Stopping, of course!

I have soup all over my floor thanks to a taxi driver who decided that instead of just merging into traffic they should stop half-way down the merge lane and wait.  Actually, it's thanks to a poor container and various physical forces acting on said container in response to said taxi driver.  This particular spot tends to trip up old people and Asians pretty frequently (I keed, I keed!  It's the women too!), but come on!  You're a taxi driver!

You drive a flipping car all day every day for your living, but you still can't drive.  You fail.

I hope you waited until you got to work before you made the post.  

TRWTF is that you apparently think it's a good idea to eat soup while driving.  Can reading the paper be far behind?

sootzoo:

TRWTF is that you apparently think it's a good idea to eat soup while driving.  Can reading the paper be far behind?

 

I wasn't eating it, it was in a container on the passenger's side floor.  I even took extra precautions to make sure it wouldn't spill during normal driving.

sootzoo:

TRWTF is that you apparently think it's a good idea to eat soup while driving.  Can reading the paper be far behind?

Or putting make-up on/shaving.

File a complaint with the taxi company.  That's why they have those special licenses on the back.

sootzoo:

TRWTF is that you apparently think it's a good idea to eat soup while driving.  Can reading the paper be far behind?

And risk getting soup on your paper?

Yes!  You know what we haven't had in months?  An argument about the merge lanes! 

SuperousOxide:

And risk getting soup on your paper?

I'm in class right now, trying my hardest not to laugh :)

Was there an opening in traffic for the taxi to merge into?  Those lanes usually have a yield sign at the end.  An incoming car has to stop if it can't safely merge.  And it's usually better to stop before the end of the ramp so that there's a chance to accelerate up to speed when an opening approaches.

A year ago I was in one of those merge lanes turning right from one busy road onto another.  I was looking for an opening in traffic, so I slowed down.  Some butthole in a huge SUV was riding my tail, trying to intimidate me into continuing even though I couldn't without cutting somebody off.  I tapped my brakes and, being way too close, he had to slam on his (probably spilling soup all over his floor).  Once I merged he pulled along side and screamed at me out his window, stalking me for two miles until I pulled up to a security booth.

It still infuriates me whenever I drive past that intersection. 

AlpineR:

I was looking for an opening in traffic, so I slowed down.  Some butthole in a huge SUV was riding my tail

If *you* had been in an SUV this wouldn't have been a problem as you could have made your own opening.  Works for me every time.  Those little Honda drivers smugly ignore my turn signal, sometimes even speeding up to try and physically stop me from changing lanes, until they see that my Suburban will crush them and I apparently don't give a damn (which I don't).  Then they back off and honor the turn signal.

BTW, Yield does not mean Stop.  If you are stopping then you did something wrong and need to work on your driving skills before getting on the highway again.

 

 

 

 

AlpineR:

 

A year ago I was in one of those merge lanes turning right from one busy road onto another.  I was looking for an opening in traffic, so I slowed down.  Some butthole in a huge SUV was riding my tail, trying to intimidate me into continuing even though I couldn't without cutting somebody off.  I tapped my brakes and, being way too close, he had to slam on his (probably spilling soup all over his floor).  Once I merged he pulled along side and screamed at me out his window, stalking me for two miles until I pulled up to a security booth.

Sometimes when people drive too fast and/or recklessly, I say to myself, "I hope there's pussy at the end of that guy's trip."  I know they could be a girl, but if they can't be bothered to respect other people on the road, I can't be bothered to care about their gender.  What else could prompt such reckless driving to gain 15 seconds on a trip that will be cancelled out the first time they get to a stop light? 

clively:

BTW, Yield does not mean Stop.  If you are stopping then you did something wrong and need to work on your driving skills before getting on the highway again.

QFT

clively:

BTW, Yield does not mean Stop.  If you are stopping then you did something wrong and need to work on your driving skills before getting on the highway again.

Yield means stop if you can't enter.  It's a way of saying "You shouldn't have to stop, but if it gets to a point where someone has to stop, the merging vehicle should stop rather than the car that's already on the highway."

clively:

Then they back off and honor the turn signal.

