Observations on Driving in the U.S.

[kcghost]

1. Some countries permit left turns on Red but most don't. When in Rome do as the Romans.
2. Lane discipline is not big deal to U.S. motorists. We would be better off for it, but then again we aren't engaged in that elitist " my car is more expensive than yours so get out of the way " foolishness that goes on in many places.

 

[rolldog]

I agree folks in the US do not use the left lane as a passing lane only, especially on smaller highways. It is also something they no longer teach, as I had to 'explain this' to my 20 year old daughter coming home from camping last summer. She was getting angry because folks were tailing her while in the left lane. I told her to get over and only use the left when passing. Her response, "...that's stupid...they didn't teach us that (in drivers education)..." She was even more upset that she didn't know the rules of the road and had to learn them from her 'old man'
I will add they (we US folks) do not use turn signals, usually because their other hand is holding a cell phone to their ear. Over the past couple of years I have also noted a severe increase in 'lane drifting', often into other lanes, because folks are reading texts and email on their cell phones. Time to enforce the 'driving while distracted' laws that are on the books in several cities and counties.

 

[cigrmaster]

peck, the left hand lane thing is more of a Florida thing than a US thing. In the NE we can use our discretion at most lights but here in Florida it is too dangerous as the old people cannot be trusted.
The aholes who clog the left hand lane do it on purpose in my mind. They do the speed limit and they think they have the right to slow down people who want to go faster. I get in the middle lane, and then cut them off making them swerve, it is a major pet peeve of mine.

 

[eastwoodaudio]

peck, I live in Minnesota currently, and have lived in Southern Ontario as well for a number of years. I found people in the area I drove (anywhere from Fort Erie to Toronto), people did not allow for passing in the left lane. Those are the only areas of Canada I have driven in by the way. I've driven all across the US, and I feel like certain states/areas are the opposite, and quite a bit more courteous; allowing people to pass on the left, especially on the west coast.

 

[cacooper]

This past summer my wife and I toured the European Alps by motorcycle. 5 days of riding in the Austrian, Swiss, German and Italian Alps. Absolutely incredible. One thing I noticed was that European drivers and motorcyclists are very skilled. And motorcycling is a culture and way of life in Europe. Bikes are EVERYWHERE, from scooters to exotic sport bikes. It was refreshing to see practically zero Harleys or cruisers like in the U.S. No "loud pipes save lives" mentality there.
Car drivers show respect to riders by moving to the right to allow a bike to pass. In Austria this is especially so, as our group passed a line of cars against opposing traffic! All cars in both directions moved over to allow us a lane-wide center path. Amazing.
You will NEVER,EVER see or expect this kind of courtesy in the U.S. Motorcycles here are considered nothing more than a curiosity and an annoyance to most car drivers. I felt perfectly comfortable riding in Europe. Not so much here. Drivers in Europe look out for bikes. U.S drivers are more or less oblivious. Also, I didn't see any cellphone use or texting while driving while there. Not once! Most likely the practice is illegal with heavy penalties. As it should be here.
When riding here at home, I always pretend I'm invisible and ride defensively.
Ride safe.
CACooper

 

[puffdoggie]

1) We don't use the discretionary left turn here because most folks can barely handle the concept of right turn on red after stop. Now you want to try left turns?? :crazy:
2) Yep, folks love to cruise in the left lane. Way to slow too. :evil:
3) The blinking yellow thing confused the hell out of me on my motorcycle trip across Canada last year. Apparently it is used in some provinces but not others and can mean different things in different provinces that do use them. Hmmm..... 8O
4) If you don't like the way I drive stay off the sidewalk. I can provide eyewitnesses. :nana:

 

[pipetraveler]

When in Rome. Happy trails. Stay out of the Miami area they don't take prisoners ther.

 

[peckinpahhombre]

The aholes who clog the left hand lane do it on purpose in my mind. They do the speed limit and they think they have the right to slow down people who want to go faster. I get in the middle lane, and then cut them off making them swerve, it is a major pet peeve of mine.

Harris, if you screw the pooch riding in the left lane on a highway where I am you will have major problems, particularly if you do it at busy times. I ride those people in my Audi, with LED high beams right in their mirror, and then I buzz them going about 150 km/h (the rear spoiler deploys at 137 km/h) when I can get past them. I actually would fully support roadside executions for this lot, lol. And I would say I am on the low end of the aggressive side, as I have seen others react far more harshly to folks who don't move the f*ck over! Here in Florida it is just unbelievable what I have seen in the last 6 days.
eastwood, I drive that stretch several times per week, and generally locals move out of the left hand lane when you approach them from behind (as do I)

 

[peckinpahhombre]

puffdoggie - I have absolutely no idea what blinking yellow thing you are referring to. Do you mean the yellow light between green and red?

