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I got popped for "running a red light" the other night as I took a left turn approaching a green arrow, which went yellow then red as I passed through the intersection. The officer who chased me down said it was "totally red", I insisted that I was already past the stop bar when the light changed. The Revised Code for my state (and I've pored over them thoroughly) says unequivocally that you're allowed to enter an intersection on yellow just as you would on green, and also states that all traffic lights must to comply with Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices.. which sets a minimum yellow time of 4 seconds for a 40mph approach while this intersection is yellow for a hair less than 3. I shot a video of the phase change the next day, I've timed the yellow over and over with a stopwatch and can't get more than 2.9 seconds. e: Jesus gently caress it's loud (The wind noise is pretty loud, so watch out.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=180UIoliUb4 Another point of contention I've got is that from where the officer was sitting, there's no way he could have witnessed both my car behind the stop bar and the light changing from yellow to red at the same time. Unless he's got iguana eyes or was staring straight at the corner gas station and going purely on 180° peripheral vision, if he was able to see my car while the light was changing, I was already in the intersection. Otherwise, it's a 90° swing of the head and a 15' drop to catch a bang-bang play in the dark.  My path is in green below, officer is the star, red circle is the traffic signal. I work nights so my days are completely free, and since neither the ticket nor my insurance discriminates between a "just turned red on me" situation from a "gently caress it, let's plow straight through cross traffic" offense, I figure I should contest it while I've got a legitimate case. I'm ultimately hoping the officer doesn't show up, but I've done my homework and I'm prepared. I don't drive nearly as much as I used to with my old job, but I think a dash cam might still end up on this year's wish list. NoWake fucked around with this message at 12:27 on Dec 2, 2013 |
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Dec 2, 2013 12:17
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Opensourcepirate posted:70 Car pileup in Worcester. Holy poo poo, haha, screw Worcester. I hated driving on that stretch of 290, even in good conditions. Speaking of 290, there was a spot on 290W a couple miles after 495 where staties would hide behind an old stone overpass and pick people off coming downhill around a corner. That was my go-to "gently caress you tailgater" spot. Of course, I found out about it the hard way...
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Dec 2, 2013 12:22
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AuntBuck, I lost a steer tire on my jeep doing 80 at one point and only noticed when the rim hit the ground. Went quickly from "this is odd, why is it pulling to the right?" to "huh, leaning toward the right now" and then the rim started making a racket. Oh well, it was a poo poo tire, I'd clipped the sidewall a short while before, and now I know I can handle a blowout at speed. That being said, they were probably on their cellphone or just thought "car is making a funny noise I will have to bring it to the shop to be checked out when I get paid!  "pkells posted:Holy poo poo, haha, screw Worcester. I hated driving on that stretch of 290, even in good conditions. There are like 9-10 good speedtrap locations in both directions between 495 and the 190 interchange, but I used to drive that every day for work so I knew exactly where they were  I fed a lot of jerks to the bears along there.
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Dec 2, 2013 13:23
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NoWake posted:I shot a video of the phase change the next day, I've timed the yellow over and over with a stopwatch and can't get more than 2.9 seconds. This should be plenty to get your ticket thrown out.. there are examples all over the internet of people timing yellows and if the delay is too short, goodbye moving violation. It's scummy as poo poo and I wouldn't be surprised if the police know it's a short light so they hang out in the area to gank anyone they don't like the look of.
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Dec 2, 2013 15:02
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Opensourcepirate posted:70 Car pileup in Worcester. Dear god listen to that truckers austism accent.
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Dec 2, 2013 16:14
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Krakkles posted:I'd have to say anyone who ignores things on the road on purpose deserves a mention in this here thread. No different than a cube truck without a rear window in my mind.
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Dec 2, 2013 17:43
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MattD1zzl3 posted:Dear god listen to that truckers austism accent.
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Dec 2, 2013 17:49
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Opensourcepirate posted:70 Car pileup in Worcester.  "think they'll get the sanders out there now?"
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Dec 2, 2013 18:32
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Krakkles fucked around with this message at 18:38 on Feb 22, 2018 |
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Dec 2, 2013 20:47
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Krakkles posted:Cube truck driver is probably paying more attention to his side mirrors because of the lack, not
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Dec 2, 2013 20:51
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDaONrHK1f8
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Dec 2, 2013 20:57
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Glad I'm not the only one who thought the guy filming was a loving weirdo. Bets on which half of the lot lizard he kept as a souvenir/toy?
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Dec 2, 2013 21:52
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Tha Chodesweller posted:Yeah, Denver drivers are some impatient shits. I've been in the leftmost lane going 20+ over the speed limit and this STILL isn't fast enough for some stupid idiot.
