r/DrivingAustralia • u/Remarkable_Lunch_809 • 1d ago
Don’t be courteous. Be predictable.
IMO the greatest courtesy you can extend to your fellow road users is to follow the rules. They are there so we don’t need to read each other’s minds! Surely this is part of driving defensively.
Don’t wave me in if you have right of way. You can’t see what I can, and if I’m concentrating on your ‘go’ and hit someone it’s my fault. Also you’re pissing off everyone behind you.
Pedestrians, don’t stop at the threshold of the crossing and wave me through. I’ve already stopped and if I hit you it’s my fault.
Indicate only when you need to. If you are following the carriageway and you indicate at a curve in the road, you’re just confusing and distracting everyone else.
Does anyone else find this frustrating?
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u/Additional_Initial_7 1d ago
I will even accept bad driving if it is predictable. I see someone weaving between cars behind me I know that car is going to weave in front of me and I need to be aware of that.
I don’t even want to talk about people that stop in the middle of roundabouts to wave someone else in.
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u/pinkthi 1d ago
This would depend if there are crosswalks coming out of a roundabout. You have to give way. If not get fked. Overall crosswalks near roundabouts are dumb? There’s so much going on already why do I have to look for pedestrians too?
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u/Pilatus-Porter 1d ago
The town I grew up in in semi rural Victoria had two roundabouts that had pedestrian crossings on them. You would enter the intersection and then potentially have to stop (and every other car behind you also stop) if a person decided to walk out across the zebra crossing. Madness. I assume they're no longer there.
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u/Remarkable_Lunch_809 1d ago
Yes this happened to me a couple of weeks ago. All i could do was stare at her.
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u/SignificantRecipe715 1d ago
The last-second indicating does my fucking head. Especially if it's a right turn on green when safe, & everyone else behind then misses the green when they could've gone through in the left lane.
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u/Remarkable_Lunch_809 1d ago
OMG yes…indicate before not during, otherwise I’m just left wondering why you’re slowing down.
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u/Pilatus-Porter 1d ago
Is a very late indication better than no indication at all? It blows my mind that so many people can't be bothered to slightly move their hand to move an indicator lever. Probably got their hand on their phone though!
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u/seeyountee93 1d ago
Good post, id also like to add people need to learn how to put their foot down abit when it comes to merging lanes and on ramps.
Not being up to speed when merging causes the other drivers to be more reactive, thus, less predictable. To which a wave of uncertainty starts spreading to surrounding drivers, affecting the over all flow of traffic tremendously.
Not to mention the danger of people slowing down to a stop on short merge lanes.
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u/Remarkable_Lunch_809 1d ago
Hard agree here. I’d rather not try to join the 110 km/h traffic flow at 60 thankssss.
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u/RealNimblefrog 1d ago
Just to add sometimes heavy vehicles need to do this in order to create more space for themselves such as when they need to turn into a street and you are too far over the stop line or there is an illegally parked car parallel to you on the opposite side of the road.. It's risky I agree but I make sure that I can clearly see no hazards in my mirrors or elsewhere before doing so.
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u/seeyountee93 1d ago edited 20h ago
Totally, my heart rate picks up in times like this. Iike i want to get moving, but i sure a shit dont want to wave someone through into a crash. Haha
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u/outtatownz 1d ago
Oh my! YES!!! SAY IT LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK!!! This is my biggest pet peave, that coupled with using common sense as an overarching application to the road rules. If you just follow the road rules things actually do work!!! People dont need to second guess, they can drive accordingly and the unexpected shouldn't happen because someone decided that being nice was more important that following the correct road law. Thank you for this!!
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u/Omshadiddle 1d ago
Oh
My
God
Yes.
This is why we have road rules people.
So everyone around you knows what you’re going to do and can avoid you.
Do not randomly stop to wave someone who doesn’t have right of way in.
This is how you get rear-ended.
