Also, observe my treatment of this minivan driver on base who decided to park in the motorcycle parking area:



I have a couple pictures of my car parked about 2" from the driver's side of vehicles that were double-parked, too, making it completely impossible to enter their car except from the passenger side.

9/3/2014 2:16:02 AM

Sounds like a good way to get your shit broken. The type of people who are willing to do crap like that also probably have no problem putting a few large dents in your door or backing up and knocking your bike over.

9/3/2014 8:30:48 AM

^^ehh...y'all both seem like dicks.

9/3/2014 8:52:34 AM

hey guys what is the time difference between a 15-mile trip made at an average of 55 mph and a 15-mile trip made at an average of 70 mph

9/3/2014 9:00:15 AM

4 of my precious minutes.

9/3/2014 9:05:27 AM

Surprise twist: the speed limit is 45 and both of them are are speeding!

[Edited on September 3, 2014 at 9:29 AM. Reason : !]

9/3/2014 9:28:58 AM

does taking a selfie (saw the flash) while you're driving so that you can fix your hair count?

9/3/2014 10:53:24 AM

^was the selfie of the front or back of the head?

9/3/2014 11:14:11 AM

the front

9/3/2014 11:27:53 AM

So the more pressing issue, is that said driver is driving with no mirrors present in or on the vehicle, or has no concept on the use of mirrors.

9/3/2014 11:44:10 AM

whatever the case may be, it seemed ridiculous. he managed to block 3 lanes of traffic with swerving across lanes

9/3/2014 1:05:21 PM

Selfie? Driving? He?

Dammit BigMan157, quit that shit.

9/3/2014 1:06:36 PM

his car didn't lean enough for it to be bigman

9/3/2014 1:09:28 PM

Quote :

"^^ehh...y'all both seem like dicks."

Well, uhhh...yeah. That's kind of the point, at least on my part.




The only thing that can fuck an asshole...is a dick.

...With some balls.

9/3/2014 4:55:54 PM

^I get it. But does being a dick in return, perhaps an even a bigger dick, actually solve anything? But I guess that's not what you were trying to do anyways.

9/3/2014 6:35:05 PM

[yes]

9/3/2014 6:51:56 PM

I saw this, and it made me think of you guys.

Quote :

