https://xkcd.com/2932

Alt text:

This PSA brought to you by several would-be assassins who tried to wave me in front of speeding cars in the last month and who will have to try harder next time.

      • Transporter Room 3@startrek.website
        1·
        2 months ago

        I will happily take an extra large roundabout.

        Or “traffic circle” if you’re feeling fancy.

        It’s taken more than 5 years but I feel like people in the city I just moved out of are finally understanding the ones in town.

        Now almost nobody stops at them like an intersection. And i haven’t seen a crash from someone launching themselves straight over the center in months.

  • frankPodmore@slrpnk.netEnglish
    1·
    2 months ago

    Once had a motorist furiously shout, wave and honk his horn at me because he hadn’t checked his mirrors to see that his generous offer involved me cycling directly under the wheels of a bus. I live in London. It was a bright red double-decker. He hadn’t seen it.

    • evidences@lemmy.world
      1·
      2 months ago

      Some of them yes, the real shitty version of this is the 65mph divided highway where you can reel they just plopped a highway down in a rural area crossing over a bunch of country roads so instead of spending a shit load of money on overpasses you get the pleasure of merging directly into a actual highway. I’ve never actually had a problem at one of those because they’re always in the middle of nowhere but you really get to test your cars acceleration when you find one.

    • The_v@lemmy.world
      1·
      2 months ago

      That’s it’s very much normal.

      When I was teaching my older son to drive, I took him through it. My recommendation: “Never turn left at it. Turn right and find a safer way to go the other way.”

      When he got to the interchange the guy in front of him tried to turn left and got hit immediately.

    • dejected_warp_core@lemmy.world
      1·
      2 months ago

      Yes, and the only safe (and often time-saving) answer is to just turn right and then make U-turn later. Fortunately we have “right on red” as a legal maneuver here, so that softens the blow a bit. And yes, a civilized response to this nonsense would be a roundabout but we’re mostly allergic to those (they are gaining traction in places though).

      Often, these intersections rely on traffic lights to be navigable during anything resembling normal traffic. Without it, it’s also kind of miserable for everyone waiting for oncoming traffic to clear in order to turn.

      The only time I’ve witnessed this “wave someone out” technique as a good thing was where two-lane road traffic was too dense for local traffic to join. But that’s a regional thing in the US (around Massachusetts by my reckoning). At the same time I’ve also seen folks there blindly apply that grace to situations where it does not belong, like highway on-ramps.

      Also, while we’re talking about safety, don’t forget the 45mph delta between the stopped lane turning left and the traffic whizzing by mere inches from the stopped cars. Some places have a wide raised curb between these two lanes, but most do not.

    • Gigan@lemmy.world
      1·
      2 months ago

      Yes, classic stroad design. Although I’m seeing it more often where it’s not possible to make a left turn from the sidestreet.

      • kernelle@lemmy.world
        1·
        2 months ago

        I’m so used to roundabouts and red lights. They’re annoying for the lone driver, but add a bit of traffic and they move everything along so much smoother.

  • Lemongrab@lemmy.one
    1·
    2 months ago

    This is how I got hit on my bike, except I wasn’t waved at. I was in the bike lane and a truck ahead of me waved to a car to drive across. I would be close to were the car going 45mph is in the picture. Car pulled across and by the time i could see the car it was too late. I mashed into the side of the car right as it was crossing the bikelane and was bounced backwards by the force, smacking hard backwards onto the asphalt.

    Safe biking out there.

    • delirious_owl@discuss.online
      1·
      2 months ago

      Don’t ride in bike lanes. They’re usually death traps. Ride in the road where you can be seen. Follow the rules of the rode like any other vehicles

  • Tylerdurdon@lemmy.world
    1·
    2 months ago

    Driving is about predictability. You don’t do that bullshit in the first place. Same way with “slowing down for people getting on the highway.” It’s their responsibility to speed up to highway speeds. If they aren’t going fast enough by the time they need to enter, they yield, not you.

    • PM_Your_Nudes_Please@lemmy.world
      1·
      2 months ago

      If they aren’t going fast enough by the time they need to enter, they yield, not you cut across the stripes, nearly hit the impact attenuator, and run the car behind you into the next lane.

      For what it’s worth, I agree with you. Safe driving is about being predictable. But defensive driving is about predicting what others are likely to do. And oftentimes, the answer to “what is this driver near me about to do” is “attempt negligent vehicular manslaughter.”