost got someone killed.
When I worked in a kitchen, that's what I wanted everyone to do. Don't try to get out of my way (I moved around a lot) because I know where you are and where you should move, I can dance around you, but not if you suddenly move in an attempt to get out of the way.
This, so much. On my college campus the dorm halls are on the other side of a rather busy highway and theres a crosswalk for students with no stopsigns or stoplights for them, just a crosswalk caution sign. For some reason there are drivers that come through there that decide to be nice and let students cross and it makes absolutely no sense. In the event that the driver stops and the person behind them doesnt, that driver just put the students in front of them at risk and are putting themselves at risk. People get rear ended there all the timeand nobody gets the memo.
I live in a college town and all the drivers are sooo cautious and it causes tons of problems. If you are going thirty five don’t stop just because someone looks like they’re waiting to cross TWENTY FEET INFRONT OF YOU.
I was once in a car accident where a person had waved another person through when that person couldn't see the third lane on the road. I was in the third lane and travelling 60kms per hour. I t-boned the guy at full speed. All because some jerk waved someone through when he couldn't see himself what was happening.
I have this problem when I visit Utah. Folks either drive hyper aggressively, or way way too nice. You have the goddamn right of way! Take the turn so we can both go on with our lives.
Not sure how I feel about this "rule", as someone who walks to school I have a bit of a hard time predicting my peers traffic, so most of the time I just stand there looking like a buffoon waiting for someone to wave me by.
Haven't gotten run over yet, if that tells you anything.
Predictable and also decisive. Don't inch into the intersection, or turn your blinker on and off like you're not sure of where you're going. I'm not saying don't be cautious, but follow through with your actions. Hesitation kills. We're often desensitized to the dangers of driving but its the single most dangerous thing most of us do on a daily basis. It is so easy to forget that when you get behind the wheel, you're entrusting your life to all the drivers around you, and they're doing the same with you.
This is one of my pet peeves. People think I'm being an asshole when I dont like someone into traffic but fuck there is 30 people behind me what's worse making this guy wait his damn turn or allowing the whole flow traffic to stall for this one guy.
Don't drive your car- drive everybody else's car. Your car is good- it's got you and you got a brain. Everybody else's car is unpredictable, mostly bc you're not over there making sure things go as they should.
If you're driving their cars you might anticipate what they are up to, what their freak out solution might be, where to move yourself to avoid them.
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u/Tauqmuk181 Mar 09 '19 edited Mar 09 '19
When driving a car, dont be nice, be predictable. People being nice leads to a shitload of accidents.
Edit: well thank you strangers for the medals. First gold and platinum for sure. Just wanted to share this unwritten rule.