"Another victory for late-merging in traffic: Washington (and Ars Technica) advocate for 'zipper merging' [http://www.oregonlive.com/commuting/index.ssf/2014/08/another_victory_for_late-mergi.html] [video] Merge lane fundamentals on Portland's Fremont Bridge The Oregonian's commuting columnist Joseph Rose explains what's allowed and not allowed when merging onto the highway. By Joseph Rose | jrose@oregonian.com The Oregonian on August 06, 2014 at 10:49 AM, updated August 06, 2014 at 11:47 AM Score another victory for late mergers in jammed-up traffic: The brainiacs over at Ars Technica have posted a fantastic story on "the beauty of zipper merging, or why you should drive ruder." [http://arstechnica.com/cars/2014/07/the-beauty-of-zipper-merging-or-why-you-should-drive-ruder/] Well, of course, I'd think it's fantastic. I've been arguing in favor of people using as much of the merge lane as possible, allowing easier zipper merges and, ultimately, better traffic flow. It's not "rude"; it's savvy commuting. (Of course, as the video above shows, there are the "squeezers" who mistake that license to be ruder as an open freeway to just being a big jerk.) Of course, when I advocated the idea as far back as 2009, a reader, who apparently saw no difference between late merging and line cutting, called to say, "I hope you die." I tackled the issue once again this summer. In fact, the debate over early- and late-merging has even divided the Rose clan. Fair warning to Ars Technica Sam Machkoveech, who writes: Most driving schools and transportation departments in the United States don't instruct drivers on how to handle this situation or whether they must merge within a certain mileage, leaving this kind of merge up to the grace of your fellow, angry commuters. This week, however, Washington state joined Minnesota in sending a clear message to drivers: merge rudely. It's actually faster and safer. [http://www.dot.state.mn.us/trafficeng/workzone/doc/When-latemerge-zipper.pdf] There's a name for it: late merging, though advocates prefer the term "zipper merging" because it doesn't have a negative connotation. According to Ken Johnson, a Minnesota State Work Zone, Pavement Marking, and Traffic Devices engineer, "We want people to merge at the point we're asking them to, so it's not 'late,' per se." It works as follows: in the event of an impending lane closure, drivers should fill in both lanes in equal measure. Within a few car lengths of a lane ending, both lanes' cars should take turns filling in the open lane and resuming full speed. Yep. Washington and Minnesota have effectively sanctioned the late merge. (We can only hope, for the sake of Portland's traffic snarls -- which have become noticeably worse for many drivers this summer -- that Oregon will do the same in the near future.) In ODOT's push for electronic speed and travel time signs on Portland area highways, maybe there's some room on those new giant highway reader boards to encourage zipper merging during crashes and construction. Again, I quote Ars Technica: The Minnesota Department of Transportation has added sensors to key roads; when they recognize pile-ups and congestions, electronic signs turn on and tell drivers to fill both lanes and merge at a later point. Johnson said that electronic, conditional signs have proven more effective than static ones, and he pointed to a study from 2010 which revealed that 80 percent of Minnesota drivers still considered themselves "early mergers." An advertising and public outreach campaign followed, [http://www.dot.state.mn.us/zippermerge/] and a follow-up study in 2012 showed a massive turnaround in thinking in which 73 percent of respondents thought zipper merging was a good idea after all. ("When we were starting the campaign," Johnson added, "we worked with an east coast advertising firm who said, 'Wait, you have people who voluntarily leave a lane?'") The zipper's catch, of course, is that every driver on the road has to be aware of, and believe in, the style of merging before it reaches maximum efficiency. So long as enough drivers don't fill both lanes or intentionally block the soon-to-end lane in the form of vigilante car justice, the concept still has to contend with confusion, whether from out-of-town travelers or oblivious commuters. "People have learned that it's polite to move over sooner," Johnson said, and that fact means his research and tweaking will continue for years to come to get his state -- and hopefully others, as he's been consulted by other transportation departments -- into a zipper-merging mindset. He encouraged other states to join in and advised them to try things like updated driver's manuals, public outreach campaigns, and partnerships with local law enforcement to stop lane-blockers. Feeling vindicated, allow me to post my 2009 column -- "My name is Joe, and I'm a late merger" -- championing a new era of zipping merging. (Send hate mail here.) My wife would make a good traffic cop. After 16 years of marriage, the only time we really bicker is in the car -- when I'm behind the wheel. It usually starts with her covering her face or gripping the Volvo's "help me, Jesus" handle and mumbling: "You didn't signal." "California stop." "You're tailgating." Usually, the back and forth ends with me sighing and admitting she's right. Usually. One debate has remained irreconcilable: when to merge. She's an early merger. I'm a proud late merger. Driving home from downtown Portland, for instance, I always exit Interstate 84 at Northeast 33rd Avenue and turn left, crossing Broadway. Just before the Shell station, a yellow sign informs drivers in the left lane that they need to merge right. The right lane is often jammed. Still, as soon as she sees the sign, Heidi flips on the turn signal and goes for the first opening. Merging early is a simple act of courtesy, she insists. The people in the right lane, she says, were there first. Me? I say the merge lanes on city streets and highways are there for a reason. Use 'em or lose 'em. Merging early, I argue, creates bottlenecks and angers the cars behind you. But she swears people in the other lane shoot me angry looks as I drive toward the end of the merge lane. The other drivers think I'm a "line cutter," she says. Could this be one of the great philosophical debates of modern commuting? In his prologue to "Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us)," author Tom Vanderbilt says he wrote the book in part to deal with a creeping guilt about his late-merging ways. Vanderbilt recalls approaching a sign on a New Jersey highway that read, "LANE ENDS ONE MILE. MERGE RIGHT." Instead of immediately merging into the crowded right lane, he writes that he listened to an "insistent voice" in his head: "Don't be a sucker. You can do better." I don't hear that voice. And I have no guilt. Hoping to end the ongoing argument with my wife, Heidi, I visited a crew of Oregon Department of Transportation dispatchers in their downtown Portland nerve center. They spend their days monitoring flickering video feeds of highway traffic, watching people try to get around without crashing into one another. No one, I figured, has a better view of what does and doesn't work on the roads. Flipping through various live shots, they showed me the region's ugliest merging lanes: the Jantzen Beach on-ramp to I-5 north, Oregon 217 to I-5 south, 217 to the Sunset Highway, I-205 to I-5 south. So, I asked, does traffic flow faster when people merge early or merge late? Their quick verdict: Late mergers cause the most problems, especially during rush hour. Bernie Penkin, a dispatcher of nearly four years, said late mergers tend to poison the commute by creating hesitation in other drivers. "People are going to put on their brakes," he said, "because they're not sure what the guy cruising by in the merge lane is going to do." Seeking another opinion, I turned to ODOT transportation safety advocate KC Humphrey. He wasn't ready to take sides. Instead, he steered me to the middle path -- not too early, not too late -- with five basic rules: When merging onto a busy highway or city traffic lane, the motorists already there have the right of way. Get up to the same speed as traffic before merging. Jumping in right away probably will aggravate drivers already in the lane, who might think you're crowding in. (Yes!) Don't speed to the end of the merge lane. "To other drivers," Humphrey said, "that looks like you're trying to get ahead in the traffic jam." (D'oh!) Don't block someone from merging. It's unlawful, Humphrey said. Both sides, he said, are obligated to make the merge work like a giant zipper. So, if you see a driver trying to merge in front of you, don't be a snot. A cop could be watching. Don't try to cross the solid white line before the merge starts. "Police are being trained that that's a sign of an aggressive driver about to do road rage," Humphrey said. Although he's not a sociologist, Humphrey said he has a pretty good idea why people instinctively merge early or late. "We train ourselves to do what has always worked for us," he said. "I don't think you want to be either extreme because then you're just fueling the fire." I'm still not ready to say my wife's right. But maybe it's time for me to become a middle merger. -- Joseph Rose"

