Comments

1

People who merge early and then self-righteously feel that no one should merge further up are simply in the wrong. It's been shown that it's much more efficient and ultimately congestion-reducing for traffic to fill up that merging lane right up until it runs out, and that's where the courteous weave should begin. But, no, that doesn't satisfy the ego-combat aggression needs of many.

2

That's not really what your horn is for though.

3

@myself. Never mind. Read the whole sentence first, dummy.

4

Except that in the eyes of the law, that's not what the horn is for. One sweltering afternoon down by the stadiums, I got caught in some abysmal left turn traffic in a road work zone. My left turn lane had no arrow, so we were supposed to yield. Because 2 lanes were squished into 1, there was never a moment to actually turn. Most folks (especially CA transplants) would turn left when their light went red, because that's the only time the oncoming traffic stops. Well, this dingus in front of me refused to turn, for 3 full light cycles. He wouldn't even move up into the intersection! After the 3rd light went red and he stayed out, I laid on my horn with the fury of 1000 Manhattan cab drivers. Because traffic was stopped everywhere, all eyes turned to watch an off duty cop who was overseeing traffic lecture me on the illegal use of a horn in a non-emergency. A little piece of me died that day.

5

@1: except for that's not how it really goes down, right? A handful of assholes blow past a quarter mile of backed-up cars pretending they have no idea that a merge is coming, and then they expect to slip in front of all of us with better manners. Yeah, fuck those clowns.

6

5: EVERYONE should be trying to avoid merging early. The zipper method is the best way.

7

@5 you don't have better manners, you're just self-righteous and you're wrong. @1&5 are right. They're called zipper lanes for a reason. People who merge early actually cause more traffic issues. I'm not making this up, there are enough studies proving the point, just google it. Now people who jump out of traffic into the merge lanes just to jump ahead are clowns.

8

Ask any cop and they'll tell you your horn is for emergencies only. So that's not what it's for passive aggressive baby

9

The obvious answer is stop driving your stupid fucking cars. All this boo-hoo vanishes like it never existed.

10

I tip my hat to anyone who manages to merge SAFELY at the last minute ... It's called exceptional driving in my book. If all drivers left a little space in front of themselves, the zipper merge would actually work.

The only thing that pisses me off is how some people drive when they try to merge at the last minute, but don't see an opening. These self entitled Tesla McFuckface's (to use the parlance of our times), stop in the middle of flowing traffic waiting to find a merge opportunity. If you are going to risk a last minute merge to save time, you better be ready to pay the consequences of missing the fucking exit. It sucks, but it's not that hard to take the next exit and double back.

11

4, I feel your pain. I was trying to turn left on First into Pike Place Market (I think that's Western) and the oblivious tourists were walking all over the intersection as if they had the green light. I honked at one couple rather than running them down. Got motioned over and yelled at by a cop who thought I was a tourist and he told me "we do not honk at people in Seattle". I told him its better to honk than run over stupid jaywalkers and then told him to go lecture the tourists, not me. Oblivious pedestrians are the worst. Except for cops, they're the worst. And people in cars are also the worst.

12

@6 "The zipper method is the best way."
Right.
But watch the people who pull outof_ the through lane, proceed forward in the merging lane and then pull back in again. That really doesn't help traffic much, does it?

You want to hear a horn? Be in that merging lane and proceed forward at more or less the same rate as the through lane when one of these 'get ahead of everyone' is behind you. They are called MFFYs.

13

People who use their horns for non-emergencies need to keep in mind how fucking loud they are. They're designed to be easily audible to another motorist who's a certain distance away and listening to music with their windows up. In other words: ear-splittingly loud to anyone nearby who's not enclosed in another car.

My favorite drivers are the ones who come up behind a bicyclist and honk "just to let them know I'm there." Unless we're one of those idiots wearing earbuds or headphones while biking on a street, we are aware of your presence. Honking for that (or any other) reason just makes us whip our heads around to see what the emergency is, when the actual threat is the pothole we were busy looking out for. That's how you end up with a human being under your chassis, and a manslaughter conviction.

14

"Unless we're one of those idiots wearing earbuds or headphones while biking on a street"

Don't forget about opiate induced deafness. There are a lot of bum bikes on Seattle streets. If you don't look like one, we won't beep.

15

Thank you, I,Anon, and others for the reminder as to why my beloved VW and I stay off I-5. I feel your pain.

16

@13 YES. I can't count the number of times I've gotten a close call riding my bike, motorcycle, or scooter when a car blasts their horn at me while driving by for no apparent reason. It's so fucking loud it can make me "jump" or swerve. Cut that shit out. Emergencies only. It's the law. I just wish it was enforced.

17

What about when the lane they are in is a BUS ONLY lane and they have been driving in it for over a mile (looking at you HWY 99 southbound @ the tunnel)??

18

@17 "What about when the lane they are in is a BUS ONLY lane"

Are you a bus? Or are you a cop?


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