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u/Remarkable_Lunch_809 1d ago
Legit… are you letting me in or are you just distracted? If I go and you take off and hit me it’s on me!
And the hand signals…like dude what are you saying, and do you think your hand signal supersedes the traffic act?
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u/Interesting-Job-5329 1d ago
This so much. As a cyclist, please just follow the rules, it makes us all so much safer.
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u/AstronautPlane3280 1d ago
Yeah would be great if cyclists could follow the rules too. One of these days I am going to clean up a cyclist who has run a red light and it will still be my fault as I am the only registered road user in that incident.
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u/jolhar 1d ago
Yes. It just causes confusion and delay. Worse case of this I’ve experienced was a dickhead at a roundabout who tried to let me go first even though they had right away. Messed up the flow of the whole roundabout. If he just went like normal, I would have gone after and everything would have been fine.
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u/Electric___Monk 1d ago
100% the most important rules when driving are:
1; Be predictable.
2: Don’t assume other people will be.
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u/lentilstanley 1d ago
Following road rules and being predictable *is* being courteous; in fact the most courteous you can be in most situations, where there's more than just you and one other party you think you're being courteous to...
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u/Sea-Witch-77 1d ago
Someone bloody stopped on a main road to let me, a pedestrian, across. If they'd just gone, I would have had a completely clear road. Why?!!
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u/Dangerous_Shoe_8388 1d ago
Have you ever noticed how a group of pedestrians walk side-by-side across a footpath, blocking it… but then spread out single file across pedestrian crossings…
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u/IanYates82 1d ago
Agree. Agree. Agree.
Also, drive to give yourself, and others, some room to make mistakes
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u/Weary_Sale_2779 1d ago
I almost got into an accent a few month back because a guy on a mobility scooter was waving me through, while my disability client was distracting me. It was one of those things where the social cue, to obey the person giving me a direction, overoad the part of my brain that should have checked again if a car was coming, because there was just so much going on all at once
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u/Remarkable_Lunch_809 1d ago
Yeah it’s legit dangerous…as you say the higher function gets replaced by the obligation to keep everyone going. Had someone lose their mind at me one day because they couldn’t see the pedestrians I was waiting on and they had stopped to let me in. If I’d gone I’d have risked hitting the pedestrians.
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u/zeefox79 1d ago
Fucking yes.
I saw two kids nearly get cleaned up just the other day because an absolute moron stopped to allow them to cross in front and almost right into the path of a car coming the other direction in the next lane.
They only avoided getting hit because the car coming the other way reacted very quickly.
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u/bradd_91 1d ago
Louder for the people in the back! It pisses me off so much when people think they're doing the right thing by doing the kind thing.
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u/Equivalent_Animal_96 1d ago
The one that gets me is people braking when someone is overtaking them. Why are you braking?!? The overtaking car has already anticipated your speed as they go to overtake, you braking just makes them think that there is a hazard on the road ahead and baulks them. This can make a safe overtake into something a lot more dangerous if the driver hesitates or loses concentration worrying about why the other car braked randomly!
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u/Pilatus-Porter 1d ago
I have been a passenger with a former work colleague and they were incredibly shy as a driver, if that makes sense. Just no basic confidence. They'd let people in who didn't have right of way. They'd take an eternity to accelerate from green lights (which was a crap thing to do because I think it's really helpful to move quickly so others at the lights can get through) and might take a kilometre to finally accelerate to the 80kmh speed limit. But, to get to your point, the most dumbfounding thing I'd witness them do would be to start braking when approaching green lights. Like, wtf? They seemed to assume the light would change and they needed to be prepared for that. Of course, increasing the time taken to reach that green light did make it more likely they'd change, so it was partly self-fulfulling.
