Do not change the traffic pattern, regardless of the reasons you might come up with:
- I wanted to be nice
- I was nervous
- I just thought it made more sense to…
You are only putting everyone (including yourself) in danger when you try to take on making your own traffic patterns.
Following are a few concrete examples of what I am referring to:
1. If you come to an intersection where there are stop signs for an intersecting street, but not your own, DO NOT STOP (or slow down to less than 10 MPH). Of course, you should be careful at every intersection, but by stopping or slowing significantly, you send the wrong signals to everyone:
- People at the intersection may think they should go ahead, which can lead to an accident if you are not in line with their decision
- People behind you could hit you as you come to an unexpected stop.
2. If you are driving down the street and find someone coming in the opposing direction is trying to make a left turn, DO NOT STOP (or slow down to less than 10 MPH). Of course, if you are stopped, do not block the street/driveway where the person is trying to turn into, but I am referring to an open lane where you *should* be driving ahead. Why?
- People at the intersection may think they should go ahead, which can lead to an accident if you are not in line with their decision
- People behind you could hit you as you come to an unexpected stop.
- If your side of the street has two lanes, your “decision” to change normal traffic patterns and wave the opposing traffic on may not be in line with the driver in the other lane which can cause them to hit the person you have waved in for the turn.