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There's an ongoing debate on my radio station in Baltimore about zipper merging. Up until recently I thought the reason so many people didn't zipper merge was that they simply weren't aware of the concept. They simply thought that the people who stayed in the lane all the way until the end were cheating and contributing to the traffic problem. One DJ disagrees with the other on the subject. Listeners disagree with them and each other. They have gotten all kinds of nasty messages on the subject. People are outright lovely about zipper mergers. You'd think that if somebody explained it to them or showed them one of the websites that demonstrate it they would change their minds, and I'm sure in some cases this is true. But man are there a lot of people out there who don't want to hear the explanation, or see the demos. This is what they think and nothing will convince them otherwise (this really shouldn't be surprising). If you see a sign indicating a lane is ending, get over. What if traffic is backed up to that point? Get over anyway! (which would probably result in something like a zipper merge there instead of a mile up the road) What if traffic is backed up past that point? Get over anyway! or Get over sooner! I guess even if you don't know why one lane is slow and the other is empty and open ahead of you. So one lane will be a growing line of cars while the other empty for increasing distances. This is what people are arguing for. Anybody who doesn't do this is an rear end in a top hat. Insults are being flung around for this mentality. Maryland drivers suck.
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Oct 19, 2016 13:34
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I suspect it's because we were all taught to not cut in line as kids, always let people in front of you do a thing first. Then people never realize that makes no sense in traffic and get all pissy when someone "unfairly" gets in front.
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Oct 19, 2016 13:56
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The only time I get annoyed with people going in the empty lane to zip merge further ahead is when they do it at insane speeds relative to the (often) static traffic in the backed up lane, only to brake hard at the merge point and wrestle their way in. I doubt these people have traffic flow and efficiency in mind.
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Oct 19, 2016 14:44
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Sounds like they're the only people with traffic flow or efficiency in mind.
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Oct 19, 2016 15:32
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Murphys Law posted:There's an ongoing debate on my radio station in Baltimore about zipper merging. Drivers in general can't figure out how to merge onto a highway or an interstate and you expect them to handle something as relatively complicated as a zipper merge?
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Oct 19, 2016 16:42
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I don't mind if people wait till the end of the lane and then merge in, that's just efficient use of available legal-for-travel pavement. If some loving jackwagon is sitting there already merged and then jumps back out to pass a hundred people and wedge back in at the very end, well, gently caress him then. That's just being a douchebag.
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Oct 19, 2016 19:57
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kastein posted:If some loving jackwagon is sitting there already merged and then jumps back out to pass a hundred people and wedge back in at the very end, well, gently caress him then. That's just being a douchebag. Justifiable homicide right there. Jury would probably award you money for doing it.
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Oct 19, 2016 19:59
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Thats not quite as bad as the douches who like to play merge police and straddle the lanes.
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Oct 19, 2016 21:21
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The other day I was riding somewhere and there's a left turn that puts you on a road with about 1/8 mile before an intersection with a light, there are two lanes - a left turn and a straight/right. I took a left and pulled into the nearest lane, the left turn lane. The traffic light was red, traffic was long stopped, everyone was settled. I put my turn signal on and changed into the straight lane into a spot someone left about a good 3-4 car lengths long. "HEY rear end in a top hat! HEY gently caress YOU! HEY! GUY ON THE HONDA! YEAH YOU rear end in a top hat!" and I hear the engine of the SUV I pulled waaaaaay in front of rev as he pulled up next to me to start screaming at me about how I need to learn to drive and understand buffer distances (4 cars minus the length of one motorcycle... Yeah that's pretty safe at a stop?) and proceeded to ride my rear end the next two miles, revving his engine and creeping up on me at every light and stop sign, then followed me into the semi-secure (There's a fence and a gate, but it's a manual fence and there's no guard or anything) lot I was stopping in. I got off my bike and he pulled up at me like he was going to hit me and continued screaming at me that I need to learn to ride and that I'm probably one of those assholes who's never taken the MSF let alone gotten my license, and let me tell you all about how I ride and I know you're a bad rider All I kept saying was "I put my turn signal on and made a legal maneuver" and walked toward the office building I was headed to, he asked one last thing, "So do you even have a license?" "Nope! And this bike is stolen too." He yelled a few more obscenities and tore off out of the parking lot. Then I got yelled at by someone just inside the building for causing trouble in the parking lot. gently caress off.
