Sat through TWO different left turn light cycles while dipshits were yapping. In both cases the only car in front of me was the CellTalkingDriverAsshole. (hence to be known as CTDA)
A city car containing a CTDA attempted to change lanes and occupy the same space as my truck. Quick manuevering allowed me to avoid disaster, but I sort of wished she would have hit me; bucks from the city, yeehaw.
A CTDA cut me off hard as he decided to blast across 3 lanes of interstate to make the exit.
Fucking finally, and this pissed me off the worst:
I stopped at the Circle K after work, prior to my normal stop for a hard-earned lucwarm Bud draft at the neighborhood seedy dive.
As I go to pull out, (The bar is across the street, so I am basically allready there so to speak) what do I pull up behind? Yes, a fucking CTDA, who should be pulling out onto the fucking road.
But no, They just sit there yapping. They are between me and my beer! No traffic either way. I lean on the horn…a cute little wave. I put it in neutral and rev up the stock 350 big hole in the muffler V8.
They get scared and go finally, but I had to sit through the red light that was green while the shithead was yappin.
Cut me off, make me sit through lights, even plow into me on the freeway, but DON’T keep me from a beer! Assholes, hang up and fucking drive!
I might be wrong, but it seems to me nowadays that with every technological ‘milestone’ that us humans invent, we ALSO invent (in direct proportion) an equally objectionable number of NEW ways to piss other people off.
I don’t know about you guys, but I sometimes feel nowadays that I’ve turned into this ongoing Bhuddist Monk kinda guy who just practices zen like calmness 24 hours a day so that I can even walk down the street without going crazy.
Anyone else feel this way?
As for CTDA’s my friend? Yes, they’re everywhere aren’t they? I guess the correct way of looking at it is this - at least they’re putting up a flag letting you know how bad a driver they are - which in theory allows you to avoid them even earlier.
Peace to you all. It’s getting harder and harder to never say a word, yes, but I’m winning the battle. (smile)
Expereienced two more today, and I hardly drive at all.
Worst one is changing lanes without signaling, flashes somebody coming on to the freeway from an on ramp to get out of their way. Hello? They have nowhere to go, and you just cut them off coming in from the fast lane.
So-so one is three cars at an intersection. The one with right-of-way won’t move, we can’t figure out why. Then I see the driver has a cell phone glued to their ear.
I hear ya Boo Boo Foo. Anytime I question whether a new computer / software feature is a benefit, or whether it actually gets in the way, is too buggy, and decreases productivity I get people making a cyberpunk cross at me.
well I haven’t hit a full days worth yet, but the path of zen is more and more where I find myself.
on the other hand the chorus from “people = shit” has a certain ring of truth to it as well.
Early on, I fought against people who railed against cell-phone using drivers. I told them that they were not being fair, that they shouldn’t judge all by a few occurances, that cell phones were very valuable to have while driving, etc, etc.
A couple of years later, I have found that I was wrong. In careful observation, I have found that the vast majority of people simply cannot drive while using their cell phone. I have a large car horn, and I have to use it quite frequently, as a person with a cell phone is either stopped dead at a green light, running a red light, weaving into my lane, or simply driving down the center of the road.
Combine the cell phone with a minivan, and you’ve just added a whole new level of lunacy. Throw in 2-4 completely out of control children, and you now have a statistical certainty that someone will get hurt.
I blame the police to a large extent, for refusing to crack down on the reckless driving associated with cell phone use, or other distractions. Instead of pulling Mr. Soccer Dad or Soccer Mom and asking why they feel the need to weave all over the road, they instead are sitting on lonesome highways, clocking traffic and pulling people over for doing 130 in a 55, which is really stupid, because no one else was around, and…
I’ve never bought the “hands-free” argument. It’s not dialing or holding that is the problem, it’s the actual conversation. The problem is that these people simply aren’t paying attention to what they’re doing because they’re talking on the phone.
Talking on the phone is NOT the same as talking to another person in the car. For one thing, there’s one less pair of eyes watching what’s going on. For another, when you talk on the phone, you’re in a different place. Back when the term “cyberspace” was still in vogue, there was a saying, “Cyberspace is where you are when you’re on the phone.” The sentiment is correct - on the phone, you and the other person share a sort of virtual space removed from where you currently are.
Some people can talk on the phone and drive at the same time. However, what I’m seeing, and I seem to be backed up on this, is that most people can’t.
I’m sorry if you find driving boring to you, but as long as you’re behind the wheel of a device that can kill someone with a single careless act, I’d prefer if you paid attention. Mankind got along fine for a long time without the ability to call someone on demand, and can continue to operate well if we don’t let people talk on the phone and drive at the same time. If you’re too important for this, get a chauffeur.
I was behind someone the other day who stopped right in the middle of the street while talking on a cell phone, gesturing like they were in a heated conversation…:eek:
One thing I don’t get is what the hell everybody’s constantly yapping about on their cell phones anyway. I am constantly being startled in the store, on the sidewalk, etc., by someone having a one-sided conversation…It’s like a huge number of people on drugs, with their mind somewhere else…
Another thing that’s annoying is I’ll be somewhere relaxing (the park, browsing in a store, etc.) and someone will be having a detailed one-sided business conversation. I hate hearing business jabbering when I’m not at work!
I was sitting in an airport bathroom once and from the stall next to me I’m hearing this extended conversation about how to handle a customer service problem. My first thought (after WTF?) was that I felt sorry for this guy who was so vital to his company’s operation that he couldn’t even take a shit in peace.
Or the people who talk on their cells while in line at the store, or at a restaurant. YUCK YUCK YUCK.
Or people who think that it’s a god given right to use a cell phone anywhere they please, no matter who they’re disturbing, or in the case of hospitals-endangering.
My husband once saw someone weaving from lane to lane. When he got closer he saw that the numbnuts wasn’t on a cell phone. He was busy watching the TV on his dashboard! :rolleyes:
Anyone else hear about the old coot in New England who allegedly decided to be a vigilante against CTDAs? After being run off the road by the vigilante, a teenage CTDA followed the old coot to find out what was up. She says he told her he did it on purpose because she was driving while on the phone. He’s been arrested and charged with (IIRC) reckless endangerment.
I read a story a while back about those dashboard TV’s (I think it was in the Chicago Sun-Times).
It is illegal here to install those things anywhere in sight of the driver, but most shops do it anyway.The reason given was that if they don’t install it, their competition will, and they don’t want to lose the business.
Hope they need that extra money to pay for funeral expenses.
During a symphony performance of Mozart’s Requiem on 9/11, a cell phone started ringing in the audience. It rang six times. I guess the callee didn’t want to call attention to him/herself by doing something to make it stop.
As for car phone users, I propose a campaign of vigorous honking whenever one is spied. It doesn’t matter if they haven’t done something dangerous yet – they don’t know whether they have or not. A loud honk reminds them of where they physically are.
Actually, everybody can. Whenever I have to make a call while driving (I dial when I get a chance to stop), it’s always “Hey… where are you?.. Okay, I’ll meet you there.” ::hang up::
The problem arises when someone tries to conduct a business deal or something that takes a whole lot of attention.
I hope my royalty checks start coming soon. (ahhh vanity searches)
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My theory is that when the other person is in the car, they can kinda see the road conditions and your body language; so when you need to really focus on driving, they realize it and the conversation lags for a few seconds until you’re done changing lanes/exiting/letting other cars merge/etc.
On the other hand, I’ve heard of studies that hold that even in-car conversations decrease safety.
