Your worst traffic annoyances

matt2000 said:
i wouldn't say much less. You can always drop a manual into neutral. Modern cars have very light gearchanges too so it takes no effort to slip it out of or back into first.
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When I've spent an hour doing nothing but clutching/unclutching/halfclutching in first gear, I really wish for a car without a clutch pedal. Or just want to chop my left leg off.
 
the main advantage of a manual + clutch means you always control which gear you're in, not some computer.
I agree if all you do is drive from traffic jam to traffic jam, you need an auto.
but if you don't live in a big city, and get to drive on real country roads, on a daily basis, a manual >>>>>>> an auto
 
Manual = more fun
Auto = more convenient

Always seemed pretty simple to me. I'd love to learn to drive a manual but I wouldn't want to use one in heavy traffic. Plus, with an auto there's no chance of screwing up and stalling, and it's one less thing to think about when learning to drive. What they need to make is a manual with an automatic mode, which AFAIK has never really been done properly. I don't really see why; it doesn't seem like it would be difficult to use the same computing algorithm to control a manual as opposed to an auto, and then you just switch the computer off when you want to do it yourself. Maserati did something like this in the Quattroporte but according to Top Gear (forget which host did it) the shifts are rather jarring.
 
NooDle said:
the main advantage of a manual + clutch means you always control which gear you're in, not some computer.
I agree if all you do is drive from traffic jam to traffic jam, you need an auto.
but if you don't live in a big city, and get to drive on real country roads, on a daily basis, a manual >>>>>>> an auto
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Actually the main advantage is the weight saving and decreases in parasitic driveline loss. Most new autos that are in somewhat sporty cars come with manual gear selection, some will up/downshift for you to save your engine but there are plenty that will act like a normal manual.
Always seemed pretty simple to me. I'd love to learn to drive a manual but I wouldn't want to use one in heavy traffic.
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Really not that big of a deal. You get used to it, my current car has a tiptronic option and I pretty much always use it, at first I didn't wanna use it in traffic but I got used to it. With a clutch its kind of the same thing you just get used to pushing the clutch in. Though I do have to say I never drove a manual in heavy traffic only on pretty empty roads.
What they need to make is a manual with an automatic mode, which AFAIK has never really been done properly. I don't really see why; it doesn't seem like it would be difficult to use the same computing algorithm to control a manual as opposed to an auto, and then you just switch the computer off when you want to do it yourself. Maserati did something like this in the Quattroporte but according to Top Gear (forget which host did it) the shifts are rather jarring.
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There are plenty of those around made both as an automatic with manual gear selection (see: tiptronic) and as manuals that use a computer to engage the clutch. The problem is that computers do not allow for any clutch slip the way humans do, it is nearly impossible to teach a computer to slip the clutch since there are many different situations depending on which you may or may not want to slip the clutch.

The best answer to having a manual automatic is DSG gear boxes but they are known to be fairly weak when it comes to abuse (see: GT-R isn't so great after all thread) and the fact that Mitsubishi does not offer warranty for them in the Evo MR.

Perhaps the biggest reason is lack of any kind of necessity. Most people who would appreciate the engineering/response of a manual want a manual not an autoclutch or DSG system. Those who don't really care are served quite well by automatics, especially since automatics are getting better, the one in RS6 shifts in 100ms same as the Ferrari Enzo with it's autoclutch. Considering the amount of power in the car parasitic driveline loss can be discounted ;)
 
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So after nearly two full seasons of motorcycling I just had my first close call with a car. I'm sitting there at a red light minding my own business when I hear the unmistakable sound of screeching tires. So I whip my head around and see a white Grand Prix about 10 feet behind me with a high school age girl and her passenger giggling. They slowly creep up into the lane next to mine and I shake my head, flip up my visor, point to my eyes, then down at the road. I then rather wisely let them get well ahead before I starting moving once the light changed. So I thought that sucked but it could have been worse.

But a little further down the road there's a four way stop and by this time another car had gotten between myself and the offending teens. They were stopped for longer than was necessary at the sign and it looked as if they were messing with a phone or the radio. The guy behind them got impatient after about 3 seconds and proceeded to honk his horn and flip them off. My gosh people are so stupid and rude! Before I could go off from the sign another car crossed the opposite directions and we both just shook our heads. I took these incidents as a sign that I should return home ASAP. So I did. Thinking back on it I think the guy is bigger asshole in this situation. If having to wait a few seconds causes you to flip out and start insulting people you probably shouldn't be allowed to drive a 3000+ pound vehicle on public roads.
 
