Big gaps between cars at the stoplight

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uclaLabrat

Diamond Member
Aug 2, 2007
5,537
2,834
136
Drives me crazy when people do this...10 feet ain't going to save you much if you do get rear-ended. However, in an intersection, real estate is at a prime. Leaving all kinds of space makes cars hang out all over the place, into other lanes, blocking traffic, etc. I see it all the time, cards with like 3 lengths in front of them, and the tail end of the line is blocking my turn at moving on my green...then again, this is LA and everyone needs to be shot
 

lupi

Lifer
Apr 8, 2001
32,539
260
126
Originally posted by: uclaLabrat
Drives me crazy when people do this...10 feet ain't going to save you much if you do get rear-ended. However, in an intersection, real estate is at a prime. Leaving all kinds of space makes cars hang out all over the place, into other lanes, blocking traffic, etc. I see it all the time, cards with like 3 lengths in front of them, and the tail end of the line is blocking my turn at moving on my green...then again, this is LA and everyone needs to be shot

It is illegal to block an intersection. If people are doing that, it really doesn't matter how much space people are leaving in front of them.
 

bunnyfubbles

Lifer
Sep 3, 2001
12,248
3
0
People sitting there cruising in the passing lane on highways (especially when they're going slow) pisses me off more than people leaving large gaps.
 

rh71

No Lifer
Aug 28, 2001
52,853
1,048
126
I've always just left enough room so I could get into the next lane should they stall. I never really thought about leaving room in case I get rear-ended... so I don't hit the guy in front of me. I'd be going pretty far forward anyway, no? 10ft is a bit much.
 

hanoverphist

Diamond Member
Dec 7, 2006
9,928
23
76
Originally posted by: RKS
certain stop-lights (especially left-turn arrows) are activated when cars park over sensors in the road. sometimes these sensors are imbedded a few feet back from the light so they are activated only when traffic builds up. maybe these drivrs know where these sensors are. i know aroud here these are usually easy to see.

i only do that in turn lanes, since that third car is what triggers the green arrow. and only if theres only one car in front of me. otherwise, i get up so i can see the tires over my hood. if people look back and creep up, ill creep and get even closer. for some dark reason i love it when people freak out about that, so i push them on it. someday i may get into an altercation over it, but hasnt happened yet. i have had people yell out their window at me about it, jump up and down on their seat and all kinds of stuff tho. pretty funny.

what pisses me off to no end is the people that leave those gaps both at the stop and while driving down the street in heavy rush hour traffic. tighten up, youre leaving space dammit! that space is where every jackass in a car will speed up and merge in front of you, making the people behind you wait even longer to get home. stop slowing people down and get in gear!
 

Born2bwire

Diamond Member
Oct 28, 2005
9,840
6
71
Originally posted by: Daishiki
Originally posted by: RKS
certain stop-lights (especially left-turn arrows) are activated when cars park over sensors in the road. sometimes these sensors are imbedded a few feet back from the light so they are activated only when traffic builds up. maybe these drivrs know where these sensors are. i know aroud here these are usually easy to see.

That would be understandable. The ones I usually see, though, aren't at the head of the pack.

I've often seen sensors in groups of threes or so. The first two sensors are back to back at the stop line and will detect the first two cars. The third sensor is a few cars back to see if they are really piling up. I hated driving in Portland because a lot of the traffic lights only react to the sensors as opposed to a combination of timing and sensors. It was near impossible to pass more than two intersections without having to stop to activate the light.
 

DangerAardvark

Diamond Member
Oct 22, 2004
7,581
0
0
I hate it when half-asleep douchebags wait a metric eternity to step on the gas after the light turns green.
 

Ricochet

Diamond Member
Oct 31, 1999
6,406
20
81
Originally posted by: MrDudeMan
Originally posted by: ViviTheMage
Originally posted by: MrPickins
Originally posted by: ViviTheMage
I hate when cars just creep, creep, and creep more.....annoys the hell outta me when they do that for some reason.

