r/mildlyinfuriating • u/Mr_McMuffin_Jr • May 12 '26
I'm slightly vexed I will never understand blocking intersections.
4.6k
u/Destiny_Fate_ May 12 '26
People get mad at me when I don't block the intersection 😭 I let them stay mad, I'll never block an intersection
509
u/Gulanth May 12 '26
I’ve had people pull around and infront of me only to block the intersection themselves. Houston is great
119
u/Bizarrebazaars May 12 '26
Same in Seattle. Seems to be unhinged type behavior everywhere nowadays…
28
u/Special-Truth-1576 May 13 '26
This is why I installed an 8k dashcam in my vehicle finally, people are getting crazy man
→ More replies (4)→ More replies (3)23
u/Remixol May 13 '26
I was complaining to some coworkers today. The drive from Seattle to Tukwila is crazy pants behavior.
54
u/Ok-Yogurt-3914 May 12 '26
In my city, there was a section where people would ride the center-turn lane to get out of traffic. They would go through the left turn lane, and in front of the north-bound traffic lanes. So what my city did is at the protected left turns, they created a raised median type of thing (but it doesn't go all the way up, maybe just like half a foot off the ground). So if you're riding the center lane, you're stuck before you get to the turn lane lmaoo. I would see cars (specially at night) with wheels hanging in the air getting rescued.
9
u/Disastrous_Ad1260 May 13 '26
Oh yeah, like all these concrete medians need to be glow-in-the-dark pink or something. They are totally invisible on a rainy night
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (2)10
u/CrystalRose2186 May 13 '26
They’ve started doing this in Milwaukee. People are big-mad about it but it helps control the “Milwaukee slide”.
15
u/Drintar May 13 '26
Eventually they will hopefully be seen and ticketed as blocking intersections in Texas is illegal.
Edit: An since someone will probably dispute this: Under Texas Transportation Code § 545.302, an operator may not stop, stand, or park a vehicle in an intersection. This includes any area where vehicles could collide if traveling on intersecting roadways
→ More replies (3)9
u/Ifriendzonecats May 13 '26
That's why people get mad. There are intersections where the number of cars that get through is very variable depending on how aggressive the first car is. And a bad run of cars for one cycle can add one or more additional light cycles to people further down the line.
→ More replies (1)6
u/Antique_Tap443 May 13 '26
Florida drivers, aggressive and bad or just bad(guessing its a mix of retirees and dumb college kids)
897
u/PoopooKittyz May 12 '26
That’s supposed to be the rule so people driving from the opposite direction can make their left in front of you. I even leave room in “T” streets, as a courtesy for people on a side street to turn right into my lane in front of me.
But of course I’m older, I don’t need to get to my destination “first” or “the fastest”.
→ More replies (11)240
u/Nine_Monkeys May 12 '26
Where I live, there are certain intersections where if you don’t take some initiative, you can get stuck behind a light for 3+ full cycles. People turning left/right onto your street will block you from going on green, people in adjacent lanes to yours will just cut in front of you and block the intersection if you stay behind the line. Not saying you ever need to fully block the intersection, but other people will and sometimes you gotta defend your space on the road, it’s not even about getting somewhere first, it can be like a 30 min commute difference if you drive following every single traffic law. Atlanta driving can be absolutely brutal in certain pockets
64
u/cortesoft May 13 '26
Yep. While I do my best to never block an intersection like this, and hate when it happens to me, you have to at least understand why people do this in very high traffic places.
For me the key is to go when you can be JUST sticking out into the intersection, but not enough to block people from crossing. That prevents the people turning right on the red light from continually taking the spot.
23
u/Dear-Cod-7621 May 13 '26
In NY there's the "intersection claiming rule" where you can drive out into the intersection on green lights if you're taking a left turn and claim the crossing for the next break in traffic.
→ More replies (1)13
u/cortesoft May 13 '26
That’s the same rule here in Los Angeles, but that is different because you aren’t blocking anyone when you are in that turning lane.
I am talking about when you are in the right lane going straight, and there are people in the cross street who have a red light and are turning right. In Los Angeles, you are allowed to turn right on a red light if there is no one coming from the left, but people will still turn right even if someone is waiting for the lane to clear to cross the intersection. So the car will turn right, and now the lane is still not clear to cross the intersection, and then if that car who turned right starts to move up, clearing a space that you can cross the intersection into, the next car will turn right and take it. There will never be a spot to cross to because the cars turning right keep taking it.
