On a downhill with an intersection at the bottom (with stop signs to the left and right intersections, but no stop signs for you), it is always a good idea to reduce your speed (no matter who’s behind you) so that you will be able to stop (or reduce speed) in case some ditzy driver at the intersection decide to try and jump the gap. Especially during rush hour, or when the road is very busy.
Always some blathering idiot who’ll think he/she can jump the gap and get away with it.
I’ve seen a couple of accidents at this specific intersection, and narrowly avoided an accident due to a POS driver jumping the stop sign right in front of me (luckily I was slowing down and missed him by nanometers).
What do you do when you’re on a small road approaching a very busy intersection (2 lanes or bigger) where you won’t get a gap to drive straight over in order to proceed?
Safest would be (in your country) to turn right. Because then you only have to watch for oncoming traffic on your left, and safely merge that way. Then you proceed to the next intersection, and turn left, and here you only have to watch fro traffic coming on from ahead. Here you can either proceed or do an U-turn, then turn right, and at the intersection you were, turn right again.
Sure, it takes a bit of time, fuel and effort, but it is worth that instead of trying to jump a gap and getting T-boned in the process. A T-bone is more expensive than taking the extra effort.
I did a variation of this on a couple of occasions, and stress levels were much lower and I was more relaxed than trying to gun for a gap on a busy stretch of road.
If you’re a commercial driver of a delivery van or a larger vehicle like a semi, especially a semi, either don’t signal when you make a lane change or do it before you move over. The “I’ve finished making my lane change so now I’ll put on my turn signal” is even more idiotic in your case.
My advice of not driving in front of a loaded semi/truck when on a downhill saved my butt.
I was on my way to work. The road goes down a steepish descent to a bridge over a highway, with traffic lights (which were out due to loadshedding).
On my way I passed a heavy-laden truck that’s doing about 40km/h. The road was a double lane. I decided to stay in my lane and not go back to the left (which means I’ll be in front of the truck).
Approaching the dead traffic light (which now is the same as a 4-way stop) another truck/semi was coming off the highway and was turning left (away from me) into the left lane - which was the same lane the slow semi/truck was in. I watched in dreaded fascination as the driver of the heavily-laden truck managed just to come to a standstill about a meter or so away from the turning truck.
Phew. Had I been in that space, it would’ve been tickets for my car.
If you are riding a motorbike and are lane splitting, don’t travel at 50+ km/h faster than the rest of the traffic - especially in an area where you get a lot of lane changing.
I had been indicating for at least 3 seconds, probably closer to 5. I was just starting to change lanes and this moron on a bike nearly wiped himself out running in to me. I was travelling at about 50 km/h and he went past me like I was standing still. There was no way I could have seen him due to the configuration of the road and the density of the traffic.
I would have been mightily pissed off* because we’ve only just got the car back from the last person who ran into me without looking where she was going. I’m beginning to think we have a target painted on the car somewhere
* I wouldn’t have given a toss about the idiot as he would have got what he deserved. Not very touchy-feely of me I know, but I don’t really care.
On long road trips it pays to have your attention far out in front occasionally.
And know what the beginnings of road rage looks like, and when you see this happen, start falling back immediately and look for ways and means to leave the area pst haste whenever possible without needing to go closer to the riad ragers.
You most certainly do NOT want to get involved in such a Charlie Foxtrot. Best to stay far and away from it. Even better to drive a short distance back from where you came from until things have cleared up and calmed down.
Remember, it is your life, your vehicle and your money that is at stake. Don’t let curiosity make yoy go and look… you’ll never know what will happen.
