Parking and Driving the Cheeses me off!

[Arnold]

Some (most) people just don't think.

The driver of this car said they were "forced" (by the car in front!) to park the way they did, leaving "dead" space behind them for not much at all.



I pointed out that, even if a car in front has parked awkwardly, it's still best to park with your own rear axle adjacent to the signpost so that when the other car leaves, order would be restored and the maximum number of cars would again be able to park.

It's like parking closer to the larger of two cars rather than the smaller so when the small car leaves, more cars will be able to fit the space.

What cheeses you off (apart from people telling you how to park)?

[Arnold]

Here's the other things that cheeses me off . . .

The driver of the red car wants to turn left and prefers to turn into the the left lane which is chockers. Rather than using the vacant right lane and merging, they hold up all of the cars behind them, who usually catch the next red light.


I saw a car hold up a mile of traffic, most of it wanting to go straight ahead, because they steadfastly refused to turn left into the kerbside lane (because it was a bus lane) to let the cars behind past. They could have used it for a couple of metres just to let everyone past but just sat there because the center lane was full and they could not conceive of sitting in the bus lane for a minute then merging.

And two more:

Pedestrians who don't wave a lone car through ahead of them when waiting at a pedestrian crossing and insist that the car stop for them rather than glide past; and

Bus drivers who enforce their right of way when pulling from the kerb even when they can see there is only a single car that has to pass them.

Speaking of buses, there's the empty bus that overtakes the crowded bus that pulled into the bus stop first (because it is on the same route as the bus that stopped). Can't these guys figure it out between them and have the empty bus stop?

I think that's all.

So to all of you bus drivers out there . . .

[Arnold]

Oh, yeah, and then there are the drivers in slow-moving traffic who do not signal (flash lights) for an oncoming car to turn right in front of them even though they can see that the right-turning car is holding up a mile of traffic.

In Italy, drivers seem to display courtesies such as this far more often and are far more pragmatic in their approach to driving. They also park almost anywhere but in a manner that shows they are very conscious of how precious the limited parking spaces are.

Italians (and many other European drivers I imagine but can't recall as clearly) are also much more forgiving of other drivers' errors and generally only use their horn to warn. They also tend not to have a conniption if you make manoeuvres with margins that would alarm many Aussie drivers and take into account the need, when entering heavy traffic from a side street, to be a little . . . aggressive!

Then there are drivers who STOP or almost stop at roundabouts even though maintaining their former speed would have allowed them to safely pass in front of cars already on the roundabout. Europeans know how to use roundabouts. Most Aussie drivers seem not to have much of a clue or simply don't care.

I think that's all, apart from drivers who brake(!) when you momentarily get too close to them instead of letting you manage the distance by yourself. Although I do admit I am trying to conserve my own brake pads...

[Ozram]

Happy now you have got that lot off your chest?

3 posts and all are whingeing about other drivers.

Relax, count to ten and you'll still get to your destination without feeling stressed when you get there.

Either that or take the bus

[THE_EGG]

I have to admit, one of my most hated things is when I'm in a traffic jam and the car in front leaves a huge gap between them and the car in front of them. Then they roll forward - probably being an automatic car so it's no dramas for them. Or worse when they just crawl when all the other cars are stopped. This then leaves me left having to use the biting point on the clutch which then gives that lovely burning clutch smell.

[Arnold]

I have to admit, one of my most hated things is when I'm in a traffic jam and the car in front leaves a huge gap between them and the car in front of them. Then they roll forward - probably being an automatic car so it's no dramas for them. Or worse when they just crawl when all the other cars are stopped. This then leaves me left having to use the biting point on the clutch which then gives that lovely burning clutch smell.

Yes, any unnecessary gap especially when it means cars behind are prevented from using the left turn filter while the daydreaming drivers are sitting at a red light in front of them . . . most thoughtless!

[ParaBul]

Most of what you've written reads to me as if you're excessively stressed - you need to learn to relax. I say this because I reckon I've been there (and some would argue I'm still there... ) But this bit resonates with me:

Then there are drivers who STOP or almost stop at roundabouts even though maintaining their former speed would have allowed them to safely pass in front of cars already on the roundabout. Europeans know how to use roundabouts. Most Aussie drivers seem not to have much of a clue or simply don't care.

