freedomwoman, the ending lane is there for a reason. If people are polite to a fault, as you suggest they should be, that lane would be empty, and traffic would back up further. Construction workers and traffic engineers leave that lane space open for a reason. Don’t be afraid to use it.
chaissos, if you use the world as your ashtray, yes.
I use my ashtray as my ashtray, and it pisses me off, because I get lumped into the same bucket as all those idiots that DO use the world as an ashtray. I even get the honor of picking up other people butts in my yard. Which is perfect, because not one of them is mine.
If we throw burning cigarettes out of car windows down here, the most likely result is a fire. We’ve had 4 days of record heat (this month), and it’s hit 100 so far almost every day. With no rain, those other folks are just asking to mess us all up. I can only hope they do it in their neighborhood, and it’s their house under threat, and not mine.
It’s a shame you get lumped in with others, but there’s a reason for it. Smoking isn’t a lifestyle choice, or something you are born with, like skin color or sexual orientation. Smoking is barely tolerated drug abuse. It was once socially acceptable, but so was drinking hard liquor in the workplace at one time.
When you think about it, what other type of drug abuse do we tolerate in public? I can’t think of any. If you pop a pill, you better do it discretely or make sure it comes out of a pharmacy bottle with your name on it. If you smoke a joint, you better be standing in the middle of a large crowd at a Santana concert or within the four corners of your home with the doors and windows closed. Try standing out in front of your workplace sipping on a shot of tequila and see what happens. See what I mean?
gee…and all this time I thought it was just a “habit”…like those that walk their dogs all around and let them do their business in other peoples yards and walk on, leaving the mess.
it’s no worse than drinking alcohol, and then driving home. Lots of people do that every day, and I can only guess that fewer than 25% are actually stopped by the cops.
#1, I like lots of music. I like everything from hip hop to bluegrass. However, I don’t care what you are listening to, I don’t want to hear it. And if your radio makes my rear view mirror vibrate, I hope someone smashes your window and steals it. (Alright, that’s a bit harsh, but hey, show some respect to others around you.)
#2, Cigarette butts are litter too. It drives me crazy to see people throw a butt out their window. And when I stop at a red light and look around, it seems to be a prime place to dump your butts. The world is not your trash can.
#3, If you drive a pick-up truck, it’s not the trash fairy that mysteriously removes those old fast food wrappers from your bed. They probably ended up glued to someone’s windshield. Don’t leave trash in your bed because it will most likely end up on the side of the road as litter.
#4, If you’re going to be turning right at the next intersection, it would probably be a good idea to get in the right lane by now.
#5, Consider others when you park your car, no matter where it is, and never block the bike path or side walks. I had a fun moment while delivering pizza one day. Some construction workers had the road blocked so they could unload a truck full of roofing shingles. O.K., no problem, I’ll go around. An hour and a half later I was passing through the same neighborhood on another delivery. All the guys were sitting on the porch of the house eating lunch. The truck was still parked blocking the road. There was only one option at this point. I drove up their driveway and through the front yard and down the neighbor’s driveway, all the while giving the one finger salute with a wry grin.
You want to take up 2 spaces in a parking lot?? Sure, take as many spaces as you think you can fit your prized possession into, but do it in the far end of the parking lot where nobody parks. Doesnt it make sense, If you are that obsessed over your car, parking in the outer limits of the parking lot will for sure keep it safe.
Some people are overly obsessed with their cars. Not long ago (A year or so ago) we had a young kid killed by a driver of a car. The kid and some friends were egging cars. The one boy egged some guys car, the guy came back and shot the kid, killing him. I mean, Come on people, ITS JUST A CAR. Its not worth taking a life and spending the rest of your life in jail over. Egg washes off, damaged cars can be fixed. Once you fire a bullet out of a gun, YOU OWN THAT BULLET. Whatever damage it does, YOU are responsible for.
“ #5, Consider others when you park your car, no matter where it is, and never block the bike path or side walks. I had a fun moment while delivering pizza one day. Some construction workers had the road blocked so they could unload a truck full of roofing shingles. O.K., no problem, I’ll go around. An hour and a half later I was passing through the same neighborhood on another delivery. All the guys were sitting on the porch of the house eating lunch. The truck was still parked blocking the road. There was only one option at this point. I drove up their driveway and through the front yard and down the neighbor’s driveway, all the while giving the one finger salute with a wry grin.”
