Yard sales and cell phones. (rant)

[patrick_g]

HAZMAT, The folks who are "teaching" the idiot a "lesson" are in fact only proving themselves to be dumber than the object of their fury. Consider the stupid way the idiot is driving. What makes anyone think that someone THAT stupid is going to learn anything from an ill defined impromptu LESSON. The idiot will use the rudeness of the "teacher" as proof that the rest of the drivers are stupid and he is justified in doing what he is doing to get along in a world populated by dumb rude people.

A psychology class once went out on the San Diego freeway system armed with table tennis paddles with signs on both sides. One side had "PLEASE?" and the other a big happy face and THANK YOU. They went out in rush hour stop and go frustrating traffic known to create road rage. They would flash the "Please?" sign and a smile at a driver in an adjacent lane and nearly always be invited to merge into that lane ahead of the driver they asked. Then they flashed the happy face THANK YOU. It worked amazingly well. Had something to do with breaking down the impersonal isolation of the steel cocoon transportation canister/isolation chamber.

People will do things to others when in their isolation chambers (cars) that they would never do or would never be tolerated in person; barging into queues (cutting into a line ahead of others) and so forth. The same people who would say please, thank you , and excuse me in person will pretend not to see you and run you over when in their isolation chamber.

Pat

 

[Defective]

Then again...there's the opposite view...

The simple satisfaction of annoying the **** out of a tard who treated those around him/her in an anti-social manner.

 

[rox]

Defective,
There is one thing that annoys the heck out of me and that is in a full parking lot where you go round and round and can't find a space, and you see somebody walk to their car so you pull up behind but a few cars back to allow them to exit and then you can have to parking spot, and they get in thier car and dily dally around and won't leave. At a family get together I was complaining how that happened to me that day and my looser brother in lw says, "Oh I do that all the time. if I see somebody is waitig for my spot I take out my comb and comb my hair and jsut go real slow" Can you imagine, for no other reason than he wants to be a jerk. it had never occured to me previously that people are actually intentionally doig this, I thought they were all jsut clueless. Honeslty I nver figured it out that their behaviour was intentional.

Probably 10 years goes by it is Christmas time at the mall and I'm driving around in circles etc. etc. So anyway the younger couple get in thier car and I am waiting patiently and they don't leave. they are talking and yadda yadda yadda. Flashback to what my brother in law told me. I could see this was a game to them. So I had a little fun of my own.

Now the last thing i want is a confrontation but I'll be darned if I will be made a fool of again. So i pull up behind thier car so they cna't get out, I reach in the glove compartment pull out a map and proceed to look very very intently at my map. And did I sit there, up that map was really really interesting. Finally the young man got out of the car and came over to my window, I could see him out of the corner of my eye getting out of his car but I jsut kept my head down looking at my map. He wrapped on my widow where clearly I ahd my mpa spread out all over the steering wheel , and innocently I rolled down the window ad asked, "yes can I help you?" He inhales a bit and points to their car and I nicely apologise "Oh Im so sorry," and then slowly every so cautiosly I moved the car enough for them to get out.

I still do remember the satisfaction i felt over that non threatening, maneuver i pulled off. Never did it since, but I would do it again if I had to. Sometimes you do jsut want to stick up for yourself. It is not about road rage or escalation, in fact my behaviour was very very innocent and therein lies the beauty.

the other thing I will do but only in Illinois never in nice Wisconsin is if there is road construction and the lanes are going from say 2 lanes to 1 lane and people are shoulder riding real fast to get ahead of the line before the lane cuts down to 1 lane, what i do is simply drive halfway on the shoulder and halfway in my lane. Thsoe cars that are shoulder riding just plug it up and back up traffice so it takes that much longer for the nice people who stay int he lanes to make it through the botlneck. When you take a bit of the shoulder they can't get around you and in front of you and the traffic actually moves better. Nine times out of 10 if it is 3 lanes goig down to 2 through body langauage and facial expressions I can get the car next to me to join in and we do a rolling blockade. I mean you are sitting backed up for 2 to 3 miles waiting for your turn in line and the people are zipping down the shoulders squeezing in at the last minute and basically making it that much longer for you to get through.

This also I dont' do very often but I do do it. the only thing I am doing is preventing someone from driving illegally on the shoulders. For some reason they do this a lot in Chicago but never have I seen it done in Wisconsin. It's called shoulder riding, in Chicago they even ut up signs "No shoulder riding"

Those are the only 2 things i will do behind the wheel of a car that is outside the norm.

