# Self-reported doper behavior that would baffle you to encounter in the wild **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 3, 2014, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580 "2014-05-03T13:28:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2014, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/21 "2014-05-05T18:00:29Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > The traffic circle in the village where I used to live gave the right of way to entering traffic. It was a very small village, so not a ton of traffic. > > [Pic here](http://03785e6.netsolhost.com/WordPress/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/9-18-Phillip-Sheridan-Somerset-OH.jpg). Direction? Ha Right of way? Ha The scuff marks on the circles yellow curb? Now that is scary… :eek: ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2014, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/22 "2014-05-05T18:04:19Z")
> [@GusNSpot](#): > > Direction? Ha > Right of way? Ha > The scuff marks on the circles yellow curb? Now that is scary… :eek: Trust me, semis getting hung up going around the square and blocking traffic in all directions can lead to some interesting driving maneuvers. Throw in some Amish and you got yourself a fandango. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2014, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/23 "2014-05-05T18:32:27Z")
> [@Caffeine.addict](#): > > I can’t even imagine how doing otherwise would work. Does traffic in the circle have to yield to traffic entering? That just doesn’t work. When I lived in Indonesia, I think that traffic entering the circle had the right of way, but like most Indonesia traffic laws, it pretty much left people to sort it out themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2014, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/24 "2014-05-05T18:47:22Z")
> [@chrisk](#): > > There’s a traffic circle not far from my home where one major road ‘turns into’ another major road, with a few side streets also connecting to the circle. The major roads entering the circle have right of way, with prominent ‘yield’ signs warning you if you’re continuing on in the circle to the point where one of the major roads is entering. > > Most people driving through this circle never have to yield. They drive into the circle from Main Street, circle around, leave on Queenston Road or vice versa. Or sometimes they enter via a side street and leave on the next major exit. [Found it on Google Maps.](https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.237916,-79.800675,759m/data=!3m1!1e3) That’s an …interesting roundabout. Looks older and pre-“[modern](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roundabout#Modern_roundabout)”. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2014, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/25 "2014-05-05T18:54:55Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > Flashing your lights to indicate you intend to pass used to be fairly common. I’ve not seen it in a long time, though I also haven’t lived in the Midwest in a long time. Flashing your lights at the person in front of you to indicate that you want to pass was quite common, but as it was usually preceded by that person flying up to your back bumper at ten miles over the limit, it also came to indicate that the person wanting to pass was a self-entitled dick. So it was basically perceived as the indication of an overly aggressive driver and ended up being counter-productive; for better or worse, people would get irritated and fail to yield. Leastways, that’s the impression I got in New England. So now people don’t flash their brights, they just crawl up your tailpipe and sit there. ---
**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:** [May 5, 2014, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/26 "2014-05-05T23:26:46Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > \ > So now people don’t flash their brights, they just crawl up your tailpipe and sit there. In all fairness, they don’t actually know they’re dangerously tailgating because they’re so busy texting. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/27 "2014-05-06T16:29:37Z")
I have flashed my lights many times to alert other drivers to deer by the side of the road, which may suddenly become deer in the road. I wish there were a more universal signal, especially around deer babymaking season, but at least it may get them looking around. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/28 "2014-05-06T17:39:15Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > - One poster complained that people who do not signal their turns while in a traffic circle/rotary are a terrible menace. I don’t know where he is from, but here it’s really odd of someone to signal their turn (_unless_ they’re taking the very first exit just a few yards from where they’re getting on). I’d say less than 1% of people use their turn-signal on the traffic circle I go through twice a day or at any of the others I drive through a few times a month, and almost all of the drivers who do are lost. Since it’s so very uncommon, it makes other drivers wary of what you’re going to do next. Yeah, that’s weird. I drive through two, very busy, two lane traffic circles twice a day and no one uses signals. They seem to be designed in a way that you can pretty much tell where everyone is going based on what lane they are in. It has never once occurred to me that signaling within the circle would help in any way. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/29 "2014-05-06T17:42:32Z")
We’ve gotten hung up on the example in the OP. I’ll echo **Vinyl Turnip** re: not rinsing off dishes. Although from the discussions we’ve had about it, apparently it’s a common practice. I _know_ I’ve exclaimed (in my head) people **do** that?!?!😕 many a time reading this board, but very little is coming to mind today. On the driving theme, apparently some people always carry an extra car key. There are parents here who are put off by the idea of spending money to supplement their child’s education. But I don’t know if that counts because I see it often enough in real life. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/30 "2014-05-06T18:43:21Z")
