There's nothing that stresses me out more than stupid idiot drivers. DC area drivers are the worst I've ever seen. Sure, people from VA say that MD people are awful, then MD drivers say the VA ones are bad. But guess what? You all suck. VA, MD, DC -- all are terrible drivers.
While living in the NYC area I had to deal with aggressive drivers or cabs that could stop in front of you without any notice, here in DC I have to deal with stupid, distracted, never pay attention to anything going on outside their cars, idiotic drivers.
So what DC drivers do, that you don't commonly see in other states? Irritatingly enough, all in the list below happen to be my traffic pet peeves. These are the drivers that manage to piss me off on a daily basis:
While living in the NYC area I had to deal with aggressive drivers or cabs that could stop in front of you without any notice, here in DC I have to deal with stupid, distracted, never pay attention to anything going on outside their cars, idiotic drivers.
So what DC drivers do, that you don't commonly see in other states? Irritatingly enough, all in the list below happen to be my traffic pet peeves. These are the drivers that manage to piss me off on a daily basis:
-People here in DC have this huge problem with their turn signal. Ok, dumbasses, here is a little tip: the turn signal is to alert the cars around you that at the very near future you will make a turn. Stopping in the left lane, and only then turning on your signal does not alert anyone of your upcoming plans. It only makes me have to slam on my brakes, and then be stuck behind your ass, because you didn't warn me of your turn and I lost my chance to change lanes.
-Green means go. It's that simple.
-If a sign says "No turn on red when pedestrians are present" and there are no pedestrians around then fucking turn on red if no cars are coming!!! Don't stay there, waiting for the green light, while I'm stuck behind you honking on my horn because you don't know how to freaking read!!!
-Yellow light does not mean suddenly slam on your brakes while you reached the intersection, specially if it's a yellow turn light, when you know others are behind you, hoping to make that light as well.
-If you cut me off making me slam on my brakes to avoid hitting you and I honk at you, that does not give you the right to honk back. Take the honk and shove it. You making a fucked up move in traffic makes you deserve my horn blasting. Don't honk back -- that just make you more of an asshole than you already were. (By the way, you only see this in the DC area. In NY, you graciously accept the horn and go on with your life. You screwed up, my horn is your punishment, deal with it, because believe me, honking my horn is nowhere near of the real punishment I wish I could give you.)
-Ah, and since we're talking about changing lanes... When you do change lanes you do so at the speed of traffic of the lane you're going into. If you're cutting someone off, then you go at an even faster pace (avoid that crash, ya know?). Changing lanes into faster traffic while maintaning your slow speed? You're asking for a collision or the finger.
-Another novel idea for you DC drivers regarding this lane change thing that you seem to have so much problems with... Read the above again. Read it? Good. Nowhere does it say that you have to come to a complete stop to change lanes. But somehow you morons still come to a complete stop, messing up all the traffic behind you, because you can't accept the simple fact that it's easier to change lanes if you're moving with traffic. The rest of us have to deal with being stuck behind you while you make that lane change, or you cutting us off at 10 mph, while we're driving at 40 mph (you see this idiotic move daily at the Roosevelt Bridge, from people coming from Constitution Av, who need to merge right to get to 50W or the GW Parkway, even though they have at least half a mile to merge).
-If you are driving on a road where the speed limit is 30 mph, please drive at least at the speed of 30mph. With no hazardous weather or conditions, there should be no excuse for you to cruise at 20mph when the limit is 30. If you really do want to be a slow ass and drive at 20, then please see bullet point above and get out of the freaking left lane. (This move seems to be the norm for those drivers on Columbia Pike -- when you add that to the idiots who don't turn their left turn blinker, plus the bus stopping on the right, it's a fucked up experience.)
-When making a left turn at an intersection, go forward and wait in the middle of the intersection, so that when traffic clears and you can go, you can just make that turn. People here wait behind the crosswalk, even though the green light is a go. This generally means, that you won't move until a whole cycle of lights go through again. It is much easier to make that turn, when you don't have to go forward the 30 or so feet in front of you in order to turn. Since the drivers the other way are slamming their feet on the yellow light, it gives the opportunity for quite a few cars to make that left turn, if you're not hanging around behind the crosswalk.
-If you're making a turn, yield to pedestrians and bikers who have the right of way. I do not need the mini-heart attack when you almost run me over because the walk sign or stop sign is something you are unfamiliar with.
I'm sure there's more to this list, and will edit accordingly if I think of anything else. (You have another pet peeve? Post it in the comments section.)
Now DC metro area drivers, please print it and carry with you at all times (but don't read and drive).
Hope you learn something by reading it today. This ends my public service announcement.
-When making a left turn at an intersection, go forward and wait in the middle of the intersection, so that when traffic clears and you can go, you can just make that turn. People here wait behind the crosswalk, even though the green light is a go. This generally means, that you won't move until a whole cycle of lights go through again. It is much easier to make that turn, when you don't have to go forward the 30 or so feet in front of you in order to turn. Since the drivers the other way are slamming their feet on the yellow light, it gives the opportunity for quite a few cars to make that left turn, if you're not hanging around behind the crosswalk.
-If you're making a turn, yield to pedestrians and bikers who have the right of way. I do not need the mini-heart attack when you almost run me over because the walk sign or stop sign is something you are unfamiliar with.
I'm sure there's more to this list, and will edit accordingly if I think of anything else. (You have another pet peeve? Post it in the comments section.)
Now DC metro area drivers, please print it and carry with you at all times (but don't read and drive).
Hope you learn something by reading it today. This ends my public service announcement.
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4 comments:
Your coming to a complete stop part of that article is the worst. ESPECIALLY in rush hour traffic. It needlessly backs up traffic in lanes that could naturally flow because people are in such a rush (and so me first around here) that they have to get as close to the exit as possible in the "fastest" moving lanes, then come to a total stop to force their way over into the lane they should have been in from the start.
This happened to me Wednesday night. I was driving to RFK Stadium on the SE/SW freeway, towards the entrance to Lot 8 (right where the freeway merges to Pennsylvania Ave.). The left lane there is for stadium traffic only, let people constantly ride in the stadium lane as far as possible, then come to a total stop and try to force their way in to the lanes for Pennsylvania Avenue. And, of course, this pisses me off to no end, leading me to honk at them. Of course, they honk back, because they're self-centered idiots. But it's so, so frustrating. Especially since I never do that sort of thing.
That's another one of my pet peeves -- I should add it to the list. People trying to be "smart" and cutting the line straight ahead. I mean, we all do it, but when traffic is already at a standstill, then it's just lack of consideration to the people that have been waiting in line, and to the other ones behind you who are still planning on going straight. Yep, I'm one of those assholes who sees that, and will make sure that you will NOT be able to cut in front of me.
I am SO glad I don't drive here...
Except in a Zipcar every once in awhile. And speaking of, last Saturday when I had a car I almost got rammed into because some dumb bitch decided only to look right (on a one-way street where traffic was only coming from the left, natch). Yeah.
Yep, if I've been patiently waiting, and you zoom up in a lane about to end and try to force your way in, you are NOT getting in. And I'm not being hypocritcal; I try to make the merge as soon as possible, or try to be in the lane I need to be in ahead of time.
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