Another Stu hates drivers/people rant

[Stuey]

Ok, so I got really annoyed today. I was driving in Brooklyn, heading to the Belt Parkway so that I can head through Staten Island and into New Jersey.

The street I was on is T shaped, with the vertical part of the t being a one way street leading to the horizontal part of the t. The car in front of me stopped ahead of the intersection, so I stayed on the other side of it. There was a red light up ahead (maybe 8 cars ahead), and I decided to let a few of the stop signed cars in while the cars ahead gradually inched up.

There's a "Access a Ride" van behind me honking his brains out. It's a red light and I was letting one vehcile in from the stop sign or else he'd be there for a while. The van driver's honking and honking and honking. I let one more car through. Then the light turns from red to green. One more car comes in from the stop signed 1 way street and I let her in. Well, she mostly let herself in. The van driver behind me is going nuts. We all start moving and the car in front of me stops at the yellow light. The van driver moves into the opposite-direction lane and flies by through the red.

I honked him of course and made a not so nice gesture. The light then turns green again and I go onto the parkway onramp which is a little backed up. When it's just me and tha van, I decided to give him some dancing gestures which he might not have seen, and I honk him a few times as payback.

I hate drivers like those. They bring out the worst in me. I try to contain my temper and mostly do a great job of it. But when this guy started honking me for the two minutes we were waiting at a red light, for letting in 2.5 cars into the not yet moving lane, I lost my cool.

ANOTHER albeit very quick rant:
Last week I was at a light. It turned green but there was an ambulance coming through so I pulled as much over to the parked cars as I could, and waited. The ambulance turned left but had to wait for a dozen seconds or so. Why? Because a teenage punk wearing headphones and a hood decided to take his time crossing the street. Sirens and lights were going off, and someone might have died because of this, but idiots like that pedestrian still roam the world carefree.

More cases like this will turn me into a misantrope. =(

[SonicVanguard]

Come on...obviously you were in the wrong....you were being a nice, caring individual and a courteous driver. That is hardly PC - I'm sure the driver of the van was seriously put out by your being kind to others - I'm sure he was late for a PETA meeting.

All joking aside - You did a nice thing and really shouldn't worry about one person's ability to utilize a noise making device. You did what you did and it meant something to the people you helped.

[David M]

I'm glad I live in California. People here tend to lay off the horns unless it is something really important. My brother was driving in NYC a few years back and he said they honk simply because it keeps them entertained.

[Kareeser]

It depends on the locale, I think... people in Toronto honk at the drop of a hat.. and it carries over to my driving when I'm in Mississauga... it's not a good thing ><

[hitchface]

The only reason people honk in Three Hills is to say hi. Stuey, you were right on bro. I'm kinda glad that van driver got cheesed off, even though I shouldn't be.

[Stuey]

I tried calling the Access-a-ride company from the car to complain (next time he tries stunts like that he might kill somebody), but I kept hitting the wrong button during the auto-menu. I was driving, and had my cell phone up on the visor. I tried pushing menu buttons by feel but couldn't get it right. I wasn't about to start looking away from the road or diverting my attention any more, so I gave up. I still have the # and the van's individual identification number, but I highly doubt it'll make a difference.

Thanks for your support! I always get a high when I get a wave of gratitude from drivers that I pause for. I'm starting to think that my parents taught me well!

[Kuch]

I totally empathize with people who get road rage. Here in Abilene we have an abundance of senior citizens who think they are still O.K. to drive at 85+ years of age. Add in the fact that a lot of Texans love to talk on their cellular phones while they drive and you have an interesting mix. I have almost had people turn right in front of me from the opposite lane because they were busy talking on their phones and not paying attention to traffic. I feel it should be legal to drag those people from their vehicles and forcibly insert their cellular phone somewhere that will make the rest of their trip rather uncomfortable.

[HAL9000]

The only thing I could see the guy getting upset about is it sounds like you let three cars in... around where I live, it's a common etiquette to let one car in. Any more and you're the one holding up the line.

[Disgrace]

All the way in Kuwait honking is perfectly normal. In a queue: honk. Outside school: honk. To say hello: honk. Attention: honk. Angry: honk. Thanks: honk. But here in Switzeland it's considered extremely rude while in Kuwait it's a language.

