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Old 08-25-2014, 04:33 PM   #241
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Here's my peeve for today..... An old one many have bought up but I witnessed it just this morning and it irked me.....

Non-handicapped drivers pull into a handicapped space and wait while their passenger runs into a building. "Oh, I'll just pull out if an actual handicapped persons requests" is their ususal defense. I can tell you that legitimate handicapped folks, not knowing if you're legit or not (your tag may be on the dash where they can't see it or whatever) aren't going to challenge you. You're inappropriately taking a close-in parking spot and showing yourself to be a true scumbag.

Reminder - a non-handicapped person waiting in the car while another runs in is NOT ok. Stay out of the handicapped spots!
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Old 08-25-2014, 07:09 PM   #242
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Pet peeve of the day is : waiting 4 minutes in checkout line while customer ahead swipes card, signs electronic signature (which for some reason takes a whole 60 seconds), types in numbers, cashier stares at screen, customer types more numbers, cashier stares at screen........ad infinitum.
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Old 08-26-2014, 07:54 PM   #243
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People who think it is okay for their kid to be screaming and crying in a restaurant and not take the child outside until the meltdown is over. I expect that at Micky D's or some such but not at a nicer place.

I did not pay good money for a nice restaurant to have the meal disturbed by ill-mannered, rude, inconsiderate people who think anything their bundle of joy does is wonderful. News flash! it isn't.
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Old 08-26-2014, 08:10 PM   #244
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People who think it is okay for their kid to be screaming and crying in a restaurant and not take the child outside until the meltdown is over. I expect that at Micky D's or some such but not at a nicer place.

I did not pay good money for a nice restaurant to have the meal disturbed by ill-mannered, rude, inconsiderate people who think anything their bundle of joy does is wonderful. News flash! it isn't.
+100

I am a mother, and I never did that, so why should they?

My pet peeve at restaurants lately is the waitress who interrupts your conversation and intent focus on your dinner partner and light of your life, in order to say, "Would you like some more water?" I know, I know, I suppose some people would find it annoying to have their water refilled without being consulted first, and they can't please everyone.
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Old 08-27-2014, 07:29 AM   #245
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I can adopt a course if action, and I could adopt a child, but some of you-all would grammatically forbid me to adopt a pet? The verb "adopt" can take other objects than "human child".
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Old 08-27-2014, 08:29 AM   #246
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Driving along on the Interstate yesterday a sign says "left lane closed in 2 miles due to road construction". After about a mile, 70 to 80% of the cars have moved over to the right lane to "get in line and wait their turn". The other 20 to 30% have raced ahead in the left lane to "get ahead" and they wait till the last minute to move over. They cause the traffic jam more so than the construction.
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Old 08-27-2014, 08:30 AM   #247
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Pet peeve of every day is red-light running a$$holes...

A couple of weeks ago, at an intersection near me, I was nearly rammed by someone making an left turn after the light changed to red. Then, last weekend, I was third in line at the same intersection when three cars made the same left turn after our light had turned green. Then sometime shortly thereafter, someone bought it, because I noticed some bumper parts laying on the traffic island at the same intersection...

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Old 08-27-2014, 08:40 AM   #248
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Originally Posted by Car-Guy View Post
Driving along on the Interstate yesterday a sign says "left lane closed in 2 miles due to road construction". After about a mile, 70 to 80% of the cars have moved over to the right lane to "get in line and wait their turn". The other 20 to 30% have raced ahead in the left lane to "get ahead" and they wait till the last minute to move over. They cause the traffic jam more so than the construction.
Actually, filling in the lane right up to the merge point it the recommended method. They should post signs to this effect to avoid road range against those of us who decide to do it the right way.

Think about it - there is a limited amount of roadway, correct? So drivers should use all the roadway that is available. Merging early, and leaving that left lane open is simply under-utilizing a limited resource, and causing traffic to back up further than it would otherwise.