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Oct 19, 2016 23:14
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And his name was Albert Einstein. Did everyone clap? Fake edit: For you or Albert, either one.
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Oct 19, 2016 23:16
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My driver's ed teacher said that using the left turn lane as a merge lane was perfectly legal to do and to be prepared to piss off people if you do it.
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Oct 19, 2016 23:23
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PCOS Bill posted:The other day I was riding somewhere and there's a left turn that puts you on a road with about 1/8 mile before an intersection with a light, there are two lanes - a left turn and a straight/right. I took a left and pulled into the nearest lane, the left turn lane. The traffic light was red, traffic was long stopped, everyone was settled. I put my turn signal on and changed into the straight lane into a spot someone left about a good 3-4 car lengths long. I thought you were a gun nut? You could have made the roads safer, one SUV at a time.
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Oct 19, 2016 23:30
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spog posted:I thought you were a gun nut? While he was obnoxious, at no point did he become a real threat aside from being too close behind me while driving. He was a fat guy whose stomach touched the steering wheel, maybe 60 years old give or take. I did wish I had my Mini MagLite on me to give him a rap on the knuckles when he reached his arm out to point at me as he was yelling though.
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Oct 20, 2016 00:12
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It's really shameful that you don't have the Trump AR strapped to the bike for just these occasions.
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Oct 20, 2016 00:21
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PCOS Bill posted:While he was obnoxious, at no point did he become a real threat aside from being too close behind me while driving. If not, it should. Javid posted:It's really shameful that you don't have the Trump AR strapped to the bike for just these occasions.
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Oct 20, 2016 00:42
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PCOS Bill posted:"HEY rear end in a top hat! HEY gently caress YOU! HEY! GUY ON THE HONDA! YEAH YOU rear end in a top hat!" I'm failing to see a problem here...
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Oct 20, 2016 00:52
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Javid posted:It's really shameful that you don't have the Trump AR strapped to the bike for just these occasions. pfff AR15's.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1MO52XjH84 http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2016/10/14/motorcycle-mini-gun/
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Oct 20, 2016 01:05
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Javid posted:It's really shameful that you don't have the Trump AR strapped to the bike for just these occasions. I actually want to get a foam insert for the top half of my topcase that I can press in when I want to take it somewhere and only lose a third or so of the space as well as not having to buy a separate case for it. Mostly just for easy and less marring taking it to the range, not for on-road utilization. Though legally it's a pistol so I could just get a drop leg holster and carry it cocked, locked, and ready to rock.
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Oct 20, 2016 04:20
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http://i.imgur.com/2YZnPB3.mp4
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Oct 20, 2016 12:04
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I hope their license was turned into confetti on the spot, goddamn.
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Oct 20, 2016 13:20
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Is that a car wash? I’m thinking that it’s a new employee who has been making the turn at speed all day, but then they get a minivan that can’t turn on a dime.
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Oct 20, 2016 13:31
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I work near a car wash with a similar turn, though nowhere near as high a drop. We get to be entertained by people hanging a wheel off (or more) at least a couple times per month.
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Oct 20, 2016 14:16
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The best part about this is that there is no barrier or anything.
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Oct 20, 2016 15:11
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The even more best part is how it lands straight on the fire hydrant making it all spectacular. Also the car that slows down, a wheel cover or something slowly rolling towards it, deciding "NOPE" and driving off. Such poetry.
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Oct 20, 2016 16:43
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You could argue they wanted to slow down, that the pads/rotors/pavement was too wet to grab. Except there were no brake lights. Now everything is too wet.
