16 January 2012

KEEP LEFT UNLESS OVERTAKING

| Voytek
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We have fantastic roads, very little traffic and small distances to travel – driving in Canberra should be easy but it isn’t.

Why is it that everyone here thinks it acceptable to sit in the right lane at all times?

It seems the majority of the people in Canberra choose the lane they drive in based on wherever they have to eventually turn no matter how far away that turn may be. Take the Monaro highway from 1600 to 1800 on a weekday – in both directions the right lanes are totally congested. People that live in the southern Tuggeranong suburbs coming out of Fyshwick and Queanbeyan instantly veer into the right lane just because they will eventually turn right onto Isabella or johnston drives. Its the same in the morning all over Canberra – turning left onto Erindale Drive off Sulwood drive. The left lane as far as the eye can see, totally empty. Why? “Oh because I need to get onto Adelaide Avenue”.

The most frustrating thing is the fact that you are totally oblivious to the fact that your driving is appalling. The amount of times I’ve made eye contact and then shaken my head at the idiot that blocked me in the right lane and gotten that exact same look of confusion back is beyond belief.

If everyone kept left only getting into the right lane immediately before their turn everyones trip would be a whole lot quicker and healthier for the blood pressure of the seemingly few decent drivers left in this oversized country town.

“Keep left unless overtaking” doesn’t only apply when you are driving to Sydney.

And use your damn indicator.

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Erg0 said :

Paying with a credit card in the express lane is inconsiderate now?

This could be a whole other thread…

With the faster speed of electronic payment systems, along with the use of pin number and no pin even required for small transactions, credit cards are the faster option.

Although I have noticed that the ALDI payment system is alot faster then Coles/Woolworths. I wonder how they worked that one out.

Erg0 said :

Paying with a credit card in the express lane is inconsiderate now?

This could be a whole other thread…

Yes I was a bit surprised at that one. The lady that needs to completely resort her handbag each time shes handed 20c in change takes way longer. Even so somehow my life goes on.

VYBerlinaV8_is_back10:03 am 02 Feb 12

74Daizies said :

dph said :

As frustrating as I find it when somebody is sitting in the right lane, dawdling along & blocking traffic flow, I thoroughly enjoy watching them block bogans in speeding commodores, lowered utes & so on…

If I’m in the left lane, I’ll always try to box them in, so that they are stuck behind the person going slowly in the right lane & can’t overtake them on the left because my car’s in the way.

Yep, that’s me for sure. I love pissing people off by blocking them in!!! Ha ha. slow down people, it isn’t a race. 🙂

You love going out of your way to piss other drivers off? You sound like a very mature and productive member of society…

Paying with a credit card in the express lane is inconsiderate now?

This could be a whole other thread…

#157 74Daizies – Better yet, move a little further in front while in the left hand lane, so it looks like there is an emerging gap on the left. The hoon changes in to the left lane thinking they are going to get to pass the car on the right and then you slow down again. Lots of fun for all the family – until the road rage sets in of course.

dph said :

As frustrating as I find it when somebody is sitting in the right lane, dawdling along & blocking traffic flow, I thoroughly enjoy watching them block bogans in speeding commodores, lowered utes & so on…

If I’m in the left lane, I’ll always try to box them in, so that they are stuck behind the person going slowly in the right lane & can’t overtake them on the left because my car’s in the way.

Yep, that’s me for sure. I love pissing people off by blocking them in!!! Ha ha. slow down people, it isn’t a race. 🙂

Simmo said :

Jono said :

KB1971 said :

Its not really about being in a hurry, its about courtesy.

I believe it is simply about thinking of others. (Yes, courtesy). The little things like keeping left when driving or not blocking the escalators two abreast annoy people so much because it would be so easy for people to not do those things. However many people go about the world as if they are the only ones. Apathy and ignorance are considered normal and if anybody dares to say any different then they are labelled as being the difficult one. Sure brain cancer is huge in comparison but that doesn’t mean everything less than that is of no consequence. Hell over a billion people live on less than $1.25 a day but most Australians would think more about buying a new large screen tv than world poverty. That is perhaps an indication of how much most Australians think about anything other than themselves. It would be just as easy to not stand two abreast on the escalator or to keep left unless overtaking most of the time, but people are not actively thinking about what they are doing and the impact their actions or inaction may have on anyone around them.

I didn’t say that people shouldn’t be considerate and courteous, nor do I believe that. And I wouldn’t do any of the things that I listed; slowing traffic by unnecessarily driving in the RH lane; paying by credit card in the express queue at the supermarket; blocking the escalator; as they’re all discourteous and inconsiderate.

But I did say that anyone who’s allowing themselves to get angry (the OP talked about his blood pressure rising) about any of those things desperately needs a good healthy dose of perspective. Getting caught behind someone who’s in the RH lane and slowing you down and thereby causing you to get to your destination 10 seconds, 20 seconds, 2 minutes, whatever, later is genuinely of no consequence.

Jono said :

KB1971 said :

Its not really about being in a hurry, its about courtesy.

I believe it is simply about thinking of others. (Yes, courtesy). The little things like keeping left when driving or not blocking the escalators two abreast annoy people so much because it would be so easy for people to not do those things. However many people go about the world as if they are the only ones. Apathy and ignorance are considered normal and if anybody dares to say any different then they are labelled as being the difficult one. Sure brain cancer is huge in comparison but that doesn’t mean everything less than that is of no consequence. Hell over a billion people live on less than $1.25 a day but most Australians would think more about buying a new large screen tv than world poverty. That is perhaps an indication of how much most Australians think about anything other than themselves. It would be just as easy to not stand two abreast on the escalator or to keep left unless overtaking most of the time, but people are not actively thinking about what they are doing and the impact their actions or inaction may have on anyone around them.

There are a few constants about driving in Canberra. 1. You signal to change lanes and the gap closes. 2. People always travel in the right lane, especially when they are turning left at the next intersections. 3.Asians can’t drive at all. 4. Some twat will always run the red as you are about to take off on the green 5. Someone will always hog the right lane in those few spots where the “keep leftunless overtaking” rule applies. 6. No sod really cares anyway.

KB1971 said :

Its not really about being in a hurry, its about courtesy.

Actually it’s about getting a dose of perspective. The OP was clearly pretty cranky about what, in reality, is a pretty minor issue. If they’re going to get upset every time sombody’s discourteous to you, whether it’s driving in the right hand lane, or getting in the express queue at the supermarket and then paying by credit card, or standing two abreast on the escalator and preventing anyone getting past, then they’re going to have a pretty angry life as those are inconsiderate things that people will do to you every day.

I suggest reading Charlie Teo’s Australia Day speech where he talks about dealing with parents who’ve discovered that their children have brain cancer and then you might get an understanding about how minor many of the things that many of us let ourselves get upset about really are.

Alderney said :

KB1971 said :

By this stage I want to turn right at the next intersection but he is there so I have to accellerate to move across (he ignored my indicator & I loath the old hit the brakes & merge method.

I wouldn’t feel too bad about that if I were you.

As someone once imparted to me, ‘driving cars or playing footy, always accelerate into the gap’.

I personally believe you either accelerate or brake slowly to get into the gap the safest method possible. Even if i dare say it means going 5-10km over the limit. Clearly if the bigger gap is behind the car then just gradually slowing to say 5km under the limit to get behind it and adjusting your speed to match the flow of the traffic before moving into the lane is the safest option, but often accelerating into the gap is also safer.

Alderney said :

As someone once imparted to me, ‘driving cars or playing footy, always accelerate into the gap’.

Your missus must be a very understanding woman.

KB1971 said :

By this stage I want to turn right at the next intersection but he is there so I have to accellerate to move across (he ignored my indicator & I loath the old hit the brakes & merge method.

I wouldn’t feel too bad about that if I were you.

As someone once imparted to me, ‘driving cars or playing footy, always accelerate into the gap’.

Holden Caulfield10:15 am 31 Jan 12

Aeek said :

Skyring said :

I was once almost cleaned up by a little old lady at the old Russell roundabout, She wanted to turn right from Parkes Way onto Kings Avenue, she indicated right, and she went right.

pre National Road Rules, that was ACT law. I even had a driving instructor advise me to always use the left lane, even if I was turning right.

Seriously?!

What failed rocket scientist worked that one out. Thankfully we have discovered logic since then.

tonys said :

Have you considered Yoga or meditation? Seriously, you sound very upset about something that is not worth being upset over. You might end up being a calm driver and having a more enjoyable trip. Kind regards 🙂

Or maybe been eating too much red meat?
(NOTE: this isn’t a meat vs. vego dig – it’s just a line out of that classic Arnie movie ‘Commando’!) Hahaha!

tonys said :

Have you considered Yoga or meditation? Seriously, you sound very upset about something that is not worth being upset over. You might end up being a calm driver and having a more enjoyable trip. Kind regards 🙂

Its not really about being in a hurry, its about courtesy.

This morning I am driving over the the boys daycare, coming down Box Hill av there is a ute behind me, we both turn right onto Tharwa Dve. I merge left he stays right & goes past but then just stays there in the right hand lane.

On the roundaout where Tharwa Dve turnes right most of the traffic turns right to go to the Monaro Hwy but he goes straight ahead. By this stage I want to turn right at the next intersection but he is there so I have to accellerate to move across (he ignored my indicator & I loath the old hit the brakes & merge method). At the next roundabout at Johnson/Drakeford he goes straight ahead as I turn right.

Now the traffic was light in the left lane & I am sure he was turning right somewhere (probably
Mitchell) but he was not passing or in a hurry, just cruising along so there was no need for him to be over there. Traffic was light as well but he was just being a PITA.

I will also add that I was not in a hurry either, I was only driving to daycare before riding my bike into Civic.

Aeek said :

Skyring said :

I was once almost cleaned up by a little old lady at the old Russell roundabout, She wanted to turn right from Parkes Way onto Kings Avenue, she indicated right, and she went right.

pre National Road Rules, that was ACT law. I even had a driving instructor advise me to always use the left lane, even if I was turning right.

This would explain it. She was driving in miles per hour, calculating grocery prices in pounds shillings and pence and still mourning the late King.

You still see a few of the old breed of drivers, who indicate with hand signals.

Skyring said :

I was once almost cleaned up by a little old lady at the old Russell roundabout, She wanted to turn right from Parkes Way onto Kings Avenue, she indicated right, and she went right.

pre National Road Rules, that was ACT law. I even had a driving instructor advise me to always use the left lane, even if I was turning right.

tonys said :

Have you considered Yoga or meditation? … You might end up being a calm driver and having a more enjoyable trip.

Geez. I don’t think it’s illegal, but wouldn’t it be a bit of a distraction?

timeeh said :

00davist said :

You could clear out the roads by asking the highly technical question “when exiting a roundabout, do you indicate right, or left?”.

I know this one… It’s a trick question, the trick is not to indicate, at least thats what iv’e leant through observation 🙂

I was once almost cleaned up by a little old lady at the old Russell roundabout, She wanted to turn right from Parkes Way onto Kings Avenue, she indicated right, and she went right.

From the left lane, which conflicted with my plan to continue straight ahead from the right lane. She didn’t even look. I made a sudden decision to go right as well and had a quick circular tour of the roundabout before rather nervously resuming my intended route.

tonys said :

Have you considered Yoga or meditation? Seriously, you sound very upset about something that is not worth being upset over. You might end up being a calm driver and having a more enjoyable trip. Kind regards 🙂

+1 – couldn’t have put it better.

