Inconsiderate Drivers (share your stories, etc.)

xrunner2

I have done the same - write down description of car and license number, then take to service desk in store. Then, it is out of my hands. If car owner does not respond to PA call, tough. Just a lesson in their life to be more careful in event battery is run down.

What is surprising is that some vehicles still will not warn departing drivers that their lights are on. Since my 84 Honda, all subsequent cars we've owned have had a chime that sounds if you leave your car with lights on.

Would never think of touching or opening up car door of someone's unattended vehicle. In event of baby or pet in car with windows closed and hot summer day, I would call 911 immediately and standby.

tallman1

I watched a friend of mine do that when we were teenagers. Shocked me at the time but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Hard to believe anyone would be upset about it but from the responses so far, it appears that some are.

A small town is way different than a big city though. Heck, if you had a witness, I'd think that you'd be just fine. However, I do understand that we live in an age where doing nice things may still get you in big trouble. :sick:

imidazol97

Our cars have automatic lights off and power off features. Other cars have had lights on bells and warnings. Some cars with lights on at stores may have those automatic controls turned to a long period before time off.

ruking1

Given all that stuff and a choice of a battery lasting 10 years or more.... Give me the 10 years !! :surprise:

xwesx

Hah! Were you breaking in your cup holder or your bladder?! :shades:

xwesx

Al,

I do that as well. But then, I also came from a small town where people did not get into others' vehicles unless for an act of kindness. I don't pay too much attention to lights any longer, as was noted above so many vehicles have a delayed "auto-off" function. But, if I see the vehicle a second time some time later and it is in the same spot with lights on, I will do my best to help the owner out. Nearly always the door is locked, so I pass the vehicle info on and go about my way; at least I tried to help.

ruking1

Well guys, do you remember when a new fangled car alarm (was new) went off and folks went into the equivalent of defcon 2 ?

DEFCON 2
This refers to a further increase in force readiness just below maximum readiness. The most notable time it was declared was during the Cuban Missile Crisis, although the declaration was limited to Strategic Air Command. It is not certain how many times this level of readiness has been reached.
link title

Now it is just a reminder the locks are..... locked. :lemon:

fintail

I saw something funny this morning, maybe inconsiderate, or the potential to cause a real mess. I was out for a walk, and a middle aged guy pulled up to a dry cleaners in his white E63 with aftermarket wheels of questionable taste to drop off some stuff. He left the car running. With the door open. Nothing was stopping me from simply getting in and driving away, save for my own honesty. The car chase that could have ensued with a machine like that being nabbed by some wannabe bandit would have been disastrous.

euphonium

Surprised you didn't hit the lock button and slam the door. :P

fintail

Tempting, indeed...if his car had 'keyless go' though, I think he could get in. And knowing the pretentious over-monied bastards here, it had every high cost option.

The guy was smaller than me too...unless he was packing heat, I probably could have got away with it. But, I don't care for white cars, so I didn't have the urge :P

xrunner2

Does that say something about the mentality of someone that drives an E36. Once in a while I will see an inconsiderate who keeps their engine running while filling up at gas station.

fintail

More like just the mentality of those with a good deal of money but not much in the way of common sense or responsibility. Those traits intersect all too often.

I see people yapping on phones while refueling all the time - no cars running though.

Oh yeah, a new rant...I went to Costco on Sunday, and so many fools were trolling around for a close spot, when one could park in the far lot, and walk - no more than 2 or 3 minutes certainly. Laziness is very inconsiderate, the gas wasted and pollution created by these cars creeping and idling so they can get out of walking another 50 yards.

xrunner2

At Costco, Sams, Home Depot, etc, there are always some inconsiderates who won't walk their cart to a nearby stall. Instead, they leave it right next to the adjacent car. Best solution is at Ikea where carts are prevented by barrier from leaving a certain perimeter on front/side of store.

One of the worst inconsiderate drivers in parking lots are those with pickup trucks having long trailer tow bar and ball protruding backwards menacingly. Do not park behind them across the aisle.

fintail

People are lazy about returning carts at every large store I patronize, it's a sign of the times I guess. I always park in a manner that decreases the odds of my car coming to harm in a lot. Usually, that means parking at least a few spots away from the herd...and returning to find a few other cars clustered around mine. The pack mentality.

xwesx

Funny, but when I actually had a car on which I cared about preventing door dings, etc., I would tend to park a respectful one space removed from other vehicles that were parked away from the general pack. In this case, it is pack mentality, as I prefer the non-isolationist approach of keeping the car somewhat near other vehicles, thereby reducing its attraction to others who may have dishonest intentions. I don't know about you, but I tend to notice vehicles that are sitting all alone more readily than those that are part of a larger group. Unless the lot became decidedly fuller while I was in the store, I would always shake my head in disbelief when I would find a vehicle parked between our two vehicles upon my return.