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Dec 2, 2013 22:10
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Uh yeah, that's the point of roller coasters, to go fast!
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Dec 2, 2013 22:16
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Fucknag posted:...  He literally said he does it to "... try to do so in such a manner that it's obvious I don't want to look at the person behind me." And then further clarified that he was specifically reducing his ability to see necessary segments of the road safely. StormDrain posted:I've found the only way I can truly relax while being tailgated is to 'turn off' my mirror by pointing it toward the sky. I try to do so in such a manner that it's obvious I don't want to look at the person behind me. When I need to change lanes later I'll aim it and hopefully the troubles have passed, or crane my head around to check blind spots.
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Dec 2, 2013 22:33
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Alright, we've covered every mirror angle of the tailgating debate, I'm sure you can find new things to talk about. Like this. I drive the HOV lane of that freeway on a regular basis and that type of thing (people pulling into it from stopped traffic without looking) happens all the loving time, and it's scary enough driving a car. At least in a car, that accident would be more of an annoyance; riding a motorcycle you're looking at serious injury.
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Dec 2, 2013 23:50
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Motorcyclists are who I find myself getting irritated at the most. - Please don't split lanes when we're all going 70 on the highway. You're an idiot for doing that when there are open lanes right over there next to us. - Has revving at someone ever made them get out of the way faster? I already see you coming up next to me and hearing your motor scream isn't going to change what I do. - I think I wear more protection to go 40mph on my scooter than I see on some of these guys zipping by me at 80+. Probably because I'm a huge pussy. I feel vulnerable just knowing how many people there are out there that buy a sports bike and don't have the first clue about how to ride safely. It's like everyone is a potential victim of unlucky timing and bad decisions. I can't imagine how terrible I would feel if I hit a motorcyclist. I DO however love the dudes that do wheelies on the highway.
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Dec 3, 2013 00:25
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IOwnCalculus posted:Like this. I drive the HOV lane of that freeway on a regular basis and that type of thing (people pulling into it from stopped traffic without looking) happens all the loving time, and it's scary enough driving a car. At least in a car, that accident would be more of an annoyance; riding a motorcycle you're looking at serious injury. I was wearing (nearly - jeans, instead of proper pants) full gear, so I walked away from it with an aching shoulder (still gets bad in cold weather, 3 years later) and some really minor abrasions. I'm still tempted to get another bike, but it is rather terrifying just how little other people pay attention. To this day, I don't think the other driver even knew they did it - they never even slowed down. I was lucky there wasn't more traffic behind me.
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Dec 3, 2013 00:56
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MattD1zzl3 posted:Dear god listen to that truckers austism accent. Im more irritated that he's obviously in a truck and driving past an accident, where rubberneckers are traditionally the most retarded, whilst paying more attention to filming the loving thing on his phone than his driving.
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Dec 3, 2013 00:58
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Astonishing Wang posted:Motorcyclists are who I find myself getting irritated at the most. The Brits put it best: http://www.visordown.com/motorcycle-top-10s/top-10-ways-bikers-annoy-the-public/24085.html quote:Anyway, if there’s one thing guaranteed to convince even the most rational observer that motorcycles should be banned forthwith, it’s pulling a third gear minger in front of them. Extra kudos for binning it. If it makes you guys feel any better, the nitwits who go out and buy the biggest-engine sportbike they can, wear no gear, 'bin it' within the first few thousand miles, crank up everyone's insurance and either provide another horror show for the evening news to scare soccer moms with or survive to tell all sorts of nonsense fairytales about how not wearing a helmet actually saved their life etc etc piss off vaguely responsible riders to no end.
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Dec 3, 2013 01:04
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That section of 290 is a raised roadway so its going to freeze fast. Worcester is always slow to get salt trucks out unless its a snow storm they know about.kastein posted:There are like 9-10 good speedtrap locations in both directions between 495 and the 190 interchange, but I used to drive that every day for work so I knew exactly where they were 290 is awesome for the fun fact that you can play these games. The 2 biggest spots for the french and electric blue Fords are the following 2 places This is the one with the bridge in Northboro going EASTBOUND AND DOWN. Mostly mornings and they are usually standing outside of the vehilce aiming at you with their light guns ready to tax your rear end:  The other is westbound in Shrewsbury. This spot is a bitch cause now they've cleared a lot of vegetation because of the longhorn beetles. Now they have a good sightline to see you doing 80+ going down the hill.:  There's a couple other places but they aren't that hidden and so long as your doing 75 or less they leave you alone. Just last week I was driving in the fast lane keeping my distance from a trooper and idiots behind me were like GO FASTER GOTTA GO FAST. But I simply kept about a eighth of a mile between me and him but I guess he didn't like me continually driving in the fast lane cause he pulled over to the breakdown lane. Then I looked behind and saw he was overworking his SOHC 4.6 to catch back up to me then I moved to middle lane and he followed me all the way to exit 22 riding on my bumper. I was pretty drat sure I was going to get  'd. The whole time I was like stop me now or go away  .https://maps.google.com/maps?q=290&...5,,0,-0.29&z=18 KennyLoggins fucked around with this message at 01:25 on Dec 3, 2013 |
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Dec 3, 2013 01:23
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That first one you listed was one of my favorites. The U-turn right after it on the left is a great spot for the cops to hide too, going both directions. In fact I've been pulled over going westbound by that turnaround. At 2AM. With no one else on the road. Doing 70 in a 65. For... ... failure to keep right except when passing.  Fortunately just a written warning, but gently caress, really man? There was no one to pass or be passed by, I wanted to stay further from the deer. And where were you during rush hour when 9 million chucklefucks were bumbling around in the left lane not passing anyone?