Have you considered Yoga or meditation? Seriously, you sound very upset about something that is not worth being upset over. You might end up being a calm driver and having a more enjoyable trip. Kind regards 🙂

00davist said :

You could clear out the roads by asking the highly technical question “when exiting a roundabout, do you indicate right, or left?”.

I know this one… It’s a trick question, the trick is not to indicate, at least thats what iv’e leant through observation 🙂

EvanJames said :

You could clear out the roads by asking the highly technical question “when exiting a roundabout, do you indicate right, or left?”. Bingo, no more road congestion. This question has application as a very quick intelligence test, also.

Oh boy! I’ve all but given up on using indicators to deduce the intentions of other drivers on roundabouts! You can get several different cars following the exact same path, each indicating differently!

I get more value out of watching the “body language” of other cars. The might be indicating right, for instance, but clearly intending to exit.

Or vice versa.

Or anything, really!

If they have interstate (i.e. non-NSW) number plates on, steer well clear!

EvanJames said :

watto23 said :

Actually all drivers should have to do the road rules test every 10 years IMO.

You could clear out the roads by asking the highly technical question “when exiting a roundabout, do you indicate right, or left?”. Bingo, no more road congestion. This question has application as a very quick intelligence test, also.

Could not agree more, I can’t get over how many times a day I see people use the wrong damn indicator to exit a round-about.

It’s not rocket-science, just think for a minute, “Which direction am I actually going here? Left into the exit, or right, onto that grassy hump?”

watto23 said :

Actually all drivers should have to do the road rules test every 10 years IMO.

You could clear out the roads by asking the highly technical question “when exiting a roundabout, do you indicate right, or left?”. Bingo, no more road congestion. This question has application as a very quick intelligence test, also.

Holden Caulfield said :

watto23 said :

Actually all drivers should have to do the road rules test every 10 years IMO.

Agree with the theory of licence retesting too; maybe even every 5 years. At the very least it would bring road rules and general road safety issues into the consciousness of every driver on a semi-regular basis. Much better than the set and forget system we have now.

Exstensive simulator testing is the only way to ensure licences are issued appropriately.

Holden Caulfield said :

watto23 said :

Actually all drivers should have to do the road rules test every 10 years IMO.

Agree with the theory of licence retesting too; maybe even every 5 years. At the very least it would bring road rules and general road safety issues into the consciousness of every driver on a semi-regular basis. Much better than the set and forget system we have now.

My road regulation knowledge is that of Queensland in the Seventies. I’m sure things have changed since then, but if nobody’s quizzing me on the details, who looks them up?

I remember the first time I hired a LHD car, at Avis in Caen. I showed them my licence, they gave me the keys, and nobody checked that I had any local knowledge. It was a manual, too, and I thought they might come running after me as I kangaroo-hopped out of the carpark and puzzled over the first intersection, but no, no test, no quiz, no worries.

Holden Caulfield said :

Skyring said :

Holden Caulfield said :

That’s funny, my mother was in the US a few years ago now and saw someone get shot, execution style, on the side of an LA freeway.

It might have been a movie. They shoot movies, don’t they?

Sadly it was the real deal.

Oddly enough, as we were passing Hollywood, there was a loud bang from the car ahead and a crack suddenly appeared in the windscreen. I naturally assumed we’d been shot by some other road user. I couldn’t think of anything i’d been doing wrong – I was past the “drifting to the right” stage by then – so I assumed somebody had taken a crack at the New Zealand flag busy shredding itself on the aerial.*

And then I noticed the trail of smoke coming from the car ahead, various pieces of debris bouncing onto the road and the anguished behaviour of the driver as his engine seized up.

I’m sure that there’s a level of violence in LA – as Rodney King could demonstrate – way beyond ours, but the thing was with all this traffic and super freeways it was flowing smoothly, there were no problems changing lanes and people looked relaxed and comfortable.

Which was good, because I’d kinda been dreading the experience. I can handle the interstates and city driving in places like Chicago or KC, but I’d heard LA could be pretty soul-destroying. Maybe they have a level of cool in LA we don’t have here, but I think it’s just that they deal with heavy traffic on a daily basis and the policing is aimed at driver behaviour more than speed.

*The NZ flag was to happify the various New Zealanders I was travelling with. I figured that people would naturally assume that it was an Aussie flag anyway. What actually happened was that the Yanks all thought we were English. *sigh*

Holden Caulfield12:07 pm 19 Jan 12

watto23 said :

Actually all drivers should have to do the road rules test every 10 years IMO.

Agree with the theory of licence retesting too; maybe even every 5 years. At the very least it would bring road rules and general road safety issues into the consciousness of every driver on a semi-regular basis. Much better than the set and forget system we have now.

Holden Caulfield11:43 am 19 Jan 12

Skyring said :

Holden Caulfield said :

That’s funny, my mother was in the US a few years ago now and saw someone get shot, execution style, on the side of an LA freeway.

It might have been a movie. They shoot movies, don’t they?

Sadly it was the real deal.

ATrAiN said :

People who are whinging about not being able to change lanes because people won’t let them in, need to learn how to drive, if you are uncomfortable changing lanes you shoudln’t be on the road

Let’s hear you proudly claim that “you know how to drive” when you’ve lost your bumper to a dumbass who’s sped up behind you to stop you from confidently changing lanes. LOL.

dpm said :

dpm said :

Jethro said :

Erg0 said :

winter said :

Solution: A motorbike and it’s called lane-splitting.

A new challenger emerges!

I’m surprised we’re 112 comments in and no-one has mentioned cyclists.

Yeah! Why IS it that they don’t pay rego?? Can someone remind me? Let’s discuss…. 😉

Also, Shane’s trying to eradicate cyclists, one by one…!
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/warne-blasts-cyclists-on-twitter/story-fn7x8me2-1226246735306

http://www.foxsports.com.au/cricket/cyclist-hits-back-at-shane-warne-describing-kfc-t20-big-bash-league-player-as-overtly-aggressive/story-e6frf3g3-1226247314851

Or dpm can just get in before me 😛

dpm said :

Jethro said :

Erg0 said :

winter said :

Solution: A motorbike and it’s called lane-splitting.

A new challenger emerges!

I’m surprised we’re 112 comments in and no-one has mentioned cyclists.

Yeah! Why IS it that they don’t pay rego?? Can someone remind me? Let’s discuss…. 😉

Warnie should set our policies regarding cyclists!

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/national/warne-blasts-cyclists-on-twitter/story-e6freooo-1226246779888

dpm said :

dpm said :

Jethro said :

Erg0 said :

winter said :

Solution: A motorbike and it’s called lane-splitting.

A new challenger emerges!

I’m surprised we’re 112 comments in and no-one has mentioned cyclists.

Yeah! Why IS it that they don’t pay rego?? Can someone remind me? Let’s discuss…. 😉

Also, Shane’s trying to eradicate cyclists, one by one…!
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/warne-blasts-cyclists-on-twitter/story-fn7x8me2-1226246735306

http://www.foxsports.com.au/cricket/cyclist-hits-back-at-shane-warne-describing-kfc-t20-big-bash-league-player-as-overtly-aggressive/story-e6frf3g3-1226247314851

This is surprising behaviour form one of our top sporting heroes, surprising……..not!

Actually all drivers should have to do the road rules test every 10 years IMO.

I just don’t understand tailgaters particularly in peak hour and drivers who sit in the right lane especially to piss someone off like some of the self proclaimed good drivers have admitted to.

I had a lady once tell me I cut her off, but she was sitting in the right hand lane doing 5-10 under the limit, b) had people tailgating her and c) traffic in the left lane was going considerably quicker towards a form 1 lane and I just happened to be the car in front of her (when merging even though when I merged I was 3 to 5 car lengths in front of her. Seriously if this is someones definition of being cut off, then when is it not. Reality is she was not a good driver and easy to panic.

Holden Caulfield said :

That’s funny, my mother was in the US a few years ago now and saw someone get shot, execution style, on the side of an LA freeway.

It might have been a movie. They shoot movies, don’t they?

Holden Caulfield2:43 pm 18 Jan 12

Skyring said :

I’d like to see more of this here. Target antisocial driving behaviour, whether it’s tailgating or refusing to let anybody into “your” lane or just being a dick.

Instead, we have the notion that speed cameras are the solution to traffic problems. Do whatever you want on the roads, and you’re okay, but by jingo, if you drive past the same speed camera every day for a week at two in the morning on an empty road at ten kays over the limit, you are a menace and you will lose your licence and a big chunk of money.

This I agree with. Especially the way speed as a cause of accidents, almost exclusively over anything else, is rammed down our throats. Doesn’t matter how fast you’re going if you have stuff all awareness/courtesy/ability/attention span etc.

My car is still off the road (almost 2 months now) thanks to a driver who thought she had right of way when she didn’t. Impact speed was 40km/h or less. I wasn’t hurt, but I’d like my car back thanks.

There was no need for the accident to happen. A bit more care and anticipation from the other driver would have been enough to prevent any impact. But she wasn’t speeding and I wasn’t speeding so it’s all okay…

Skyring said :

BethiePrice said :

I’m talking about an assessment system for ALL drivers, not just Plated drivers (L and Ps).

On that note, where can I get a bottle in Canberra? The Caltex in Braddon used to sell them, I remember.

They have it at Coles in Woden sometimes. Pretty sure there are a few IGAs around the place that stock it too.

Holden Caulfield2:38 pm 18 Jan 12

Skyring said :

Holden Caulfield said :

I would suggest any general increase in aggressive road use is more in line with a greater “me, me, me” attitude prevalent in modern society and this would not, as it happens, be an issue restricted to Canberra.

I did some driving on LA freeways last year. Huge things, twelve lanes wide some of them, and absolutely full of “me, me, me” drivers, some of them armed.

You know what? Traffic flowed smoothly, often way over the posted limit and I couldn’t spot any of those gentle hand signals or hear any of those merrily tootling horns we get in Canberra.

That’s funny, my mother was in the US a few years ago now and saw someone get shot, execution style, on the side of an LA freeway.

She didn’t say if there were any gentle hand signals or merrily tootling horns.

Skyring said :

Jethro said :

‘m surprised we’re 112 comments in and no-one has mentioned cyclists.

Cyclists hogging the right lane…

Tailgating…

BethiePrice said :

I’m talking about an assessment system for ALL drivers, not just Plated drivers (L and Ps).

On that note, where can I get a bottle in Canberra? The Caltex in Braddon used to sell them, I remember.

johnboy said :

KB1971 said :

Thats because we are so smug that we dont need to speak up, we already know how good we have it…..

Also because, when faced with an impediment, a cyclist will just run a red light or cross to the other side of the road!

Shhhh, thats our secret!

dpm said :

Jethro said :

Erg0 said :

winter said :

Solution: A motorbike and it’s called lane-splitting.

A new challenger emerges!

I’m surprised we’re 112 comments in and no-one has mentioned cyclists.

Yeah! Why IS it that they don’t pay rego?? Can someone remind me? Let’s discuss…. 😉

Also, Shane’s trying to eradicate cyclists, one by one…!
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/warne-blasts-cyclists-on-twitter/story-fn7x8me2-1226246735306

http://www.foxsports.com.au/cricket/cyclist-hits-back-at-shane-warne-describing-kfc-t20-big-bash-league-player-as-overtly-aggressive/story-e6frf3g3-1226247314851

Jethro said :

‘m surprised we’re 112 comments in and no-one has mentioned cyclists.