Granted, it took some thinking to actually remember to park away from the herd. I usually just grab the first spot I find available, and that is usually in a busy part of the lot. I never managed to get a ding in those spots though. Ironically, the couple dings I did get were in the least-expected of places. :sick:

imidazol97

>the gas wasted and pollution created by these cars creeping and idling so they can get out of walking another 50 yards.

I found I can find an outlying parking space away from car dingers, park, walk to the store, and still see some of those same cars still cruising for nearby spaces. Good exercise. And it saves time in the end.

xwesx

Hah, yeah, I do think about that, ruking. Never have I had an alarm sound when trying the handle. It is a rare situation anyway, but usually the vehicles involved are old pickups - probably the least likely to have such a noise-maker. Being an old-pickup owner myself, I think it would be courteous if someone shut off my lights were I to leave them on. The problem is, I always lock my door.

It would be terribly ironic if I came across a vehicle with lights on, opened the door to shut off the lights, and then triggered the alarm. Now, lights are off, but alarm is on. Fast forwarding two hours, the owner comes out to find his battery dead and his car was keyed several times by annoyed passersby who were overwhelmed by the noise.

xwesx

there are always some inconsiderates who won't walk their cart to a nearby stall.

Some? I venture to guess that "most" fall into this category. I feel old-fashioned when I am taking my cart to a return slip, often gathering up others on my way. When heading into the store, I often take a cart back to the store for an elderly chap or lady - who I think, ironically, are the ones most likely to return their cart to a return slip - and they are always surprised and thankful for my courtesy. It is a good feeling to know I brightened someone's day by exerting so little effort, yet it is sad that such "common" courtesy comes as a surprise to the recipient.

fintail

Yeah that's a good point, if the car sticks out too much, it is in more danger - I am a quick shopper, so there is always a chance the cars I park next to won't move while I am there anyway. I usually will park mayve 5 spaces removed, or if in a full lot, I will try to get a spot along a curb or somewhere else where I only have one side along other cars.

fintail

I see that all the time, people who cruise around for many minutes. What is the mentality for that? I don't get it. It's all about time for me...I want to get the shopping torture over with, so less time in the lot is good. It is also usually quicker to leave the premises when you are away from the pack.

Regarding alarms - my E55 resonates at some random frequency that sets off the alarm of a gold Aveo that now parks beside me in my building, so I have to be careful not to rev it up much. I don't know why that thing even has an alarm.

I've never opened a door to turn off someone's lights - too many wackjobs out there...but I have told the service counter in the store. I also end up returning a car probably half the time I shop, when I didn't use one myself. If it's near my car, I imagine it being pushed into my car.

snakeweasel

I see that all the time, people who cruise around for many minutes. What is the mentality for that?

What I don't understand is when they do that at the gym. Like walking the extra 50 will wear them down so much that they can't exersize.

Regarding alarms - my E55 resonates at some random frequency that sets off the alarm of a gold Aveo that now parks beside me in my building,

Way back when the earth was cooling there was this lady where I worked who bought a brand new car with an alarm. The alarm kept going off while at work, she kept saying that it was vibrations from trucks passing by and she kept taking it in to get the sensitivity turned down. She never caught on that we were going out and rocking the car to get the alarm to go off.

xrunner2

A strategy I use at Best Buy, Home Depot, and Jewel Food stores is to park in between and where the store workers park. Find a one-slot spot between 2 cars and you are safe. I am leery of parking with a lot of empty spaces all around me. On inconsiderate shoppers, my wife usually has to go up and down "every" single aisle looking and scoping out, just in case there is a bargain. When myself, I go in with a list and go straight to pick items, then quickly go to check out lines.