..told ya

Quote :

""

(from page 2; May, 2010)

[Edited on September 12, 2014 at 3:13 AM. Reason : .]

9/12/2014 3:01:51 AM

This goes against peoples' basic selfish desires and feelings of personal fairness.

9/12/2014 3:49:50 AM

That and people believe that if they let you in, they're gonna be SUPER LATE to where they are going. Seriously. Let one car in. It's not going to hurt you on time to let one car in so that everyone in the jam and "win." But then again, people have lost common courtesy in this country. Rarely do people wave a "thanks" when you do something nice for them. In fact, I usually see people do a douche move (ie: cut you off or almost wreck into you) and give YOU the finger as if you are the asshole...

9/12/2014 3:55:46 AM

Meh, I just go around EVERYONE and cut in at the front, however, I am on my motorcycle 90% of the time and can fit beside cars if I have too if they are stopped. People do get angry though.

On topic of lane merging, what I really hate is when there are 3 vehicles merging, the first is a slower vehicle (usually tractor trailer or something) and merges 10-20 mph below speed limit. Car behind it puts on its blinker after merging to move over, however the car behind that one (3rd in line) jumps out as quick as possible (usually after left lane clears and before the other person can start moving over) and creates a dangerous situation KNOWING the other person was going/wants to move over. Usually either the 2nd car will try to move over, swerve back over or they will switch lanes with other car inches from their bumper, and the 3rd car that should have waited is now infuriated (even though they could have just let them over).

The funny thing is, this situation actually causes people to go slower because of everyone slamming on their brakes and trying to jockey for position.

Oh, and I hate people that drive with dogs in their laps. Shit should be illegal if its not already.

9/12/2014 8:13:17 AM

i'm a fan of this so-called "zipper merging"

i always* let at least one person in

* unless i saw them pull out of the lane to whip around the slow traffic just to try and merge back in again...they can sit there for all eternity for all i care

9/12/2014 8:24:04 AM

Tried to let someone in this morning, they didn't go. Guess they were too busy on their cell phone to notice...ugh.

9/12/2014 9:30:44 AM

I don't get this wave of "omg zipper merge, so new and cool and useful". Zipper merging is old, old as roadways. That's always been the standard for merging. You're an asshole if you don't use lanes to their fullest extent. There is a reason that the lane to be closed is still open until a point, that point being where some type of barrier indicates the MERGE POINT.

Also, for normal merging into a roadway at normal operating speed/capacity, if you are in the entrance lane, it is your responsibility to get up to speed and merge into traffic. I don't get why people expect traffic on the highway, at highway speed, to hit the brakes, slowing down the highway just to let your slow ass in. There is a reason you are provided (normally) a long entrance ramp and a view of the traffic on the road. You are supposed to identify possible merging spots and determine the speed needed to make said merge. Don't zoom up beside me and get all pissy when I do the safe thing of maintaining course and speed. The absolute safest thing to do while driving, and what other drivers expect, is that course and speed are maintained.

[Edited on September 12, 2014 at 11:51 AM. Reason : .]

9/12/2014 11:49:56 AM

Quote :

"Oh, and I hate people that drive with dogs in their laps. Shit should be illegal if its not already."

