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Anytime you approach a T intersection in MA, it's a guessing game as to who thinks they have the right of way. In this image, car 2 has the right of way, then car 3, then car 1. But for some reason half of MA drivers think car 1 has the right of way.
This is usually what happens:
1) Car 3 slows down to turn left (if you're lucky they'll signal) and car 1 will proceed to turn left onto the through road before car 3 turns left. Wtf? They don't have the right of way. I was car 3 one time and car 1 was an old man who got pissed off because I did not stop and let him onto the through road. There were zero cars behind me. He slammed on his horn and gave me the finger, even though he didn't have the right of way! He was coming out of a quiet neighborhood street too.
2) Car 3 will stop and let car 1 go, creating a backup of cars on the main road like a school bus. There can be ten cars behind car 3 but they will stop all traffic to let car 1 go, wtf? If car 3 kept going like they were supposed to then there would be no backup! Sometimes both car 2 and car 3 will stop to let car 1 go, even if there's no traffic! It turns into a complete guessing game.
3) If there is a line behind car 1, car 3 will let car 1 and some random number of cars behind car 1 go, but not all. This creates another guessing game. Sometimes they'll let 1 of 2 cars go, or 2 of 3. It makes absolutely no sense. If car 3 had just followed the right of way then car 1 and all cars behind it would not have to guess! Again this happens when there is no traffic behind car 3.
Anytime we have relatives visit from out of state, they are dumbfounded!
M***hole drivers, they're everywhere! I was on a 30mph road the other day going between 30-35mph in a dense residential area and the lady behind me was tailgating mad I wasn't going faster so she tried to pass me on the solid double yellows. I knew for certain my car would easily accelerate faster than her Nissan Rogue so she was unsuccessful. Meanwhile there was someone about to pull out from a side street up ahead so good thing she got back behind me or she may have had to go new car shopping! Then she has the nerve to lay on her horn for a solid 20 seconds and guess what we made it to the stop light and no one was going anywhere fast anyways.
Same reason why nobody knows how a 4-way stop works, or how to properly yield at a rotary or an on/off ramp where a yield sign is present. Those same drivers will also flip you off if you dare honk at them for dare insinuating they were somehow wrong.
I've been honked at recently for (1) actually slowing down to 20 mph when the school zone lights were flashing and (2) not turning on red when there was a "no turn on red" sign clearly visible (albeit no cross traffic). Just gotta expect it with m***holes!
Personally, the thing that drives me NUTS right now about MA drivers is that most people have no idea that the left lane is intended for PASSING. It's not the speeding lane or the fast lane in MA. It's the PASSING LANE. If people are passing you on the right or you are not driving faster than the cars to your right then guess what? YOU'RE IN THE WRONG LANE MOVE TO THE RIGHT!!!! Most of the time I'm driving on the highway I just stay in the right lane because there's no one else in the lane and it moves much faster than the left lane. Passing people on the right is dangerous though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jayrandom
And I’m telling you that I don’t see it. It’s not something that generalizes well to “Massachusetts Drivers”. Unlike, say “banging a left” which doesn’t always happen but happens on occasion, I think this phenomenon is specific to you or the areas you visit.
I have two such intersections right in front of where I work and I’ve never seen people incorrectly assume the right away. They will sneak past when they think they can make it but that is different.
I don't see what the OP is talking about ever either. Never had it happen where car #1 thinks they have the right of way and I've been driving in this state for nearly 30 years.
I do wholeheartedly agree with the OP though that the most courteous thing you can do for other drivers is to follow the right of way rules. Often people think they're being courteous by letting someone go, but usually they're just being discourteous to everyone behind them and when you do things outside of the "rules" you put other drivers in danger. Do what others on the road expect you to do and it lowers the likelihood of an accident.
One of my friends who didn't grow up in the area refers to "banging a left" as "the Boston left." . It is maddening when you're at a light and as soon as it turns green someone turns left in front of you. 99% of the time it happens there's no more than 2 cars behind me. Great way to cause an accident.
Quote:
Originally Posted by htfdcolt
I've been honked at recently for (1) actually slowing down to 20 mph when the school zone lights were flashing and (2) not turning on red when there was a "no turn on red" sign clearly visible (albeit no cross traffic). Just gotta expect it with m***holes!
I get honked at all the time. Most people don't seem to realize that a red arrow traffic light is the equivalent of a "no turn on red" sign. So, you're not supposed to turn on red there and people honk at me when I wait for the light to turn green before turning.
I've been honked at recently for (1) actually slowing down to 20 mph when the school zone lights were flashing and (2) not turning on red when there was a "no turn on red" sign clearly visible (albeit no cross traffic). Just gotta expect it with m***holes!
I've seen that before, but funny thing is that at least 4/5 times they got a NY plate on the front of their vehicle!
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikePRU
I don't see what the OP is talking about ever either. Never had it happen where car #1 thinks they have the right of way and I've been driving in this state for nearly 30 years.
I've experienced it more than I can count. As car #1, I refuse to pull out even if car # 3 is waving me on. Why? Because if I move and the idiot decides to as well causing a collision, guess who is at fault! I have had people shake their heads at me, but whatever. I have also been honked as as car #3 while utilizing "my" right of way (like "seriously, buddy?").
The people parking in the left lane absolutely infuriate me as well, as do the people entering the expressway at 35 mph and wait till they're already in the travel lane to start speeding up. Being able to drive on an interstate should be part of the mandatory driving test, but sadly it's a skill lost on most.
Last edited by massnative71; 06-23-2022 at 08:54 AM..
