Learn to Drive, argh!!!!!

[AAC2005]

Let me also just add something. I have a feeling that people who are "speeding up" to not let you in are doing so because you are absolutely poking at 35-40 mph and you are an obvious safety hazard to let them in front of you. I recently had to do this on 235. I could not get over and I was hoping a merging car would speed up from their current speed of no more than 30 mph. When it became obvious that they were not and slowing down to their speed would get me rear-ended I had to just punch it and let them get in behind me.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is MY daily commute! (cue ear-splitting "American Idol" theme music)

[RadicalModerate]

Sounds like a case of passing the buck to the guy who would have rear-ended you. (well played, btw =)
I wish somebody would stress the concept that it is the task of the person on the entry ramp/lane to match their speed as closely as possible to the traffic into which they are going to merge in a yieldy manner . . . especially those who are charged with designing highways with ramps and lanes long enough to be up to the task.

Up in Minneapolis they actually have signal lights to control the flow of even getting onto the merging lane. They also have signals about half a mile from some semi-rural, signal controlled intersections to let you know that the light will definitely be red by the time you get there. They have really, really big snowplows, too . . . along with scary drivers second only to Dallas. Not scary snowplow drivers . . . the other ones. =)

[ljbab728]

Up in Minneapolis they actually have signal lights to control the flow of even getting onto the merging lane.

Many LA freeways have the same thing.

[Just the facts]

They put those metering lights in Atlanta as well. Traffic still sucks. It does make it easier to get on the freeway but you don't go any where after you get on.

[Ginkasa]

Let me also just add something. I have a feeling that people who are "speeding up" to not let you in are doing so because you are absolutely poking at 35-40 mph and you are an obvious safety hazard to let them in front of you. I recently had to do this on 235. I could not get over and I was hoping a merging car would speed up from their current speed of no more than 30 mph. When it became obvious that they were not and slowing down to their speed would get me rear-ended I had to just punch it and let them get in behind me. This has happened on several occasion to other drivers in the same area. It also doesn't help that ODOT engineers seem hell bent on designing outrageously short on/off ramps.

Sure, that's a problem, too. But its not all or nothing. Just as there are dumb people who just can't get up to speed, there are also jerks who just can not seem to stand letting someone in front of the, regardless of their speed.

[SoonerDave]

They put those metering lights in Atlanta as well. Traffic still sucks. It does make it easier to get on the freeway but you don't go any where after you get on.

But Atlanta is its own special brand of traffic insanity. I'm not sure it counts as an example (or counterexample) of anything

[Just the facts]

But Atlanta is its own special brand of traffic insanity. I'm not sure it counts as an example (or counterexample) of anything

Atlanta is proof that adding more lanes doesn't solve congestion and all the metering lights did was move the on-ramp backups about 100 feet up the road. Next time I am up there (March) I can take a picture of exactly how all it did was move the problem up the on-ramp.

[SoonerDave]

Atlanta is proof that adding more lanes doesn't solve congestion and all the metering lights did was move the on-ramp backups about 100 feet up the road. Next time I am up there (March) I can take a picture of exactly how all it did was move the problem up the on-ramp.

Yeah I think in reality from what little I've studied about Atlanta and its traffic problems is that its a petri dish of how not to plan a metropolitan interstate. Lots of combating factions/political infighting that led to some really bizarre decisions, I guess.