 

[turnkey4099]

Sorry Harry, but I think Gatorboy is right on this one. The law states that slower traffic should keep right. It doesn't say that slower traffic should keep right unless you arbitrarily decide that driving in the left lane is keeping up with the flow of traffic. I pulled this off the Internet for the State of Washington:

(1) Upon all roadways of sufficient width a vehicle shall be driven upon the right half of the roadway, except as follows:

(a) When overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction under the rules governing such movement;

(b) When an obstruction exists making it necessary to drive to the left of the center of the highway; provided, any person so doing shall yield the right of way to all vehicles traveling in the proper direction upon the unobstructed portion of the highway within such distance as to constitute an immediate hazard;

(c) Upon a roadway divided into three marked lanes and providing for two-way movement traffic under the rules applicable thereon; or

(d) Upon a street or highway restricted to one-way traffic.

(2) Upon all roadways having two or more lanes for traffic moving in the same direction, all vehicles shall be driven in the right-hand lane then available for traffic, except (a) when overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction, (b) when traveling at a speed greater than the traffic flow, (c) when moving left to allow traffic to merge, or (d) when preparing for a left turn at an intersection, exit, or into a private road or driveway when such left turn is legally permitted. On any such roadway, a vehicle or combination over ten thousand pounds shall be driven only in the right-hand lane except under the conditions enumerated in (a) through (d) of this subsection.

(3) No vehicle towing a trailer or no vehicle or combination over ten thousand pounds may be driven in the left-hand lane of a limited access roadway having three or more lanes for traffic moving in one direction except when preparing for a left turn at an intersection, exit, or into a private road or driveway when a left turn is legally permitted. This subsection does not apply to a vehicle using a high-occupancy vehicle lane. A high-occupancy vehicle lane is not considered the left-hand lane of a roadway. The department of transportation, in consultation with the Washington state patrol, shall adopt rules specifying (a) those circumstances where it is permissible for other vehicles to use the left lane in case of emergency or to facilitate the orderly flow of traffic, and (b) those segments of limited access roadway to be exempt from this subsection due to the operational characteristics of the roadway.

(4) It is a traffic infraction to drive continuously in the left lane of a multilane roadway when it impedes the flow of other traffic.

(5) Upon any roadway having four or more lanes for moving traffic and providing for two-way movement of traffic, a vehicle shall not be driven to the left of the center line of the roadway except when authorized by official traffic control devices designating certain lanes to the left side of the center of the roadway for use by traffic not otherwise permitted to use such lanes, or except as permitted under subsection (1)(b) of this section. However, this subsection shall not be construed as prohibiting the crossing of the center line in making a left turn into or from an alley, private road or driveway.

There is only one problem. I follow those rules always (except for some a-hole trying to push me to speed up more while passing). I clearly said that I stay in _a_ right hand lane _unless I am passing_ The "_a_" is in the case of multilanes through a city were the far right hand lane has enter/exit traffic every few blocks and the center lane is the accepted travel lane with the lane(s) to the left of that for passing.

Harry K

 

[turnkey4099]

Add my vote for traffic circles/rotaries. I drove for 6 years in Germany. Someone did point out the problem here. They work well _when everyone understands them_. It takes some time before the locals get to accept them.

A new one just went in last year (IIRC) on an intersection that was a high accident location. Seems to have cut the accidents way down but I haven't seen an update report in a long time. There were both pros and cons in the editorial pages when it first opened up.

Yes, the line jumpers. I think the torque off everybody. I will not let them in if I am in position to do so and I really don't understand why anyone would hold up the line to let one in. I did see 'justice' in one case a few years ago.

Leaving Spokan westbound on the fourlane to Fairchild AFB. Construction had it narrowed to one lane on my side with backup, Next light up had a left turn lane leading to it and a car comes zipping down it to the light. Light changes and he cuts in front of the line to go straight ahead. He did. Straight over to the breakdown lane to have a nice chat with the officer who was waiting for someone to pull that stunt.

Harry K

 

[Bird]

you see somebody walk to their car so you pull up behind but a few cars back to allow them to exit and then you can have to parking spot, and they get in thier car and dily dally around and won't leave

Rox, I certainly agree with you, which is why I try to get in my car and get out as quickly as I can. However, I'm not sure but what the person stopped a few cars back waiting for the parking spot, blocking the driving lane, and creating gridlock isn't an even worse offender and nuisance than the person who is slow to leave. At least the person who is slow to leave is not blocking other traffic like the person sitting there waiting for the parking spot.

