4 ms·
I saw the same thing in Boston. Instead of "violating the rules", I would say that local drivers obey a set of unwritten local rules that are more appropriate f
by ynniv 9y ago
I saw the same thing in Boston. Instead of "violating the rules", I would say that local drivers obey a set of unwritten local rules that are more appropriate for the situations they encounter. These local rules make things safer and more efficient because the global rules that are written for wide, straight highways don't map well onto low visibility corners, confusing or incorrect signage, low speed side roads merging onto fast thoroughfares, roads (sometimes purposely) without painted lines, etc. I felt that Boston drivers often adopted Right of Way, a notion familiar to boaters. Faster cars with more maneuverability are in general expected to avoid slower cars or those with less maneuverability. If someone pulls out in front of you (perhaps because they were stopped and couldn't find a better time to merge), it's your duty to not hit them. On the other hand, if you are on a side street waiting to merge, it's expected that you wait for a break that's "big enough", then pull out and accelerate as fast as possible. None of these rules are written, but they are still consistent and safer than trying to rigidly apply global rules to the situation.
- whafro 9y agoThe roundabout on the Cambridge side of the BU bridge, which I unfortunately have to take home most evenings, is something I can't imagine a driverless car handling. Sometimes it's a single-lane roundabout, but at peak hours it can support as many as five cars wide, eventually merging into a single lane over the bridge, and the traffic pattern is different every day. Driving on highways is easy, and solving that is still valuable, but it's going to be amazing to see these things work in situations like those.
- emodendroket 9y agoThere are unwritten rules for driving everywhere and one reason everyone thinks drivers from other states are terrible is that they are not adhering to the same unwritten rulebook.
- ghaff 9y agoBack when I commuted more regularly, the traffic around the beginning of September was always particularly awful. My assumption was that school was back in session and that, as a result, you had a lot of people with new travel routes who weren't quite up on the patterns at various rotaries and other traffic chokepoints.
- cryptonector 9y agoOne unwritten rule is - evidently - to attempt to limit speed in the passing lane so that those who wish to pass must do so in the right lanes. Also: brake-check anyone who annoys you. :(
- seanmcdirmid 9y agoThis on I5 in Oregon. I was so happy to cross the border into Washington.
- cryptonector 9y agoOh noes! I got downvoted!
- sctb 9y ago> Please don't comment about the voting on comments. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html