As promised today's second rant...
Know what makes me angry? People who don't understand stop signs.
Like the people who clearly pulled up to a stop sign before you (they are sitting there when you pull up) but then don't go even though they clearly have the right of way. Sometimes they give me a wave like "you can go first" Hey, idiot... the way a stop sign works is the person who gets there first has the right of way. Don't wave me through when clearly you should be going.
And, speaking of waves, what is with the people who wave you through when you have the right of way, yeah I know I have the right of way buddy, that's why I'm pulling forwards.
Now that I think about it there is a lot of unnecessary waving around stop signs these days. Because, there is also the guy who waves at you when it's his turn to go and you're yielding the right of way, I'm always like. "Don't bother thanking me just learn to drive better".
More and more though I am noting people set up camp at a stop sign. Their waiting for a car that is in another zipcode to pass before they go, or they wait for a turtle speed car to make it completely by them bofore they even edge forward. These people need to learn to judge oncoming traffic better.
One set of people I don't have a problem with are the people who turn a Stop Sign into a Yield sign. I like them because they show an understanding of the world around them. They know the speed of oncoming triaffic and they know the capabilities of both themselves and their vehicle which shows a huge sence of awareness, which I applaud.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Inconsistency, thy name is Steven
I had editing to do yesterday so I skipped my web-log so today there will be two of them.
Police are the worst drivers in the world! Yes, they are trained to preform high speed maneuvers and be able to outdrive criminals but I am talking on a daily driving basis.
As I drive around the Triangle Area going to and from work or running errands on the weekend I see the sloppiest driving possible. No turn signals, tailgaiting, speeding, the list goes on and on. And this sloppy driving comes from police cars of all things.
Now, I understand that you need to drive with a purpose when there is an emergency so if your lights are on and your siren is blaring, go nuts, but if your just driving from point A to point B lets go ahead and set an example for the citizens and go the limit, use your blinkers, and fing maintain safe space. Because, as we all know, nobody (nobody with a tiny bit of self preservation instinct that is) passes a cop on the highway.
oh, and P.S. You know that little U-Turn you make through the median to catch a speeder coming the other way? WAY more dangerous then that guy going 8 miles per hour over the limit.
Police are the worst drivers in the world! Yes, they are trained to preform high speed maneuvers and be able to outdrive criminals but I am talking on a daily driving basis.
As I drive around the Triangle Area going to and from work or running errands on the weekend I see the sloppiest driving possible. No turn signals, tailgaiting, speeding, the list goes on and on. And this sloppy driving comes from police cars of all things.
Now, I understand that you need to drive with a purpose when there is an emergency so if your lights are on and your siren is blaring, go nuts, but if your just driving from point A to point B lets go ahead and set an example for the citizens and go the limit, use your blinkers, and fing maintain safe space. Because, as we all know, nobody (nobody with a tiny bit of self preservation instinct that is) passes a cop on the highway.
oh, and P.S. You know that little U-Turn you make through the median to catch a speeder coming the other way? WAY more dangerous then that guy going 8 miles per hour over the limit.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Oh, your changing lanes? thanks for letting me know.
I am going to put as much effort into today's topic as it takes to use today's topic... Turn Signals
This country (especially around here) has gotten real lax about signaling intentions to other drivers. Now, I unfortunately have found myself in this category but am endeavoring to do better. I don't know how many of you saw the movie Shoot 'em up (if you like lots of violence and no real plot this is the movie for you) but Clive Owen's character Mr. Smith makes my point for me...
Mr. Smith: I move my finger one inch to use my turn signal. Why are these a*holes so lazy they can't move their finger one fing measly inch to drive more safely? You wanna know why?
Chick in car: Not particularly.
Mr. Smith: Because these rich bastards have to be callous and inconsiderate in the first place to make all that money, so when they get on the road, they can't help themselves. They've gotta be callous and inconsiderate drivers too. It's in their nature.
Then the guy throws some trash out of the window and Mr Smith gets so mad he runs him off the road into a telephone pole. Unfortunately this lack of signaling has filtered down from the elite to the masses. Now here is a simple rule that everyone can live by... If you're doing something with your car where the front wheels aren't straight, Use your turn signal.
Like I said I have been found guilty of this too and I blame three things besides the richees out there.
1. Cell phones: easy enough to see why, if your holding a phone your hand isn't free to flip the lever. Hang up and drive (Save that rant for another time, probably tomorrow)
2. Jerks who see a car with a signal on and go "oh no, your not getting in front of me". Look, unless the guy is a complete idiot and is trying to get across four lanes of traffic for an exit that he should have known was coming up (then it's OK to block him) and if it isn't risking lives, let him over. In the grand plan it's really not going to make you any later to where your going, and, you will have done a kindness for the day.
3. The Cops: A guy who changes lanes without signaling or gets on or off the freeway without a blinker is breaking the law. Now, I know you love to drive badly (more on that later) but do your job and pull this guy over. You don't have to give him a ticket if you think it's a silly offense, but, if a cop pulled me over specifically to tell me to use my signal when turning or changing lanes I would damn sure remember it, and I guarantee that I would spread the word that cops are out there looking for those who don't signal.
This country (especially around here) has gotten real lax about signaling intentions to other drivers. Now, I unfortunately have found myself in this category but am endeavoring to do better. I don't know how many of you saw the movie Shoot 'em up (if you like lots of violence and no real plot this is the movie for you) but Clive Owen's character Mr. Smith makes my point for me...
