# Public behavior that just \*pisses you off\* (not ranty enough for The Pit) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 22, 2010, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052 "2010-10-22T23:34:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2010, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/81 "2010-10-24T05:42:38Z")
We went around on the “pull through” issue a little while ago; the consensus we reached, which was supported by some company’s official policies, is pull through is better and safer. My husband and I disagree on this; it drives me nearly out of my mind when he waits and waits and waits to back up from between two monster vehicles that he can’t see around instead of pulling through the space. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2010, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/82 "2010-10-24T06:56:42Z")
> [@Scarlett67](#): > > If you can’t handle operating a vehicle in reverse, then I suggest you tender your license. It’s not safer because it’s an unexpected move. The usual protocol is drive in, back out. And what do you do if the vehicles on the other side are monster SUVs? Still can’t see around them until you’re well into the driving lane. Just take a few more seconds to back out slowly and carefully, you know, like you’re supposed to in a parking lot, and don’t be in such a damned hurry. I can handle backing up. But going forward is safer, and it’s easier to see around a monster truck/SUV if I’m going forward, because the car is longer from my seat to the rear bumper than it is from my seat to the front bumper. Assuming I’m in the driver’s seat. And sometimes that extra length makes all the difference. ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2010, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/83 "2010-10-24T08:31:31Z")
Could someone please explain the mentality of idiots who think they have to back in wherever they park? I see it all the time: I’ll pull into the parking lot of, say, a 7-11, and some nitwit is trying to back into a stall. By the time they finally succeed, I’m at the counter paying for my stuff. WTF do they do this for? ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2010, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/84 "2010-10-24T08:42:14Z")
> [@GESancMan](#): > > Could someone please explain the mentality of idiots who think they have to back in wherever they park? I see it all the time: I’ll pull into the parking lot of, say, a 7-11, and some nitwit is trying to back into a stall. By the time they finally succeed, I’m at the counter paying for my stuff. WTF do they do this for? My _guess_ would be that they do it because pulling out is much easier than backing out. Nothing wrong with that. _But_ it pisses me off when someone’s need to _back in_ is holding up traffic waiting to get around them. For instance, at the old hospital here (they just opened a new one with much better parking), you pretty much had to park in the parking garage. Because the lane into the parking garage is one vehicle at a time, during peak hours, it was not unusual to have to wait for a couple of cars in front of you to find a space before you could go find a space. But one day, this dumbass in a huge freakin’ SUV was insistent on _backing in_ to a space (and believe me, the spaces were _not_ generous in size to begin with), leaving a back-up of _at least_ 10 cars. That’s just rude. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2010, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/85 "2010-10-24T16:22:41Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > I can handle backing up. But going forward is safer, and it’s easier to see around a monster truck/SUV if I’m going forward, because the car is longer from my seat to the rear bumper than it is from my seat to the front bumper. Assuming I’m in the driver’s seat. And sometimes that extra length makes all the difference. I think part of it is that it’s just plain easier to see and drive frontwards than backwards, too. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2010, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/86 "2010-10-24T16:24:23Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I think part of it is that it’s just plain easier to see and drive frontwards than backwards, too. Exactly! So why do some people act like it’s a mortal sin to pull through? ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2010, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/87 "2010-10-24T17:01:14Z")
> [@norinew](#): > > My _guess_ would be that they do it because pulling out is much easier than backing out. Nothing wrong with that. Right, I can sort of see it if, for example, the driver is parking for the night, and wants to make a quick getaway in the morning. But is it really worth all the effort and time to back in when you’re just running into the store for a couple of minutes? As far as people holding up traffic to do this… I wasn’t even gonna go there. :mad: At my university, the parking garages have signs saying “head-in parking only,” and backing in is a ticketable offense. Oh, if only it was that way everywhere… ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2010, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/88 "2010-10-24T17:14:17Z")
> [@Khaki\_Campbell](#): > > There are people, many people, who don’t pick up after their dog. But even worse, they make their dog crap right in the middle of the sidewalk. The _exact middle_ I swear (as if they located it with a tape ruler), where it reaches the highest probability to be an annoyance/stepped on :mad: Okay, I clean up after my dog, but only somebody who doesn’t have a dog thinks you can “make” a dog poop in the middle of the sidewalk. More likely the dog is doing it specifically to embarrass you. He only does it when people are watching, too. ---
