Yes I Have Powers! I Can Make the Traffic Stop!

[pinky]

I was traveling down 26th st W to 53rd Ave in the car my Mom had just bought. Classes had let out early, and I was ready for a nap. As I was heading down 53rd to 14th St, I happen to notice that there are houses along this road. (Unusual place for houses considering this is a main road) There was a lot of traffic coming and going. As I was nearing 14th, this fool in a white car decides he's going to reverse-quickly-without-looking-behind-him! Hi! I'm a single driver, pulling into a busy road, but that's ok cause you all have to stop for me now! He, he! Thankfully I had the sense to slow down and swerve slightly left. Stopping on this road is risky cause the people drive like maniacs. In the meantime, everyone is honking at me cause they can't figure out why I'm slowing down. Thankfully, me and the car made it home in one piece. Stupid white car!

P.S. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it illegal to change lanes without a turning signal? I've noticed people do this a lot.

[BrenDAnn]

Oh I deal with that stuff every day, driving down main street on my way to work. No one looks behind them when backing from the parking spots there. I do mean no one. At all. Ever. Turn signals when changing lanes? Pfft. I've seen people not use them when actually turning. Both are, as far as I'm aware, not legal, but morons are morons.

[Pagan]

Apparently, it's now acceptable for you to back up without looking.

I think there was a memo went out some time ago, I'm not sure, but I missed it.

[pinky]

It's completely insane. People backing up without looking is how my Mom's first car got wrecked. Ridiculous.

[drunkenwildmage]

With the drivers around here, you would think that turn signals are an optional device on cars that most people don't purchase.

[dalesys]

... turn signals ...

Aren't they operated automatically by the steering wheel?

[Chromatix]

No. But most modern cars have the lever positioned so that it can be operated without removing either hand from the wheel, and it resets automatically when you return the wheel to straight. (This automatic reset behaviour needs to be overridden, by holding the lever in position, when using a roundabout.)

[wolfie]

AFAIK, in North America the "self canceling" feature has been mandatory in cars for years. On the other hand, it's not required on heavy trucks - understandable, since on tight corners it's frequently necessary to start out by turning the "wrong' way, which would cancel the signal.

[MadMike]

It's completely insane. People backing up without looking is how my Mom's first car got wrecked. Ridiculous.

I got into an accident like that almost two years ago. I was going out to the bar to meet up with my friends, and I followed another car into the parking lot. The parking lot turned out to be full, and the guy in front of me threw it into reverse and started backing up quickly, completely oblivious to the fact that I was right behind him. I didn't have enough time to throw it into reverse and get out of his way, so I started laying on the horn. Next thing I knew.... CRUNCH!

I jumped out and started cussing up a storm. The other guy got out and started apologizing profusely, "OH MY GOD! I AM SO SORRY! I DID NOT SEE YOU!" How he didn't see a car right behind him AND didn't hear my horn, I'll never know. But he gave me his insurance info, and then we both went inside.

It turned out my friends knew him, and they told me he was a good guy and wouldn't let me get screwed over, so that put my mind at ease a little bit. One of my friends told me, "I was going to introduce you two, but I see you've already met." I told him, "Yeah, we ran into each other outside!"

I called his insurance company the next day -- not knowing that they were open 24/7 and I could have called them right then and there -- and gave them the information. They told me they would have to call him to get his side of the story, and then they'd call me back. They called me back pretty quickly, and told me that he admitted to being at fault, and that everything would be taken care of. They even set me up with a rental car while mine was in the shop.

So in the end, everything was pretty painless, except for the part where I left my garage door opener in the rental, didn't discover it until they were closed for the day, and had to call them first thing the next morning before the car got rented out to someone else.

[dalesys]

I was talking about the "self-activating" feature that these clueless yoyos expect to do the signaling for them.

[EmiOfBrie]

No. But most modern cars have the lever positioned so that it can be operated without removing either hand from the wheel, and it resets automatically when you return the wheel to straight. (This automatic reset behaviour needs to be overridden, by holding the lever in position, when using a roundabout.)

Actually, I do roundabouts by Massachusetts rules for turn signals. No signal required when entering, but signal when you leave, even if it's technically the same road.

[Chromatix]

I was talking about the "self-activating" feature that these clueless yoyos expect to do the signaling for them.

I figured.

But such a thing doesn't exist and *cannot* exist. Again, this should be part of any competent driving instruction. The entire point of indicators is to inform others about what you're *going* to do - not what you're doing already.

This is doubly important with large vehicles, which may need to do something counter-intuitive during the manoeuvre due to their size.

Actually, I do roundabouts by Massachusetts rules for turn signals. No signal required when entering, but signal when you leave, even if it's technically the same road.

Here are the rules for roundabouts in the UK - an extract from the Highway Code. I believe equivalent techniques are used elsewhere in Europe as well. The rules in America may well be different.

https://www.gov.uk/using-the-road-15...uts-184-to-190

[EricKei]

Well, anybody who drives knows that shifting lanes without a signal is illegal -- it's just that many, many drivers don't personally feel the need to do so. There are many names for those people, but most of them are unprintable