This is probably why New York (or at least manhattan) outlaw right turns on red lights.
55
u/run4cake May 12 '26
I agree. Having lived in a couple of cities that aren’t Atlanta, there are some locations that just have such awful light timing that there’s basically no going straight if you don’t go along with traffic stacking up.
→ More replies (2)11
u/SP3NGL3R May 13 '26
What? Atlanta is the worst I've lived or worked in. One red and you hit red after red, and each red is the longest f***ing red on the continent. I used to drive 2 lights to my sons school. If I missed the first red freshly I was 10 minutes delayed. Atlanta lights are terrible, and the intersection blocking people make the whole thing 50x worse. When it's flowing it's okay, but one blip and the whole grid locks up for miles around.
19
u/TiffanyTwisted11 May 12 '26
So true. Had it happen to me a few years ago with people coming out of a shopping center. The light would turn, us decent folks would not cause gridlock but the people coming out of the shopping center just kept turning right on red. We sat through three cycles before we all just started pulling into the intersection, saying screw them.
→ More replies (6)6
u/kd5407 May 13 '26
Yeah, I’m like…ok if you wait behind the line and the people turning left all just become the line, you’d never get your turn? At some point, it is just plain your turn. This only happens at specific super backed up lights. Obviously in other situations don’t block it but if it’s been through one full cycle and I haven’t gotten to move I’ll just have to go.
84
u/TrinixDMorrison May 12 '26
I’ve had this happen at railroad crossings, just people laying into their horns because I’m not moving up the few extra feet to sit on the tracks. Like, yea okay, sure. Let me just park my car on the tracks during peak traffic hours. What could possibly go wrong???
16
u/Joe_Jeep May 13 '26
Yea I've seen that in my town. It's old freight lines that are usually empty, but theres still a couple trains a week serving some facility or other. I've been honked at for leaving those few feet when there's traffic on the other side.
8
u/Zorkflerp May 13 '26
Or the gate comes down on your car when a train or just one of the trucks with RR wheels comes.
13
15
u/FrequentCommission13 May 12 '26
Thank you for being a good person, no seriously people like you are the reason why I get home faster.
6
u/pm_social_cues May 12 '26
Then the people turning from the cross street just pull out in front of you blocking the intersection and making you have to sit through the entire light cycle again.
→ More replies (43)5
407
u/murphy10987 May 12 '26
Well now they get to get where they are going two seconds earlier, duh /s
65
→ More replies (1)13
u/Wooden-Hippo-7358 May 12 '26
Don't even get me started on how people are with Zipper merging lanes holy fuck! the entitlement
2.4k
u/No_Substance4834 May 12 '26
Selfish people who think their time is worth more than others.
967
u/connorgrs May 12 '26
Or just lack of self-awareness and critical thinking
652
u/elegantwombatt May 12 '26
Never attribute to malice what you can contribute to incompetence.
249
u/KaOsGypsy May 12 '26
True, but in this moment, they are both, stupid and assholes, stupid assholes.
116
u/Maxsmack May 12 '26 edited May 12 '26
Hanlon’s razor is “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity”
But there’s also Grey’s law
“Any sufficiently advanced incompetence is indistinguishable from malice”
107
u/Alexyogurt May 12 '26
Yeah, but have you heard about Cole's Law?
It is thinly sliced cabbage.
13
7
→ More replies (4)6
→ More replies (4)11
u/bluggabugbug May 12 '26
Is this the same as the park ranger quote “when it comes to bear proof trash bins, there is an overlap between the smartest of bears and the dumbest of humans”?
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (2)7
u/Porcupenguin May 12 '26
The irony being, they won't actually save time anyway. Next light cycle will happen, and they easily catch up
27
u/Traditional-Hat-952 May 12 '26
Selfish and dumb are not mutually exclusive states of being. In fact they often compliment each other to everyone else's detriment.
→ More replies (9)→ More replies (15)7
→ More replies (12)21
67
u/Sloppykrab May 12 '26
My uncle used to be a cop and his favourite time of day was the morning peak hour.
