Bumped into a delivery driver who changed how I see left turn lanes

I was sitting at a red light on Main Street last Tuesday and this UPS guy rolls down his window. He said I was crowding the box too much, that I need to leave room for trucks to swing wide. I thought he was just being grumpy but he pointed at my front tires and said I was three feet past the stop line. Now I watch for that every time I stop. It makes a big difference in tight intersections especially around downtown. Anyone else had a random stranger hand out driving advice that actually stuck?

2 comments

2 Comments

stella_lane13d agoTop Commenter

Totally get that parking lot advice is the best kind sometimes. That cop thing is a real fear of mine too, I always inch up so slowly now because of a similar tip from a bus driver about the stop bar.

johnson.paul13d ago

Happened to me a few years back with an old guy in a beat up pickup at a four way stop... he got out of his truck and walked up to my window just to tell me I was stopping too far forward and blocking the crosswalk. I thought he was crazy at first but then I started paying attention and he was completely right, people were having to walk around my bumper all the time. Now I make a point to stop way back from the line, especially on hills where you can't see the actual painted marks. That one tip actually helped me avoid a ticket once when a cop was sitting at an intersection watching for people rolling past the stop bar. Funny how some random stranger can change a habit you never even thought about.