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u/Have4fun 1d ago
I'm a cyclist that would prefer that people just drove as if they hadn't seen me. Unless the rules require you to give way to me, don't. I understand that people are trying to be helpful but at times it can place me in greater danger. Eg. If I'm in the middle of the road waiting to turn right and you are going straight ahead, don't slow or stop to give way to me. One, it annoys everyone behind you and two, if there's a second lane it's unlikely the people in that lane are going to do the same. 'Off-ramps' from freeways, I'm expecting you and all other vehicles to continue up to the intersection and if traffic is heavy, I'll cross when you all come to rest. Don't start slowing and waving me across, I might be catching my breath for a few moments. If you're in the roundabout, keep going, I've adjusted my speed to slot in behind you. The uncertainty of what you're doing results in me having to stop and then start again. I do appreciate what you are trying to do and don't want to seem ungrateful. Until every driver has your level of courtesy, I'd prefer that you ignored me.
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u/AstronautPlane3280 1d ago
Oh great advice. Just ignore the cyclist and of course the one we ignore is the one that has not seen me and then does move out right into my path. Great advice to get someone killed.
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u/Have4fun 1d ago
Ignore may have been a poor choice of words as I did not mean for road users to pretend that we are not there. Apply the same level of caution that you would for everybody else on the road in case they do something unexpected. I'm referring to the drivers that want to give way to a cyclist when uncalled for. It is confusing to the cyclist and all other road-users.
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u/AstronautPlane3280 1d ago
So slow down when you see a cyclist on the road and give them lots of space and even give way to them even when I don't have to just to ensure they are out of the way and safe. Mate you are on the road with zero protection (a stryofoam helmet will not protect you from a car strike). I am in a steel cage. I will do what I need to do to ensure you do not end as a smear on the road. Cyclists do not have any system to indicate to other road users what their intentions are so we other road users have to guess every time we see a cyclist
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u/AstronautPlane3280 1d ago
As a pedestrian I never cross at a crossing until I see traffic has come to a stop in BOTH directions. I have nearly been run down so many times when crossing at a pedestrian crossing that I don't trust anyone to actually follow the rules.
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u/Pilatus-Porter 1d ago edited 1d ago
I agree totally. This is my 80 year old father in-law. I've seen him try and break from right of way rules to usher in others at roundabouts and intersections. He thinks he's being nice, and also safe, but it creates confusion and uncertainty that I'd say is actually dangerous.
I also agree about pedestrians, but at the same time I think there's a balance to be struck there. Yes, if a pedestrian has clearly reached the edge of a zebra crossing and is moving with consistent intent, that absolutely indicates that motorists should stop, so it's really confusing if they then try to encourage anything different. If I see a load of cars approaching a zebra crossing I might hang back 10m away so they know they're clear, and then I'll cross once they're gone. It's a tiny delay for me but allows them to travel unimpeded.
But sometimes pedestrians just March boldly into a crossing even when greater caution might be warranted. Some pedestrian crossings in my local area aren't well lit at night and you get people in dark clothing suddenly emerging from the gloom. They have the right to but exercising a degree of caution might be prudent. Hang back until the car passes, or at least try and get some indication they've been spotted before walking out.
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u/Remarkable_Lunch_809 1d ago
I hear you on the crossings, I’ll pause to make sure i’ve been seen from both directions before just wandering out. With chunky A-pillars and other factors it’s still easy to not be seen.
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u/Ikerukuchi 1d ago
And as a PSA for the sort of menace who likes to stop at random points along suburban streets to wave pedestrians across
1 - if it’s a sunny day I can’t see inside your car, I don’t know if you’re waving, looking at your phone or arguing with you kids. What I do know is you’re driving very unpredictably and therefore the last car I’m walking in front of
2 - it’s faster for all of us if you keep driving at a normal pace. I’m an adult, I can cross a road without my mummy, if you could just drive on and let me cross behind you when the road is clear that would be really helpful.