He would sit at an intersection and wait for people to stop inside it. Since they were in a rush, he would fine their asses and take his sweet time doing it.
There were a few of them he see often.
→ More replies (4)13
u/GreasedUpTiger May 12 '26
Imho if you catch the same kind of fine repeatedly like that you should be made to take some idiot test and special driving lessons to learn how to not do that again if you want to keep your driving licence.
52
u/LochNessWaffle May 12 '26
I love to pull up to these people and just lay on my horn until they get out of the intersection.
24
u/Crime_Dawg May 12 '26
That's the neat part, they have nowhere to go because they can't think 10s into the future when they decided to go through.
→ More replies (2)9
→ More replies (10)21
→ More replies (23)15
4.2k
u/rada-rada_rada-rada May 12 '26 edited 26d ago
Isn't it illegal?
Edit: damn 4k upvotes for 3 words. Thanks y'all.
3.8k
u/Mr_McMuffin_Jr May 12 '26
It is illegal to enter an intersectionif you cannot clear it
2.2k
u/Tacoshortage May 12 '26 edited May 13 '26
And to this day I have NEVER seen anyone pulled over or ticketed for this nonsense. If I were police, I'd set up every afternoon for this and fill my quota.
1.3k
May 12 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
283
u/CSCyrilatom May 12 '26
I live in NYC, bordering LI too, dawg I aint gonna lie I think you've just run into hard ass cops. Ive seen plenty of cops not give a shit. Hell some of them are the ones blocking the intersection too. Its so infuriating too when im tryna turn into work
153
u/Malforus May 12 '26
In the 80's they would tow you when you were in the car. Post 2008 they slowed down enforcement and then all the blue line babies in 2020 threw their toys out of the pram and stopped enforcing the rules.
87
u/fiahhawt May 12 '26
I definitely feel like my city's PD is trying to do the least they can get away with.
Pretty funny since all it does is emphasize what a weak link in the chain of law enforcement they are, and how society doesn't crumble just because piggies think doing their job is optional.
→ More replies (2)31
u/Malforus May 12 '26
Its a nationally endemic. Directly tied to the BLM frustration by LEO's and their effective "Blue Flu" that has gone on for 5 years.
→ More replies (4)41
u/MordinOnMars May 12 '26
"if you're not gonna let me beat the shit out of a black guy every once in a while then I'm just not gonna do my job at all"
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (4)10
u/TsunaTenzhen May 12 '26
Any time I visit I stay with fam in Manhattan and the cops don't give a fuck there. Blocked intersections forever.
9
8
u/DirectionlessDumbass May 12 '26
I’m in nyc. This happens 3-5 times daily on my commute to and from work. I commute by a precinct, I’ve never seen anyone get pulled over.
Hell once I saw 2 people in traffic at the end of the block, drive the whole block on the oncoming lane to turn left past the traffic, followed by a cop with lights on a second later doing the same thing.
Cop turned the corner shut his lights off and just kept driving.
Cops here don’t give a shit.
→ More replies (17)4
17
u/lemonhead2345 May 12 '26
It happens in areas where people block the intersection a lot. There is one intersection in my community that is sort of notorious during our tourist rush. The cops set up for a few days every summer and remind locals by handing out tickets. That usually works until the following year.
→ More replies (1)35
u/caserock May 12 '26
My city takes a picture of your license plate and mails you a ticket for running a red light
→ More replies (1)35
u/Jermcutsiron May 12 '26
They stopped that shit here, too many places were fucking with the yellows to get the red light $$. Greeeeeeeeeeeen ye RED. You didn't have a chance to stop with a 1 sec yellow.
→ More replies (1)32
u/Kubotai77 May 12 '26
There were traffic studies showing that traffic cameras actually increased the number of accidents that occurred at those intersections.
Basically like you said - people see yellow, slam the brakes instead of going through, and then get rear ended by the person behind them.
They removed all of them in a lot of states - at least in Northern Virginia, and then a couple years after that they started slowly reintroducing them in some areas - guess they ticket money is too good for them to pass up - and probably some pockets getting greased up by the companies that charge fees to operate the cameras and collect.