Some back up:

Zipper Merge

Quote:
What is a zipper merge?

When a lane is closed in a construction zone, a zipper merge occurs when motorists use both lanes of traffic until reaching the defined merge area, and then alternate in "zipper" fashion into the open lane.

Zipper merge vs. early merge

When most drivers see the first “lane closed ahead” sign in a work zone, they slow too quickly and move to the lane that will continue through the construction area. This driving behavior can lead to unexpected and dangerous lane switching, serious crashes and road rage.

Zipper merging, however, benefits individual drivers as well as the public at large. Research shows that these dangers decrease when motorists use both lanes until reaching the defined merge area and then alternate in “zipper” fashion into the open lane. Watch a brief video of how it works.

So I'm supposed to merge late?

Yes! As you see the “lane closed ahead” sign and traffic backing up, stay in your current lane up to the point of merge. ...
So go back and give a big smile and a 'Thank You' to those drivers you were cussing out!

So I'll add a pet-peeve - people who get mad at efficient drivers who understand it is best to merge late!

-ERD50
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Old 08-27-2014, 08:50 AM   #249
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Then why does it say merge to the right 2 miles before? And why do most people move over early? Maybe you are right and the 70 to 80% are wrong.
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Old 08-27-2014, 08:50 AM   #250
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i recall a NYT guest Op-Ed on lane merging. It was specific to a NYC tunnel but the practice was the same, and the writer was boasting that he merged when his lane ran out of space. According to a subsequent post by the NYT Public Editor, it caused a record number of responses. He said they were about equal in view; 1/3 wrote that the lane being closed should be used to the end, 1/3 thought drivers should move to one lane as soon as possible, the rest didn't really care.

LEOs, interviewed for the article and writing in, all expressed a similar thought. Using the lane to the very end was not a violation, and this was one of the primary causes of road rage incidents.
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Old 08-27-2014, 08:52 AM   #251
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Originally Posted by ERD50 View Post
So go back and give a big smile and a 'Thank You' to those drivers you were cussing out!

So I'll add a pet-peeve - people who get mad at efficient drivers who understand it is best to merge late!

-ERD50
+1

Hmm.... I find myself agreeing with ERD50 far to often these days. Obviously, he's learned a lot over the last few years.
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Old 08-27-2014, 08:56 AM   #252
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So I'll add a pet-peeve - people who get mad at efficient drivers who understand it is best to merge late!

-ERD50
I'd bet they're doing it to get ahead of other drivers, not to be efficient...
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Old 08-27-2014, 08:59 AM   #253
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ERD50;

[URL="http://www.dot.state.mn.us/zippermerge/"
Zipper Merge[/URL]



So go back and give a big smile and a 'Thank You' to those drivers you were cussing out!

So I'll add a pet-peeve - people who get mad at efficient drivers who understand it is best to merge late!

-ERD50
MN dot conjured the bold part out of thin air:

"Benefits

  • Reduces differences in speeds between two lanes
  • Reduces the overall length of traffic backup by as much as 40 percent
  • Reduces congestion on freeway interchanges
  • Creates a sense of fairness and equity that all lanes are moving at the same rate"
For most, it creates a sense of unfairness and inequity that they have been instructed to move right, and the few cheat to advance at the expense of others. If dot's know for a fact that merging is faster, the signs should be changed to read: "construction ahead, stay in your current lane and be prepared to merge."
Most of the drawbridges around here have feeder lanes on the approach that require a merge, they are without question slower lanes, always have been.
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Old 08-27-2014, 09:03 AM   #254
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i recall a NYT guest Op-Ed on lane merging. It was specific to a NYC tunnel but the practice was the same, and the writer was boasting that he merged when his lane ran out of space. According to a subsequent post by the NYT Public Editor, it caused a record number of responses. He said they were about equal in view; 1/3 wrote that the lane being closed should be used to the end, 1/3 thought drivers should move to one lane as soon as possible, the rest didn't really care.