There are times I observe real nice clean usually enthusiast cars parked in the open when I go into store and when coming out see an old junker, rusty pickup or jacked-up pickup next to these. This is definitely inconsiderate and intimidating.

fintail

There must be a mindset in some about a close spot being high status. I will say I see it much much more in one gender than another, but to avoid taking on the appearance of one with prejudice, I won't say anything more :shades:

I also remember I knew someone with a Cadavlier with an alarm...I could simply give the car a moderate slap and set it off. The alarm was probably worth as much as the car.

the_big_al

there is invariably always one of those trucks. So much so in that I have long ago quit noticing them. Although every once in a while I see one that just boggles my mind. Usually it involves an overcompensating lifted 4x4 extended cab, long bed 2500 variant with monster tires and that obligatory tow hitch. Usually this truck is squeezed into a space meant only for compacts, thereby rendering the adjacent spaces useless. They also don't pull far enough forward and so half the truck is sticking out into the aisle, although it wouldn't matter if they had pulled at the way forward, they would still be sticking out into the aisle.

I did however see an unusual one the other day. It was a big blue box store (although this particular store is clad in shades of green and stained ceder shake to match the surrounding country), but it is your typical big blue box. There was a Suburban parked close to the front, but for some reason they had not only parked crooked across two spaces, they had only pulled in far enough to get the doors into the space. The rest of the vehicle was left out in the aisle. There also were not any other cars parked around it. It was just odd as it's not like he would have had trouble parking it. All he would have had to do is keep going forward, even across the middle line and park facing out of the adjoining space. :sick:

the_big_al

Back when I was young(er) and in high school I had an old Chevy with a 350 that had no mufflers. The pipes cut off right where the bed and cab met and so it didn't even have a cat. The thing was gutless, but it was loud. Very loud. I was taking classed at the local community college and on my way to the college I passed several dorms. There was one particular vehicle that would pass that had a very sensitive alarm. Every day and every time I passed I would pop it into neutral and rev the motor and set off the thing. I was able to do this for about a week before the owner turned down the sensitivity... I also used to go through the school parking lot looking for alarms that would go off. :P

oregonboy

Al, my man, I suspect that, in your youth, you were a very bad boy....

Furthermore, I would bet that you still are. :shades:

euphonium

You missed out on using your folks garage door clicker on others in the middle of the night.

davethecarnut

Hey ruking? What's the proper way to break in a new battery?
Just kidding :P

davethecarnut

I always grab the cart haphazardly placed around the parking lot and take it into the store with me. I like to watch the people who pass many of these carts in the lot and then grab one from the neatly parked carts inside the store. It's even funnier when a group of them are waiting to grab one from inside. Knuckleheads...

ruking1

Well the proper way to break DOWN a battery is... start with a German car. :surprise: It is sort of along the lines of : why the English like warm beer..... Lucas (makes electrical parts for English cars) makes their refrigerators !!! :P

ruking1

When cigarette smoking was more prevalent, every so often you would see someone refueling their GASOLINE vehicle while smoking !!?? :sick: :lemon: I often wondered if many of those folks removed themselves from the gene pool.

jensad

I bet they were pumping the old 98 octane gasoline, and they probably did not take long to get removed from the gene pool.

I'm with xrunner, as I park far away from other vehicles, especially in Cosco, and walk to and from my destination. I hate to get parking lot dings, and dents. But once in a while, someone "finds me" and parks so close, that on one occasion, I had to crawl across from the passenger side to get into my car and to drive safely away.

My wife makes up for no dinks in my car with hers colorfully decorated with all kinds of dings and dents. Love her and her designs too.

Good luck to all and stay safe.

jensad

the_big_al

actually i was a pretty good kid - until i got in a vehicle. that was my Achilles heel. Not that I was proud of it, but I had to see how fast I could get any drove to go... Cars and me didn't go well together. I went through 3 vehicles in 3 years of high school driving. But in everything else I was basically a good kid. :shades:

fintail

One less Caddy for lemko to buy

euphonium

Fret not Fintail, Brotherton Cadillac will refund your deposit.

jensad

The miracle seems to be that no one got killed and/or injured. I have seen photos of trains flattening a car and this one got hit pretty good too.

Good luck to all and stay safe.

jensad

xwesx

I am amazed that the tractor driver was uninjured. From the looks of it, the train struck the cab of that truck on the passenger side (it was traveling toward the left of the photo, but came to rest facing toward the right) and spun it around.

fintail

Lots of idiots on local roads lately.

Yesterday I saw 2 cars blow through red lights. Not yellows changing to red, but lights that had been red for maybe a minute. One was a ghastly ostentatious Lincoln Navigator stretch limo. That one almost nailed a Volvo wagon. The other was...I shall say a "new" driver (to this continent) in an Altima who locked them up once in the intersection. Neither driver was on a phone.

