The Cascading MFFY Effect

This happened yesterday and was such a stunning example of MFFY-ness
(and a near-accident) that I wrote to the local police about it. Here's what I
emailed to them (with some notes for clarity in brackets), and then after that
is the police's response. The officer states facts, but sadly it doesn't seem
to do anything to prevent/help MFFY attitudes.

Hi,
I'd like to request some extra traffic enforcement at Sunrise Valley
Drive in Reston [northern Virginia}, just west of Reston Parkway. There are
two opposing business parking lots that empty to Sunrise Valley just before
the Reston Parkway intersection and this has been a problem on weeknights
between 5pm and 6:30pm for over a year. Tonight it was the worst I've ever
seen, which prompts me to write.
In brief, the problem is that if the eastbound cars on Sunrise Valley
leave a gap so that people turning left out of the 12005 complex can pass
through, then the cars turning left out of 12001 pull in and block the
intersection. In order to try to prevent this, the eastbound Sunrise Valley
traffic usually pulls all the way forward to block the intersection. Cars,
like me who need to turn left out of 12005 to get into the westbound Sunrise
Valley have to then wind very carefully around both blocked and sometimes
moving traffic in order to get out. [Well, that's only IF we can get out at
all, but I failed to state that here.]
In detail, here is what happened tonight:
At 5:10pm, I was attempting to leave the 12005 parking lot, to turn
left on Sunrise Valley. The eastbound traffic was totally blocking the
intersection and the light down on Reston Parkway was red, so I waited for
traffic to clear. The light turned green and the Sunrise Valley traffic moved
on, but it didn't clear enough for me to safely pull across, so I waited. The
light turned red, and I inched out to let the guys who had pulled up behind me
know I was paying attention, but I was careful not to block the right lane of
Sunrise Valley. As the eastbound Sunrise Valley traffic pulled up to the red
light, all the way back to where I was, the right lane cleared, but a van in
the left lane pulled directly into my path and blocked the intersection. A car
on westbound Sunrise Valley pulled into it's left-turn lane hoping to turn into
my parking lot.
The truck behind me was as annoyed as I was to see our path blocked,
and he honked loudly. I didn't think there was anything I could do, so I
stayed put. He pulled around me to the left (I was surprised to see he had
room for that) and wound around behind the dummy in the van, nearly hitting the
car who was trying to pull INTO our parking lot going the opposite way though
the same small hole. The next guy behind me probably thought I was the problem
because after that cleared, then he too pulled around me and completed his left
turn. I saw the THIRD car behind me about to do the same thing, so then I very
carefully went through, and he followed behind me. [My step-by-step
description of that makes it sound like I was sitting there spacing out, but it
actually only took about 5 seconds. The people behind me saw the first guy
pull around me and didn't hesitate to do it also, like screw me for being
cautious, jeez...]
This was so close to being an accident it was scary. I would
appreciate if you could step up enforcement of wreckless aggressive driving
here so that people will stop blocking the intersection.

The officer's reply:

We are aware of the situation that occurs at that location. The problem is
that no one is breaking the law doing what you describe and thus we have
nothing to enforce. Fairfax County Code Section 82-4-33 states:

Section 82-4-33. Blocking intersections.
No operator of a vehicle shall enter an intersection or a marked crosswalk
unless there is sufficient space beyond such intersection or crosswalk in the
direction in which such vehicle is proceeding to accommodate the vehicle
without obstructing the passage of other vehicles or pedestrians,
notwithstanding any traffic-control signal indication to proceed. ((3-13-63;
1961 Code, ' 16-92.)

We now have to go to the state code to get the definition of an intersection.
Virginia State Code 46.2-100 defines an intersection in part as:

46.2-100 Definitions.
Intersection- The lateral boundary lines of the roadway where two highways join
one another at any angle.

The state code thus defines a highway in part as:

46.2-100 Definitions.
Highway- The entire width of boundary lines of every way that is open to the
public for use of vehicular traffic. This also includes all private roads or
streets that have been designated "highways" by an ordinance adopted by the
governing body of the county, town, city or state in which such private roads
are located.

The problem we face at your location is the parking lot is private property and
not a designated highway thus no one is violating the law by blocking the
entrance.

I will forward the issue to the Supervisor that handles all traffic issues in
Reston and he will make his officers aware of your concern.

If I can be of any further assistance please let me know.


