The single biggest problem I have in traffic in Springfield is the overly-polite driver.
That should tell you that I travel around the urban core with almost zero conflict with automobile drivers. They treat me with respect. They pass me with plenty of room. They wait their turn when I have the right-of-way.
Then there are the overly-polite ones — true menaces of the road 
Just a few minutes ago, coming home from downtown, I encountered one at the intersection of Kickapoo and Grand. I was coming south on Kickapoo and she was driving north on Kickapoo. She arrived at the stop sign well ahead of me and was signaling a left turn across my path. From the looks of traffic on Grand as I came to a stop, I’d say she may have been waiting almost a minute (a freaking eternity in car time). First come, first served. She had the right of way.
When traffic cleared, we had a quarter mile of empty road to cross — nothing coming from either direction as far as the eye could see.
She sat there looking at me.
I stood there looking at her.
After several seconds I took mercy on her and waved her into her turn. She looked relieved and proceeded.
Now that encounter was harmless. And, really, I do appreciate the politeness. But I appreciate being treated as a vehicle on the road more because sometimes these overly-polite drivers can cause real problems — especially when they are the only ones being “polite” and everyone else in busy traffic is following the rules. I’ve seen some very confusing situations develop fast because a driver — out of pure goodness (at least that’s what I choose to believe) — was trying to make life a little easier for me.
Seriously — this is the biggest problem I face on Springfield’s streets everyday.
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Comments 13
Interesting considering my own last post was about a polite driver – contrary to my usual practice, I went after he waved and I think you would have as well.
Posted 25 May 2010 at 11:16 am ¶I’ve had this happened to me a number of times here in Lawrence. I usually take them up on their offer– cautiously.
Only been honked at a couple of times up here, most notably last week. Guy told me to “get the f*** off the road and onto the sidewalk where you belong.” Epic fail on my part for my uncontrolled response. (Not suitable for this delicate space…)
Posted 25 May 2010 at 11:17 am ¶Steve… She didn’t wave. She just sat there. If I get a wave, I usually take it if the situation is safe.
Ken… I often fail my own “no react” policy
Posted 25 May 2010 at 11:21 am ¶My cycling experience in Missouri is limited to riding across during a transcontinental ride in 1987. It specifically recall how patient the drivers were compared to other states. Maybe they just weren’t in any hurry? Or curious because I was on a recumbent? Some would follow behind me for what seemed an eternity until they had a very long, clear and visible stretch with which to pass.
(I also recall asking a kid in a small city where the nearest grocery store was; he replied, “Which one?” Not clear on the concept of what it means to be from out of town.)
Posted 25 May 2010 at 12:01 pm ¶Maybe I’m suffering from Brain Fade or maybe the law has changed since I first got my driver’s license.
I was thinking that in the situation you described that straight-thru traffic has the right-of-way over (left) turning traffic???
Posted 25 May 2010 at 12:17 pm ¶I’ve gotten to the point where I take charge at those intersections and just go ahead and wave them through so I can turn left. The Fremont and Bennett intersection down the street from you is where it happens to me the most.
Posted 25 May 2010 at 12:42 pm ¶Coy… That rule covers 2-way traffic. At stop signs, the first one to arrive has right-of-way. See Chapter 4 of the Missouri Drivers Guide.
Posted 25 May 2010 at 1:03 pm ¶Such a great problem to have! I experience that too when driver pulls up to 4-ways well before me. I have no problem letting them cross in front of me because it is their turn after all. A thought I had is the politeness might stem from seeing several cyclists not bother to stop, thus they don’t want to chance it.
Speaking of Bennett, I was almost nailed going eastbound by some lady trying to make a left onto National from the westbound lane, without yielding. A profanity was exclaimed, although it was more of a “this is gonna hurt” reaction. Avoiding manuevers were made and I think we’re both better for the experience. Although I bet her version is that I “darted out in front of her” even though I had the right of way.
Posted 25 May 2010 at 1:13 pm ¶I ran into this problem quite often in Edmonton, Alberta – but not at all here in Providence, RI. In Edmonton, there were cases where I stopped at a stop sign with one foot on the ground, and cross traffic did not have a stop sign – but they would still stop and wave me across the street! Evidently, Canadians are taught to “yield to the lower form of technology” i.e.: car yields to bike, bike yields to pedestrian. Of course, not everyone did this in such a situation, making it all the more confusing when the person from one direction stops, but you can’t know if the person in the other direction is going to.
Posted 25 May 2010 at 6:01 pm ¶The “problem with politeness” as you call it could be attributed to the many cyclists who just blow through stop signs – thus some drivers expect you to do it as well (I guess this is what AJ is suggesting). Another good reason to always operate your bike like any other vehicle.
While I agree with your general premise, Andy, in this instance I believe Coy is right. Missouri law does not say who HAS the right-of-way, it says who MUST YIELD it. And the law is explicit in saying that vehicles making left turns must yield to those going straight, if the vehicle going straight is “within the intersection or so close thereto as to constitute an immediate hazard” (Missouri Revised Statutes 304.351. 3). Since you were going straight, you were under no obligation to yield to a vehicle making a left, regardless of how long it had been there. A four-way stop creates an exception (as is described in the Missouri Drivers Guide chapter you cite), but a two-way stop does not. Therefore, the driver should have yielded to you . . . as she did. It was not an excess of politeness, it was compliance with the law.
Posted 25 May 2010 at 9:39 pm ¶David… Here’s the section:
http://www.moga.mo.gov/statutes/c300-399/3040000351.htm
3. The driver of a vehicle within an intersection intending to turn to the left shall yield the right-of-way to any vehicle approaching from the opposite direction which is within the intersection or so close thereto as to constitute an immediate hazard.
Hmmmm… this seems to me an interesting battle of prepositions
What does “within” mean? I say we were “at” the intersection. But I see no use of that term in the statute. So, for the moment anyway, I must assume you are right, David.
I stand by my point, but it appears my example is in error.
Posted 26 May 2010 at 10:08 am ¶And I totally agree with your point. The problem with overly-polite drivers is that they inject unpredictability into the traffic equation. As soon as people–drivers or bicyclists–start making up their own rules to replace the ones society has established and agreed upon, all bets are off. Is she waiting for me? Is she just momentarily inattentive, and about to lurch out into the intersection? We don’t know. And, should another vehicle approach the standoff, that driver has to cope with his own confusion. Am I supposed to stop, too? Or do I follow the traffic rules? It becomes very risky to be on a bike in the middle of it all.
Posted 26 May 2010 at 12:43 pm ¶You’re dead right in this. It’s really easy to respond to the polite driver, and pull out. As you wave your thank you to them, you fail to notice the regular driver whose path you’ve just ridden into . . . until . . . . BANG!
The advice I was given when learning to ride a motorbike was to look away from the polite driver & let them choose to go first. It’s the one time on the road where you deliberately don’t make eye contact!
Posted 29 May 2010 at 10:46 am ¶