The biggest mess for me personally going through Atlanta was coming back from Orlando one year, and going from northbound I-75 onto westbound I-20 back toward Birmingham. It was an absolutely idiotic design that had, as I recall, four lanes north and south merging into two, or something similar. We were backed up for something like 30-60 minutes there alone. And I think, but certainly won't swear, that that particular interchange was the source of some discussion/controversy about its design, but nothing was done, etc etc. Don't remember. Fleeting memories at best

Anyway, Atlanta is a mess. Just a hot mess. Hate driving through it en route to Florida, but I dislike the idea of driving through the backwoods and speedtraps of Bama and Georgia even more..... lol

[OUman]

The biggest sense of frustration I get is in Norman-at the Main Street interchange. People coming from I-35 to Main westbound act as though they own the road and that everyone coming from the Main Street bridge should just disappear, 'cause it's "their" road. Who cares about that yield sign CLEARLY MARKED and VISIBLE as they're coming from the interstate? "I'm not going to yield to any stinking traffic", as the attitude tells. I tell you, that re-design can't come soon enough. At least the cloverleafs are gone, one less thing to worry about. Once there was a wiseguy who saw me coming but still continued on to me while merging from the cloverleaf ramp, had I not taken a last minute action to swerve he would have definitely hit me. And then he has the audacity to act like I'm the one who's at fault.

Best phrase I remember while taking driver's ed-"Driving is a PRIVILEGE, not a right."

And the second most thing I dislike are the red-light runners. They're everywhere, it's rampant and some of them know for sure they're not going to "beat the red light", but they go ahead anyway (if you're 100 feet from the intersection and the yellow's been on for 3 seconds, trust me-you're not going to make it). What is it with drivers these days? I mean if you really don't have that much time to wait you really need to get better at time management or something, because that kind of driving is what makes it dangerous not only for yourselves but also for others.

[SoonerDave]

And the second most thing I dislike are the red-light runners. They're everywhere, it's rampant and some of them know for sure they're not going to "beat the red light", but they go ahead anyway .....

I think this is one of the "underdiscussed" dangers in driving right now. It comes up for some focused attention every once in a while, and that's a good thing, but in general it is overlooked. Even if I have a clean-green light at an intersection, I'm slowing at least a bit to look for precisely those red-light runners, because I don't want to get T-boned. Tried to keep my son aware of the same thing, too.

[MustangGT]

My biggest pet peeve is folks who are service drive cutters to avoid the signal light. GRHHHH.

[venture]

I think this is one of the "underdiscussed" dangers in driving right now. It comes up for some focused attention every once in a while, and that's a good thing, but in general it is overlooked. Even if I have a clean-green light at an intersection, I'm slowing at least a bit to look for precisely those red-light runners, because I don't want to get T-boned. Tried to keep my son aware of the same thing, too.

Perhaps time for Red Light cameras?

OUman I'm with you on the Main Street/I-35 thing. It is much like NB 35 to WB 240. Yes an additional lane is being added right there, but no one ever bothers to watch for people who are coming off to exit onto 35. We have the yield sign, not them, yet people will continue to keep going and cause someone to stop in the middle lane until they can get over. Of course that entire interchange is terrible...2018 won't come fast enough (if I'm even still living here to enjoy it).

Another random thought. Has anyone notice just about everyone driving a company vehicle (mostly vans) just drive with the force and don't really obey any street laws? Has anyone ever called the company directly to report the driver? I wonder if anything would even bother happening or if it just gets blown off.

[MustangGT]

Another random thought. Has anyone notice just about everyone driving a company vehicle (mostly vans) just drive with the force and don't really obey any street laws? Has anyone ever called the company directly to report the driver? I wonder if anything would even bother happening or if it just gets blown off.

Some companies have trackers in their vehicles. Just give a date/time/location.

[RadicalModerate]

Good Driving or Bad Driving?
Intersection: May and Britton. Location: Outside lane on westbound Britton, in first vehicle in what will be shortly become a line of people, in cars, mostly waiting to turn right onto southbound May.

"Role Play/Example":
The light turns green and I have already merged--from the ending lane that I intentionally selected, on account of it was empty--into the westbound lane (about half a block down the road) and before the "driver"--sitting in front of the long, long line in the center lane at the light--has realized the light has turned green and started to move forward on account of the cell phone conversation in which he or she was or were involved. No "cutting off" . . . no "yielding" . . . just getting from Point A to Point B with the minimum about of wasted time and the maximum amount of safety. =)

The move is not prohibited by any signage . . . promotes traffic flow . . . and is sort of like merging Chess with NASCAR.

