Links That The Importance of Obeying Road Signage.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzPWi7obcFc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EtPhLXaULY

Picture Of Road Signage

 

This post deals with what I think is the most important traffic sign to obey and feel it needs to be written because there are just far too many idiots out there who mis-inerpret it and as a result slow down the flow of traffic, piss off other drivers and potentially cause collisions.

The proper meaning of it should be taught to all young drivers and those already driving as well so please if you know someone who doesn’t obey it like your parents, spouse, gramma and grandpa etc, send them the link and make them read it.

Having done a lot of driving over the years I have found that it occurs in many places however least of all in modern major cities where people need to drive effectively and if they don’t then they fricken near get run off the road by the rest of the people that do and soon learn their lesson.

However the worst place I have found for it occurring is in Manitoba and when I say Manitoba I mean southern Manitoba and when I say southern I basically mean a 100 kilometer radius of Winnipeg. Now for a city of nearly a million people if you count the bedroom communities you would think that for one, the road infrastructure would be designed better to make traffic flow and get people where they want to go quickly.

But it’s not!

For some insane reason the traffic engineers hired by the City of Winnipeg and the Province of Manitoba feel that the best way to design roads is to stick traffic lights up everywhere. After all why spend the money on proper corridors and basic bridges over major routes when it’s cheaper just to slap up some lights. No where else have I seen (population wise) a place where you build a perimeter highway and have so many lighted intersections to slow down traffic.

Some Examples Of Poor Road Design

Perfect Examples are the intersections of St. Anne and St Mary at the perimeter. They see a high volume of traffic flowing in and out of the City so wouldn’t it be a good idea to build a couple of nice simple bridges over the perimeter with simple intersections on both sides to allow merging on and off of the highway? They don’t need to be fancy and expensive, just simple. But no……it seems every bridge has to be done as a huge clover leaf that apparently takes at least 3 years to build! The same goes for where these two roads meet Bishop Grandin in Winnipeg, again Bishop is a major route that could be so effective for moving traffic but instead it goes like this, or vice versa depending on direction of travel.

• Stop at River going East after being able to actually drive unhindered all the way from Waverly. Green light, start diving get up to the 80 kph limit and
• Stop at St. Mary at the lights, which turned red just as you were getting close. Green light, start accelerating and getting close to 80 again and ….
• Stop at Dakota at the lights, which turned red just as you were getting close. Green light, start accelerating and getting close to 80 again and ….
• The same thing at St. Anne! and so on down the stretch till you get to Lagimodiere. If you turn left on Lag…..well just follow the above examples.

Do people wonder why others are speeding on these stretches? Well it’s the only way you can get through a few lights without having to stop all the bloody time! So again, instead of spending countless dollars on huge lighted intersections why not bridge them simply to make traffic flow. It would reduce the amount of speeding, collisions happening in the winter when people are sliding to stops from the 80 kph limit and the stress level of drivers.

The 3 Types Of Drivers Who Don’t Obey The Sign

Now I am trying not to digress from the original topic here, but it was necessary to cover the above first because when you do actually get onto a stretch of highway where you are not having to stop, the traffic needs to flow properly, but because there are so many idiots who don’t obey the sign, in many cases it doesn’t.

From my experience, there are three types of drivers who dis obey the signs, they are;

1. Those who just don’t realize that they should be moving to the right. Have never been taught why it’s important to do it and have not learned other important things like how to merge correctly. They have never been taught plain and simple.
2. The left lane cruiser. This is the person who does the speed limit, so they feel it doesn’t apply to them because they are not going slower….they are doing the speed limit….exactly the speed limit. They dawdle along and can’t understand why there are a line of cars right on their bumper or just seem oblivious to it. They slow things down on a busy weekend to and from Grand Beach because they are usually right beside someone on the right who is also doing exactly the speed limit! Then eventually when they get ahead of a car to the right they don’t move over so other traffic can proceed….nope they are of the attitude that there are two lanes and this is the one they have chosen and the other traffic can go around if they want to pass.
3. The “I am the unofficial speed police driver” These are the morons who drive the left at the speed limit and if you come up behind with the want of them to move to the right so you can pass, they decide they are going to slow you down by hitting their brakes and causing you to panic and do the same. Then they continue to drive and will find a vehicle on the right and stay right beside it. Then when they get ahead of the car (or more often the one to the right slows for fear of a collision caused by this moron) and you have an opening to the right and go to pass, they move to the right as well to cut you off because they are determined to make you do the speed limit and no more. These are the same people who wonder why they just got punched in the head by an angry motorist who followed them into a parking lot.

Now I also have to add that there are people driving fast in the left that also need a slap too….and these simply are the ones who are too impatient for the people in front of them to move to the right after just passing someone. If someone is going to move over, let them get enough ahead to do so safely, don’t dart into the right to pass as they are getting ready to move,. especially with a semi trailer, because they have to judge their clearance with their mirrors. If you have ever driven a large vehicle with a trailer you would understand and one of these times they are going to move over regardless and send your ignorant ass into the ditch or worse….So dummy up!

Conclusion and lesson learned from this post should be…..slower traffic moves to the right! It doesn’t mean slower then the speed limit it means if you are driving slower then me then move over and let me by because the left lane is for passing. (opposite in countries like England) If you want to cruise in it when there is no traffic behind you then fine. Also you have no authority to stop someone from driving over the speed limit, maybe you wish you were a cop but unfortunately were too stupid to have been hired, but that’s your issue, not the other drivers. Those who didn’t know and have read this…..you now have no excuse.

Now before any of you so called righteous drivers start piping up about speed and it’s dangers, it’s time you realize that speed is only accountable for a small amount of collisions, idiots like you cause more then speed does.  Here are two great studies that were posted by Richard Diamond of the newspaper.com, I suggest people read these and learn the truth about speed;