Cheeky Driver's or Not?!

almillar

fivetide - you are wrong, and I bet that YOU'RE the one causing the holdups with your attitude of not letting those 'selfish' people from the outside lane into that little gap in front of you.
For ANY merge (simple permanent one, roadworks, police, whatever), you, the individual driver, should simply be in the emptiest lane, and when you get to the merge point, one from the left, and one from the right should go. No worrying about that boy racer getting in front, no worrying about whether that guy behind will let you in, just a simple system that makes queues half as long (queue in 2 lanes instead of one like you seem to prefer) and where everyone knows their place. The most you'll lose out by is one or two cars, and no-one will fly past you. You're either part of the solution or part of the problem, I encourage you to leave the queue on the left and join the right hand lane.
This is called the zipper system (imagine the cars at the merge point like a zip) and is law in Germany.

Limey

almillar wrote: »

This is called the zipper system (imagine the cars at the merge point like a zip) and is law in Germany.

Exactly the same law in Australia and the cops there WILL enforce it if they're around. Seems like a great bit of common sense legislation, which is why I doubt it'll ever appear in this country. :rotfl:

split_second

Strider590 wrote: »

This thread might as well be asking if it's "cheeky" to drive upto the vacant left hand petrol pump in a car with a right hand filler cap and reel out all the hose to go around your car.

that is one of my absolute pet hates, along with people that will sit at the disabled spaces in the car park and wait for one to become available, even though all the cars that are parked are empty :eek:

fivetide

almillar wrote: »

fivetide - you are wrong, and I bet that YOU'RE the one causing the holdups with your attitude of not letting those 'selfish' people from the outside lane into that little gap in front of you.
For ANY merge (simple permanent one, roadworks, police, whatever), you, the individual driver, should simply be in the emptiest lane, and when you get to the merge point, one from the left, and one from the right should go. No worrying about that boy racer getting in front, no worrying about whether that guy behind will let you in, just a simple system that makes queues half as long (queue in 2 lanes instead of one like you seem to prefer) and where everyone knows their place. The most you'll lose out by is one or two cars, and no-one will fly past you. You're either part of the solution or part of the problem, I encourage you to leave the queue on the left and join the right hand lane.
This is called the zipper system (imagine the cars at the merge point like a zip) and is law in Germany.

With respect:

1. I'm not wrong
2. I know how it should work

So lets see how that works in reality... it doesn't. As I said, queue forms, cars bunch, no option but to stop to let people in. Also lose out by one or two cars? No chance. always more traffic on the inside lane/longer because of the lorries so you'll always fly past and people will always think "what a self important expletive"

What you are discussing is how it should work and assumes all cars are still rolling. My point is, by the time you get to the cones and try to force yourself into a gap that isn't there you are actually causing more of an issue than you would be if you had done as you suggest and got in when everyone was still moving and there was plenty of space.

Mind, I'm sure your five minutes is much more important than anyone elses so please do keep telling yourself this guff if it makes you feel better. Mind, back in the real world....

5t.

EDIT to add: In this country the signs generally say "merge in turn" and it works ok on dual to single carriageways where the road is designed like that. The issue here is purely unforseen/temporary issues.

Double edit - I offer you some example of why I'm right based on actual behaviour - variable limits. These are more and more popular because if you keep traffic at a constant flow congestion is cut. People moan they are limited to 50 and not 70 but they fail to realise why cutting the speed is actually helping them. Unfortunately, people are just not capable of maintaining a constant speed/gap etc otherwise we'd never get volume of traffic related queues.

Same principle here. You want to zoom to the front and are happily saying it is all ok based on some rubbish about how it works in theory. Unfortunately that doesn't play out on the road.

Lum

(re: using a petrol pump hose on the wrong side)

split_second wrote: »

that is one of my absolute pet hates

Really? You would rather the pump just sit there unused while the queue for the other side of the pump just gets longer.

It's fine if you'd rather wait than faff with the hose or do a 3 point turn, but the person who chooses to do this is:

a) Not causing you any additional delay (you wern't going to use that pump anyway)
b) Is reducing the delay for everybody behind them

There really are no negatives to doing it, except for when people stretch the hose on a pump that isn't designed for it.


Not going to argue with you about people abusing disabled spaces. I'd guess that people who explicitly wait for them are people who haven't learned to use their car doors in a normal space. I guess I should be grateful they aren't just slamming their doors into mine though.

mellowtimes

fivetide wrote: »

With respect:

1. I'm not wrong
2. I know how it should work

So lets see how that works in reality... it doesn't. As I said, queue forms, cars bunch, no option but to stop to let people in. Also lose out by one or two cars? No chance. always more traffic on the inside lane/longer because of the lorries so you'll always fly past and people will always think "what a self important expletive"

What you are discussing is how it should work and assumes all cars are still rolling. My point is, by the time you get to the cones and try to force yourself into a gap that isn't there you are actually causing more of an issue than you would be if you had done as you suggest and got in when everyone was still moving and there was plenty of space.

Mind, I'm sure your five minutes is much more important than anyone elses so please do keep telling yourself this guff if it makes you feel better. Mind, back in the real world....

5t.

EDIT to add: In this country the signs generally say "merge in turn" and it works ok on dual to single carriageways where the road is designed like that. The issue here is purely unforseen/temporary issues.

Double edit - I offer you some example of why I'm right based on actual behaviour - variable limits. These are more and more popular because if you keep traffic at a constant flow congestion is cut. People moan they are limited to 50 and not 70 but they fail to realise why cutting the speed is actually helping them. Unfortunately, people are just not capable of maintaining a constant speed/gap etc otherwise we'd never get volume of traffic related queues.

Same principle here. You want to zoom to the front and are happily saying it is all ok based on some rubbish about how it works in theory. Unfortunately that doesn't play out on the road.

Just LOL :rotfl:

cyclonebri1

split_second wrote: »

that is one of my absolute pet hates, along with people that will sit at the disabled spaces in the car park and wait for one to become available, even though all the cars that are parked are empty :eek:

I think that was an ironic reply from stider, quite why you should be offended by it is quite beyond me, as said almost all are designed to reach either side of a car.

Bongles

fivetide wrote: »

EDIT to add: In this country the signs generally say "merge in turn" and it works ok on dual to single carriageways where the road is designed like that. The issue here is purely unforseen/temporary issues.

So if you think it works OK when "merge in turn" signs are used, would you advocate their use more widely? For example at roadworks that close a lane, or on overhead motorway signs in advance of an incident.

I think there is plenty of opportunity to use "merge in turn" signs much more than we currently do. And I think we should. As well as helping everywhere they are used, if they were much more widespread then people might take on board the idea that zip merging is a good thing, and decide themselves to use it at unforseen temporary issues (like a broken down vehicle on a dual carriageway).

janninew

davidjwest wrote: »

I'd have driven to another petrol station, cheeky blighters!

I would have done, but I was already driving on air!!

Strider590

split_second wrote: »

that is one of my absolute pet hates, along with people that will sit at the disabled spaces in the car park and wait for one to become available, even though all the cars that are parked are empty :eek:

Well.... I don't do it myself because it'd either scratch the boot or get melted on the hot exhaust and cause a huge fireball

But fair play if anyone else wants to.