At intersections like you described, if I plan on going straight, I stay in the middle lanes
Because at least half the people in the right lane intend to make that turn
On my MSN homepage yesterday there was a compilation of close calls videos that is right up the alley of this post’s subjuct heading.
I don’t know if I can find the link now but I think youall can search on the same ‘‘close calls’’.
Of course by being in the inside lane on a four lane street @db6490, you get stuck behind anyone (50%??) who might be making a left turn. Unless there is a dedicated left turn lane, I’ll continue to stay in the outside lane. And, yes I’ve had THAT accident where someone turned left across my path. That was 46 years ago. I’ll continue to take my chances.
@MG
Please go back and reread my post
I said if I plan to go through an intersection without turning, I stay in the middle lane
I did not say I stay in the inside lane . . . You attributed that to me
In any case, let me further clarify my approach to these intersections
Let’s say hypothetically, there are 3 lanes
Let’s say the left lane is for left or straight, the right is for right or straight, and the middle lane is ONLY for going straight ahead
If I stay in the middle lane, then I shouldn’t be stuck behind anybody making that left turn you mentioned
Unless they’re making a totally illegal left turn from the wrong lane. Seen that happen a few times
I thought my earlier post was pretty clear, but perhaps not
By the way, may I presume when you say “inside lane” you mean the lane directly next to the dividing line . . . ?
Way back in the early 1960s, I was riding with my grandma.
She waited at the light ready to make a left turn.
When the light turned green she pulled right out in front of every other car coming towards her who had the right of way.
When my grandpa pointed out her mistake, she told him “I’ve been driving longer…I get to go first”. I was just a kid, but I couldn’t imagine how the other drivers would know …who’s been on the road longer.
Yosemite
Years ago a lady who worked in our office was late to work , she hit an old pickup driven by an elderly man turning left from a two lane highway into his driveway. He told the patrol officer "I have been turning into this drive for fifty years, she should know that ". Fortunately no one was hurt.
Ah, Volvo that’s the story I was going to tell. Its kinda true in some areas though. My BIL’s dad lives in a small town and is now confined to driving a golf cart. He’ll sometimes take it out a mile to his farm from town. The people in town know when he leaves, how long it should take, and when he comes back, and let his son know if he’s not on time.
Yes @db4690, I misread your post. I shall endeavor ont to be os dyslexic in the futrue.
Anybody got a wet noodle?
No wet noodles,for you’se
Bing, worms in the peanut bars used to be common,a friend of mine related you had to get em early before the worms hatched(I get a good deal on out of date candy bars at the drugstore-no worms as of yet)
Using a knee to hold the steering wheel (for example when you’re opening a water bottle),
or driving when tired,
or getting distracted by something you just saw while driving,
or letting your mind drift by your favorite song on the radio,
or getting behind the wheel when in a rush or angry,
or pick your poison.
Aren’t all drivers subject to the realities of the above at various times?
I agree with you
If anybody says they’re not subject to those things on the list, I’ll show you a liar
True, but the question wasn’t “have you done them”, the question was “do you consider them safe”. The answer to the former is “admittedly, yes”. The answer to the latter is “absolutely not”.
They’re all unsafe, some worse than others
I drove to home depot this afternoon, and on the way back, a wino ran across the street
Nowhere near an intersection or pedestrian crosswalk
I had to step on the brakes pretty hard, actually
Anyways, while he was running, he dropped something large . . . perhaps a sweatshirt . . . but he had enough common sense to not try to go back and pick it up
I’ll bet you lunch that some of the brain-dead morons who jaywalk while on the phone, not even looking at the cars . . . if they dropped something, they would probably go back to pick it up, putting themselves in further danger
While it’s tragic, how does one account for things like this?
Left unsaid in the article is that everyone knows passing trains are a regular fixture in that area and that the young man jogged right past stacked up cars waiting while the crossing gate was down, right past the flashing lights and ding-donger, and jogged around the end of the crossing gate before trotting out in front of the on-time freight train.
I guess I’m less worried than some about occasionally holding the steering wheel with one’s knee. That’s fine. What I do consider unsafe is driving while tired and/or angry.
Our former town mayor is as die hard a motorcycle rider as could be found and at one point about 20 years ago he had accumulated a million miles on his bike.
One night about 20 or 30 miles south of Fort Worth, TX he fell asleep while cruising at about a 100+ MPH and sailed into the brush after leaving the roadway. Tore the bike up pretty badly but mostly minor injuries on him. Go figure.
After a long day on bikes and a trip to the lake a number of us were about 10 miles out of town and riding in pairs.
The guy next to me was on a Harley Super Glide and kicked back with his arms folded; allowing the bike to steer itself while the Dead Man throttle was set at about 60 MPH.
He went for about 10 miles like this and out of the corner of my eye I see him drifting towards the shoulder.
He was sound asleep and I had no idea how long he had been like that. I yelled at him and he snapped to just about the time he hit the weeds. He managed to save it and continued the ride home but kept his hands on the bars after that.
As to the original question “Why are these people still alive?”, the answer is that the rest of us HATE filling out accident reports.
By the way, we discussed this a few years ago, there is no nationwide consensus on what constitutes an inside or outside lane.
ok4450: Many years back a buddy was riding his Honda 750/4 to the East side of the state late at night. Long distance, nearly deserted 2 lane blacktop with many very long straight stretches. He woke up about 20 feet from the pavement bumping through the sagebrush at 60 mph. He safely returned to the highway and was “really wide awake” for the remainder of his journey.