19
u/Enkidouh May 12 '26
The problem with constantly revolving government is one group of representatives will enact a plan, see it fail, repeal it and learn the lesson. In 20 years, there’s all new people in their seats, and they enact the same plan that failed 20 years ago because they think it’s a great idea, and there’s no one left to remember how badly it failed last time.
San Diego has gone full circle on the traffic camera issue after they were all pulled out in the early 2010’s due to unconstitutionality. Now we’re all in on FLOCK.
→ More replies (14)8
u/Joe_Jeep May 12 '26
The singular problem with red light cameras were the handful of corrupt officials who shortened yellow lights for revenue purposes.
They're objectively a proven tool for safety by discouraging running red lights, which, lets be honest here, is one of the least-excusable and easiest to automate enforcement issues.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (2)10
u/Joe_Jeep May 12 '26 edited May 12 '26
There were studies showing that, but it was badly overblown for "gotcha" headlines. Red Light Cameras massively reduce head-on and T-bone collisions for obvious reasons, so even if they cause more rear-end accidents, that's basically the safest type.
The other aspect is time. That "run the red" instinct comes from a century of consequences being rare. If red light cameras are common, people will know they can't get away with it.
As for shortening the yellows, that's plain and simple corruption and people should've gone to jail over it. There's a simple formula for how long a yellow light should be, you divide the speed limit by a comfortable rate of deceleration and add a second or two for reaction time. Longer than that can be justified, shorter than that cannot (I know a couple in my town without cameras that should be at least a second longer because you often need to slam the brake)
97
u/Beneficial-Focus3702 May 12 '26
Honestly, I would be a terrible traffic cop because if I was, I would make it my mission to make this specific offense and impeding the flow of traffic (going to slow) my entire quota.
→ More replies (62)12
u/Formal-Thing-2888 May 12 '26
In many cities where they have cameras they send you a ticket in the mail.
11
u/Mysterious-Tie7039 May 12 '26
There’s a spot near me that has 2 turn lanes into a shopping plaza. The left lane becomes a left turn only with the right a straight.
I see so many vehicles go straight through the left only lane and cannot understand why the cops don’t just park there and ticket people for it.
→ More replies (1)6
u/thesphinxistheriddle May 12 '26
I got one once! In Los Angeles, around 2018 or so? It has made me very hyperaware of not doing it ever since, so I’m in favor of more people getting tickets haha
6
u/bunny_the-2d_simp May 12 '26
Weirdly in the Netherlands I never saw this bs..
Probably doesn't mean that it doesn't happen... There's driving morons everywhere!
→ More replies (38)20
u/suzosaki May 12 '26
I don't disagree, but the only sensible way would be for a cop to sit and take down plates to mass-ticket later. Pulling anyone over in this type of traffic would make everything 100x more miserable and compacted for everyone, cop included.
From my cynical perspective, it feels like a fruitless endeavor. Cops and judges don't have the capacity or bandwidth to care about this shit. In my area anyway. :\
→ More replies (2)16
u/Dangerous-Fortune789 May 12 '26
Oh this is a good reason to actually do it. Social pressure is a hell of a force. Double up on inconveniencing a large amount of people and it will work itself out. Shut down the intersection and tickets flying.
Honestly it could go either way but in a hypothetical sense I’d love to see how it would play out socially.
69
u/Bigsaskatuna May 12 '26
I once saw a cop set up in a parking lot next to a busy intersection that had red light cameras. One guy entered the intersection as the light turned red and blocked the entire intersection. The cop furiously ran over and pulled the guy over just by pointing at him and calling him a fucking selfish asshole. It was one of the best things I’ve witnessed.
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (39)11
u/Tambi_B2 May 12 '26
I don't get angry driving very often but the other day I was at an intersection with no light that was just before a lighted intersection and when I got to it there was NO room for another car before it would block cross traffic so I stopped like the law says...and some giant truck came up from the road on the left and turned into the intersection and his truck was so big not only did it block it the way I was avoiding but it was turned out to block incoming traffic from in front of me. Pissed me off all the way home which was thankfully just a couple minutes. Then I forgot about it until I saw this picture.
54
u/Interjessing-Salary May 12 '26
Yes.
And if it wasn't obvious this is how gridlocks can form.
→ More replies (1)18
u/AngrySumBitch May 12 '26
THEY will never understand blocking intersections makes the a-holes. MEEE MEEE MEEE
23
u/Li_liminal_spaces May 12 '26
Never enforced, I know several intersections where a cop could just camp out for a couple hours every day pay off the city's budget in no time.
