Close-call thread (Dash Cam)

It is rather strange that some people don't understand. It's like they don't drive in the real world. People change lanes in front of me all the time without signaling. I don't get upset about it as long as it doesn't cause me to slow down.

Agreed. What pisses me off is the driver that turns on his signal and moves into my lane in front of me, as if it's their right to take away the buffer zone between me and the car in front of me. Just because you have a 16' car and there is 30' gap, doesn't mean you have a right to that space because you turned on your signal. Yes, the signal shows your intention to change lanes, but it doesn't mean you have the right to just move over because "you used your signal first!"

Just because you knocked on someone's door, it doesn't mean you can just walk right in!

scottmoyer said:

You are so wrong there. If you turn on your signal and move into the other lane and you get hit by a car already in that lane, you are at fault. The signal is to let others know your intentions, but the lane needs to be clear to do so. Also, you are supposed to have plenty of space between you and the car in front/behind you so that the car behind shouldn't need to brake because of you entering their lane and you should not be tailgating. So, if there is that much space for you to "legally" fit in that lane, then why are you so upset about no turn signals?

If there is a 3 car gap in the lane you want, and you squeeze in, you have now forced two cars into a tailgating situation and not enough braking room. Since we don't live in this perfect driving utopia, and the driving distances are usually closer, using a turn signal to show your intentions to merge into the other lane are usually met with the car behind moving up because he was trying to maintain a safe distance and you are taking that away, causing a domino effect of people behind you needing to slow down.

Get it? Why it's so difficult for you to understand that not everyone will use their signal, and for good reasons, is beyond me!

Click to expand...

Whenever you're using someone else's bad behavior to justify your own bad behavior it should be obvious that you're wrong.

You signal your lane change. If the person tries to block you then they are almost invariably going to leave an opening behind them that you can slide into. If you're too close to a turn to take the time to find another option then you were doing it wrong from the outset.

Your other excuses are nearly as weak. Even in a turn only lane, the point is to communicate to other drivers. It alerts the drivers in the lanes beside you that you're not going to realize at the last minute that you are in a turn lane and try to change lanes. It alerts the traffic behind you that you are indeed going to turn as required.

You complain that people are going to try to block your lane change but don't consider that maybe they're too stupid or distracted to recognize that they're in a turn only lane.

Ok yes, if you're stopped in a line of traffic where nobody has any option but to turn then a signal is probably no very helpful. But don't excuse general bad behavior based on rare exceptions.

scottmoyer said:

You are so wrong there. If you turn on your signal and move into the other lane and you get hit by a car already in that lane, you are at fault. The signal is to let others know your intentions, but the lane needs to be clear to do so. Also, you are supposed to have plenty of space between you and the car in front/behind you so that the car behind shouldn't need to brake because of you entering their lane and you should not be tailgating. So, if there is that much space for you to "legally" fit in that lane, then why are you so upset about no turn signals?

If there is a 3 car gap in the lane you want, and you squeeze in, you have now forced two cars into a tailgating situation and not enough braking room. Since we don't live in this perfect driving utopia, and the driving distances are usually closer, using a turn signal to show your intentions to merge into the other lane are usually met with the car behind moving up because he was trying to maintain a safe distance and you are taking that away, causing a domino effect of people behind you needing to slow down.

Get it? Why it's so difficult for you to understand that not everyone will use their signal, and for good reasons, is beyond me!

Click to expand...

Failing to avoid an accident as seen when a car fails to let a merging car in (regardless of the legality of the lane change) will be at fault. If someone squeezes in front of you and you fail to avoid the accident, you will be held at fault. The only scenario where the trailing car would not be at fault is if there was not adequate time given to avoid the accident.

My point is, if you signaling somehow makes the trailing cat speed up and hit you, the trailing car will be at fault period.

Using your turn signal is both law and courtesy. Not using it is total douchbaggery. In my option, those that chose to not use their signals are total asshole drivers that are completely inconsiderate to others.

Your arguments will not change the way I drive, so there's no point in arguing this more. It seems that those complaining must live in less congested areas, because when driving in bumper to bumper traffic for the majority of my life, I signal as a courtesy to others, when needed. When it's not needed, I don't signal. I learned to share the road, so my driving habits reflect that need to share. If sharing isn't needed, I don't share.

scottmoyer said:

BTW, this is a direct quote from the driver's ed website.

"When changing lanes, the most important thing is to wait until there is a clear gap in the traffic. Then move safely and smoothly into the center of the desired lane, while maintaining your space in the flow of traffic so that no other vehicle is forced to slow down, speed up, or change lanes to avoid collision."

Click to expand...

The omitted part of your quote:

When you change lanes, follow these steps:

• Turn on your signal.
• Check your mirrors.
• Check your blind spot by looking over your shoulder.
• If it is safe, change lanes.
• Turn off your signal after completing the lane change.

Click to expand...

The DriversEd.com people would be so disappointed. What you cited are the conditions you're looking for. The list above is the procedure. Personally I like to check the mirrors before activating the turn signal and then again when I check blind spots, but either works.

The good news here is that bad drivers can get better. They can progress beyond DriversEd.com. Continuous improvement is part of what makes driving enjoyable.

scottmoyer said:

Agreed. What pisses me off is the driver that turns on his signal and moves into my lane in front of me, as if it's their right to take away the buffer zone between me and the car in front of me. Just because you have a 16' car and there is 30' gap, doesn't mean you have a right to that space because you turned on your signal. Yes, the signal shows your intention to change lanes, but it doesn't mean you have the right to just move over because "you used your signal first!"

