# Is Driver Lacking Common Sense? **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Created:** [July 26, 2022, 10:20pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-driver-lacking-common-sense/185489 "2022-07-26T22:20:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 10:20pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-driver-lacking-common-sense/185489/1 "2022-07-26T22:20:56Z")
Witnessed recently, driver wants to parallel park, long strip of 20 empty spaces, but driver passes by the empty spots, and parks after the first occupied space, nosing in between the first two parked cars, rear end still in traffic, so next, a series of backing, forward, backing, forward. Net savings to driver: maybe 8 steps. I suppose everyone has seen this sort of bizarre driver behavior, but wondering what could possibly motivate such a thing? ---
**Author:** ![Barkydog](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/barkydog/32/2470_2.png) [@Barkydog](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Barkydog)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 10:24pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-driver-lacking-common-sense/185489/2 "2022-07-26T22:24:16Z")
I go to the gym occasionally, don’t mind parking far out and walking, but people will wait for a parking spot in the first row, to go in and exercise. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 10:26pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-driver-lacking-common-sense/185489/3 "2022-07-26T22:26:55Z")
> [@Barkydog](#): > > people will wait for a parking spot in the first row, to go in and exercise. Go figure. lol … I’ve seen that phenomenon too, espcially at golf course where the would-be golfer drives around the parking lot 6 or 7 times to get a spot a little closer to the club house, then proceeds to walk 5 miles to cover the course’s 18 holes. But at least those folks are saving more than 8 steps. ---
**Author:** ![VOLVO-V70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@VOLVO-V70](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VOLVO-V70)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 10:32pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-driver-lacking-common-sense/185489/4 "2022-07-26T22:32:11Z")
VDC has posted many times about this brain dead behavior. ---
**Author:** ![TheWonderful90s](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/thewonderful90s/32/29584_2.png) [@TheWonderful90s](https://community.cartalk.com/u/TheWonderful90s)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 10:47pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-driver-lacking-common-sense/185489/5 "2022-07-26T22:47:01Z")
![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/c/3/c368e23243a11dee130e13c59afe8259b31dd65e.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 11:00pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-driver-lacking-common-sense/185489/6 "2022-07-26T23:00:22Z")
Maybe they think it’s a stair step machine … 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Renegade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Renegade](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Renegade)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 11:09pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-driver-lacking-common-sense/185489/7 "2022-07-26T23:09:59Z")
> [@George\_San\_Jose1](#): > > but wondering what could possibly motivate such a thing? One word IDIOT’s. 😆 🙃 Also common sense isn’t so common anymore 🙃 ---
**Author:** ![oldtimer-11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e79b87/32.png) [@oldtimer-11](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oldtimer-11)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 5:33am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-driver-lacking-common-sense/185489/8 "2022-07-27T05:33:08Z")
What I used to see walking down by the river all the time was people walking for their health and smoking. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 12:20pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-driver-lacking-common-sense/185489/9 "2022-07-27T12:20:46Z")
> [@Barkydog](#): > > people will wait for a parking spot in the first row, to go in and exercise When I was in my late teens and early 20s, I had a friend who had similar behaviors. When we went to the mall in his car to buy records or clothing, he would drive around and around the area of the parking lot adjacent to the main entrance in order to get one of the closest parking spaces to the front entrance. This typically took anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes until someone vacated one of those very-close parking spaces. However, just across the “aisle”, in the adjoining section of the lot, there were always a LOT of vacant spaces. We could have instantly parked in one of those empty spaces, been inside the mall, and reached the desired store in the same amount of time that he wasted driving in endless circles looking for a space very close to the entrance. Gas was cheap in those days, but he also wasted a lot of gas while he cruised around for a close parking space. Obviously, even in his later years he still does things that defy logic. He has resigned himself to living in a tiny apartment in a dodgy section of a so-so town because he lost so much money through his gambling habits. And yet, he leases a new Caddy every 2 or 3 years in order to “impress the doorman when I pull up in front of the casino”. 🫤 Go figure! ---
**Author:** ![PvtPublic](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/pvtpublic/32/13089_2.png) [@PvtPublic](https://community.cartalk.com/u/PvtPublic)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 12:26pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-driver-lacking-common-sense/185489/10 "2022-07-27T12:26:45Z")
Maybe they’re not walking for their health. A long time ago I was riding my bike, home from work. I stopped at a local cash and carry on the bike path, for a break. Got myself a beer, sat at the picnic bench and while having a smoke and sipping my beer, a hard core “biker” in all his glory, regalia, and uppity attitude stops and loudly comments on my unhealthy biking strategy. I just informed him I wasn’t asking for, nor cared about his opinion. I wasn’t riding for fun or health, it was my transportation, nothing more nothing less. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 12:27pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-driver-lacking-common-sense/185489/11 "2022-07-27T12:27:06Z")
