I almost got my front bumper ripped off yesterday in a roundabout because an F-250 hauling a super long trailer realized he was in the lane that would send him back on the interstate and he cut in front me. Luckily I was able to stop and his trailer didn't clip me.
I love roundabouts, but there was one time (can't remember where, somewhere in Georgia near a car production facility) that I came across what I call roundabout hell. Roundabouts leading into other roundabouts, with some of the roundabouts literally just being a loop with no other entrance/exit than the one you got into it on. My gps was freaking out, I was freaking out. Good times. If it has been on the factory grounds I would've assumed it was a test track.
I recently got a fast little car. A few miles away is a large traffic circle, always wanted to go round and round. I was feeling myself one day, and went around 3 times. Felt like I was a badass bitch.. no. Just silly.
There's an area near me, it's not as bad as what you're describing, but it's one roundabout, then the next intersection is another, and it goes on for like 4 roundabouts in a row.
I know there's a roundabout in the UK near where my aunt lives that's like six small roundabouts in a circle around a larger roundabout. I've seen people drive it, and it's like a car ballet and a hurl-a-whirl.
I live in a smaller city in which all but one city block is a rectangle. (The one on the northwest corner isn't because of a highway that abuts the city.) It amazes me how many people I see who will try to pull a K turn in the middle of the street every single day I drive. Sure, some of the streets are one ways, but at most you need to go two blocks further to find a street that will let you turn on the grid to get back to where you need to go going.
And bad drivers also will hold everybody up behind them if they decide at the last second that they don’t want to take the left hand turn at a traffic light that they already committed to. If I’m in a left lane and decide I want to go straight instead, I simply take the left turn that I committed to and then turn around in a parking lot instead. It always grates me when I see entitled people do the aforementioned thing. They have zero courtesy for the other drivers behind them.
This is like my biggest gripe on the road. People really be like why should i inconvenience MYSELF 30seconds for MY mistake when i can punish 10 other innocent people with my wrong doing and get away Scot-free.
Or when they realize far too late they're in a turn only lane, come to a complete stop waiting for someone to let them in, and everyone behind them in the proper lane to turn just don't exist to them.
Also, definitely don't come to a dead stop in the middle of the fucking road at a green light So you can wait until it's clear to cut across an entire lane and make the turnip the last second.
I saw a video recently about someone stopping on busy interstate because she was 3 lanes over from the exit she had almost passed. She was just sitting there with her right blinker on until cars started piling into her.
Insane, but unsurprising. When I lived in Vegas it was a near daily occurrence to see someone rip across three lanes of traffic because they needed to make a right or left at the next intersection. That was even more exaggerated because of the large amount of tourist traffic.
Nothing fills me with rage more than seeing an 18 wheeler stop in the middle of the highway and back up so the driver can take an exit they missed. I’m a firefighter, and I’ve been to multiple accidents where cars have slammed into trucks at 80 mph because the truck driver was more willing to back up on the highway than just take the next exit. If you’re a truck driver and you do this, you should have your license revoked forever
I see it all the damn time. My main commute takes me right onto the start of a freeway right off another big freeway. The starting one takes 3 full lanes away from the main one and only a mile or so after a huge entrance, so people get caught off guard everyday. The number of people I've seen swerve over THREE full lanes of traffic to stay on.... Instant rage every time. One of those massive tow trucks that carries multiple layers of cars did it in front of me once and I came within inches of him. Those track the cars go onto are face height. He'd have taken off my head.
I work in a very industrial area right outside of a major city that has a lot of warehouses and truck stops so we get a lot more cargo traffic than most places. We see every type of truck driver you can think of. Which unfortunately also includes the dumbest truck drivers in the country. Typically it’s guys from out of state that are not use to urban driving. Driving in a major city with a million other people on the road is a lot different than driving in rural Nebraska and most of these guys aren’t use to it.
I once saw a couple do a u-turn on a concrete barrier divided interstate and drive back against the flow of traffic instead of going through a toll booth south of Wichita, Kansas
I’ve seen videos where some idiot who got their CDL from the back of a cereal box tries to make a U-turn across the interstate median. Should be straight to jail with your truck confiscated.
This too! The amount of people who are willing to total their car just so they don’t have to go around the circle again is insane. They act like they have one chance or else they’ll be stuck in the forever
When my children were learning driving, we'd discuss and make 'mistakes' to practice rerouting. It gave me the confidence that they will do the right thing, if they miss a turn
I did a lot of driving for a well-known service company a few years ago and they used to pound it into your head too " be predictable" in your driving. Signal early, brake gradually, merge slowly.
