You Know What Really Grinds My Gears? Now with 3x more gears...

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by DownInFlames

I could go on and on. This city is so easy to get around in but so many people can’t manage, or be bothered to pay attention enough, to do it without being a hinderance.

This applies:

Originally Posted by Table 5

Canadian drivers have this weird combo of low skill + high arrogance. Compared to the rest of the world, our traffic is relatively mild and roads are stupidly easy to drive on... yet for some reason many people are stressed out whenever the slightest inconvenience/transgression happens. Perhaps because things are so easy, it's easy to get thrown off?

The mark of a good driver isn't being able to take note of all the bad drivers, it's being able to get from point A to point B without driving dangerously while minding the flow of traffic, minding other drivers, and doing it stress-free. Even then, good drivers make mistakes. Even F1 drivers make mistakes.

That's it.

If someone has slowed down or stopped because they chose the wrong lane (or even if they chose that lane on purpose trying to get ahead) you can bet that if I can safely let them in even if it means adjusting my driving, I'm letting them in 100/100 times. It doesn't cost me anything and it helps them (and usually the people behind them).

As an aside, there does seem to be something unique in the way Calgarians especially view lane changes. From any lane change that is more than 1 to more complex lane issues like basic merges and zipper merges, it seems like a constant blend of people who either don't know how to do it right or think someone else isn't doing it right so they take it upon themselves to stop them from doing it.

Whether it's "I'll drive however I want" or "I'm driving the right way and anyone who isn't doesn't deserve my respect" there's a huge entitlement issue around driving here.

People are also weirdly averse to horns. Part of the problem is that people don't use horns as a polite "hey, you're impeding traffic, move it along" they use it for "I DON'T LIKE THAT!" a lot of the time, which has the direct result of when you use a horn for the former, half the time you're getting the middle finger in return lol.

I was at a four way stop the other day planning to turn right. There was an old van coming from the opposite direction that got there first by about a second, I couldn't see their turn signal, so as they started to go (what I thought was straight) I crept into the intersection to make my turn. Well, they started turning left into the same lane at which point I saw their signal once it was out of the sun glare, so I hit the brakes, totally my mistake as they were there first and obviously had the signal on (didn't impede them though, at least 6 ft. between my vehicle and theirs) and they gave me "the glare" as they turned (not watching the road), and then once I made my turn behind them, they gave me the finger. People here are the most fragile drivers.

[Fuzz]

I've noticed a proliferation of people who can't make a turn correctly. Left or right, they'll turn, and instead of entering the appropriate lane, then signalling and lane changing, they just wander over to whatever lane they want to be in. Super dangerous and unpredictable, yet so many people do it these days. These same people often turn left from near the curb side, instead of being at the centre, so the block right turners, or vice versa.

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

What about drivers who don't activate the green light left turning signal? They stop so short of the crosswalk that it backs up 10 cars behind them.

Ugh that's so frustrating. Or speaking of leaving too much space in front of you, how bout ones who leave seemingly 2 car lengths in front of them, thus blocking the right turn lane next to em.

Now you have to wait for their light to go green before you can turn because they're oblivious to what they've done, and can't inch up enough to leave room for cars to enter the turn lane.

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

I've noticed a proliferation of people who can't make a turn correctly. Left or right, they'll turn, and instead of entering the appropriate lane, then signalling and lane changing, they just wander over to whatever lane they want to be in. Super dangerous and unpredictable, yet so many people do it these days. These same people often turn left from near the curb side, instead of being at the centre, so the block right turners, or vice versa.

This one enrages me. There’s only one way out of my part of the neighborhood where I live and it’s a quiet street entering a busy street. Every single time I get to that intersection to turn right, the left turner has moved to straddle both the thru lane and the curb lane, and I get to wait behind them for minutes while they skip all the gaps a semi trailer could have been able to safely enter.

