Well, not that long…
Good grief…This is the third time in two weeks this has happened. The board lists my post but doesn’t post my post. Maybe the admins are trying to tell me something? Anyway, not to be denied, I fortunately copied my post so here it is below.
What is it with many people’s inability to wait in a line? What is so all fired important that shaving 20 seconds off of your trip to wherever (I can only hope hell) makes it seem alright to act like a prick to everyone else? Worse, where are you going so quickly that shaving off 20 seconds nets you no savings in time at arriving at your destination (as I’ll explain below)?
This has been eating at me awhile now but again this morning I saw a jackass in a BMW decide that the traffic he was waiting in was too slow for his tastes so he proceeds to pull into the on-ramp lane in order to jump ahead five cars. It’s bad enough that he is just acting like a prick but his antics actually make ME later now! Granted the few extra seconds aren’t something I’ll really notice but by jamming himself back into traffice he causes a chain-effect of brake lights so everyone behind him don’t smash into each other. Of course, where one person has to be an asshole another feels the need to follow and two more cars followed his lead thus increasing the backup behind them. Where are the cops when you need them!? Probably chasing drug dealers and murderers instead of the pricks who really deserve to be busted! The thing that really gets me is the FACT that those asswipes won’t arrive at their destination noticeably quicker than had they just stay put like everyone else and deal with traffic. I actually read an article that referenced a study where they had cars that tried for quicker lanes whenever possible (another pet peeve of mine) and cars that just picked a lane and stayed there. They found that the lane-changing cars DID NOT MAKE THEIR TRIPS ANY SHORTER! The line jumping cars I saw today will get where they are going maybe seconds faster than they would have otherwise. If they hit a stoplight or two along the way their lead will be completely wiped out so all they managed was to worsen the traffic for everyone else.
Perhaps even worse are the people who line jump with absolutely NOWHERE to go. I was in the airport lined-up to board my Southwest Airline flight. For those familiar with Southwest they do not issue seat assignments. You just grab whatever available seat you can when you board. You are issued a numbered ticket when you check in that determines which crowd of people you get to board with. So there I am waiting in the 61-90 line which is stretched into the seating area (easily done since the seating area runs right up to the gate) and two women push forward against the line saying they are just going for a seat. No problem, people let them through and they sit down. They stay there for maybe one minute than get up and walk towards me. Figuring they just wanted through the line I took a step back and motioned the first girl through. She looks at me and says cheerfully, “Oh, thanks a lot!”, and just plants herself in line in front of me. While I was trying to figure out how to handle this (alternating between “What the fuck do you think you’re doing bitch!” but worried that airports aren’t too tolerant of violent looking people these days so leaning towards “Excuse me, the line forms back there.”) they started boarding our line and the moment passed.
What gets me about that one is that she had NO PLACE TO BE except on that plane! The plane certainly wouldn’t leave while she was waiting in line. Additionally, the flight was only an hour long and if she had to deal with a center seat then so be it. Chances were that was the case anyway as we were the last line to board.
I saw even worse while waiting for a much delayed flight in Paris (a strike was happening which happen so often over there you’d think they could schedule to it). They finally send a bus that can hold 50 at a time to take us to a waiting plane on the other side of the airport. We were flying an A-340 which had a capacity of over 300 people and the plane was completely booked. I couldn’t believe the rush of people to get on that stupid bus first and see people actually jumping the line where possible! Where the fuck did they think they were going? That bus had to make 7 separate trips to load the plane at 15 minutes per trip. The first load rushed to go sit in a little airline seat for over an hour. My wife and I just waitied and had some drinks for 45 minutes before moving towards the line. Wonder of wonders we made it on the plane into our assigned seats! Who would have guessed?
I don’t know about other poeple but I see this happen often. Maybe these line budging assholes were all sick on that day in kindergarten when we are taught to wait our turn. Of course, they must have been sick a lot because you usually have to tell 5 year olds to wait their turn quite often till they get it. Actually, now thinking on it, no one could be sick that much so the only explanation must be they are kindergarten dropouts and rejects. That fits…
Some of these people’s antics I can laugh at (like the nimrods rushing to go sit on a plane for an hour). Others I wish I had the
Aston Martin from Goldfinger so I could tear apart their Beemer’s wheels. Mostly I just wish people would get a fucking clue and realx just an eensy bit. They may arrive ten seconds later but they’ll be happier for it (I know I would be).
I forgot to mention…
Speaking of delays in Paris I found Europeans to be MUCH worse than Americans as regarded jumping lines (at least in Spain and France…I didn’t notice it in Great Britain or Germany and Austria).
I remember being stunned by it over and over while there. At least Americans seem to have a sense they are doing something wrong and at the very least have the good grace to look sheepish about it. The Spaniards and French would just do it matter of factly.
While at Charles de Gaulle airport in France we were waiting in a long line to get checked in. We were starting to get worried that we’d miss check-in as they close check-in for a flight 30 minutes before departure. We were in line 1.5 hours before departure (domestic) and that’s how slow it was moving. No less than five separate groups of people walked right past the line up to the ticket counter. Americans were the first to start grumbling about it but after the third one did it everyone in line no matter where they were from started bitching. When the sixth person(s) attempted this the line got quite vocal and finally the attendant had the person move to the back of the line.
And Europeans think Americans are uncouth…go figure. I think it is a universal truth that lines are there for a reason and jumping ahead out of turn is a wrong thing to do so no bitching about Americans trying to impose our values on other cultures.
