Why do people, almost across the board, behave the way they do? Details.?

herd instinct?

Is that what it is? But we should be able to rise above our instincts when it’s necessary, shouldn’t we?

We should, but people seem to want to group up on the road as though there’s safety in numbers.

I wonder SQUEEKY’s opinion about this would be. ;-?

Here’s my guess:

Their selfish idiots who are on they’re stupid smart phones and deserve to feel the wrath of my thirty-wheeler!

JK.

I respect the Squeekster and that he’s a professional driver, who probably handles a 120,000 pound vehicle better than most other drivers can handle a sedan.

@Dutchess_III: “If I see 3 cars sitting at a stop sign that intersects the highway my blood pressure spikes. Without FAIL if the first guy pulls out the other two will follow mindlessly.”

If this happens 100% of the time, it’s to be expected and you should be able to adjust your speed and driving accordingly.

It happens about 80% of the time. How would adjusting my speed help? Sure, I slow down to let the last idiot in without causing a car accident, but other than that how would I ‘adjust’? Like, stop dead on the highway? It’s not my speed that is the problem. It’s the herd mentality that’s the problem.

@Dutchess_III: “It’s the herd mentality that’s the problem.”

Much of driving is about expectations. There is defense, but to a large degree the speed limits and rules of the road are there to set expectations so you can predict with some degree of certainty what others will do.

If the expected behavior (80% of the time) for people in your area in that scenario is to pull out after the first guy, you should be expecting this, and do something to adjust for it. At the very least, you shouldn’t be surprised or upset by this behavior. This is what driving in your area is like. If you see 3 cars at a stop sign, all 3 cars are about to pull out in front of you. Period.

It is easier than thinking.

@thisismyusername If she is doing the speed limit why should she adjust her speed because the other two driver just have to be in front of her?
On the other hand in my driving life I have one concept that so far has kept me alive, I expect EVERYONE in front of me to do something stupid, and so far no one has let me down yet.
Seeing what @Dutchess_III described I can almost 90% of the time tell if the other 2 idiots are going to pull out and 90% of the time they very much do.
In my case it seems to drive the motoring public absolutely insane to be behind a transport truck even if that transport truck is driving faster than they want to drive, they will most times do an unsafe illegal pass just to get in front of us then slow down and proceed slower than the transport truck was traveling and they could care less at least they are not behind the big bad truck.
And @Brian1946 I love your answer, thanks.

As far as an answer to your question @Dutchess_III I think people seem to think when in their vehicles they are in a world all to their own that they control and have complete power over.
What they seem to be unable to grasp is that they have to share that world with people that have the same mind set.
I ask this how can people be in such a hurry and yet be so distracted?
Especially when it comes to driving.

So much third person.

@thisismyusername, where in my question did you get the impression that I’m not prepared and don’t adjust? I said I can see it coming before it happens and of course I adjust when I need to. But I don’t want to slow down too much or they’ll think I’m getting ready to turn. That sends conflicting messages.

It’s like when people are stopped, waiting for a break in traffic, but keep their wheels rolling every so slightly, that’s sending conflicting messages. Is the guy going to wait, or is he gonna just jump out at the first possible instant? I always make sure my car is firmly stopped so I don’t scare people.

^ Ok. I got the impression that you were annoyed, or at least concerned about this driving behavior that happens 80% of the time.

If you’ve adjusted your driving to safely handle this, maybe the next step is to adjust your expectations so that it doesn’t bother you so much. Just a thought.

Stupidity will always bother me. And of course it concerns me. But you have yet to tell me exactly how to adjust my driving. Should I always slow down with I see the potential situation arise? What would that accomplish? What difference would it make if I go from 65 to 55? They’ll still pull out even when there isn’t the room.

^ I don’t know. Just do what you’re doing. Sounds like it’s working out. :)

Are we dumber, as a whole, than we used to be? I mean, I see these videos of pile ups in heavy fog or on ice. People haven’t even adjusted their speed and they’re just driving blind, at 70 miles per hour. The one that really gripe me are the ones where other people see the problem in time to stop and pull over, and then some guy comes screaming along and smashes right into the mess. Why didn’t HE see it?

There seem to be some similar pile-ups of weird thinking in one answer being followed by more weird thinking from other answers in a few recent threads on Fluther, too.

LOL! Welcome to Fluther!

@Zaku I think This explains it.

Peoples is stupid. Generally speaking.

Especially when it comes to driving^^^^^^^^^!!

I think that part of the answer to your question is that people don’t like to stop at stop signs.

If each driver would simply come to a full and complete stop then the driver would have time to see that it isn’t safe to enter traffic.

But as their car rolls up to and through the stop they see a window of opportunity that will be lost if they actually stop at the stop sign.

Here’s another weird driving behavior that I’ve noticed.

While driving on the freeway I need to change lanes. I wait for a safe opportunity when there is plenty of space between cars. I signal my intentions and carefully change lanes. Just then the car behind me speeds up and tailgates me. That happens about half the time.