[Lubicon]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

I've noticed a proliferation of people who can't make a turn correctly. Left or right, they'll turn, and instead of entering the appropriate lane, then signalling and lane changing, they just wander over to whatever lane they want to be in. Super dangerous and unpredictable, yet so many people do it these days. These same people often turn left from near the curb side, instead of being at the centre, so the block right turners, or vice versa.

The good old Saskatchewan turn! I've noticed there are generally two types of drivers doing this: the ones who are clueless and just don't know better. They tend to be the ones who turn slowly and generally putz along their way. The other type is super aggressive and use the maneuver to get past the vehicle in front of them, usually cutting them off in the process. Type 1 are annoying, type 2 are dangerous.

[bc-chris]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

What about drivers who don't activate the green light left turning signal? They stop so short of the crosswalk that it backs up 10 cars behind them.

this is years ago now, but i was behind a lady that had stopped before the sensor that triggers the light to change. after waiting probably 2-3 minutes i put my truck in park, jumped out and went to her window (again - this is well before road rage was a 'thing'). i asked her if she could pull up about 10'-15' becuz she was too far back to trip the sensor in the road to change the light - she actually had no clue there was a sensor. she moved up, the light changed and as we started to go she waved back to me and gave me a thumbs up and i responded the with the same gesture. it was pretty funny... but i'm still surprised that she had no clue there was a sensor on the road that tells the light to change

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by bc-chris

this is years ago now, but i was behind a lady that had stopped before the sensor that triggers the light to change. after waiting probably 2-3 minutes i put my truck in park, jumped out and went to her window (again - this is well before road rage was a 'thing'). i asked her if she could pull up about 10'-15' becuz she was too far back to trip the sensor in the road to change the light - she actually had no clue there was a sensor. she moved up, the light changed and as we started to go she waved back to me and gave me a thumbs up and i responded the with the same gesture. it was pretty funny... but i'm still surprised that she had no clue there was a sensor on the road that tells the light to change

It's usually more likely the dillhole has stopped on the crosswalk, well beyond the sensor, but you can't get close enough to trigger it yourself.

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by bc-chris

this is years ago now, but i was behind a lady that had stopped before the sensor that triggers the light to change. after waiting probably 2-3 minutes i put my truck in park, jumped out and went to her window (again - this is well before road rage was a 'thing'). i asked her if she could pull up about 10'-15' becuz she was too far back to trip the sensor in the road to change the light - she actually had no clue there was a sensor. she moved up, the light changed and as we started to go she waved back to me and gave me a thumbs up and i responded the with the same gesture. it was pretty funny... but i'm still surprised that she had no clue there was a sensor on the road that tells the light to change

There was a Reddit discussion about this a few months ago and near the absolute majority of commenters and upvoters, in the hundreds, had no knowledge this was a thing.

[DownInFlames]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

If someone has slowed down or stopped because they chose the wrong lane (or even if they chose that lane on purpose trying to get ahead) you can bet that if I can safely let them in even if it means adjusting my driving, I'm letting them in 100/100 times. It doesn't cost me anything and it helps them (and usually the people behind them).

I believe in courteous driving so I’ll make reasonable changes to accommodate someone but if someone is doing something dangerous like stopping on a busy road I’m not going to add to the danger.

Most of the time strugglers don’t bother me, and even at the worst of times I don’t let it make me rage. I vent here but that’s usually the end of it.

I make my living on the road and these little transgressions can add up enough to cost me money. I seriously wish I could educate people how to be safe and courteous drivers but that’s a lost cause it seems. I do honk when someone does something like cut me off or turn without signalling but more and more I get met with a finger or aggressive driving like brake checking.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by topfiverecords

There was a Reddit discussion about this a few months ago and near the absolute majority of commenters and upvoters, in the hundreds, had no knowledge this was a thing.