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Oct 20, 2016 20:57
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I'd wager there was no mechanical issue, just someone not paying attention that certain types of vehicles have an abysmal turn radius and assuming whatever worked last time will work this time.
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Oct 20, 2016 21:00
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Well if you were in Denver two days ago, you shared the road with my car, but not me driving it. Yay, vehicle theft! Got it back though (after an egregious tow charge). I guess that whole "old Hondas take anything for a key" thing is actually true, because it wasn't even hotwired.
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Oct 20, 2016 21:11
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Platystemon posted:Is that a car wash? It's a drive through car wash, it was the owner of the vehicle that made that drop.
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Oct 20, 2016 21:19
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xzzy posted:I'd wager there was no mechanical issue, just someone not paying attention that certain types of vehicles have an abysmal turn radius and assuming whatever worked last time will work this time. I'm thinking horrible tires + wet ground + FWD = understeer. Driver in a hurry floors it, van goes a lot straighter than intended, and gravity handles the rest. According to the internets the '03-10 Sienna has a bit over an 18 foot turning radius. The van itself is a bit over 16 feet long, so using that as a scale reference it shouldn't have had any trouble making that turn.
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Oct 20, 2016 22:36
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We share the road with one less clapped out XJ with dumbass angry eyes today. The fun part? The perp (pictured), victim, and victim's boyfriend are all on a local jeep group I'm in on facebook. It turns out his claim is bullshit, because his jeep was uninsured, unregistered, he crossed the double yellow line to pass multiple vehicles with oncoming traffic while speeding, and managed to blast her car as she was pulling into a parking lot for an internship interview, rolling his hooptie. He was cited by a police detective who happened to see the whole thing happen (there were also two other witnesses.) The drama is currently heating up in at least two threads. If it gets amusing I'll post screenshots, we so rarely get to see this side of things happen live. Usually just the wreck. Oh, and no one was seriously injured, fortunately.
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Oct 20, 2016 22:37
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wolrah posted:I'm thinking horrible tires + wet ground + FWD = understeer. Driver in a hurry floors it, van goes a lot straighter than intended, and gravity handles the rest. I really think this is more a case of "idiots not paying attention". It looks to me like the front wheels are barely turned. My best guess is driving is playing with their phone while going thru the car wash, car wash ends, they try to finish sending one last text and don't turn the wheel far enough. I honestly can't imagine a passenger car that can't make that turn.
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Oct 20, 2016 23:10
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Long Francesco posted:Thats not quite as bad as the douches who like to play merge police and straddle the lanes. I saw a guy behind me doing that yesterday . our lane was standing still, express lane of the kennedy merging in from the left and people were zooming by to force a merge once they hit the shoulder. so this dude loses it and right when the merging lane is completely gone, says gently caress it and goes on the shoulder and roars away. the vehicle directly behind him? state trooper. didn't do a thing.
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Oct 20, 2016 23:12
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What about assholes who think the suicide lane is a driving lane? We allowed to gently caress them up?
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Oct 20, 2016 23:57
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PenisMonkey posted:What about assholes who think the suicide lane is a driving lane? We allowed to gently caress them up? Though we get more and more "managed motorways" now, where they allow the hard shoulder to be used as a driving lane.
