WHY... do some drivers do this ?

[CJFusco]

Living in West Hartford over the last year or so, I have seen some of the most bizarre traffic behavior.

For those of you who aren't aware of West Hartford, or Farminton Valley in CT in general, let me explain: money and old people. There is a LOT of money, and a LOT of old people. Entitlement issues run rampant.

In any case, here is some of the most bizarre driving behavior I have witnessed:

In the middle of the day, old lady comes to a red light in the left turn lane. It is a busy intersection, with lots of cars sitting at the light. The lady sits at the red light for about 10 seconds, then out of nowhere decides to take a left turn while the light is still red.

Lady comes to a red light, stops for about 10 sec., looks over at the police cruiser sitting in the parking lot to the left. Rolls through the stop sign. Gets pulled over. As the light turns green and I drive by, I hear her yelling at the cop, "BUT NO-ONE WAS COMING THE OTHER WAY!"

I was driving down route 44 near Bishop's Corner (locals will know what I mean), and there is construction up ahead with about 3 or 4 cops milling about. I am probably going maybe 35mph-ish, with no cars ahead or behind me. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a bald guy, on his cell phone, driving a Jag XJ6 pulls into my lane about 20 feet ahead of me. I have to brake hard, hard enough to squeal the rear tires. Jag guy, still on the phone, floors it, and gets up to what must be about 50mph APPROACHING the construction. The cops look furious. One cop STEPS IN FRONT OF THE JAG and starts screaming at the driver, with the driver visibly arguing back. As a I drive by, smiling, one of the other cops gives me a nod and a smile.

[BGCarrera32]

On rare occasion, if I'm in a double turn lane and am on the inside lane at an intersection and the driver next to me isn't paying attention, I'll flick the wheel just quick enough and short enough to upset the balance of the car...sort of a corner check move.

I saw Button do it to Coulthard in an F1 race once and it spooked Couthard just enough for a split second that he backed off and held his lane

Another personal fav is to wait for the tailgater to bring the hot coffee up to their mouth, and then DYNO that brakes for a half second. Totally stupid thing to do but oh so gratifiying when you can get them to dump it in their lap.

[svandamme]

Originally posted by Eric Coffey

1.) staying in the right lane to go straight (at a red light when you/others need to make a right turn). If you aren't turning right, get at least one lane over if possible!!

y'all have a different lane system then in Europe
over here you could get a ticket for not taking the lane the furthest to the right as possible

that counts on highways, express ways and regular 2 lane roads...

and ultimately it makes sense, if there is ever a ghostrider( dunno the word in english we call em that in Dutch , those who are on the wrong side of the road, going against traffic) you'll have a better chance of not getting hit
and regardless of that , driving to the right clears up the left lanes for faster traffic...

at traffic lights we simply have seperate lanes for those who turn left or right, you arent' allowed to turn right from the left or center lane, can't go left from the center or right lane
and you can't turn from the straight lane... quite simpel really

[Bob's Flat-Six]

Just to be more clear, I'm not talking about a wide turn that's made by a truck. I'm talking about a deliberate blip to the left before turning in.

I drive a truck, 3 Axel about 30ft or so long. I may have to hold the outside of my lane on tight streets, but I don't swing / blip to the left before I turn in. And I keep the rubber off the curbs just fine.

The reason I brought this up was I saw a young girl do it in Calabasas the other day in a Lexus suv. She was tuning right from a stop (rolling) and not close to the curb or anything and blipped the front end out to the left first before turning.
I had to wonder where she picked that up ? Maybe it's stylish driving ?

[svandamme]

i do it for quick turns, but that would only be if i'm the fastest car( since nobody would even get next to me) or if i have the road to myself, no other cars at all

[oldE]

Mostly, it's ignorance:
of the placement of their wheels, (perhaps they scrubbed a curb one time and don't want to do it again),
of their position in the road/lane and
the uneasiness it generates in those around them.

In this age of power steering on darn near everything, there is no excuse for the behavior on most streets and roads. I'm afraid it comes back to poor initial driver education and the feeling many have that it is their right to be where they are and all others should yield to them.

Les

[mschuep]

I hate it when people are on the brakes all the time, but they aren't braking. "fakers" I call them. They really screw up the coasting traffic that can't see around their fat-ass SUV's to see if they are really going to stop, or are just keeping their foot on the brake because it gives them the warm fuzzies.

[Superman]

Originally posted by Eric Coffey
6.) Idiots that missed their turn-lane/whatever, flip their signal on, and wedge their car's nose over, blocking 1 or more lanes of thru-traffic. If you made the mistake of not paying attention to where you are going, then go down one street and make a U-turn or whatever it takes to keep traffic flowing. It was your mistake, don't make others pay for it!

If they made a mistake, fine. In my view they are entitled to the courtesy of being let in. My problem is with the asshats that think driving and racing are the same thing, and who pretend they didn't know they were in the wrong lane. Fact is, 90%+ of those people just didn't want to get in line with everyone else. I wish the folks in the proper lane would tighten up and make those asshats miss their turns.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally posted by mschuep
I hate it when people are on the brakes all the time, but they aren't braking. "fakers" I call them. They really screw up the coasting traffic that can't see around their fat-ass SUV's to see if they are really going to stop, or are just keeping their foot on the brake because it gives them the warm fuzzies.

I find most of them are tailgating. Makes me nuts. Back off another 10 feet and everyone is happier.

[RM512]

How about the people that get into a turning lane, come to a stop and THEN turn on their signal.

[930addict]

This just happened to me the other night. I was turning left and some lady in her huge MB swings to the right actually coming into my lane then proceeds to turn. Stupid woman was on her cell phone. I can't stand this either. Its not like they're in a semi and need the extra room. Their in a car for heaven sakes!

[Halm]

Saw a new move several times today: a 20 year old, +/- 4, rolls down his/her window, points to an opening between 2 cars to their left and dares the trailing car to him as he moves over. YIKES!!!