There's no need to "honor" any turn signal.  It's merely a signal of intent.  If I'm forced to "honor" it then you're doing something wrong.  If you have your right turn signal on but are not in a right turn lane, for instance.  If you're signaling you want to change lanes when the next lane is clearly full, then it would be courteous of me to let you in, but not required.

belgariontheking:

Yield means stop if you can't enter

Not here.  In some cases Stop only means "look both ways as you speed through."  Hmm, kind of like driving in another North American country I know of... 

belgariontheking:

There's no need to "honor" any turn signal

If I turn on my signal, and you purposely speed up to physically block me, I will run you over.  Period.  There's your need.

BTW, I am not talking about when a car was *already* in that area, I am talking about people who suddenly speed up when they see a turn signal.

clively:

If *you* had been in an SUV this wouldn't have been a problem as you could have made your own opening.  Works for me every time.  Those little Honda drivers smugly ignore my turn signal, sometimes even speeding up to try and physically stop me from changing lanes, until they see that my Suburban will crush them and I apparently don't give a damn (which I don't).  Then they back off and honor the turn signal.

I have the opposite problem. I see people in the merge lane, and slow down a bit, expecting them to find the gas pedal and move in front of me, only to have them slowing down further to move in behind.

clively:

If I turn on my signal, and you purposely speed up to physically block me, I will run you over.  Period.  There's your need.

...because deliberately causing collisions is good driving? <confused>

clively:

 

BTW, I am not talking about when a car was *already* in that area, I am talking about people who suddenly speed up when they see a turn signal.

Point taken.  Those people are assholes.  Sometimes I am that asshole.  

clively:

If I turn on my signal, and you purposely speed up to physically block me, I will run you over.  Period.  There's your need.

I was trying to come at it from a legal standpoint. In my state, there are only a few situations where your turn signal is legally binding.  For example, if you have your right turn signal on in a "straight or right turn lane" but go straight and hit someone who turned right on red, it's their fault because you still had the "option" of going straight.  They should have waited for you to actually turn.  

clively:

Not here.  In some cases Stop only means "look both ways as you speed through."

I am glad I don't drive in Texas, then.   

clively:

If I turn on my signal, and you purposely speed up to physically block me, I will run you over.  Period.  There's your need.

 

I'm going to guess Massachusetts, with a close second being a three-way tie of New Jersey, Texas, and Florida.

Let us know what the judge thinks of your need, btw. 

belgariontheking:

For example, if you have your right turn signal on in a "straight or right turn lane" but go straight and hit someone who turned right on red, it's their fault because you still had the "option" of going straight. 

 

AKA "right-of-way", which any driver who isn't an obnoxious prick will at least pay lip service to.

The SO once had a defect in her rear windshield wiper that caused the washer fluid to hit a stray piece of plastic on its way out of the nozzle, directing it to, say, the front windshield of the car behind her rather than her read windshield. "Fun with tailgaters" commenced shortly after we realized this. Cue the Benny Hill music and banana peels...

clively:

If I turn on my signal, and you purposely speed up to physically block me, I will run you over.  Period.  There's your need.

You'd be in about 5 accidents a day around here if you did that.  The trick is to not signal at all until the last possible minute.  Just wait until you see a short break in the cars in the adjacent lane and then take it.  If you sit around waiting with your blinker on, everyone will try to speed up and block you.

shadowman:

clively:

If I turn on my signal, and you purposely speed up to physically block me, I will run you over.  Period.  There's your need.

You'd be in about 5 accidents a day around here if you did that.  The trick is to not signal at all until the last possible minute.  Just wait until you see a short break in the cars in the adjacent lane and then take it.  If you sit around waiting with your blinker on, everyone will try to speed up and block you.

You're from Maryland, too, I see. 

For certain the shoulder is not for passing nor is it a merge lane. Try that stunt with me I'll run you off the road ... just go ahead and speed up you can make it!

But never fear I read the newspaper on my way to work and you're completely safe ... I take BART :-)

 

 

clively:

Those little Honda drivers smugly ignore my turn signal, sometimes even speeding up to try and physically stop me from changing lanes, until they see that my Suburban will crush them and I apparently don't give a damn (which I don't).

Gee, you're not a stereotypical self-important obnoxious jackass Texan at all, are you?

PJH:

sootzoo:

TRWTF is that you apparently think it's a good idea to eat