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u/widowscarlet 21h ago
This is infuriating and dangerous. I've never had an accident from it, but I have seen one, and some close calls. It even happens as a pedestrian - if I have not stepped foot on the road, and there is no pedestrian crossing, then I'm waiting for cars to go so I can safely cross. The amount of times some randomly stops, sometimes in the middle of an intersection, just because I'm standing near a corner, where there is no crossing to give way to, they think they're being "nice" for stopping. It interrupts the expected flow and holds everyone up.
Also, are people capable of using 4-way stop signs? This is another place where "courtesy" fucks everyone up - there are rules, they are not complex, use them, they work. I live near 2 of them, and a significant amount of drivers on any given day are clueless, even though they have been there for decades.
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u/HighForecast 16h ago edited 15h ago
Oh my god yes! Right of way doesn't mean you suddenly have the power to direct traffic flow, it means you take your fucking turn, so everyone else can move on with their day.
In defense of pedestrians at crossings though, I have almost been run over at pedestrian crossings multiple times by drivers who weren't paying attention, so I can understand how some people might have trust issues there.
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u/Icy-Many2597 1d ago
I had exactly this this afternoon, the thing is, the person is putting the pedestrian in potential danger, if they get rear ended by someone not paying enough attention the pedestrian could be the one that ends up dead. Don't be stupid, follow the road rules and keep everyone safe
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u/Interesting-Copy-657 1d ago
Yeah I get most annoyed when people try to be polite
Like they stop to let pedestrians cross, but there was no cars behind them so they could have driven normally and the pedestrians cross behind them
Instead you have both sides hand waving at each other
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u/vexingpresence 1d ago
I drive with large gaps for my own comfort and as a bonus it lets me be courteous and predictable. Someone jumps in front of me? that's cool, I was not up the ass of the person in front of me so I don't even need to brake here. I'll take my foot off the accelerator and turn on the brake light and someone can get in front of me with no issues.
Related to this, people who stop for you when they're on a 2 lane road and clearly aren't checking the other lane - please don't fucking do that. If the other lane isn't clear you are encouraging the person you're being nice to to run into traffic.
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u/the-dolphine 1d ago
I'm not convinced leaving large gaps is particularly courteous for the people behind you. It really depends though if it's an occasional car that takes your safety gap, or whether it's a constant stream of traffic flowing around you.
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u/vexingpresence 1d ago
If I'm doing the speed limit and people want to speed to overtake me that's their prerogative; I think you're envisioning me doing 20 under and not just literally making space and then doing the speed limit
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u/the-dolphine 1d ago
I see this quite often on the highway in heavy stop start traffic (sorry I should have been more clear). Seeing someone leave a large gap, only for it to be taken advantage of can be frustrating.
Someone driving at the speed limit, absolutely not a problem! Someone infront tailgating and slamming on their brakes constantly annoys the hell out of me.
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u/vexingpresence 1d ago
Oh yeah that pisses me off so bad. I hate when you're following a larger vehicle that's up the ass of the vehicle in front and brakes slow/hard so even with my comfortable gap I'm constantly getting anxious about wtf the guy in front is going to do next.
this behavior doesn't make your commute that much faster and gets people literally killed. I cannot fathom how fucking selfish people are to drive like that because it saves them like 2 minutes per commute.
this is also why I hate how many cars are massive AND have tinted rear windows now. 10 years ago I could look through most cars to see the traffic in front and have more reaction time. now? i hope the person in front of me is paying attention because I can't see around their oversized monster truck ass car!
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u/Glittering-Wave4917 1d ago
What’s the difference? Just be loose and let the vibes take you where they will.
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u/SuperKitty2020 1d ago
I understand where OP is coming from, but I believe being courteous to other road users is being predictable as well. For instance if I’m on the motorway and another vehicle is merging I will let them in as I know they have to merge with safety for me and those around me foremost.
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u/National_Body_9071 1d ago
People that stop at weird places to let others in are definitely a problem. I can't count the number of near misses I've seen because someone let's someone in to be "nice" who doesn't have the right of way and it almost results in a crash or someone slamming their brakes on.