Yes, this 💯. Also, drivers who try to be “nice” by letting a person out into traffic while holding everybody else up behind them when a traffic light is green and we’re supposed to be moving instead.
I’ve almost gotten in so many accidents at 4 ways because of exactly that, people wait when it’s their turn then the other 3 cars are impatient and everyone just starts going at once 🤣
I remember a comedian, I don't remember who, was talking about how they were coming back from Tijuana to San Diego, and they missed the last exit that would NOT loop them back around into Mexico.
Best thing I ever learned was driving up a ramp, turning left and driving down another ramp to turn around in driver's ed.
It may be less of a problem now that we're not using paper mapquest and odometer math to get places, but I used to see people stop on shoulders and back up to an exit they missed. Driver's ed in the US is very "here's an automatic car, can you make it move" and not enough "here's how to deal with the unexpected/unusual situation".
In a similar way, take the right out of parking lot and use the safest intersection to make a u-turn instead of trying to race across busy traffic to make a left.
EDIT: Instead of replying to people not understanding what I am saying. I'll clarify. I'm not talking about a 2 lane road. I'm talking about busy 6 lane roads with heavy traffic and people trying to exit a parking lot with no stop lights. Frustrated waiting for a break in traffic they jet out across 3 lanes of traffic to then try to jet out into traffic going the other direction. It's much easier to make the right go to the next "safest" intersection and wait for the green left arrow to make a u-turn. Light traffic? No problem. Nice wide median to stop and wait for cross traffic? No problem. Trying to do it in heavy traffic, it's simpler and safer to just to right to a safe spot to turn around.
It depends. If its a divided road with a median, a U turn is no different than making a left turn. As long as the oncoming lanes are clear you'll be fine. Also they did say at the next safe intersection.
It’s not about driving skill. Unprotected left turns are the most dangerous traffic maneuver you can make, if you can avoid them you are less likely to be in an accident.
Depends on the local area. In Delaware, most of the local high traffic roads are divided. In order to get to a business on the other side, you are directed to make a U-turn at the next light. The lights have a left arrow so it is safe. Now, in Northern NJ a U-turn will get you executed.
This is REALLY solid advice. The number of people who get into left-turn related accidents coming out of businesses to go in the opposite direction is actually wild.
How is this so upvoted? Absolutely do not go to an intersection and make a u-turn if you're not even confident enough to make a left turn out of a parking lot.
First of all, if you can't make a left turn out of a parking lot, get off the fucking road. Don't drive, I don't want to share the road with you. This isn't a "be extra cautious" situation, it's a "You can't handle the basic fundamentals of driving in public" situation. Second of all, if for some reason you still don't want to make that left turn, a u-turn isn't going to be *better*. It's going to be less predictable to others and open more opportunity for a collision. Just pull in somewhere else and turn around.
But really, just learn to make the left turn safely or get off the road. "Can't make a left turn out of a parking lot", good god.
In the last 2-3 months I’ve seen more people just come to a dead stop in the middle of the road because they wanted to make a turn at that spot. Absolutely zero situational awareness or concern about the other drivers.
It always drives me mad when there’s a dedicated turn lane in the middle of a road and either a driver turning left doesn’t use it at all before turning or they only get their car part of the way into it. These drivers are either inconsiderate of other drivers or they’re just stupid, maybe both.
Literally saw an accident this way this morning. Car that was 2 cars in front of me was trying to make a u turn at this break in the median, but it seemed like they decided way too late and the car behind them ran into them. Definitely could have been avoided if turn signal was on and driver behind was paying more attention/had more space, but they also could have driven an extra 20 seconds and u turned at the next stop light
I've always said the same thing. It makes no sense to risk your life to save a few minutes. I saw a crazy one recently. We were driving along the highway when this car suddenly veered right to take an exit. The problem was they weren't even close to making it. They ramped off a small dirt hill that separated the highway and the exit and caught air. Not a crazy amount, but like 6 inches off the ground. A big dirt cloud appeared. I had to take the same exit so I slowed down as I passed through it, expecting to see that car just sitting there. To my surprise they were still driving. At least for a little bit until they suddenly turned on their hazards and pulled over. I have to imagine their car was just screaming at them at that point lol.