So... then I guess it's time to buy an M1 Abrams tank and run over
anybody in my way, after all that's the way people drive around here, huh?
BTW, I do see this at other locations near parking lot exits also but I tend to
get stuck at this one alot because I work there. The problem is endemic to
this area.

- Sharon
"Gravity... is a harsh mistress!"

Sharon wrote:

> In brief, the problem is that if the eastbound cars on Sunrise Valley
> leave a gap so that people turning left out of the 12005 complex can pass
> through,

Why not just take a right turn and make a U-turn further up the road?

Sharon wrote: <brevity snip>
> In brief, the problem is that if the eastbound cars on Sunrise Valley
> leave a gap so that people turning left out of the 12005 complex can pass
> through, then the cars turning left out of 12001 pull in and block the
> intersection. In order to try to prevent this, the eastbound Sunrise Valley
> traffic usually pulls all the way forward to block the intersection. Cars,
> like me who need to turn left out of 12005 to get into the westbound Sunrise
> Valley have to then wind very carefully around both blocked and sometimes
> moving traffic in order to get out.
-----
Try a "Hawaiian" left turn. When traffic allows you block the lanes of
traffic closest to you and wait for the traffic flowing in the
direction of your turn. It ain't pretty but it does work.
-----

- gpsman

gpsman wrote:

> Try a "Hawaiian" left turn. When traffic allows you block the lanes of
> traffic closest to you and wait for the traffic flowing in the
> direction of your turn. It ain't pretty but it does work.

Advocating MFFY techniques I see.

Sharon wrote:
> <snip>
> The problem we face at your location is the parking lot is private property and
> not a designated highway thus no one is violating the law by blocking the
> entrance.
>
> I will forward the issue to the Supervisor that handles all traffic issues in
> Reston and he will make his officers aware of your concern.
>
> If I can be of any further assistance please let me know.
> <snip
>

Is there a standard for "keep clear" markings or similar in the US or
your State? These are common in Australia and the UK and are painted at
intersections or carpark entrances on main roads that often have queues
of traffic, in order to give side street/carpark traffic a chance to get
through. No vehicle may enter the "keep clear" markings unless they
have a clear exit.

Here is a Tasmanian example:
http://www.transport.tas.gov.au/road...gfx/image2.gif

I suggest you reply to the officer and ask for keep clear markings at
the problem car park. If these don't exist in your State or the US (I
Googled "keep clear markings", and the search only returned UK websites,
so I'll assume they're not used in the US) write to your local
parliament member and/or DOT and suggest they be brought in.

SL.

In article >, Sharon wrote:
> This happened yesterday and was such a stunning example of MFFY-ness
> (and a near-accident) that I wrote to the local police about it. Here's what I
> emailed to them (with some notes for clarity in brackets), and then after that
> is the police's response. The officer states facts, but sadly it doesn't seem
> to do anything to prevent/help MFFY attitudes.

<long story snipped>

The problem is common of sprawl. That enterances/exits of parking lots
have had no thought put into them. Traffic on the road does not have to
make space for people coming out of driveways. (which is technically what
the exit from the parking lots are)

I don't like enablers who leave space for people to pull out of
driveways. It ensures that the nearby traffic light operates at a
significantly reduced throughput and only adds to the difficulty in
getting out of said parking lot. Also most drivers want to pull out of a
parking lot and immediately go the direction they desire. I find it's
better to find the easiest net way of going the direction I desire. This
often means using another exit or even turning the opposite or a
direction at a right angle to use a traffic light on the road.

> The officer's reply:
>
> We are aware of the situation that occurs at that location. The problem
> is
> that no one is breaking the law doing what you describe and thus we have
> nothing to enforce. Fairfax County Code Section 82-4-33 states:
>
> Section 82-4-33. Blocking intersections.
> No operator of a vehicle shall enter an intersection or a marked crosswalk
> unless there is sufficient space beyond such intersection or crosswalk in
> the
> direction in which such vehicle is proceeding to accommodate the vehicle
> without obstructing the passage of other vehicles or pedestrians,
> notwithstanding any traffic-control signal indication to proceed.
> ((3-13-63;
> 1961 Code, ' 16-92.)
>

(snip)

>
> The problem we face at your location is the parking lot is private
> property and
> not a designated highway thus no one is violating the law by blocking the
> entrance.
>