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Dec 3, 2013 01:28
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kastein posted:That first one you listed was one of my favorites. The U-turn right after it on the left is a great spot for the cops to hide too, going both directions. In fact I've been pulled over going westbound by that turnaround. That would be cop lingo for "I was hoping that you were drunk, so here is a bullshit reason to pull you over now that I can tell you are in fact sober.". That is one of the main reasons I stay off the roads as much as possible between midnight till 2-3am. Don't want to have some drunk rear end in a top hat hit me or get pulled over because the cop is hoping I am headed home from the bar.
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Dec 3, 2013 01:32
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The times I use 290 they are never at the U turn. I've seen them there but its a once in a blue moon affair. I was late for work once and I was using my Northstar System to get my rear end to work and I flew by a new Exploder and when I saw the brakes light up and reverse lights flash I knew he had me so I move on over. He clocked me doing 83 on 495 just before route 9 in Soutboro. Contested the ticket walked into the Magistrate and said I was late for work and I was doing what the trooper said I was doing but my record is clean. He looked and said you seem to get stopped in Southboro a lot (3 times). He found me Not Responsible and told me to stay out of Southboro. I walked out with the biggest face of anyone there.
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Dec 3, 2013 01:40
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You guys are close to where I spent my holidays last year, it seems. http://www.flynnsplaza.com/ I was running out of the UPS terminal behind the truck stop. There was an ice storm while I was in and out of there, and that US20/MA140 interchange was hilarious to get through.
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Dec 3, 2013 03:07
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KennyLoggins posted:
Oh drat, that's the exact spot I got pulled over at. The statie ran out into the middle lane to flag me down. Dude was crazy. I'm so glad I don't live in Worcester anymore. Although the SC drivers I deal with now aren't much better. And there's no equivalent to Kelley square down here either, thank god.
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Dec 3, 2013 03:17
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If you can't handle Kelley Square you shouldn't have a license.  Enjoying it is entirely a different issue. This song is the one most appropriate for driving through this intersection: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOGTzQzFpXk Two state highways, four one way streets, a major thoroughfare (two more two way streets), another two way street, a few interstate exit/entrance ramps, no traffic lights, and like... two stop signs. Maybe. I forget if they are stops or yields. Oh, and there are a billion bars in the area, so on weekend nights it's a giant shitshow of drunk pedestrians, cops, drunk drivers, and general mayhem. And there are 2-3 gas stations bordering it... so look out or you'll get pancaked by a gasoline tanker truck!  No one has any loving idea where they are going or who has the right of way and the driver with the biggest balls and the least to lose always wins.
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Dec 3, 2013 03:51
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Just had a pickup pulling a landscaping trailer turn into the gas station to my right... from the middle lane. Also crossed a double white line to do so. I'd just turned from a turn lane, but the turn opened into a new lane - no yield sign and he crossed the double white, so I'm pretty drat sure I had the right of way on that one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GXb2DduNH8 randomidiot fucked around with this message at 04:01 on Dec 3, 2013 |
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Dec 3, 2013 03:59
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Krakkles posted:He didn't say this was happening at night, or that he was trying to preserve his night vision, or that they had their high beams on Huh. Coulda swore he mentioned headlights, my bad. Still, on my cars when the mirror's flipped up into "dimmer" position I can't really see poo poo out of it anyway, and I can do without my rearview a lot better than without the side mirrors. Driving my sister's car is a nightmare because her mirror adjuster doesn't work (electrical problem), so I can't readjust them for my tall rear end and I'm staring at the door panels the entire time. I could see getting rid of it temporarily, especially if you feel that having someone bearing down on you that close is a bigger distraction than not being able to see directly behind you.