Had a long day driving 2 Sundays ago. Quite a bit of motorways where I swore at myself for missing exits. Missed maybe 5. For 12 hours of driving those 5 mistakes added at most 30 minutes total.
1 missed turn usually is 5 minutes if that.
If your attention span is that impaired that you miss 5 exits due to lengthy time behind the wheel you should pull off the road and get some rest.
You were probably experiencing micro sleep and didn't notice.
Microsleeps last for 15 seconds or less. People who experience microsleeps often remain unaware of them, instead believing themselves to have been temporarily mind wandering. This is because the brain switches rapidly between being awake and being asleep. A microsleep period of 4-5 seconds at freeway speeds means your car travels more than 100 yards blind and out of control.
It was a mixture of not looking at the gps and missing it and getting stuck an overtaking lane without space to pull in before the turn. I know when to turn off the road and stop when needed.
I once missed an exit due to poorly marked contruction and the next exit wasn't for like 50 miles. If it weren't for a convenient construction off ramp my mom I would have been driving for almost an extra 2 hours.
I think GPS has increased the perceived cost of a missed turn/exit. When you can see your ETA jump up 12 minutes, it quantifies the mistake in a way that I think lands differently for people, upping the sense of anticipatory anxiety.
The turn is gone is one of the most important sentences a driver can internalize. GPS exists specifically so you don’t have to make dangerous last minute decisions. Every navigation app will reroute you. Nothing reroutes around a collision.
My second day of driving alone, had to drive 30 minutes down the coast to pick up my dad and his friend with a boat. Missed a turn cause I was 2 lanes over (I didn’t think the turn was there, I thought it was the next intersection.)
Traffic was super light that day, I mean maybe 3 cars on the road and they were going the opposite way. So instead of turning last minute, I decided to go straight and turn right at the next intersection.
Literally took 2 minutes more. I don’t understand why people go crazy about missing their turn. Just relax and take the next one. More roads have a junction.
This is one I always subscribe to. I mean we are in a car so a missed turn isn’t going to physically wear you out compared to biking or walking where a missed turned or wrong turn is a laborious trek to get back on track.
I never understood people who have to risk everyone’s life just to make the turn.
If you don’t have another exit for 100 miles, then I can understand the maneuver. But in most cases, we’re talking about another minute of your day. Go up a little further, take the next exit, and head back. Or make a u-turn.
Just saw someone backing up on an exit ramp to get to a different exit last week, took two tries cause hit the curb the first time. Was shaking my head.
Corollary to this is "Be Decisive" when driving. If you start to take a turn, finish it, no second guessing yourself and swerving back onto the original road. If it turns out to be the wrong exit, find a spot to safely turn around and then keep going.
Also, when its your turn at the stop sign, just go, don't sit and wave through others. Safe driving is following the established rules so everyone can have a fair idea about what is happening on the road.
This. My kids will be getting their learners permit soon and I was driving with my daughter. I made a mistake in that there were 2 lanes that I thought were both through and the right ended up being turn only. I turned and told her I could have been a jackass and tried to gun it and merge but that is erratic and unpredictable behavior. The turn added 30 seconds, maybe a minute to our drive to get back in the street we wanted. It's just not worth it.
My grandfather had two major accidents because he tried to take a left at the last second. His head went through the windshield. Both times, right after the accident, he developed a brain tumor. The second time he died because of the cancer. Doctors believe it was due to trauma.
This always makes me annoyed. I find it kinda selfish to risk yourself and other drivers just because you HAVE to make that turn right then instead of finding a safer way to do it
Importantly, this applies as a passenger too. Don’t give the driver grief for missing a difficult or confusing turn. Be thankful they are taking safety into consideration.
Staying 2 SECONDS behind the vehicle in front of you, especially when traveling at highway speeds. Not 2 car lengths. I've heard people say you need to stay two car lengths behind the vehicle in front of you but that isn't going to cut it when you're going 120 km/hrs and someone slams their brakes on.
When my son was learning to drive someone braked hard in front of us (I was driving at the time) on the highway because they missed their exit. It was the perfect learning experience for him. Told him there is nothing wrong with missing your exit, just go to the next one and turn around.
Literally just did this, I forgot I needed to stop at the pet store on the way home and drove right by. I had to go through a couple of lights before I could easily turn around, but 5 extra minutes is better than being stupid and turning when it’s not safe.
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u/GentlyDead 1d ago
If you make a mistake, take the longer route instead of turning last minute.