Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
This topic has been done to death so I figure I'd list some interesting things I have seen on the road lately:
Going straight in a turning lane. This has happened many times in the past but lately it seems like it's the cool thing to do.
Passing people who stop at stop signs on side streets. I touched on this in another thread but it's so insane that I figured it belonged here.
A car was going to let a bus turn in front of him as an act of courtesy. No less than 3 grown adults from other cars yelled, "F*CK THE BUS!!!" at the top of their lungs at him for letting the bus go. Such class from friendly Pittsburghers!
Speeding through parking lots. I mean, there aren't people that are walking around there right!?
Pushing a car out of traffic with your car. A car broke down in the North side and rather than getting out and pushing a second car slowly rammed it to get it out of the road. This held up traffic so other cars beeped at the rammer. She responded with a finger and a "f*ck you" as she continued her insane act. Pittsburghers are so nice!
Not to mention but everywhere has SOMETHING that is particular to that region that makes little sense.
Out here, ours is driving very slowly (10-15 less than posted speed limit) on surface streets, but on the freeway going WAY too fast. And my other favorite -- yellow lights mean you still go, but when it turns red -- that means one or two cars still run the red. So you're sitting at a green light. It happens so much, everyone now sits at a green light for about 5 seconds or so even if there is no red light running.... allowing me to do a Pittsburgh Left in California.
These are great! Very smart to start posting these videos. I recognized nearly all the spots.
I am guessing the Pittsburgh Left came about due to early road designs and/or signaling systems. The cure for the Pittsburgh Left is a protected left turn phase but you need upgraded signals and widened intersections for that happen and that is not always possible.
This morning I was driving inbound on Second Avenue and I was first in a line of about six cars stopped at the red light at Brady Street. Some lady pulls next to me in the left hand turn lane and then guns it as the light turn green and speeds up to about 80 MPH and then has to slam on her brakes as she encounters the traffic at the 10th Street Bridge Intersections. Seconds later I roll up all slow behind her as the light turn greens. She accomplished nothing but going ahead like that and did a "hurry up and wait".
Timidness is really prevalent at three or four way stop intersections. Numerous times I have came to the intersection last and not even on the right hand side and people wait for me to go. A lot of times they don't even mention to me to go. They just look at me like they are a lost puppy and have no idea what to do. WTF?
I also know some people who admit they don't like driving on the highways but have no trouble going 20-30 MPH over the limit in neighborhood streets or urban settings.
On a very related note, I just got home from my office on Campbells Run Road and HOLY GOD is 376 grid locked west bound, I mean, worse than morning rush hour
On a very related note, I just got home from my office on Campbells Run Road and HOLY GOD is 376 grid locked west bound, I mean, worse than morning rush hour
Timidness is really prevalent at three or four way stop intersections. Numerous times I have came to the intersection last and not even on the right hand side and people wait for me to go. A lot of times they don't even mention to me to go. They just look at me like they are a lost puppy and have no idea what to do. WTF?
I think some drivers, due to NEVER knowing who has the right-of-way, just sit there until the coast is clear.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bmantz65
I also know some people who admit they don't like driving on the highways but have no trouble going 20-30 MPH over the limit in neighborhood streets or urban settings.
All these folks who go 45 on the damn interstate, but gun it to 65 of the Blvd of the Allies and Saw Mill Run and Bigelow Blvd, really need to be hit with red turtle shells on a daily basis....
On a very related note, I just got home from my office on Campbells Run Road and HOLY GOD is 376 grid locked west bound, I mean, worse than morning rush hour
There was a Wiz Kalifia concert last night at First Niagara.
-People who are traveling northbound (outbound) on North Negley Avenue in East Liberty and drive STRAIGHT in the left-hand turn lane towards Black Street. I'm cut off here nearly every single time I'm progressing northbound on North Negley Avenue through this intersection, and I have to lay on the horn constantly. At the very least flip your right blinker on, and I MIGHT let you over, even though you were just trying to fly up and cut ahead the rest of us who were doing the PROPER thing by driving in the right-hand (straight) lane prior to this intersection.
-Buses that need to stop every half-block during rush-hour. A little walking won't kill you, Pittsburghers. In fact, judging by the waistlines of most around you an extra half-block's walk could possibly do a world of good! The buses that run up and down Greenfield Avenue are a prime example of this.
-Today I was involved in yet another road-rage incident. While waiting to turn left from eastbound Baum Boulevard onto South Atlantic Avenue into Friendship (by the Hyatt House Hotel site) a jagoff in an old red Cadillac behind me had the audacity to blare his horn at me because I wouldn't take a chance at cutting off someone in the non-stop opposing traffic (why is the left-hand turn arrow from Baum onto Liberty/South Atlantic so SHORT, anyways?). Heated words were exchanged out of our windows, much to the dismay of pedestrians who stopped to gawk, and he followed me aggressively all the way up South Atlantic until he turned right onto Penn Avenue while I proceeded straight into Garfield.