Quote :

"i always* let at least one person in * unless i saw them pull out of the lane to whip around the slow traffic just to try and merge back in again...they can sit there for all eternity for all i care "

Quote :

" Tried to let someone in this morning, they didn't go. Guess they were too busy on their cell phone to notice...ugh."

Yeah that's annoying. Sometimes they aren't even distracted; they just are trying to be polite and courteous, but when they don't take their turn in the rotation when it's offered, it fucks everything up. Same thing applies at 4-way intersections, etc.

I was turning left from a turning lane across 2 lanes of traffic yesterday. A car was in the oncoming right lane with a blinker on, with nobody immediately in the left lane. As that car started slowing down where it was clear they were actually turning, I started creeping across into the oncoming left lane so that I could immediately cross over the remaining lane and turn as soon as that car turned. They fucking stopped completely in the right lane of a divided highway to let me go first...I was actually like "WTF motherfucker? There are cars coming up behind you that you're going to fuck up now, or possibly even get rear ended by if they aren't paying attention!"

9/12/2014 12:45:34 PM

This morning, I was northbound on Gorman Street heading to Western Boulevard, and I intended to turn left to go to Bojangles. A school bus had broken down in the southbound lane, blocking anyone who would be turning right off of Western to go down Gorman.

If you don't know that intersection, there are four lanes: one southbound and three northbound for left, straight, and right. Ahead of me and first at the light was a truck in the straight lane signaling left. I pulled in behind him a tiny bit in the left lane and signaled left as well, hoping to leave enough room for people turning right onto Gorman to get around the bus and enough on the right for people going straight to pass me in case the light didn't cycle for the left turn first.

Everything was going fine until, like, four motherfuckers in trucks and SUVs pulled up in the left lane as easy as you please, blocking everything. The lead idiot almost immediately had to back up to let people turn right onto Gorman. As soon as the light turned green for the left turn, half the people in the left lane shot up past me and the lead truck, and the other half just sort of stopped halfway in the lane--not because they were letting me and the lead truck go, but I swear because they honestly didn't know what to do next. Horns honking, all that shit.

If you were one of these garbage drivers, get your life right.

9/16/2014 9:14:35 AM

Zipper merging is great if everyone is doing it right but most people are too stupid or too greedy for it to work then it turns into a clusterfuck half the time. I really hate when I leave a spot open for someone to merge in but instead they decide they need to get past those 2 or 3 other cars as well and then basically runs someone off the road trying to squeeze in.

Same concept goes for exiting any type of high traffic event like a football game. If every person lets just one person in front of them into the line the parking lots would empty so much faster. Instead everyone wants to jam everything up and let no one out and in the end it just makes it take longer for you than if you had just let a few people in along with everyone else.

9/16/2014 9:30:47 AM

^^^ Sometimes it's hard to tell if people are starting their turn early or just deciding they have the right of way and going to hit you. Maybe they thought you were the dumbass who doesn't know how roads work.

9/16/2014 9:32:32 AM

yeah i could understand slowing down a little extra to make sure you don't have a wreck if some dumbass just turns right in front of you, but I was very, very slowly creeping forward, and might have even completely stopped once the other car started waiting so much. It ended with them coming to a complete standstill on a 4-lane highway with traffic approaching from the rear, because they were trying to be "too nice".

I was at a 4-way stop (signs, no lights) yesterday and saw something similar...a car sitting at the intersection, trying to be super nice and let everyone else go, but what really happened is that the flow of traffic went from being an efficient "rhythm" of everyone quickly taking their respective turns, to the "extra-nice" person sitting there not going, and nobody else going because the one car with the right of way is just sitting there. I finally said "Fuck it, fuck all of you, somebody's gotta go" and went through. Just as in "zipper merging", it's more important to be predictable and follow the rules of the road than it is to be "nice" at the expense of those things.

9/16/2014 10:06:06 AM

driving down a 2 lane road with turn lane in middle.

fucker wants to take a left turn and slows down in the travel lane BEFORE getting into the turn lane. (no oncoming turn traffic to worry about)

9/16/2014 10:19:06 AM

When I merge onto I-40 during the morning and evening commutes, I almost always give a wave to the driver behind me, as traffic is usually pretty dense and I appreciate the space to merge.

Porsche drivers have a bit of a stereotype (whether justified or not) so I actually try to go out of my way to let more cars merge in front of me that I otherwise would. However, I've noticed of late that other cars, in general, have been more rude to me than I'm accustomed, to the point that I wonder if it's because of my car. I'm referencing normal merges, such as getting into the right lane to exit I-40 or the South Saunders & Wilmington Street merge in the evenings. I'm not trying to leapfrog people - rather I just want to get onto the right lane of Wilmington to turn right onto Chapanoke, and a lot of the time these people won't budge one inch for me. It's infuriating at times, especially since a lot of those people live in my development!