I went out in the Land Rover tonight to give it a run, and as I was going around a roundabout to take the second (straight ahead) exit, the artic pulling up at the first exit decided it was a good idea to not stop, forcing me to brake pretty sharply so I didn't hit him. There was no need for that.
 
Tourists!

I live in a tourist area and believe me: It's a nightmare, especially when you have to get to work in time and have some tourists in front of you who drive under the motto: "We're on holiday, we're not in a rush".

Yes, you are on holiday but I have to get to work!
 
Haha we only get tourists on foot clogging up our shops. :lol:
 
I bet you also don't have a town called "Brake" in your vicinity, which has the number plate "BRA" :)
 
MacGuffin said:
Tourists!

I live in a tourist area and believe me: It's a nightmare, especially when you have to get to work in time and have some tourists in front of you who drive under the motto: "We're on holiday, we're not in a rush".

Yes, you are on holiday but I have to get to work!
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LOL I used to work right outside Ground Zero in Manhattan, talk about tourists :)
 
If there is a two lane road that leads to an intersection, the left hand road means you go straight on and dont make the right (but there is the option of it), but then you get the self righteous wankers who take up that left lane to turn right, and thus you miss your light.

Its so annoying, its not illegal, just inconsiderate.

Oh, and cyclists on the Wakehurst Parkway (specific, I know), the ones in the speedy condom suits that ride across the road in rows of three's. Just unbelievably selfish and dangerous. I know there was a big hooplah because there have been a number of high profile accidents, like the guy who "alledgely" "accidently" ploughed into about 80 cyclists in a clump in stop start traffic in Melbourne. So Im not sure what the specific protocol is for cyclists right now. It should be single file, with a gap, and should be as far off proper road users as possible.
 
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matt2000 said:
I went out in the Land Rover tonight to give it a run, and as I was going around a roundabout to take the second (straight ahead) exit, the artic pulling up at the first exit decided it was a good idea to not stop, forcing me to brake pretty sharply so I didn't hit him. There was no need for that.
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Yeah, lorry's on roundabouts is a whole annoyance unto it's self.
 
"Traffic Circles" are quite rare around here, but they do exist. The problem is that when you do encounter one, nobody knows what hell they're doing and it's just a big mess. You can't exactly train for it in driving school since many people would have to drive quite far to get to one.

The one traffic circle in my vicinity is so large that it's difficult to even tell it is one. The middle is filled with trees and thick bush so as far as you can tell you're turning onto a slightly curved one-way street.

I'm also not quite sure who designed this particular area that I drive through every now and then:
https://pic.armedcats.net/t/th/thevictor390/2008/10/10/googlemaps.JPG

EDIT: just realized this is technically a traffic circle too, although I never thought of it as one because of its size and shape.
 
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i think roundabouts are the best invention ever. just about every set of lights in the world could and should be replaced by one.
 
Disagree. I'll make a photo of the reason why next time I'm there. It is the most ridiculously small roundabout ever, and totally unnecessary. Should have just been left as a yield sign.
 
mazdaddy said:
Oh, and cyclists on the Wakehurst Parkway (specific, I know), the ones in the speedy condom suits that ride across the road in rows of three's. Just unbelievably selfish and dangerous. I know there was a big hooplah because there have been a number of high profile accidents, like the guy who "alledgely" "accidently" ploughed into about 80 cyclists in a clump in stop start traffic in Melbourne. So Im not sure what the specific protocol is for cyclists right now. It should be single file, with a gap, and should be as far off proper road users as possible.
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Yeah, it's the same everywhere. The rules state that cyclists are to ride single file on the left, unless overtaking, much as I'd expect cars to do on a multilane road. The above behaviour is very stupid.
I would hazard a guess and suggest that they're probably riding like that so they can talk more easily. Quite why you need to be talking, rather than say, concentrating on where you're riding, the traffic, the condition of the road/shoulder or slipstreaming the rider in front, is beyond me.
 
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