What? By creeping up until they HIT me? Well, Ok, I’ve heard stranger things…
That would indeed be annoying. I haven’t noticed much unused space in left turn lanes in these parts though.
One of the things I’ve noticed is that folks will stop behind a line of cars and leave a large space in front of them - and later move closer. I suspect this is because when they are moving they want a lot more space around them, but when still, they are OK with less distance. I also suspect impatience is working here, too!
When stopped for a prolonged period with the transmission in Drive fidgeting my feet often results in the car creeping ahead.
That creeping behavior can make drivers of manual transmission cars or motorcycles nuts. Well, THIS driver anyway… 
“That creeping behavior can make drivers of manual transmission cars or motorcycles nuts. Well, THIS driver anyway”.
You can add me to that list.
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Speaking of “creeping behavior”, here is a variety of that behavior that can have very real safety implications. On a fairly frequent basis, as I approach a side road where a car is waiting to pull out into traffic on the main road where I am driving, as I approach that car on the side road, it will begin creeping/rolling in such a way that I have to swerve around them in order to avoid a collision.
Are these people so dense that they can’t figure out that they need to wait an additional second or two before they begin to roll into traffic?
That isn’t what you said.
This is what you said.
Unless, of course, you believe they can hit you from five feet away…
The “side road” creepers appear to be multiplying! I don’t recall having to swerve around any but when they stop then roll forward when I am much closer I will start braking as they appear to be pulling into my path! So far they have stopped again and I pass by. Do they enjoy scaring other drivers? If so that’s bordering on sociopathic!
I just have to say once again that if you are the last car or nearly the last car in a string of stopped cars, particularly on the interstate, you need to watch your rear with great fear. You need to be sure that you have room to move out of the way if the car or semi behind you is not stopping. Once you are sure that the folks behind you are stopping, then you can close ranks. Not long ago a family was rear ended by a half asleep semi driver in Nebraska I believe with tragic results. Same thing in Minnesota a few years ago. Putting the driver in jail after killing someone solves nothing. You need to protect yourself and watching what is going on behind you when coming to a stop is part of it. I just really can’t say this too strongly. Too bad if people get irritated by someone leaving too much room, but it is a matter of life and death sometimes.
I disagree. If he killed someone because he was drunk, it prevents him from killing someone else by driving drunk. Do you care more about the killer’s life or the lives of innocent victims that you can save? Your argument for compassion for the drunk driver falls flat the moment he gets behind another steering wheel drunk. And recidivism amongst drunk drivers is legendarily high.
They don’t trust their brakes, themselves, or both to stop the car a reasonable distance from the one in front of them.
Point was, putting someone in jail “after” they kill someone does no good for the people that were killed. I make no assumption that when someone kills once, they will kill again. That makes everyone a potential candidate for jail and makes a mockery of our legal system. The potential for someone to kill rather than actually committing the act. Our zeal gone amok. Our legal system tries people for acts committed, not potential future offenses. That’s why past offenses can’t be used at a trial. Each offense is separate on its own.
In the Minnesota case, the semi driver was not drunk but rather suffering from severe fatigue due to the hard schedule determined by the transport company. So it was manslaughter, not a DUI. Should the company be held partially responsible for the unreasonable driving schedules? I dunno, good question. I don’t know about the case in Nebraska.
At any rate my point was that a driver needs to take defensive measures in these situations for their own good and that of their families. The old saying comes to mind “he was right, dead right.”
I know this is veering the subject off course, but why does someone have to die before the offender is arrested. I know that drunk drivers are arrested without someone dying, but what about driving while texting or talking on a cell phone? If a distracted driver kills someone, they are charged with vehicular manslaughter,but it seems that if no dies, then there is only a fine, even if the accident resulted in someone being permanently disabled.
The driver who totaled my Nissan last fall was texting and she was not arrested, even though another woman was permanently disabled and she had no insurance and her truck’s registration had lapsed. She got a $200 fine.
I dunno, its a complicated issue and with freedom we have a certain level of risk. I think people though need to provide for their own defense. Part of that is uninsured/under insured coverage of your own. Maybe being short makes me more a fan of methods to even the defensive odds.
It was reported today that a guy was given his fifth DUI. He was passed out in his car in his driveway and the car had been parked partially in his landscaping. They weren’t sure if he was trying to leave after getting drunk or had come back. At any rate he was in his driveway, not on the street. The clincher though was that he had been sentenced to 42 months in jail for previous offenses but was now out on probation. So its back to the slammer for him and protecting the public for a few more months anyway. Its complicated. The guy is truly a hazard and a low life and I understand the police wanting to be able to do something about scum like this. But still he was in his driveway unconscious. Jail didn’t really help him and cost us $60,000 a year. Back to the old frontal lobotomy like the old days? Or sterilization at the least? We need to be careful where we slip/slide to.
I absolutely agree. And with extreme emphasis.
But that wasn’t the scenario I was presented with and responding to. The scenario I was responding to involved a drunk driver who’d killed someone.