Quirky regional driving habits (s/o)

[DarlaS]

And when people leave gaps at lights (and heavy traffic) for people leaving parking lots/cross roads to cross over and go the opposite direction. I had a car totaled because someone left such a gap and I was coming along and entering the left turn lane; I got t-boned because the driver either didn't see me or assumed that the car that stopped for him mean everyone else was going to stop too. I didn't even know the person had left a gap and was totally caught off guard by that accident.

You are actually not supposed to block parking lot drives. Drivers leaving parking lots are responsible for making sure the way is clear though.

[Cinder]

I live in TX and people here do the weirdest thing, if you come up behind someone, not even very fast or close, they fly off the road to let you pass. It is crazy! Usually no blinker or anything. You will often see people driving slowly on the shoulder as if it were a separate lane. It is kind of nice to not get stuck behind slow drivers though.

 

I'd forgotten about this. We lived in TX and that was the only place we'd ever seen this.

[Kalmia]

There is a saying (don't know the origin) for the people who seem unable to stay in their lane on a regular two way road: "I guess they are taking their half of the road out of the middle!"

 

I am in downstate NY. I see people drive in reverse up highway on ramps to avoid traffic jams. I have seen people start out sitting in the left turn lane at a red light, become impatient, and pull out into the oncoming traffic lane, pass all the people waiting nicely for a green light in the left turn lane, and turn left! 

 

When I was in Maine all I noticed was that people stopped by the side of an empty road or waiting in their driveway would wait for you (the only other car for miles) to near and then decide to pull out right in front of you and proceed to drive really slowly. There is also an index finger lift off the steering wheel used as a greeting when approaching another car on a country road. Doesn't matter if you know the people or not. That one is kind of nice and sure beats the other kind of one finger gesture seen far more often on our highways. 

[TracyP]

This isn't an actual regional quirk, but...

 

Dh was in a car accident 12 years ago. We were living in IA, but still had MN plates and licenses. He got discharged from the hospital at 2 in the morning and I was tired. There was a train crossing a few blocks ahead (I think that confused me) and somehow I blew right through the red flashing stop light right in front of me. Of course, a cop was there and we got pulled over. He took my license and what not, came back to the window, and said, "I'm going to let you go. I don't know what they do in MN, but here in IA, we stop at red flashing lights." I kept a straight face, gave him a thank you, yes sir, something, something and booked outta there. :lol:

[Stratford]

I have a sneaking suspicion that people in PA are not taught how to merge onto a freeway.  It's very common here for drivers to just STOP (a full, complete stop!) on an on-ramp and wait for a good break in traffic.  Now, where I come from (metro DC) you KEEP DRIVING and gently wiggle your way inbetween some cars.  That's what we meant by "merging" into traffic.  It's a scary, bad feeling to be driving and checking oncoming traffic to merge and you look up and there's a car stopped where you wouldn't quite expect it to be.  

[Luanne]

Another thing I forgot to mention that goes on a lot here is people backing out of parking spaces without even looking.  They don't know if there is a car coming or a person walking by, but they just put it in reverse and go.  I have yelled at more than one person for almost running over me when I was just trying to walk to the building. 

 

I live off a state highway where the speed limit is 65 mph.  A lot of times when I go to turn into where I live, the person behind me gets right up on my rear and tries to make me go faster.  I'm sorry, but I am not going to turn into where I live going 65 mph.  I always turn on my signal and give them plenty of notice to slow down.  There is nowhere to pull off on the right so I can get out of the lane of traffic either.  It is scary sometimes. 

 

 

Edited to add: Another thing they do here is when they see the sign that their lane is going to end, they stay there anyway and try to see how many cars they can get in front of and then just cut them off to get into the other lane.

[KungFuPanda]

In MD, a drop of rain will slow down all traffic to a crawl, but snow gets ignored and they plow on like it won't change the road conditions at all. It's a little bazarre.

 

I'm guessing with all of the red light running you are all reporting that MD is the only place with red light cameras all over the place. We even have speed cameras in some spots. You get a photo of your car and information on how to pay the fine in the mail. We're all about generating revenue. Call me old fashioned, but I think a person should have to catch me speeding or running a light.

[KungFuPanda]

And another darn thing . . . WHEN did the memo go out that says we're all going to BACK into our parking spaces now?

[Word Nerd]

The most annoying "quirky" driving habit here is for semis to completely ignore the Yield sign when merging onto a particular highway. I slow down when I'm at that part of the road and see them coming. I don't want a semi with an aggressive driver behind me anyway. Also, lots of people here won't turn on their headlights (of any kind) in fog or rain. Not sure if they're clueless or just forget.

[cajunrose]

The other thread about the strange use of a turn signal made me think about some of the weird local driving habits that I've witnessed in the three different regions of the country where I've lived, ranging from confusing to outright dangerous.

 

I grew up in a small town in OK, and for reasons I still don't understand, people do not go immediately when the light turns green.  They sit and contemplate it for a few moments.  Not dangerous at all, but a little frustrating if you're in a hurry! 

 

In South Louisiana where I lived, you HAD to stay stopped at the stoplight after it turned green...SO many people ran the lights and I have seen time and again when I would have gotten smashed had I gone

[Liz CA]

 

 

MS--people turn their blinker on if the person in front of them is turning. *They* aren't turning, they just wanted to let you know that *someone* is turning. So it really throws you off when the person in front of you has their blinker on and they end up going straight.

 

 

 

Hihi. I wonder how many fingers I would see if I tried this here in CA. :)

[DragonFaerie]

I assumed that was universal. You mean there are places where if the light turns red, it's instantly green in the other direction?

 

I've noticed a delay here (Michigan) of about 5-6 full seconds of red light in all four directions.

 

I don't know how widespread it is, but I've definitely seen it.  I'll have to watch and see if I still notice it anywhere.

[QueenCat]

Grew up in between Baltimore, MD and Washington DC....... Never heard of pulling over for funeral processions coming from the OPPOSITE direction. Took me a while to figure out what people were doing when I moved to Georgia.

[QueenCat]

And another darn thing . . . WHEN did the memo go out that says we're all going to BACK into our parking spaces now?

 

There is a section of parking in our downtown area where this is required. I can't back in, so I can't park there...........

[AlmiraGulch]

There is a section of parking in our downtown area where this is required. I can't back in, so I can't park there...........

 

The problem is that most people really can't, but it doesn't stop them from doing it anyway.