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We have a traffic light near me that is only activated by a trigger. One day I sat at that light over five minutes. Guy in front of me wouldn't pull up to line and never triggered the sensor. I wanted to use my horn, but kept thinking "it will change soon." Also debated getting out of the car, but figured I would just scare the heck out of the guy. Sensor was finally triggered by someone making a really bad left turn from the other roadway.
It is crazy out there. Everyone seems oblivious to other drivers on the road.
There's a light like that at Nassau Community College. People never move up and one time I sat there for 10 minutes...no kidding! Most bus drivers though will honk if the cars don't move up.
Cant stand these people, they would just sit there all day if they could...idiots!
People just are horrible drivers nowadays. I saw someone last weekend cut across 2 lanes of traffic (without signaling) from the far left to the far right so they could make a right hand turn. Additionally, those morons who see the "Lane closed 1/2 mile" signs but stay in that lane until the very last moment so they get to tie up traffic in the adjacent lane should just have their licenses revoked.
That's why you can't really raise the speed limit on the freeways here:
1) no use of indicator signals so no one can anticipate other driver's moves - its all reactive.
2) no lane discipline.
American drivers on the whole are pretty bad cf Germans, British, but pretty good cf. Italians, Indians and a host of other countries.
People just are horrible drivers nowadays. I saw someone last weekend cut across 2 lanes of traffic (without signaling) from the far left to the far right so they could make a right hand turn. Additionally, those morons who see the "Lane closed 1/2 mile" signs but stay in that lane until the very last moment so they get to tie up traffic in the adjacent lane should just have their licenses revoked.
I just read something about the merging this. Late mergers vs early mergers. It was an excerpt from the book "
Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (And What It Says About Us)"
There have been studies which actually show "late merging" helps traffic move faster. It allows maximum use of the available lanes. It requires a "zipper merge" at the end, but I have found most people have no problem with that these days (as opposed to years back when you would have to fight to make any lane change in traffic).
Funny story about that...
Some years back i flew into Norfolk, VA, rented a car and started driving towards Williamsburg, VA. It was around 10pm but there was construction on the Hampton roads bridge tunnel. Traffic was backed up for miles.
There are two lanes on the road. Apparently one lane was closed in the tunnel section. I believe there was a sign "construction ahead" - it may have said "lane closed 2 miles ahead" or something similar. Anyway, the right lane was dead stop and the left lane was wide open... not a single car in it.
I hesitated for a while, thinking I was missing something. We were probably more than two miles from the actual lane closure. Finally, I gave up and went into the left lane. I kept speed low but still breezed past the right lane folks.
Turns out, they were all just early mergers. They wasted over two miles of perfectly good lane. Merging in at the end was not easy, as all the other drivers were visibly upset at my ingenuity.
I've noticed a decline as well. People are so engaged with their cell phones its like they only look at the road 50% percent of the time. When I learned to drive years ago back in Ohio police would actually pull you over for not using a signal. In this part of the country? Forget it. There is an overall lack of enforcement.
I agree the cell phones are distracting most of the people on the road. Im as guilty as anyone. I've also noticed an increase of people not going when the light turns green. Thats because a red light is when everyone grabs their phone to kill some time. To busy to notice the light changed to green....
We were headed to Robert Moses beach on a busy day and we came upon a huge traffic jam a half-mile out from the lot. It turns out everyone was thinking only the right lane gets to go into the lot, but in reality there were 2 entry lanes. I took a chance at being "that guy" but it turns out I had my own lane in. Saved at least 5 minutes, could've saved more if I were a regular jerk.
Even though I'd agree all lanes should be used, I hate being "that guy".
You also see people on local roads bypassing a line and in the end they cut ahead of everyone who was waiting for that left turn light. Those are real jerks and I hope they get forced into a tree some time.
We were headed to Robert Moses beach on a busy day and we came upon a huge traffic jam a half-mile out from the lot. It turns out everyone was thinking only the right lane gets to go into the lot, but in reality there were 2 entry lanes. I took a chance at being "that guy" but it turns out I had my own lane in. Saved at least 5 minutes, could've saved more if I were a regular jerk.
Even though I'd agree all lanes should be used, I hate being "that guy".
You also see people on local roads bypassing a line and in the end they cut ahead of everyone who was waiting for that left turn light. Those are real jerks and I hope they get forced into a tree some time.
And people let them in. Screw that.
Wise guys like that should sit there.
I don't let douchebags like that in.
I just read something about the merging this. Late mergers vs early mergers. It was an excerpt from the book "
Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (And What It Says About Us)"
There have been studies which actually show "late merging" helps traffic move faster. It allows maximum use of the available lanes. It requires a "zipper merge" at the end, but I have found most people have no problem with that these days (as opposed to years back when you would have to fight to make any lane change in traffic).
Funny story about that...
Some years back i flew into Norfolk, VA, rented a car and started driving towards Williamsburg, VA. It was around 10pm but there was construction on the Hampton roads bridge tunnel. Traffic was backed up for miles.
There are two lanes on the road. Apparently one lane was closed in the tunnel section. I believe there was a sign "construction ahead" - it may have said "lane closed 2 miles ahead" or something similar. Anyway, the right lane was dead stop and the left lane was wide open... not a single car in it.
I hesitated for a while, thinking I was missing something. We were probably more than two miles from the actual lane closure. Finally, I gave up and went into the left lane. I kept speed low but still breezed past the right lane folks.
Turns out, they were all just early mergers. They wasted over two miles of perfectly good lane. Merging in at the end was not easy, as all the other drivers were visibly upset at my ingenuity.
Late merging is the way to go.
A very creative new way to describe what most people call "being a jerk".
A very creative new way to describe what most people call "being a jerk".
So, you are suggesting that no one should use over 2 miles of wide open lane?
Where exactly is the "cut off" for merging? I'm thinking of driving to Washington DC and I heard the right lane is closed on a stretch of the beltway. Should I drive the middle lane the entire trip? Or should I start my merge in NJ? DE? MD?
Ever head through the Midtown tunnel at rush hour? Dozens of lanes merging into two at the last moment. Do you suggest everyone start those two lanes on the west side? Do you believe that would make traffic move faster?
If you want to move over early, by all means go for it. I will side with the actual studies which show early mergers are "being a jerk" by slowing down traffic for everyone else. It makes no sense to leave a stretch roadway completely unused. If there was a reason to merge 1/2 mile, 3/4 mile or 2 miles earlier, the lane would be closed at that point.
When you see that your exit is one mile away, do you start driving on the shoulder?
places where you are guaranteed to see "late merging"
- before the third bridge on the Robert Moses Causeway on a hot summer day (where it merges into one lane)
- BQE exit on the Grand Central Parkway westbound just before the Triboro
- Throgs Neck and Whitestone Bridge exits on Cross Island heading towards Whitestone Expwy
the BQE exit scares me because people merge from the left lane onto the exit at the last possible second. This stops traffic entirely of course. And I'm sure it's the same people who do this every day...
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