Drives me crazy - follow a driver up to a roundabout, and you can see their head. They
- Pull up the the roundabout.
- Stop.
- THEN they turn their head and look left.



The other annoyance I have is inaccurate road signs (especially those that cause me embarassment).

At an intersection of a major arterial road and a less major arterial, the right turn lane has a sign that says "No Green Arrows" from 7am - 9am and 4pm to 6pm Mon - Fri. I was in the turn right lane a few minutes before 8am on a Thursday morning, watching two vehicles make it through each cycle - creep into the intersection while the through lanes had a green light, then complete the turn on the red.

I made it to the front of the line, and decided to turn off my engine while I waited for the next green. Put the DSG in neutral so I could start the engine again, and drifted off.

Suddenly I had a green arrow.

WTF?

Hit the key then the accelerator - oops, I'm in neutral.

Grab the shifter to hit Drive - damn, won't move.

That's right - need foot on brake to shift from neutral.

So - off the accelerator, onto the brake, find Drive, then back on the accelerator - while listening to the honking horns behind me.



I think three of us made it through - but I'm sure a few more could've made it if I hadn't been caught out.

Goddam DSG! Give me a manual in that situation!

[team_v]

Road works signs (i.e. do 40 in an 80 zone) when they are either working on the footpath and no where near traffic or there is no works ata ll (due to wet weather or a weekend).

Then they wonder why people don't follow the rules.

[wai]

The solution to this is to have marked parking bays. If a motorist does not park within a marked bay, they can be fined. The issue with marked parking bays is that councils do not make as much as they do without marked parking bays.

A standard parking bay is 6.5 m long for intermediate bays and 6 m for the end bays. This is because the length of a standard vehicle is 5.5 m, so allowing the required 0.5 m either end of the bay gives you the 6.5 m. For end bays, you only have a vehicle at one end, so you only need an additional 0.5 m. All this is because you must maintain a 1 m space between your vehicle and the vehicle at either end.

With smaller cars, you can fit more cars in a given run without marked bays, also with automatic parking systems on cars, some manufacturers say that they can park the car in a space that is 0.8 m longer than the car. This is actually illegal as you actually need a space that is 2 m longer than the car being parked.

Now it is the responsibility of the parking vehicle to ensure that when it is parked, there is a space of 1 m to the vehicles at both ends.

Without marked bays, it is open season. Councils will not fine you for parking too close to the vehicles at either end as they do not know which vehicle was the last to park. What they do see is more revenue if the run is ticketed, or from fines for overstaying.

It is the same in parking stations and parking areas. The standard width of a parking bay is 2.5 m, and 3 m if the end bay has a wall, column or fence as one boundary of the bay. The width of disabled bays is 1.5 x standard parking bays. The thing is that developers can squeeze a few more bays into a parking area by reducing the width to 2 m, and ignoring the end bay requirements. They do this because they must show a minimum number of bays to get a building approved. The same goes for the space between opposing rightangle parking bays. It is supposed to be 7 m. This allows vehicles to enter and exit the bays easily. Again, by reducing this to 6 m they may be able to get another row of spaces in, and that can be the difference between a building being approved or not.

My Caddy is just over 4.8 m long, so to be parked legally, the space between the bumpers of cars already parked must be just over 6.8 m. How many know how long, wide and tall their vehicles actually are? Better still, how many know how wide a traffic lane is? It moght not be such a great idea to spin the car to scrub off speed (other than on a race track) as you might just end up in a worse case and take out innocent drivers.

The same goes for vehicles who stop too close to the vehicle in front when coming up to lights. There is a "rule/convention" which says that you must see "tyres and tarmac" of the vehicle in front when you stop behind them at lights. This is so that you can actually drive out from that position should the situation require it. The majority of drivers stop so close and give themselves no room to manouvre out if needed.

[martinijosh]

I have to admit, one of my most hated things is when I'm in a traffic jam and the car in front leaves a huge gap between them and the car in front of them. Then they roll forward - probably being an automatic car so it's no dramas for them. Or worse when they just crawl when all the other cars are stopped. This then leaves me left having to use the biting point on the clutch which then gives that lovely burning clutch smell.

So release the clutch without using throttle. Unless you're on a hill you'll be fine.