-Pedestrians in Oakland who will see the red hand flashing with less than 5 seconds remaining and proceed to walk into the street anyways, even though I've been patiently waiting to turn right into their path from Atwood/Oakland/Meyran/Bouquet onto Forbes almost an entire light cycle while others have been backed up behind waiting to do the same. When the red hand starts flashing it means you should no longer enter the crosswalks, and I'm at the point where I'm going to start solidly blaring my horn at pedestrians who do this. It's very rude and disrupts the flow of traffic as numerous vehicles waiting to turn right either have to wait through another light cycle OR run the red light (and I can guarantee Officer McLazy won't care about citing pedestrians for jaywalking).
-People who think public buses are like school buses with flashing stop signs affixed to them to stop oncoming traffic to permit you to cross. If you're exiting your bus in the opposing lane of traffic why should I be expected to stop and wave you across the street because you then proceeded to walk in FRONT of the bus with your face glued to your Smartphone? I continue driving and honk when necessary. You don't see people in Manhattan getting off a bus and then walking into opposing traffic without looking. Why is it "acceptable" here?
-People who don't "yield" at the YIELD sign where Forward Avenue meets Beechwood Boulevard near the I-376 onramps/offramps. It seems like people from BOTH incoming directions just presume "the other guy" will yield to THEM. I've nearly been hit here numerous times by people not yielding.
-People who own Range Rovers; GMC Yukon Denalis; Cadillac Escalades; pick-up trucks; vans; etc. and insist on parking them as close to corners on main drags as they possibly can so those of us who drive smaller vehicles can't see around them when trying to pull out onto the main drag from side streets. I always say a prayer before trying to turn left from Darlington onto Shady Avenue at rush-hour for this reason.
-People who drive ACROSS the aisles in parking lots instead of following them around. Had to blare my horn recently at someone who did this in Ross Township and nearly struck me.
-The "Pittsburgh" Left being done incorrectly. If there's nobody behind me, and if there's nobody behind you, then you're NOT going to be demanding to turn left in front of me without me blaring my horn. I was almost in an accident when someone tried turning left from Morewood Avenue southbound onto Ellsworth Avenue eastbound (by Winchester Thurston) in front of me. Nobody was behind either of us. The other day someone tried to do a Pittsburgh Left from inbound Bigelow Boulevard onto Blessing Street (opposite the Bloomfield Bridge) across TWO lanes of outbound Bigelow Boulevard. They made it in front of the person in the closest opposing lane but were then "denied" the left by the other opposing lane's lead car, at which point the following cars also started to go through the intersection. Guess where I was? Behind the person in the left-hand opposing lane that had the Pittsburgh Left moron "beached" in front of them, which, of course meant a lot of horn-honking.
-People who piggyback on the Pittsburgh Left. In the rare chance someone gives the person in front of you a split second to make a left in front of them, then why on Earth would you ALSO gun it, especially when the person behind you is ALSO turning left? All you did was risk a head-on collision while the people behind you will STILL be stuck in traffic anyways.
-People who make unnecessary left-hand turns due to poor route planning. One of my biggest pet peeves are those who try to turn left from Morewood Avenue southbound (by Cricket Lounge) onto Centre Avenue (in front of WesBanco). The intersection is too narrow for people behind to shimmy to the right of the turning vehicle in order to continue proceeding straight onto southbound Morewood. More often than not the entire light cycle will go through, and the first person in line will turn left when the light is red. At rush-hour this backs up traffic ONTO Baum Boulevard, which causes an even bigger mess there, especially with the perpetual GetGo ingress/egress mess. That person could have continued on Baum Boulevard for one light past Morewood Avenue, turning right onto Cypress Street, and then RIGHT onto Centre Avenue to reach any destination between Cypress and Morewood along Centre.
-Speaking of GetGo ingress/egress mess, another pet peeve is those who will stop and wave people out of the parking lot into oncoming traffic---oncoming traffic which may or may NOT be able to see that driver pulling into their lane. A few weeks ago I had a close call. Traffic on eastbound (outbound) Baum was stopped at a red light. Motorists in both eastbound lanes had left a gap to wave out someone who was trying to turn left onto Baum from GetGo. Meanwhile, I was turning left from nearby Morewood onto Baum with a green light. I was in the left-hand lane on westbound/outbound Baum (you don't want to be in the right-hand lane there because the Mia Pizza jagoffs block that lane because they're too lazy to park around the corner on the side street and walk). If it wasn't for the fact that I saw the headlights of the car leaving GetGo reflect off of the windows of the Fresenius Dialysis clinic at the last second, giving me just enough time to veer into the right-hand lane, we would have been in an accident. Never assume the people in opposing traffic have the same exact view of your surroundings as YOU do, especially when factoring in smaller vehicle sight-lines vs. large-vehicle sight-line obstructions.