I love driving discussions on reddit, the best part is the people that admit they do the behavior that's getting called out, and the reasons they have for justifying it are always hilarious

[DownInFlames]

Originally Posted by bc-chris

this is years ago now, but i was behind a lady that had stopped before the sensor that triggers the light to change. after waiting probably 2-3 minutes i put my truck in park, jumped out and went to her window (again - this is well before road rage was a 'thing'). i asked her if she could pull up about 10'-15' becuz she was too far back to trip the sensor in the road to change the light - she actually had no clue there was a sensor. she moved up, the light changed and as we started to go she waved back to me and gave me a thumbs up and i responded the with the same gesture. it was pretty funny... but i'm still surprised that she had no clue there was a sensor on the road that tells the light to change

I’ve said this before but I did the same thing once and the guy didn’t understand me and went through the red light, almost getting T boned.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by topfiverecords

There was a Reddit discussion about this a few months ago and near the absolute majority of commenters and upvoters, in the hundreds, had no knowledge this was a thing.

Yep. I think a surprisingly large percentage of drivers don't even know it's a thing.

[Old Yeller]

That surprises me, I thought that was pretty common knowledge.

Are there also some sort of sensors on the top of stop lights? Or are they usually traffic cameras?

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Old Yeller

That surprises me, I thought that was pretty common knowledge.

Are there also some sort of sensors on the top of stop lights? Or are they usually traffic cameras?

I believe those are for emergency vehicles that can trigger a light change in their favour.

There is one at 20th ave and 2nd st NW that allows cyclists to trigger the light, but I've found I need to be fairly animated approaching the intersection. I don't think they are very common.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by DownInFlames

I believe in courteous driving so I’ll make reasonable changes to accommodate someone but if someone is doing something dangerous like stopping on a busy road I’m not going to add to the danger.

Most of the time strugglers don’t bother me, and even at the worst of times I don’t let it make me rage. I vent here but that’s usually the end of it.

I make my living on the road and these little transgressions can add up enough to cost me money. I seriously wish I could educate people how to be safe and courteous drivers but that’s a lost cause it seems. I do honk when someone does something like cut me off or turn without signalling but more and more I get met with a finger or aggressive driving like brake checking.

Brake checking! Also insane. People who brake check other drivers should lose their license. A completely illogical thought, given the difficulty of proving it was intentional brake checking, but still.

[activeStick]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

The ctrain here is so bad. There a track issue at McKnight and I'm delayed at 69th st station. I know it's the same blue line but come on.

Nice

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

I've noticed a proliferation of people who can't make a turn correctly. Left or right, they'll turn, and instead of entering the appropriate lane, then signalling and lane changing, they just wander over to whatever lane they want to be in. Super dangerous and unpredictable, yet so many people do it these days. These same people often turn left from near the curb side, instead of being at the centre, so the block right turners, or vice versa.

I get my jollies off by executing turns perfectly. My town has a lot of left turns that exceed 90 degrees, and I swear I’m the only person in town who executes them flawlessly each time… while pumping my fist and celebrating.

[timun]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

Canadians might have a reputation for politeness, but they are some of the rudest, entitled, whiniest, and most lackadaisical drivers I’ve encountered anywhere.

Drive in busy areas in the US and there’s always a flow to it (even when you’re in traffic for 2 hours). People cut in and out of lanes, take space available, lane split, whatever. There’s no stress. The odd time I’ve seen an incident of road rage, granted, it’s much worse than here, but here is just a constant din of people who are mad at everyone else on the road.

People here will give you the finger for just about anything, cut you off on purpose for some perceived slight, close gaps, or just generally refuse to let you in as though somehow you being in front of them is some slight to their character or will cause them to be delayed to their destination by two hours. It’s nonsense. Especially when they’re driving like the road is theirs, no hustle, and still get annoyed when you prefer to set your own pace.

Driving in the US is like a breath of fresh air.

