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A few questions about laws in the US
On Thu, 16 Mar 2006 14:43:29 -0700, Hatunen wrote:
On Thu, 16 Mar 2006 15:49:05 GMT, sechumlib wrote: Doug McDonald wrote: Yes of course. That's what a stop sign is ... a way to slow down traffic. Not true in NY, by statute. A stop sign is to STOP traffic at an intersection. Theoretically, using it to slow traffic is illegal. Which doesn't mean no one does it. My town of Niskayuna, for example, routinely puts up stop signs in absurd places as a sop to local residents who think traffic is going too fast by their precious houses and children. They apparently don't believe in training their children to use care in the street. Not using care in the street is not supposed to be a capital crime. Stupidity has always been a capital offense. The law might side with you if you step out into traffic, but that won't help you if you end up crippled or dead. |
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A few questions about laws in the US
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A few questions about laws in the US
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A few questions about laws in the US
wrote in message oups.com... Hi, Since my recent trip to the US, I have a few questions about laws. On the highway, in Europe you have to stay in the "slow" lane, ie. furthest from the central reservation, right in the US, unless you are overtaking someone. In the US this is not the case. So do you just overtake in whatever lane you can? Can you swop lanes as much as you like to get through the traffic? How much room do you require to change lanes? I was doing it with 2 car lengths space, and my brother who lives there said I would get pulled if a cop saw me. Since you were on 280 in California you may have seen the signs "Slower traffic keep right". That means if you are slower than the people behind you, move to the right. It is usually the convention that faster traffic goes in the left lane. You only have to change lanes if you are not going as fast as the car in front of you. Overtaking on the right is unexpected, and vaguely illegal, which means you can fail your drivers test by not knowing its illegal, but I don't know of anyone ever cited for that infraction. Also driver's training will tell you that you should alway leave one car length between you and the car in front of you for every 10mph of speed you are going. So, if you were going 20mph changing lanes with 2 car lengths was fine. If you were going 60mph you probably would get a ticket for wreckless driving if a cop saw you. I do know of people who got tickets for that. I also suspect most of the rush hour accidents are caused by people trying to shave the car length per 10 mph limit, which is why cops actually watch for that one. I saw lots of signs saying "No Trespassing, no Loitering", such as on the most popular cycle route in the San Fransisco Peninsula, I cannot remember the name but it is around a reservoir and is just off the 280 near san bruno. Now I can guess what trespassing is, but what is Loitering? This sign was next to benches, and I assumed the view was what most people came for, so what is loitering? Is standing still looking at the view counted? Or is it, as my brother suspected, dependent on how much money you have and your ethnic origin. In general it is frowned upon to offer money to law enforcement officers in the US. It may occasionally work, but it is more likely you will get thrown in jail for bribery. I'm not sure if that is what your brother was implying or not. Loitering would be folks that decided to camp out for the day, or night, on the bench. If you roll out your sleeping bag and unpack your camp stove you will likely get hauled in for loitering. At a station I went to (Santa Cruz, Great American?) another prohibition was added to the sign, pan handling. Now I have absolutely no idea what this could be. As mentioned before, pan handling is begging for money. Another thing I could not quite get my head round is the 4 way stops. Are you really supposed to stop every time even when there is nothing coming? This is one of those weird traffic laws. Though speed limits are often considered suggestions, every stop sign everywhere means stop. I know of folks who got tickets for rolling through stop signs on bikes. I know folks who got tickets rolling through stop signs on deserted streets at 3am. What about, as I found a few times, when the stop line is so far back from the junction that you cannot see if it is clear from the line. Are you supposed to stop at the line, then move forward and look,.. Yep, that's exactly what you are supposed to do. |
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A few questions about laws in the US
We are not very disciplined about driving in many regards. Certainly