Had a somewhat similar situation several years ago. There was a road in
Central MA that was used as a cut-across from one highway to another. It
was a public road, marked on city highway maps and everything. But the last
couple of blocks of it cut through private property. So in effect, it was
half public and half private. Now the PUBLIC portion was marked with a
speed limit of 25MPH. But as the road was used as a short-cut, it was
typical for drivers to do 40-50MPH along the whole stretch. Now the company
I was working at (at the time) had hundreds of employees working in
buildings on one side of this road, and all of their cars were parked on the
OTHER side of the same road. At the beginning and end of the day, there
were hundreds of pedestrians crossing the road, while hundreds of cars
zipped through at ~50MPH. Think of the video game "frogger". Every day
there were several close calls. I'm surprised I never saw anybody get
killed there. The police wouldn't do anything, as there were no laws broken
(it's not illegal to speed on private property). The property owner (my
employer) eventually put up a stop sign where all the employees crossed the
road. Most drivers ignored the stop sign, and AGAIN, there was nothing the
police could do about it.

So if you see a stop sign or yield sign or any other kind of traffic control
device in a parking lot (wal-mart, your local supermarket, the mall, etc.)
it is safe to ignore that traffic control device. It is MEANINGLESS, as it
can not be enforced, if it is on private property. Even if you run a stop
sign at the mall and end up killing someone, you can't be ticketed for
running the stop sign, as you have broken no law by running the stop sign.
Sad, but true. -Dave

(Brent P) wrote in
:

> In article >, Sharon wrote:
>> This happened yesterday and was such a stunning example of
>> MFFY-ness
>> (and a near-accident) that I wrote to the local police about it.
>> Here's what I emailed to them (with some notes for clarity in
>> brackets), and then after that is the police's response. The officer
>> states facts, but sadly it doesn't seem to do anything to
>> prevent/help MFFY attitudes.
>
><long story snipped>
>
> The problem is common of sprawl. That enterances/exits of parking lots
> have had no thought put into them. Traffic on the road does not have
> to make space for people coming out of driveways. (which is
> technically what the exit from the parking lots are)
>
> I don't like enablers who leave space for people to pull out of
> driveways.

When I did this in the past,often the person would attempt to cut into the
next lane over,and block both lanes until he was let in.So,I don't do it
anymore.I even saw a guy get T-boned because he was trying to cut thru 3
lanes(to a l.turn lane),and the last lane was open enough for cars to be
moving,and he popped out (from between two cars)in front of a car that
could not stop in time,BAM.
Then another time,a guy cut across two lanes,and when he turned into the
lane he wanted,misjudged,and turned too sharply,clipped and tore up the
bumper of a car.



--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

In article >, Arif Khokar > writes:
> Sharon wrote:
>
>> In brief, the problem is that if the eastbound cars on Sunrise Valley
>> leave a gap so that people turning left out of the 12005 complex can pass
>> through,
>
> Why not just take a right turn and make a U-turn further up the road?

Generally because both of the eastbound lanes (right turn for me) are
backed up way past our driveway during red lights and nobody lets you in that
way either. I have, on occasion, tried to do this, but when you wait for the
green when traffic moves, pull into the right lane, the people in the left lane
don't want to let you over in order to make the left turn. I've been honked at
from the jerk behind me in the right lane because I was trying to time myself
between the left-lane cars and not cut anybody off. Believe me, people in this
area have to be the most aggressive I've ever seen. And I drive in many areas
on business trips - excluding only NY City and Boston where I take public
transit.

- Sharon
"Gravity... is a harsh mistress!"

In article . com>, "gpsman" > writes:
> Sharon wrote: <brevity snip>
>> In brief, the problem is that if the eastbound cars on Sunrise Valley
>> leave a gap so that people turning left out of the 12005 complex can pass
>> through, then the cars turning left out of 12001 pull in and block the
>> intersection. In order to try to prevent this, the eastbound Sunrise Valley
>> traffic usually pulls all the way forward to block the intersection. Cars,
>> like me who need to turn left out of 12005 to get into the westbound Sunrise
>> Valley have to then wind very carefully around both blocked and sometimes
>> moving traffic in order to get out.
> -----
> Try a "Hawaiian" left turn. When traffic allows you block the lanes of
> traffic closest to you and wait for the traffic flowing in the
> direction of your turn. It ain't pretty but it does work.

If by "aint pretty" you mean collision damage and possibly bodily
injury, sure. Even if it does work without damage or injury, I TRY not to use
MFFY tactics in an "offense is the best defense" way. It only escalates the
problems around here.


- Sharon
"Gravity... is a harsh mistress!"