Are the drivers in LA getting worse and more inconsiderate? (Santa Monica: landscaping, luxury)

[munchitup]

Originally Posted by Nerf Herder

what I love are those people who walk and text or talk on their phone at the same time, completely oblivious to the outside world, I call them "walkers", like the zombies from "The Walking Dead", when I see one on the street, I go "We got a walker!"

Good story.

[rb29335i]

Originally Posted by Nerf Herder

what I love are those people who walk and text or talk on their phone at the same time, completely oblivious to the outside world, I call them "walkers", like the zombies from "The Walking Dead", when I see one on the street, I go "We got a walker!"

haha, i coined the same term when I first moved here from a city where almost nobody walks. As if the almost impossible task of making a left hand turn at an intersection without a protected light wasn't hard enough.

[radiolibre99]

Originally Posted by Mr. Opinionated

"Bad drivers" vs. whom? You mean yourself, one who appears to impatiently have little regard for the safety of others, a well understood hallmark of a competent driver? And you are also free to drive yourself back to where you rate drivers better. But first, be courteous enought to at least consider this: V C Section 21950 Right of Way at Crosswalks

How ridiculous. If a person is at a safe distance and inching their way down the crosswalk most sensible people will make the turn. Who is going to sit there and wait for a dude wearing his earbuds, head to the sky, crawling down the crosswalk? But that isn't even the main gist of my point. I am also talking about jaywalkers, people crossing the street at the worst possible times.

Bad drivers are those who don't signal when switching lanes, those who pull out of parking space when there is outcoming traffic. My pet peeve are those people who are parallel parked on the side of the street but open their car doors to get out at the worst possible time when hundreds of cars are speeding by.

These two types; bad drivers and slow, unattentive pedestrians makes for a bad recipe. That's all I was saying. No need for the "take yer opinions and git out" attitude.

[Chicano3000X]

Glendale is lightyears ahead, or behind. Depending how you look at it.

[Lafferty Daniel]

BMW drivers have gotten worse because BMW cars do not come with blinkers anymore.

[TheGreatUnwashed]

@OP, I too suffer from pedestrians violating the flashing red hand law. What people don't realize (and it's pervasive where I work in Santa Monica), is that they think they cross via the crosswalk any time the main traffic light is still green. The way the law is written, the crosswalk traffic signal turns green and then will eventually start flashing red. At this point, NO NEW pedestrians can enter the crosswalk, and those still in it need to clear out. Instead, people enter way too late and barely exit before the driver's light turns red.

So if you're making a left turn, you get stuck in the middle of the intersection waiting for these effin' inconsiderates. And then opposing traffic is honking at me for blocking the intersection like i'm the a$shole.

The only thing worse than this scenario is if you're #2 in line to make that left turn, and car #1 doesn't pull out into the middle of the intersection.

[Mr. Opinionated]

Originally Posted by radiolibre99

How ridiculous. If a person is at a safe distance and inching their way down the crosswalk most sensible people will make the turn. Who is going to sit there and wait for a dude wearing his earbuds, head to the sky, crawling down the crosswalk? But that isn't even the main gist of my point. I am also talking about jaywalkers, people crossing the street at the worst possible times.

Bad drivers are those who don't signal when switching lanes, those who pull out of parking space when there is outcoming traffic. My pet peeve are those people who are parallel parked on the side of the street but open their car doors to get out at the worst possible time when hundreds of cars are speeding by.

These two types; bad drivers and slow, unattentive pedestrians makes for a bad recipe. That's all I was saying. No need for the "take yer opinions and git out" attitude.

Well you are sure free to think of laws regarding courtesy towards pedestrians as "ridiculous" if that maintains your feeling wise. And you are also free to be ticketed in that mindset. I dont agree with every law that bounds into existence either. But I agree more with avoiding citations for being stubborn along with my poor driving attitude.

[radiolibre99]

Originally Posted by Mr. Opinionated

Well you are sure free to think of laws regarding courtesy towards pedestrians as "ridiculous" if that maintains your feeling wise. And you are also free to be ticketed in that mindset. I dont agree with every law that bounds into existence either. But I agree more with avoiding citations for being stubborn along with my poor driving attitude.

Are you trolling me? It's poor driving to turn when there is a considerable distance between you and the slower person crossing? Who waits until they fully cross? Pedestrians around LA are not, in my opinion, just being mowed down because of bad drivers but also because of their own choice to cross when there is little to time left on the crosswalk, or jaywalk or to blatantly cross the street in the middle of heavy traffic. Waiting for a seriously slow pedestrian who knows traffic is waiting for them is just annoying.

Why are you so defensive about this topic? You would seriously wait at a light on a major street for someone who was taking their sweet time to cross at a crosswalk? I don't mean someone walking at a reasonable pace, but some jagoff who knows cars are waiting for him but refuses to pick up the pace. I don't mean an elderly person either but a young active looking person who is pacing down the crosswalk, ear buds jamming music, head up to the sky like it's a stroll in the park. You would wait and not just make the turn when you know he's at a reasonable safe distance?

[thebordella]

Originally Posted by radiolibre99

You would wait and not just make the turn when you know he's at a reasonable safe distance?

I understand what you're saying. I believe the official rule per CA DMV is that you are to wait for the person to complete crossing before turning. It is understandable why the law is written that way. Between a car and a pedestrian, they err on the side of maximum caution. Besides, what is the law going to say, "do what feels right, bro!"?

That said, in the real world there are gray areas. Consider a divided street with 2 lanes in each direction and a median in between. If a pedestrian is crossing from the opposite side when the light turns green, I will usually make the turn. It will obviously take a good 15+ seconds before that person is even past the median. The margin is very large.

On the other hand, if the pedestrian is crossing a 1 or 2 lane street and walking like a normal person, I wait. And I expect cars to do the same when I am walking. Anyone behind me who honks can stuff it. Pedestrians have a right to be aggravated at cars who cut it even a little bit close. Their lives are on the line!

I really like what someone else said upthread -- not everyone is a driver but everyone is a pedestrian. Unless you drive directly into the dairy aisle at Ralph's, you are ultimately walking amongst moving cars. Remember that when you are the one behind the wheel.

[radiolibre99]

Of course I meant within reason you should take turn. In a small town like Burbank I make sure to wait. Some of the bigger streets the person needs to pick up the pace but if they're not passed the median and are a safe distance away I take the turn. It's just a grey area with the law.

I really haven't even see too many cars wait for a slow person to cross because really who would wait if the person was crawling.