> [@SmellMyWort](#): > > Yeah, that’s weird. I drive through two, very busy, two lane traffic circles twice a day and no one uses signals. They seem to be designed in a way that you can pretty much tell where everyone is going based on what lane they are in. It has never once occurred to me that signaling within the circle would help in any way. I have to admit, I find not signaling odd in general. Don’t people do it just out of habit anytime they are making a turn or lane change? Everytime you make a turn, do you first calcualte whether anyone would need your data before signaling? ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/31 "2014-05-06T20:07:53Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > I have to admit, I find not signaling odd in general. Don’t people do it just out of habit anytime they are making a turn or lane change? Everytime you make a turn, do you first calcualte whether anyone would need your data before signaling? I always use my signal when changing lanes and turning corners. My observation above is both as a driver in the circle and as well as from when I’m waiting to enter the circle. While waiting to enter, I don’t think watching the signals of the vehicles already in the circle would improve the flow. To put it another way, I don’t think I’m missing opportunities to proceed into the circle due to a lack of signaling from drivers in the circle. The way the traffic circles I’m familiar with are designed, the vehicles exiting the circle are pretty much going straight by the time they are far enough around the circle to even see a signal or they are in a lane that can only exit at that point (outside lane). Maybe it’s a bigger deal with single lane roundabouts but I don’t encounter those as often and when I do they aren’t busy and I usually don’t have to wait for traffic at all. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/32 "2014-05-06T22:53:00Z")
Here in DC, I live two blocks from a circle. Every day, I find myself waiting for a car that is not signaling to pass me before entering the circle, only to have the car (cough: Maryland tags) exit the circle. Had I known, I could have safely and smoothly entered and been on my way. ---
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/33 "2014-05-06T22:56:29Z")
Wait, people don’t rinse the soap off their dishes? How did I miss that? That’s pretty weird, sounds like a recipe for the runs. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/34 "2014-05-06T23:35:15Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > I’m a bit squicked by the not-rinsing-soapy-water-off-of-dishes thing, but I guess that’s just a culture clash of sorts. I was visiting a friend a few months ago and she was just finishing some washing up before we went out. It was all I could do to stop myself from grabbing her still soapy but clean dishes and putting them under the tap to rinse them off. I had no idea until that moment that some people don’t rinse their dishes. No wonder she doesn’t drink water - it probably tastes all sudsy lemony. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/35 "2014-05-06T23:40:15Z")
> [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](#): > > Wait, people don’t rinse the soap off their dishes? How did I miss that? That’s pretty weird, sounds like a recipe for the runs. Limeys. Just barely cool enough to outweigh their idiosynchrocies. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/36 "2014-05-07T13:55:25Z")
I was brought up not rinsing (water costs money, don’tcha know) but adopted the practice as soon as I encountered it. I was unaware that other people don’t always pull up the handbrake and put the gear in neutral when they stop their car at intersections - what do you do if you get tailgated? Slam into the car in front of you? Here, you’d be liable for that second tailgating, because pulling up the handbrake is the law. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/37 "2014-05-07T14:25:52Z")
> [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](#): > > Wait, people don’t rinse the soap off their dishes? How did I miss that? That’s pretty weird, sounds like a recipe for the runs. > [@kayaker](#): > > Limeys. Just barely cool enough to outweigh their idiosynchrocies. 😃 [Brit Accent]Quite.[/BA] Where it’s cultural, it’s usually because there isn’t a second sink for rinsing, and may even be a hangover from when water had to be heated as a separate chore instead of being available on demand. But then the art of washing-up is to use just enough soap to get everything clean, and not enough to leave any soapy residue that anyone will notice after the dishes have been either allowed to drain or dried off with a tea-towel. Additionally, glasses and similar tableware that should have the highest polish get first use of the clean (soapy) water, and so on down until you get to the greasy pots and pans, so that transfer of residue from one to the next is kept to a minimum, and the ovenware will probably benefit from a slight film of grease and will be heated to sterilising temperature in use anyway. I for one managed to live to the age of maturity without chronic diarrhoea, so there’s that. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/38 "2014-05-07T14:37:10Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > I have to admit, I find not signaling odd in general. Don’t people do it just out of habit anytime they are making a turn or lane change? Everytime you make a turn, do you first calcualte whether anyone would need your data before signaling? Every once in a while I find myself using my turn signal when I’m turning from my driveway into my parking space, which is about as automatic and unthinking as you can get. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/39 "2014-05-07T16:04:23Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I was brought up not rinsing (water costs money, don’tcha know) but adopted the practice as soon as I encountered it. > > I was unaware that other people don’t always pull up the handbrake and put the gear in neutral when they stop their car at intersections - what do you do if you get tailgated? Slam into the car in front of you? Here, you’d be liable for that second tailgating, because pulling up the handbrake is the law. In the US, tailgating is following too closely so I think what you’re talking about is what we’d call being rear-ended. I would be surprised if the handbrake is strong enough to keep the car from moving at all when hit from behind. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/40 "2014-05-07T19:39:10Z")
I cannot comprehend how some people leave a restroom without washing their hands . . . regardless of what you touched there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580.md?page=3)