Cyclists hogging the right lane…

Henry82 said :

we call them P plates, and they have the opposite effect of what they’re designed for.

I’m talking about an assessment system for ALL drivers, not just Plated drivers (Ls and Ps).

Jethro said :

Erg0 said :

winter said :

Solution: A motorbike and it’s called lane-splitting.

A new challenger emerges!

I’m surprised we’re 112 comments in and no-one has mentioned cyclists.

Yeah! Why IS it that they don’t pay rego?? Can someone remind me? Let’s discuss…. 😉

KB1971 said :

Thats because we are so smug that we dont need to speak up, we already know how good we have it…..

Also because, when faced with an impediment, a cyclist will just run a red light or cross to the other side of the road!

Jethro said :

Erg0 said :

winter said :

Solution: A motorbike and it’s called lane-splitting.

A new challenger emerges!

I’m surprised we’re 112 comments in and no-one has mentioned cyclists.

Thats because we are so smug that we dont need to speak up, we already know how good we have it…..

Erg0 said :

winter said :

Solution: A motorbike and it’s called lane-splitting.

A new challenger emerges!

I’m surprised we’re 112 comments in and no-one has mentioned cyclists.

Disinformation said :

There are a few considerations for driving in Canberra. Particularly on the drive on the Monaro in the morning from the Johnson Drive onramp…the most fun is when it’s peak traffic, yet some moron is tailgaiting in their white commodore..

…and then you end up going straight past them at the Canberra Ave bank-up. Tossers aren’t even aware they’ve been passed by all those cars they’ve been venting at so they can maintain 100 for a few metres.

AmarooStu said :

It’s not just Canberra peeps….TodayTonight got involved;

http://youtu.be/Bwsv3f3cMhY

They pretty much cover the same ground. The point about differing speedo and GPS readings is well made. However, it doesn’t justify tailgating the slower cars. Good to see the police stepping in to deal with the offenders – Canberra’s speed camera intensive regime does nothing about this.

Wow what a thread 🙂 And yep i got a bike as well, would prefer to be riding it but it’s more economical to take the car (company veichle) But it’s so much less frustrating as I don’t have to put up with all the idiot drivers, just the ones that cut you off at every intersection 🙂 But after 17yrs on the bike, you get used to it….

winter said :

Solution: A motorbike and it’s called lane-splitting.

A new challenger emerges!

It’s not just Canberra peeps….TodayTonight got involved;

http://youtu.be/Bwsv3f3cMhY

winter said :

Solution: A motorbike and it’s called lane-splitting.

There’s a very good reason you won’t find any motorcycle training providers advising you lane-split…

Chip said :

There looks to be a need for software which would allow a driver to speak a phrase which would then be displayed on a screen attached to the rear window or boot of their car. It must be doable. I want to be able to have tailing drivers read “Get off my backside – fart coming” or “Stay behind me and you’ll save fuel as well”. Anything available?

Or Sorry – I didn’t see you there, or Thank you for letting me in……

winter said :

Solution: A motorbike and it’s called lane-splitting.

Yeah, until it goes wrong, then it’s called torso-splitting!

No Thanks!

Solution: A motorbike and it’s called lane-splitting.

Solution: It’s a motorbike and it’s called lane splitting.

Disinformation said :

With a decent audiobook or something of interest such as “The history of the world in 100 objects” from the BBC, one can not give a rats arse about who is sitting in what lane, or how slow the traffic is. It’s hard to worry about getting to work late when you’ll sit in your car for a few minutes once you get there just to listen to something.

Oh, ain’t it the truth! A good audiobook turns a chore into a joy and you sit there in the carpark or the garage until the chapter ends.

As a cabbie I’d fill up the empty bits by listening to an Audible book, and sometimes it would be a shame to turn it off for a passenger, just when Phyrne Fisher or Harry Bosch were about to reach a climax.

Disinformation9:20 am 18 Jan 12

There are a few considerations for driving in Canberra. Particularly on the drive on the Monaro in the morning from the Johnson Drive onramp. If you are before the surge, you can maintain the statistical flow of traffic by swapping lanes at specific places to avoid the congestion of slowing for traffic wanting to turn off and allowing traffic wanting to merge.
Combine this garnered knowledge with some consideration and thanks for other drivers when appropriate and (which has been mentioned before) an audiobook.

With a decent audiobook or something of interest such as “The history of the world in 100 objects” from the BBC, one can not give a rats arse about who is sitting in what lane, or how slow the traffic is. It’s hard to worry about getting to work late when you’ll sit in your car for a few minutes once you get there just to listen to something.

Of course, the most fun is when it’s peak traffic, yet some moron is tailgaiting in their white commodore..

johnboy said :

It should be noted that while there’s no requirement to keep left on most roads in the ACT (only those posted for 90 and 100) it’s still good practice.

+1

If you are travelling in the right lane and there are cars behind you, do the right thing and move over unless you are also passing other cars. It is dangerous for cars to have to weave left and right to get around slower cars and has a negative impact on traffic flow.

chilli said :

And for all those who assume some kind of moral superiority because they choose to drive slowly, it’s actually not unreasonable for people to expect to be able to drive at the speed limit under normal driving conditions. If you want to drive more slowly, please think of others and move to the left.

But for those who want to speed – sorry, you’ve got no right to expect other drivers to accommodate you.

Sometimes the road is reasonably full but traffic is moving along at a healthy clip. There’s no long stretches of open road, but neither are there solid lines of slow traffic. You know, good Canberra commute conditions. And you’ll see some fellow come along, sit on the bumper of the car ahead, gibbering and making hand signals, steam coming out of every available orifice, until the other driver is intimidated enough to change lanes, and then repeat the process fifty metres ahead with the next car in the same lane.

What’s the point? If the road’s at a certain capacity, nobody is going to be able to drive much above the general flow of the traffic anyway. Might as well chill out, listen to the sparkling chatter of the drive-time radio show, and arrive at your destination in a mellow frame of mind.

Some of these bozos must arrive at work, full of tension and adrenalin and frustration that they didn’t pass every Focus or Vectra in the fast lane, and immediately take out their anger and diminished manhood on some harmless community discussion website.

I’m telling everyone to chill out – those who deliberately drive slowly in the right lane, those who slam the brakes on for tailgaters (although I do turn my lights on and off for safety reasons as it means they think I’m braking and usually back up a few metres) those who force their way in front when merging, those who accelerate to stop people merging. Basically, I’m saying chill out to everyone who treats driving like it’s some sort of competition in which you win by making life difficult for other motorists.

For what it’s worth I drive at the speed limit (not under or over, unless road conditions necessitate slowing down). I drive in the left lane. I will let a car trying to merge actually merge. Yet everyday I drive I will have someone tailgate me or someone cut me off and then slam on their brakes (seemingly as punishment for driving in the left lane at the speed limit). The amount of sheer stupidity on our roads is a symptom of the angry attitude people take with them when they drive.

+1

A little bit of consideration goes a long way.

And for all those who assume some kind of moral superiority because they choose to drive slowly, it’s actually not unreasonable for people to expect to be able to drive at the speed limit under normal driving conditions. If you want to drive more slowly, please think of others and move to the left.

But for those who want to speed – sorry, you’ve got no right to expect other drivers to accommodate you.

There looks to be a need for software which would allow a driver to speak a phrase which would then be displayed on a screen attached to the rear window or boot of their car. It must be doable. I want to be able to have tailing drivers read “Get off my backside – fart coming” or “Stay behind me and you’ll save fuel as well”. Anything available?

So you are saying the same as the person you quoted, good work.

The road signs I have seen that say “Keep left unless overtaking” are on –
The Parkway – one after each of the entrances southbound, not so sure about northbound;
Parkesway – Just after the interchange city bound;
Belconnen Way – used to have one city bound, just after haydon drive, but I haven’t looked for it for a while.
There is none in the 80 Zones on the Monaro Highway….

buzz819,

You might want to re-read the two quotes. MrPC only mentioned roads over 80 km, I pointed out that roads with keep left signs are also included,

I asked the question because I don’t know if these roads have those particular signs.

BethiePrice said :

There should be an assessment system where every driver has to display the number of stars that relate to your good driving skills and practice…put them where you put your stupid “my family” stickers.

we call them P plates, and they have the opposite effect of what they’re designed for.

m00nee said :

MrPC said :

Road Rules FAIL

Keep Left Unless Overtaking only applies if the speed limit is 81km/h or above. The stretches of road you are complaining about are mostly 80km/h zones.

Actually……

As quoted in the ACT Road Rules handbook (Road Rules 2011 Part D1 – Road Craft)

Keeping to the left on a multi-lane road

This rule applies on a multi-lane road where:
• the speed-limit is over 80 km/h; OR
• a keep left unless overtaking sign applies.

Do any of these roads have a keep left sign on them?

So you are saying the same as the person you quoted, good work.

The road signs I have seen that say “Keep left unless overtaking” are on –
The Parkway – one after each of the entrances southbound, not so sure about northbound;
Parkesway – Just after the interchange city bound;
Belconnen Way – used to have one city bound, just after haydon drive, but I haven’t looked for it for a while.
There is none in the 80 Zones on the Monaro Highway….

Skyring said :

So there’s not going to be a point where the blue car and the white car are side by side at a traffic light unless there is some interference by other traffic causing the faster car to slow down which negates the whole speed difference anyway.

That’s kind of my point, though: in real world driving, with traffic, red lights and all those other factors interfering with an individual’s ability to fly unfettered down the road at whatever speed they like, speeding doesn’t necessarily equal higher velocity. On my daily commute, the order of arrival is mostly determined by lane selection at a couple of key intersections, at which I’ll frequently find myself passing the lane-jumping speedster who flew past me on the main road two minutes ago. I’m not moralising or anything, I drive assertively where I see that it will actually reduce my travel time, but I’ve found that aiming to do an extra 10km/h at all times just doesn’t achieve much of anything in many real world scenarios – at least, not as much as optimising your lane choices and knowing the light cycles.

m00nee said :

As quoted in the ACT Road Rules handbook (Road Rules 2011 Part D1 – Road Craft)

Keeping to the left on a multi-lane road

This rule applies on a multi-lane road where:
• the speed-limit is over 80 km/h; OR
• a keep left unless overtaking sign applies.

Do any of these roads have a keep left sign on them?

I thought all roads have these signs on them…points to me fore being an observant driver. There should be an assessment system where every driver has to display the number of stars that relate to your good driving skills and practice…put them where you put your stupid “my family” stickers.
5 stars for NCD rating 1 and so forth. and if you do defensive driving courses you get extra stars.
That way if I come behind you and you have 1 star, I’ll realise you are a learner and need more time. However if you are 5+ stars and still driving like a douche I’ll report you and you can be fined accordingly 🙂

If only life were so simple.

Funky1 said :

It seems alot of you could benefit from a defensive driving course. .

Nah, alot of people could benefit from the road rules handbook

It seems alot of you could benefit from a defensive driving course. It’s not just about honing your driving ability. It’s about your attitude when you get behind the wheel. It’s about treating others on the road how you wish to be treated (i.e. using your indicators to actually indicate your intentions BEFOREHAND). It’s about being aware of your surroundings, i.e. being aware of the car coming up behind you or planning ahead when you want to exit at the next turnoff. In general it makes you a more considerate, calmer and safer road user (which I’m sure we all want to be).

