I’ll start. Stopping distance.
My commute is 95 miles one way to work, so I see a lot of the highway, in the rural part of the US. This means traveling at 70+ mph (112km/h) for almost the entirety of the drive. The amount of other drivers on the road who follow behind someone else with less than a car’s length in front of them because they want to go 20+ over the speed limit is ridiculous. The only time you ever follow someone that close is if you have complete and absolute trust in them, and also understand that it may not even be enough.
For a daily drive, you likely need 2-3 car lengths between you at minimum depending on your speed to accurately avoid hitting the brakes. This doesn’t even take into account the lack of understanding of engine braking…
What concepts do you all think of when it comes to driving that you feel are not well understood by the public at large?
Don’t be polite, be predictable.
Or another way to say that is:
Being predictable is being polite
Cycling, coming up on an intersection where I don’t have right of way and see a car approaching, so I begin to slow down.
The car slows down as well and we both come to a nearly complete stop, the driver now mildly annoyed gesturing for me to go first. Now I have to slowly get my bike up to speed again.
Motherfucker if you just kept going I would have passed behind you while barely having to slow down at all.
This shit happens all the time. It’s very nice that I live in a country where people are so considerate of cyclists, but please just claim your damn right of way and I’ll work my way around it. The only time where it is a courtesy to let someone pass is if they’re stood still waiting for an endless line of traffic. Otherwise just keep on driving.
You’re supposed to accelerate as you merge onto the highway. Not stop and wait for an opening
And if you are already on the highway, don’t try to match the speed of the person merging. Ffs, speed up so they can get behind you. They may not be able to overtake you even if you slow down, and that’s not how it’s supposed to work anyway.
People don’t realise how little time they save by speeding and weaving in and out of traffic.
Just chill. You can spend 20 minutes relaxed and comfy, or 19 minutes gripping your wheel with white knuckles, screaming at grandmas and jacking off at red lights.
Choose wisely.
It is quite satisfying to amble up next to them at the next light… And the one after that… And the one after that.
Edit: I don’t recommend rolling down the window and shouting “IT’S NOT WORKING! WEAVE HARDER! WEAVE HARDER!” at them. I think about it, but I don’t recommend it.
I’ll admit it took me way too long to learn this one, but man, commuting is so much less stressful when you can take a zen approach and accept that 95% of your travel time is out of your control. Focus on some music or a podcast you enjoy and you probably won’t even care if it takes you an extra minute or two to get there.
I was a bus driver for 7 years. It’s hilarious when I’m driving this gigantic goliath and some speed demon winds up at the same light at the same time multiple times trying to be in the Fast and the Furious. Traffic don’t work like that. Chill out and you help everyone. Including yourself.
I agree.
But some people are really irritating to drive behind. So sometimes overtaking them is the only way to have a zen commute.
That’s a different thing. Normally people who are annoying are not safe.
100%. If I see a driver sifting back and forth over the edges of both sides of their lanes, I’m 100% going to stay backed rn further than I usually do. Until I have a clear shot to pass them, and them I’m going to slip by as quickly as possible and get some distance, because there is no way I’m sitting behind a wreck waiting to happen for a whole drive.
I look at it this way: I speed and weave on the highway, and save 5 minutes on my 35 minute commute. That’s one way. So 10 minutes per day, five days a week. That’s 50 minutes I save per week. 50 weeks per year, so I save 2,500 minutes or almost 42 hours a year. That’s basically a weeks worth of work I’m not in traffic.
Worth it.
I should mention that I ride a motorcycle half the year, but don’t weave in my cage, because I’m not a complete asshole. I still speed no matter what I’m driving, but not excessively
the average is 2 minutes a week I’m afraid
what people forget is you can make up a couple of minutes on the highway at best, but most destinations will be on residential streets, which are controlled with traffic lights, and then you have to find a parking spot, lock the car, walk to the destination…
I’m totally on board with you but how long does it take you to lock your car lol
I drive a Marley n Marley
I didn’t invent the phrasing, but I think most of these things can be summed up as people not understanding that driving needs to be a cooperative team activity rather than a competition.
Yeah, that sounds about right.
Honestly I sometimes wish there were open racetracks that anybody could just go on and drive wild to get it out of their system or something
NurembergringNürburgring has entered the chat. Don’t mess up though. They’ll make you pay to fix the trackNürburgring
Windshield washer fluid has other uses than just for being passive aggressive.
I once had dirt on my windshield and needed to clean it while driving on the highway. Guy behind me took that to be a move of aggression on my part because I guess he was following too closely (in the furthest to the right lane, of all lanes) and sped up and cut me off with no space to “get even”.
Sometimes people are legitimately cleaning their windshields and you should take the hint that you’re driving too closely if the liquid splashing on your windshield bothers you that much. Who knew?!
am i stupid or how would the person behind you see your windscreen being wiped, or at least notice it?