-As Hopes already kvetched about, what is it with locals (especially elderly ones at that) who will pull out in front of you, cutting you off, and then will drive very slowly? They were in such a rush to nearly cause a collision pulling out in front of you, and then they "apologize" by antagonizing you further and making you tailgate them? Why?
-People who try to do a 3-point turn in the middle of busy narrow streets and fail miserably at it. If I'm delayed by one more Buick or Cadillac perpendicular to traffic on Murray Avenue in Squirrel Hill as the driver frantically tries to complete a botched u-turn I may just have a brain aneurysm.
-People who don't know how to text and drive. I don't condone texting while driving at all, but I'm also a realist. I see dozens of other motorists daily texting while driving (or maybe Tweeting while driving; liking their friends' Facebook photos while driving; doing online banking while driving; looking at tranny granny porn while driving; etc.) If you're going to play with those dag-nabbed Smartphones while driving, then be sure you have the proper IQ/reaction time/driving prowess to be able to do both simultaneously. I'm tiring of honking and honking and honking at people who almost blow through entire light cycles engrossed in checking their e-mail.
-People who don't know how to "zipper merge". PennDOT often now instructs drivers to use BOTH lanes as you approach a construction zone until you hit a merge point down to one lane. At that point drivers are supposed to take turns to proceed single-file into the work zone. This "zipper merge" has been proven to keep traffic moving better than everyone cramming into the "open" lane for two miles back while the "closing" lane stays empty. Instead I'll sometimes go up to the merge point sign, flip on my left blinker, and it takes FOREVER for someone to let me into the "open" lane because all the other morons who sat in that line of traffic for 20 minutes think I'm unfairly "cutting" them. No. I'm not. I'm doing a proper zipper-merge---a merge that doesn't really work around here because people don't know how to drive.
-Drivers who take advantage of using pedestrians as collateral damage in busy business districts to be jagoffs and go out-of-turn at four-way stop signs. I dread approaching Walnut Street from Bellefonte Street in Shadyside because, reliably, I'll have to stop and wave throngs of "Shadyside girls" in front of me as they cross Bellefonte Street glued to their Smartphones. When they FINALLY clear I'll try to advance straight across Walnut Street and end up almost t-boned by SUV drivers ON Walnut Street oblivious to the fact that I've been waiting MUCH longer than them at the same intersection. Needless to say my horn gets blared again for a good five seconds while this happens.
-Squirrel Hill hypocrites who will chastise people for "speeding" at 40 miles per hour through "their" crappy park (Schenley) while FLYING through MY crappy park (Frank Curto) at 60 miles per hour as they leave Downtown. It's only acceptable to speed through parks in middle-class neighborhoods but not parks in upper-middle-class neighborhoods now? As far as the "nobody uses that park" comment about Polish Hill's park bear in mind there were hundreds upon hundreds of people using it to watch the fireworks, and DOZENS of us had to walk back to Polish Hill along a very dangerous racetrack. People do NOT use this park now because everyone is too terrified to walk there because the city has neglected to repair the sidewalks leading to it.
-People who get right up to your rear bumper when you're trying to parallel park, despite the fact that you've had your right turn signal on for a few hundred feet and even maneuvered really close to a spot that was visibly open for a while as you approached it. A couple of days ago I had this happen to me on Murray Avenue in Squirrel Hill, in front of Giant Eagle. The person behind me got right up onto my bumper in an attempt to "push" me out of the way so THEY could instead take the same spot. A stalemate ensued, as I wouldn't budge while the person behind me also wouldn't either back up or go around me into the oncoming lane because they, too, wanted the spot I was already trying to park in. A long line of horn-honking traffic formed behind us until the car behind me FINALLY gave up and went around me in the opposing lane so I could back into the parking spot. A lady on the sidewalk sighed and said "Squirrel Hill..." as she witnessed this. I really think it's an East End problem more than a Squirrel Hill problem, though (cue Gortonator flipping out on me telling me how nice, hospitable, and pleasant everyone in the East End is).
Yes, I really do need a vacation. I'm also burning out of the East End and want to forge into Brookline as soon as I can to open my business and buy my first home.
Stop cutting the XANAX in half, take the whole pill!
I don't need XANAX.
I need some of what you and Hopes enjoy at Buskey's!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
