pet peeve: other (women) drivers
{posted on July 1st, 2011 in bulls*it, daily ramblings}
i am a very tolerant and (usually) laid back, live-and-let-live kinda person. behind the steering wheel of a car, however…. i become this other person. not (very) tolerant and/or patient, very judgemental and … well, i swear and yell. a lot. and i hate (!) to say it but 80% of the drivers that p*ss me off are other women. i’m sorry. so this goes out to all the crappy drivers out there who make my blood boil on a regular basis.
pet peeve #1 (!!!)
* THE BLINKER. let me explain the blinker to you. when you blink, you indicate to the person in the car behind you (and other people on the street in cars, on bikes or walking) that something’s about to happen: e.g. you will slow down, pull over, turn at an intersection, park… whatever you intend to do, you blink in order to let everyone else know you’re about to do something so they need to pay (better) attention and expect you to slow down/break. right? right. so why, why, WHY break first and then turn on the blinker afterward – pretty much at the same time you turn your steering wheel? to remind yourself of where you’re going? note: i should NOT be seeing your break-lights before your blinker. ever.
pet peeve #2
* HANDLING YOUR CAR. please, please, please for the love of everything holy out there: don’t buy a car (or let your daddy, mommy, hubby, wife…. buy you a car) you can’t handle. if you (for whatever reason) need that big SUV, make sure you can handle it. and by handling it i mean: a) park it (!!) b) stay in your lane and turn at intersections without almost crashing three other cars c) see the street and other traffic participants (hint, if you need a stepping stool to get into your car and a cushion on the driver’s seat to see above the steering wheel you picked the wrong size car) ….
pet peeve #3
* SPEED. going slow is NOT automatically the safest option. i’m sorry. going with the flow and staying up to speed with everone else on the road is the best way to ensure that everyone makes it to their destination safe and sound. if you need to change lanes, don’t slow down but stay up to speed with the flow and then just merge in. if you need to get onto the freeway/a bigger, faster street, again, don’t step on the brakes but speed up. it’s called “merging” not “slowing down and waiting until the freeway/street is completely free of other cars so i can get on”. puleeeeaze!
thank being said…
pet peeve #4
* CONSIDERATION OF OTHERS. be considerate of other traffic participants. let people in in front of you when they have to/want to. you’re not gonna get to your destination any faster by being the ass that cuts off everyone else and won’t let anyone in just because. you are simply endangering others and on top of it putting bad karma on the rest of your day/life. you really don’t wanna do that so please re-consider. oh and a little “thank you” wave to someone who lets you in won’t hurt either. i promise.
what are the things that get your blood boiling while driving?
July 1st, 2011 at 6:42 pm
Muaahaha… loved this. You’re so. right. on. with everything (although I have to add to #1 – I do want to see your break lights before your blinker on one condition: when you’re in a traffic jam and the car in front of you slows down, I expect you to slow down, too – without changing lanes or anything).
I mean, obviously, everything you described is like magnified x10 in the US with multiple freeway lanes, big SUVs and just really bad driver’s education.
I could tell you stories about traffic every single day of the week!
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kim
Reply:
July 4th, 2011 at 2:13 pm
well, and obviously i wanna see your break lights on when there’s a red light coming up or a ball bouncing into the street …… just when it comes to a normal turn and your “preparation” for it: blinking should always (!) come first :)
July 2nd, 2011 at 4:17 pm
I am a frequent follower of your blog, but this SO hit’s the nail on the head I had to comment! Try to apply the same back in Ohio, where nearly EVERY woman has a car that is too big for her to handle, they NEVER use the blinker, they have NEVER heard of the zipper-principle when it comes to sudden obstructions in a lane and the pedestrian crossing marks on the street are just decorations to make them look better!
They are driving me nuts while I am driving, I swear!
kim
Reply:
July 4th, 2011 at 2:11 pm
first of all: thank you for your commment (and for following my blog ;)) oh yeah, the zipper-principle and how people DON’T know or care about it. drives me insane… *sigh*
July 12th, 2011 at 4:45 pm
i have to agree, most of the drivers that piss me off are women;-) although i have to say the worst drivers in parking infront of my shop are men;-) yeah the zipper-principle i hate with a passion, since it would be so much easier if people would finally understand.