Grinding My Gears! - Lane Thieves

Good evening everyone! I'd like to start a new series of articles here called...

On today's Grinding My Gears!, the topic is Lane Thieves.

Have you ever come to a single lane stop sign or traffic light while driving, only to be suddenly surprised on your left or right by some pushy ignoramus wanting to turn at the same time? It's as if they think there are two turn lanes at the stop, when in fact there is only one single lane. Are they even paying attention to how the road is (or more importantly is NOT) divided? 

I encounter fools like this all the time at a local shopping center. Those of you whom live close to me will surely know what I'm referring to.

Click for a larger image.

At the local Alamance Crossing Shopping Center, there is a three-way stop in front of Target. The traffic that is traveling out of the shopping center has a stop sign, as seen in the crudely drawn map above (click it for a bigger image). All vehicles must yield to the incoming traffic, which does not stop (though some idiots do -- DON'T STOP). On busy days, the outgoing traffic can back up quite a ways, making it very difficult to escape the shopping center. On multiple occasions, including today, I have encountered an idiot whom thinks there are two lanes at the stop sign.

There is only one lane per side of the road in this shopping center. Two cars can not stop at the sign at the same time. If you try to pull beside another car already waiting at the stop sign, it causes confusion and potentially an accident (of which I know of two that have happened in this exact location). Just because a lane is wide enough to accommodate two vehicles does not mean two can stop and wait to turn or go straight.

Whenever I approach a stop sign or light, I purposefully try to occupy as much of the lane as possible. This is to prevent another jerk-wad from pulling by me on either side and trying to turn when I do. This has annoyed some drivers in the past, especially in the case of this particular shopping center stop. While the entire line of cars in front of and behind me will keep to the far right of the lane (which allows morons to try and pull two wide at the stop sign), I drive down the very center of the lane. That's nearly a full car width out of line with the other drivers, but it prevents the Lane Thieves from breaking common traffic laws. I've been cursed and had horns honked at me, but I don't care. Quit enabling assholes, I say.

You know why most folks don't like me coming to stop signs the proper way? Because they would try and pull up at the same time, just like every other crappy driver.

What these fools fail to realize is this...

Only one car per lane at a time can make an action at a stop (unless there are designated turn lanes, of course). If two cars try to make an action at the same stop in the same lane, then they run the risk of blinding the other driver's line of sight. They might not see a turning vehicle from another lane. Or, they might cause another lane's driver to make an improper motion, thereby inhibiting traffic flow or incurring an accident.

So stop pulling up beside other drivers at single lane stop lights and signs, would you? You're being a self-absorbed nitwit.