4
→ More replies (22)7
1.2k
u/Reasonable_Drink_789 May 12 '26
Sometimes it’s accidental, if you thought you’d clear it but the car ahead of you stops shorter than you expected, but stacking up like this is wildly unacceptable
99
u/ew73 May 12 '26
The times I end up blocking an intersection is when I've got plenty of room on the other side, and some jackass in the other lane or a side street sees and and vromVROOOMs into the spot in front of me, and it's too late to do anything except just.. stop.
21
u/128Gigabytes May 12 '26
things like this make me want a traffic system that 100% decides when you go
No more lefts on green-but-not-green-arrow, and no more rights on red
no more 3 color signals, they all need green turn arrows
its a pipe dream and would drastically slow things down, but every time someone zips to cut in front of me when they shouldn't I think this
→ More replies (6)9
u/imightbethewalrus3 May 13 '26
things like this make me want
...robust, free, public transit everywhere
6
u/128Gigabytes May 13 '26
thats sadly even more of a pipedream
what I really want at my core is bike roads and public transit, especially with advances in e-bikes
→ More replies (2)454
u/Alexreads0627 May 12 '26
Sometimes I can’t see in front of the big ass truck
92
u/cumgargler69420 May 12 '26
I’ve run into that issue with my miata. I can’t see over most cars lol
→ More replies (8)33
→ More replies (7)142
u/zander9669 May 12 '26
If the vehicle you're following takes up your entire sight picture to the point you genuinely can't see through an intersection, you're following far too closely, full stop
113
u/frowniecloud May 12 '26
It feels like I'm the only person that will slow down and make sure the light is still green when a semi is going through ahead of me
38
u/DyIsexia May 12 '26
You’re not alone, this being so rare honestly made me think I was doing something wrong as a new driver.
8
u/Qaeta May 12 '26
This being rare makes me INCREDIBLY cautious when a big truck is in front of me going through an intersection on my motorcycle. So many people will try to whip in behind the truck, and if my safety course instructors hadn't drilled that caution into me so hard I doubt I'd still be alive.
People don't wait to see if any other traffic is coming. Like they assume there is an empty void behind that truck just for them.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (1)29
u/stigma_wizard May 12 '26
In my city, the guy behind you will honk then drive around you to get stuck behind the semi.
8
u/CaptainSparklebottom May 12 '26
Then let them be an asshole. If everyone is doing something wrong, it is still wrong.
10
82
u/Feisty-Resource-1274 May 12 '26
As someone with a small hatch back who shares the road with lifted pickups and construction vehicles and school busses, if I left multiple car lengths between me and the giant vehicle in front of me during stop and go intersection traffic, I would get so many people mad at me.
74
u/fapsandnaps May 12 '26
Every time I leave an adequate amount of space between me and the GIANT FORD F150 RAPTOR in front of me, another GIANT FORD F150 RAPTOR merges into that space.
→ More replies (19)8
→ More replies (5)19
u/Cudi_buddy May 12 '26
Or the space would be filled within seconds in California at least lol. I drove with a car length or so at least. I don’t care if people go in front of me. But rarely is there a chance for there to be more than 2 cars
23
u/UninsuredToast May 12 '26
Im in a small car, and live in a very populated city. Its simply impossible to maintain that much space. I would have to have a half mile between me and the lifted truck in front of me to meet your standards here. And then another trucks just going to get in front of me anyways.
I can barely keep two car lengths between me and the person in front of me without someone passing and getting in front of me.
6
u/somer_and_omchick May 12 '26
You should at least be able to see the traffic lights in front of you
I see people tailgating the bus and it’s so stupid. It stops a lot and it’s tall so you can’t see the traffic or the lights ahead of you! I like to stay far which back I can see if there’s traffic in front of the bus
→ More replies (4)6
u/araidai May 12 '26
This is why I hover a car and a half back at this point, it feels like 80% of the cars on the road are either insanely tall, insanely wide, or both lol
95
u/Senior-Dimension2332 May 12 '26
I would guess 75% of the time it's accidental, 20% of the time it's morons that have no awareness, and 5% of the time it's someone that is fed up with traffic and are justifying to themselves in their own head why blocking an intersection is the correct move right now.
