Traffic Signs in Oklahoma

[MBowman325]

ITs only in oklahoma? From my experiances there are ra-tards everywhere. I'm sure ive fell in the ra-tard category a few times.

Florida and Houston are wretched places to drive in my experiences. Everywhere else has their special people, but they seem to be in the miniroity. Well, except for Oklahoma.... (And thay may still be in the minority but for the love of god it seems like there are a ton..)

And I'll admit, I've been that idiot driver a few times in my life as well - I'm certainly not perfect.

My big question is on how the traffic circles work here - this gentleman told me that I should yield right in addition to yielding left. He was someone that should know, but it just didn't seem right. I'm just trying to figure out if I was really the idiot yesterday.

 

[Danny Tanner]

Florida and Houston are wretched places to drive in my experiences. Everywhere else has their special people, but they seem to be in the miniroity. Well, except for Oklahoma.... (And thay may still be in the minority but for the love of god it seems like there are a ton..)

And I'll admit, I've been that idiot driver a few times in my life as well - I'm certainly not perfect.

My big question is on how the traffic circles work here - this gentleman told me that I should yield right in addition to yielding left. He was someone that should know, but it just didn't seem right. I'm just trying to figure out if I was really the idiot yesterday.

The only traffic circle I'm aware of in our state is on 10th St (maybe 16th?) just east of downtown and it's only a 3-way circle if I recall right and I think there are signs telling you which direction to yield to, which I believe is to your left.

 

[PUMPKIN]

theres only 1 in tulsa that im aware of. but i didnt have any trouble with nor did i need a manual??? I think your overthinking the traffic circle.

 

[Model 70]

I can't remember where I learned that slower traffic keeps right (even if you're going 10 mph over the speed limit, if someone is coming up behind you, you're not going slow, but you're still going slower, so move right), always signal your intended turns/merges/lane changes, and the rule of following no closer than 2 seconds behind the car in front of you.

A person's biggest blind spot will always be towards the rear passenger side of a car. Not moving right for faster traffic forces passing cars into your blind spot, creating a much more dangerous situation than just a person going 5 mph faster than you. Those who do not move over always argue that they were going 5 over the speed limit so they shouldn't have to move over and that the person wanting them to move over is just selfish, when in fact they're the selfish ones for not making the highway a little bit safer by moving over. I know I get upset when people don't move right for me, but I'll be the first person to extend that courtesy to others who may be traveling faster than I, so they can throw that selfish argument right out the window.

Unfortunately, There seems to be an unwritten rule that states something about like this, "When ever you observe a turn signal indicating that the vehicle in the lane next to you will be moving into the lane that you occupy, it is mandatory that you speed up and block this lane change while also honking and flipping the bird to said vehicle

 

[onearmedman]

 

[Jefpainthorse]

Who put the "yeild signs" on all the Expressway on ramps? Especially I35? When you get on a limited acess highway you note the traffic.. and use the ramp to get to a safe speed that allows you to merge into the traffic.

A good driver arlready on the highway should note the folks attempting to enter.. and adjust their speed to allow the entrant to fold into the traffic already on the right lane.

My take away (OKC and Edmond area... Tulsa drivers seem to do better)... If I slow down to let you in... you will come to a stop. If I speed up to let you behind me..you will speed up and crowd me to the left or force me to slow and prevent a side swipe. For giggles.. if you slow down on a ramp..Ive been the guy who slows .. moves to the shoulder and honks his horn to let you in. I hope you get rear ended some day... you know who you are.

If I am trying to enter.. you will speed up and force me into the shoulder. And I cant remember how many times Ive signaled a lane change (to set up a left turn at the next light) and the people behind me take that a an offer to pass me.

Funny part is... OKC folks are not road ragers. I have to figure most grew up on county roads and never adapted to pavement.

 

[Glocktogo]

The one's I hate are the one's who race to get in front of you when you're entering the highway and they're exiting, then slam on their brakes so there's no way you can match the speed of the traffic you're trying to merge with. WTF? You're going to have to slow down for your off ramp, why do you have to be a d!@k and completely screw other drivers in the process?

 

[onearmedman]

It could be worse...

 

[HMFIC]

OH HAI I'M MERGING WITH NO SIGNAL WERE ALL YOU GUISE DOING 65 OR 70MPH LOL I'LL DO 43 TILL I'M FINISHED WITH THIS PHONE CALL THEN I'LL DO LIKE 90 LOL

OH SORRY DID YOU NOT EXPECT ME TO COME TO A COMPLETE STOP AT THE END OF AN ON RAMP APPROACHING LIGHT TRAFFIC LOL

I saw a show/documentary once that was all about what creates traffic jams on limited access highways. Had a bunch of footage from California and Germany. Really eye opening how the smallest stupid action causes a chain reaction that can bring traffic to a dead stop way back down the line. Oklahoma drivers need to be duct taped to a folding chair and left to watch it on a giant projector screen in Wal-Mart parking lots until it fawking sinks in.



I drove behind a guy the other day in the left lane on 169 from 61st street to Pine street. He was doing 56-58 in the left lane. I flashed my high beams at him every 1/2 mile and he still had NO IDEA I was even behind him. At that point I was just trying to see if I could wake him up. By the way, flashing your lights to pass was in my copy of the Oklahoma Driver's Manual. As were the rules for lane usage on a limited access highway.

I put a lot of miles on the highways in/around Tulsa and the single most dangerous situations I see on the road are caused by people blocking the passing lane. They block it, then the tailgating and erratic passing on the right begins. GTFO of the way. It's that simple.

Like I said in another thread, child molesters, poachers and left lane campers must have their own special hell. I really need to believe that to remain happy.

I think I saw that same guy... actually I see that same guy EVERY DAY ALL DAY! It's insane how people cannot grasp the concept of choosing the appropriate lane based on your speed and the speed of traffic.

I dread merging areas more than anything though... they seem to be the real killer place where some people just absolutely cannot figure it out. The worst is that you get all spreads of the spectrum:

Grandma who thinks stopping first then merging is the way to do it.
Rory the Racecar who believes that flying to 60 MPH traffic at 90 without even looking is cool.
Hesitant Harry who will ride the shoulder, even with traffic until he hits the guardrail or someone lets him in.
Hank Kimball who starts to merge, then doesn't, then starts and hits the brakes, then accellerates.... geez

Merging IMHO is the worst aspect of OK driving. When you combine it with the insanely short ramps and merge areas on places like the BA Expressway between I44 and downtown, it's just a bloodbath waiting to happen.

 

[Danny Tanner]

Oklahoman drivers also seem to be highly confused with dual-lane left turns at stop lights. At almost every single one of these in our state, there will always be somebody in the farthest left turn lane who swings over into the right lane mid-most way through the turn. Often times, there will be a car in that right lane (99% of those times it's me) who will be forced to slam on their brakes and honk, only to get looked at by that driver like "WHY THE HELL WERE YOU IN THAT LANE?!"

Anybody who works at Tinker should be familiar with these idiots if you exit base using the Hruskocy Gate and make a left turn at 29th. 9 out of 10 drivers in the farthest left turn lane there will swing wide into the right lane. I wish I was exaggerating that number, too.