The reason people run red lights is to make up for all the time lost unnecessarily zoning out on cellphones at lights that have turned green.=)

I suggest that when people buy big, road barge SUV's they be required to take a driving test in that vehicle to prove that they are capable of making a right turn into a parking lot without coming to a complete stop in traffic to do so. And to maintain a level playing field, without being double-challenged by having the power steering turned off. It would be like a "motorcycle endorsement" on their Driver's License/License to Kill except for being more of the defensively offensive persuasion.

[rezman]

Another one is the folks that don't know how to use the center left turn lane. They hit their brakes and their left turn signal at the same time, pull into the left turn lane right at the entrance they're wanting to turn into and stop with their tail end sticking out in the traffic la

To those folks,... it is OK to move into the center turn lane BEFORE you have to turn left. Traffic laws allow 200 ft.

[Anonymous.]

Not sure if this is what you mean, but I hate it when people do this:

They are trying to turn across a median and they are sitting in the opposite lane of traffic (essentially head-on).

The beginning of this Edmond Police video actually shows this violation clearly:

The Edmond Way I "Traffic Stop" - YouTube

[Easy180]

Another one is the folks that don't know how to use the center left turn lane. They hit their brakes and their left turn signal at the same time, pull into the left turn lane right at the entrance they're wanting to turn into and stop with their tail end sticking out in the traffic la

To those folks,... it is OK to move into the center turn lane BEFORE you have to turn left. Traffic laws allow 200 ft.

But can they still text in the center lane?

[UncleCyrus]

Perhaps time for Red Light cameras?


Another random thought. Has anyone notice just about everyone driving a company vehicle (mostly vans) just drive with the force and don't really obey any street laws? Has anyone ever called the company directly to report the driver? I wonder if anything would even bother happening or if it just gets blown off.

I've noticed this a lot more also. I have called several companies and most seemed concerned at least. A couple acted like it was no big deal and one hung up on me.

[rezman]

Not sure if this is what you mean, but I hate it when people do this:

They are trying to turn across a median and they are sitting in the opposite lane of traffic (essentially head-on).

The beginning of this Edmond Police video actually shows this violation clearly:

The Edmond Way I "Traffic Stop" - YouTube

No, I'm talking about when there are 5 lanes, two in echo direction with the center lane designated as a left turn lane for both directions.

[rezman]

Font Size

That video of an Edmond police officer stopping a motorist for facing opposing traffic in the crossover makes me laugh because I witnessed first hand Edmond officers doing the same thing at the corner of 33rd and Broadway while performing traffic enforcement on red light runners.

Here's how it worked. Some motorists who are westbound on 33rd are running the red as they turn left on to southbound Broadway. Edmond police sit in the old Pepperoni Grill / Kabuki parking lot facing west so they can see the light change. When the left turn light does change to red, the east/west traffic on 33rd then get the green. When the officer sees an offender, he has to come speeding out of the parking lot travelling westbound in the eastbound lanes of the intersection, in the face of eastbound traffic already started through the intersection, before he ultimately turns left onto southbound Broadway to catch the offender. Granted, the come out with lights and sirens, but they have a very small window to fit through.



P

[venture]

This was in the paper today: Oklahoma law seems to give 100 mph speeders a pass | News OK

On Nov. 30, 2011, an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper ticketed Brandon L. Maples for driving 111 mph on Interstate 44 in Comanche County.A week later, another trooper cited Maples for traveling 101 mph in Grady County.
Then, in March, Maples received another ticket in Grady County, this time for doing 102 mph.
In every instance, Maples, 34, of Oklahoma City, was found guilty.

The story just sorta made my blood boil. Especially with these repeat offenders just paying the find and moving on.

I'm sorry, you have no reason to go 100+ at any time. It seems those that Oklahoma really isn't on its game to address the issue. So some thoughts...

