The right way to flip flop

We all do it from time to time. We passed the address we were looking for, or we saw that enticing RV for sale parked on the side of the road that we just had to look at.

So then, we feel the need to flip flop. But how?

There is always the "three rights make a left" theory for turning around. (That is to say, go around the block.)

Then there is the ever popular "U-Turn" either at a traffic light with a left turn lane (and without a pesky "No U Turn" sign) or on a wide road.

But on narrower roads in more rural areas or where the grid of streets is widely spaced, what is the right way to turn around?

The three point turn is sometimes used, but what a lot of people do is to pull the car into a driveway and then back out across a lane of traffic. Easy, right?

The better way is to choose a driveway on the right side of the road (as opposed to the left side of the road), pull up past the driveway you want to enter, and back into it. Then, when pulling out going forward, you have a clearer view on both sides.

A lot of people are just plain afraid of backing up and can't do it precisely. They're too afraid of hitting the mailbox when trying to back into a driveway. If you are one of these people, then it probably feels less risky to back out into a wide open street where there is nothing to hit.

Maybe there is nothing to hit now, but the car that comes barreling around the corner or the kid on a bicycle who comes out of nowhere are also more hazardous risks when you are in this position. In my view, the risk is greater backing out across a lane than it is backing into the driveway to begin with.

Cops flashing on the highway shoulder - invitation for disaster?

Perhaps you've seen those police video shows on TV. You know, the ones where the cops chase the bad guys at high speed and it always ends in either a crash or the suspects bailing out and running. Sometimes both.

Another favorite category of videos in these shows features police officers with vehicles stopped on the side of the road, and darn it all if other drivers aren't attracted to these traffic stops like moths to flames, causing the officer to have to jump out of the way--if he's lucky, that is. If he's not lucky he gets hit full on by a car speeding right into him. And the passengers of the stopped car get to become victims as well of a driver who for some unfathomable reason thought that a police car stopped by the side of the road was an invitation to hit it like in some depraved video game.

Then there are the occassional videos featured on these shows where rubbernecking drivers distracted by something--be it a traffic stop, construction, an accident, a suicide jumper, or whatever else may interesting at the moment--get into further accidents themselves. On a freeway this can lead to massive chain reaction crashes as people are looking at the shoulder while not noticing the car stopped dead in front of them that has just rear ended another car.

Having read that, take a look at the video and tell me what you see.

Did you notice the men working near the sign on the left side of the road? My guess is that you did not, because you probably saw all the vehicles lined up on the right shoulder with all their flashing lights and you probably looked over at them. If one of these men had been too close to the road or trying to cross it, there is a pretty good chance that many drivers would not have seen him at all on the left shoulder because they were looking at the light show on the right shoulder.

Now suppose there had been a large object of some sort in the middle of the highway in between these two potential distractions. How many drivers would have seen that?

My point is that it is a very wise idea as a talented driver to always consciously survey the entire scene whenever there is a distraction of any kind to see if there is something you should be seeing but are not.

Then once you've thoroughly scanned your surroundings, most importantly the path your vehicle is going to take, go ahead and take a little peek at that accident. Us humans are as curious as cats, after all. It's just that I'd rather have my body and property intact first and be curious second.

Careful getting around that police car!

Today I came across a driving situation in which there was a police cruiser at a traffic stop on the opposite side of the road ahead of me. That's not particularly unusual, but it is definitely something to pay attention to!

There were a few other factors in this particular situation.

1. The traffic stop was on a curve on the opposite shoulder where it was not clearly visible until I came upon it.
2. There was a pedestrian walking on the shoulder across from the traffic stop on the shoulder on my side of the road.
3. The pedestrian was watching the traffic stop, not the oncoming traffic (me).
4. There was traffic about to pass the traffic stop from the opposite direction.

Here is a mildly complex setup that is an accident hazard. Why? Any time there is more than one road hazard in close proximity, the chance of an accident goes up.

Normally I would give the traffic stop as wide a berth as possible by moving my car to the extreme right of the paved roadway, crossing the white line on the right side of the road. That wasn't possible this time because of the pedestrian.

It is the responsibility of the traffic coming up behind the traffic stop (the traffic opposite me, in this case) to slow down and make sure it is safe to proceed before passing the road hazard that is completely or partially blocking their travel lane. All too often, however, such drivers eagerly cross the double yellow center line while still at a high rate of speed to pass by the blockage, regardless of what traffic is coming at them from the other direction. I think drivers tend to assume that the oncoming traffic will move way over for them. And they may be correct about that, but then again they may not be! And then what happens?

A talented driver coming up behind the traffic stop in this case would not only see the traffic stop, but would have scanned the rest of the scene and noticed the pedestrian walking on the left side of the road, and noticed that the opposing traffic may not be able to give a wide berth. A non-talented driver would just plow on through and become an active road hazard himself.

Today, I consider myself lucky. While the driver behind the traffic stop did not slow down as much as I would have liked, he did slow down some and only started entering my lane (crossing the double yellow line) once I had gotten past the pedestrian.