Nearly every day I'm faced with driving my car on roads among other cars with drivers in them, and multiple times each trip I find myself wondering if some of those people are ignorant assholes or selfish assholes. I get that the majority of people on the road with me aren't actively doing things that upset me, but there are enough of the bad drivers that it severely harms the experience for the rest of us. So I'm putting together a list of the most common things I see that drivers should be aware of. I apologize for the lack of clear organization... it's just going to be in the order I think of them.
Highway Lanes
Let's start with the lane, and for purpose of the example, we'll assume a two-lane highway. The right-most lane is the Travel Lane. Barring any other circumstances... the Travel Lane is the lane you're supposed to be in. So the simple piece of advice for you to drive considerately, is for you to always be asking yourself: "Am I in the travel lane?", and if the answer is "no", change lanes.The left-most lane is the Passing Lane. You only use this lane if you are in fact passing someone. I get that sometimes it isn't worth going back to the Travel Lane because you're catching up to the next person and you want to pass them too. But if there's space in the Travel lane... change lanes to the travel lane. You shouldn't be in the Passing Lane unless you're passing. It's super simple.
So there you go. That's all there is to the lanes when it's a two lane highway. When it's three or more lanes, the right-most lane becomes an "entering/exiting" lane, the middle lanes become travel lanes, and the left-most lane remains as a passing lane that you shouldn't be in unless you're passing.
Now that you have read the definition, think about how clever that pattern is. People on the highway want to drive at their own speeds, and we should be letting each other drive at those speeds. If we all stay in the travel lane until we catch up to someone, there should almost always be room in the left lane to pass. And if someone catches up to you, they can change lanes and pass. It's so much better than if we just clog up both lanes. If you want to be a considerate driver... to be nice to the people around you (hoping they want to be nice back), you'll follow this rule.
high traffic
Sometimes though... the rule for which lane to be in can't work. This time is usually rush hour. My hypothesis about why rush hour sucks so much is because with that many people on the road, you're bound to have a large number of people who drive slow on the highway, and the rest of us are stuck behind them. But regardless of the cause, the fact remains that sometimes traffic is so thick that both lanes are simply used, and there's not a lot we can do about it.But the rule does remain useful. If you are in the left lane and you find yourself letting a lot of space build up in front of you, and there's a big line of cars behind you... you're in the wrong lane. Get back out of the way please. If you are in the right lane and you let a lot of space build up in front of you while a line of cars is building up behind you... you shouldn't be on the highway and should probably have your driver's license taken away. Maybe you reached some sort of peaceful zen state where going slow doesn't bother you, but you're being a huge piece of shit to everyone else on the highway. You've effectively blocked one lane, and even other slow people will get in the left lane to pass you, meaning that even the left lane will be moving slowly. You are part of the cause of the traffic jam in the first place.
Please go faster. Or stop using the highway. Either is fine with me.
Rate of Passing and Random Speeds
One of the things that frustrates me frequently is when a driver decides to pass someone at 0.02 MPH and it takes them thirty seconds to pass the person. For those thirty seconds, no one can pass, and it acts like a moving roadblock. If you're going to pass, please do so in such a way that you're not jamming up the highway.On the other side of that coin, if you are getting passed, don't wake up from your stupor and realize you're going slower than you wanted to, and end up matching speeds with the person passing you. Let the person pass, so they can get back into the travel lane, and then you can speed back up. Don't be that jerk that causes the block on the highway. As a side note: this is an argument for using cruise control... so you can just go the speed you want to be going, and you can't zone out and go too slow by mistake.
Highway Speed
I'm sure most people are aware that this is something that can cause irritation for many drivers. But I have a feeling most people don't agree on what the right course of action is for the speed you drive on the highway. So here's the right way to choose your speed...The high end of the speed you should consider is 20 miles an hour over the speed limit. If you are driving more than 20 MPH over the speed limit, the charges change from normal speeding to reckless driving, which as far as I know can include jail time. If other people want to go faster than that, they should have the freedom to do so (see the highway lanes section), but my recommendation is that you keep it under 20 MPH over the speed limit.
The low end you should consider is the speed limit. I know the law defines the speed limit as the highest speed you should go, but that doesn't work in practice. Think of it as the lowest speed you should drive on the highway. Whatever speed you drive, that's the speed the travel lane is limited to, and anyone who wants to drive faster has to use the passing lane. So you are dictating the base speed for the highway. If you catch up to someone at the speed you're going, they are dictating the base speed, because you now have to decide if you're okay driving slower, or if you want to use the passing lane. Everyone who wants to drive faster is relying on that passing lane, and if the travel lane base speed is too low, the left lane will end up clogged, and you'll have a crowd of cars stuck going the base speed as slow people try to pass that slow person in the travel lane.
So basically, if you want to be considerate of the people around you, you should be driving at least the speed limit. Slower, and you're being a jerk to everyone behind you. You are the cause of bad traffic.
We have more to support this idea too. This is personal experience, not a study with plenty of data sources, so I can't claim it's scientifically valid, but it does seem to bear out. Police don't pull you over for going 5 to 10 miles an hour ABOVE the speed limit, but they do pull you over for going under the speed limit for suspicious driving (drunk drivers are the biggest example of people who tend to drive under the speed limit). My point is that it seems even the police expect people to drive over the speed limit to some degree.
