Joanne was south on Park Road in Oshawa this morning and where it meets Bloor Street, there's a merge lane for southbound traffic to go west. Yes, there's a yield sign, meaning cars that are coming have the right of way so yes, you are to stop, but you can also proceed in the merge lane to flow into traffic onto Bloor.
Ahead of her was a woman in a red Caravan. She came to a stop at the merge lane and then proceeded to sit in the lane instead of moving forward and using the lane to merge into westbound traffic.
So Joanne did the unthinkable. She did something that was apparently "f*cking unnecessary and rude". She tooted her horn.
She writes, "I couldn't understand why she was sitting there. The merge lane isn't for through traffic but for traffic merging from Park Road southbound. So, after seeing several gaps for her to go, I tapped my horn. It wasn't until the light went red for the westbound traffic that she moved."
But it didn't end there. As Joanne parked at the Oshawa GO lot, so did the woman in the red Caravan. This same woman also decided to confront Joanne as she walked to the train. The conversation went as follows:
Red Caravan (RC): What that you who pumped your horn at me?
Joanne (taken by surprise): Yes, I couldn't understand why you were just stopped, in a merge lane.
Red Caravan (RC): It's not a merge lane. There's a yield sign. You have to stop.
Joanne: Yes, if there was through traffic but it's not a through lane. It's a merge lane.
Red Caravan (RC): It's not a merge lane. That is a lane for what used to be the on-ramp for the 401. How dare you f*cking pump your horn at me. If you're in a rush in the morning, have some f*cking patience.
Joanne: That's not why I honked my horn. You have a merge lane that you can use to merge into traffic. Instead, you stopped and just stayed there.
Joanne didn't get to finish because RC decided to give her a lecture and went on about all the accidents that happen at that corner which Joanne didn't find relevant to the situation. Joanne decided it was time to end the conversation, threw up her hands and continued walking.
Joanne writes, "She demanded an apology. She sarcastically said she was sorry if she ruined my morning because she decided to obey traffic rules. This pissed me off because I'm a former driving instructor. At the same time, I know she's right in that she did everything right in the technical sense but at the same time, she has 400 metres of lane to drive into to help with the flow of traffic as it empties from Park Road. But she wouldn't give me a chance to explain. And once she started swearing, she lost my respect. She really upset me. I could see if I had cut her off but all I did was toot my horn at her."
Hey, I'm with Joanne here. Granted, I'm taking all this at face value from a text exchange but since when is it rude to honk your horn at anyone? Even if Joanne was in the wrong? And to make a scene in the parking lot in front of passengers Joanne sees everyday? She was mortified. I don't blame her.
People piss me off all the time when I drive but when it comes to horn honking, go ahead and honk.
Here's a Google aerial view of the location in question:
The red Caravan lady should try her luck in China. They honk for every little thing. Like, literally. When you get in your car, you're supposed to honk. You honk when you pass someone, and you honk when you see a pedestrian. She would definitely have some kind of emotional trauma.
ReplyDeletebe thankful you dont live near the roundabouts in Ajax. My street is attached to one. There are prominent yield signs at all 4 entrances to the roundabout. People driving north and south into the roundabout believe they have the right of way and do not yield when entering it, people stop in the middle of it, people drive right through it, people drive the wrong way IN it, people drive over the middle of it and scrape the bottom of their vehicles, you name it, people do it wrong in the damn roundabout. I honk my horn at idiots doing wrong things in it ALL the time and I swear one day Im going to be creamed in the roundaout but some schmuck.
ReplyDeleteOk Im going to stop now before I start swearing!! LOL
I see this behaviour all the time. As I am west-bound on Bloor, people either stop in the merge lane or drive so slow they have no chance of ever merging! The idea behind a merge lane is to blend into traffic at it's normal pace. I slow down, leaving space for them to merge, but do they? No, they slow down matching my speed so we're still side by side. I guess we know who is causing the accidents at this intersection - Red Caravan. Do you stop before merging on the 401?
ReplyDeleteWhat Red Caravan clearly needs is a good F**K!!!
ReplyDelete@ Donna,
ReplyDeleteThere are roundabouts in Ajax? I need to do some research so I never stumble across those.
I know they put one in down by Sarnia (family in the area) and its like taking your life into your own hands.
We have 2 roundabouts on one street in the subdivision I live in. Stupidest thing ever, more so because they allow parking on the street so if you are parked anywhere near the roundabout(s) it can get a little tricky.
ReplyDeleteI refer to those people as "crackerjack box licensed".
ReplyDeleteMy brother lives in a subdivision that has roundabouts. I love them. If you're already in the roundabout, you have the right of way. If you want to enter the roundabout, you must yield to anyone already in it. Gads, they're all over the UK and people know how they work. And they drive on the other side of the road over there!
ReplyDeleteForgot to mention, if people don't know how the merge lane works, then they should stay off the roads.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Joanne on this one. The google map clearly shows the merge lane which RC should've driven down and MERGED. I wonder how RC walks on the sidewalk.
ReplyDeleteLSWGirl, Are you aying roundabouts ingeneral are stupid or just the ones in your neighborhood?
ReplyDeleteI think Roundabouts rock, not stopping if nothing is coming the other direction and not having to wait for a traffic light at 3 in the morning. I wish Canada had many more.
The street in my subdivision was about 5 years old with 2 4-way stops, the length of the street, maybe 25 lots per side. My problem with it was that it seemed to be a total waste of taxpayer money to change the entire set-up of the street . . . poor planning and it just doesn't work properly in a quite subdivision. I swear someone will get killed one day. I don't have a problem with roundabouts, problem is because there are so few of them people don't seem to know what to do.
ReplyDeleteOooops, I meant "quiet" subdivision. I'm a stickler for spelling!!!
ReplyDeleteThere's an almost identical merge lane on Leighland Ave onto Trafalgar in Oakville. The merge lane also happens to be the on ramp to the QEW. I'm always grateful to the person who stops at the yield sign because during rush hour those vehicles always clog up the right hand lane for vehicles coming down Trafalgar and trying to get to the QEW East or West plus the rest of us headed to the GO train. I wish they'd get rid of this yield land and put those menaces behind a red stop light like the rest of the drivers at that intersection.
ReplyDeleteI know that spot RonNasty. Yes, it can be deadly . . . waaaaay too much going on for one lane!!!
ReplyDeletethe whole point of intersections like that is to allow for a continuous flow of right-turns, as i'm assuming that it is a busy intersection. Waiting for a red light defeats the purpose.
ReplyDelete