# Why not just take a dump out the car door? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 4, 2004, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-just-take-a-dump-out-the-car-door/267481 "2004-10-04T17:11:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-just-take-a-dump-out-the-car-door/267481/21 "2004-10-04T20:17:06Z")
> [@](#): > > Stop and think about that for a minute. Do they actually imagine the guy sitting in 24B, instead of walking to the head, is going to whip it out right there in his seat and let fly into his plastic bag? Ever flown in a Cessna? I’ve never resorted to a bag (incidentally, they have a new kind that turns the uring into a gel so as to prevent spilling); but several times I’ve been an hour or two away from my destination, and wishing I hadn’t had that last cuppa joe. ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-just-take-a-dump-out-the-car-door/267481/22 "2004-10-04T20:42:25Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > No, it would be more like, “Oh, by birgid dose!” You say that rather … authoritatively :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-just-take-a-dump-out-the-car-door/267481/23 "2004-10-04T21:38:15Z")
I once saw a guy _eating a bowl of cereal_ while driving down the freeway in morning rush traffic. With milk and everything. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-just-take-a-dump-out-the-car-door/267481/24 "2004-10-04T22:02:21Z")
Oh, my favorite is people _reading the paper_. I’m serious; these idiots are sipping a cuppa jo and reading the goddamn paper _while operating a moving car_. If it weren’t for the fact they’d likely kill or injure perfectly responsible drivers who have the misfortune of driving nearby, I’d hope these fuckwits bite it on the median. What’s next, reading the paper over coffee and cereal while driving and talking on the cell phone? Then brushing and flossing afterward? It wouldn’t surprise me if its been tried… ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-just-take-a-dump-out-the-car-door/267481/25 "2004-10-04T22:10:11Z")
> [@Loopydude](#): > > I fail to see why somebody would find tooth-brushing while driving a car any more annoying than using a cell phone or eating; isn’t the danger element the most important thing here? I don’t know, man…it almost seems normal to see people yammering on a cell phone in the car, but brushing one’s teeth seems…more personal. I mean, this guy was really _working_ that puppy. I suspect that if I could retrace his route this morning, I would find the way littered with Q-Tips, Tucks pads, and maybe a Depends or two. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-just-take-a-dump-out-the-car-door/267481/26 "2004-10-04T22:14:26Z")
> [@Hyperelastic](#): > > I once saw a guy _eating a bowl of cereal_ while driving down the freeway in morning rush traffic. With milk and everything. As opposed to eating it with beer and a prehensile tongue? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-just-take-a-dump-out-the-car-door/267481/27 "2004-10-04T22:28:46Z")
> [@](#): > > As opposed to eating it with beer and a prehensile tongue? You say that as if there’s something _wrong_ with eating breakfast cereal with beer and a prehensile tongue. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-just-take-a-dump-out-the-car-door/267481/28 "2004-10-04T23:20:56Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > You say that as if there’s something _wrong_ with eating breakfast cereal with beer and a prehensile tongue. 😕 If you’re doing it while you’re driving, then yes. It’s very wrong. In the breakfast nook at home? Knock yourself out, bub. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-just-take-a-dump-out-the-car-door/267481/29 "2004-10-04T23:26:43Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > You say that as if there’s something _wrong_ with eating breakfast cereal with beer and a prehensile tongue. 😕 Personally, I think it’s the only way to fly… ---
**Author:** ![tesseract](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bb73d2/32.png) [@tesseract](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tesseract)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-just-take-a-dump-out-the-car-door/267481/30 "2004-10-04T23:40:08Z")
Obviously, when people are DRIVING, they shouldn’t read the paper, put on their make-up, or brush their teeth. But I really fail to see what’s wrong with applying make-up on the commuter train or on the bus. Who freakin’ cares??? (Toenail clipping is going over the line, becasue it’s gross, requires removal of shoes/socks – but make-up? C’mon.) Because such activities could be dangerous, it’s valid to criticize extracurricular activities peformed by the operator of a moving conveyance, but who cares if your bus or train mate puts on her make-up? That’s one of the benefits of using public transportation – you can do other stuff while someone else drives. Good grief. Find something real to complain about!!! ---
**Author:** ![Metacom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecae2f/32.png) [@Metacom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Metacom)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-just-take-a-dump-out-the-car-door/267481/31 "2004-10-04T23:44:33Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > At a local drugstore they actually sell urinal bags that you’re supposed to carry with you on trips, to save the time of actually stopping along the way. First off, I can’t imagine how one would deal with the task of doing, shall we say, a _thorough_ job of it while seated in a car. It’s quite doable. I used to drive back and forth from LA to Berkeley several times a year when I was a student, and would go to great lengths to avoid having to stop at one of the podunk little truck-stop towns along the 5. I got it down so I could make a single stop about half way there–fill up the tank, and get some fast food. An hour or two later, I’d use the the empty soda cup to do the deed. Just kinda press your back against the seat so you have some space, and let 'er rip. Once, and only once, I forgot that I’d already re-used the soda cup. Not an act I’ve repeated since being a student, though… ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-just-take-a-dump-out-the-car-door/267481/32 "2004-10-04T23:46:12Z")
> [@](#): > > Um, no thanks, I think I’ll pay attention to the road instead. Regarding flossing while driving- I do this on the way to and from work all the time. I have an hour drive, so I like to get things done that I hate doing any other time of day. I don’t, however, use a string of floss and steer with my knees or anything- I use those dental pick flossers so I am able to easily concentrate on the road AND remove harmful plaque. Win/win! ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-just-take-a-dump-out-the-car-door/267481/33 "2004-10-05T00:00:09Z")