Just because you knocked on someone's door, it doesn't mean you can just walk right in!

Click to expand...

Think about the your original argument here for second. You're arguing that if the person doesn't knock at all and just breaks in, that makes it all ok.

No, someone signalling doesn't obligate you to let them in, particularly if they've passed up a bunch of opportunities to change safely. But if they're not being a dick, and they they signal a change, it's an act of courtesy to allow them in.

I think these are the same guys that think it’s ok to do the speed limit in the passing lane

scottmoyer said:

I signal as a courtesy to others, when needed. When it's not needed, I don't signal.

Click to expand...

What if you have overlooked someone ? Simply signaling for any lane change just makes it easier becomes second nature.

Also if you plan on getting a 2018 Mustang or any future car for that matter start getting used to signaling, because signaling will tell your car to not counter steer when you go over lines.

Yeah! It seems the younger crowd loves a car that parks itself, brakes automatically, monitors your lane presence, etc. I'm old enough to remember when driving was done for two reasons, the enjoyment of driving somewhere or as transportation to get somewhere. I have two cars right now that don't have cup holders because back in the 80s, a car was for transportation, not eating/drinking in.

I enjoy driving and I pay attention to my mirrors at all times to know where other cars are. If I cross the line into another lane, it's because I want to, not because I was reading a text and drifted! I really don't like all of this new technology where the car makes decisions for you. I currently have hill assist turned off, BLIS is turned off and I don't own a car that self parks or self brakes. That's my job.

I love these new commercials where they keep advertising the car self braking and the actors are more surprised that the car stopped itself at a crosswalk, than they were that the young driver was daydreaming about Start Wars and didn't realize she was approaching a red light with people in the crosswalk! The manufacturers are promoting self driving cars and the next generation is all for it so they can maintain their social media while they get from point A to point B.

This thread has been a learning experience for me thanks to all the replies and discussion.

One thing I have to wonder about is if specific car (or truck) models attract a specific type or driving style.
Specifically, does a person who decides to buy a new Mustang translate to that person probably having a particular driving style?

As a person who has driven motorcycles, both off road and on road, since the age of 7 it has always seemed to me that there are two types of motorcycle drivers on the street.
The first is the aggressive driver who feels that driving faster than the normal flow of traffic is safer because you are not sitting in one spot for a long period of time just waiting for somebody to run over you. The most consistent example of this is the crotch rocket crowd.
The second is the driver that drives a motorcycle in the same manner they drive an automobile and simply going with the flow. Think Gold Wing and Harley folks.

For automobiles it is not nearly so cut and dried.
Some of the most rude and oblivious and aggressive driver I see regularly are the soccer mom van and SUV drivers. As a group they do not seem to have any knowledge of blinkers or speed limits or turn lane usage or stop light meaning. Basically, the majority of them think the roads are for them to get from point A to point B with everything between being nothing more than road blocks to be ignored.

As a group, are Mustang drivers in this same group?

Stripler said:

First clip is just of someone making an illegal turn, second clip is of driver losing control on on-ramp causing me to have to go from 65 mph to 0 in the middle of the interstate. I'm just glad no one hit me from behind (the rearview mirror was first thing I was looking at as it unfolded).

Camera is a Rexing V1, tapped to mirror for power and auto on/off.

Click to expand...

The second clip looks like the 495/66 ramp.

I think the "group" of Mustang owners falls into a very large population. You have the young, aggressive drivers that give Mustang owners a bad name, and then you have the rest that will be put in that same category, even though they don't belong.

Prior to owning this Mustang, I drove a Chevy Silverado 4x4 for 12 years. I drove it the same way I drive the Mustang, only now I enjoy the throttle blips from time to time, I stop at all red lights, even before turning right on red, and I would change lanes without a turn signal most of the time, unless there was a need to let others know I was turning/changing lanes. When traffic is heavy, I prefer to be in the lane that's moving, but I also realize that in bumper to bumper traffic, none of the lanes are going anywhere, so why be aggressive? I know what a yield sign means and also how to merge. So I drive 25mph in housing developments, but maybe 70 in a 55 zone.

What category does that put me in? I don't just go with the flow, but I also know the law, and abide by it, except for occasional speeding. You can't categorize people by the car they drive, because the car can be changed out every few years. Over the past 30 years, my daily drivers have all been sports cars or trucks.

Lastly, I used to drive an ambulance for a NJ rescue squad and had advanced driver's training, plus I've had performance driving classes put on by GM. So, based on my earlier responses where you might think I drive like an idiot, because I don't drive with two hands on the wheel and I don't always use a turn signal, have I changed your thoughts about me at all? What category of driver do I belong?

Back to the topic here, I have decided to get a dash cam for all of my cars to protect my family from the idiots that I see daily on the road. There's one in my son's car that has already been used to save his butt from an unruly neighbor that blamed him for doing something that the camera proved he didn't do.

Your driving style sounds exactly like mine. If more people drive like the way we do, do you think traffic would exist? I’ve always wondered how the world will be if everyone drove like I did.

scottmoyer said:

, and I would change lanes without a turn signal most of the time, unless there was a need to let others know I was turning/changing lanes.

Click to expand...

And here in lies the problem. You are making an assumption of when others need to know when you are changing lanes...which is completely ignorant. You are not accounting for someone who (illegally) decides to move over 3 lanes and floor it for whatever reason...or a motorcycle that is driving at triple digits looking to overtake you.

Stop trying to decide when you think other people need to be notified of a lane change and just always use your signals as you should.