Because we have a minimum speed of the Speed Limit, and a general maximum of 20 MPH over the Speed Limit (with police being fairly likely to pull a person over for 15 MPH over), my recommendation for the correct speed to travel on the highway is 5 to 10 MPH over the speed limit. In a 65 MPH zone, I tend to drive 72 to 74 MPH. It's safe AND considerate. And because I try to stay in the travel lane as much as possible, people who want to drive faster are still free to do so.
Please stop driving under the speed limit on the highway. Or stop using the highway. Either is fine with me.
Getting On And Off the Highway
I understand that civil engineers screwed up in some places, but the purpose of on and off ramps are to give you enough room to accelerate to get on the highway, or decelerate after you get off the highway. The only case where a driver should stop their car at the end of an on-ramp is the case where traffic on the highway is also stopped. That's it. If you are one of those people who slows down or stops at the end of the on-ramp, you are doing it wrong. Or if you are slowing down to get off the highway, instead of slowing down after you get off the highway, you are doing it wrong.Again, I get that some of those ramps are designed wrong, and you have no choice, but you should be trying as hard as you can to use even those ramps correctly. If traffic on the highway is going 70 MPH, and you come to a stop at the end of the on-ramp, you now have to wait for a huge opening to make it onto the highway, and you have to accelerate from speeds you shouldn't be driving on the highway up to highway speed. You are doing it in the most dangerous way possible, and you are forcing people stuck behind you to do it the same way. It's inconsiderate; it's unsafe; and it's inefficient.
To do it correctly... use the on-ramp to speed up to the speed of traffic on the highway. Then you only need a little more than a car length of space between cars, and it's exactly like changing lanes. You just shift your car over nice and easy.
Please use the ramps correctly for getting on or off the highway. Or stop using the highway. Either is fine with me.
Turn Signal Use
I don't understand why so many drivers seem to have a hard time understanding the correct use. I do understand that some people are just jerks and they don't bother using their turn signals, but the incorrect use is frustrating too.The purpose of the turn signal is to alert other drivers that you are going to break from the expected pattern. If you're on a road going forward, you're expected to keep going forward. If you intend on turning from that path onto a side road, you need a turn signal to let the person behind you know that you are probably slowing down, and doing something other than the expected behavior of going straight ahead. The other big example is if you're on the highway, and you want to change lanes. The expected behavior is that you're going to keep going between the lines. If you want to cross the line, you need to alert the people around you that you are going to do so.
It's really simple. But so many people get into a turning only lane that's clearly marked as such, and turn on their turn signal. To me that would mean they're planning on pulling over or turning off the road. You're already in a lane that only has one option... an expected behavior... so if you turn on your turn signal, you're telling me you're turning even harder.
And what's funnier is that these same people didn't bother with a turn signal moments before when they changed lanes or took a real turn from the expected behavior. It's not that hard to use your turn signals correctly, and it is considerate to let the people around you know what you're going to do. People expecting you to continue with the pattern might not react in time if you suddenly stray from that behavior, and you have an accident. So it's not only considerate, it's safer.
Please use your turn signals correctly. Or stop driving. Either is fine with me.
Intersection Etiquette
All of us who drive anywhere near civilization have to deal with intersections. And we all know that when traffic is busy, we frequently find ourselves far enough back in the line that you start trying to guess if you're going to make it through the next green or not. And I'd guess most of us hope that the people in the front will go quickly so you can make it through. Who likes waiting at a traffic light for multiple rotations? Not me.So there's the advice. When you're at a traffic light, if you want to be nice to the people behind you, accelerate as fast as you can and get through the light as fast as you can. You'll get more people through. It's efficient and considerate.
Don't be the driver that sees the light turn green, leaves a lazy pause, moves the foot to the accelerator, presses gently to get the car rolling at a snail's pace through, and doesn't break 5 MPH going through the intersection. That driver is a jerk.
Please hurry through intersections. Or stop driving. Either is fine with me.
But there's more. It's not just about hurrying... notice I included the word "through". If the other side of the intersection where you're trying to go is full of cars, and you would be forced to stop IN the intersection... don't go. When you block the intersection, the next people the get the green light won't be able to go, and suddenly a bunch more people can't go because you're an asshole.
Please don't block the intersection. Or stop driving. Either is fine with me.
Important Lane Line Cutters
There is an intersection near me where one lane leads to the turn at a busy intersection that leads onto the highway in the direction I have to go after work. Obviously, getting on the highway is a common thing during rush hour. That lane gets backed up really far. Far enough that it frequently takes several light rotations to make it through for each of two sets of lights. It's already an unpleasant experience.So of course there are assholes that think they are more important than all the people waiting patiently, and they drive to the front of the line in the wrong lane, and try to wedge their way into the line of cars in the correct lane. I hate those people. They are the most selfish assholes on the road. I do everything in my power to keep them from getting into my lane, because I am willing to fight for the good patient people that got in line behind me. I hope the other people in the line are doing what they can to block out the assholes too. We need to stand together to stop the assholes.
Don't be the selfish asshole that tries to cut the line. Or die in a fire. Either is fine with me.
Summary
To drive like a decent human being you need to understand the rules and be considerate of the other people on the road. Basically: don't be an asshole. And the more people we get driving like reasonable human beings, the fewer sources of stress we'll all have on the road.I'll probably put up more of these in the future. That's it for now.