At high speeds, spraying your windshield will result in some overspray from the wind, meaning the person behind you gets their windshield sprinkled with drops of washer fluid
ohh ok thanks
If following too closely, some of the drops of water will get on their windshield and it sometimes makes those people get enraged. Some people will use this as a way of letting someone behind them realize they’re tailgating too closely and because of that, sometimes like in my case, someone will legitimately use the windshield wiper fluid to clean the windshield, but the person tailgating will take it as an act of aggression.
i see
While that guy’s response to you was completely unacceptable, you should know that there are several reasons not to use the wiper fluid while moving: it obstructs your view of the road for a period of time, in most cases you can and should use the wiper fluid before you start driving (I realize this is not possible if the windshield gets dirty in transit), and it’s inconsiderate to other drivers - you don’t have to be tailgating someone to be hit with their dirty soap spray and in general it’s best not to piss people off on the road if you can avoid it.
It may be unreasonable to ask someone to pull off a highway to use their wiper fluid every time they hit a bug, but it isn’t unreasonable to ask someone to consider waiting until there is some free space behind them and it isn’t unreasonable to ask them to wait until they are at a stop sign or stop light (if one is coming up).
Bro if my ass can’t see I’m not waiting until there’s space behind me to use my wiper fluid. I don’t have a waterfall coming down in the front you can usually see through it. What kinda car you got that pours a bucket of water down the front of your window
As I already mentioned, I’m not talking about situations where your windshield is suddenly obstructed since that situation is especially rare, so if you can see clearly enough to drive safely in the first place, then you can see clearly enough to evaluate your surroundings.
It seems obvious to me that spraying your windshield with soap obstructs your view for a moment, but I’ll admit that the occlusion is likely variable depending on the make and model.
I stand by the claim that it is safer to not use your wiper fluid while moving when possible. If you disagree, that’s okay. It’s a pretty minor point - there are many other driving habits that are far worse in my opinion.
The left lane is a passing lane, not a I’m going to go 5 over speed limit and coast lane. Learn to move over to the right. Please and thank you.
Exactly. Keep right except to pass. Unless you’re actively passing people, you should be in a right or center lane moving at your speed.
I don’t know why this concept is so foreign to the people in my area. My favorite are the drivers I see enter the highway then immediately cross two lanes to get to the leftmost lane only to get passed on the right by the cars coming up behind them.
This is my second biggest driving pet peeve. My biggest is people who pull out from a side street right in front of me (often without stopping) when there is no one behind me and then proceed to go under the speed limit. Road rage ensues
I feel like drivers should be required to pass a driving test every few years just so it’s a mechanism to keep people’s bs habits like these in check and as a reminder that we don’t own the roads.
We should also update our driving laws and tests to catch bs like this, which is incredibly dangerous.
I’m with you on all of this.
I believe it used to be different, at least here in Belgium.
Driving below the maximum speed was right lane, driving the maximum speed is middle, and driving over the maximum speed was left lane.
Some people still believe it to be like that.
FUCKING TURN SIGNALS.
Christ, the number of times I’ve almost hit someone who swerved into a turn at the last second without a signal…
For a daily drive, you likely need 2-3 car lengths between you at minimum depending on your speed
It’s not car lengths, it’s seconds. You need roughly 2 seconds between you and the person in front of you. That gives you time to react and emergency brake if needed. At 70mph, 2 seconds is a little over 200 feet, not 3 car lengths. Average reaction time is about .75 seconds; you see something, and you start reacting to that thing–not you finish reacting–in .75 seconds. At 70mph, you will travel 75 feet before you can even realize that you need to get your foot off the gas and hit the brakes.
2 sec is not practical in daily driving in busy city. It is correct if there is some car stopped there then you need completely stop. People take the risk and follow closer because usually everyone brake so give you more time/distance.
But if there’s a road hazard hidden by the vehicle in front of you, or a person/animal steps out onto the road, if something falls off the vehicle ahead of you (note that I have had an entire wheel go through my windshield when it fell off the car ahead of me; good times), then you just aren’t going to have enough tie to do anything.
This is true. When I say “minimum” I should have been more clear, I usually leave a pretty sizable amount of room in front of me. It’s also nice to not have to worry about people merging right in front of me at the last second due to them not being prepared
I mean duh. People use car lengths because it’s easier to visualise than seconds.
The problem with following distance is that it becomes room for other cars to insert themselves into your buffer zone with the car that was in front of you.
You’re kinda restating what OP was pointing out. People don’t understand following distance, so they will merge in anyplace there is physically room to do so, regardless of whether they are leaving adequate following distance.
I agree, it’s infuriating when you’re just trying to maintain a safe distance in a line of cars passing in the left lane, and some dipshit comes flying up in the right lane and squeezes into the buffer of you. But that’s on them for being an entitled prick who doesn’t get (or doesn’t care) how safe driving works.
