1. SPS Accounts:
    Do you find yourself coming back time after time? Do you appreciate the ongoing hard work to keep this community focused and successful in its mission? Please consider supporting us by upgrading to an SPS Account. Besides the warm and fuzzy feeling that comes from supporting a good cause, you'll also get a significant number of ever-expanding perks and benefits on the site and the forums. Click here to find out more.
    Dismiss Notice
Dismiss Notice
You are currently viewing Boards o' Magick as a guest, but you can register an account here. Registration is fast, easy and free. Once registered you will have access to search the forums, create and respond to threads, PM other members, upload screenshots and access many other features unavailable to guests.

BoM cultivates a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. We have been aiming for quality over quantity with our forums from their inception, and believe that this distinction is truly tangible and valued by our members. We'd love to have you join us today!

(If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you've forgotten your username or password, click here.)

Road Pet-Peeves

Discussion in 'Whatnots' started by Triactus, Jan 26, 2010.

  1. Taluntain

    Taluntain Resident Alpha and Omega Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) BoM XenForo Migration Contributor [2015] (for helping support the migration to new forum software!)

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2000
    Messages:
    23,475
    Media:
    494
    Likes Received:
    538
    Gender:
    Male
    Oh, yeah. Truckers. Driving in parallel in front of you, for miles. Gotta love those. Or the idiot truckers who refuse to move out of the fast lane no matter what, driving at half the allowed speed to boot. :bang:
     
  2. LKD Gems: 31/31
    Latest gem: Rogue Stone


    Veteran

    Joined:
    Aug 13, 2002
    Messages:
    6,284
    Likes Received:
    271
    Gender:
    Male
    So, Kit, you are saying that Utah Mormons are bad drivers?

    I hate it when I need to change lanes, and some douche is coming up behind me in the target lane. I signal to change, and I slow down so Mr. Douche can pass. He slows down too, staying just in my blind spot so I can't safely change. I speed up, flasher still one, and Mr. Douche speeds up too, not giving me room to move over. Fricking idiots! I want a Car Wars laser turret to deal with these douchebags!
     
  3. Triactus

    Triactus United we stand, divided we fall Veteran

    Joined:
    Jul 18, 2002
    Messages:
    1,696
    Media:
    10
    Likes Received:
    49
    Gender:
    Male
    Ugh! I would flip out! It happens to me all the time that I signal, check my blind spot to see it's clear (and it is), then I start converging and I turn again to the blind spot to see an a**ho** who speed up and I have to swerve back in my lane... If you see someone with the blinker, LET HIM PASS! :mad:
     
  4. crucis

    crucis Fighting the undead in Selune's name Veteran

    Joined:
    Jan 2, 2006
    Messages:
    977
    Likes Received:
    29

    In my neck of the woods, rotaries are considered the bane of safe driving, and there are very, very few of them left. There are always a few people who just don't know how to use them properly and safely, whereas everyone understands the concept of a red light.
     
  5. Triactus

    Triactus United we stand, divided we fall Veteran

    Joined:
    Jul 18, 2002
    Messages:
    1,696
    Media:
    10
    Likes Received:
    49
    Gender:
    Male
    I agree that the biggest problem with roundabouts is how other people understand them (my father even takes detour to avoid roundabouts because he doesn't trust other drivers). However, it's much better than stop lights since it really reduces the waiting time and greatly improves the flow. So I think instead of reverting back to stop lights, the government should better inform the drivers of the rules and procedures associated with roundabouts. I personally use at least one a day and I prefer them to stop lights.

    But again, if people pay attention to the road signs, they can get safely across a roundabout...
     
  6. crucis

    crucis Fighting the undead in Selune's name Veteran

    Joined:
    Jan 2, 2006
    Messages:
    977
    Likes Received:
    29
    Triactus, I think that opinions of roundabouts/rotaries may vary from region to region. As I said before, in my region, they're considered to be rather dangerous, and for the most part, governments try to get rid of them if at all possible.
     
  7. Taluntain

    Taluntain Resident Alpha and Omega Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) BoM XenForo Migration Contributor [2015] (for helping support the migration to new forum software!)