one of them is voluntarily sorting ourselves by speed on multilane highways. "Slower traffic keep right" is the law (and a scattering of signs remind drivers of it) but enforcement is even rarer than self-discipline. In California, at least, overtaking on the right is explicitly allowed when three or more lanes are moving in the same direction. (In heavy traffic, e.g., at rush hour, it's pretty much inevitable, as the lanes surge up and down in speed independently.) Overtaking on the right under other circumstances is not as clearly legal, but in my experience seldom enforced unless you are also driving wildly or aggressively. so what is loitering? Idling about. It is an eternally controversial legal concept that gives police broad discretion to make you (or your whole group) move along if they don't like your being there or don't care for your looks, social status, or behavior. See also "vagrancy." pan handling. Now I have absolutely no idea what this could be. Slang term for begging. I would imagine that the term comes from holding out a cooking pan for passers-by to drop coins into. I've only seen this literally being done a few times, other money receptacles being easier to find. Another thing I could not quite get my head round is the 4 way stops. Are you really supposed to stop every time even when there is nothing coming? California's driver's handbook sounds typical on the subject: "Eight-sided red STOP signs mean you must make a full stop whenever you see a STOP sign. Stop before entering a crosswalk or at a white "limit line" which is a wide white line painted on the street. If a crosswalk or limit line is not painted on the street, stop at the corner." Some people have strong opinions about the US enthusiasm for stop signs where a yield sign would seem safe enough and less of an impediment to the flow of traffic, but so it is. Some US cities have embraced the roundabout or traffic circle, but often it is not engineered in ways that take advantage of its potential efficiency (e.g., there are stop signs at all the streets that feed into it), and you'll also find that most drivers here are not at all accustomed to using it properly, so be alert and expect someone ahead of you to brake hard at any time. Are you supposed to stop at the line, then move forward and look, or do you just have to stop at some point before the other road? You have to stop at the line if there is one. Stopping again a few feet further along and taking another look, if necessary for safety, is your decision. This can also occur where someone has grown a huge bush in their yard, or parked a large vehicle, or whatever, that obscures your sight lines from the designated stopping place. Thanks for any clarification you can give me. These are my layman's understandings of how it works in most states (especially ones that have adopted a uniform traffic code), but many of our laws are notoriously variable from one state to another -- and local jurisdictions often have oddities of their own to offer. At least, that's how I behave, and I don't get tickets despite driving quite a bit in a variety of states. Cheers, --Joe |
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A few questions about laws in the US
Cathy Kearns wrote:
Since you were on 280 in California you may have seen the signs "Slower traffic keep right". That means if you are slower than the people behind you, move to the right. It is usually the convention that faster traffic goes in the left lane. You only have to change lanes if you are not going as fast as the car in front of you. Overtaking on the right is unexpected, and vaguely illegal, which means you can fail your drivers test by not knowing its illegal, but I don't know of anyone ever cited for that infraction. Not so in NY and OH. It's not illegal at all, and not really unexpected. Also driver's training will tell you that you should alway leave one car length between you and the car in front of you for every 10mph of speed you are going. So, if you were going 20mph changing lanes with 2 car lengths was fine. If you were going 60mph you probably would get a ticket for wreckless driving if a cop saw you. But wreckless driving is just what I want! |
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A few questions about laws in the US
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#28
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A few questions about laws in the US
On 16 Mar 2006 18:14:10 -0800 in rec.travel.usa-canada, "Ad
absurdum per aspera" wrote: Some US cities have embraced the roundabout or traffic circle, but often it is not engineered in ways that take advantage of its potential efficiency (e.g., there are stop signs at all the streets that feed into it), and you'll also find that most drivers here are not at all accustomed to using it properly, so be alert and expect someone ahead of you to brake hard at any time. our first roundabout was installed last summer, with weeks of whining from ignorami in the letters to the editor of our local paper. even after it's been in operation for 5 months, we still get drivers who apparently do not understand a yield sign and stop when they enter the circle every damn time. after a lot of complaints, the cops finally stationed a car there for most of a week, to follow and pull over the folks who kept stopping when the circle was empty or when there was plenty of time and room for cars approaching at the 25 mph entry limit to enter the circle safely. it appears to be better now. OTOH, the husband of one of my co-workers simply will NOT drive through that intersection, at the far end of the only bridge to an island that is mostly suburban, ski area, or wilderness. go figure. |
#30
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A few questions about laws in the US
Pete wrote:
There are three kinds of crappy drivers: Oops, make that four categories. Add the selfish jerks (and jerkettes) who talk on their cellphones, This is now illegal in the UK, except for properly fitted hands-free carphones. |
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