Sgt.Bungers said :

timeeh said :

Sgt.Bungers said :

17 minutes. An extra 4 minutes and 23 seconds…

🙂

Thats 4mins 23 secs of my life i will never get back…

Yes you can. If you stay calm and realise that ~5 minutes is not worth getting worked up about, you could add days to your life in terms of stress saved. 🙂

Though you are losing about a day and a half a year by yielding…

DrKoresh said :

timeeh said :

DrKoresh said :

Nor did I say that my speedo is dead on the mark, I said it’s set to underestimate for a reason. Now did you miss that because you’re a dickhead, or because of your stupidity? 🙂

So your girlfreind does sit in the right hand lane under the speed limit… Again pls refer to my previous statement…

Don’t ignore my point, going at THE POSTED SPEED-LIMIT in the right hand lane is perfectly reasonable. It’s unreasonable that you feel entitled to speed aggressively and tailgate and cut people off, you’re the incompetent who’s unfit to be on our roads.

Unless the speed limit is over 80km/h and you are not overtaking anyone, then my friend you are breaking the law.

This thread explains so much about Canberra. We have inconsiderate slow drivers and fast tailgaters, both think they are correct and neither are. In the meantime no one will budge on what they think is right, yet both sides are right in some respects and wrong in others.

timeeh said :

DrKoresh said :

Nor did I say that my speedo is dead on the mark, I said it’s set to underestimate for a reason. Now did you miss that because you’re a dickhead, or because of your stupidity? 🙂

So your girlfreind does sit in the right hand lane under the speed limit… Again pls refer to my previous statement…

Don’t ignore my point, going at THE POSTED SPEED-LIMIT in the right hand lane is perfectly reasonable. It’s unreasonable that you feel entitled to speed aggressively and tailgate and cut people off, you’re the incompetent who’s unfit to be on our roads.

Sgt.Bungers said :

Basically, I’m saying chill out to everyone who treats driving like it’s some sort of competition in which you win by making life difficult for other motorists.

For what it’s worth I drive at the speed limit (not under or over, unless road conditions necessitate slowing down). I drive in the left lane. I will let a car trying to merge actually merge.

That’s the spirit! Aiming to make other drivers happy makes life easier for all. I always appreciate a cheery smile from another driver if I do something nice for them.

Or a pedestrian or a cyclist. Doesn’t cost me anything except a few moments of my time, and I feel good for far longer for having done the right thing. Everyone wins.

timeeh said :

Sgt.Bungers said :

17 minutes. An extra 4 minutes and 23 seconds…

🙂

Thats 4mins 23 secs of my life i will never get back…

Yes you can. If you stay calm and realise that ~5 minutes is not worth getting worked up about, you could add days to your life in terms of stress saved. 🙂

GardeningGirl12:45 pm 17 Jan 12

EvanJames said :

Skyring said :

I’d like to see more of this here. Target antisocial driving behaviour, whether it’s tailgating or refusing to let anybody into “your” lane or just being a dick.

Agree. I was watching some of this this morning… people buzzing like bees because people were in the right lane, because they were turning right at the roundabout 100m ahead of them! I watched several people furiously change into the left, overtake us all, then back into the right lane… and then go straight through the roundabout which we were turning right at. WTF?

I thought of the OP of this thread, and wondered if they all shared the attitude that they are fast/aggressive/skilled drivers and the right lane is THEIRS.

Atttidue is to blame for most of the crashes on our roads. Yes, really. Aggressive, ignorant driving.

+1

I remember hearing a radio interview with a driving instructor, he said what I’d been thinking, road safety should start much younger with teaching kids how to conduct themselves considerately towards others long before they get behind the wheel of a car. Ignoring them skateboarding down the ramps at primary school almost knocking over people coming out of doorways contrary to the warning signs about no skateboarding allowed and then handing them the car keys and saying watch out for speed cameras and expecting them to suddenly listen is a stupid way to go about it.

Postalgeek said :

At least you can pull over with the raving tailgater and they’re gone. Not so with the arsenut passive aggressives who like to keep the traffic stuck behind them and think everyone needs to ‘chill out’.

Only when the human factor is removed will the roads enjoy logic and we be free of tailgaters and lane cock-blockers, two sides of the same coin. Bring on self-driving cars.

I’m telling everyone to chill out – those who deliberately drive slowly in the right lane, those who slam the brakes on for tailgaters (although I do turn my lights on and off for safety reasons as it means they think I’m braking and usually back up a few metres) those who force their way in front when merging, those who accelerate to stop people merging. Basically, I’m saying chill out to everyone who treats driving like it’s some sort of competition in which you win by making life difficult for other motorists.

For what it’s worth I drive at the speed limit (not under or over, unless road conditions necessitate slowing down). I drive in the left lane. I will let a car trying to merge actually merge. Yet everyday I drive I will have someone tailgate me or someone cut me off and then slam on their brakes (seemingly as punishment for driving in the left lane at the speed limit). The amount of sheer stupidity on our roads is a symptom of the angry attitude people take with them when they drive.

I want to get from A to B safely. I don’t want to deal with the agro that comes with it. I’ve gotten over getting angry at the agro people because at the end of the day me getting angry is only hurting me by putting me in a bad mood.

buzz819 said :

Skyring said :

goggles13 said :

same theme, different thread……bottom line is the standard of driving in this country needs to be improved, and its not going to happen using the current road safety measures (speed cameras).

I believe visible presence of cops on the road will make (most) people think about what they are doing, rather than a box on a pole, or a fancy gantry arrangement.

Is that because the cops will prove to be a wonderful example of excellent driving, or that they will use their guns, tasers, pepper spray, batons etc. to crack down severely on drivers attempting to get into their lane, overtake them, or tailgate them?

AND they will still park in YOUR taxi ranks as well, just because they can really.

Only a fool argues with a heavily-armed man who is prepared to break the law to get his delicious cup of barista coffee.

Erg0 said :

Skyring said :

Erg0 said :

The problem is that speeding doesn’t necessarily increase your velocity over the course of the entire trip. It’s often just as fast, or faster, to drive intelligently at the speed limit (see the Monaro Hwy examples above).

So you can stick to the speed limit, drive intelligently, and arrive at the same time or even ahead of another driver who is actually going faster?

I think you may be confusing intelligence with quick thinking here.

Here’s a question for you: two cars set off from the same point, a blue car travelling at 100km/h and a white car travelling at 80km/h. One minute later, the blue car reaches a red light and stops. 30 seconds after that, the white car arrives at the same red light and stops next to the blue car. At the moment the light turns green, which car has a higher velocity?

Here’s a question for you: two cars set off from the same point, a blue car travelling at 100km/h and a white car travelling at 80km/h. One minute later, the blue car reaches an amber light and speeds through. 30 seconds after that, the white car arrives at the red light and stops. At the moment the light turns green, which car has a higher velocity?

Given enough traffic lights operating at their own individual cycles, the faster car will catch fewer red lights than the slower. Think about the Monaro Highway heading south from Fyshwick. At the point where the 100 km/h zone begins with one lane becoming two, the 100 km/h car pulls out from behind the 80 km/h car and they both proceed at those speeds until the next set of lights at the AMC. It takes the faster car 144 seconds to cover the four kilometres distance and the slower 180 seconds. That’s 36 seconds difference. I’m not familiar with the exact cycle of the lights at the AMC, but my recollection is that they are green for a lot longer than they are red for vehicles going along the Monaro, and they stay red for less than thirty seconds. Chances are that neither vehicle will be caught by these lights, but if the faster car is caught by the red, he’s going to be moving again before the slower car gets to the same point anyway.

The only other stretches of 100 km/h road with traffic lights are along the Parkway between Glenloch Interchange and Sulwood Drive (15.4 kilometres) and HMAS Harman to Fyshwick (too short to make a good example). The time difference between the two vehicles from Glenloch to Kambah will be on the order of two minutes, which is longer than the red cycle of the lights there too.

So there’s not going to be a point where the blue car and the white car are side by side at a traffic light unless there is some interference by other traffic causing the faster car to slow down which negates the whole speed difference anyway.

Postalgeek said :

At least you can pull over with the raving tailgater and they’re gone. Not so with the arsenut passive aggressives who like to keep the traffic stuck behind them and think everyone needs to ‘chill out’.

Only when the human factor is removed will the roads enjoy logic and we be free of tailgaters and lane cock-blockers, two sides of the same coin. Bring on self-driving cars.

Bahahahahahah, arsenut…………. I will have to use that one in the furure.

Oh & +1

At least you can pull over with the raving tailgater and they’re gone. Not so with the arsenut passive aggressives who like to keep the traffic stuck behind them and think everyone needs to ‘chill out’.

Only when the human factor is removed will the roads enjoy logic and we be free of tailgaters and lane cock-blockers, two sides of the same coin. Bring on self-driving cars.

Erg0 said :

Skyring said :

Erg0 said :

The problem is that speeding doesn’t necessarily increase your velocity over the course of the entire trip. It’s often just as fast, or faster, to drive intelligently at the speed limit (see the Monaro Hwy examples above).

So you can stick to the speed limit, drive intelligently, and arrive at the same time or even ahead of another driver who is actually going faster?

I think you may be confusing intelligence with quick thinking here.

Here’s a question for you: two cars set off from the same point, a blue car travelling at 100km/h and a white car travelling at 80km/h. One minute later, the blue car reaches a red light and stops. 30 seconds after that, the white car arrives at the same red light and stops next to the blue car. At the moment the light turns green, which car has a higher velocity?

BUT if the blue car hadn’t have gotten there earlier, then they both would have had to wait an additional 30 seconds for the lights to be triggered for them to turn green, thus the blue car saved time for both vehicles.

Skyring said :

goggles13 said :

same theme, different thread……bottom line is the standard of driving in this country needs to be improved, and its not going to happen using the current road safety measures (speed cameras).

I believe visible presence of cops on the road will make (most) people think about what they are doing, rather than a box on a pole, or a fancy gantry arrangement.

Is that because the cops will prove to be a wonderful example of excellent driving, or that they will use their guns, tasers, pepper spray, batons etc. to crack down severely on drivers attempting to get into their lane, overtake them, or tailgate them?

AND they will still park in YOUR taxi ranks as well, just because they can really.

Skyring said :

Erg0 said :

The problem is that speeding doesn’t necessarily increase your velocity over the course of the entire trip. It’s often just as fast, or faster, to drive intelligently at the speed limit (see the Monaro Hwy examples above).

So you can stick to the speed limit, drive intelligently, and arrive at the same time or even ahead of another driver who is actually going faster?

I think you may be confusing intelligence with quick thinking here.

Here’s a question for you: two cars set off from the same point, a blue car travelling at 100km/h and a white car travelling at 80km/h. One minute later, the blue car reaches a red light and stops. 30 seconds after that, the white car arrives at the same red light and stops next to the blue car. At the moment the light turns green, which car has a higher velocity?

goggles13 said :

same theme, different thread……bottom line is the standard of driving in this country needs to be improved, and its not going to happen using the current road safety measures (speed cameras).

I believe visible presence of cops on the road will make (most) people think about what they are doing, rather than a box on a pole, or a fancy gantry arrangement.

Is that because the cops will prove to be a wonderful example of excellent driving, or that they will use their guns, tasers, pepper spray, batons etc. to crack down severely on drivers attempting to get into their lane, overtake them, or tailgate them?

