Tuesday, January 24, 2017

5 Hilarious but dangerous rushed driver maneuvers.

While I commute on my bike year round, I am continuously entertained yet simultaneously afraid of the moves that drivers pull to save a minute on their everyday commutes. It's like they don't understand statistics. Through one's career (250 days/year over 40 years) one will work 10,000 days. That's 20,000 commutes. Even if your driving is 99.99 percent safe, you can still expect to crash twice over your career!

Cyclists get ragged on for not stopping at yield signs and not signalling. I can count multiple instances of drivers rolling through stop signs, speeding, distracted driving, not signalling (unsafe lane changes) on my commute each day. Here are some other gems I see while riding:

The "No advance left turn light advance left turn": This one works especially well on long intersections. Being at the front of the line and guaranteed to make it through on the light cycle isn't good enough. No advance left turn arrow? No problem. Just make your turn before oncoming traffic has a chance to get going through the intersection!

The U-Turn: What's so special about a U-turn? They are common and described in driver training manuals. These people aren't lost. They are rushed and at intersections with lights (illegal) to avoid having to wait in a long line of traffic.

The "Second Right Turning Lane": Lineup for the regular right turning lane too long? Why not just go all the way up to the intersection in the adjacent lane and make your right turn there?

Parking lot or residential street shortcut: If you are driving on residential streets or parking lots you should be within 2 minutes of your destination or just starting driving. So I'm not sure I understand why there are drivers ripping through! You aren't going to make up any time here...unless you need to bypass a busy section of arterial road! There are now 4 speedbumps and a traffic circle for drivers to navigate through in my neighbourhood. Traffic calming.

The "Hurry up and wait": Rolling stop signs, dangerous or close passes, passing while turning or merging, pedal to the floor accelerations...only to have to wait at the next set of lights or stop sign. Was it worth it?

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