As an aside, depending on the situation, I more often than not will not let a truck/SUV merge in front of me. And that is simply because I cannot see around them. I'm not gonna drag traffic to a standstill to prevent this, but I don't give them the wave.

9/16/2014 10:22:20 AM

I text while I drive. I google. I siri.

And then I wait an extra 4-5 seconds before pressing the gas pedal after the light turns green.

When making a left, I always wait for one car to pass from the approaching lane, no matter how much time that takes, even if the asphalt is clear for me to proceed. Because I need to see that oncoming car pass me, even if there is another one right behind it that is even closer.

When making a right, I always come to a complete stop, signal, and then turn. How else are you supposed to turn right?


Thank you.

9/16/2014 10:22:49 AM

Quote :

"fucker wants to take a left turn and slows down in the travel lane BEFORE getting into the turn lane. (no oncoming turn traffic to worry about)"

i have no idea why, but around RTP I see a lot of people who just slow down and turn from the travel lane and never even get into the turn lane

9/16/2014 11:50:51 AM

Blonde woman in a blue Honda Fit with plates DLH-4299.

This woman slowed down to 5 miles an hour in the left lane of 440 because she was mad I wouldn't pass her on the right. Dangerous shit.

11/10/2016 11:09:31 AM

damn amd video driver has shit the bed today.

11/15/2016 5:21:35 PM

the bad thing about a regular commute is that you will see the same cars over and over, and some people try to get revenge the next day and shit

anyways, I had a manufacturers problem with my car so they gave me a free loaner for a few days

during said few days, I was the road warrior asshole on the commute

but today its time to be Mr. considerate driver again


P.S. if you ever road rage the wrong person and they start following you, call the police and say you have children in the vehicle, they appear with the quickness

11/16/2016 12:50:52 PM

does anyone else flash their hazards when having to brake quickly?

my wife always makes fun of me, every time i have to brake hard i watch the mirror and reach up and give the hazards a flash or two

11/16/2016 12:53:58 PM

If you have time to hit the button for the hazard lights, how hard can you really be breaking?

11/16/2016 1:11:04 PM

well the hazard light isn't for me and i don't need my foot to press the button

i can even be at a complete stop already, but if the person behind me isn't slowing down and our lane is stopped, i flash the hazards

11/16/2016 1:16:38 PM

after stopping I pump the brakes to make my brake lights blink.

11/16/2016 1:31:02 PM

Quote :

"does anyone else flash their hazards when having to brake quickly? "

naw but i wave my right arm around where person behind could see

11/16/2016 6:59:00 PM

Hazards for braking? That's what brake lights are for.

I bet you're the kind of person to use hazards because it's raining.

11/17/2016 8:45:11 AM

no hazards when raining. and hazards aren't left on, they are flashed once or twice.

if i have to stop quickly or am at a complete stop and the car in the mirror is approaching quickly, a flashing light will get more attention than a solid red brake light. you just reach and tap-tap the hazard light.

i've been rear ended twice and still have a disc injury from the last time. i ain't waiting for a 3rd time.

[Edited on November 17, 2016 at 8:51 AM. Reason : .]

11/17/2016 8:50:46 AM

People don't use hazards in the rain because of the rain. They use them because they are traveling at greatly reduced speed compared to normal speed

11/17/2016 10:20:45 AM

I will turn my hazards on during the summer thunderstorms where you can barely see the road much less other cars. Anything I can do in hopes that others can see me at that point is well worth it.

11/17/2016 10:23:28 AM

It's blinding and distracting. In the words of Trump, "Stop it".

11/17/2016 10:34:34 AM

Quote :

"does anyone else flash their hazards when having to brake quickly? "

Just you. Sounds stupid.

11/17/2016 10:38:45 AM

the distance to which people stop behind me has increased dramatically since i started doing it

[Edited on November 17, 2016 at 10:49 AM. Reason : .]

11/17/2016 10:48:57 AM

11/17/2016 11:00:34 AM

11/17/2016 11:37:44 AM

I turned left on to Wade from Edwards Mill, but I temporarily forgot where I was, and I drove past the ramp. So I swung around onto the next ramp, designed for traffic going the other way, and yielded to the cars that were behind me.

Called the fuck out, Turnip.

11/17/2016 12:20:08 PM