As for driving on the shoulder to pass other vehicles, I assume everyone knows that one reason that's illegal is because, in the event of a major accident, police, ambulances, and fire trucks can get to the scene, even if traffic in the driving lanes is gridlocked. Someone's life may depend on help getting through, and if some idiot is on the shoulder blocking traffic, that help may not get there in time.

 

[Defective]

Some years ago, when I was still physically capable of involvement with the VFD, I got to see one of the more enjoyable solutions to idiots that ride the shoulder.

I was riding in our heavy rescue truck to the scene of a crash. Traffic was backed up a couple of miles due to the accident we were responding to so, of course, we were driving down the shoulder. Jim, the driver, later told me he saw the idiot start his move in time to stop. Said idiot was not particularly pleased with being pushed gently into the ditch by a 20 ton firetruck. No real damage done to our truck or the idiots pickup as the speed differential was only about 5 mph & the ditch was wide & shallow.

Unfortunately, the laws have changed since that time. Now the firetruck driver would automatically be at fault.

To finish the tale, we got to the scene & extracted 6 people from two well munched minivans.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Some years ago, when I was still physically capable of involvement with the VFD, I got to see one of the more enjoyable solutions to idiots that ride the shoulder.

I was riding in our heavy rescue truck to the scene of a crash. Traffic was backed up a couple of miles due to the accident we were responding to so, of course, we were driving down the shoulder. Jim, the driver, later told me he saw the idiot start his move in time to stop. Said idiot was not particularly pleased with being pushed gently into the ditch by a 20 ton firetruck. No real damage done to our truck or the idiots pickup as the speed differential was only about 5 mph & the ditch was wide & shallow.

Unfortunately, the laws have changed since that time. Now the firetruck driver would automatically be at fault.

To finish the tale, we got to the scene & extracted 6 people from two well munched minivans.

Imagine that...? A law that requires drivers of emergency vehicles to obey the SAME laws to protect the public that the rest of the public must obey. Why can't they smash into vehicles on their way to rescue people in smashed vehicles? It's a darn shame when we can't take the law in to our own hands on a whim and become judge, jury and executioner. (SARCASM indicator light fully illuminated)

 

[Bird]

Imagine that...? A law that requires drivers of emergency vehicles to obey the SAME laws to protect the public that the rest of the public must obey. Why can't they smash into vehicles on their way to rescue people in smashed vehicles? It's a darn shame when we can't take the law in to our own hands on a whim and become judge, jury and executioner. (SARCASM indicator light fully illuminated)

In case you didn't know it, the law has always required drivers of emergencye vehicles to obey the same laws everyone else has to obey, so your sarcasm was wasted and unnecessary. The big difference over the years has been that, when I started in law enforcement, if a police officer or fireman had run over you, you could not sue or collect from the city, but you could sue the individual driver. So we all paid for and carried our own liability insurance to cover us while driving emergency vehicles. In later years, it changed so that you can sue and/or collect from either the city or the individual officer or both.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

In case you didn't know it, the law has always required drivers of emergencye vehicles to obey the same laws everyone else has to obey, so your sarcasm was wasted and unnecessary. The big difference over the years has been that, when I started in law enforcement, if a police officer or fireman had run over you, you could not sue or collect from the city, but you could sue the individual driver. So we all paid for and carried our own liability insurance to cover us while driving emergency vehicles. In later years, it changed so that you can sue and/or collect from either the city or the individual officer or both.

Bird, you're right about the way the law's were written. (and I wasn't the one who implied any laws had changed) What changed in recent years is the way they're enforced and/or ruled upon in a court of law. I'm on the board of directors of our volinteer FD. A few years back, we dealt with an assistant chief that blew a stop sign and killed a young girl who was turning into her driveway. Once upon a time, she would have been "at fault" or simply no fault directed towards the Asst. Chiefs actions. He ended up facing criminal charges as well as a civil suit.

My sarcasm was more directed at the attitude that it's ok for a volinteer firefighter to shove a car off the road at his own discresion. Sure the driver of the car was wrong. But 2 wrongs don't make a right. And I'd like to think the guy behind the wheel of that 20 ton fire truck would have the sense to NOT run over a motorist regardless of his reasons for wanting to. Our FD would send a driver like that on down the road.....on foot.