Idiots (not) at stop signs...

[Crash Cash]

It was a rough day, so I arranged with a friend to meet her after work for a sushi dinner. She's the only other person I know that likes good sushi.

I drive to the restaurant, and it's in a really big shopping plaza. I pull up to one of the stop signs where the rest of the traffic has right-of-way (no stop signs) and stop. This truck pulls up to the "intersection", stops, and starts waving at me to go. I sit there and think "no, I don't want numbnuts to hit me, it would be my fault, and just a perfect end to the day" and I shake my head "no"

He keeps waving me on. There's a lot of room so it's not like he needs me to pull out so he can turn or anything like that. Finally, I just lose my cool, slam up the Nolan, and yell "C'MON *******! YOU DON'T HAVE A STOP SIGN! GO!!" and he yells some profanities back and screeches off.

Finally I get to the restaurant and meet my friend, and I'm taking off my helmet when the guy comes back, stops, and just glares. I pick up the camera in my tank bag and he screeches off again, and I take a pic of his license plate, just in case he tries something while I'm in the restaurant.

I'm surrounded by ******* space aliens or something, I think.

Do people pull this crap in other places? Stop, block an assload of traffic behind them, and try to wave you through, and end up taking far more time than if they had just gone ahead and gotten the **** out of the way? I've had this happen when I'm in a left turn lane, and someone in the major flow of traffic just stops, tries to wave me through, and the 20 people behind her start honking their horns. And it's not like we're in a traffic jam and I won't be moving unless someone lets me through, it's just random acts of idiocy. One time I actually had someone in a Cadillac get rear-ended because she stopped like that. (I stuck around to make sure the cop understood she was the cause of the accident and gave her a ticket)

Sometimes I feel stupid for not going, but I don't trust these people, and I can see the police report now: "biker violated right-of-way and got run over."

 

[CHRIS_D]

It sounds to me he was just trying to be nice. Yes believe it or not some people are nice. Besides why would he wave you on then try to hit you? :huh: :huh: That doesn't make any sense.

 

[SacramentoMike]

". . . Do people pull this crap in other places?"

Nope. Only there. Here in Kalifornia, everybody drives perfect.

It sounds to me he was just trying to be nice. Yes believe it or not some people are nice. Besides why would he wave you on then try to hit you? :huh: :huh: That doesn't make any sense.

I bet you're right, but I'm with Crash on this. When I'm on the bike, people often wave me on when it's really their turn, and I think they're trying to be considerate. After all, I can clear the intersection faster than they can, and they don't want to hold me up and know I won't hold them up if I go. Still, I don't like it. I'd rather everybody just did what they're supposed to do so you or any other drivers on the road don't have to guess what their intentions are or when they're going to take their turn.

I'll nod and go if it's absolutely clear and there are no other cars that might be caught unawares. Otherwise, I just sit and wait, or wave them on. Or sometimes just scream and swear at them like Crash does. :lol:

 

[Checkswrecks]

That would've been my wife. I've told her over and over that it's just a matter of time before she gets rear-ended doing this ****. Still does it and says she is being polite. Arrgghh.

 

[Ari Rankum]

That would've been my wife. I've told her over and over that it's just a matter of time before she gets rear-ended doing this ****. Still does it and says she is being polite. Arrgghh.

I was going to post something just like this, but decided against it.

Oh well, sufficiently provoked:

My ex used to do this all the time. There was no convincing her that she was going to cause a collision, merely by doing things that other drivers didn't expect or even know how to interpret. She would often get hesitant in situations where she had the right of way. That hesitancy was often mistaken by other drivers as a yield. Of course, it wasn't a yield. An thus would start a very damn frustrating experience of brake/gas/brake/gas/brake/gas. F*CK!!!!! (<==== that wasn't me, that was the driver in the other car. Me? I only screamed that in my head)

IOW, I know exactly what your experience was like.

 

[FJRScorpion]

Yes, I've seen this many times. Shopping Mall parking lots are the most common place where I see this occur around here since the intersection stops aren't always intuitive. Many times the parking lot thru traffic has no stop sign and the 'turn-in' from the street does. This is contrary to most other intersection rules here.

