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Articles: Things On the Road That Just I Don't Get |
Posted by
Anya on Tuesday, January 20, 2004 - 04:14 AM PST
I never considered myself the perfect driver, not to mention a perfect person at all. I'm still young and experiencing the ways of the road - especially in the cities. So far, I go by the speed limit, wont turn unless I am ready, and always watch out for cars (sometimes I check twice). No one can ever be too careful on the road.
However, there are some things that I do not get when it comes to driving - especially in California. California is perhaps one of the most crowded states I ever lived in. On top of that, the majority of the population lives in the urban area, making it even more tedious to drive on the roads there. Now I am not in any position to say that I am the best driver or that people should not make mistakes, but there are some things I just do not get.
Parking Lots
For one, who drives thirty to forty miles per hour in a parking lot? Not only are there usually many cars, there are people walking. There are some things that should not be done at all - I believe this to be one of them. It's not only dangerous for the driver, but dangerous for the people around them. Do they think that they can get away with sueing whoever they hit or what?
Fast Turns
I am not talking about those slow-down turns, I am talking about turning when you are still driving at fifty five miles per hour. I've seen it; I was almost road-kill over it. I never grasped the logic of fast turns. Not only is it reckless, but it's plain stupidity. For one, another car could be speeding from another direction. Secondly, there are pedestrians and yes, they have the right-o-way. Ever heard of slowing down and looking in both directions? People doing this should realize that they aren't the only one driving on the road...then again, I suppose I would find it hard to pay attention with my head up my ass.
Turn Signals
These things are there for a reason, people. How is a person (especially a pedestrian or biker) supposed to know that you're turning when you do not have it on? It isn't even difficult to turn that little switch left or right! Unfortunately, I've seen this done in Kansas too. Maybe I should take this action as a compliment since they automatically assume that I know that they're turning...
Speeding
I'm not talking about a typical five or ten miles per hour over the speed limit - I'm talking about twenty to thirty miles over. It's dangerous, it requires cutting a lot of people off, and those people that are cut off usually get into accidents. If people are so in a hurry, then they should have left ten or fifteen minutes early because they're only saving their selves five minutes or less. Frankly, I would rather go the speed limit, drive safe, and plan better than to risk a wreck(s).
STOP Signs
The sign is actually quite forward. In fact, let's spell it: S-T-O-P. Stop. This doesn't mean slow down twenty miles and keep driving - it means stop. No one seems to stop at the stop signs.
Impatience
This one raised questions with me. As stated before, people seem to always be in a hurry. With the horrid traffic in some places, sometimes you have to wait five extra minutes before you can safely make a left turn. It's not my fault that traffic is so bad. Also, if the person wants to turn right, there's PLENTY of room next to me to do so.
Conclusion
All I have to say is that it's been one Hell of a ride. This will probably not be the last of the adventures. I'm glad that I'm safe and that there are still *some* half-decent drivers out there, even though it's the bad ones you usually remember. Otherwise, I do not think I would be typing right now.
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Average Rating : 2.9
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Things On the Road That Just I Don't Get | Login/Create an account | 16 Comments |
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Re: Things On the Road That Just I Don't Get by Cashmere on Jan 20, 2004 - 10:25 AM (User info | Send a Message) http:// | Or crossword puzzle driver. That one's really popular in Florida. |
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Re: Things On the Road That Just I Don't Get by Psychopixi (psyche.at.psychopixi.dot.com) on Jan 21, 2004 - 12:05 AM (User info | Send a Message) http://psychopixi.com | It's the flat-cap drivers that I love (to hate). The old dears who are too timid to do more than about ten miles an hour, won't pull out at a junction unless it's clear for five miles either way, and always seem to "forget" to indicate. |
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Re: Things On the Road That Just I Don't Get
by Psychopixi (psyche.at.psychopixi.dot.com)
on Jan 20, 2004 - 07:02 AM
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*giggles* I still don't have my driver's license, though I've been able to have one since I was 17. I'm quite petrified of getting on the road now, I've never had lessons even, 'cept once in an abandoned warehouse area in my dad's Vauxhall Astra. As amusing as this article was, I just know I'm going to end up as one of those hopeless drivers - I can't coordinate clutch, brake, accelerate, gear stick, wheel and turn signals all at once!