[Stuey]

Originally Posted by HAL9000 The only thing I could see the guy getting upset about is it sounds like you let three cars in... around where I live, it's a common etiquette to let one car in. Any more and you're the one holding up the line.

It was a red light and nobody was moving anywhere. Someone up ahead must have parked or something, or people were just being slow, but nobody was really going anywhere.

It was more like I stopped to let the interesection be free during the red light. One car moved into the lane. he inches up, up, up until he only partially blocked the intersection. Another car comes and I stay where I was and he turned in and blocked the intersection. Everyone's still inching up, or someone parked or made a u-turn or something, and so everyone skootches up a little more. Then a red car came and she just jammed herself into the lane where I had no choice but to let her in.

Even when the 1st car was still at the stop sign, this guy was honking. He wanted me to move into the intersection to block the perpendicular traffic or something. I've seen cops give tickets to intersection blockers, and I've been stuck in similar positions where I wanted to make a left turn or something and couldn't b/c a driver decided to camp out in a minor intersection during a red light.

But yea, the 1 car rules follows here too. During heavy traffic along a major county road, if I'm moving slowly enough in the right lane, I'll let one car in from the onramp. That way I'm still rolling. To let two cars on would cause me to stop rolling and come to a complete stop.

[HAL9000]

Ohh, OK... I think I gotcha now... so essentially, you were remaining back out of the intersection to avoid blocking it then.... and if that's the deal, well then yes, you did the right thing.

[Panama Red]

I try to be a courteous driver since I'm a salesman on the road quite a bit and I never know when the guy I cut off or anger might be a customer. Occassionally I'll encounter a hot head like this and it's especially fun in the warmer weather when you catch up to them again. i don't retaliate by honking or using hand signals. I get a much better response if I roll down the window and simply smile and wave. If they are within ear shot I'll sometimes holler "Hey! How ya doin'?" Say it with a big smile. It really messes up the angry dudes. They don't know how to respond.

[Disgrace]

Originally Posted by Panama Red I get a much better response if I roll down the window and simply smile and wave. If they are within ear shot I'll sometimes holler "Hey! How ya doin'?" Say it with a big smile. It really messes up the angry dudes. They don't know how to respond.

Quite right... more expectant of a fight and had thought of an insult back 10 mins ago...

[blue60007]

What tickles me is when someone passes a left turning car (or right for you other folks ) on the shoulder...from 3 cars back. Any of those other cars behind the car turning that aren't turning could decide to pull into the shoulder to go around and crunch into the impatient guy coming from 3 cars back. This happened to me today...stopped behind a car turning left...realized it would be a while so went to go around at the same time the guy behind me did. Luckily we were bothing paying attention and stopped and he waved me on.

Other times I've seen someone going around almost merge into the guy who didn't go around (as the car turning gets out of the way).

[Stuey]

More ranting!

The woman at the art store screwed up. She gave me 10% off 3 items but not the rest of the order. After I paid I went back in. She's trying to process the return while talking on the phone about her junky car. 10 minutes later, she processed it correctly and I was out the door.

I went home and got off the highway. I went up front to the "left turning" side of adivision. I'm the 3rd car. The light turns green. Great, cars are in the intersection. A few cars move to the right, so we could make it through, right? Wrong. The cars to the left move forward to, and sit right in front of the narrow path that we could drive through. I was fed up and honked twice. Finally they realize that red doesn't mean block the intersection further, and they made space, and we finally got to make the turn before it turned red. I hate that turn because it's always blocked. The light is pretty long, with plenty of yellow time. Besides that, it annoys me that the drivers love to pack as close to one another as possible. Like that extra 8 feet of clearance is going to hurt them!! Yes, I know that this time I honked, but I've been trapped at that turn more times than I'm happy about b/c the drivers don't know how to not block roads.

Now, about this weather!! In september, my roommate complained about the air conditioner. So, the maintenance people disabled it instead of fixing the thermostat. So, on a night like today, I'm sweating bullets. I couldn't take it, so I went online to see who had window fans (we don't have ceiling fans or any other type of circulation). Target said a certain model was "available". I go to Target. Nope, not in stock. I call another. It's "available" at that store but nope, none for sale. I went to Home Depot, Bed Bath & Beyond, & Walmart, and nobody has window fans or any other normal fans.