25+ over posted limit = Wreckless Driving Charges
1st Violation: Fine + Probation
2nd Violation: Fine, Suspended License for 6 months, Mandatory Drivers Safety Course, Re-Exam, Unique Bright Yellow license tag to highlight driving offender (these should also be used for DUIs like other states), and 100 hours of community service
3rd Violation: All of the above, plus 3 days jail time and license suspension for 1 year and 300 hours of community service
4th Violation: All above, license suspended for 5+ years, immediate confiscation of the vehicle, 30 days in jail plus 500 hours community service

[RadicalModerate]

Just today . . . I'm southbound on Penn, in the inside lane, behind some "courteous" prick in a black Ford Focus (note the irony), at the last unsignaled/unsigned left turn opportunity for northbound traffic on Penn, north of the Turnpike Frontage road light (a.k.a. Memorial Road, westbound).

Mr. Focus has decided not to block the opportunity for people--in this case a motorcycle--to make that tricky left turn, across two lanes of "Sunday Rush Hours" traffic in the vicinity of Walmartia/The KlusterFukke From Hell. Of course, the alert motorcyclist is carefully watching the traffic to the left of Mr. Focus to be sure that he--the motorcyclist and his passenger--don't get creamed by the "non-yielding" traffic that apparently doesn't appear in Mr. Focus' right-side rear-view mirror.

The light ahead turns green and Mr. Focus continues to sit there, being polite, long enough for the biker and the car behind him to catch a break in the other lane's traffic and make that left turn. Then, Mr. Focus heads south, down the lane that has been empty for awhile, and RUNS THE FRIGGIN' LIGHT THAT TURNED RED ABOUT FIVE SECONDS BEFORE HE GOT TO THE INTERSECTION.

All I could do was sit there and [anti-"bless"] him on at least two levels of "idiocy in traffic" while I waited for the light to turn green . . . again.
(This might be unfair: Mr. Focus might have been Mrs. or Ms. Focus. In any case, I feel better now. =)

Not t' nit-pick, Venture . . . but isn't "Wreckless" Driving a good thing? =)

[RadicalModerate]

Not sure if this is what you mean, but I hate it when people do this:

They are trying to turn across a median and they are sitting in the opposite lane of traffic (essentially head-on).

The beginning of this Edmond Police video actually shows this violation clearly:

The Edmond Way I "Traffic Stop" - YouTube

Just watched this. I can't find a single flaw in the reason for the stop or the procedure.
(as long as the person who was pulled over was only given a warning/suggestion for improvment)
(dang . . . i actually had something positive t' say about Edmond PD . . . =)

Thanks Anon . . . I guess that nice friendly wave-back from that danged ol' bicycle rider a corner-cuttin' a parking lot who realized I wuz a-watchin' out for him kinda made me more aware of stuff like this here . . . =) (again: thanks, sincerely.)

How about this: New Oklahoma Vanity License Plate (including bringing back the "Dreamcatcher/WarShield" icon:
Drive Friendly Or Else OK?
Oklahoma is OK Stupid Driving is Not =)

[Roger S]

I made a few observations driving I-35 North on the way to work this morning (7:35 AM to 7:50 AM).

I didn't see anyone weaving in and out of traffic.

No one crossed 2 lanes of traffic at the last second to take an off ramp

I never had to touch my brakes one time. Traffic ran smoothly from Moore to Downtown OKC.

It's a federal holiday... There are no government employees on the road today...... Coincidence?

[kevinpate]

I made a few observations driving I-35 North on the way to work this morning (7:35 AM to 7:50 AM).

I didn't see anyone weaving in and out of traffic.

No one crossed 2 lanes of traffic at the last second to take an off ramp

I never had to touch my brakes one time. Traffic ran smoothly from Moore to Downtown OKC.

It's a federal holiday... There are no government employees on the road today...... Coincidence?

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