Literal vs Lateral

One thing I’ve found fascinating with people – both where I live now, and previous places – is how literal they are, even when it means they take longer to do things.

For example, where I now live there are several junctions where turning right onto a busy road can mean significant delays for people.  But most of those junctions also have roundabouts a short distance up the road if people instead turned left.

So here, for example – the scenario is that I’m pulling out of the Stephenson industrial estate, wanting to turn right.

If I turn left, it’s 400m to the roundabout. It’s a simple thing, an 800m round-trip, and far faster than the delay when waiting to turn right. But no-one does it. They’re so locked into “I’m turning right” that they somehow don’t even think about turning left instead.

On another regular drive, in the run-up to another roundabout, the left-hand lane gets utterly jammed, waiting for a safe gap in which to get out and turn left.  But if one takes the right-hand lane, it’s all too easy to get up to the front, go all the way round the roundabout and then come off to that same route – well before the equivalent drivers in the left-hand lane have caught up.  Yes, it’s effectively a 450° turn, but it’s *so* much quicker.  And again, people are locked into “I’m turning left” and seem to not see the alternative at all.

It’s all very odd.  I mean, I’m glad I can look at it and see those lateral decisions that make life easier, but I do find it fascinating that so many people simply can’t/don’t do so.