 

[checotah]

And to throw a little more confusion into the mix, here in Oregon you can make a left turn on red if you are in the left lane of either one or two way street and the cross street is one way from your right to your left. People new to the State usually do not know this, sit at such a red light in a left turn lane, and then get surprised and indignant when the person behind honks.
Another difference here is the definition of the solid yellow light on traffic lights. It is defined as "stop if possible, otherwise cautiously continue through the intersection." (practical definition, not specific language) Many people here, especially those from California think it means the same as there: hurry up and go through before it turns red.

 

[riskybusiness]

Regarding left-arrow turns: We have the same issue over here in the UK, (only it's right arrows for us). Crossing through oncoming lanes of traffic is inefficient, and a logistics puzzle for traffic engineers. There are dozens of academic papers simply on the subject of turn signal optimization; I won't bore you with details.
For the Canadians, Americans, Germans, et al. who drive on the right side, I found this interesting:
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2008-04-30-fuel-costs-companies_N.htm
Companies using delivery trucks (FedEx, UPS, DHL) put GPS black boxes in the vehicles, and they feed drivers directions to their destination based on computer optimized flow-analysis. To put it simply: Left turns are bad. They waste gas, they waste time, and you can save your company millions of dollars per year by optimizing trucks to they make as few left turns as possible.

 

[foggymountain]

It is safer than it used to be. They won't let me drive.

 

[puffdoggie]

peck, my bad from a faulty memory. It's the flashing green light. It just blew my mind that it could vary depending on the province. Of course, in my travels across the U.S. I've seen some bizarro things also but I can't think of anything where the same type signal means two different things depending on the state.
"In parts of Canada (the Maritime Provinces, Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta[1]), a flashing green light has a special meaning. It is only shown in one direction, with the other three directions in a 4-way intersection having a red light. It gives the traffic in its direction the right of way in all directions; straight through, left turn or right turn. This was done because the green arrow already had a different meaning in Ontario. It meant that all traffic must turn in the direction of the arrow."
"In British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, a flashing green arrow indicates that the opposing direction still has a red light (and any pedestrian crossing in that direction is at a "don't walk" indication), thus drivers are free to make a turn in the direction of the arrow turn. This is also used in most of the former British Commonwealth."
Source: Wikipedia - the ultimate force in the Universe. :rofl:

 

[12pups]

Welp. I'd say, cars unable to turn left on a red light doesn't matter much to me -- I'm a motorcyclist. And in Minnesota, if the light has been red a long time, you can figure the sensor isn't recognizing you as cross traffic and can go on your own discretion. For some odd reason, I can discern this much faster than they intended, I think.
And, of course, a flashing red light means you go on your own discretion, left right straight or wherever.
As for left lane -- in a city, ALL the lanes are passing lanes. In the country, unless there's a blizzard, the left lane is the smoothest driving lane. And what often happens out here in the boonies, a guy just forgets to look for an occasional car speeding up behind him (because we're all driving 10, 15 miles an hour over the limit anyway, so being passed sort of throws us off to begin with).
As for metrics that someone brought up -- is it true that in England distances to this or that city on the road signs have to be reported in miles? Weird!

 

[daveinlax]

I ride those people in my Audi, with LED high beams right in their mirror,

LOL! And I would give you a hard break check till you backed off. Relax, you'd really be raging if I send you to the ditch or cut a tire in the breakdown lane. 8O

 

[peckinpahhombre]

Dave if you brake on me I guarantee you will be coming out second best. If someone screwing the pooch in the left lane brakes instead of moving over then I punish them as God intended. I won't tell you how but it ain't pretty. :twisted:

 

[lonestar]

Dave if you brake on me I guarantee you will be coming out second best. If someone screwing the pooch in the left lane brakes instead of moving over then I punish them as God intended. I won't tell you how but it ain't pretty.

:rofl:

One of the reasons I had to quit driving trucks is, I started having a hard time forgiving the f*@&heads on the road that do everything wrong and think all along they are in the right.

When you're driving 80,000 lbs down the road, you absolutely have to forgive them and swallow your animosity for their ignorance and arrogance. Otherwise they would die, period.

The first job of a professional driver is to protect the motoring public. 90% of the time, that means protecting them from their own stupid actions.

 

[sablebrush52]

Peck's revenge:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bd0JFb3aJFc

 

[flakyjakey]

@sable, in context that is very, VERY funny!!!!!!

 

[ssjones]

"Lane Discipline", we have none....

From a guy who drive 50-60k per year, the passing lane is only one of many things that drive me nuts.

I can say from my travel on I-81, which seems to be conduit from Canada to Florida, the left lane issues aren't restricted to US only drivers.

My big fear lately is the pot-hole repair work. There are flashing neon signs miles before the lane closure warning of the work, of course no one reads them. Suddenly, you happen on a crew working in the fast lane and everyone screeches to a stop. On Monday, on I-81 at my home town exit, one guy in a truck ran full speed into a stopped car. The car burst into flames and both seniors were killed. When I watch horror movies, my wife says they will give me nightmares. I tell here they won't but these kind of news stories will (or the several videos shown this winter with 50-100 cars/trucks hurtling into each other).