QFMFT

Wears my clutch for no reason. :|

QFGDT!!!!!!!!!!

I lovers my clutch

:roll: You don't have to move as slow as they do. Sit still until they come to a stop, and then move forward. It's not rocket science. Yes, I drive a stick as well.

I don't even drive a stick and this annoys the fvck out of me. The problem is they'll creep..then stop..so you close the gap (not wanting to be the douche that leaves too much room)..then they creep some more..and stop. One guy did this 5 times at one sitting. WTFBBQ!! FIVE TIMES!! What in holey gawd reason would anyone do this?!! It is simple enough to leave the desired space in front of you in one fell swoop. Somewhere behind me some poor schmuck is trying to get past the divider to the left turn lane.

 

zoiks

Lifer
Jan 13, 2000
11,787
3
81
Originally posted by: MrPickins
Originally posted by: ViviTheMage
I hate when cars just creep, creep, and creep more.....annoys the hell outta me when they do that for some reason.

QFMFT

Wears my clutch for no reason. :|

QFT!
I was about to get road rage sitting in my cube right now.
 

clickynext

Platinum Member
Dec 24, 2004
2,583
0
0
I usually leave a good distance, at the very least half a car length. First, obviously to avoid a chain collision because those do happen fairly often. Second, to give myself the ability to safely pull out into the next lane if for any reason I need to, like the car in front of me breaks down, which also happens on occasion. Third, even if there's not half a car length there, the person in front will creep ahead until there is, and I don't like moving again unless there ends up being a really huge gap.
 

BabaBooey

Lifer
Jan 21, 2001
10,476
0
0
I always leave at least 2 car lengths as no crackhead is going to carjack me and then you have the idiots out there yakking on the phone and drinking their starbucks ,gotta avoid them morons from rear ending me and yes it has saved me from 2 rearenders in the past..


Maybe you need to relax and if thats the only thing that bugs you so that you make a thread about it then congrats to you....I envy you...:beer:
 

PingSpike

Lifer
Feb 25, 2004
21,729
559
126
Originally posted by: RKS
certain stop-lights (especially left-turn arrows) are activated when cars park over sensors in the road. sometimes these sensors are imbedded a few feet back from the light so they are activated only when traffic builds up. maybe these drivrs know where these sensors are. i know aroud here these are usually easy to see.

Heh. There's a couple lights where I stop at the light, let my foot off the brake to roll the car back and then drive up again to trip the sensor. They take two triggers for some reason to get an instance switch.
 

PingSpike

Lifer
Feb 25, 2004
21,729
559
126
Originally posted by: DangerAardvark
I hate it when half-asleep douchebags wait a metric eternity to step on the gas after the light turns green.

This is what makes me wish that if I concentrated hard enough I could make people's heads explode. The best part is...they always wake up at the last second and then jet under the light...leaving you fucked and them with no punishment at all.
 

PingSpike

Lifer
Feb 25, 2004
21,729
559
126
I always get up pretty close because when there's traffic, I remember what its like being that guy thats 10ft from the start of the left turn lane I want to get into...but can't because the cars won't move up.
 

Whisper

Diamond Member
Feb 25, 2000
5,394
2
81
I'll leave perhaps 5 feet between my car and the car in front of me so as to be able to turn out of the lane if needed. 2-3 car lengths is excessive IMO, though; if everyone did that, the line ups at stoplights would be insane, and--at least as is the case at many signals in both Atlanta and Baton Rouge--only three or four cars would get through rather than half a dozen. During rush hour, that makes a HUGE difference, especially when wait times at said signals are in the 2-3 minute range.
 

silverpig

Lifer
Jul 29, 2001
27,709
11
81
Originally posted by: Daishiki
Originally posted by: GenHoth
It isn't like they're slowing you down, so is it really important? At a stop light I honestly couldn't care as long as they get out of the gate in good order. (sometimes I leave quite a bit of space and then take off, just to have some fun!)