Erg0 said :

The problem is that speeding doesn’t necessarily increase your velocity over the course of the entire trip. It’s often just as fast, or faster, to drive intelligently at the speed limit (see the Monaro Hwy examples above).

So you can stick to the speed limit, drive intelligently, and arrive at the same time or even ahead of another driver who is actually going faster?

I think you may be confusing intelligence with quick thinking here.

same theme, different thread……bottom line is the standard of driving in this country needs to be improved, and its not going to happen using the current road safety measures (speed cameras).

I believe visible presence of cops on the road will make (most) people think about what they are doing, rather than a box on a pole, or a fancy gantry arrangement.

1967 said :

Heading South on the Monaro in the afternoons is a great source of entertainment for me.
Approaching the intersection of Shepard St in Hume, for some reason, the road suddenly goes from 2 lanes to 3 and with out fail half of the traffic in the original right lane zoom into the new right lane and speed off to see how many cars they can overtake.
A couple of hundred meters past the intersection, the new, additional lane ends, and the speed demons have to merge with the rest of the right lane hoggers. As no-one in this city has managed to learn how to merge properly, this enevitably caused both lanes to slow down, to a crawl while they sort themselves out.
I always stick in the left lane here and generally end up ahead of cars that were in front of me before the start of the third lane.
The sad thing is, it’s the same clowns every day, and they get so worked up over having to slow down it’s funny to watch.

Enjoy life in the slow lane.

If I am in the RH lane at the AMC I usually slip across onto the left hand lane at the approach to Lanyon Dve & stay there until after Long Gully to avoid that stupid right hand lane arrangement (which really should finish at Long Gully road rather than merge back).

If I am going to Chisholm, there is usually a space to merge right again to turn right.

This thread proves my theory that there are a lot of angry, angry, angry drivers on the road.

Chill people. Sit back, pay attention to your surroundings, treat other drivers with courtesy and get where you are going in one piece. You might even save yourself a heart attack.

Skyring said :

DrKoresh said :

People take other’s driving too personally, especially the aggressive drivers who seem to think our roads were built for them personally to tool around on. It’s a commute from point A to point B, there’s no point speeding because it’s been proven NOT to get you to your destination faster, never mind the fact that it shows a callous disregard for the safety of other cars on the road.

I think you are showing a callous disregard for basic physics here. V(elocity) = d(istance) / T(ime) and if you increase your V then your T will naturally decrease over a given d.

The problem is that speeding doesn’t necessarily increase your velocity over the course of the entire trip. It’s often just as fast, or faster, to drive intelligently at the speed limit (see the Monaro Hwy examples above).

Skyring said :

I’d like to see more of this here. Target antisocial driving behaviour, whether it’s tailgating or refusing to let anybody into “your” lane or just being a dick.

Agree. I was watching some of this this morning… people buzzing like bees because people were in the right lane, because they were turning right at the roundabout 100m ahead of them! I watched several people furiously change into the left, overtake us all, then back into the right lane… and then go straight through the roundabout which we were turning right at. WTF?

I thought of the OP of this thread, and wondered if they all shared the attitude that they are fast/aggressive/skilled drivers and the right lane is THEIRS.

Atttidue is to blame for most of the crashes on our roads. Yes, really. Aggressive, ignorant driving.

DrKoresh said :

Nor did I say that my speedo is dead on the mark, I said it’s set to underestimate for a reason. Now did you miss that because you’re a dickhead, or because of your stupidity? 🙂

So your girlfreind does sit in the right hand lane under the speed limit… Again pls refer to my previous statement…

timeeh said :

Sgt.Bungers said :

17 minutes. An extra 4 minutes and 23 seconds…

🙂

Thats 4mins 23 secs of my life i will never get back…

Headline news. You don’t get ANY of it back. Put on a cool CD, put an Audible on your iPad, enjoy the scenery. I mentiond LA freeways elsewhere, but our main roads are delightful scenic cruising motorways in comparison. Green hills, mountains in the distance, lakes and rivers and trees. We’re living in paradise here and we give away our happiness over some dill in a Territory on the Monaro who looks sideways at us.

DrKoresh said :

People take other’s driving too personally, especially the aggressive drivers who seem to think our roads were built for them personally to tool around on. It’s a commute from point A to point B, there’s no point speeding because it’s been proven NOT to get you to your destination faster, never mind the fact that it shows a callous disregard for the safety of other cars on the road.

I think you are showing a callous disregard for basic physics here. V(elocity) = d(istance) / T(ime) and if you increase your V then your T will naturally decrease over a given d.

Holden Caulfield said :

I would suggest any general increase in aggressive road use is more in line with a greater “me, me, me” attitude prevalent in modern society and this would not, as it happens, be an issue restricted to Canberra.

I did some driving on LA freeways last year. Huge things, twelve lanes wide some of them, and absolutely full of “me, me, me” drivers, some of them armed.

You know what? Traffic flowed smoothly, often way over the posted limit and I couldn’t spot any of those gentle hand signals or hear any of those merrily tootling horns we get in Canberra.

No speed cameras, and I was told that the cops would be more likely to pull you over for going too slow than for speeding. They rigidly enforce the transit lanes and are tough on drivers going slow in the fast lanes.

I’d like to see more of this here. Target antisocial driving behaviour, whether it’s tailgating or refusing to let anybody into “your” lane or just being a dick.

Instead, we have the notion that speed cameras are the solution to traffic problems. Do whatever you want on the roads, and you’re okay, but by jingo, if you drive past the same speed camera every day for a week at two in the morning on an empty road at ten kays over the limit, you are a menace and you will lose your licence and a big chunk of money.

Are you whinging about people being in the right hand lane because you want to speed by any chance?

Just this morning I had some tart in a 4WD all of 0.5m behind my car, flipping me the finger and F-ing her mouth off because I had the temerity to want to turn right, and no I wasn’t way up the road, but a 100m or so away from the turn.

I’ve lived in Canberra for 11 years now, and the standard of driving in this town has reduced so dramatically in the last few years it is totally unbelievable and unacceptable. I mean, WTF is going on??? Why are people so pushy, rude and arrogant now?

They reckon if they drive like the police they must be okay.

screaming banshee10:19 pm 16 Jan 12

Perhaps all of the speeding, swearing, road raging drivers are just worked up over not being able to afford to buy property.

Hey JB, can the mully be awarded to whinging in general or does it need to be more specific?

timeeh said :

MrPC said :

I don’t drive, but my girlfriend does and she drives on the side of the road her next turnoff is on, because people really aren’t very considerate when it comes to needing to change lanes for an exit. .

I very rarely have trouble merging into the right lane to turn right, i’m sorry but it sounds to me like your girlfreind is one of those people that needs a semi-trailer sized gap to move into the right hand lane, and is also one of those people that believe their speedometer is spot on, and that everybodys else (sitting on her tail) is speeding…. Have you had your speedo checked?? Bet it’s probably out by a good 6km’h or so as with most new cars…. And as for sitting in the right hand lane, i have cut off and will continue to cut off drivers who do so, as I think you’ll find as long as my bonnet is in fornt or yours i have right of way 🙂 And as for people doing it in 80Kp/h and less i am alot more considerate as it is not illegal, however do it in a 90kp/h or + situation (i.e William hovell, which even has signs stating “keep left UNLESS overtaking) then you deserve everything that is dished up to you 🙂

Wow, what a tool you are!

That cutting off other drivers thing, will probably result in a road rage incident and get your head punched in.

I don’t condone road rage either by the way.

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd6:40 pm 16 Jan 12

If i need to turn right in peak hour traffic, i get in the right hand lane as early as possible and sit on the speed limit. So many peeps will not let you in if you indicate so its the easiest option. A lot of the time people do try to tailgate me, but i just slowly slow down until they stop doing it and then back up to the posted limit. They soon get the message and stop acting like tools.

I do agree it is annoying when people sit in the right hand lane and go slower than the speed limit, but what are you going to do? no point in crying about it on the interwebs.

1967 said :

Heading South on the Monaro in the afternoons is a great source of entertainment for me.
Approaching the intersection of Shepard St in Hume, for some reason, the road suddenly goes from 2 lanes to 3 and with out fail half of the traffic in the original right lane zoom into the new right lane and speed off to see how many cars they can overtake.
A couple of hundred meters past the intersection, the new, additional lane ends, and the speed demons have to merge with the rest of the right lane hoggers. As no-one in this city has managed to learn how to merge properly, this enevitably caused both lanes to slow down, to a crawl while they sort themselves out.
I always stick in the left lane here and generally end up ahead of cars that were in front of me before the start of the third lane.
The sad thing is, it’s the same clowns every day, and they get so worked up over having to slow down it’s funny to watch.

Enjoy life in the slow lane.

I partake in a similar fashion. The right lane also slows down when a driver commences slowly t0 40km/h to prepare for their movement into the Mugga Lane exit, and subsequently the Mugga Lane traffic attempts to merge at the same speed or from the complete stop they’re at in the lane (as discussed by other posters). All makes the left lane a nice option.

But I do agree with the OP when it comes to unnecessary use of the right lane, even outside of any form of peak time. On countless occasions I’ve seen people pass the Isabella Drive turn off on the Monaro, and immediately move to the right lane, despite there being nobody else around but me to witness it. There’s no excuse for it aside from either simple ignorance of the law, or simple belief that because it’s quiet, the laws don’t matter. But I guess it’s important to anticipate that right lane exit 4km ahead.

Grail said :

In the meantime, keep left, give way to merging traffic, relax, and remember that you are commuting, not racing. The extra minute is not going to make a difference. Lead by example!

Agreed. Whilst it won’t ever happen, I hope with some delusion that by being a courtesy road user, others will also be courtesy. It’s probably the same delusion that makes me think that one day people will learn to indicate out of a roundabout they’re meant to as well.

Heading South on the Monaro in the afternoons is a great source of entertainment for me.
Approaching the intersection of Shepard St in Hume, for some reason, the road suddenly goes from 2 lanes to 3 and with out fail half of the traffic in the original right lane zoom into the new right lane and speed off to see how many cars they can overtake.
A couple of hundred meters past the intersection, the new, additional lane ends, and the speed demons have to merge with the rest of the right lane hoggers. As no-one in this city has managed to learn how to merge properly, this enevitably caused both lanes to slow down, to a crawl while they sort themselves out.
I always stick in the left lane here and generally end up ahead of cars that were in front of me before the start of the third lane.
The sad thing is, it’s the same clowns every day, and they get so worked up over having to slow down it’s funny to watch.

Enjoy life in the slow lane.

Tetranitrate said :

It’s the same retarded mentality behind those try to overtake the moment they see a form one lane sign. People in this town are just belligerently stupid
PS: It’s not the ‘white commodore’ bogans that are the problem either. They’ll have over taken you as soon as they’ve seen you. It’s the passive aggressive business attire wearing female excel, and ‘compensating for something’ 4wd drivers that are in my experience the worst offenders.

You must have been driving with me. Every day, going up the hill with teh overtaking lane to Qbn, the minute they see the overtaking lane is ending they just HAVE to now overtake. I’m bumbling along at about 80 or so, a Suzuki Mightyboy could easily overtake but they leave it until the “lane ends” sign.

People who try to elbow me into the gutter get a dose of the possibly-slightly-illegal Air Horn. Makes ’em jump, especially those angry women.

