Do people generally hate it when you change lanes?
Posted by OceanWaterOtter@reddit | driving | View on Reddit | 45 comments
I've noticed that people seem to dislike it whenever I change lanes. I was driving in the right lane today and my next turn was going to require I be in the left lane. I changed lanes about a mile in advance of my turn and made sure I matched the speed of the car in front of me. There was plenty of space and the next car was pretty far back. Even so, the driver behind me in a white pickup truck got annoyed and immediately switched into the right lane. The traffic in that lane wasn't moving quickly enough for him though, so then he got back into the left lane. I've noticed this kind of behavior a few times while driving. I don't really understand this mentality because personally, I'm really chill about letting people merge or change lanes. We're all going the same direction and I don't think of driving as being a race or competition. I just wanna reach my destination safely with my car undamaged (repairs and insurance are so expensive). Is there anything I can do to not pasi people off?
Jim_Force@reddit
People are idiots
Castabae3@reddit
It sounds like in the situation you described, The guy in the white pickup was going faster than you in the left lane but you still had enough distance to merge in before he could speed up and make it unsafe.
It re-enforces this idea when you iterate that the traffic in the lane he immediately swapped to wasn't going fast enough and he decided to go behind you.
It's likely he was maintaining a faster speed than you, You merged in before he could pass you and now you are slowing him down.
Of course you don't legally have to give him way for him to speed up, But I can absolutely see how the guy would be annoyed in the scenario I described.
OceanWaterOtter@reddit (OP)
That sounds about right. He was driving pretty fast but there was still time and room for me to change lanes. If we want to talk about what was legally permissible though, he definitely would have been going faster than speed limit, which is against the law. I literally just needed to make a turn. Changing lanes is legal and I don't feel as if I did any wrong. I just wanted to understand his mentality. Thanks for your analysis
timid_soup@reddit
Were there any vehicles behind the truck? If there weren't, I would have been pissed off if i was him. In his mind you got in front of him and made him slow down when you could have waited 30 seconds and gotten in behind him.
OceanWaterOtter@reddit (OP)
Cope, my dear, cope. I'm trying to get somewhere just like you. Didn't mean to offend
erichf3893@reddit
You’ll get it eventually
crafty-panda523@reddit
💯 If you purposely got in front of him and then only went the speed limit, then, yes, he definitely has every right to be pissed at you. You should have gone behind him.
Sometimes I get mad when people go in front of me because I'm trying to leave adequate distance between me and the car in front of me. There's lits of room behind me, so I don't know why people insist on doing that.
Blakids@reddit
He would've had to slow down to the car OP got behind so you're entire argument doesn't matter at all.
Castabae3@reddit
In that scenario it would probably just antagonize the truck driver since he was rapidly approaching, In his eye's you saw him coming up and decided to block him for speeding. This isn't my personal opinion since I wouldn't personally care, If I was the white truck I'd know I'm in the wrong and accept temporary defeat.
do-not-freeze@reddit
And people project a LOT when they're driving. You're not the main character, not every car that switches lanes is trying to block you, they're not NPCs, they're just trying to get somewhere too.
erichf3893@reddit
Some people drive like NPCs for real
erichf3893@reddit
Slowing down the passing lane is also illegal in many states. But I think that’s only for the highway
_Silent_Android_@reddit
I'm too focused on the road to care about what people think of my driving. They don't know my name, I don't know theirs.
NotHumanButIPlayOne@reddit
It's an American thing. I've been all over. Yes you have assholes everywhere. But this is by far a widespread US cultural thing.
Except Sicily. They drive like complete shitheads.
shadoweiner@reddit
Americans drive safer than Latin Americans.
NotHumanButIPlayOne@reddit
I can not dispute that. I haven't been to mainland SA. But I have been to Trinidad. The standard of driving there was atrocious.
OceanWaterOtter@reddit (OP)
I definitely think there is something cultural about this. I'm literally just here trying to get somewhere like anyone else. It's not that serious somektneeds to freak out over someone changing lanes
Inner_Grab_7033@reddit
Doesn't sound like he "freaked out"
He was going faster in the left lane and he probably didn't want to hit the brakes since you got into the left lane (legally so but still slowing him down). He may have wanted/thought he had time to go into the right lane and back around (a hypothetical technically illegal pass on the right).
The law seemingly would be on your side here but I do get where the faster traffic in the left lane is coming from.
Sexy-Flexi@reddit
You should put a bumper sticker on your car that reads, "I am only in this left lane for the next 1/2 mile because I need to turn left up ahead".LOL
darklegion30@reddit
Info: You say you got into the left lane a mile before your left turn. What was the speed limit on that road? Depending on that, moving over a mile in advance might be just right or could be wildly inappropriate.
Also, I think some commenters may have had different perspectives on what you meant by speed matching the car in front of you. You're in the left lane at this point, is that car in front of you in the right lane or left lane? How far in front of you were they when you were speed matching?
ValleySparkles@reddit
That doesn't sound like they were annoyed, just that you were slower and they wanted to go around you. You're a slow driver. That's OK. People will pass you.
crafty-panda523@reddit
Being significantly slower than those around you is a hazard
KennyWuKanYuen@reddit
I used to think I didn’t but now that I think about it, it is something that I’ve sorta noticed myself getting annoyed at under certain circumstances.
Normally I don’t mind if people change lanes because you have to. That’s a given. But I do get irritated at those who either change lanes and purposely slow down or those that have no situational awareness that their lane change is now backing up traffic.
My rule of thumb is if you’re lane changing into a faster lane: 1) don’t make the guy behind you tap their brakes and 2) don’t be slower than what you were travelling at. If you know you’re going to be the slower driver, merge behind them instead of in front of them. It’s just a dick move to merge and then immediately brake.
