Traffic Lights

anotherbaldrick

Why do some drivers pull up on the right in the right turn lane and try and blast straight ahead past the car on the left ? Last one I encountered did not make it ! found himself on a collision course with the far side bollard and light

alastairq

You then spend the 5 minutes wait thinking "If I'd got to 50, not 40 I could have made it.....

or...if one had plodded along at 25mph, one would have arrived at a green light every time?


Used to find this around London when I used to driver proper red buses....with entrances at the back, and no power steering.....plodding was often the order of the day....yet I could drive up to loads of lights and they'd change just as I arrive......the other traffic would hare off to the next set, only to stop..whereby I'd plod up just as they turned green....

Not that I'm advocating plodding..although sometimes, with some vehicles, its unavoidable.....

Whilst I worked at LT....they tried 'secret buttons' in buses..especially down Oxford St [one of my haunts]...once other vehicle drivers cottoned on to this [that the bus would change the lights,] it became a mad scramble to all tuck in behind the nearest bus.......

neilmcl

anotherbaldrick wrote: »

Why do some drivers pull up on the right in the right turn lane and try and blast straight ahead past the car on the left ? Last one I encountered did not make it ! found himself on a collision course with the far side bollard and light

I saw exactly this last winter on the way to work. Not only was there the bollard to contend with but an oncoming bus. It was only down to the quick reactions of the guy on the inside that prevented a very nasty accident for all concerned.

alastairq

oh...and where the Met Police drove around in [white] unmarked Sunbeam Tigers [V8]...could be easily spotted as in those days, all Met police officers were expected to be of a burly, large, nature....thus if one spotted a Tiger bursting at its seams, it was an unmarked car....

Bongles

alastairq wrote: »

Why is it, even in my disreputable and thoroughly hateful Fiesta, when a slow vehicle in front of me gets out of the way[as they do].....and I shoot off up to what I consider a reasonable speed...the queue of vehicles that were behind me beforehand, simply disappear entirely from view? Leaving me out front all on my own?

And I don't exceed limits [for professional reasons]....

Do Fiestas leave an impenetrable shock wave behind them when they pootle off into the sunset?

No, I think it's just that a lot of people have absolutely no idea how far their throttle pedal moves or what even a modest foray into the rev range can achieve.

Bongles

portly1 wrote: »

No of course I would move off on green.

Ah, OK. I misunderstood. Sorry .

portly1 wrote: »

If an idiot was behind me I would be waiting to merge with the other traffic coming up on my offside. If that meant that I had to sit in the middle of the junction until the last car passed on my right so that I could tuck in behind him I would,

...

Me, what did I do wrong - it just wasn't safe for two cars side by side to battle for one lane - so I waited until everyone behind me had passed by.

Seriously? That seems an extremely tentative approach to merging - giving up before you've even tried. I know people get a bit fighty sometimes and you need to be seeking co-operation and then, if that is not forthcoming, safety, but if you approached the merge with more purpose and confidence looking for that co-operation from those outside you I bet you would find it more forthcoming than you fear.

Don't worry about what the driver behind is doing. It's up to them to plan their own merge. Do beware though if you are holding back for what you feel is a safe merging opportunity, the driver behind may decide to move out to pass you. If that happens it's almost certainly going to be best to let them past - trying to merge ahead of them would almost certainly look confrontational.

facade

alastairq wrote: »

or...if one had plodded along at 25mph, one would have arrived at a green light every time?

Tue if that is a typo and you mean 2.5mph 25 would only take twice as long, so you need only wait 4 1/2 minutes not 5

Seriously you can walk faster round the ringroad in Wolverhampton than you can drive round it :mad:

Lum

anotherbaldrick wrote: »

Why do some drivers pull up on the right in the right turn lane and try and blast straight ahead past the car on the left ? Last one I encountered did not make it ! found himself on a collision course with the far side bollard and light

This one is easy to explain. They want to get past the car on the left for some reason.

alastairq

re-merging? ''Assertion'', rather than 'aggression?''

alastairq

or is that, ''insertion''?