Compliment to Canberra Drivers

trevar said :

You may then have to wait until October for the annual westerly migration of the utes for another reprieve

What happens in/from October to the West?

H1NG0 said :

That T2 lane is a joke and should be opened up for all traffic. I only ever see the odd bus using it and I drive along there in peak hour every day. What a waste.

Two options, comrade:

(a) Whinge about the lanes on the RiotACT.
(a) Car pool, which is the whole point of having the lanes. Maybe policymakers intended for you to be frustrated.

“Drivers (with no passenger) getting pissy with us for getting ahead and attempting to block us”

How do you know they’re getting annoyed and trying to block you in deliberately? The vast majority of drivers are not passive aggressive people. In fact the majority of drivers are sensible people, albeit with vastly varying driving abilities. Hence where 85th %ile speed theories and the like come from.

Rather than thinking a driver has deliberately sped up to block you in, assume that they’ve probably got their mind on their day ahead at work/dinner that evening and have accidentally sped up/slowed down to match your speed, as many drivers do when being passed by someone. Being tailgated? The person behind isn’t doing it deliberately, they’re probably not aware that they’re travelling at an unsafe distance which is making you uncomfortable. After all, the only focus of driver training these days is how important magic numbers on signs are.

Admittedly there are drivers who do possess passive aggressive, or just aggressive habits, but I like to assume that these people are few and far between. The majority of people using the roads are simply attempting to get from A to B safely, without being killed. Drive with this frame of mind, and your trips will be far more pleasant and less stressful. Particularly given in Canberra, if you ever are hampered by another person for whatever reason, chances are it will literally add 10 seconds to your trip on average, if that. Not worth getting worked up over, at all. 🙂

Highly recommended reading for absolutely everyone:
http://tomvanderbilt.com/traffic/excerpt/

Canberra, Australia??

That T2 lane is a joke and should be opened up for all traffic. I only ever see the odd bus using it and I drive along there in peak hour every day. What a waste.

Traffic won’t go back to normal until about the first week of February when the kiddies go back to school. Idiot drivers double as parents get back on the road going to work. Enjoy your next 3 weeks of relative peace..

Hmmm good point, it could be the annual ute migration. I think I may have been lulled into a false sense of security by the roads being fairly busy over the last week.

I’ll report back in June.

How long have you been free from these aggressive utes?

I suspect that, at this time of year, the utes may have made their annual easterly migration, and they will probably return in February. You may then have to wait until October for the annual westerly migration of the utes for another reprieve

Not just young driver that tail gating you. I find that most people in a Falcon or Commodore that do the tail gating as well.

Ummm I think it’s that most Canberrans are still away down the coast.

I’m a regular user of the T2 lanes also. I must say, I have seen in the few weeks before Christmas (quite regularly too – few times a week), cops both in cars and on bikes watching the T2 lane. Perhaps that has scared a few people off from using it when they shouldn’t.

Overall – it seems to work quite well, its only very rarely I see someone using it with only 1 person in the car (no offence to P platers, but it tends to be a P plater hooner most of the time).

I had thought they’d be taking away the T2 lane after the Gungarhlin drive extension was finished, but they’ve kept it in place (possibly due to the EXTENSION of the Gungarhlin drive – because its cheaper to make it, then extend it later on isn’t it government).

I dont see it posing any slow-down to public transport whatsoever, so be great if it stays in place for good!

Touch wood, immediately.

Excellent news Thatguy,

But, could it be that the ‘Tradies’ have been on holidays and just not been on the road for the past month?

What about a report from you in say, June on the state of traffic in the T2 lane.

Don’t worry, it will all start again when we have a full compliment of vehicles back on the road after everyone goes back to work after their holidays.

agreed. i use the T2 and have noticed the same thing. now people just need to learn that the concept of merging (especially at ‘form one lane’) isn’t a race…

Maybe it is a 20-10 resolution.