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Re: Things On the Road That Just I Don't Get
by Comedian (eccentrically_long@yahoo.com)
on Jan 20, 2004 - 08:04 AM
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There are two types of drivers on the road:
The idiots that drive slower than me.
The maniacs who drive faster than me.
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Re: Things On the Road That Just I Don't Get by Starlight (elenmea@hotmail.com) on Jan 20, 2004 - 06:26 PM (User info | Send a Message) http://www.geocities.com/nony_one/index.html | That reminds me a lot of what my dad used to say when someone would try to cut him off on the road and stuff. He'd announce loudly, "Yes it is MY road and you're damned luckily I even let you drive on it!" |
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Re: Things On the Road That Just I Don't Get
by Starlight (elenmea@hotmail.com)
on Jan 20, 2004 - 06:22 PM
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I used to drive fairly wildly until I moved to New Orleans for about half a year when I was about 19. Those were about the craziest drivers I'd ever seen, and after that experience I became a lot less wild behind the wheel.
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Re: Heh Stop Signs
by Domkitten (saradevil@saradevil.com)
on Jan 21, 2004 - 01:07 AM
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You think driving in the states is bad? Ha! Driving in the states, or being a pedestrian is down right Utopic compared to Korea. A few of the little things:
There are no stop signs. None, they don't exist. Not because there aren't lots of little back streets with four way intersections, no, there are plenty of those, just no stop signs. Every time you cross the street you take your life into your own hands.
What's Korean for Turn Signal.
It is okay, actually more than okay to drive on the sidewalks. Sidewalks are also considered to be parking lots. Of course, that's if there even is a sidewalk.
What is this thing you call speed limit? (actually there are Speed limits, and unlike the states they are enforced by video, if you drive to fast they snap a picture of you doing it, and then send you a ticket in the mail)
Taxi Drivers. I've almost been killed, managled, and hit by a bus while passenging in a taxi, and I've been quite nearly run over so many times that I don't even keep track anymore.
No car insurance at all.
And, my personal favorite, and passenger privelage I've taken adventage of on many the occasion, you can drink and drive. Well, you can't drink while driving, but you can be a passenger in a car with an open bottle, or several open bottles, as long as you are not behind the wheel.
And, to top it all off you still have the stupid shit down in the states, cell phones, makeup, eating.
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Re: Heh Stop Signs by Psychopixi (psyche.at.psychopixi.dot.com) on Jan 22, 2004 - 08:04 AM (User info | Send a Message) http://psychopixi.com | We've got the videos here too, just they can be remarkably picky over who they mail. My sociology teacher got done for doing 85 on the motorway (70 mph speed limit), but my mate Frank regularly drives that stretch of road at 100+mph and has been fine-free. |
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Glad Somebody Mentioned... by Monolycus on Jan 22, 2004 - 11:30 PM (User info | Send a Message) | Oh yeah... I haven't been able to work out a rhyme or reason to anything anyone does behind the wheel here. They might stop at a light, or they might not. There are turn lanes, but nobody has any idea why. Taxi drivers who are too busy watching their in-dash television sets to watch where they are going (I shit you not!), bus drivers who like to get up to 90 mph so they can jump their busses over speed bumps and clear the piles of trash in the road (I shit you not!), and the chipmunks in their squad cars just slowing up the inevitable carnage.
The worst are the streets with no sidewalks (or when the sidewalks have more parked cars than pedestrians on them) and you are forced to walk in the road. You just develop your zen "fuck off" vibe and trust they will swerve somewhere at the last moment ("If you strike me down, I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine... mostly because I will be extremely pissed off."). The funny thing is that whenever there is an inevitable accident, from the smallest fender bender to multiple piles of carnage, everyone comes out of their businesses to rubberneck with an astonished look on their face as though people on other planets didn't know that was coming eventually.
And no matter how homocidally someone drives, there is always some idiot there to tell you how much worse they do it in Seoul.
~M. |
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