**Author:** ![Osiris\_the\_1st](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9de0a6/32.png) [@Osiris\_the\_1st](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Osiris_the_1st)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2010, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/89 "2010-10-24T17:22:44Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > …they’re called ashtrays. They even have them in cars - all of them… In my experience, most newer card don’t have ash trays. Neither my car, nor my wife’s car have them (2003 & 2007 model years). But yes, throwing butts on the ground is littering. ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2010, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/90 "2010-10-24T19:33:23Z")
When you are using a sidewalk and runners are also commonly using that sidewalk, please do not do any of the following: - Remain walking side-by-side with the other 4 people in your party, forcing us to run in a single file line on the grass or through some bushes to avoid you - Allow your tiny toy dog’s leash to span the entire length of the sidewalk even though you may be on one side, with your dog on the opposite side, forcing us to run in a single file line on the grass or through some bushes to avoid your dog’s leash-turned-hurdle - Remain walking side-by-side with a 4 foot gap between you, effectively utilizing the entire space of a 5-6 foot wide sidewalk, forcing us to run in between you or yell “excuse me” so you will move to a less annoying spot ---
**Author:** ![InterestedObserver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@InterestedObserver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InterestedObserver)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2010, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/91 "2010-10-24T19:46:40Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I agree with you 100%, **Steophan** - I don’t think smokers think twice about where they throw their butts, either. If they did, they would realize that my front yard is not an ashtray. > > What smokers need is a paradigm shift - if you smoke a cigarette, YOU need to be prepared to dispose of the butt in an appropriate, non-littering, non-setting-things-on-fire way, not expect the world to magically provide it for you. > > The behaviour I noticed today is speeding in parking lots. Remember five seconds ago when YOU were a pedestrian walking in this parking lot? Did you want to jump out of the way of assholes going three times the limit then? So why are you driving like this is a freeway now? Um, excuse me, but you shouldn’t lump all smokers into one category. I smoke and I NEVER toss my butts down. I put it out and either dispose of it in a trash can/ashtray OR stick the butt in my bag or pocket until I can dispose of it properly. Just saying. I may be a filthy, disgusting smoker (EEWWWW!:mad:) but I don’t litter NOR do I expose others to my smoke in public places (I slink off to the smoking area or stand WAY off from the train stop or other area where others are gathered to take my few puffs). It’s not about smokers, per se, as much as it is about rude, inconsiderate people. Not all smokers are. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2010, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/92 "2010-10-24T20:47:57Z")
> [@Osiris\_the\_1st](#): > > In my experience, most newer card don’t have ash trays. Neither my car, nor my wife’s car have them (2003 & 2007 model years). But yes, throwing butts on the ground is littering. Hm. Interesting. I’ve heard that from others now, too, since I was curious since I said that and started an informal poll. It’s kinda too bad. They’re a great place to stash and hide change! ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2010, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/93 "2010-10-24T21:01:48Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > I’ll never forget a little boy - this was many years ago - who was crying that he had to go. He was maybe 4, and really upset. They were just outside the doors of the grocery store and Mom couldn’t be soused to take him to the bathroom, pretty much saying the same thing - you didn’t want to go before we left the house, so you don’t need to go now. > > He ended up letting go, and it was an enormous amount. Yes, he really did need to go, Mom. That poor kid. He was horrified and humiliated. I didn’t stick around for the fallout. I still wonder how they got home. That woman was an unbelievable bitch. Honestly, this is one of the reasons I avoid grocery or Target shopping on the weekends. It just breaks my damn heart. > [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > What smokers need is a paradigm shift - if you smoke a cigarette, YOU need to be prepared to dispose of the butt in an appropriate, non-littering, non-setting-things-on-fire way, not expect the world to magically provide it for you. Huh, now _that’s_ a good idea. I hate adults going to small restaurants in large groups. Yesterday I was at a general family eatery, and the 5 of us sat at a table of 10. Perfectly reasonable; there was plenty of space for all. Restaurant probably seated 75 people at a time. But when 8 adults show up to a 20 seat restaurant, the cacophony is too much to bear. Tables are smashed together at the expense of other diners, the ambiance is totally compromised and inevitably nobody knows what to order. It turns a small, intimate ethnic restaurant into a nightmare. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Woodhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Miss\_Woodhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Woodhouse)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2010, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/94 "2010-10-24T22:12:53Z")
