Driving Etiquette

Note: I'm not encouraging rampant law-breaking, just pointing out driving patterns and behaviors that could make life on the road easier. Also note that while I've noticed these patterns/behaviors in other areas, this article focuses on traffic in Northern Virginia, and may be different according to your locality.

Most states require new adolescent drivers to attend certain amounts of hours in a driver's education class before taking a test and receiving their driver's license. Some states (e.g. Virginia) additionally require time "behind the wheel" - both a written log from an adult (usually parent or older sibling) and completion of a road skills test. Neither of these requirements, however, seems to properly teach and advise what many drivers get from experience: common driving etiquette.

When driving in any setting with other cars on the road, driving rules and laws are sometimes disregarded or used infrequently. For example, a majority of drivers, regardless of age/locality/gender, tend to keep their speed at around 5mph over the posted limit. This typical behavior is almost universally followed, even though there is no written rule that suggests this behavior is the norm. While this example is almost universally followed, many unwritten rules and courtesies seem to be either unknown or unused by other drivers. This creates huge amounts of stress that translates in to road rage between those who follow the unwritten etiquette of driving and other, less informed individuals. In an attempt to "educate the masses," here are some "common" courtesies that seem to be fairly universal, and could contribute to a less stressful driving experience if followed by more drivers...

• Turn Signals: required by law, inconsistent in practice.

If there are cars behind you, in front of you at an intersection, or anywhere close to you, USE YOUR TURN SIGNAL! I can't predict what you're going to do, but if you signal for a second or two before cutting me off, I at least have some sort of warning, and I might be in a good enough mood to let you in. If you're at an intersection with other cars, use your signal! For example, say you're at a four-way stop: the car directly across from you plans to go straight and you plan on turning left, in front of them. How do they know not to go ahead and move when you start creeping forward? Their assumption is that you're going straight - when you end up cutting in front of them or slamming on your brakes to avoid a collision, it's your fault! Let them know you're turning; remarkably, many drivers do not possess telepathic abilities. Without citing statistics, I'm sure that many accidents happen because drivers assume others can predict what they're going to do without using any sort of signal.

An important admonition on using your turn signals: TURN THEM OFF AFTER YOU TURN! The incongruity of turn signals left on is one of the most aggravating phenomena to see when driving. Nothing is more irksome than seeing someone on the highway with their turn signal on after switching lanes and forgetting to turn it off. Is the car planning on moving in to your lane? Pulling off the highway on to the shoulder? Or is it just the actions of a mentally deficient driver? After performing your driving action (turn, merge, etc.) turn off your damn signal!

• Headlights: both respective and rude roles.

Most of us know that when someone is going below the speed limit or poking along in the left hand lane, we flash our high beams at them. Perfectly acceptable - perhaps the person unhurriedly blocking your way isn't aware of someone behind them with something important to do. This gives them the oppurtunity to either speed up or move to a slower lane.

On the other hand, flashing one's high beams can also be used as an amiable affirmative. When a car is signalling in an attempt to merge in front of you, flashing your headlights lets them know that they have room to do so, and you won't accelerate/block them. In relation to this, you can "thank" someone for letting you in by hitting your emergency lights. Letting them blink once or twice lets the car that graciously allowed you to pull in front know that you're thankful.

If it's night and there are pedestrians waiting to cross the street, you can do the same thing. In an effort to confirm whether or not the pedestrian is going to try crossing or not, you can blink your lights at them from a couple meters away, letting them know you see them, they can go, and letting you go on your way quicker without playing chicken for an extra 30 seconds.

• Speed: no clever quip, just don't be a jerk.

Like I originally said, the universal norm is to average around 5mph over the speed limit. If you're going under this, either due to valid reasons (mechanical, environmental factors, etc.) or you just drive slowly, be consistant. That means if you're on a two-lane road, don't speed up and slow down, especially when the car behind you could pass you.

If your on any road with two lanes or more, the right lane is for the slowest, left is 0nly for passing. So if your sitting in the left lane and being passed, MOVE OVER TO THE RIGHT LANE! If you were planning on making a left turn, only get in the left lane when you're nearing your exit, not for the entirety of the trip. A consistant feature of the left hand lane on highways seems to be that one should be going atleast 9mph over the speed limit. e.g. Speed limit of 65; if you're in the left hand lane, you should be going at least 74mph. "Slow" is relative - if you're going 74mph and cars are still passing you in the right hand lane, you still need to get out of the fast lane and on to the right. The drivers who tend to ignore this unwritten rule are also the ones who cause pointless traffic - cars start to bottleneck because of their oblivious observations on the relative speed of surrounding traffic.

Feel free to post debates/additional unwritten rules. I know I missed some; will hopefully follow up with youtubes and other suggestions.