One of the main reasons I appreciate various modes of transportation is because driving can be a nightmare. Even on trips without heavy traffic, expensive parking or major incidents, the behavior of other drivers stresses me out. This is mostly because of my profession. Not every traffic engineer is an excellent driver, of course, but we are definitely more aware when others break traffic laws or practice unsafe driving behavior. I asked other people in the transportation industry about this, and complaints came from as far away as the UK.
We were all in agreement on one thing: a lot of people just can’t drive.
In an effort to sublimate our gripes, I have a compiled a list of the top 5 things we wish more motorists knew. Part 2 of this month’s post includes the top 5 things we wish more motorists did. Feel free to share this information with people outside the industry and let’s keep thinking of more ways we can help keep drivers from driving each other crazy.
We wish more motorists KNEW:
5) Choices Have Costs
Place of work and place of residence choices have costs that go beyond rent and gasoline. Living far away from activity centers may mean lower housing costs, but may also mean higher costs to the environment and personal health in the form of air pollution and decreased incentives to walk, bike or take transit. Shopping online may save you a trip, but that item has to get to you somehow, and it is typically in the back of the huge truck that you want banned from your local streets. It is important to consider the total costs and consciously decide how much your own convenience is really worth.
4) What to Do at a Flashing or Dark Signal
This is actually pretty simple – treat a dark signal or a flashing red signal as an all-way stop. Pull up to the stop line, stop, wait for your turn, then go. Do not ever follow the car in front of you into the intersection; each vehicle must stop and wait at the stop line. If you and the car to your right get to the intersection at about the same time, wave them on to let them go first. If the signal is flashing yellow, proceed through the intersection with caution, looking out for pedestrians, cyclists and any drivers who get tired of sitting at their flashing red.
3) Speeding is Unnecessary
Have you ever zoomed by a vehicle going the speed limit only to see it again when you stop at the next traffic signal? That is intentional. Traffic signals are timed to optimize traffic flow for vehicles traveling at or slightly above the posted speed limit. Speeding also wastes gas (and can kill people!) so you may want to remove your pedal from the metal.
2) Compliance with Traffic Laws is Not Optional
Just because you don’t understand or approve of a law does not make it okay to ignore it. The same goes for what is installed to alert you of the law - speed limits are not arbitrary and red really does mean stop. Your state’s motor vehicle code and the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) are available online for free, so ignorance is not an excuse.
1) How to Drive
This seems broad and a little condescending, so specifically, we tend to think that driver education leaves a lot to be desired. Most U.S. states have very lenient driver’s licensing practices and defensive driving courses are seen as punitive rather than prerequisite. If anything about your commute is confusing, feel free to take a class or ask your local transportation authority for more information. We’d much rather be bombarded with questions than with collision reports.
To see what we wish the average motorist did, take a look at Driving (Part 2).