4 ms·

This happened during my morning commute today: Another cyclist and I stop at a stop sign, him waiting to turn left, I waiting to turn right, onto a main road (

This happened during my morning commute today: Another cyclist and I stop at a stop sign, him waiting to turn left, I waiting to turn right, onto a main road (which notably does not have a stop sign). A car traveling straight on the main road comes to a complete stop and waves at us cyclists with a "go ahead" hand gesture. We remain stopped, because the car has right of way. Meanwhile there's a small traffic jam forming on the main street as some maintenance vehicles are waiting for the car to move so they can turn onto the side street. If us cyclists were to follow the car driver's "instructions" we would have to violate right-of-way for multiple flows of traffic. Finally the car driver gets fed up at everyone else's insistence on following the law. Makes a rude gesture, shakes their head, and continues straight. The maintenance guys can finally turn, then the bikes. I guess my point is: car drivers need to do a better job of following the conventions and laws of the road.

Alupis 2y ago
You're hinting at one of my personal pet peeves - people who make up new road "conventions" then insist everyone else follow them... which usually leads to less-safe situations, exactly like you have described here. This includes people who put on their hazard lights when slowing down in traffic on the freeway. The entire world has decided brake lights are the universal signal for slowing down and/or stopping - yet these knuckle heads think that's not enough. So they do unexpected things and unintentionally create more unsafe conditions where people might not understand what's going on and try to go around thinking it's a disabled vehicle, etc. In general, people need to stick to the well-defined and accepted rules and conventions of the road. That's how everyone stays safe.
- eszed 2y ago
  > put on their hazard lights when slowing down in traffic on the freeway I appreciate people who do that when the traffic ahead of them is stopped, not just slowing. It's hard to anticipate or evaluate a full-speed -> stopped situation, and hazard lights in addition to brake lights clearly communicates "this is an extreme case". If they're being used routinely in slow-and-go traffic then I will agree with you, but fortunately I don't see that where I live.

Alupis 2y ago

You're hinting at one of my personal pet peeves - people who make up new road "conventions" then insist everyone else follow them... which usually leads to less-safe situations, exactly like you have described here. This includes people who put on their hazard lights when slowing down in traffic on the freeway. The entire world has decided brake lights are the universal signal for slowing down and/or stopping - yet these knuckle heads think that's not enough. So they do unexpected things and unintentionally create more unsafe conditions where people might not understand what's going on and try to go around thinking it's a disabled vehicle, etc. In general, people need to stick to the well-defined and accepted rules and conventions of the road. That's how everyone stays safe.

eszed 2y ago
> put on their hazard lights when slowing down in traffic on the freeway I appreciate people who do that when the traffic ahead of them is stopped, not just slowing. It's hard to anticipate or evaluate a full-speed -> stopped situation, and hazard lights in addition to brake lights clearly communicates "this is an extreme case". If they're being used routinely in slow-and-go traffic then I will agree with you, but fortunately I don't see that where I live.