Alderney said :

As mentioned by many already, there is no legal requirement to keep left unless the posted speed limit for the road is above 80 km/h or it is signposted to keep left. Whether it is courteous or not is subjective.

What is not courteous is sitting too close to the rear end of the car in front, shouting and gesturing obscenities, and exceeding the posted speed limit all while talking on your mobile phone and trying to light your next cigarette. To people who drive like this, what the f@#^ makes you think the road is your exclusive domain? I am always amused by people’s willingness to cherry-pick the road rules to suit themselves.

Drivers that behave like this behind me get a gentle decrease in my speed via a few flicks of the cruise control, and an offer to pull around the next corner to punch-on (if conversation is possible). An offer that usually ends with most telling me I’m the one who is nuts…Can’t quite fingure that one out.

Just a little tip for you. At peak times you don’t really save any time, in fact you may be shortening your time on this mortal coil by working yourself up into such a state.

Just chill-out dude or dudette and we’ll all get to where we are going safely.

Oh God, too perfectly said! +100

timeeh said :

I don’t remember saying anything about speeding…. You just think that person might be, because of course youre speedo is dead on the mark….. Too put it nice and bluntly, i’m a dickhead because of your stupidity 🙂

Nor did I say that my speedo is dead on the mark, I said it’s set to underestimate for a reason. Now did you miss that because you’re a dickhead, or because of your stupidity? 🙂

GardeningGirl4:05 pm 16 Jan 12

ATrAiN said :

People who are whinging about not being able to change lanes because people won’t let them in, need to learn how to drive, if you are uncomfortable changing lanes you shoudln’t be on the road

It takes time to gain confidence to change lanes in busy (busy, not congested) traffic. Drivers who don’t watch for other driver’s indicators, who only remember to use their own indicators when shoving in at the last possible second, who tailgate, etc, etc, don’t make it any easier.

Holden Caulfield said :

I would suggest any general increase in aggressive road use is more in line with a greater “me, me, me” attitude prevalent in modern society and this would not, as it happens, be an issue restricted to Canberra.

+1 🙁

DrKoresh said :

She doesn’t move in 2 k up the road, and speak about yourself as if talking for everyone else, it might piss YOU off if you can’t race ahead of the rest of the traffic, but really, people who stop you from doing that are just preserving your life and the lives of anyone else you might crash into with your egotistical need to speed from A to B.

I don’t remember saying anything about speeding…. You just think that person might be, because of course youre speedo is dead on the mark….. Too put it nice and bluntly, i’m a dickhead because of your stupidity 🙂

timeeh said :

I very rarely have trouble merging into the right lane to turn right, i’m sorry but it sounds to me like your girlfreind is one of those people that needs a semi-trailer sized gap to move into the right hand lane, and is also one of those people that believe their speedometer is spot on, and that everybodys else (sitting on her tail) is speeding…. Have you had your speedo checked?? Bet it’s probably out by a good 6km’h or so as with most new cars…. And as for sitting in the right hand lane, i have cut off and will continue to cut off drivers who do so, as I think you’ll find as long as my bonnet is in fornt or yours i have right of way 🙂 And as for people doing it in 80Kp/h and less i am alot more considerate as it is not illegal, however do it in a 90kp/h or + situation (i.e William hovell, which even has signs stating “keep left UNLESS overtaking) then you deserve everything that is dished up to you 🙂

I hope when you say if your bonnet is in front you have right of way when merging you are talking about form one lanes? The reason I ask is we now have a lot of merges where the left lane terminates thinking specifically William Howell where Caswell Drive joins and a little further on where these two lanes merge when joined by the parkway. Because with this type of merge the car in the terminating lane must give way regardless, so it isn’t who is in front.

Seems many don’t quite know or understand this, especially the orange falcon last week who thought it was a good idea to try and accelerate past me to get his bonnet 1m in front only to find I wouldn’t let him in. If this person is reading this, I will let you know if you show me respect I will show you respect. So try and barge past you won’t win, but if you were already genuinely in front of me before hand I will pull back and make space for you to come in safely, even if by law I don’t have to. It’s called courtesy.

timeeh said :

DrKoresh said :

but that they’re there to help make transit as quick and efficient as possible without breaking road-rules. Speed limits aren’t suggestions FFS, they’re the law.

But it’s OK for you(your girlfreind) to “break the law” OR just piss everybody else off, by sitting in the right hand lane just because she needs to turn right 2km up the road…. Mate, whats good for the goose and all that.

She doesn’t move in 2 k up the road, and speak about yourself as if talking for everyone else, it might piss YOU off if you can’t race ahead of the rest of the traffic, but really, people who stop you from doing that are just preserving your life and the lives of anyone else you might crash into with your egotistical need to speed from A to B.

DrKoresh said :

ATrAiN said :

People who are whinging about not being able to change lanes because people won’t let them in, need to learn how to drive, if you are uncomfortable changing lanes you shoudln’t be on the road

Meaning changing lanes without cutting other drivers off :facepalm: Arrogance on the road does NOT equal competence.

So who is the arrogant one?? The one cutting the other off, or the one tailgaiting? I’m serious, please explain your logic….

DrKoresh said :

but that they’re there to help make transit as quick and efficient as possible without breaking road-rules. Speed limits aren’t suggestions FFS, they’re the law.

But it’s OK for you(your girlfreind) to “break the law” OR just piss everybody else off, by sitting in the right hand lane just because she needs to turn right 2km up the road…. Mate, whats good for the goose and all that.

dph said :

As frustrating as I find it when somebody is sitting in the right lane, dawdling along & blocking traffic flow, I thoroughly enjoy watching them block bogans in speeding commodores, lowered utes & so on…

If I’m in the left lane, I’ll always try to box them in, so that they are stuck behind the person going slowly in the right lane & can’t overtake them on the left because my car’s in the way.

+100

ATrAiN said :

People who are whinging about not being able to change lanes because people won’t let them in, need to learn how to drive, if you are uncomfortable changing lanes you shoudln’t be on the road

Meaning changing lanes without cutting other drivers off :facepalm: Arrogance on the road does NOT equal competence.

ATrAiN said :

People who are whinging about not being able to change lanes because people won’t let them in, need to learn how to drive, if you are uncomfortable changing lanes you shoudln’t be on the road

+ 1

As frustrating as I find it when somebody is sitting in the right lane, dawdling along & blocking traffic flow, I thoroughly enjoy watching them block bogans in speeding commodores, lowered utes & so on…

If I’m in the left lane, I’ll always try to box them in, so that they are stuck behind the person going slowly in the right lane & can’t overtake them on the left because my car’s in the way.

devils_advocate said :

KB1971 said :

No entirely true, ADR18/03 indicates that a vehicle speedometer must not read slower than the actual vehicle speed (EG: at 100km/h, your vehicle cannot be doing 105) but it can read fast.

The tolerance is 10% + 4km/h. So at 100km/h your vehicle couls actually be doing 86km/h.

My near new Pathfinder is 6km out at 100km/h but my 14 year old Commodore is only 1km out at 100.

If this were the case with your girlfreinds car, this would mean that I would catch you in my Commodore even though I am not speeding and your girlfriend is sitting on an indicated 100km/h (but the actual speed is say 94).

Therefore I would want to pass & if she is sitting next to another car in the right hand lane this then makes it frustrating for me (I am not going to get into the whole thing of how much time I would save going 5km/h faster as that is not realy the point of the topic).

How long does your GF sit in the RH lane before she needs to turn? One of my regular runs is the Monaro HWY & I have followed people from Fyshwick to Isabella Drive who have sat in the RH lane well under the limit holding the traffic back. If seh is turning onto Isabella then she really only needs to start thinking about it after Shepherd St, that should be plenty of time to merge.

Relax I hear some people say? Yep that is fine if you have nowhere to be in particular but if you are working and need to be places than this can be frustrating and time consuming.

Anyway, no such issues on bikes, just wayward dogs, kids & the world imploding riding across pedestrian crossings to deal with.

+1

Speedos are often significantly inaccurate. The ADR thing applies to when the vehicle is new. Look at the age of canberra’s vehicle fleet. Many of them would still have cable-driven speedos, which wear out and become inaccurate (sometimes massively so).

So everyone pull your head in and keep left.

You’re obviously writing with the view that everyone ELSE should keep left, so that you can roar past in the right lane. The error bar in the speedometer is insignificant, and by exceeding the posted speed limit on your speedometer you demonstrate an obvious ignorance of WHY the speedo is set to slightly over estimate speed. People like you don’t understand that roads aren’t for getting from where you are to where you’re going as fast as humanly possible, but that they’re there to help make transit as quick and efficient as possible without breaking road-rules. Speed limits aren’t suggestions FFS, they’re the law.

People who are whinging about not being able to change lanes because people won’t let them in, need to learn how to drive, if you are uncomfortable changing lanes you shoudln’t be on the road

Sgt.Bungers said :

17 minutes. An extra 4 minutes and 23 seconds…

🙂

Thats 4mins 23 secs of my life i will never get back…

Couple of things… Australian Road Rules do not require a motorist to keep left on a multi lane road unless the speed limit is OVER 80 km/h (read 90 or above.), or if there is a Keep Left Unless Overtaking sign that applies to that stretch of road.

Motorists do not have to keep left on such roads if the road is congested. So in the situation you’ve painted above, I dare say that motorists in the right lane are not really doing anything wrong most of the time…

Let’s also do some maths… the Monaro Highway from the Pialligo Ave / Morshead Drive intersection near the airport, to Johnson Drive near Conder, is approx 17 km in length. 7.5 km of that has a 100 km/h speed limit. The remaining 9.5 km has an 80 km/h.

Assume you have a completely clear run bar one set of traffic lights. You average 100 km/h in the 100 zones and 80 in the 80 zones… do not have to stop at any point. It will take you 11 minutes and 37 seconds to traverse this road.

Now assume you get stuck behind a rolling road block of 80 km/h for that entire distance, including in the 100 zones. Your travel time is now 12 minutes 45 seconds… a whopping extra 1 minute and 8 seconds…

But what about… shock horror, a rolling road block at 60 km/h for the whole 17 km… keeping in mind that at such a speed on an 80 km/h or heaven forbid a 100 km/h road, many Canberrans will resort to banging their hand repeatedly on the steering wheel. Adrenaline will be pumping… they’ll be so angry they’ll immediately lose clumps of hair from stress… they’ll be yelling, they’ll be screaming, there’ll be crazy hand gestures, there’ll be road rage, there’ll be alpha male warrior dances on the side of the road… stories about this commute will be told at the dinner table, possibly passed down from generation to generation… all because their travel time increased too… drum roll… 17 minutes. An extra 4 minutes and 23 seconds… roughly the length of a song. Not really worth thinking twice about is it? You’ll also be saving petrol… bonus.

🙂

” It seems the majority of the people in Canberra choose the lane they drive in based on wherever they have to eventually turn no matter how far away that turn may be. “

Please.

If you wait to change lanes until you are near where you want to turn right, you will end up stuck in the left lane at 20 under the speed limit while in the other lane, either: (a) an endless stream of cars zooms past at 20 over, giving you no chance to get across, or, (b) it is stopped and there’s nowhere to join it, or, (c) it’s going the same speed but everyone is tailgating and there’s nowhere to get in.

The only solution is to change lanes at the first available opportunity and stay there!

Tetranitrate2:08 pm 16 Jan 12

Cantoangel said :

Canberrans are notorious for “owning” the lane and therefore do not let people in. So why would you risk that and keep left?