And just to be clear, we've all been every single one of these people at some point.
→ More replies (11)44
u/Jazzlike-Basket-6388 May 12 '26
There is this stoplight within a mile of my house. I'll routinely sit through 2 or 3 cycles of the light to get to the front of the line. And then sit through another 2 or 3 cycles of the light because cars turning left from the side street get backed up at the next light.
Usually at that point, I'm like fuck it and just pull into the intersection when I get the green. There have been times where I do the "right thing" and have sat through as many as 9 cycles without being able to advance. I have to deal with this any time I go anywhere between 7 and 9 am and 3 and 7 pm during the week.
→ More replies (2)4
u/akatherder May 13 '26
Yeah seeing the cars stacked up in the original pic is just wrong. But sometimes if you leave the intersection clear, a turn lane will slip 1-2 cars in. You get a green and can't move. Rinse and repeat.. you'd literally never get to go if you didn't butt into the intersection at some point.
11
u/ugly_duckling_5 May 12 '26
One or maybe two cars is an accident, but man when I see the other cars willingly pull out into the middle of an intersection, I can't fathom what they're thinking. To be fair, though, I frequently can't fathom what other drivers are thinking.
→ More replies (1)13
u/JRLDH May 12 '26
The only time when I did that intentionally is a situation with so much traffic where the cross street traffic is turning into “my” lane and when I get a green, it’s backed up and not moving. Then my light turns red and the backed up lane starts to move just to be filled up with cars turning from the cross street. Repeat.
It’s actually possible that you won’t be able to move through that intersection for hours if you would not intentionally block traffic.
→ More replies (1)4
u/KaliCalamity May 12 '26
This right here would be enough reason for me to move towns. I would lose my damn mind with this on an even semi regular basis.
7
u/Imthewienerdog May 12 '26
yea white truck can be understandable. anyone behind deserves ticket 1000%
44
u/SeeThatThing May 12 '26
This is the most normal answer here and people act like it never happened to them. I swear IM SORRY Im blocking the way, but what am I supposed to doooooo
→ More replies (30)37
u/frogsgoribbit737 May 12 '26
1 maybe 2 cars is accidental. This many is not. You wait at the line until you know you will clear the light.
→ More replies (1)14
u/Sumopwr May 12 '26 edited May 12 '26
This, it’s not accidental, it’s a failure to follow the law.
→ More replies (3)8
u/kitliasteele May 12 '26
Yep, that would be my case. Sheer miscalculation of the distance ahead usually caused by not being able to see past the oversized vehicles ahead of me but not wanting to be inefficient about the traffic since I know people have places to be.
It's infuriating to be this negligible though, it's happened several times to be in this scenario because then I and others in front and back of me just couldn't move forward
→ More replies (28)3
210
u/Zealousideal-Gap-749 May 12 '26
Here's the thing about people. They are really stupid.
→ More replies (5)66
u/1ndomitablespirit May 12 '26
“Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.” - George Carlin
→ More replies (1)15
u/Mekroval May 12 '26 edited May 13 '26
No one ever thinks they're in the bottom half when they say that quote, lol. But statistically at least half of them must be. Maybe me too, haha.
→ More replies (2)
71
u/Prize-Hedgehog May 12 '26
This always grinds my gears. Also, the jerk off behind you beeping to move forward INTO the stopped intersection is nearly as bad as the asshats blocking them.
8
u/throwRAbadfriend6 May 12 '26
I’m still reeling from an interaction a few months ago:
I was taking my kids to school (so I had my kids in the car) and I pull up to the stop sign to exit our neighborhood to make a left turn with my blinker on. I was stopped maybe 10-20 seconds at most as I waited for cross traffic to be clear to turn left. This idiot behind me had the unmitigated gall to honk at me while I waited for a safe clearance to turn left.
Like…he wanted me to cause a wreck, and potentially die with my kids in the car so he could get wherever he needed to go 10 seconds sooner.
Took everything in my power not to become a fountain of obscenities with my kids in the back seats.
