Atlanta-Area Drivers & The Flashing Yellow Light. Argh! (automobile, rating)

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by testa50

I'm not sure about it either way, but it's far from obvious from my reading that you're allowed to pass on right when someone in your drive lane is making a left turn, except under very limited circumstances.

Regardless of whether it's legal or not, in my opinion passing a turning vehicle on the right, particularly if you have to go off on the shoulder, is something that should only be done with extreme caution. Cars coming from your left or from the opposite direction could easily have their view of you blocked by the left-turner.

And on roads where there is only one lane each way, motorists coming in the opposite direction may assume that the left-turner is the "lead" car in the incoming traffic, and not anticipate that someone will pull out from behind and go around them. I would only do this maneuver where I've got a clear view of vehicles in all other directions and where traffic is light.

Obviously it's a somewhat different situation when the road has multiple lanes going in each direction. But I'd still proceed with caution for the reasons stated above.

And again, if that's a "Southern thing" I'll absolutely own it. Waiting a few seconds beats a hellacious auto crash any day of the week.

[testa50]

Originally Posted by arjay57

Regardless of whether it's legal or not, in my opinion passing a turning vehicle on the right, particularly if you have to go off on the shoulder, is something that should only be done with extreme caution. Cars coming from your left or from the opposite direction could easily have their view of you blocked by the left-turner.

And on roads where there is only one lane each way, motorists coming in the opposite direction may assume that the left-turner is the "lead" car in the incoming traffic, and not anticipate that someone will pull out from behind and go around them. I would only do this maneuver where I've got a clear view of vehicles in all other directions and where traffic is light.

Obviously it's a somewhat different situation when the road has multiple lanes going in each direction. But I'd still proceed with caution for the reasons stated above.

And again, if that's a "Southern thing" I'll absolutely own it. Waiting a few seconds beats a hellacious auto crash any day of the week.

Pretty much my feelings as well.

The situations where I am (1) on a two-lane road (2) that is intersecting with another two lane road and (3) at a stop light where there are no turn lanes on left or right and (4) the car right in front of me is turning left and (5) there is enough pavement to maneuver around him safely without fouling a crosswalk or driving off the roadway and (6) I have a clear view of all the cars coming the other direction and am confident none will turn left and (7) I feel the wait is going to be longer than a few seconds seem pretty few and far between.

Pulling around someone waiting to turn left into their driveway or something is another matter; there's no potential for an oncoming left-turner in this case.

I would still appreciate it if someone gave an example of a stoplight where this is an issue so I can understand better.

[floyd242]

Originally Posted by Troubleshooter

This is wrong thinking.

It is the typical stupid thinking of the driver who wants to pass all other traffic. He wants an empty lane to pass in.

But it cuts the capacity of the road in half, and increases rear end crashes.

Get rid of that 1920s mentality. All lanes are for moving traffic. Passing is very low on the priority list. When traffic is heavy, all lanes move traffic, and you should forget passing. Move at the speed of the other traffic.

And leaver earlier, so you won't be late.

It's not wrong thinking at all... sure it's not viable during rush hour, however pretty much any other time it is. If you're being passed on the right, move the f over.

[RandyWatson13]

People here (and most everywhere in the USA) are just horrible drivers. Period.

[WanderingImport]

Originally Posted by tonygeorgia

Dont get mad when I get in front of you and go slower until you change lanes

It's stuff like this that causes road rage. Swallow your pride and move over so the faster driver behind you can pass! Don't make the situation worse by looking in your rear view mirror and saying "wow, that guy is an idiot who has no patience, I think he needs to slow down so I'm gonna sit here and stay where I'm at because I'm obviously not doing anything wrong".

[darkone]

A few issues that I've been encountering as of late are the following: S-L-O-W drivers and dithering drivers, unable to stay in their lane or to drive with a decisive purpose. (I feel unsafe passing these people because it is not clear what they will do next - i.e. aimlessly wander into my lane? It seems that way). I don't understand why but these seem to be becoming very commonplace in the Atlanta area. Of course you still have the 15+ speeders out there still.

All in all, it is a bad combination and is aggravating considering the fact that the Atlanta area in general has very good roads/highways. It could use a better network, but the actual capacity and condition are excellent.

One more point of aggravation - WHY do drivers here have to wait at least 2 seconds (and sometimes 5 or more) to get going when the light turns green? And WHY do drivers here put up with this passively without honking as though they live in some small town and don't wish to be rude to one of their neighbors? What is the point of stalling when the light turns green? Don't people understand that this time delay propagates back through the chain? Is it due to people texting (which has been made illegal, but is hard to enforce)?

[alinka72]

Originally Posted by neil0311

Got to tell you that many times the transplants are the only ones with a clue. I never saw (and don't see) the same bad driving to the same extent either where I used to live or places I travel to for business outside the southeast. I have found drivers in the southeast generally to be among the very worst. Tailgating, speeding, lack of directional use, and a general cluelessness about passing people making left turns and other facets of courtesy on the road seems to be the order of the day.

Driver from US south = terrible driver. Many places outside Atlanta without a significant number of transplants shows this to be a native trait.

Agreed. I hear natives blaming transplants for bad driving a lot when most of the infractions are commited by the very people who blame transplants. Let us not talk about the ladies cruising at 60 mph, talking on the cell phone on the left lane... They get mad if you make them move and look at you as if you were the one who's wrong.

[alinka72]

Originally Posted by sirrob

Oh yea, that irks me to no end! They act like they're scared to pull into the intersection on green. They wait until yellow, then they decide they want to move ahead and turn!

And WHY... when you're behind someone in the left lane, when the light turn green, they THEN decide to turn on their blinker to turn left??? You're now hopelessly STUCK behind them until the next green light! WHOOOOOO!!!

They also do not turn their blinker to change lanes. Not a single one of them. I am surprised they turned the blinker BEFORE turning. Some go super slow, apply the brakes and then decide to turn on a driveway out of a sudden... As if they do not know where they were going...

[tonygeorgia]

and stop blaming this on Atlanta drivers...i bet if I did a poll only %5 of the people in this thread was born in Atlanta

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by darkone

One more point of aggravation - WHY do drivers here have to wait at least 2 seconds (and sometimes 5 or more) to get going when the light turns green? And WHY do drivers here put up with this passively without honking as though they live in some small town and don't wish to be rude to one of their neighbors? What is the point of stalling when the light turns green? Don't people understand that this time delay propagates back through the chain? Is it due to people texting (which has been made illegal, but is hard to enforce)?

OMG....you don't know how many times I have said EXACTLY the same thing to my wife while driving? Probably hundreds of times over the last 3.5 years, especially in left turn lanes that take 5 min between cycles. When I do honk, I got nasty and bewildered looks. Talk about clueless. So many people here have absolutely NO sense of urgency.

BTW...if you're at a red light that changes and you don't move, that honking you hear is probably me.