Yes, I could request them to come fix the air conditioner, but they'll come when I'm not around, and well, I don't want that. Besides, if it gets comfortable (I like it around 72 degrees or lower), one of the other two guys here will probably mess with the dial.

So I went to order one from Target.com. AAA members get a 10% discount. But I couldn't log onto the AAA page for it to redirect me. It kept taking me to aaa's mid-atlantic site although I'm an AAA NY member. 20 minutes later, after being unable to find my cookies folder, I realized it was probably hidden, so I typed in the cookie folder address. It pops up, and then I go through AAA to Target and order the darn fan. [/off topic rant]

If I had gaskets, they'd be blown right about now.

[David M]

I don't know about other states but in California it is illegal to stop in an intersection (causing it to be blocked). If there is no room on the other side of the intersection then tough luck, even if the jerk behind you is laying on his horn for you to go. Another thing that I find irritating are cars that blow through crosswalks while someone is standing there. It is CA state law that you have to stop for pedestrians standing on the curb at corners waiting to cross...even if there is no painted crosswalk. Of course most California drivers don't seem to know this.

[hitchface]

Just one of those days, eh Stuey?

If it makes you feel any better, I have worked about 20 off-the-clock hours in the past 3 weeks because other servers don't do their jobs (ie polishing cultery, wiping down tables/table bases, setting the table properly, etc...).

[Stuey]

Yikes. 20 unpaid hours doesn't sound like fun.

It's 49 degrees outside and I STILL cannot get my room to cool down enough. Oh well, I'll be going back to my parents' home for the weekend so at least when I come back to the apartment, my fan should have arrived.

*only four more months*

[bd1886]

Hey...I'm in Seattle and the mix of driver types on the road is crazy! Slow and out of control mixed with speedsters. All happening on wet,oily roads! ( No one ever honks so the sound of the screeching metal is rather piercing). Snows...Legions of Lexus's chain up(on the rear tires!).Two days without rain and people forget how to drive in it. Scares me! But what can you do? So...I just stick my cellphone to my ear and head off to work.

[glc]

What tickles me is when someone passes a left turning car (or right for you other folks) on the shoulder...from 3 cars back.

Don't even think of passing anyone on the shoulder under any circumstances in Illinois - it's illegal, period. Found this out the hard way when I first moved here, I learned to drive in NJ where this is permitted. The cops strictly enforce it.

[blue60007]

It probably is here too. On the state road leading to my side road there's a shoulder (a whole lane) on both sides...and at one point (where all the businesses are) the DOT slapped a bunch of signs up saying not to but no one listens. On a rare occasion there'll be a cop sitting along there. Don't know if they'll go after someone for passing on the shoulder or not...I've had cops pass me before on the shoulder. I have to turn left on the road to get home so I see this everyday. I don't mind if people do it *IF* they slow down and don't do it from several cars back. I've had people blow past me the instant I hit the turn signal...that's just plain dangerous. You never know when there'll be a disabled car or debris in the shoulder. I'll move over to the left side of lane so the person behind can get a clear view of that broken down car.

Where the businesses are...there's a reason why those signs are there. There's just too many entrances and people tuning on and off the road...I've seen a few too many close calls. What I like is when there's a lane added specifically for going around folks turning left but that wouldn't be practical for the reasons I just mentioned.

Also semi's shouldn't regardless - the shoulder just isn't that wide. What really ticked me off...a couple weeks ago a semi went past me (he did slow down some)...that was just stupid as the snow was piled up along the shoulder and there wasn't very much room. The shoulders get plowed eventually but the shoulder are still reduced. He must've plowed through the snow bank but still had his left wheels in my lane. I just hit the brakes (harder) and did my best not to hit oncoming traffic while avoiding him...as soon as I could I just swerved into the oncoming lane to avoid being clipped as he came back into the lane....errgghhh

That reminds me of another rant - please don't clip corners off when turning left onto a road. Every now and then you'll be coming off our road onto the highway and some dingdong will come flying through the turn completly clipping the corner off like it's an Indy course forcing you to slam on the brakes and almost serve off the road. Since there's no center lines (or lines period) on the side roads you can't see where lanes are - not that paint ever stopped anyone.