I’ll start. Stopping distance.

My commute is 95 miles one way to work, so I see a lot of the highway, in the rural part of the US. This means traveling at 70+ mph (112km/h) for almost the entirety of the drive. The amount of other drivers on the road who follow behind someone else with less than a car’s length in front of them because they want to go 20+ over the speed limit is ridiculous. The only time you ever follow someone that close is if you have complete and absolute trust in them, and also understand that it may not even be enough.

For a daily drive, you likely need 2-3 car lengths between you at minimum depending on your speed to accurately avoid hitting the brakes. This doesn’t even take into account the lack of understanding of engine braking…

What concepts do you all think of when it comes to driving that you feel are not well understood by the public at large?

106 points

Move the fuck to the right. Always drive in the right lane unless overtaking. If overtaking, do it then get the fuck back to the right. It’s not the “slow lane” and “fast lane”, it’s the driving lane and overtaking lane.

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21 points

Sure just don’t be the guy riding my ass when I AM passing everyone in the right lane but aparently not fast enough for you.

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9 points

This is generally the situation that prompted my post. When I pass on the left, I will speed up compared to the rest of the traffic flow before moving back to the right, but I still leave plenty of room just in case I need to stop or slow down. People behind me or in front of me don’t usually tend to do that.

I hate seeing a clump of like 3-4 cars in front of me all bunched together hitting their brakes in series because they didn’t leave room between them while the guy in front is already doing 80mph or something.

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13 points

This. So much this.

There are so many signs on U.S. highways and interstates that say, “keep right except to pass”. It’s literally the law in most states.

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81 points

Don’t be polite, be predictable.

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15 points
*

This one. I live in the Netherlands and I walk our little kids to school. So I try to teach them the rules of the road. But then every motherfucker stops all the time to let us through because little kids. I know you’re all thinking “that’s considerate and safe” but really it’s infuriating. Be careful around children? Of course! Stop all traffic and insist on waving us through whether we want to or not? NO

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5 points

Same thing happens to me when I ride a bike, especially with kids on the back. I’ve resorted to aggressively shaking my head “no” and gesturing that they have the right of way and need to fucking take it already.

It’s especially infuriating when the car could’ve gone before I even reached the stop sign but didn’t, so it forces me to come to a complete stop and put my foot down. It would’ve been faster for both of us if they’d just take their turn!

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4 points

I’d suggest stopping at stop signs regardless of whether a car driver is trying to wave you through.

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3 points
Deleted by creator
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0 points

Eh, I’d rather drivers be extra careful rather than run the risk of a car accident. Good on you for teaching your kids, but not every kid is taught to be predictable too.

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6 points

My issue with people stopping for us when they shouldn’t is that it teaches the kids that cars will always stop for you. That’s not really what you want them to learn.

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13 points

Or another way to say that is:

Being predictable is being polite

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2 points
Deleted by creator
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58 points

Signal BEFORE you switch lanes. Like enough time for other drivers to see it before you make your move. Also, turn off your signal if it doesn’t automatically. I don’t understand how people don’t notice the continuous ticking and flashing light and just keep going as usual.

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25 points

To add on to that, signal BEFORE turning! I see so many drivers signal just when the lights go green and they are about to turn.

The point of signalling is to notify other drivers and pedestrians, not for yourself!

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5 points

You signal before BREAKING

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1 point

I know you meant “braking,” but I’m imagining someone in an absolute shitbox going “ah, there’s my axle about to fall off again” and hitting their hazards or something lmao

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7 points

Man even when I accidentally do that when I last minute realize I need to turn or switch lanes even i cringe and do everything I can to make sure I don’t do that again

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3 points

And give those assholes in the other lane a chance to block my lane change? I don’t think so.

/s

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44 points

Taking your foot off the gas and slowing down gradually when you see a red light ahead. People seem to floor it up to the light then stop as quickly as possible.

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9 points

But think of the 1 extra second they gained so they can sit at the light!

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3 points
*

This is mostly due to the fact that yellow lights have an inconsistent amount of on time.

EDIT: My mistake, the comment I replied to was not talking about when a red just turns. My bad.

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2 points
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2 points

In the US, the Federal Highway Administration has standards for yellow lights, speaking on this topic though. Many places don’t bother to follow these, however.

There’s a light where I’m at that is always red unless the sensors detect vehicles, then the light turns green just long enough for 1 maybe 2 vehicles to pass the street, then goes to yellow for less than a full second and then is red. Drives me nuts.

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2 points

People can’t downshift anymore

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1 point

Nobody knows how to coast. I still drive like I have a manual.

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1 point

I love having an automatic that still allows me to manually change gears. Engine braking is highly misunderstood and under-utilized as a driving mechanic now, and that’s a little sad, in my opinion.

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2 points

My father used to do that at red lights and stop signs. There was a street we’d go down to get out of our neighborhood that had two stop signs, one at the end of each intersection and the second intersection ended in a T. He’d turn at the first stop sign, then floor it to the second and slam on the breaks at the last second. It was a long block, but it was still just a block. Always scared the shit out of me. He’d do it other places too, and that was also scary, but this was really terrifying, especially in the winter.

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1 point

But please also don’t crawl to the line like a snail. I have a start-stop engine, I want to full stop as soon as I can.

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1 point

Coasting is one thing.

But slowly coming to a standstill, literal a few seconds per meter, just to conserve that 1% momentum is dumb as well.

Especially when the cars behind you are trying to move to a different lane so they can turn and you are blocking them because you think you are “saving energy”.

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42 points

You’re supposed to accelerate as you merge onto the highway. Not stop and wait for an opening

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16 points

And if you are already on the highway, don’t try to match the speed of the person merging. Ffs, speed up so they can get behind you. They may not be able to overtake you even if you slow down, and that’s not how it’s supposed to work anyway.

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