 

[Silent]

I see the same chit happening all the time. I usually force them to do what they are expected to do. The thing that pisses me off is when I come up behind a car in the commuter lane, and the sob drifts so far left to make room that his right tires are on the yellow line trying to "make" me "share" (Thanks Tim) past. Believe me, if I want by, I WILL get by. When I roll up behind someone like that I snap my visor shut (possible road debris), stay behind them, and point right over my head and tell the idiots to get back in there lane! Usually they are so intent on watching me behind me that they arn't paying attention to where they are going. Not tailgating, not riding like an idiot, just commuting.

I guess some people are just gun shy about motorcycles.

 

[jmarran]

The road to Special-Ed is paved with good intentions.

Sounds like a fairly typical experience for me in W. Mass.

 

[daviddowns2000]

I used to have a car on St. Thomas, USVI, and was occasionally surprised by islanders driving on a main street who stopped to let someone pull out from a side street. I admired their courtesy, but it did seem pretty dumb. I've never seen that in the States on a main road. In Miami it's usually a free-for-all...stop signs mean (maybe) slow down a little. If I were a cop, I could generate millions in revenue just ticketing stop sign and red light runners...I don't understand why they don't.

 

[GunMD]

I agree with the OP. There are certain actions that are expected of those drivers with the right-of-way. When drivers take it upon themselves to alter that pattern of behavior it throws some unknown stuff out there to be interpreted by other drivers. This is not good IMO. Perhaps drivers should think of the right-of-way as more of an obligation rather than just a "right". You're obligated by standards of traffic flow to behave in a certain way. Do it, please.

 

[Kevin Daly]

Dude I am with you 100% gunny!

What you describe is 100% WV drivers and I mean every freakin day! I especially love it when you are at a stop sign and have to make a left onto a busy 5-lane (1 suicide) and someone stops in the right most lane and waves you on. Yeah right like I am going to pull out because you think its clear?

The rules of the road are designed to effeciently move traffic DONT REINVENT THEM!!

 

[Rondo777]

Same here in AZ too. when I pull up to intersections on the bike alot of time people try to wave me on. I wont go, just stick to the rules of the road. A bigger problem here is that these ying yangs dont know the rules of the road. I have always had a problem with AZ drivers and my friends suck as bad. I cant stand to be a passenger, and I quiz them all the time when they do somthing stupid. None of them know the car to the rt has the right of way and they all think your supposed to drive 2 car lenghts behind the car in front of you on the freeways. Not 2 - 3 seconds. I love my bike and I love that its a toy for me. Most of my riding is weekends or evenings. I'm never on the road on the bike during business hours, just take the bike to work now and then but its 4 miles from my home and one rural road to get there.

 

[wfooshee]

That would've been my wife. I've told her over and over that it's just a matter of time before she gets rear-ended doing this ****. Still does it and says she is being polite. Arrgghh.

How polite does she think she's being to the people behind her who do expect the right of way?

Tentative is not the same thing as careful, and polite is not the same thing as correct.

They've put some roundabouts in some intersections in our area, which are awesome. In each case it used to be a 'T' where the side road had a stop, and traffic could back up for 20 or 30 cars sometimes. With the roundabout, traffic in the circle has the right of way, but it's easy to move into the circle, and all the roads move well, traffic doesn't back up. Until some bee-otch stops in the circle to be "polite" and backs everything up like a stopped-up drain.

 

[stellarsteve]

One thing you have to look at is "What causes accidents?" My guess is a large percentage is somebody doing something unexpected. Things like running stop signs, red lights, crossing lanes suddenly are big ones but stopping in a lane that has the right of way is an unexpected situation. When you are driving down a low traffic lane with only one person in front of you, you don't expect them to just stop in the middle of the road just to let someone make a left in front of them or to pull out onto the roadway.

