Managing angst a key to good driving

Drivers, especially precision drivers, have at least one thing in common: frustration.

In a perfect world, the rules of the road would be clear, and every motorist would follow them to the letter. In the real world, though, there are gray areas in the law, which different drivers see differently — and then there are drivers who give very little thought to the rules at all.

We are often frustrated by such situations, but precision drivers should accept them and prepare accordingly. Readers have recently identified some of the imperfect scenarios that they have experienced, and sounded off to me about them.

Imperfect On-ramp Design

B.W. wrote of his frustration over seven of the eight freeway entrance ramps in Coeur d’Alene. Due to short chutes, visibility, slope, and driver inaction (refusal to move left) he has had difficulty making successful highway entries. According to B.W., “Big trucks don’t like to move over under any circumstances, and when there’s a vehicle in the passing lane, they never do; and also never slow down.”

Those observations lead me to remind everyone that it is the responsibility of the merging driver to yield the right of way, yet be near freeway speed when entering. This is a difficult maneuver, requiring proper speed and timing. Good judgment also plays a role, such as being aware of big trucks’ reluctance to move over.

Both drivers on the highway and those trying to enter it must practice and improve our skills at freeway entrance points. Remember, moving left to accommodate merging traffic from the right is one of the permitted uses of the left lane on interstates.

Passing, Allowing Passing

S.U. asks, “On a two-lane highway with a posted speed limit of 55, if I am going around 57 mph, am I supposed to try and pull over for the car(s) behind me that want to pass?” This is one of those gray areas, but I have an opinion on it.

If I am going a couple of mph over the limit, and someone is riding close behind, he should pass. If that driver will not, after going through a couple of areas that would allow it, I would slow down, or move over, to accommodate him. The main reason for this is that if I’m the only car in the area, the chance of a multi-car wreck is nil. When two or more of us are riding in a pack, multi-car mishaps are possible.

Since the law states that holding up five or more vehicles is illegal, I would suggest finding the best spot to pull fully or partially to the shoulder as soon as safe and practical if this occurs. Again, for safety, it is best to break up the parade.

Misplaced Courtesy

Drivers who direct traffic/pedestrians from their vehicle under the guise of courtesy have always had a top spot on my pet-peeve list. Especially when the direction goes against the rules of the road.

An example of this misguided politeness often occurs near my home. As I approach an uncontrolled intersection and spot a vehicle approaching from my right, I come to a stop to properly yield right of way. Often, that driver will then stop and motion for me to go, even though I am at a complete stop, and they have the right of way. Why?

S.C. recounted an event to me where a vehicle was evidently signaled to proceed across a multi-lane road directly into his path. S.C. had the right of way, so the appearance of the vehicle that was given the “go ahead” by the courteous driver was illegal and unexpected.

Please, let’s just stick to the rules of the road as they apply.

Whose Street is Bigger?

S.C also commented, “…many streets are treated as ‘unofficial arterials’ by drivers. By this I mean that despite there being uncontrolled intersections, drivers assume that vehicles on one of the streets has precedence, regardless of the time of arrival.”

Your point about the “my street is bigger than yours” issue is a good observation, S.C. Basically, if the traffic jurisdiction agreed with the perceived “dominance” of a road, they would place traffic control (light, sign) there to stop vehicles on the “lesser” street. In the absence of such control, the vehicle on the right is to be given the right of way.

A good driver, however, must be aware of this situation that you describe, and be prepared for it. Any law officers I have talked to say that in the event of an accident at an unmarked intersection, the driver of the vehicle on the left is ticketed for failing to yield right of way, and any exceptions can be sorted out in court.

Thanks, readers, for your input, and for your efforts made toward precision driving!