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Dec 3, 2013 04:12
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I have one of them fancy auto dimming mirrors, plus my rear windows are tinted fairly dark (no idea just how dark, the previous owner did that). I can barely see poo poo in the mirror at night before it dims itself. It's completely useless when it goes into "oh someone behind you has their headlights on!" mode. 
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Dec 3, 2013 04:17
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Negromancer posted:That would be cop lingo for "I was hoping that you were drunk, so here is a bullshit reason to pull you over now that I can tell you are in fact sober.". That is one of the main reasons I stay off the roads as much as possible between midnight till 2-3am. Don't want to have some drunk rear end in a top hat hit me or get pulled over because the cop is hoping I am headed home from the bar. I agree about the drunk thing. I'm a chronic insomniac and a good driver, so the vast majority of the times I've been pulled over have been at about 3 AM with the cop wanting to make sure I'm not drunk. They've mostly been pretty nice about it, once they realized I was sober. The exception to this is that pretty much every MA State Trooper I've talked to has been a total rear end in a top hat to me. Even including the Staties, I've managed to only ever gotten verbal warnings. No writtens or tickets. I don't want to say that all Troopers are assholes, just that those are the ones I get. I did see one on Saturday night though that was driving at night with no headlights on. (S)he was in an SUV going west on Memorial Drive in Cambridge at about 8 PM. More than running lights would be nice at that point.
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Dec 3, 2013 04:21
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I have read through most of this thread and realized that Chicago has all of these crazy types of intersections and driver's. From the crazy junk dudes to wild landscapers who like to run down dudes on scooters. Just the other day I saw a Suzuki samurai that was dogtracking so bad I couldn't believe it was going straight. I mean there was almost a foot difference between the rear and front tires.
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Dec 3, 2013 04:24
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Krakkles fucked around with this message at 18:39 on Feb 22, 2018 |
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Dec 3, 2013 04:32
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  (I am stopped in the left-most of two left-hand turn lanes, just behind the limit line.)
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Dec 3, 2013 06:37
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The worst people on the roads are truckers who use their phones while driving. I was doing a run from Edmonton to Wainwright and back to pick up some equipment in a tractor trailer, riding with a trucker so I could load up and help chain down our kit. At one point this fucker is doing 80 in a 60 through a small town while staring at his phone. I've never lost my poo poo like that on someone before but that's just plain pants on head retarded. You're driving a huge vehicle with a ton of weight behind it and a huge stopping distance on the skating rink that is HWY 16, and you decide to check your facebook. gently caress you.
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Dec 3, 2013 06:55
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Savington posted:
I would blame the local DOT and not the driver; the road paint has worn to the point where it looks like there are two stop lines instead of a line and a crosswalk.
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Dec 3, 2013 07:09
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Samu posted:The worst people on the roads are truckers who use their phones while driving. I was doing a run from Edmonton to Wainwright and back to pick up some equipment in a tractor trailer, riding with a trucker so I could load up and help chain down our kit. At one point this fucker is doing 80 in a 60 through a small town while staring at his phone. I've never lost my poo poo like that on someone before but that's just plain pants on head retarded. You're driving a huge vehicle with a ton of weight behind it and a huge stopping distance on the skating rink that is HWY 16, and you decide to check your facebook. gently caress you. I'll do you one better - sometime around 2006 I was driving at night on I-80 near toledo and passed a trucker that was having trouble keeping it in one lane. As I passed the cab I looked up and the driver had the dome light on, reading what appeared to be a college textbook balanced on the steering wheel. Say what you will about texting and driving, at least that can theoretically be accomplished with one hand.
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Dec 3, 2013 07:51
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Geoj posted:
I recently passed a youngish guy in a Mercedes on the highway driving below the speed limit and weaving a little from side to side, both hands at the 12 o'clock position with a cell phone on the wheel texting away.
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Dec 3, 2013 15:47
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Michael Scott posted:I would blame the local DOT and not the driver; the road paint has worn to the point where it looks like there are two stop lines instead of a line and a crosswalk. Speaking of stop lines, what about asshats in giant trucks/vans/suv's who creep forward in the left turn lane when I'm trying to turn right? Those of us in normal sized cars can't see through you, morons.
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Dec 3, 2013 16:27
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xzzy posted:Speaking of stop lines, what about asshats in giant trucks/vans/suv's who creep forward in the left turn lane when I'm trying to turn right? Last week I was turning right and had to look left across this giant lifted SUV that was waiting to turn left. Whenever I would pull forward because he was blocking my view, he would pull forward because he couldn't look over the roof of my short station wagon or something. Repeat half a dozen times and he ended up blocking the intersection from just creeping forward through the crosswalk. That's when I turned right and made my escape. Thanks rear end in a top hat!
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Dec 3, 2013 16:41
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