NC Penguin

Maybe they don't want to be hit by the cars (note plural) driving through red lights...


NC Penguin

Pimpbot

Maneuver, signal, mirror.

And the "I don't care how much space is between those cars, I'm coming into your lane"

AdobePinon

Just to be contrary, things I love about driving in the US:

- it's legal to overtake in the slow lane. Who wouldn't want to?
- right turn on red
- left turn on red
- no speed cameras (at least around here).
- no hybrid roundabouts with traffic lights

But back to the subject at hand...

- 'wrong way' signs cunningly placed so that you can't tell whether or not you're going the wroing way.

Patrick Hasler

Oh Yeah ! ............. i forgot idiots who stop at the bottom of the on ramps and look back

Rockgurl

There are many things that drive me nuts about driving over here. Here are a select few:

1) Drivers that sit in the fast lane completely oblivious to the fact that half the state, and their mother, is sitting behind them wanting to pass.

2) Drivers that are driving parrallel with said driver in the middle lane who are also completely oblivious that everyone is now sitting behind them willing them to drive faster or bugger off into the slow lane so they can pass the both of them.

3) Off-ramps that make sharp 180 degree turns and only give you about 20 feet notice. There you come happily along at 60 or 70 miles an hour only to be faced with a hedge/wall/100 ft drop/other highway coming towards you rather quickly.

4) Complete lack of lighting on roads. No cats-eyes, no illuminated arrows denoting sharp bends, no well lit areas of known accident black spots. Just darkness, bats and rather large potholes.

5) Abscence of lane markings in "rotaries". Oh look....here's what those funny English people call "roundabouts". We have no idea what to do with them anyway...let's make it more fun by having a free for all and closing our eyes. Wheeeeeeeee!

6) Lane changing every 20 seconds. Why? Wrong color? Wrong flavor? Or didn't you like the view? I had quite a culture shock in England last month actually managing to stay in one lane along with all my fellow travellers for several miles at a time.

7) No roundabouts at the end of off-ramps on the highway, so you can't just turn around, go over the bridge and back the other way. Oh no.....you're going to join Route 173 to East Oshkosh whether you like it or not, and the take the next exit which is 23 miles away, just so you can get completely lost. Pah....roundabouts are for wusses.

AdobePinon

I also love the mysterious hidden lane. I've only really seen it used on a regular basis in New Mexico and Vancouver, BC. But it's there for you all, if only you know where to look:*

Just steer your car so that you have two wheels in one marked lane, and two in another. There, easy wasn't it?


* Note that NM has a second hidden lane, ordinarily referred to as the 'shoulder'. Never, ever, ever question he who uses the shoulder for overtaking. Just let him go.....

ukemigrant

Magic bus drivers! GASP!

Hiro11

Just to clarify, as far as I know right on red is legal in all states (unless a "no right turn" sign is present, of course).

NYC (I think only Manhattan) is the only place in the country where it's banned outright regardless of signs.

nottsinCT

What about the idiots who race you when you coming on the highway and all lanes are clear for them to move over and let you in.

Pigtails

The idiots who can't stand to be passed even if you're in a passing lane and they're going 5-10 miles under the speed limit, so they speed up once you try to pass them.

Jerseygirl

Traffic lights that are not synchronised, your light turns to green just as the one 200yds ahead turns to red. No sensors on traffic lights, you're waiting at a red light for 5 mins when there is absolutely no other traffic about.

Having to cut across ve-hi-cules entering the highway to get onto the exit ramp.

antjen

my number 1 pet peeve, is how everyone drives so close to each other around LA - jeez!! - give me some room, if only i had a dollar for everytime i had to slam my brakes on to brake test the person behind me, or repeatidly spray excessive amounts of water onto my windscreen - so it all blows onto the nice clean car behind me!!!!!

britvic

I do that also, we are naughty serves them f**ktards right.

Rushman

Here's something I think is good here:

The big trucks have no speed limiters fitted. You see them flying along at up to 75 MPH.

All that bollocks in Europe about trucks being too fast and then having speed limiters fitted to keep a truck under 56 MPH and for what purpose? Safety? Don't make me laugh.

Transport companies said all that speed limiters will do is
1: increase accidents because you'll have too many big vehicles all travelling at the same speed in close proximity to each other

2: Cause more accidents as drivers will tend to go into "auto pilot' mode with no control over the trucks top speed. (Basically meaning that drivers will become bored and paying less attention to their driving, much as some car drivers using "cruise control" do)

3: Piss off other road users (car drivers) as they will inevitably get stuck behind a truck doing 57 MPH trying to pass another truck doing 55 or 56 MPH. At no fault of the truck drivers.

I'm not saying that truck drivers don't speed and have accidents, thats the nature of the beast. I am however saying that I believe speed limiters make trucks more dangerous to ALL road users.

RoadWarriorFromLP

A right-turn-on-red is permitted everywhere in the US, unless otherwise posted, except in New York City. (It is also permitted everywhere in Canada, except on the Island of Montreal.)

The differences in road rules between the states are minimal and largely inconsequential. Where there are speed limit differences, these are posted (no signs lacking numbers, as in the UK), and the signage is consistent enough as to not cause too many surprises.

The most significant differences between the states are in respect to issues that are more relevant to a resident, i.e. registration, title, insurance requirements, etc. But yes, you should pull over whenever an emergency vehicle with its emergency lights are flashing, it is required to give them a wide berth, even if oncoming. (I really don't understand why this would be a problem.)