Driving Rules

hyperzz

hyperzz

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I have long toyed with the idea that people should retake their driving tests every time they renew their license. I know its an inconvenience, and I myself would probably fail. (I have a tendency to drive over the speed limit.) But, I am really sick of people who simply do not follow driving rules.

Maybe some of you from other states can help me. I understand in some other states it is legal to do things that are illegal in my state (ie: left on red). But there are some things I thought were national driving rules. Maybe not actual laws. Just rules.

For example: If you are driving and find yourself in a turning lane at an intersection, I thought you were supposed to turn with traffic, then turn around whenever you can (at a store or something) and go back to where you were supposed to go. Apparently, according to a lot of drivers in my state, including the 18-wheeler that almost caused an accident today while I was watching, if you get in the turning lane but want to go straight, you just cut off the person next to you and go straight anyway. Oh, but maybe you turn on your signal light as you're doing it.

Another thing that pisses me off is people who think you HAVE to turn on red if there is no sign saying "No turn on red". They beep at me for sitting at the light because I may see a pedestrian or a car that they don't see. They aggravate me so much that I just stay at the light until it does turn green, just to piss them off.

Oh, and if there are two turning lanes to turn right, it was my impression only the right-most lane could turn on red, not the "middle" lane. Apparently that's wrong, too.

Am I making up these driving rules, or are there just that many ignorant drivers out there? This was mostly a post to complain. But I am interested in what other have to say.
 
Too many drivers are either ignorant of driving laws or just don't care.

Where is it legal to turn left on red?
 
Reba said:
Where is it legal to turn left on red?
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When I was learning to drive, my instructor said it was legal in Ohio and one other state. Dunno if it is still legal. I do remember seeing a sign on a left-hand turn signal when I visited a friend in Ohio 10 years ago. I think it was a "No Turn on Red" during certain hours. Meaning it would be legal during other hours.
 
hyperzz said:
When I was learning to drive, my instructor said it was legal in Ohio and one other state. Dunno if it is still legal. I do remember seeing a sign on a left-hand turn signal when I visited a friend in Ohio 10 years ago. I think it was a "No Turn on Red" during certain hours. Meaning it would be legal during other hours.
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I've never heard of turning left on a red light, except by motorcycle, only if the sensor doesn't trip.
 
Reba said:
I've never heard of turning left on a red light, except by motorcycle, only if the sensor doesn't trip.
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I thought you could in Illinois when going from a one way street to a one way street. And according to this site: Self Help Legal Center: Southern Illinois University School of Law I was right. Here are the details they give in answering the question.

In certain instances, it is permissible in Illinois to turn left on a red light. According to the Rules of the Road handbook published by the Illinois Secretary of State, as long as the following five conditions exist, you can turn "left on red."
First, there can't be a posted sign prohibiting the turn. For example, a sign that says "no turns on red," "no left turns," or of course, "no left turns on red."
Second, the driver has to be driving on a one-way street before they make the turn.
Third, the street the person wants to turn onto has to be another one-way street.
Fourth, the traffic on the street the person wants to turn onto has to be moving left.
Finally, and most importantly, the person making the left turn on red must give the right-of-way to all other pedestrians and traffic and must be able to make the turn safely.
As long as these conditions exist, go ahead and make that turn.
 
Jane B. said:
I thought you could in Illinois when going from a one way street to a one way street. And according to this site: Self Help Legal Center: Southern Illinois University School of Law I was right. Here are the details they give in answering the question.

In certain instances, it is permissible in Illinois to turn left on a red light. According to the Rules of the Road handbook published by the Illinois Secretary of State, as long as the following five conditions exist, you can turn "left on red."
First, there can't be a posted sign prohibiting the turn. For example, a sign that says "no turns on red," "no left turns," or of course, "no left turns on red."
Second, the driver has to be driving on a one-way street before they make the turn.
Third, the street the person wants to turn onto has to be another one-way street.
Fourth, the traffic on the street the person wants to turn onto has to be moving left.
Finally, and most importantly, the person making the left turn on red must give the right-of-way to all other pedestrians and traffic and must be able to make the turn safely.
As long as these conditions exist, go ahead and make that turn.
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Yikes! :eek3:
 
I think on most of the cases you're talking about people know the rules, they just don't care....so I don't think retaking the test would solve anything. *I've never heard of left turn on red either, that really jumped out at me, that's crazy*

Driving spawns all kinds of pet peeves. My worsts are when you're driving down a main road, there's no one behind you, then pulls out if a side road and makes you slam on your breaks do you don't hit them.....then they proceed to drive slower than you were driving before they cut you off. OMG I hate that!!! There was no one behind me, you didn't have to squeeze into traffic, you could have pulled in behind wtf!?

And when people pass cops that have someone pulled over, and everybody hits their breaks. Guys, that cop is busy writing someone a ticket, they're not clocking you with their radar, unless you're driving down the road waving a gun out the window that cop is not going to stop in the middle of what he was doing and go after. AND depending on the size of the town there might not be a another cop around for miles......that means you're probably good to go with speeding a bit and not having to worry about getting pulled over.

Okay that really didn't have anything to do with driving rules.....they just cause my own personal road rage......which usually just involves me swearing a lot.
 
I can't drive, but my worst pet peeve for being a bicyclist on the road is inattentive people NOT checking their mirrors to see if I am approaching, and if they open the door at least 5 seconds before I pass, well, I have a large silver bong bell to ring, and IDGAF if you don't like it-- check your mirror first before you open the door. That's required here in Illinois. Thankfully, I've not had to do that too many times.... mainly on busy streets like Clark and Lawrence, where space is a limit in some spaces, and if I moved further left, I could get hit.
 