LEOs, interviewed for the article and writing in, all expressed a similar thought. Using the lane to the very end was not a violation, and this was one of the primary causes of road rage incidents.
Fortunately, we do not have to make a choice about when to merge. We have semitruck drivers managing the merge lanes for us, who stay side by side well in advance of the merging point. Grrr.
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Old 08-27-2014, 09:08 AM   #255
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The lane closure signs I have seen don't instruct when to merge, only warn that the lane will close ahead.

Quote:
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Fortunately, we do not have to make a choice about when to merge. We have semitruck drivers managing the merge lanes for us, who stay side by side well in advance of the merging point. Grrr.
Chicago rules don't apply.

Here is a recent thread on a similar topic. http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...ine-72020.html
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Old 08-27-2014, 09:08 AM   #256
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+1

Hmm.... I find myself agreeing with ERD50 far to often these days. Obviously, he's learned a lot over the last few years.


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Originally Posted by HFWR View Post
I'd bet they're doing it to get ahead of other drivers, not to be efficient...
More efficient, and you get to your destination sooner than the less informed. Win-win!

Quote:
Originally Posted by bld999 View Post
MN dot conjured the bold part out of thin air:

"Benefits
[*]Creates a sense of fairness and equity that all lanes are moving at the same rate"[/LIST]
For most, it creates a sense of unfairness and inequity that they have been instructed to move right, and the few cheat to advance at the expense of others. If dot's know for a fact that merging is faster, the signs should be changed to read: "construction ahead, stay in your current lane and be prepared to merge."...
I agree (and said so), that they should post this (not that they 'conjured it out of thin air'), and they did in the video link they provided on that page. But that seems to be the exception.

I think it is fairer if everyone does it, 'zipper style' - that way no one is viewed as 'cheating', everyone gets there at the same time. The problem is when they don't post that, and it isn't common knowledge to do the 'zippper merge' - then this sense of 'unfairness' arises from the uninformed.

-ERD50
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Old 08-27-2014, 09:10 AM   #257
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I'd bet they're doing it to get ahead of other drivers, not to be efficient...
They can only do it if the other drivers have merged early. The late mergers understand the flow and know the rules. There is no logical reason to penalize them.
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Old 08-27-2014, 09:24 AM   #258
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One thing many people don't understand about the zipper merge, is that the closing point of the "zipper" is a moving point. It won't always be right at the point where one lane ends. As traffic piles up, the closing point of the zipper will usually move back from where the lane ends. But then what happens is you have a few people trying to rush ahead, to "cut in line", after everyone else is queued up and ready to go through in a single line, and that only creates more of a jam.
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Old 08-27-2014, 09:24 AM   #259
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Pet peeve of every day is red-light running a$$holes...

A couple of weeks ago, at an intersection near me, I was nearly rammed by someone making an left turn after the light changed to red. Then, last weekend, I was third in line at the same intersection when three cars made the same left turn after our light had turned green. Then sometime shortly thereafter, someone bought it, because I noticed some bumper parts laying on the traffic island at the same intersection...

"If I had a rocket launcher, some SOB would die..." Bruce Cockburn

This is one reason why I favor red light traffic camera. One car turning, I can overlook. 2nd & 3rd car turning after light has completely turned RED is stupid. We should have death penalties for that. Well, maybe, that's too harsh but you get my point.
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Old 08-27-2014, 09:25 AM   #260
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When I see a sign telling me a lane is close and I need to merge, I look at it as a warning sign letting me know I will have to merge. Not as a command to merge ASAP regardless of traffic conditions.

As far as cheating goes, I don't think it is cheating anymore than it is cheating to take legal deductions that reduce my income tax burden.

In any event, as soon as we are all riding in driver-less Googlemobiles, it will all be academic. Here's an very early version of the Gogomobile (now renamed the Googlemobile.)
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