Instead of road raging, rank traffic offenses from 0-10
 

If you commute every day, in a car, you'll find people doing outrageous moves, some of which seem even malicious towards you and others. If your drive involves a lot of merges and unpredictable traffic situations, you may see it all the time.

I've discovered, a good way to deal with it is to rank the offenses on how dangerous, malicious (putting others in danger), and/or stupid they were.

Usually, somebody who cuts you off abruptly is only about a 2 out of 10. If they do it while signalling, it may even be a 1 or 0. But if they do it at 75 MPH when you're going 70, and then hit the brakes, they might get a 6.

Somebody who cuts across two lanes at once to get to the exit they forgot to take: can be a 2 if there is no traffic at all, then it rises, according to how much traffic they are cutting off, and how dangerous it is.

Merging too slowly, similar... on my commute, people routinely fuck up the merge onto the PA turnpike, where people are doing 80 and you have to get it done quickly and correctly.

I think you only achieve a 10 when there is an actual accident.

The thing is, it stops you from being angry at other drivers. You start to even admire how fucked up their decisions can be. "Oh wow, that's pretty good... you get a 5"

People who leave more than one car length between themselves and the car in front of them on a left turn arrow get a 10 with a bullet.:mad2:

Responsible drivers do that. Then all cars get through an intersection (after the light turns green) faster. Then grid lock is easily averted. Then a crash does not involve many cars and injuries. Then some poor victim is not tying up traffic in the other direction trying to make his necessary left turn. Then traffic can move when some bus or large 18 wheeler is trying to make the turn.

If stopping behind a car and cannot see where his tire touches the road, then you are clearly too close. And especially when on a hill and he has a stick.

There is not even one good reason to get so close to that up front car. But some are so emotional as to think that makes traffic go faster - which is clearly does not. For some reason, it only satisfies an emotional gratification. Instead, get a room.

Responsible drivers do what? Leave 2, 3, 4 car lengths between themselves and the car ahead so only a third of the cars that should have made it through that left turn arrow do? Now those people have to sit through an entire cycle for the next opportunity to turn while even more traffic backs up behind them.
There's no reason in the world to leave more than a car length when you can literally stop on a dime at 10 mph. When I'm king of the world I'll post snipers at every intersection with a left turn arrow.

Oh oh thread rage! ;)

Depending on the road, you might want to leave a large gap until you know the car or two behind you have successfully come to a complete stop. You don't want to be rear ended and pushed into the car in front of you, which you would get blamed for. But once they safely stop, you can inch forward to close the gap. And you wouldn't need more than a car length initially anyway.

Around here, more than a half a car length gap would be unusual. 4 car lengths would get someone driving around you to pull in front of you, because WTF are you doing?

Read what was posted. Not what you want to argue. Nobody (except you) said anything about 2, 3, or 4 car lengths.

When stopping at any intersection, or stopping anywhere for that matter, I always leave enough room between me and the car in front of me to drive out of/away from a situation, should one occur.

Purely defensive.

Okay,

xoB : "People who leave more than one car length..."

tw: "Responsible drivers do that."

More than one = two (or more);

So, the conversation so far was: xoB brought up two car lengths, and you said that distance is responsible.

I think tw is sayin' responsible drivers try to keep a car's length between themselves and other cars. He was agreein' with you, Bruce.

You intentionally ignored what I posted. Gravdigr has provided another reason why responsible drivers do that. More reasons also exist. That rule is simple - and was posted.

Thomas, I quoted what you wrote. You're the one intentionally ignoring it. Your sentence beginning with "if" is not establishing a new condition, it's commenting on the condition you actually quoted: "more than one car length".

Excessive lane changes weaving from one lane to the other -- to end up being one car length closer to the stoplight. About a 1 most times -- but other drivers may need to duck.

Searching for the root causes for such pushiness for so small a gain suggests it is a symptom of poor time management in the commute hour. IOW, Jerk Face, get outta the house ten minutes sooner. Right about now, that gives you a good early-dawn look at all of Orion, and hey, there's Sirius. But don't try and make it up being pushy on the road, or you are fated to be that guy who put his body and fender man's daughter through grad school.

I feel as if I am being attacked.

Why?

Sent by magick