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what he said.
Jumping a line in the former Soviet Union will basically get you lynched. It used to be practically a matter of life and death, as grocery stores would often run out of food while you were in line waiting for it to be doled out. So they still take it pretty personally over there.
FYI, one of the privileges my ex-boyfriend got as an Afghanistan veteran was the ability to jump any line by showing his veteran’s card. He never used the privilege, though, for fear it would get him lynched anyway, and he was obviously a pretty tough guy, being the equivalent of a former Green Beret and all. Besides, he just felt it was unfair.
I got to see this in a real life situation today. While driving to work this morning I saw a cement truck–a CEMENT TRUCK–run two red lights in a row. Me being the law-abiding citizen in no real hurry, I stopped at the red lights, so the truck barrelled on and out of my view.
About 10 minutes later, I was stopped at another red light. In the left turn lane waiting (im)patiently was the EXACT SAME cement truck.
I laughed my ass off the rest of the way to work.
Many moons ago, I was driving to the beach. The small town there is notorius for giving speeding tickets. So I’m scooting along at about 60mph. However, when I spot the first Speed Limit 35mph sign, I immediately slow down. This dickweed behind me didn’t care too much for that and passed me doing at least 80. About two minutes later as I enter the town’s main street, who do I see pulled over AND sitting in a police car? Yep, it’s dickweed! I waved politely and he gave me that “fuck uou” look. Sometimes karma is slow, sometimes it’s fast.
Ahhh…I’m jealous!
Only once in some 17 years of driving have I ever seen a guy whiz past me only to see him a few minutes later pulled over by the cops. I was seriously trying to figure out a way to pull over and raz him but I figured the cop wouldn’t be hip to that. It still made my day.
The whole speeding thing is another one that blows my mind. I guess most people don’t bother to stop and think about it. Say you have a 30 mile commute to work (which is pretty long but it’s what I do daily). If you drive 60 (5 over is speeding but it’s easier to do the math and I don’t think there’s a cop in Chicago that’ll bust you for that in a 55) you’ll make it to work in 30 minutes. Now drive to work going 90. You’ll make it in 20 minutes. A whole whopping 10 minutes. Still, that might be worth it till you account for numerous stop lights, traffic jams and what not (akin to what BayleDomon mentioned with the truck). I’d be surprised if you shaved even 5 minutes off your drive (and it’d probably be more like 2 minutes but I’m just guessing). Mostly you’re just managing to piss people off and risking a ticket (a cop will definitely nail you for 90).
The only time speeding really makes a difference are on those long road trips where the extra speed starts adding up (not to mention that once your out of cities you can generally haul ass). If you have a 300 mile trip just 15 mph faster (70 instead of 55) will save you an hour of driving. The further you go the more it helps.
Maybe they were home-schooled and never learned that valuable life lesson.
Hey, at least your people cut in line with a reasonable purpose…
I was at the movies last week, and as we were walking over to the next open counter, a pair of girls cut in front of our party in order to chat with the ticket-seller. The ticket-seller proceeded to have a conversation with them.
Then, after that (and at this point my friend and I are glaring at her and clearing our throats) she goes “next person, please” and two other people cut in front of us to get tickets. That elicited an “excuse me!”
Of course, these people later went on to wait in long concession lines, so I doubt they gained much time, if any.
One would hope even those who were home-schooled had been taught something so basic.
Mole, what do you think of Lockfist’s and Bearflag’s driving habits? 
Fuckers (the both of them).
It’s not so much that they choose to use an available lane for a bit but instead of merging when it is convenient and goes with the flow of traffic they feel they must move to the very end of the lane that is ending. Further, they fuck-up traffic worse because they feel the need to cram themselves in at the earliest opportunity or (worse) become shoulder driving assholes to prove their point.
As was pointed out in that thread very scientifically these assholes will be lucky to save 6 seconds on their entire trip for their antics. If they run into a stop light or three on the way to their destination chances are even those 6 seconds will disappear entirely.
I guess in America it is their right to be fuckwads but it’s my right to wish them into the nearest concrete barrier.
I got to see karma in action several years ago while in college. I was going back to school on a 4 lane state highway, doing 60 in a 55. I am just getting to a line of cars when the last car in the line cuts me off so I have to slam on the brakes to avoid him. I don’t know why he decided to pass the line just then, there was no one ahead of me in the passing lane, but he just had to get in front of me. At least until he passed the lead car in the line and the state trooper in the unmarked car turned on his lights.
He not only saved me a ticket, he got paid back for cutting me off. Made me feel good the rest of the way back to school.
I was in Wendy’s once, waiting in line for a burger. The woman behind me had a small child with her, and said child was of course not being supervised. So the child wanders away, and the woman has to chase after her. No problem, I move against the railing so the woman can go past me to grab her child. But she comes back, and instead of returning to her place in line, stands IN FRONT of me. Bitch! I figured it wasn’t worth getting mad over, so I just let it go. I was more interested in why she would do such a thing.
- I was lucky enough to have someone pass me while driving and then immediately get pulled over. I was in the middle lane, and as they flew by me, we both passed a cop sitting on the shoulder. I watch in my rear-view as the cop speeds up to catch up to us, and the guy who just passed me knew he was going to get pulled over so he pulled into the middle lane in front of me and slowed down to like 50mph. This caused me to get too close to him, so when the cop came to pull him over, I had to slow down to like 30 to make room for the cop to get behind the guy. It really makes your day to see someone else get pulled over.