Exactly.

This is why I only keep left to the letter of the law – ie: on roads above 80km/h or when it’s signed.

It’s not simply that they wont let you in, it’s that they will deliberately speed up to cut you off when there is a gap and they’re “behind” – it’s happened to me something like half a dozen times on Hindmarsh coming from Woden trying to get onto the parkway and I’ve only been driving this route for a couple of months. Now I hop in the right lane as soon as possible and sit there, the alternative is taking a detour through western creek because some 4wd driver doesn’t want me to change into ‘his’ lane.

It’s the same retarded mentality behind those try to overtake the moment they see a form one lane sign. People in this town are just belligerently stupid
PS: It’s not the ‘white commodore’ bogans that are the problem either. They’ll have over taken you as soon as they’ve seen you. It’s the passive aggressive business attire wearing female excel, and ‘compensating for something’ 4wd drivers that are in my experience the worst offenders.

lol thread fail

As mentioned by many already, there is no legal requirement to keep left unless the posted speed limit for the road is above 80 km/h or it is signposted to keep left. Whether it is courteous or not is subjective.

What is not courteous is sitting too close to the rear end of the car in front, shouting and gesturing obscenities, and exceeding the posted speed limit all while talking on your mobile phone and trying to light your next cigarette. To people who drive like this, what the f@#^ makes you think the road is your exclusive domain? I am always amused by people’s willingness to cherry-pick the road rules to suit themselves.

Drivers that behave like this behind me get a gentle decrease in my speed via a few flicks of the cruise control, and an offer to pull around the next corner to punch-on (if conversation is possible). An offer that usually ends with most telling me I’m the one who is nuts…Can’t quite fingure that one out.

Just a little tip for you. At peak times you don’t really save any time, in fact you may be shortening your time on this mortal coil by working yourself up into such a state.

Just chill-out dude or dudette and we’ll all get to where we are going safely.

I will keep left on the Monaro when everyone else on the Monaro learns to let me in when I indicate my wish to merge right.

And in breaking news, the difference in travel time between 80km/h down the length of the Monaro from Queanbeyan, versus the 85km/h Voytek apparently wants to do, amounts to less time than it takes to post an article on the RiotACT.

In the meantime, keep left, gie way to merging traffic, relax, and remember that you are commuting, not racing. The extra minute is not going to make a difference. Lead by example!

Erindale Drive also has keep left signage..

Always courteous to keep in the left lane no matter what the speed limit is especially if you aren’t going at the speed limit,, but if the traffic is heavy it makes very little difference. It is also stupid to be changing lanes at the last minute in such conditions. You need to be lane for your destination early enough to make that turn, of there’s a line of traffic you get in the lane early, not be a moron and try and stick the indicator on at the last minute like a lot of people. Some people take this to the extreme..

devils_advocate1:32 pm 16 Jan 12

KB1971 said :

DrKoresh said :

I don’t drive, but my girlfriend does and she drives on the side of the road her next turnoff is on, because people really aren’t very considerate when it comes to needing to change lanes for an exit. Besides, she drives at the speed limit, not over, not under, so people who have a problem with being behind her car are driving too fast. If they want to speed off into the sunset (or more likely, to the next set of traffic lights, where we invariably catch up with them, highlighting the pointlessness of speeding) they can do their dick aggressive lane change manoeuvre and pretend they’re in Fast & The Furious.

.

No entirely true, ADR18/03 indicates that a vehicle speedometer must not read slower than the actual vehicle speed (EG: at 100km/h, your vehicle cannot be doing 105) but it can read fast.

The tolerance is 10% + 4km/h. So at 100km/h your vehicle couls actually be doing 86km/h.

My near new Pathfinder is 6km out at 100km/h but my 14 year old Commodore is only 1km out at 100.

If this were the case with your girlfreinds car, this would mean that I would catch you in my Commodore even though I am not speeding and your girlfriend is sitting on an indicated 100km/h (but the actual speed is say 94).

Therefore I would want to pass & if she is sitting next to another car in the right hand lane this then makes it frustrating for me (I am not going to get into the whole thing of how much time I would save going 5km/h faster as that is not realy the point of the topic).

How long does your GF sit in the RH lane before she needs to turn? One of my regular runs is the Monaro HWY & I have followed people from Fyshwick to Isabella Drive who have sat in the RH lane well under the limit holding the traffic back. If seh is turning onto Isabella then she really only needs to start thinking about it after Shepherd St, that should be plenty of time to merge.

Relax I hear some people say? Yep that is fine if you have nowhere to be in particular but if you are working and need to be places than this can be frustrating and time consuming.

Anyway, no such issues on bikes, just wayward dogs, kids & the world imploding riding across pedestrian crossings to deal with.

+1

Speedos are often significantly inaccurate. The ADR thing applies to when the vehicle is new. Look at the age of canberra’s vehicle fleet. Many of them would still have cable-driven speedos, which wear out and become inaccurate (sometimes massively so).

So everyone pull your head in and keep left.

Canberrans are notorious for “owning” the lane and therefore do not let people in. So why would you risk that and keep left?

GardeningGirl1:18 pm 16 Jan 12

johnboy said :

It should be noted that while there’s no requirement to keep left on most roads in the ACT (only those posted for 90 and 100) it’s still good practice.

+1
I get in the right lane earlier in heavy traffic because there’s no overtaking happening anyway when both lanes are full and moving slowly and needing to change lanes at the last minute is more of a problem, but otherwise I don’t see what’s so difficult about keeping left. I don’t see what’s so difficult about using your indicator either. (By the time you’ve entered the turning lane and your brake lights have come on I’ve kinda guessed what your intentions are so it’s a bit late then to do it, or even better when you’re already turning the steering wheel! I think the people who use their indicators AFTER it’s obvious what they’re doing annoy me even more than the ones who don’t use their indicators at all.)

Dilandach said :

– Think they’re doing a timed quarter mile and attempt to race you into the single lane no matter how far they are behind.

I still get uneasy passing one particular on-ramp on the Parkway where a woman who was very comfortably behind suddenly appeared right next to us with a crazed look on her face. I wonder how many people she’d done it to because within a few weeks we found ourselves twice behind someone who came to a stop on a main road where they had right of way simply because there was someone approaching from an on-ramp or side street even though the other car didn’t look overly aggressive or anything, it seemed more nervousness on the part of the driver with the right of way and I couldn’t help wondering if they’d been traumatised by the same crazy lady since it was all in the same geographic area.

Holden Caulfield12:36 pm 16 Jan 12

EvanJames said :

I’ve lived in Canberra for 11 years now, and the standard of driving in this town has reduced so dramatically in the last few years it is totally unbelievable and unacceptable. I mean, WTF is going on??? Why are people so pushy, rude and arrogant now?

Yep, I so hear you. People are so aggressive and nasty… did your 4WD tart have those giant sunglasses on? They seem to be some kind of uniform for nasty female drivers to wear. I think they look like flies.

But, driving aggressively isn’t an offence, apparently. Only speeding is an offence.

I would suggest any general increase in aggressive road use is more in line with a greater “me, me, me” attitude prevalent in modern society and this would not, as it happens, be an issue restricted to Canberra.

I’ve lived in Canberra for 11 years now, and the standard of driving in this town has reduced so dramatically in the last few years it is totally unbelievable and unacceptable. I mean, WTF is going on??? Why are people so pushy, rude and arrogant now?

Yep, I so hear you. People are so aggressive and nasty… did your 4WD tart have those giant sunglasses on? They seem to be some kind of uniform for nasty female drivers to wear. I think they look like flies.

But, driving aggressively isn’t an offence, apparently. Only speeding is an offence.

lumpy said :

“If everyone kept left only getting into the right lane immediately before their turn”

Have you really thought this out?

I agree. It’s called anticipation – if you know you are going to be taking a right hand exit why not move to the right hand lane? It saves the abuse when you cut people off.

DrKoresh said :

timeeh said :

And as for sitting in the right hand lane, i have cut off and will continue to cut off drivers who do so, as I think you’ll find as long as my bonnet is in fornt or yours i have right of way

Sounds to me like you’re one of those people who believes they [i]always[/i] have the right of way, by virtue of just being there 🙂

Spot on 😉 What i failed to mention that I will only pull this stunt after undertaking from the left lane… Which should not be possible had that person been obeying the road rules…. (this only applies to 90kp/h + zones)

Holden Caulfield12:24 pm 16 Jan 12

EvanJames said :

And you’re not safe from them in the left lane (if there is one) either. I cannot fathom why tailgaters tailgate when they have the opportunity to overtake in the right lane. They could really get in some serious indicating, too.

Clearly a left lane tailgater needs to turn left.

Eventually.

Holden Caulfield12:23 pm 16 Jan 12

While I tend to agree with the basic premise of the OP, previous discussion on RA seems to suggest the lemmings file into the lane they will eventually turn from because to do anything else, like use the road/lanes more efficiently, for example, equates to queue jumping and means you’re a selfish prick with no consideration for others.

So, Voytek, what you are failing to understand is that it is in fact considerate driving from everyone else to stay in the right hand lane if they will turn right when they eventually arrive at their next turn off.

Haha, Understanding Traffic RA101 … Regardless of the facts: You’re doing it wrong!

Just try and chill out and enjoy the moment. Happens to all of us. I get some people that won’t even turn into two empty lanes of traffic at Barry Drive because they need to turn right at Barry Drive, or the ANU. No, siree, they need all three lanes clear before they can move around the turn left at anytime with care slip lane at McCaughey Street.

timeeh said :

And as for sitting in the right hand lane, i have cut off and will continue to cut off drivers who do so, as I think you’ll find as long as my bonnet is in fornt or yours i have right of way

Sounds to me like you’re one of those people who believes they [i]always[/i] have the right of way, by virtue of just being there 🙂

I can see the OP, furiously tailgating everything in HIS lane. And his last line confirms it, because all tailgaters indicate like crazy. You watch them, they all do it.

And you’re not safe from them in the left lane (if there is one) either. I cannot fathom why tailgaters tailgate when they have the opportunity to overtake in the right lane. They could really get in some serious indicating, too.

KB1971 said :

No entirely true, ADR18/03 indicates that a vehicle speedometer must not read slower than the actual vehicle speed (EG: at 100km/h, your vehicle cannot be doing 105) but it can read fast.

The tolerance is 10% + 4km/h. So at 100km/h your vehicle couls actually be doing 86km/h.

My near new Pathfinder is 6km out at 100km/h but my 14 year old Commodore is only 1km out at 100.

If this were the case with your girlfreinds car, this would mean that I would catch you in my Commodore even though I am not speeding and your girlfriend is sitting on an indicated 100km/h (but the actual speed is say 94).

Therefore I would want to pass & if she is sitting next to another car in the right hand lane this then makes it frustrating for me (I am not going to get into the whole thing of how much time I would save going 5km/h faster as that is not realy the point of the topic).

How long does your GF sit in the RH lane before she needs to turn? One of my regular runs is the Monaro HWY & I have followed people from Fyshwick to Isabella Drive who have sat in the RH lane well under the limit holding the traffic back. If seh is turning onto Isabella then she really only needs to start thinking about it after Shepherd St, that should be plenty of time to merge.

Relax I hear some people say? Yep that is fine if you have nowhere to be in particular but if you are working and need to be places than this can be frustrating and time consuming.

Anyway, no such issues on bikes, just wayward dogs, kids & the world imploding riding across pedestrian crossings to deal with.