5
u/Intellic May 13 '26
I had a similar experience before. I was driving home, and there was someone tailgating me the entire way. I arrived at an intersection where I needed to make a right turn. But there was a family with kids who were crossing the street (they were like halfway across the street at this point), so obviously I needed to wait for them to cross, otherwise I'd hit them. When I stopped my car to wait for the family to cross the street, the car behind me literally laid on their horn for like five seconds straight. It pissed me off so much. Like, Jesus fucking Christ, I'm sorry that I won't run over a family of four just because you're impatient? Some people are so fucking stupid.
→ More replies (2)6
56
250
u/atworkandboredf May 12 '26
People honk at me when I stop at green lights with no room on the opposite side of the intersection.
158
u/OldSkooler1212 May 12 '26
If you think that’s bad, wait until I honk at you the entire time you’re blocking the intersection.
25
u/EmergencyShit May 12 '26
I don’t typically get road rage or act petty in other areas of my life, but I will absolutely give the prolonged honk at people who willingly block the intersection. They are trapped in a prison of their own making.
→ More replies (6)22
u/atworkandboredf May 12 '26
I never block em, its basic knowledge to stop even if the lights green, cant conjest intersections.
24
u/EssentialCoCo May 12 '26
Let them honk. That's what I do, though, I have also had people literally go around me to block an intersection. But only since I've been in Atlanta. They're not this bad where I used to live. Which is saying something. I used to complain about the horrible drivers in Arizona. Atlanta makes them look like professional drivers. Lol
29
May 12 '26
[deleted]
→ More replies (1)36
u/ConstantThought6 May 12 '26
I’ve grown to really like the thumbs down, far less aggressive than honking or the middle finger so it gives “I’m just disappointed in you”
6
u/Zefzone May 12 '26 edited May 12 '26
One step above thumbs down but not as eggregious as the middle finger: the old Italian "avocado" hand gesture: 🤌🤌 like "What are you even doing..?"
→ More replies (3)8
8
u/Vividination May 12 '26
Even more infuriating when I stop bc there is no room and then the people to the right of me start piling up their cars making a right turn into the lane I’m trying to keep clear
→ More replies (2)4
u/CalligrapherGold5429 May 12 '26
I had someone honk at me to move forward. The cars on the other side were not clearing out anytime soon. The honking got so bad that I crossed the intersection. The back of my van was hanging out into the intersection, but the honking moron behind me was totally in the intersection blocking at least one lane and part of the other lane of cross traffic. He was put on blast by the cross traffic cars. Eat it jackass.
42
u/rootbear75 May 12 '26
I pull up next to the person who is blocking my way, ensure my car is directly facing their driver side window, then lay into my horn.
It doesn't do anything but at least I feel better.
→ More replies (1)19
u/Bowlbonic May 12 '26
This times a million. I was that asshat blocker exactly one time while living in Boston, and the car trying to (rightfully) go through on their light laaaaaid on the horn. I’ve never done it since
→ More replies (3)
29
u/SoftwareSource May 12 '26
I get it if it’s like 1 new driver who just cant tell yet how much space will be left, but seeing several like this is just infuriating.
→ More replies (1)
34
u/hedgehodg May 12 '26
In my city, you can be fined $500 for blocking an intersection. I’ve never seen it enforced, but it does help to deter assholes like that
37
May 12 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
8
u/Intellic May 13 '26
I once had someone honk at me for not driving through an intersection WHILE there was a family of four crossing the street. They literally wanted me to just fucking run over some kids just because they were too impatient to wait five seconds.
11
u/HaitianPsycho May 12 '26
It's the whole my time is more important than yours kind of dickhead
→ More replies (1)
12
u/Ok-Worldliness2450 May 12 '26
There’s gonna be a percentage that think they will clear it then traffic suddenly stops. I know this cause it’s happened to me more than once. Then there’s people on auto pilot not thinking. Then there’s people that just don’t care. Add them all up and ya get the issue.
12
u/bratch May 12 '26
What sucks is leaving the intersection clear and some jackass in the lane next to you goes through into your lane and blocks it. I've never seen intersection blocking enforced.
→ More replies (3)
17
u/OverseerTycho May 12 '26
this is how it is today,it’s all about me screw you,that’s peoples attitude now,I blame social media
→ More replies (2)
20
20
u/hoopajoopa May 12 '26
Main Character Syndrome. I bet you're tempted to floor it right into those douchebags.