Sometimes they merge in place where they don’t even have physically room to do so. Just because I’m small doesn’t give Mr lifted giant truck the right to push me out of the way -or play monster truck car crush- because I’m not riding the ass of the car in front. I actually want stopping distance.
So? Is this your commute or a race?
Well, then you need to give even more buffer. Also, some cars treat my buffer zone as their chance to pass on the right and then slip into a spot in the left lane.
I think the person you’re replying to is suggesting you have a competitive mind set about it - still evident here.
Someone you dont know getting to somewhere 17 seconds earlier than they would - at a destination you won’t ever know about - shouldn’t be something to feel anything about.
Yes, you will need to give additional buffer. That’s not going to noticeably affect your commute time.
Signal BEFORE you switch lanes. Like enough time for other drivers to see it before you make your move. Also, turn off your signal if it doesn’t automatically. I don’t understand how people don’t notice the continuous ticking and flashing light and just keep going as usual.
To add on to that, signal BEFORE turning! I see so many drivers signal just when the lights go green and they are about to turn.
The point of signalling is to notify other drivers and pedestrians, not for yourself!
You signal before BREAKING
I know you meant “braking,” but I’m imagining someone in an absolute shitbox going “ah, there’s my axle about to fall off again” and hitting their hazards or something lmao
Signal the intent not the event!
And give those assholes in the other lane a chance to block my lane change? I don’t think so.
/s
When merging onto a highway you have to press the gas pedal.
This one annoys me soo much. I drive a slow vehicle. Probably 20 seconds 0-60. I can get it up to highway merging speed by the end of the on ramp 100% of the time. Why the fuck can’t Mr. Twin Turbo Ecoboost manage that?
I have no idea. Maybe acceleration offends their delicate sensibilities? Maybe they like to disrupt the flow of vehicles?
Mine’s quite a bit worse, when it’s cold it takes me about a minute to get up to speed (won’t shift into 4th cause of a sticky solenoid), but unfortunately the turn onto our highway is just a stop sign and not a ramp. So i have to wait for a big opening to go onto it safely
When you turn onto a multi-lane road, you turn into the closest lane. THEN you signal and change lanes. This is a big cause of accidents.
My huge pet peeve - I tell my wife that people blank out and try to ‘choose their own adventure’ rather than sticking to a single lane through the intersection.
It’s so wildly dangerous to change lanes in an intersection, but people find it easier to adopt a ‘fuck you’ mentality while driving. There was a similar post to his on reddit a few years ago, and when this was pointed out it rapidly devolved into name calling.
Damn shame driving is so integral to the layout of the US.
Double lane roundabouts.
You only use the fucking outer ring right before you want to exit. If you want to exit on the 3rd, you go inside, so others can come in in the first and the second. Otherwise it just becomes a very expensive single lane roundabout.
Roundabouts in the US are a nightmare. Not sure how it is in the rest of the world, but it is complete ass over here. Nobody uses them correctly, I swear
im pretty sure at least single lane roundabouts are good in australia
I swear where I am nobody understands how little time you spend going around the loop once, instead of stopping dead and plugging up the roundabout while some pedestrians go by.
Double lane? Try quad-lane turbo-roundabouts. They’re something no theory ever prepares you for, but the dumber you go in, the better yo come out.
Still nothing compared to the magic roundabout in Swindon.
That is 6 roundabouts in one.
That they are driving around a 1 tonne piece of metal.
due to cognitive bias, roughly 80% of drivers think that they are “above average” in their driving ability.
AKA, you’re probably overestimating your driving ability and are not as good of a driver as you think you are…
sucks for everyone else but im different
You and me both. Come on, we don’t need these bad drivers bringing us down!
you’re probably overestimating your driving ability and are not as good of a driver as you think you are…
Every day I drive, I prove that I’m a superior driver. I keep my head on a swivel and look at all my rear view mirrors on rotation. I can tell what people are going to do before they do it.
Yeah, that absolutely holds water. I can’t tell you the number of people I’ve seen making stupid decisions on the road and barely recovering from the mistake. It’s a bad combination of misjudgment and lack of skill. I’ve been run off the road by someone merging into where I was because they didn’t want to brake, I’ve been cut off by someone who almost lost all traction after merging so quickly, I’ve been “challenged” by someone revving their engine wanting to beat me in a race (while there were many, many cars around) and much more.
I think people in general need better driving classes, stricter requirements to begin driving, and police should be more worried about behaviors like these on the roads compared to just speeding.
Honestly, one of the biggest reasons I want to build a car for auto crossing is because I want to become a better driver. It will be fun, sure, but if I can train myself to know how to react to extreme situations, then my thought is that in an emergency, I should be able to make the right reactions.
It’s because it’s true. Think about how many drivers you see on the road on a journey. Sure you’ll see some inattentive ones and some dangerous ones, but really it is a very small percentage that cause almost all the issues.
On an imaginary bell curve it is a huge spike of terrible drivers, then a normal bell making the vast majority above average because of the skew.