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2000
    Messages:
    23,475
    Media:
    494
    Likes Received:
    538
    Gender:
    Male
    That really makes no sense... educating people on how to use them would be a much better option. Enforce mandatory tests if everything else fails. To people who understand them it'd take 10 minutes to pass a test say every 5 years. To those who don't, it'd force them to take a few hours to study and grasp the concept which would serve them for the rest of their lives. All the roundabouts have road signs as well as road marks, so only people with tunnel vision or some other issues can have problems with them as far as entering and exiting goes. Naturally most people are confused when they first encounter one, but that's hardly a reason not to use them. Changing lanes is scary to newbie drivers as well, but once you've done it 500 times, you do it automatically. The same goes for roundabouts. The more there are of them and the more you encounter, the less problematic they are.
     
  8. Cap'n CJ

    Cap'n CJ Arrr! Veteran

    Joined:
    May 29, 2004
    Messages:
    1,389
    Media:
    4
    Likes Received:
    35
    Gender:
    Male
    Roundabouts work, and they're NOT complicated. Why the hell can't people just learn to use them? If I can understand it, anyone should be able to.
     
  9. Saber

    Saber A revolution without dancing is not worth having! Veteran

    Joined:
    Dec 2, 2004
    Messages:
    4,905
    Likes Received:
    47
    Gender:
    Male
    Rotaries/roundabouts aren't so bad... it's the drivers who drive 50 mph through them that make it piss hard to get in - they have the right of way, but they don't have the right to try and murder us all!
     
  10. Triactus

    Triactus United we stand, divided we fall Veteran

    Joined:
    Jul 18, 2002
    Messages:
    1,696
    Media:
    10
    Likes Received:
    49
    Gender:
    Male
    What do you mean? Over here, it's the person inside the roundabout who has right of way. So however fast he drives, you have to wait for him to go through.
     
  11. Saber

    Saber A revolution without dancing is not worth having! Veteran

    Joined:
    Dec 2, 2004
    Messages:
    4,905
    Likes Received:
    47
    Gender:
    Male
    They have the right of way, but besides the fact that driving 50 in a circle is dangerous, but it makes it impossible to get in safely - I know the people trying to get in have to wait, but things would go a lot smoother if the people could actually get in the rotary without having to put themselves at risk of being rammed up the bumhole.
     
  12. Triactus

    Triactus United we stand, divided we fall Veteran

    Joined:
    Jul 18, 2002
    Messages:
    1,696
    Media:
    10
    Likes Received:
    49
    Gender:
    Male
    Well, if you have enough time to get in, it's the person behind you who speeds that has to slow down. If he clips you, you stop, call the police, and wait for the guy's insurance to pay for the repairs on your car... :)
     
  13. crucis

    crucis Fighting the undead in Selune's name Veteran

    Joined:
    Jan 2, 2006
    Messages:
    977
    Likes Received:
    29
    Capn, it may simply be a case that over there in the UK, everyone is so familiar with them, that they're no big deal. But here in New England, it seems to be the opposite. There are fewer and fewer of them all the time.


    Saying "why can't people just learn to use them" is rather pointless if the traffic data shows that rotaries are among the most dangerous places on a road, and that it's easier to simply get rid of them, in favor of stop lighted intersections or some sorts of overpasses.

    Wringing ones hands and saying "why can't they learn" just seems pointless. The real point is that, at least around here, people simply don't seem all that comfortable with rotaries, so why try to force them down the throats of a motoring public? That attitude smacks of big government elitism ...
     
  14. Triactus

    Triactus United we stand, divided we fall Veteran

    Joined:
    Jul 18, 2002
    Messages:
    1,696
    Media:
    10
    Likes Received:
    49
    Gender:
    Male
    The roundabouts have huge avantages to stop lights, so I think the better solutions in implement a way to better educate the people. But the worst thing is, like someone mentioned before, ALL DIRECTIONS ARE WRITTEN ON THE GROUND AND ON SIGNS. I don't understand how people can't get roundabouts.
     