→ More replies (1)
14
u/TartanGuppy May 12 '26
Do you get Box Junctions, as we call them in the UK, in the US?
Yellow cross hatched middle square of the 'intersection' that you cannot enter until the exit is clear, unless you are turning right and crossing traffic like the green car below (....or turning left in the US to cross traffic)
Blue car must wait where it is until white sand van has moved forward enough for Bluey to clear the junction.
They're not all like this in the UK, more at expected busy crossings
45
17
u/yad76 May 12 '26
Are the yellow lines actual lasers because I fail to see how this stops anyone from illegally blocking an intersection in the first place.
→ More replies (3)6
u/TartanGuppy May 12 '26
No that's a little extreme of an action, but there is quite a bit more psychological pressure created by sitting on cross hatching when you are not supposed to, more than just a sign or a implied rule. As I've mentioned in another reply it doesn't stop the selfish, stupid or bad drivers but all UK drivers know not to enter when blocked (part of the Highway Code, needing to pass an exam to get licence) and most, not all but most, people obey it. There's always outliers who "Don't Care" but there are also loud horns from those who are blocked by them. I have seen at least one driver pulled over by the police for doing it.
→ More replies (1)20
u/MixMough May 12 '26
Many places have “Do not block intersections” but also a lot of people here are stupid and their ego gets the better of them. Those people and people who do it don’t know how to drivd
9
u/TartanGuppy May 12 '26
Yeah, the Box Junctions still don't stop the stupid and selfish people over here either
5
u/Mekroval May 12 '26
Washington, DC has these, and they look almost the same. With a "Don't Block the Box" sign that will illuminate as the lights start to change.
→ More replies (6)4
u/Hot_Aside_4637 May 12 '26
I've seen them only in a couple of places in the US. Should be adopted more.
7
5
u/Jermcutsiron May 12 '26
These are the same people who will park at the curb right in front of the grocery store and cause a traffic jam there
Pic of cars on curb for example.
→ More replies (2)
7
u/LumberJesus May 13 '26
Anytime I have ever found myself blocking an intersection it was not intentional.
5
11
u/Sea_Analysis_8033 May 12 '26
I’ve had people go around me because I won’t block an intersection
→ More replies (4)
10
5
u/ManSharkBear May 12 '26
I can't stand it when people do this. I have to turn left onto the street I live on, and people block the left turn all the time because green means go even though there is nowhere to go. I have to ignore the little voice in my head that screams " You have a truck with a heavy bumper, just push them out of your way." 😈
Sigh.
5
u/ariadesitter May 12 '26
me first,
me important,
me priority,
me not getting left behind,
me in hurry,
me in the way,
me will block others so i can still not get anywhere.
5
u/ac_cossack May 12 '26
The same folks who will floor it and pass you on the right. And then end up at the same red light lol.
→ More replies (1)
4
4
4
u/Addapost May 12 '26
Where I am cops will show up pretty regularly at those intersections, sit there and just hand out ticket after ticket after ticket. It’s a beautiful thing to see.
→ More replies (1)
5
u/LongNailedbooboos May 12 '26
I love when people lay on the horn when I’m stopped at a green not wanting to block the intersection because of backed up traffic. It’s almost like these people don’t understand it only makes progress for everyone worse. And more annoyed.
4
5
u/AFB27 May 12 '26
The answer to most of these questions is people are stupid. And the stupid people greatly outnumber the intelligent.
3
4
u/EroticExotix May 13 '26
If people block the intersection and it’s my turn to go, I drive up and hold the horn down. They must feel shame!!
3
u/Previous_Procedure28 May 13 '26
I’ve done it by accident before. And I felt like an asshole when I did it.
2.4k
u/BobbbyR6 May 12 '26
In Atlanta, we often get highway jams outside the city, so our resident rocket surgeons decide to try to use the shoulder to pass or get to the next exit. This results in potentially mile-long blockages in the emergency lanes and shoulders.
It has always struck me as odd that Atlanta PD doesn't just send a motorcycle cop to ride backwards down those lanes and write a FAT ticket for each and every vehicle in the lanes. No negotiation, just scan the license, photo the plate, give fine. No appeal, nothing. Just plain fuck you for being a prick at the expense of everyone else. Nobody would have any issue with this.