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When we were 16 years old, taking our driver’s tests, we never had to learn who invented the traffic laws. These guidelines were born out of necessity, over the course of a century, to ensure that we weren’t all going to fly around the roads like absolute maniacs. Obviously, they were a huge success.
Like any legislation, our state traffic laws could stand to be updated. We’re not talking anything drastic here, either. All we’re asking is for the fine folks running the U.S. Department of Transportation to consider putting the following five driving laws into effect on a national level. Especially the last one. That’s the one we care about.
Hopefully these suggestions feel more beneficial than not, even if they end up frustrating some drivers along the way. Safety is all that matters and these would surely make roads less accident prone.
THE ONE THAT WILL MAKE US BE NICE: Legitimize Double Honk vs. Single Honk
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Whether everyone realizes or not, there are two types of car honks and each one has a totally different meaning.
A slight double honk is a casual reminder to the person in front of you, “Hey, friend. The light is green.” Good drivers actually appreciate the soft double honk, while bad drivers sometimes take offense. On the flip side, a long drawn out honk suggests to the other driver, “You’re an asshat and have failed us all!” It’s not very coded, everyone gets it.
There should be a law in place to solidify these two honks, ensuring no one gets upset over the wrong things. Just because someone doesn’t see the light change (probably glancing at a text) doesn’t mean they’re a bad driver. It just means they needed a heads up. If everyone is on the same page, the double honk is an easy and productive interaction.
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Been saying the age one for years. Whatever the current life expectancy is, that’s the start of yearly tests.
Oh I love that. Very smart age cutoff!
So for men 72 and women 77? F- that, I say once you’re 60 and I’m being generous .
We said 70 in the piece. 60 is going to be a battle.
Oh, and go country-wide with the “get the hell out of the left lane if someone is behind you” thing. Not “only use it as a passing lane”, cause I’m too lazy to go back and forth, but if someone’s coming up behind me I sure as hell get over.
GD does this one get me upset on a ten-hour drive
Agreed
Easily my #1 and it’s not even close.
I would have more sympathy for cyclists if they actually followed the law. In Colorado they are under the same laws as drivers. That means stopping at stop signs, signaling when they turn. The cyclists I know believe they should be treated as pedestrians. Here’s a ling to the offical bike laws of Colorado.[www.colorado.edu]
Where I live, I find dudes on crotch rockets to be more obnoxious
I really do my best to signal and stop and follow all rules of the road. I also live every day as if I might get smashed by a car.
People on motorcycles can go fuck themselves. They drive like idiots, speeding, blowing lights, passing on the shoulder, going between cars, then have the balls to tell us to watch out for them
I’m of the belief that there are good drivers and bad drivers and that goes for cars and bikes.
Whammy! We get SWARMS of bicyclists clogging up the roads during the evening commute. If the speed limit is 40, but you can’t maintain 30, get off that road!
How about a turning lane EVERYWHERE? I try my best to get outta the way for the people behind me who just wanna go straight ahead but damn is it risky sometimes.
Smart. I’m with that. We just want less people to smash into each other.
Rest her cantankerous soul, my grandmother passed away last year at 94 and she was driving into her early 90s, highway driving until at least her late 80s. How she never killed anyone boggles my mind to this day.
I mean this in good fun: [media.giphy.com]
No offense taken! My grandmom was still a terror on the roads when that episode aired and it was funny then and still funny now.
[media.giphy.com]
Put up speed minimum signs on every road and ban the use of bicycles on any road with a minimum of higher than 15mph that doesn’t have a bike lane.
Great for you being conscious of your health & the environment and all, but you’re doing 10 in a 45 and need to get the hell out of everybody’s way.