  15. Saber

    Saber A revolution without dancing is not worth having! Veteran

    Joined:
    Dec 2, 2004
    Messages:
    4,905
    Likes Received:
    47
    Gender:
    Male
    People shouldn't be looking at the ground when trying to merge into a rotary :p
     
    Splunge likes this.
  16. Triactus

    Triactus United we stand, divided we fall Veteran

    Joined:
    Jul 18, 2002
    Messages:
    1,696
    Media:
    10
    Likes Received:
    49
    Gender:
    Male
    :geezer:

    Even though I know you're joking, you of course look the huge arrows painted on the ground when you're coming up to the roundabout.... But still, the same arrows are on signs next to the roundabout.

    I have my driver's license since last mai, and the biggest fear I had when I was learning to drive was ''oh my god, how am I gonna be able to know what lane to go in???"... And then you notice that everything is written either on the ground or on a sign. Everything you need to know is there, you just have to look at it.
     
  17. Taluntain

    Taluntain Resident Alpha and Omega Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) BoM XenForo Migration Contributor [2015] (for helping support the migration to new forum software!)

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2000
    Messages:
    23,475
    Media:
    494
    Likes Received:
    538
    Gender:
    Male
    Not wanting to sound "elitist" but with that attitude, we'd still be living in mud huts because a bit of mud falling on your head if the roof caved in would be far less likely to kill you than a reinforced concrete plate, for example... ignoring the fact that the likelihood of the ceiling dropping down on your head is virtually non-existent if the concrete plate is constructed properly.

    We have driving schools for a reason - and it's not to get people on the road ASAP with the least possible effort, but to teach them to understand and be able to handle everything that they might encounter on the road. Driving via roundabouts certainly falls under that category. Given all their known advantages, not having them because it's easier to not have to educate people about them is simply gross negligence.
     
    Last edited: Jan 31, 2010
  18. Splunge

    Splunge Bhaal’s financial advisor Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

    Joined:
    Jun 7, 2003
    Messages:
    6,815
    Media:
    6
    Likes Received:
    336
    Getting away from the circle thingies for a bit, I don't understand people who ride bicycles on the roads in the winter. Slippery roads, 3,500lb-plus cars, and bikes just don't mix. Unless you hate cyclists, in which case you have a perfect excuse.
     
  19. crucis

    crucis Fighting the undead in Selune's name Veteran

    Joined:
    Jan 2, 2006
    Messages:
    977
    Likes Received:
    29
    Or jog on roads that have been somewhat narrowed by snowbanks and are often slick, sloppy, or just downright messy.


    Or worse ... bicycles or joggers who don't have reflectors of some sort on their bikes or jogging clothes when it starts getting darker. I don't "hate" bikers or joggers. I used to bike a lot myself when I was younger. But it scares me silly when I come up on some nitwit who doesn't have any reflectors at all, and I don't see them until I nearly run them over. I don't want to hit anyone cuz they didn't wear reflectors so that I could see them at a safe distance. :( (I've never hit anyone not wearing reflectors, but I've come far too close for comfort on a number of occasions.)
     
  20. Triactus

    Triactus United we stand, divided we fall Veteran

    Joined:
    Jul 18, 2002
    Messages:
    1,696
    Media:
    10
    Likes Received:
    49
    Gender:
    Male
    Oh, you're quite right about that. I hate when I only see people at the last minute because they don't wear reflectors. However, the stupid thing is I always wear black or dark color clothes and I don't wear anything remotely reflecting... :( So if I don't post for a while, I probably got hit by a car... :lol:

    The bike thing made me think of something else I dislike. I have no problems with cyclists. I don't know about where you guys live, but here, cyclists have it in their heads to go in the car lanes. You'll often see bikes going in the car lanes. Hey, cyclists : YOU'RE NOT DRIVING A CAR! When their on a boulevard or something, they really hold up traffic!
     
Sorcerer's Place is a project run entirely by fans and for fans. Maintaining Sorcerer's Place and a stable environment for all our hosted sites requires a substantial amount of our time and funds on a regular basis, so please consider supporting us to keep the site up & running smoothly. Thank you!

Sorcerers.net is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to products on amazon.com, amazon.ca and amazon.co.uk. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.