TheRealPeterVenkman@reddit
Please don't put too much thought into it. You sound like a considerate person, it's the other person's issue. There are always people going through things in their head. Just keep doing your thing and forget the fools.
“You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time.” -John Lydgate
Highroller4273@reddit
It's probably because he was going faster than you. Not your fault though since there was a car in front and you were going to turn left.
SpartanJackal@reddit
I'm not mad about someone changing lanes. I'm mad about someone almost taking off my bumper when they change lanes, or when they decide to jump in front of me at a red light and I have to slam the brakes on even harder (I drive a big truck for work so it's already a task to stop in time depending on circumstances)
Ok-Double-7982@reddit
Classic American drivers! My favorite is when you need to get in a lane so you put your signal on, start your move, and the car that's far back suddenly accelerates like someone lit a fire under them so that by the time you're fully moved into the lane, they're riding your bumper. Self-created chaos.
MozeDad@reddit
Stop obsessing about what other people think and drive safely. Full stop.
rustledemjimmies@reddit
The way I see it, other drivers couldn't give 2 shits about anyone's perspective but their own, so I match that energy, as long as I'm operating legally, I don't care what anyone thinks.
Firm-Rest1860@reddit
The three dickhead behaviors I see with changing lanes in a traffic congested city is as follows:
1.) You turn on your turn signal because you see a gap, and the car behind you guns it to close it instead of letting you. I usually still take the opportunity and let the idiot honk & rage.
2.) Someone cuts in front of you and immediately slams on their brakes because they didn’t realize traffic was slower or stopped.
3.) Someone comes to a dead stop to change lanes (usually at an intersection) blocking everyone else from moving until traffic flows OR cuts across multiple lanes while braking to make their exit/turn
Specific_Society_587@reddit
Who cares? You’re going to piss some people off and some people are going to piss you off. Don’t take it personally. Just don’t turn your signal on a mile before your turn and then pass more than 2 places to make a turn. That’s infuriating.
Cranks_No_Start@reddit
People are going to be upset because the sun is shiny and the day of the week ends in a Y.
Nothing you can do but drive safe, signal and be predictable.
matthalius@reddit
Turn your signal light on
-dyedinthewool-@reddit
Dont let their unneeded stress become yours. For some reason people seem to be in such a hurry on the road. We’re already moving above ~60 mph !
Alert-Industry6217@reddit
It's just people being short sighted idiots. Idk how many times I have changed lanes and someone was way behind but as soon as I got in their lane they floor it and start talegating me expecting me to speed. They then change lanes aggressively and floor it just to see me at the next red light.
Most people drive only looking at the car in front of them. I have had so many people honk at me for not running over people in the cross walk. I've had people pass me on a double yellow and then I am right behind them at the light. A few months ago I was going 45 in a 40 on a rainy night and this guy passed me on the double yellow at the top of a hill.
NBA-014@reddit
“White Pickup Truck” is all you needed to say.
wafflemakers2@reddit
Youre supposed to match the speed of the lane you are merging into. Not your current lane. Thats probably why dude was pissed. Sounds like he was going 20+ mph faster than you and you decided to inch out in front of him causing him to need to slam on his brakes instead of you just waiting 5 seconds for him to pass.
BigChippr@reddit
changing lanes is normal. however there is always that 20 something bmw driver with something to prove trying to go through 5 lanes of traffic in 6 seconds cause he doesn't know how to plan ahead.
shadoweiner@reddit
So you were cruising behind slower traffic, cut off a white pickup truck who was going faster than you and was probably going to use the gap between you and the car in front of you in both right and left lanes (since you mentioned you have a shitload of space in between yall) to pass and you matched the speed of the car in front of you? Do you not check your rearview mirrors to check whether the person behind you in your new lane is going faster or slower than you?
General rule of thumb is: you dont want to cruise at the same speed as the person next to you. If youre going to pass, pass. If youre going to turn, maybe up your speed a couple mph faster than the person so youre not impeding traffic behind you that was already going faster than you.
DikkTooSmall@reddit
Fun fact, if there are cars directly in front of you going a certain speed you can't always go faster. As long as OP left a safe distance between them and that truck they did absolutely nothing wrong.
pizza99pizza99@reddit
If it’s a left turn it really depends, but I can see the argument for about a mile before (I’m usually closer to half a mile on high speed roadways, and a few blocks in cities). As long as you signaled and didn’t slow down when merging your good. People just get upset at anything
I will say the only time I’m really upset that someone get in front of me in the left lane (even if they use their signal and don’t break) is when I’m approaching and see that they’ve been tailgating someone in the right lane for what looks like miles but ONLY AS APPROACH do they just SUDDENLY REMEBE THE LEFT LANE EXIST! So instead of them passing long before I got there and not tailgating anyone, they now pass a time that forces me to slow down, while also spending miles pissing off the person they tailgated, all because they lack situational awareness and it was only my presence that reminded them that they can go around people
Myzx@reddit
I think people are more sore about it because there seem to be a lot more folks out there switching lanes just to get ahead by a car or two, and that is dickhead behavior. But if you gotta change lanes, you gotta change lanes.
cryptolyme@reddit
people get mad that left turns exist. BuT mUh PaSsInG lAnE!
Mediocre_Breakfast34@reddit
It depends, in a certain sense yes people hate it when you change lanes or pass. It is very common on the open road for the person youre trying to pass to speed up as youre passing them. In other cases people have a tendency to change lanes and be completely oblivious to the general speed of that lane. Just about every day Il be cruising in the middle lane then some dipshit merges from an entrance ramp and swerves over to the middle doing 15mph slower then everyone else because they just prefer that lane and fuck everyone else on the road.
banjo_hero@reddit
"why do ppl get annoyed when i drive annoyingly?"