How did you find out the construction workers’ address? Oh, you drove across THEIR CLIENT’S front yard. Unacceptable and illegal behavior.
“And if your radio makes my rear view mirror vibrate, I hope someone smashes your window and steals it.”
“Officer, I was so startled when he drove across my client’s front yard the hammer just flew out of my hand and went through his windshield!”
My two biggest pet peeves are people who wave you out on four-way stops and not using your high beams. Many times I will come to a four-way stop second and the car that gets there first will (and/or is to my right) will try to wave me on. This might seem like a nice courtesy, but to me this is a law suit waiting to happen, courts do not recognize ‘waving’ when it comes to liability at a four-way stop. There are standard practices on how to approach a four-way stop, people need to use them.
High beams, if it is night and there are no other cars in front of you then people need to use their high beams, too many times I end up behind these people (keeping my customary 3-4 seconds distance) and I cannot see down the long stretch of road because the car in front will not turn his high-beams on. Your high beams not only help you see down the road but other vehicles that are behind you as well. I will acknowledge the exception to this rule is well lit city streets and thus also identify the typical culprits.
I have a couple others that have been covered such as not getting up to speed on an interstate on-ramp and slowing down BEFORE moving into the turning lane thus mucking-up traffic, but these are my two big ones.
I’m with you, piter, on people holding up the left turn lane because they won’t pull into the intersection.
ALSO–people turning left out of the drive or lot from the right lane!! (Making all the right-turners wait)
Parking violators! Parking on sidewalks, in crosswalks, in bike lanes. It’s rude and lazy. And motorists who don’t stop for pedestrians who are following the rules. When you get out of your car you become a pedestrian too!
People who leave too much space between cars on heavy traffic or at a traffic light. They just aggravate the problem. a) they waste space b) they lure people to cut lanes and use the space they have left empty.
people who block the intersection when there is heavy traffic
People who turn right on a Red light when there is heavy traffic and one has stopped on a green light to avoid blocking the intersection if the traffic light changes to red.
But how much space is too much? I see some people leave way to much, but people need to remember to leave enough space so that if they’re rear ended, they aren’t pushed into the car in front of them…
I was once given an easy answer to that question: if you can see the spot where the tires on the car in front of you touch the ground, you’re back far enough. If you can’t without scooting up in your seat, you’re too close.
There are cars with downward-sloping hoods and other quirky visibility issues that would have to be exceptions, but with the average vehicle it works out pretty well.
“if you can see the spot where the tires on the car in front of you touch the ground, you’re back far enough.”
At what speed?
That methodology might work just fine at 35 mph, but at 65 mph, it represents insufficient distance between your car and the car in front of you.
Perchance–Do you drive either a VW or a BMW?
I ask only because drivers of those vehicles seem to consistently think that they can defy the laws of physics.
While riding my motorcycle, as much as a left lane hogger urks me , the people that flick their cigarette buts out the window or spit out the widow while I am behind them should be punishable by letting me do the same to them.
Which just brought to mind a reletive peve…
Because proper following distance has everything to do with the TIME between cars, the actual distance increases with speed.
This is logic and physics.
Until that a-hole in the lane beside just can’t bring himself to pull BEHIND you but instead moves right into the “space” ( correct following distance ! ) between you and the car in front.
Can I comment on annoyances at auto parts stores? I was there last week to buy some brake fluid for a Ford. The salesman there, he just couldn’t get to the point for some reason. First, no matter what I said, he didn’t listen to my question. Instead he kept wanting to give a little tutorial about what the stuff was made of, about how the it worked, etc, instead of what I was asking. “Please, please, just show me the choices that you carry my Ford car!” I really don’t need to know what it is made of. I just need to buy the right kind. Anybody else have these kinds of frustrations w/the auto parts store?
There used to be what was commonly called the “two second rule”, pick anything you can use as a marker (post, odd looking spot on the road, mile marker), and adjust your following distance that way. No one does it, but I remember it.
I’m also a very long time biker (before I drove cars), and cigarette butts and spit (not to mention tailgaters) also piss me off. One time I caught a smoke tossed out, after it bounced off my chest. It went out when it hit me, but I caught it, and when passing the guy at a much slower speed, tossed it back in his window. Really freaked him out, and made me feel good. I doubt he tossed another one out for a while.