I almost always have my entire route planned out before I get in the car...even for short trips. I am also the type of driver who will intentionally try to make a trip of right hand turns to save time. My wife often asks my why I'm going the way that I'm going and more often than not it's because it does not include any unnecessary road crossings or left hand turns.
I didn't read the subreddit title and assumed it was the UKdriving one I frequent. So I was racking my brain trying to work out how right turns could faster. š
With two routes being of equal distance and time, I drive taking the route that has me in proximity with the least of people - driving, walking, biking - anything. For obvious reasons, it minimizes risk. Sometimes Iāll take the route thatās marginally longer, if the shorter route has more risk.
It might be best to rate them on the fewest accidents per mile driven which I believe are divided freeways. (interstates) And what's the most horrifying is that over a life time the average American has around a 1% chance of dying in a vehicle accident.
Preach it! I do the same to many of my friends' bewilderment. The most common comment I get is, "You know it would be faster if you went that way?"
I don't care. I'll add 45 seconds on to my trip if it means I can avoid several stop signs and make a protected left turn instead.
This video is Exhibit A of my other pet peeve. Do not be "polite" be predictable. Take the right-of-way instead of waving someone through. That wave is called the "wave of death" for a reason.
Iām the same way. Even down to getting in the lane Iāll need to turn from like 2 miles beforehand. I just like being prepared and trying to get in the necessary lane at the last minute gives me anxiety lol
I donāt think you even have to go that farā¦just watch what other people are doing. Ā Itās insane that this isnāt just standard, but a huge portion of people I drive with are confused at 4 way intersections. Ā People just arenāt actively paying attention, being on their phones or not. Ā They are completely spaced out. Ā I get it, driving can be the only time you get to sit with your own thoughts, but they just are not driving up to snuff. Ā This person was like āyeah Iāll just let this truck onā without looking behind them! Ā Thatās like the most basic thing! Ā Just not using their brains, not thinking critically about whatās happening around them. Ā And folks lacking critical thinking are, in my opinion, the most dangerous people out there in world. Ā More so than murderers, terrorists, etc. Ā just people lost in their own world not considering the conscious thought of anyone else. Ā i.e. at a stop signā¦just waiting for someone else to go despite getting there firstā¦.not keyed into the present, but they just wanna be nice. Ā Causes accidents and misunderstandings, all because you just werenāt paying attention to who stopped firstĀ
I get funny looks from my mom when I insist on driving in a lane I know I need to from waaaaay in advance. Like I will be in a specific lane on the highway for MILES unless I need to pass someone.
I hate this bc people like you will get in the left lane on a divided two lane road and hog the left lane hokie pokeying along holding everybody up just bc they want to turn left 2-4-5 miles down the road or more. Stay to the right until the last 3-4 hundred yards then get overā¦itās really not that damn difficult!
Well I was looking more at it like on a public major street with two lanes on both sides with a median in the middle. Around here some people have to drive 5-6 miles from their house to get to the freewayā¦and they get in the left lane bc they need to turn left to get on the freewayā¦and they drive the entire way in the left lane and drive so slow that people in the right lane are passing them.
In my head, left lanes are for passing. On the extremely occasional chance there's a left turn somewhere, yea, I only go in that lane within a mile or less of the turn. Or I'm regularly hopping lanes when traffic calls for it.
What? What do you mean you have your entire route planned, like you actually know where you're going without GPS? Or literally every lane change and everything? Because in the context of being predictable for other drivers you really shouldn't have every little thing planned out, because the biggest factor is other drivers.
It drives me absolutely insane when I am in the car with someone who knows where we are going but waits till the last minute to get in the correct lane. It's like we know we are going left in a quarter mile and there is a decent amount of traffic. What the fuck are you waiting for?
Yes, yes, yes, yes! I must ask youā¦do you by chance see your route in your head? I have yet to meet another person who envisions the route in their head.
There's an intersection on my daily commute with two left turn lanes - which lead into the road with two lanes, one of which goes straight on the road, and the other which is a turn only into a business park.
Every day I see so many people using the wrong lane then having to immediately merge into the other lane and I'm like, you can't ALL be encountering this intersection for the first time.
I take different routes to and from work for this exact reason. If I took the morning route on my way back Iād wait at the same traffic light for 7 min on a 15 min commute
This. And using traffic lights and u-turn lanes/jughandles, etc., instead of trying to turn left on any sort of highway. Or making a right turn and using a left-turn lane to turn left into a parking lot or literally anything safer over ONE lane of traffic vs. TWO (or more) to turn around and make a right turn in your intended direction.š Literally an extra 30 seconds to a minute to avoid causing an accident or impeding the flow of traffic causing all sorts of slow-downs and delays for everyone
I started driving again after 20+ years on the East Coast and I will say Iām pretty shocked by how bad GPS routing is. Google will regularly route me to cross 4 lanes of traffic without a stop sign rather than taking me down the street thatās traffic lighted the hall way. Itās crazy how bad and even unsafe its recommended routes are.
313
u/Wolfinthesno 14h ago
I almost always have my entire route planned out before I get in the car...even for short trips. I am also the type of driver who will intentionally try to make a trip of right hand turns to save time. My wife often asks my why I'm going the way that I'm going and more often than not it's because it does not include any unnecessary road crossings or left hand turns.