I agree it is polite but it is unexpected and can lead to an accident. What to do when someone waves you through? It depends on the situation. If there is nobody else around, go through quickly, give a little wave and be on your way. But if there is a caotic situation like in a parking lot I try to just wave them through because someone else may think they are waving at them and go without looking and you are the loser.

So expect everything is about to kill you.

 

[Crash Cash]

Besides why would he wave you on then try to hit you? :huh: :huh: That doesn't make any sense.

Well, stopping and tying up traffic doesn't make any sense either. The best one gridlocked 2 stoplights. They don't usually try to hit me nor are they being intentionally dangerous, they're just *******, and I don't want to get run over by some confused bluehair in a Volvo "who was just trying to be nice"

Plus I once had someone get out of a van and threaten to beat my ass. I stll to this day have no clue why. I think he only got back in the van because his wife was yelling at him and I reached into my tankbag like I had a gun. That sure as hell made no sense. So you can never tell.

She would often get hesitant in situations where she had the right of way. That hesitancy was often mistaken by other drivers as a yield. Of course, it wasn't a yield. An thus would start a very damn frustrating experience of brake/gas/brake/gas/brake/gas. F*CK!!!!! (<==== that wasn't me, that was the driver in the other car. Me? I only screamed that in my head)

Bingo! That's exactly why. The first couple times it happened it was like "huh? she wants me to turn in front of her? does she mean it? or am I imagining it?" and so I'd hesitate a second or two. By this time the cager would decide I wasn't going and start going. Of course I'd have just let out my clutch and started rolling, so I'd have to slam on the brakes, then she'd slam on the brakes. Lather, rinse, repeat. After a couple of those experiences, I learned to say "oh no, no way. wouldn't be prudent!" and then I thought about it and "you know... if she hits me, it'd probably be my fault..."

 

[James Burleigh]

He keeps waving me on. There's a lot of room so it's not like he needs me to pull out so he can turn or anything like that. Finally, I just lose my cool, slam up the Nolan, and yell "C'MON *******! YOU DON'T HAVE A STOP SIGN! GO!!" and he yells some profanities back and screeches off.

God save us from ass hats who think they are doing us a favor by slamming on their brakes and giving the right of way to someone who doesn't have or need it. They're too stupid to realize they're putting other people in danger. The best favor you can do me is obey the freakin' laws you freak!

I had a similar thing happen the other day. I'm in the stem of a T-bone intersection waiting to turn left. I have a stop sign and the traffic coming from my left has a stop sign. But the traffic coming from the right does not have a stop sign. A car approaching from the right enters the intersection signaling to turn left across my path and down the stem of the T. The genius suddenly stops in the middle of the intersection and motions for me to go forward across her bow. I shook my head and motioned for her to GO YOU IDIOT!

These f**king idiots sit there mystified that we don't want to accept their boneheaded and dangerous "courtesy"!

 

[KDM]

Happens all the time down here in Sunny Florida . The best solution I've found (for me) is to take my hands off the grips and fold my arms across my chest. This stops the wave-on contest before the profanities start to fly.

Always remind my buddies who ride before they pull away "Watch out for the idiots"! Because they will get you.

 

[Aasland]

Do people pull this crap in other places? Stop, block an assload of traffic behind them, and try to wave you through, and end up taking far more time than if they had just gone ahead and gotten the **** out of the way?

Yes, once in a while. This is MN, home of the "drive in the left lane at the same speed as the right lane".

She would often get hesitant in situations where she had the right of way. That hesitancy was often mistaken by other drivers as a yield. Of course, it wasn't a yield. An thus would start a very damn frustrating experience of brake/gas/brake/gas/brake/gas. F*CK!!!!!

Yeah, I get that on a daily basis. I live in a small town and people are "being nice".

You should see how the average f*cktard Minnesotan handles a roundabout. I have yet to see a single person signal that they are exiting, and many stop in the circle. :angry:

 

[Yort]

I have driven a small truck across 2 lanes of stopped traffic only to get totaled by another. My truck was a yellow rental and the fellow that hit me pulled around the stopped traffic to the point he was in lanes going the other way.

Now I do not go through traffic anymore. I'll wait....