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Choosing not to let someone out of a side turning
Soundbox
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I arrived at a busy main road from a side turning this morning and the lane nearest me was at a virtual standstill but the other side was moving with gaps. I once again had a car block me off by pulling up fully across the side road I was wanting to get out of. If I know that the traffic is stopped just past a turning I stop just short to allow people through to the other lane. The driver did not seem to want to knowledge me and started picking their teeth and fiddling about in the cabin. Eventually they moved along and the car behind them let me out (thank you).
I was not late but I missed two/three goes of the green light because I was not let out. Is this a new driving method - not letting people out? I know things change with driving so thought I would ask.
I was not late but I missed two/three goes of the green light because I was not let out. Is this a new driving method - not letting people out? I know things change with driving so thought I would ask.
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Some drivers are either ignorant or just plain selfish if they deliberately close up a gap to prevent a car in a side turn pulling out when traffic is one long slow queue or at a halt.
If the driver was looking shifty they may have realised they'd done something stupid.
I pull out slowly into traffic. They'll stop, they're not going to just drive into you are they?
So the queue of cars on the lane nearest you were stopped at a red light? Were you trying to turn left on to that lane, or right?
If left, how can you have missed several cycles of the lights? Presumably other drivers also failed to left you out? (Note that it's OK not to stop and let people join if you're moving and the lights are green. You stop when the lights turn red, otherwise it causes delays.)
If turning right, then again did no-one else leave a gap? The chap who was fiddling in his car probably made a mistake and was covering it up by pretending he wasn't aware (what else could he have done?).
(There is a very busy multi-cycle junction near me, which usually has a 3-minute traffic light cycle. There is a side road joining from the right about 20 metres before the lights, and the road layout is such that it is used by people wishing to jump the queue rather than joining it at the end. In that situation I don't let anyone in on red. And certainly not on green where any delay caused by the 'handshaking' dialog between two drivers would be enough for several cars to whizz through.)
Because I wanted to turn right and traffic was moving that way.
Not appreciated where theres a traffic island in the middle of the road and the car in the side turn through constantly edging out, reduces the the gap to danger levels. - Being the situation some drivers are subjected to on a certain busy stretch of the A21.
So if someone had been patiently waiting for another driver to "do the right thing" and let him/her out, then decided to up the ante and slowly edge forward as they can see that they could sit there all day otherwise, you'd drive into them would you, or keep your hand on the horn to show the world that you really are a clown?
Maybe I'm just too polite and considerate to my fellow motorists................
Don't be so sure of that.
Of course they will, they are not paying enough attention to leave a gap at a junction, roundabout or don't have the sense to leave a gap then they will most likely take the front of your car off and you will be 100% liable. You also will most likely be blocked by other drivers as they think you are trying to push in.
If they're waiting to get through and there's a gap behind me I'll usually not let them out.
No, what I'm saying is that if people wait behind the stop line and make eye contact with me, I'll happily let them in. But I'm blowed if I'll accept them just nosing out in front of me. I hope you saw my earlier post in which I said that I usually leave a gap for side-road traffic..
Yup.
Every road junction is different, and drivers who do the same journeys on a regular basis will tend to know how things usually play out. For example, there's a junction I regularly use which operates best if you do move forward and block the exit; leaving a gap behind in order to let vehicles turn into the side road. If you leave a gap wide enough for vehicles entering and exiting the side road, you can then find yourself pretty much stuck because as soon as the traffic shuffles forward, someone pulls out of the side road, joins the back of the queue, and you can't move forward because you'd then block traffic trying to turn into the side road! The "unwritten rule" is that your first opportunity to exit the side road is behind the car parked across the exit, and it works really well ... 99% of the time!
Of course, you do occasionally get the "Moses" drivers who expect the traffic to instantly part in front of them. Somewhat amusingly, the other "unwritten rule" is that if some dick tries to muscle his/her way out, the car which stopped across the exit pauses for a moment when the traffic starts to move, thereby allow the following vehicles to close the gap. The whole queue then carries on, with the last one again blocking the exit! As such, "Moses" has to wait even longer!
Common courtesy works both ways, and it amuses me when someone thinks it's fine for them to force their way into traffic, but they get all sniffy if someone else forces them to *$£* off and wait a few seconds longer!
Sometimes it's the only way and I do it as well. ;-)
Ahh, so you're one of those ********s that we see on the roads?
It is annoying - I'm rather a conscientious driver in that respect in that when I am on the main road - I would let a driver such as yourself out (especially as there is no particular hurry with a backlog of traffic ahead).
What is even more annoying though is when someone wants to turn into the side road that you are trying to get out of - and they won't let you out first! I usually position myself as far over to the right (as near to the line as possible - if not on it) so as to make it as difficult as possible for them to get in!