Notice to the lovely people I encountered on my commute to work this morning:

[eleneariel]

Parking lights do not equal headlights. Parking lights do not even equal foglights. Parking lights are not meant to be used while driving. To tell the truth, I've never found a use for them, ever. They are certainly no help during fog this thick. Please use your headlights instead during fog, I will be much less likely to run into you. (Low beam, if you please. No need to blind me as well.)

ALso, the right lane is where you should stay unless you are passing. The left lane is NOT for normal driving. It makes me nervous to pass you on the right side, because I know you can't see me in your blind spot, but I'm not going to poke along at your speed, because I actually need to arrive at my destination on time.

And turn signals are a wonderful invention, please learn to use them.

Thank you for your attention to these matters.

Comments

[melyndie.livejournal.com]

I don't understand parking lights either. What is the point? I'm pretty sure it's illegal to drive with just your parking lights on (or, at least, it is in ID and CA).

I have never understood the left-lane-is-for-passing rule, though. I actually didn't even know it existed until I moved here and read it in the driver's manual (it was prolly in the CA driver's manual too, but who pays attention to those rules?). In CA, the left lane is for driving. If everyone only drove in the right lane, except for passing, you'd have an even worse traffic jam everywhere. You need both lanes for driving because there are so many cars. And as for passing, you zip in and out of the lanes to make your pass. Using a turn signal often prevents your chances of making the lane change successfully.

Here I have noticed people tend to pass more in the left lane, and the slow cars keep to the right, but people don't keep to the left-lane-is-for-passing rule generally (and neither do I).

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

I don't mind if people drive in the left lane as long as it's clear no one needs to pass them. It's dangerous to pass on the right side of a vehicle, because there's a larger blind spot--if they suddenly decide to move over to the right, there's a good chance they wouldn't see you and would hit you. I always pass such people as fast as I can. *shudder*

Of course, all rules are off if you have more than two lanes. Lol.

[melyndie.livejournal.com]

I haven't ever considered that a person's blind spot is larger on the right side. D'oh...I've been endangering myself all these years...

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

You're lucky to be alive! Lol. =)

[melyndie.livejournal.com]

And so is everyone else to my left. :-)

[jmcphers.livejournal.com]

I use my parking lights when I'm parking in the parking garage at work. They make you more visible when the distance between you and the other vehicles is small enough that headlights would just blind them. Also, they keep my interior lights on, which is nice in the semidarkness of the garage. (-:

Traffic in this area of WA is just as bad as it is in some areas of CA; both lanes are needed to carry all the cars.

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

Now I know what parking lights are for. ; )

[melyndie.livejournal.com]

Ah, so that's what parking lights are for!

[fogwood214.livejournal.com]

I saw a bumper sticker the other day that made me laugh:

If you can't operate the turn signals, what makes you think you can operate the rest of the car?

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

I like it. =D