It doesn't really bother me. It's just something that I'm curious about. The only time I would be peeved by it would be if they were keeping me from entering the left turn lane while having a 2-3 car gap in front of them.

Yeah I hate this. When I'm in the blocking position I always try to stay as far to the right and forward in my lane as I can to let the traffic wanting to get into the left land pass.
 

dugweb

Diamond Member
Oct 17, 2002
3,935
1
81
Originally posted by: ViviTheMage
Originally posted by: MrPickins
Originally posted by: ViviTheMage
I hate when cars just creep, creep, and creep more.....annoys the hell outta me when they do that for some reason.

QFMFT

Wears my clutch for no reason. :|

QFGDT!!!!!!!!!!

I lovers my clutch

why do you have to creep forward if they are?

i just stop my car where i stop it, if the person in front of me creeps forward, then there will be a larger gap in between us. Something that also apparently annoys the OP.

this thread is stupid


Originally posted by: ricochet
I don't even drive a stick and this annoys the fvck out of me. The problem is they'll creep..then stop..so you close the gap (not wanting to be the douche that leaves too much room)..then they creep some more..and stop. One guy did this 5 times at one sitting. WTFBBQ!! FIVE TIMES!! What in holey gawd reason would anyone do this?!! It is simple enough to leave the desired space in front of you in one fell swoop. Somewhere behind me some poor schmuck is trying to get past the divider to the left turn lane.

he was probably doing it on purpose just to see if you would keep creeping
 

shocksyde

Diamond Member
Jun 16, 2001
5,539
0
0
I will sit a few car lengths back when I know I need to get over. I then accelerate rapidly and sneak in as the cars in the next lane start to move.

If something like this is bothering you enough to post on a forum, then you've got some issues.
 

Daishiki

Golden Member
Nov 9, 2001
1,943
36
91
Originally posted by: bababooey
Maybe you need to relax and if thats the only thing that bugs you so that you make a thread about it then congrats to you....I envy you...:beer:

Originally posted by: shocksyde
If something like this is bothering you enough to post on a forum, then you've got some issues.

I don't see where in my OP that I claimed to be un-relaxed, bugged, or bothered except for the particular case I mentioned in a reply post. I'm just merely curious to see if there was some trend going on that I didn't know about. If I were here to rant and whine, I'd toss in some exclamation marks for good measure and you can bring the cheese.
 

theknight571

Platinum Member
Mar 23, 2001
2,896
2
81
Depending on where the intersection is I try to leave enough room for me to turn out of the lane if needed.

There are parts of the city where at night I don't even stop at the red lights... fortunately I don't have to travel to those areas much anymore.
 

Oceandevi

Diamond Member
Jan 20, 2006
3,085
1
0
Originally posted by: ViviTheMage
I hate when cars just creep, creep, and creep more.....annoys the hell outta me when they do that for some reason.

You have to mash the brake with an auto. It gets boring and you start to bounce it and creep up. And your ankle gets sore.
 

thomsbrain

Lifer
Dec 4, 2001
18,148
1
0
I'm sometimes tempted to pull out and "parallel park" in front of them so they get the picture. the problem with it is that it can force traffic to back farther out, occasionally blocking driveways or intersections. if i'm following someone and i see there is room for two cars on the other side of the intersection, obviously, i'm crossing the intersection after the guy in front of me. when that jackass stops 15 feet short of the car in front of him, i'm stuck in traffic. also, when the person stops so far short, they catch everyone behind them off their guard, and make everyone else brake harder because they suddenly have to stop 20 feet sooner than anticipated.
 

alkemyst

No Lifer
Feb 13, 2001
83,967
19
81
Originally posted by: ViviTheMage
I hate when cars just creep, creep, and creep more.....annoys the hell outta me when they do that for some reason.

Yeah I hate those asshats too...usually the short stop like 30 feet early, then just slowly stop/roll/stop/roll

With a manual it's a freaking PITA. They do it at stop signs too and then never really come to a complete stop at all causing pandemonium at a 4 way.