I only object to pulling through in a parking lot if pulling through means your car ends up going the wrong way down the lane. There are a lot of parking lots in our area where the lanes between the parking spaces are one way only. I truly hate trying to drive down one to get to a parking space with some idiot who pulled through driving directly at me. Sometimes the lanes are small enough and the two cars big enough that someone ends up having to back up. Sadly, even though I was the one going the right direction, that often ends up being me. So pull through all you want if the driving lanes are two way. Pull through going the wrong way in a one way lane and you are a big, lazy, selfish jerk. ---
**Author:** ![SecondJudith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@SecondJudith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecondJudith)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2010, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/95 "2010-10-24T22:46:38Z")
> [@moejoe](#): > > Ah, a New Yorker I presume? Ok then, never mind. We don’t behave that way here, so I’m probably safe from your bus time shenanigans. For the record, I’d be equally cross about this in London. During rush hour, nearly every train has to shut doors on people waiting because the inside of the carriage is too crowded. It’s rude to take up more space than is your share, because it means other people can’t get on the train. ---
**Author:** ![moejoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@moejoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moejoe)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/96 "2010-10-25T00:13:09Z")
> [@SecondJudith](#): > > For the record, I’d be equally cross about this in London. During rush hour, nearly every train has to shut doors on people waiting because the inside of the carriage is too crowded. It’s rude to take up more space than is your share, because it means other people can’t get on the train. You know SecondJudith, I was never suggesting that it’s ok to just leave the bag on the seat if someone needs to sit there. What I _was_ suggesting is that the level of impatience mentioned by other posters ( move your shit NOW) was excessive, and the idea that it might be acceptable to pick up a stranger’s bag because they aren’t moving fast enough is outrageous. You just don’t touch other people’s things no matter how frustrated you might be, it’s unacceptable. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/97 "2010-10-25T01:40:54Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > Hm. Interesting. I’ve heard that from others now, too, since I was curious since I said that and started an informal poll. It’s kinda too bad. They’re a great place to stash and hide change! My 2003 Civic has no ashtray, but it does have a compartment in the dash to stash and hide change. (I suppose you could use it as an ashtray, but it’s not really designed for it.) ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/98 "2010-10-25T01:46:49Z")
> [@moejoe](#): > > What I _was_ suggesting is that the level of impatience mentioned by other posters ( move your shit NOW) was excessive, and the idea that it might be acceptable to pick up a stranger’s bag because they aren’t moving fast enough is outrageous. > > You just don’t touch other people’s things no matter how frustrated you might be, it’s unacceptable. Perhaps you can explain why you don’t feel you should have to move your shit now, and why it’s not outrageous to expect everyone else to wait you dick around with your stuff? Because you just don’t take up a seat on a full train with your bag, no matter how much you may not feel like holding it in your lap. It’s unacceptable. ---
**Author:** ![unclviny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e274bd/32.png) [@unclviny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unclviny)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/99 "2010-10-25T03:05:20Z")
I am a “pull through” kinda-guy, at work “forward first” is a condition of employment (land-based Drilling Rigs) and it’s just a habit now. In the “real World” I ALWAYS park so far out in the lot that I can leave without going the wrong way in the lot. Unclviny ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/100 "2010-10-25T03:08:46Z")
> [@InterestedObserver](#): > > Um, excuse me, but you shouldn’t lump all smokers into one category. I smoke and I NEVER toss my butts down. I put it out and either dispose of it in a trash can/ashtray OR stick the butt in my bag or pocket until I can dispose of it properly. Just saying. I may be a filthy, disgusting smoker (EEWWWW!:mad:) but I don’t litter NOR do I expose others to my smoke in public places (I slink off to the smoking area or stand WAY off from the train stop or other area where others are gathered to take my few puffs). It’s not about smokers, per se, as much as it is about rude, inconsiderate people. Not all smokers are. Unfortunately, the thoughtful considerate smokers don’t stand out in our memories. It’s the rude, inconsiderate ones that make the most vivid impressions, the ones who hold their cigarettes down when they’re around a lot of little kids, the ones who toss their butts out of car windows, etc. I’ve known considerate smokers, and I think that we wouldn’t have nearly so many rules and restrictions about smoking if most smokers were more considerate. As for new cars, most of the ones that I’ve seen don’t have ashtrays, but a little cubbyhole to stick change and parking stubs in. Sort of an open mini glovebox. I think, but I’m not sure, that these cubbyholes can have an ashtray fitted into them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052.md?page=6)