Dimwit on the road!!

[Richard]

Can't believe what this idiot did yesterday.

Setup: Added to house, now putting the flagstone walkway back down and need some block material (heavy duty sand) under it. I happen to live 20 minutes away (backhoe speed at 12 MPH ... only 5 minutes away by car ) from a local quarry.

Anyways, happen to live VERY near the quarry so jumped on my backhoe to drive over there and get some block material.

Full sized industrial backhoe/loader, 8 tons weight. Front bucket alone weighs about 1,500 pounds as I recall reading.

The left turn to the quarry is a 'T' intersection off another road and comes RIGHT AT a hard (blind) right bend in the road. Double yellow lines, can't see oncoming traffic kinda thing.

I pulled over so someone could pass me... got much closer to my turn, maybe 200' away and someone else was behind me. Because I was so close I decided to simply go ahead and turn to get out of his way rather than to take more time by pulling over.

Neared my turn, had left blinker on, signaled left turn with my left arm WELL before my turn. It was pretty obvious to anyone with a brain that I was turning left at the road the gravel pit was located.....perhaps that was my destination.

I was at my turn and was just getting ready to turn the wheel to cross the oncoming lane (no oncoming traffic) and I had a little voice in the back of my head telling me to double check the guy in the truck behind me.

I turned around to visually see him slowing down, patiently driving behind me as he knew I was getting out of his way... when all the sudden I ALSO noticed yet another truck. This second truck was passing the vehicle behind me and continued on to pass me.

Mind you... he was passing US on a dual yellow, blind right hand bend in the road as I was signaling a left turn onto the adjacent road.

My front bucket missed this idiot by about 4'

Had I not had the voice to check the truck behind me I would have either had my bucket in the way of this Chevy S-10 sized truck to hit or I would have speared his passenger side.

I'm not sure...but I don't know that the hardened teeth on my bucket would have even noticed the metal skin of that truck.

Fortunately, I had the voice to be 100% sure about the guy behind me, noticed this other idiot who was passing everyone and I had a moment to react.

The rest of my trip was uneventful. Got my 2 tons of block material and now get to break my back putting it down along with my sidewalk.

 

[smfcpacfp]

I was turning right, into my driveway on my motorcycle once. I lived in the boondocks so there wasn't much traffic but there was a guy right behind me. I had my right motorcycle turn signal on and used a hand signal and was going very slow. Just as I was ready to turn I got stung in the ear by a bee that had got into my helmet which was disconcerting enough, but the clown behind decided to pass me on the right!! in the gravel off the road. I was hoping he would hit a tree but no such luck.

Like you I looked once more before I leaped, to my advantage.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

No one cares about double yellows or turn signals when you are on a tractor. I never make a left turn without making sure the cars behind me have stopped as they usually don't. I can be parked with my left turn signal flashing and they don't even slow down, they just blow right by me so I have to stay in the road till the cars stop passing It is common for me to see cars forced to the shoulder also as the cars behind me pass me without caring about the oncoming cars facing them. They just keep going and force the other cars off the road I have no choice but to stay in the lane as I am way to wide 75% of the time to say in the shoulder

 

[smfcpacfp]

No one cares about double yellows or turn signals when you are on a tractor. I never make a left turn without making sure the cars behind me have stopped as they usually don't. I can be parked with my left turn signal flashing and they don't even slow down, they just blow right by me so I have to stay in the road till the cars stop passing It is common for me to see cars forced to the shoulder also as the cars behind me pass me without caring about the oncoming cars facing them. They just keep going and force the other cars off the road I have no choice but to stay in the lane as I am way to wide 75% of the time to say in the shoulder

Sure glad I don't live in New York, Michiganders in the Upper Penninsula pretty much follow the rules unless they are drunk, on their cells, or sleepy.

 

[kevinj]

Sure glad I don't live in New York, Michiganders in the Upper Penninsula pretty much follow the rules unless they are drunk, on their cells, or sleepy.

I wish they followed the rules in lower half!!! I get passed on double yellow at least once a week.

 

[smfcpacfp]

I wish they followed the rules in lower half!!! I get passed on double yellow at least once a week.

We aren't in as big a hurry up here!

 

[milkman]

Try driving for a living and you see all kinds of idiot behavior dozens of times a day. Call it profiling, but you get to expect it from people driving certain vehicles, idiocy is rampant.

 

[Jstpssng]

I wish they followed the rules in lower half!!! I get passed on double yellow at least once a week.

Last time I knew it actually wasn't against the law to pass on the double here in Maine; however it is illegal to pass on intersections blind curves, or other unsafe situations.

Several years ago I was walking up the highway facing traffic when I heard the sound of a horn blowing. I turned around, and stepped into the path of a car which was passing another. It scared me so bad that I threw the axe I was carrying at his back window... fortunately(?) I missed.

 

[Stimw]

Try driving a semi sometime! You will see it all. Like the guy who's lane ended on the right of me, fully marked with signs, so he has to pass anyway and hits my right front wheel so hard that it knocked the steering wheel out of my hand and he keeps going with his left quarter panel crushed! But he got in front of me so in his mind he thinks he won!

 

[aczlan]

Last time I knew it actually wasn't against the law to pass on the double here in Maine; however it is illegal to pass on intersections blind curves, or other unsafe situations.

The state of Maine would like to disagree with you: http://www.state.me.us/mdot/safetyo...s/Maine Transportation Safety Laws August.pdf

As would the US DOT: FHWA - MUTCD - Pavement Markings Tutorial

If passing farm equipment (and I know the road) I have been known to pass on a double yellow, but otherwise, generally if there is a double yellow line there isn't a good enough sight line to safely pass.

If driving or towing farm equipment down the road I have been known to wave people past if it is clear (even on a double yellow) as a courtesy.

Aaron Z