Mr. Smith: I move my finger one inch to use my turn signal. Why are these a*holes so lazy they can't move their finger one fing measly inch to drive more safely? You wanna know why?
Chick in car: Not particularly.
Mr. Smith: Because these rich bastards have to be callous and inconsiderate in the first place to make all that money, so when they get on the road, they can't help themselves. They've gotta be callous and inconsiderate drivers too. It's in their nature.
Then the guy throws some trash out of the window and Mr Smith gets so mad he runs him off the road into a telephone pole. Unfortunately this lack of signaling has filtered down from the elite to the masses. Now here is a simple rule that everyone can live by... If you're doing something with your car where the front wheels aren't straight, Use your turn signal.
Like I said I have been found guilty of this too and I blame three things besides the richees out there.
1. Cell phones: easy enough to see why, if your holding a phone your hand isn't free to flip the lever. Hang up and drive (Save that rant for another time, probably tomorrow)
2. Jerks who see a car with a signal on and go "oh no, your not getting in front of me". Look, unless the guy is a complete idiot and is trying to get across four lanes of traffic for an exit that he should have known was coming up (then it's OK to block him) and if it isn't risking lives, let him over. In the grand plan it's really not going to make you any later to where your going, and, you will have done a kindness for the day.
3. The Cops: A guy who changes lanes without signaling or gets on or off the freeway without a blinker is breaking the law. Now, I know you love to drive badly (more on that later) but do your job and pull this guy over. You don't have to give him a ticket if you think it's a silly offense, but, if a cop pulled me over specifically to tell me to use my signal when turning or changing lanes I would damn sure remember it, and I guarantee that I would spread the word that cops are out there looking for those who don't signal.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Sorry about last week
I am an angry person, but I am also a lazy person. Last week I actually had to do work at work (a shock to all who know me) and the first thing to suffer was this Web-Log. So I will pick up things on an important topic...
Headlights...
So it has been gloomy in the past week or few and more and more I have noticed cars (usually gray or black) driving through the gloom with no headlights on. So, here's a little tip for them, if everyone around you has headlights on, you should too. Now, I can understand why these people don't turn there lights on, they can see fine. But, they need to understand that it's for the people around them, because nothing blends into a gray rainy day then a gray car.
Some states have laws where if your wipers are being used then your lights should be on (NC is one of those states) but for some reason these laws don't get enforced, which I don't understand at all. It is way more dangerous for me to be driving through limited visibility with no lights on then it is for me to be going 50 in a 45 on a bright sunny day yet, speeding tickets are given out to everyone (even during rush hour traffic), when I haven't even heard of a citation for the headlight law. So, police, get off your butt and fix this problem! Is it because you don't want to get wet? Suck it up you bunch of pansies, your supposed to be protecting the public.
Some people will claim that if they turn on their lights when it's not dark out they will leave there lights on when they get out of their car. Two things wrong with that argument 1. Your car is friggin beeping (or dinging or chiming or whatever) at you! Do you walk away from something actively warning you about something without finding out what that something is? and 2. there is an easy way to make sure you don't leave them on, train yourself to turn the lights off as a reflex, and here's how. When you turn the engine off with your right hand, make the motion to turn the lights off with your left hand. Even if they aren't on, if you make the motion, you can train your muscles to do it as instinct. Trust me, I used to own a Del Sol which came with no headlight tone, I left my lights on once and learned from it.
Now to all you idiots who drive at night with no lights on, or even more irritatingly, with just your parking lights on... FIX IT!!! I find it impossible to believe that if your looking where your going you can't tell their not on (Boy it's dark tonight, I wonder why?). I know the main cause of this illness too... Just because you are in a lit parking lot doesn't alter the basic math, nighttime=headlights.
Ok nuff for today...
Headlights...
So it has been gloomy in the past week or few and more and more I have noticed cars (usually gray or black) driving through the gloom with no headlights on. So, here's a little tip for them, if everyone around you has headlights on, you should too. Now, I can understand why these people don't turn there lights on, they can see fine. But, they need to understand that it's for the people around them, because nothing blends into a gray rainy day then a gray car.
Some states have laws where if your wipers are being used then your lights should be on (NC is one of those states) but for some reason these laws don't get enforced, which I don't understand at all. It is way more dangerous for me to be driving through limited visibility with no lights on then it is for me to be going 50 in a 45 on a bright sunny day yet, speeding tickets are given out to everyone (even during rush hour traffic), when I haven't even heard of a citation for the headlight law. So, police, get off your butt and fix this problem! Is it because you don't want to get wet? Suck it up you bunch of pansies, your supposed to be protecting the public.
Some people will claim that if they turn on their lights when it's not dark out they will leave there lights on when they get out of their car. Two things wrong with that argument 1. Your car is friggin beeping (or dinging or chiming or whatever) at you! Do you walk away from something actively warning you about something without finding out what that something is? and 2. there is an easy way to make sure you don't leave them on, train yourself to turn the lights off as a reflex, and here's how. When you turn the engine off with your right hand, make the motion to turn the lights off with your left hand. Even if they aren't on, if you make the motion, you can train your muscles to do it as instinct. Trust me, I used to own a Del Sol which came with no headlight tone, I left my lights on once and learned from it.
Now to all you idiots who drive at night with no lights on, or even more irritatingly, with just your parking lights on... FIX IT!!! I find it impossible to believe that if your looking where your going you can't tell their not on (Boy it's dark tonight, I wonder why?). I know the main cause of this illness too... Just because you are in a lit parking lot doesn't alter the basic math, nighttime=headlights.
Ok nuff for today...
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