Personally, the thing that drives me NUTS right now about MA drivers is that most people have no idea that the left lane is intended for PASSING. It's not the speeding lane or the fast lane in MA. It's the PASSING LANE. If people are passing you on the right or you are not driving faster than the cars to your right then guess what? YOU'RE IN THE WRONG LANE MOVE TO THE RIGHT!!!! Most of the time I'm driving on the highway I just stay in the right lane because there's no one else in the lane and it moves much faster than the left lane. Passing people on the right is dangerous though.
I don't see what the OP is talking about ever either. Never had it happen where car #1 thinks they have the right of way and I've been driving in this state for nearly 30 years.
I do wholeheartedly agree with the OP though that the most courteous thing you can do for other drivers is to follow the right of way rules. Often people think they're being courteous by letting someone go, but usually they're just being discourteous to everyone behind them and when you do things outside of the "rules" you put other drivers in danger. Do what others on the road expect you to do and it lowers the likelihood of an accident.
One of my friends who didn't grow up in the area refers to "banging a left" as "the Boston left." . It is maddening when you're at a light and as soon as it turns green someone turns left in front of you. 99% of the time it happens there's no more than 2 cars behind me. Great way to cause an accident.
I get honked at all the time. Most people don't seem to realize that a red arrow traffic light is the equivalent of a "no turn on red" sign. So, you're not supposed to turn on red there and people honk at me when I wait for the light to turn green before turning.
I did not know either. I assumed unless there is a black-on-white "No Turn on Red" sign posted, the red arrow just refers to unprotected vs. protected right turns.
The one that grinds my gears is when there is a T-type intersection where I am on the main drag (no lights) and someone pulls up from the side road (where they have a stop sign) to take a right into the same travel lane I am in. Nobody behind me at all, but this person insists on pulling out in front of me causing me to have to slow down to avoid rear-ending them. 9 times out of 10, they then slam on the brakes and put on their left blinker to turn up another side street.
Had they waited 10 seconds for me to pass, they could have done all this without impeding me. But you know how it is...
M***hole drivers, they're everywhere! I was on a 30mph road the other day going between 30-35mph in a dense residential area and the lady behind me was tailgating mad I wasn't going faster so she tried to pass me on the solid double yellows. I knew for certain my car would easily accelerate faster than her Nissan Rogue so she was unsuccessful. Meanwhile there was someone about to pull out from a side street up ahead so good thing she got back behind me or she may have had to go new car shopping! Then she has the nerve to lay on her horn for a solid 20 seconds and guess what we made it to the stop light and no one was going anywhere fast anyways.
They are the ma**hole, yet you're increasing your speed to prevent them from passing you. Right.
Personally, the thing that drives me NUTS right now about MA drivers is that most people have no idea that the left lane is intended for PASSING. It's not the speeding lane or the fast lane in MA. It's the PASSING LANE. If people are passing you on the right or you are not driving faster than the cars to your right then guess what? YOU'RE IN THE WRONG LANE MOVE TO THE RIGHT!!!! Most of the time I'm driving on the highway I just stay in the right lane because there's no one else in the lane and it moves much faster than the left lane. Passing people on the right is dangerous though.
Since the beginning of COVID, my highway driving in Massachusetts has been reduced to I-495 between Lowell and Amesbury. On that stretch of road, CT, NY and NJ drivers are the absolute worst offenders of left lane hogging.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikePRU
I don't see what the OP is talking about ever either. Never had it happen where car #1 thinks they have the right of way and I've been driving in this state for nearly 30 years.
I actually experienced it quite often when I lived in Lowell. If I put my blinker on, someone would invariably try to jump out of the side street I was turning onto. I started waiting until the last few seconds before turning the blinker on. Of course that is not very helpful for the drivers behind me but I got sick of the side street drivers trying to jump out in my path.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikePRU
I do wholeheartedly agree with the OP though that the most courteous thing you can do for other drivers is to follow the right of way rules. Often people think they're being courteous by letting someone go, but usually they're just being discourteous to everyone behind them and when you do things outside of the "rules" you put other drivers in danger. Do what others on the road expect you to do and it lowers the likelihood of an accident.
This morning I was out on Route 97 in Salem, New Hampshire. A Massachusetts driver was in front of me. They put their blinker on to turn right into a parking lot. The entrance to the lot was clear but they stopped in the middle of the road to let somone turn left into that same parking lot from the opposite direction instead of promptly exiting from the road.
Since the beginning of COVID, my highway driving in Massachusetts has been reduced to I-495 between Lowell and Amesbury. On that stretch of road, CT, NY and NJ drivers are the absolute worst offenders of left lane hogging.
CT was always the most aggravating state to drive through, due to just this and their other jacked up driving habits. But it seems that driving skills and basic commons sense, have rapidly diminished everywhere post Covid. Maybe CT is EVEN worse now? IDK, haven't been down that way since pre-2020.
The one that grinds my gears is when there is a T-type intersection where I am on the main drag (no lights) and someone pulls up from the side road (where they have a stop sign) to take a right into the same travel lane I am in. Nobody behind me at all, but this person insists on pulling out in front of me causing me to have to slow down to avoid rear-ending them. 9 times out of 10, they then slam on the brakes and put on their left blinker to turn up another side street.
Had they waited 10 seconds for me to pass, they could have done all this without impeding me. But you know how it is...
...or they stay on the same road but drive 10mph slower than the speed at which you were travelling previously.
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. It is maddening when you're at a light and as soon as it turns green someone turns left in front of you. 99% of the time it happens there's no more than 2 cars behind me. 
Great way to cause an accident.