> [@VOLVO-V70](#): > > VDC has posted many times about this brain dead behavior. My favorite brain-dead activity to observe in parking lots is the phenomenon of people who will park in a “rear” space, even if they could pull directly into the parking space in front of them. (No, there are no “tire stops” in parking lots in this area because of the need to plow the lots during the winter months.) I once observed a guy going forward and backward several times, apparently in an effort to center himself more precisely in a “rear” space. Each time that he pulled forward, he was in an empty “front” space, and then he would back up again into the desired “rear” space. Lather, rinse, repeat… And, just to complete that brain-dead scenario, I almost always see those same drivers backing out of their “rear” parking spot even if the space in front of them is still empty. ---
**Author:** ![Purebred](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/purebred/32/46796_2.png) [@Purebred](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Purebred)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 12:49pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-driver-lacking-common-sense/185489/12 "2022-07-27T12:49:02Z")
Same here, see people not pull through when available. I always look for a pull through space, even if it “costs” me twenty extra steps. Then there are those whom block an aisle waiting for a car to pull out of a space. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 12:59pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-driver-lacking-common-sense/185489/13 "2022-07-27T12:59:25Z")
> [@Purebred](#): > > I always look for a pull through space, even if it “costs” me twenty extra steps. +1 In addition to giving me a bit more exercise, being able to “front” out of a parking space is potentially much safer than having to back out of a space in a parking lot. When I drive my friend’s Forester, it has _Rear Cross-Traffic Alert_, which I find very helpful. In addition to letting you know about approaching cross-traffic from as much as 30 feet away, it even detects pedestrians who decide to walk in back of your vehicle while you are backing out. I eagerly look forward to my next car, which will have that feature. ---
**Author:** ![oldtimer-11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e79b87/32.png) [@oldtimer-11](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oldtimer-11)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 9:38pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-driver-lacking-common-sense/185489/14 "2022-07-27T21:38:51Z")
I was talking about people walking along a riverwalk in a park with no businesses or homes along it and I said nothing to anyone about their smoking. I was just commenting about the incongruity of it. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 9:46pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-driver-lacking-common-sense/185489/15 "2022-07-27T21:46:50Z")
> [@oldtimer-11](#): > > I was talking about people walking along a riverwalk in a park with no businesses or homes along it and I said nothing to anyone about their smoking. I was just commenting about the incongruity of it. +1 When I take my powerwalks alongside the D&R Canal, I occasionally encounter people taking their walks while _deep-dragging_ on a ciggie. I never say anything to them, but my thoughts include the idea that putting one’s self in a position of **deep-breathing** while simultaneously puffing on that cancer stick is probably adding a lot more danger from that ciggie than if they were smoking while just sitting on their porch. 🤔 ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 9:59pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-driver-lacking-common-sense/185489/16 "2022-07-27T21:59:54Z")
Cig’s while walking? Ok, I got a Calif-incongruity. Fires big problem here. While almost everything that could cause a fire is illegal, smoking & throwing the cig butts on the ground, perfectly legal. When asked if the dry grass along a public trail could potentially be a fire hazard, the fire-prevention expert said “no, there’s no ignition sources”. ---
**Author:** ![Renegade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Renegade](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Renegade)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 10:05pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-driver-lacking-common-sense/185489/17 "2022-07-27T22:05:08Z")
> [@George\_San\_Jose1](#): > > the fire-prevention expert said “no, there’s no ignition sources”. Sounds like y’all need a new fire-prevention expert. ---
**Author:** ![Nevada\_545](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nevada_545/32/41232_2.png) [@Nevada\_545](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nevada_545)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2022, 5:47am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-driver-lacking-common-sense/185489/18 "2022-07-28T05:47:11Z")
> [@VDCdriver](#): > > My favorite brain-dead activity to observe in parking lots is the phenomenon of people who will park in a “rear” space, even if they could pull directly into the parking space in front of them. I like to have access to the trunk of my car when I return. ![20210427_174050](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/b/8/b85e0d7c899d291849b38448a886fddfa5c74981.jpeg) I could simply move my car away from the other vehicle to load my trunk but what do you expect from the brain-dead. I park in a location that allows access to the trunk. ---
**Author:** ![PvtPublic](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/pvtpublic/32/13089_2.png) [@PvtPublic](https://community.cartalk.com/u/PvtPublic)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2022, 9:38am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-driver-lacking-common-sense/185489/19 "2022-07-28T09:38:33Z")
> [@George\_San\_Jose1](#): > > problem here. While almost everything that could cause a fire is illegal, smoking & throwing the cig butts on the ground, perfectly legal. No it’s not legal, it’s called littering. And if your fire prevention expert really said that, I agree you need a new one! ---
**Author:** ![circuitsmith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/circuitsmith/32/40376_2.png) [@circuitsmith](https://community.cartalk.com/u/circuitsmith)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2022, 1:39pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-driver-lacking-common-sense/185489/20 "2022-07-28T13:39:59Z")
> [@VDCdriver](#): > > people who will park in a “rear” space, even if they could pull directly into the parking space in front of them. I do that at the grocery store, so I don’t have to maneuver the shopping cart between cars to reach the back of my car. [Next page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-driver-lacking-common-sense/185489.md?page=2)