Reba said:
I've never heard of turning left on a red light, except by motorcycle, only if the sensor doesn't trip.
Click to expand...

You can't turn left on 'red light' in my state , you can turn right only when it's safe to do so . There are some streets we can't turn right on a red light and there will be a sign saying ' No turns on Red" We have some drivers that do not care what the law is and will do what they damn feel like doing.
They'll get into lane that for only for a 'right turn only' to cut off drivers in the next lane over and there is never as cop around to give them a ticket
I was down town today and some guy was the phone and he was driving the wrong way and heading toward my car . The guy realize he messed up and backed up , I just was lucky he was not speeding! Damn , I just know I am going top get killed by another driver one of these days. I have a prefect driving record , but I am thinking of taking a few driving lessons how that I am getting older just to made sure I have not forgotten anything rules.
 
Downtown Charleston is a very old city with lots of narrow one-way streets but they don't have left-turn on red intersections.
 
Reba said:
Downtown Charleston is a very old city with lots of narrow one-way streets but they don't have left-turn on red intersections.
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I do not dispute that but will remind you that these laws we have sited are from the state level rather than the city.
 
ambrosia said:
...Driving spawns all kinds of pet peeves. My worsts are when you're driving down a main road, there's no one behind you, then pulls out if a side road and makes you slam on your breaks do you don't hit them.....then they proceed to drive slower than you were driving before they cut you off. OMG I hate that!!! There was no one behind me, you didn't have to squeeze into traffic, you could have pulled in behind wtf!?
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That is common here, too, and I hate it. It especially bothers me when we're on a motorcycle. Drivers either don't care or don't understand the concept of side roads/drives yielding to the main road. I'm afraid a lot of wrecks with fatalities have been the result. The drivers pulling out seem to think that oncoming traffic can stop on a dime. It's really bad when they do that to Hubby driving his huge, heavy-loaded work van. Grrr!
 
ChicagoBlue2 said:
I can't drive, but my worst pet peeve for being a bicyclist on the road is inattentive people NOT checking their mirrors to see if I am approaching, and if they open the door at least 5 seconds before I pass, well, I have a large silver bong bell to ring, and IDGAF if you don't like it-- check your mirror first before you open the door. That's required here in Illinois. Thankfully, I've not had to do that too many times.... mainly on busy streets like Clark and Lawrence, where space is a limit in some spaces, and if I moved further left, I could get hit.
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Yes, people should look before opening their car doors.

What if the person getting out doesn't hear your bell, or they open when you are next to the door? That could be painful. That's why I don't like city riding.
 
Reba said:
Downtown Charleston is a very old city with lots of narrow one-way streets but they don't have left-turn on red intersections.
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Some of streets down town in my city are very narrow so they're one way . This made it hard of the fire trucks , if person is driving on the street they have no room to pull over and will have to back up out off the way.
 
Reba said:
That is common here, too, and I hate it. It especially bothers me when we're on a motorcycle. Drivers either don't care or don't understand the concept of side roads/drives yielding to the main road. I'm afraid a lot of wrecks with fatalities have been the result. The drivers pulling out seem to think that oncoming traffic can stop on a dime. It's really bad when they do that to Hubby driving his huge, heavy-loaded work van. Grrr!
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That everywhere , I had people to that to me too and I end up having to drive way below the speed limit. It drive me nuts driving 20 miles per hour
 
Reba said:
Yes, people should look before opening their car doors.

What if the person getting out doesn't hear your bell, or they open when you are next to the door? That could be painful. That's why I don't like city riding.
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That is what bicycle lanes here in Chicago are for. However-- some of these doors cover the entire bicycle lane, and leaves me no place to go, and forces me to slam on my brakes to avoid a serious accident or death. I have superior braking skills, and can stop quite fast. I've not yet had an accident doing this, but if some idiot opens their door just before I pass, well, that person either did it by accident or on purpose. Either that, or they were distracted. Now, this is why we don't allow chatting/texting on phones for this reason-- they need to be checking where us bicyclists are at, and not opening the door and sending us flying with very ugly results, and a lawsuit, if I survive.
 
Reba said:
Yes, people should look before opening their car doors.

What if the person getting out doesn't hear your bell, or they open when you are next to the door? That could be painful. That's why I don't like city riding.
Click to expand...

I always look before opening my car door when I am parked on the street .
I do not want to hit a person on a bike or have a car drive into my door. And when I see a person on a bike I give them a lot of room encase they lose their balance . That to one guy , he almost lost his balance and he thanked me for giving him plenty of room . We have bike lanes on some of our streets but some idiotic people park their cars in the bike lane and when a person is using the bike lane they are forces to go into the traffic when ride around the car. I had to be careful and not hit a biker when that happen to him. People that park in a bike lane should get a ticket.
 
I hate bikes and mopeds on the roads. In myrtle beach there were A LOT of mopeds, freaking annoying things
 
whatdidyousay! said:
I always look before opening my car door when I am parked on the street .
I do not want to hit a person on a bike or have a car drive into my door. And when I see a person on a bike I give them a lot of room encase they lose their balance . That to one guy , he almost lost his balance and he thanked me for giving him plenty of room . We have bike lanes on some of our streets but some idiotic people park their cars in the bike lane and when a person is using the bike lane they are forces to go into the traffic when ride around the car. I had to be careful and not hit a biker when that happen to him. People that park in a bike lane should get a ticket.
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It's illegal to park in a bicycle lane here in Chicago. Obstructing one with a parked car is a towing offense, plus an expensive ticket for obstruction, and no exceptions-- Chicago does not play around with bicyclist safety. They are doing a lot to protect us.
 
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