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Oct 21, 2016 00:10
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Living where I live and having the commute that I have I see at least a few idiots/assholes everyday. Today it was the work van traveling about 55 in the left lane on the beltway. The car in front of me moves over and passes him on the right and I follow. The car gets a pretty decent distance ahead of the van and moves back over. We're coming up on a slower truck in the right lane and I want to get back over and this is when the rear end in a top hat in the van decides to floor it. He was quite fine puttering along at 55 but he'll be drat if somebody is going to drive faster than him. What an insult! So I end up back behind him and he lets up on the gas. We eventually pass all the traffic on the right and I pass him again. He tried to pace me again but started falling back at 70 and eventually disappeared in the distance behind me. Why? What does this accomplish? What is the thought process behind it and how do they justify it after the fact? "I'm going to be dick to this guy just for the sake of being a dick." "Ha! I sure showed him. That'll teach him to want to drive faster than somebody else.GO ME!" The other day, about a block away from a four way stop in my neighborhood I see a motorcycle already stopped there on the left. He could have gone at any time as I approached the intersection. But just sat there, looking at me. I get there and stop. He just sat there. The guy coming the other way gets there and stops. He just sat there, looking back and forth at both of us. The guy behind me stops. He continues to sit there. I get tired of waiting and start rolling. The guy across from me does the same. This is the moment the biker decides to go. Why? At first I thought that even though the signs in all directions are clearly visible if you pay just a little attention, maybe he didn't realized it was a four way stop at first. But that should have been cleared up when the cars in not one, but two other directions stopped and were clearly looking at him to do something. Then I figured maybe he was being overly cautious and waiting for us to stop. But then he sat there after we were stopped, and only started going after we were both moving.
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Oct 21, 2016 19:43
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With the weather starting to turn and Snowbird Season upon Florida, I expect to have some stories soon. The elderly driving like no one else is on the road has already started too; some old guy pulls into the left lane from a parking lot cutting off the guy in the left, and he then immediately goes right and cuts me off too. This was a 45 stretch and he was doing maybe 30. Lots of angry honking and he just ignores it and trundles down the road, ugh.
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Oct 21, 2016 19:57
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Murphys Law posted:Living where I live and having the commute that I have I see at least a few idiots/assholes everyday. An explanation in song form. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrgpZ0fUixs
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Oct 22, 2016 03:08
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sleepy.eyes posted:With the weather starting to turn and Snowbird Season upon Florida, I expect to have some stories soon. The elderly driving like no one else is on the road has already started too; some old guy pulls into the left lane from a parking lot cutting off the guy in the left, and he then immediately goes right and cuts me off too. This was a 45 stretch and he was doing maybe 30. Lots of angry honking and he just ignores it and trundles down the road, ugh. Snowbird season just amplifies an existing problem. In the space of 30 minutes, I watched a motorcycle come within a foot of getting plastered only to hop in the suicide lane to pass the offending vehicle while honking and flipping them the bird, before cutting said vehicle off. I then almost got hit by someone rolling forward from a stopsign while looking directly at me making a "why aren't you giving up your right of way to let me goooo  " face. This is all capped by watching work truck pull into the middle turning lane of a 6 lane highway, then make a right turn across 3 lanes of traffic to go speeding through an assisted living community. Driving in florida varies between yakitty sax level hilarity and full blown fury road insanity. The only true way to survive is to out crazy them, so make hommage to the great god veeeight and make sure you keep a can of chrome paint around so YOU CAN DIE HISTORIC ON THE FURY ROAD.
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Oct 22, 2016 05:07
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Clearing from a call around 47th avenue and Olive, hear a loud BANG and in the side street in front of the place we just dropped off at, there's this CRX. He's stopped, so we drive the ambulance over to help, and offer to use our scene lights (big white spotlights) give him light to let him change his tire or whatever. He gets out of his car and comes to the window, and drunkenly slurrs, "Scchnaaw, ithss fine, I live justh down schthe roaaaad," and gets back in his car and drive off. Of course, we call 911/our dispatch, give them the plate and direction, and offer to follow for a bit. They say OK, and we watch him drive for around two miles at around 10mph, swerving side-to-side, and burning the gently caress out of his clutch because he's clearly starting in third from stoplights. Eventually, he pulls up to a stop sign, then just turns his car off, locks his doors, and starts walking down the street. Cops finally get there (thanks, Glendale PD), we give a description and last known location (dude hopped a fence into Apollo high school), and snap some photos.  
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Oct 22, 2016 09:39
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Oct 22, 2016 17:33
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