That’s a fair point, and in truth she only does on places like Northbourne (which is only 60k’s and often too congested to change lanes easily to turn), when on the parkway and such she will enter her turn-off early, but not unreasonably so, just so she has enough time to comfortably check her blindspots and change lanes without having to disrupt traffic. But in any case, a difference of 5kph or so isn’t going to make any difference on the time of your commute, especially if you are sensible enough to plan on arriving to work 5 or 10 minutes before you start your shift.

MrPC said :

I don’t drive, but my girlfriend does and she drives on the side of the road her next turnoff is on, because people really aren’t very considerate when it comes to needing to change lanes for an exit. .

I very rarely have trouble merging into the right lane to turn right, i’m sorry but it sounds to me like your girlfreind is one of those people that needs a semi-trailer sized gap to move into the right hand lane, and is also one of those people that believe their speedometer is spot on, and that everybodys else (sitting on her tail) is speeding…. Have you had your speedo checked?? Bet it’s probably out by a good 6km’h or so as with most new cars…. And as for sitting in the right hand lane, i have cut off and will continue to cut off drivers who do so, as I think you’ll find as long as my bonnet is in fornt or yours i have right of way 🙂 And as for people doing it in 80Kp/h and less i am alot more considerate as it is not illegal, however do it in a 90kp/h or + situation (i.e William hovell, which even has signs stating “keep left UNLESS overtaking) then you deserve everything that is dished up to you 🙂

DrKoresh said :

I don’t drive, but my girlfriend does and she drives on the side of the road her next turnoff is on, because people really aren’t very considerate when it comes to needing to change lanes for an exit. Besides, she drives at the speed limit, not over, not under, so people who have a problem with being behind her car are driving too fast. If they want to speed off into the sunset (or more likely, to the next set of traffic lights, where we invariably catch up with them, highlighting the pointlessness of speeding) they can do their dick aggressive lane change manoeuvre and pretend they’re in Fast & The Furious.

.

No entirely true, ADR18/03 indicates that a vehicle speedometer must not read slower than the actual vehicle speed (EG: at 100km/h, your vehicle cannot be doing 105) but it can read fast.

The tolerance is 10% + 4km/h. So at 100km/h your vehicle couls actually be doing 86km/h.

My near new Pathfinder is 6km out at 100km/h but my 14 year old Commodore is only 1km out at 100.

If this were the case with your girlfreinds car, this would mean that I would catch you in my Commodore even though I am not speeding and your girlfriend is sitting on an indicated 100km/h (but the actual speed is say 94).

Therefore I would want to pass & if she is sitting next to another car in the right hand lane this then makes it frustrating for me (I am not going to get into the whole thing of how much time I would save going 5km/h faster as that is not realy the point of the topic).

How long does your GF sit in the RH lane before she needs to turn? One of my regular runs is the Monaro HWY & I have followed people from Fyshwick to Isabella Drive who have sat in the RH lane well under the limit holding the traffic back. If seh is turning onto Isabella then she really only needs to start thinking about it after Shepherd St, that should be plenty of time to merge.

Relax I hear some people say? Yep that is fine if you have nowhere to be in particular but if you are working and need to be places than this can be frustrating and time consuming.

Anyway, no such issues on bikes, just wayward dogs, kids & the world imploding riding across pedestrian crossings to deal with.

Erg0 said :

I’d always assumed that people get straight into the lane they intend to turn from because they fear that nobody will let them in if they try to change lanes closer to their intended exit. They’re probably right, too.

I don’t drive, but my girlfriend does and she drives on the side of the road her next turnoff is on, because people really aren’t very considerate when it comes to needing to change lanes for an exit. Besides, she drives at the speed limit, not over, not under, so people who have a problem with being behind her car are driving too fast. If they want to speed off into the sunset (or more likely, to the next set of traffic lights, where we invariably catch up with them, highlighting the pointlessness of speeding) they can do their dick aggressive lane change manoeuvre and pretend they’re in Fast & The Furious.

People take other’s driving too personally, especially the aggressive drivers who seem to think our roads were built for them personally to tool around on. It’s a commute from point A to point B, there’s no point speeding because it’s been proven NOT to get you to your destination faster, never mind the fact that it shows a callous disregard for the safety of other cars on the road.

Holden Caulfield10:58 am 16 Jan 12

This is hardly a Canberra phenomenon. Generally speaking, the best way to get by in Sydney traffic is to use the left lane. Just have to keep an eye out for parked cars, haha.

Also, the left lane on the new four-lane sections near Campbelltown are almost guaranteed to have zero traffic in them. They must have herpes or something! They seem to be a total waste of time and effort.

Law or not its just courtesy. I tend to agree with the OP. Its hard to expect common sense to prevail though. Ive found its easiest just to relax and be as smooth as I can be. Most times I find Im sitting next to Mr Lanechangeevery30 seconds at the next set of lights.

Erg0 said :

I’d always assumed that people get straight into the lane they intend to turn from because they fear that nobody will let them in if they try to change lanes closer to their intended exit. They’re probably right, too.

This is true, Then people complain about the fact that people force their way into the right lane to turn, when if they had let them in in the first place this wouldn’t happen, or if they weren’t in the right this wouldn’t happen.

Hindmarsh is the worst for this, people wont let you in, so what option do you have but to jump into a gap when there is one and sit there till you turn.

m00nee said :

MrPC said :

Road Rules FAIL

Keep Left Unless Overtaking only applies if the speed limit is 81km/h or above. The stretches of road you are complaining about are mostly 80km/h zones.

Actually……

As quoted in the ACT Road Rules handbook (Road Rules 2011 Part D1 – Road Craft)

Keeping to the left on a multi-lane road

This rule applies on a multi-lane road where:
• the speed-limit is over 80 km/h; OR
• a keep left unless overtaking sign applies.

Do any of these roads have a keep left sign on them?

The Monaro Highway between Isabella Drive and the Lanyon Drive lights has the aforementioned signage. No, most people ignore it. No, I don’t ignore it. It provides a quite easy drive somedays to sit in the left lane.

I’d always assumed that people get straight into the lane they intend to turn from because they fear that nobody will let them in if they try to change lanes closer to their intended exit. They’re probably right, too.

00davist said :

johnboy said :

It should be noted that while there’s no requirement to keep left on most roads in the ACT (only those posted for 90 and 100) it’s still good practice.

+1

Even though you migh not be breaking a law, you are impeding the flow of traffic!

It’s not Illegal to replace your loo paper with sandpaper, turn your TV upside down, or tie your keyboard to your leg, but that does not neccisarily make it a good idea!

When driving, try considering others for one, especially if you are below the limit, and while I don’t advocate speeding, I do tend to like getting out of the way of the 20km over angry d*ck in his territory, ready to ride my bumper!

+1
Not everyone wants to speed in the right lane. While in peak hour traffic its difficult to suggest all traffic to sit in the left lane, but you still get dawdlers who think its ok to do 75 just in case they get too close to 80.

However its this time of year when the traffic is less, just how many people don’t overtake and then get back into thwe left hand lane. Especially when there is so little traffic in the morning.

Most of the traffic jams are due to poor merging techniques and i have to laugh when people think others are speeding up to get in front of them etc. Maybe they’ve looked in their rear vision mirro and decided getting into the flow of traffic in that spot is better than coming to a grinding halt on the merge lane. It also not too hard to change your speed +- 5km/h to facilitate merging while maintaining traffic flow.

And while some may disagree, I bet no cops will book someone doing 85km/h to merge into traffic safely, then slow back down to 80km/h. Just a caveat here, i’m not talking about the obvious idiot behaviour of speeding up just to get around a few cars, but when a car merging and a car on the road fail to be considerate of each other.

MrPC said :

Road Rules FAIL

Keep Left Unless Overtaking only applies if the speed limit is 81km/h or above. The stretches of road you are complaining about are mostly 80km/h zones.

Actually……

As quoted in the ACT Road Rules handbook (Road Rules 2011 Part D1 – Road Craft)

Keeping to the left on a multi-lane road

This rule applies on a multi-lane road where:
• the speed-limit is over 80 km/h; OR
• a keep left unless overtaking sign applies.

Do any of these roads have a keep left sign on them?

TBH, I agree with the OP. People just dawdle along in the right lane long these stretches of roads for no aparrent reaseon be it busy or not.

I pass people on the left if they are doing so & while it is not illegal it really isnt good practice. If you are doing 70 in an 80 zone thats fine but stay left & dont block people who want to sit on 80.

The whole passing cars thing is not really learnt correctly by city drivers, while I am on the road riding people seem to think its ok to pass me on blind corners (they would not do it if I was in a car) & when out on country roads the amount of near misses is incredible.

@ qbngeek, I dont think that the OP wants to speed everywhere, just gets frustrated that our roads flow beutifully compared to other cities & Canberra drivers seem blisfully ignorant of other people on the road & just do what they want.

johnboy said :

It should be noted that while there’s no requirement to keep left on most roads in the ACT (only those posted for 90 and 100) it’s still good practice.

+1

Even though you migh not be breaking a law, you are impeding the flow of traffic!

It’s not Illegal to replace your loo paper with sandpaper, turn your TV upside down, or tie your keyboard to your leg, but that does not neccisarily make it a good idea!

When driving, try considering others for one, especially if you are below the limit, and while I don’t advocate speeding, I do tend to like getting out of the way of the 20km over angry d*ck in his territory, ready to ride my bumper!

I had the same thought this morning driving to work. On William Hovell Drive heading into the city the car in front of me merged into the right overtaking lane, only they were doing about 80 in a 90 zone, and a few cars went past on the inside, before they merged back when the overtaking lane disappeared. (Just trying to get out of the way of faster traffic?)

Just after the intersection of Coulter Drive and William Hovell there is even a sign suggesting drivers keep to the left, but they all seem to be in a huge hurry to get to the right.

One thing I’ve wondered is why do a fair amount of people who come across merging lanes either:

– Panic completely, slam on the breaks and let everyone past despite it being a merging lane.
– Think they’re doing a timed quarter mile and attempt to race you into the single lane no matter how far they are behind.
– A combination of the above two where they attempt to beat you into the single lane but after getting about 3/4 of the way next to you, lose nerve and just hang there. Now causing an issue by hovering next to you making merging that little bit harder.

It should be noted that while there’s no requirement to keep left on most roads in the ACT (only those posted for 90 and 100) it’s still good practice.

“If everyone kept left only getting into the right lane immediately before their turn”

Have you really thought this out?

Road Rules FAIL

Keep Left Unless Overtaking only applies if the speed limit is 81km/h or above. The stretches of road you are complaining about are mostly 80km/h zones.

And you are probably one of the people who tailgate, yell, carry on and lean on your horn. It’s much easier and less of a hassle if you just relax and slow down.

If the speed limit is 80km/h or below, there is no requirement to keep left. Most of those roads you mention are 80km/h or below. I reckon the reason people look at you confused is because they are not sure why you are being such a dick when they have done nothing wrong.

I suggest you slow down and calm down. Of course, I expect you to tell us that you are calm and never speed, becuase thats what everyone does, but your post says otherwise once you read between the lines.

Are you a qualified RTA left or right lane inspector?

Do you have any official reports or camera footage proving this use of the right lane?

Have you written letters to government types?

Am I doing this right?

You might be overreacting just a little bit.

So your complaining that there is a lot of traffic on the roads during peak hour?

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