> [@tesseract](#): > > Obviously, when people are DRIVING, they shouldn’t read the paper, put on their make-up, or brush their teeth. But I really fail to see what’s wrong with applying make-up on the commuter train or on the bus. Who freakin’ cares??? (Toenail clipping is going over the line, becasue it’s gross, requires removal of shoes/socks – but make-up? C’mon.) Because such activities could be dangerous, it’s valid to criticize extracurricular activities peformed by the operator of a moving conveyance, but who cares if your bus or train mate puts on her make-up? That’s one of the benefits of using public transportation – you can do other stuff while someone else drives. Good grief. Find something real to complain about!!! Yeah, I was going to say the same thing. How is putting on makeup worse than, say, reading a book? As long as it ain’t the person controlling the train, who gives a fuck? ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-just-take-a-dump-out-the-car-door/267481/34 "2004-10-05T00:01:48Z")
I passed a guy reading a hardback book whilst driving 75 mph and coming up toward a major merging intersection (three highways becoming one uberhighway). He had it balanced on the steering wheel. Get a fucking audio book, you moron. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-just-take-a-dump-out-the-car-door/267481/35 "2004-10-05T00:32:37Z")
> [@tesseract](#): > > But I really fail to see what’s wrong with applying make-up on the commuter train or on the bus. Who freakin’ cares??? That’s one of the benefits of using public transportation – you can do other stuff while someone else drives. Good grief. Find something real to complain about!!! Because it is vulgar, ill-bred and something that should be done in the privacy of one’s boudoir. If I have to _explain_ it, _well_ . . . [glares haughtily through my lorgnettes at the hoi-polloi] ---
**Author:** ![ladybug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/46a35a/32.png) [@ladybug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladybug)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-just-take-a-dump-out-the-car-door/267481/36 "2004-10-05T00:38:57Z")
> [@FilmGeek](#): > > I passed a guy reading a hardback book whilst driving 75 mph and coming up toward a major merging intersection (three highways becoming one uberhighway). > > He had it balanced on the steering wheel. Sounds like the guy who almost sideswiped me on the Florida Turnpike a few months back. He was going 70 mph while working on a crossword puzzle. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-just-take-a-dump-out-the-car-door/267481/37 "2004-10-05T00:42:45Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > Because it is vulgar, ill-bred and something that should be done in the privacy of one’s boudoir. If I have to _explain_ it, _well_ . . . > > [glares haughtily through my lorgnettes at the hoi-polloi] I don’t know if I’d call applying makeup _vulgar_, even if done in public. I agree that personal hygine activities (brushing teeth, flosing, and ESPECIALLY nail clipping _shudder_) shouldn’t be done in public areas, but applying makeup? I don’t see how it’s “ill-bred,” really. And having seen women apply makeup before, I can tell it takes a fair amount of time, and if you’re rushed, why not do it on the train? ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-just-take-a-dump-out-the-car-door/267481/38 "2004-10-05T00:45:55Z")
What bugs me is seeing guys shaving while driving. I guess in the grand scheme of things, it’s relatively harmless, but it just drives me batshit and gives me the irrational urge to run the guy off the road. I mean, seriously – to do it at home takes 10 minutes, tops. I like oversleeping as much as the next guy, but unless you’re Richard Nixon or one of the Baldwin brothers, you’re not going to be much worse off skipping a day than you would getting the kind of shave you can get in a car anyway. And if you’re Richard Nixon, you shouldn’t be driving in the first place, because you’re dead. And I’m talking about with an electric razor, of course. One time I saw a guy shaving with a safety razor while he was getting onto the freeway (he wasn’t all lathered up, at least). That’s just unforgiveable. > [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > At a local drugstore they actually sell urinal bags that you’re supposed to carry with you on trips, to save the time of actually stopping along the way. First off, I can’t imagine how one would deal with the task of doing, shall we say, a _thorough_ job of it while seated in a car. There was a news story posted a while back (probably on the SDMB) that said highways in Oregon were plagued by urine-filled bottles all along the sides of the freeway. It was getting to be a big expense having to clean them all up, apparently. At first I couldn’t imagine what was going on – vandals? Some kind of bizarre public art piece? It had to be explicitly spelled out for me that cross-country truckers frequently used that stretch of highway, and they used soda bottles in lieu of pulling over. Maybe it’s just some trucker skill that I ain’t got, but I can’t imagine peeing into an opening as small as the mouth of a coke bottle _while driving a big rig_ without getting it all over myself. I wasn’t disgusted so much as impressed. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-just-take-a-dump-out-the-car-door/267481/39 "2004-10-05T01:08:09Z")
> [@SolGrundy](#): > > Maybe it’s just some trucker skill that I ain’t got, but I can’t imagine peeing into an opening as small as the mouth of a coke bottle _while driving a big rig_ without getting it all over myself. I wasn’t disgusted so much as impressed. I’m guessing that it’s more a question of insertion than aiming. (Insert your own mayonaisse-jar-vs-ketchup-bottle joke here) ---
**Author:** ![Elza\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Elza\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elza_B)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-just-take-a-dump-out-the-car-door/267481/40 "2004-10-05T01:09:10Z")
There’s a doctor in my company who has a lovely BMW. He also has a mounting in the front of his car to the right of his steering wheel. It’s for his laptop. I saw him pull out of the parking lot the other day with his left hand on the wheel and his right hand apparently surfing for something - porn? I always make sure to go to lunch at a different time than he does. Ava [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-just-take-a-dump-out-the-car-door/267481.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-just-take-a-dump-out-the-car-door/267481.md?page=3)