Driving rant: PLEASE stop this!!

I consider myself to be pretty safe but I almost took out a motorcycle on Saturday. I was driving in Ankeny, had my windows down, I tried merging and I totally didn't see the guy on the bike.
When I'm on my motorcycle, I figure nobody sees me. I'm invisible so it's up to me to look out for myself.
 
That example looked to me like 'if both cars arrive at the same time'. In that case, straight has ROW.

If the left-turning car arrives first, it has the ROW, assuming both cars don't have a really long wait at the stop sign. Then, it could be common courtesy for the straight car to go first as they might have an easier go of it. But I think the left-turn car still technically has ROW because they arrived first.

The best course is to use your judgement, be courteous and probably also signal or communicate to the oncoming car if you can that you are either going or letting them go first.

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This is the answer. Under the "car going straight always has right of way" scenario, if you've got one car turning left and 20 cars lined up the opposite direction going straight, the car turning left would have to wait for all 20 cars to clear before taking their left?
 
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This is the answer. Under the "car going straight always has right of way" scenario, if you've got one car turning left and 20 cars lined up the opposite direction going straight, the car turning left would have to wait for all 20 cars to clear before taking their left?
Yeah, that's the issue I see. It might be impossible for the left turning car to ever go. Lake and ski resort traffic can be the worst for this but also post-game/concert. It's often best for cars to just go straight but at lakes or in the mountains, turning left might be the only option.
 
This is the answer. Under the "car going straight always has right of way" scenario, if you've got one car turning left and 20 cars lined up the opposite direction going straight, the car turning left would have to wait for all 20 cars to clear before taking their left?
Not really, because there are stop signs. So if there's a line of 20 cars at both stop signs it wouldn't matter. Once the east/west traffic clears, the two cars that are first in line at their respective stop sign can go. First the one going straight through the intersection, then the car turning left. Then the second cars in each line pull up to the stop sign and stop before making their move when east/west traffic clears again. So the left turning car wouldn't have to wait for all 20 cars to pass through, it would already be moving into the intersection and making its turn when the next car from the other direction is pulling up to the stop sign.
 
Also, can we stop selling huge pickup trucks to old men? I mean my dad is 80 and drives one and it's terrifying. The whole family quit riding with him. I just see every guy over 70 now buys a giant pickup truck. Let's make it against the law.
 
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Not really, because there are stop signs. So if there's a line of 20 cars at both stop signs it wouldn't matter. Once the east/west traffic clears, the two cars that are first in line at their respective stop sign can go. First the one going straight through the intersection, then the car turning left. Then the second cars in each line pull up to the stop sign and stop before making their move when east/west traffic clears again. So the left turning car wouldn't have to wait for all 20 cars to pass through, it would already be moving into the intersection and making its turn when the next car from the other direction is pulling up to the stop sign.

This is the description of: the car that arrives first goes first, which is exactly the point and the correct answer to the question.
 
Not really, because there are stop signs. So if there's a line of 20 cars at both stop signs it wouldn't matter. Once the east/west traffic clears, the two cars that are first in line at their respective stop sign can go. First the one going straight through the intersection, then the car turning left. Then the second cars in each line pull up to the stop sign and stop before making their move when east/west traffic clears again. So the left turning car wouldn't have to wait for all 20 cars to pass through, it would already be moving into the intersection and making its turn when the next car from the other direction is pulling up to the stop sign.

So if there's room for one car to squeeze through and traffic picks back up for another 30 seconds. Then again that happens. That car turning left would have to wait until there's a gap large enough for both to go or just keep waiting?

I will give a very specific example of this from an intersection that causes a ton of confusion when busy.

E/W road is NW 18th in Ankeny
North side is some apartments, caseys, subway, etc.
South side is the sports complex.

On the weekends, 18th is usually stacked with cars to a point where you can fit a single car at a time into the existing traffic and there is a very steady flow of traffic trying to turn on to 18th from both directions. If you are in the left hand turn lane coming out of the sports complex, are you obligated to wait for every car that shows up coming out of Caseys looking to turn right on to 18th or straight back into the sports complex?

If there is a car turning left out of the complex that got there first, the only time I'm making that right out of Caseys before them is if there are cars heading east on 18th and nothing west or if they go first. They were there first. That's their intersection.

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My, used-to-be, 2025 Santa Fe. After some gnumb gnuts ran a stop sign. He was pulling up from the side road on highway 61 (4 lane divided) between Davenport and Muscatine. Looked like he was stopping. Then at the last second.... nope, I'm pulling out right in front of Mr MeanDean.

I remember gripping the wheel and saying at impact, "you dumb sh--!"
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That is not going to buff out. Sorry for being a smart a$$n I just could not help myself.
 
My pet peeve that seems to happen frequently, reminded by that aerial shot above:

You're in a two-lane road with a center dividing left-turn lane that either direction can use. If you are going to turn left, GET INTO THE TURN LANE to slow down and complete your turn. I've had people literally turn from the traffic lane, half commit and block half the traffic lane, brake and slow in the traffic lane then wait until the last possible second to get over...

It's like people are afraid to drive in the middle lane that's designed for turning left.
 
I don't know if I'd go that far, but I would revise the rules for older drivers. As in, everyone over 70 has to renew their license yearly and over 75 it has to include a driving test.
I suspect you may feel differently about this when you are 70. There is an old movie, Wild In The Streets, where the youth took over and put everyone over 35 behind fencing in camps and took away all their rights. So, be careful what you wish for.
 
Correct. The fuel and insurance benefits to having trucks governed are significant, especially in large fleets.

Also, many trucks are actually governed higher with cruise activated than on the pedal to encourage consistent driving. So, contrary to what would make sense to most people, trucks are not able to go into a passing lane and accelerate during a pass. Pressing the accelerator will often slow them down depending on how companies have them set up.

This is not to say that there are not a-holes driving trucks. The percentages likely line up with everyone else on the road.
Yes, I forgot about the "driver incentives" that reward for maximizing fuel economy.
 
I suspect you may feel differently about this when you are 70. There is an old movie, Wild In The Streets, where the youth took over and put everyone over 35 behind fencing in camps and took away all their rights. So, be careful what you wish for.
Hey man, I can be uncool without being a danger to society. Don't fence me in!
 
It’s also fun when driving a truck you swing into the left lane to pull right into a field driveway to avoid ditching the trailer and some jackwagon thinks you are doing it to let them pass and flies by you on the right as you start turning.
 
I suspect you may feel differently about this when you are 70. There is an old movie, Wild In The Streets, where the youth took over and put everyone over 35 behind fencing in camps and took away all their rights. So, be careful what you wish for.
With how my current work day is going, if there is decent food and drink, steady wi-fi, and no work behind that fence, I'll be first in line.
 
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Also, can we stop selling huge pickup trucks to old men? I mean my dad is 80 and drives one and it's terrifying. The whole family quit riding with him. I just see every guy over 70 now buys a giant pickup truck. Let's make it against the law.

Only if we can also stop selling giant SUVs to 5’3” soccer moms that don’t sit so low that they have more blind spots than visibility.