While I do agree with a lot of what you're saying here, especially the "cut you off for perceived slights, close gaps, just generally refuse to let you in", I find that drivers in Calgary are also way too timid and passive for their own good. At merges, for instance, I often find the incoming traffic from the on-ramps will try entering going waaaaaaaay too slow to safely complete the manoeuvre. They put the onus on the free-flowing traffic to slow down and accommodate, and it becomes this awful feedback loop: the free-flowing traffic slows to accommodate, the merging traffic slows because they don't think they can make the merge, the free-flowing traffic slows even further, the merging traffic slows further... I don't know how many times I've tried to let people merge in and they're so incredibly chicken#### about actually taking the space given to them that I speed up, blow past them and let the next sucker behind me figure it out. Probably not the safest thing to do on my part, but it seems preferable to the alternative of coming to a complete STOP to let these doofuses in.

I also find Calgary drivers can be courteous to the point of being unsafe and unpredictable. For example I'll come to a stop at an intersection at the same time as someone to my right, and they'll wave me through. "NO, goddammit, YOU have the right of way so ####ing GO!" Another common occurrence: a driver stops mid-block to let a pedestrian jaywalk across the road. It puts the pedestrian at risk of getting hit by a car coming from the opposite direction, or another car in an adjacent lane on a four-lane road. Drivers should never, ever do it but in Calgary, sometimes, they do! They think they're being nice!

I think the part of your post I really disagree with though is "Driving in the US is like a breath of fresh air". It really depends on where in the US. In the parts of the US I've been to—most states west of the Rockies, plus Florida, Virginia, DC and the Maryland suburbs of DC—I find the average skillset to be shockingly poor. DC drivers I found to be not bad; aggressive but predictable. "A flow to it," as you put it. Other urban areas—e.g. Orlando, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Richmond, VA—were hit and miss. (No pun intended.) There was no "flow to it" in these places. I found traffic/drivers to be generally unpredictable, which is... scary. "Manageable" at best. Rural areas are a total crapshoot: could be decent, could be entirely inept.


EDIT: The most incompetent driving I've ever been mired in was in Vancouver. Brutal lack of driving skills out there.

[timun]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

I've noticed a proliferation of people who can't make a turn correctly. Left or right, they'll turn, and instead of entering the appropriate lane, then signalling and lane changing, they just wander over to whatever lane they want to be in. Super dangerous and unpredictable, yet so many people do it these days. These same people often turn left from near the curb side, instead of being at the centre, so the block right turners, or vice versa.

Especially dangerous at intersections with multiple turn lanes... Some of the streets downtown for instance can be nasty for this; northbound 8th Street turning onto westbound 4th Ave comes to mind. Three left-turn lanes, lane markings through the intersection, and you still get jokers in the far left lane cutting across two lanes mid-turn so they can take the Louise Bridge to Memorial Drive instead of being funnelled onto westbound Bow Trail.

This reminds me of another, tangentially-related peeve: left turns from a one-way to another one-way. 1) Left turns on a red light are permitted in these situations, but people won't take them, 2) ALL turn lanes are allowed to make turns against a red light, not just the left-hand curbside lane, and 3) drivers in the right lanes often don't stop behind the stop lines/crosswalks, blocking the view of cars in the turn lanes to their left and therefore not allowing them to safely make the turn on a red.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by timun

Especially dangerous at intersections with multiple turn lanes... Some of the streets downtown for instance can be nasty for this; northbound 8th Street turning onto eastbound 4th Ave comes to mind. Three left-turn lanes, lane markings through the intersection, and you still get jokers in the far left lane cutting across two lanes mid-turn so they can take the Louise Bridge to Memorial Drive instead of behind funnelled onto westbound Bow Trail.

This reminds me of another, tangentially-related peeve: left turns from a one-way to another one-way. 1) Left turns on a red light are permitted in these situations, but people won't take them, 2) ALL turn lanes are allowed to make turns against a red led, not just the left-hand curbside lane, and 3) drivers in the right lanes often don't stop behind the stop lines/crosswalks, blocking the view of cars in the turn lanes to their left and therefore not allowing them to safely make the turn on a red.

The only exception to the left turn on red is if there is another lane, like 7th st and 5th ave. You can not turn across a traffic lane that has a straight through option(in this case, it's a bike lane). Took me a couple years of almost getting killed there before I finally convinced the roads dept to put up a sign.