LLCs everywhere on 4 lane suburban 40mph roads too, going 10-15 under the limit, causing congestion and road rage. Where are the cameras to nab these cretins? I suspect the busybody self-righteous camera supporters wouldn't dare target that road hazard.

Today I got behind a middle aged woman in a previous model Lexus ES going about 25 in a 40, left lane of course, oblivious to everyone around her. Traffic was zooming by like she was parked. Death grip on the wheel, as well. But, as she wasn't speeding, I guess she wasn't an evil :lemon:

the_big_al

witnessed an impatient and probably careless truck driver a couple days ago. I actually almost plowed into him. I was at the intersection waiting to go straight through. I am one or two cars back. Cross traffic had the light and the right turn on the cross street is a yield (a dedicated right turn lane that yields to traffic once you have turned.) My light turns green and as I am about to cross I look to the right and see this 18-wheeler in the right turn lane that doesn't look like he has the intention of stopping. Now my light has been green for several seconds as a couple of cars have already gone. As I start across the intersection I see him and notice he is going way to fast to stop for me. I brake so that I don't end up at the merge point at the same time he does. He just barrels through and just about cuts into the oncoming traffic lane which has cars in it for the stop light.

Crazy truck - maybe he just didn't see the light I think and give him the benefit of the doubt. Until 3 minutes later he pulls the exact same move. At the next intersection, he again needs to go right, but this is not a yielding right turn. It has a light to indicate you can turn right (while cross traffic is turning left, or through traffic is going through.) If the light is red, you must stop and then you can go if traffic is clear. As we come up to the intersection, I watch the light turn from yellow to red and then a couple seconds later this truck barrels through the intersection again with great speed while turning right. As he makes his turn, he stalls his truck and ends up halfway through the light blocking both lanes of traffic. It takes him several seconds to get it started and moving again. At that point I just sigh and take back my benefit of doubt I gave him earlier...

xwesx

Sounds like you and fintail are both having fun! At least those around that truck driver were paying attention.

stever

Didn't know where else to post it:

"People who drive Hummers receive almost five times as many traffic tickets as the average driver, according to a new study."

Hummer Drivers Get More Tickets. A Lot More (Wired)

oldfarmer50

"...Mark Foster (calls) them colossal jerks..."

Nothing like an impartial study to get at the truth, right?

stever

Foster doesn't work for the people who did the study. Edmunds was quoted in there too, and we weren't involved.

They do sound like inconsiderate drivers though.

ruking1

Funny how they didn't mention positions 2 and three, which incidently are two smaller, albeit compact cars !!!!!! Do the math to see the positions' 2/3 get MORE of the tickets.. Keep in mind also there are probably a bigger population of positions 2/3 than there is of position #1.

snakeweasel

Is it because they drive worse or do cops for whatever reason pick them out more, or a combination of both?

stever

There's plenty of speculation but no answer to that question.

I went to the source and three Scions, the Outback, and the Matrix are in the top ten list for the most violations.

We have an Outback, and have test driven a xD and Matrix in recent months. I guess I need to start left lane camping and practice my California stops more - my ticket average is falling behind the norm. :P

jensad

I wonder if the fact that all three vehicles are small and can go fast as they thread through the traffic? Don't know but when I had my Porsche, I zoomed in and out at a relatively high speed. But then I was not too slow with my other cars either.

Maybe snakeweasel was right in that its the combination that the drivers drive worse. I.e. they can take more chances because they are smaller and can zip in and out of traffic.

Good luck to all and stay safe.

jensad

stever

I enjoy these in empty snow covered parking lots but sheesh.

Driver does handbrake turns on M62 motorway after row with girlfriend (Telegraph UK).

"A driver performed two handbrake turns on a motorway after stopping on the hard shoulder during a row with his girlfriend."

ruking1

to happen.

Nice spring type ( but winter) day, visibility only the airline pilots rave about, No traffic to speak of, I was coming up on a burgundy MB (in the number 4 lane, he in the number 3 lane) when all of a sudden he realizes (I surmise) he didn't like me in the number 4 lane and probably more importantly, (which created the potential crisis) that his exit was coming up. He accelerates to app 90-95 mph and with no signal, cuts in front of me and of course slows down. I of course see this in slo mo and start to signal to change to the number 3 lane to avoid a potential crash or having to slam on the brakes.

fintail

I've figured out why my immediate area has no speed cameras and not a ton of speed traps - everyone drives so bloody slow, there's no point. Lars would love it here, we have both slower than hell drivers, and self-righteous bicyclists.

Yesterday I was on I90 at about 0545...there was a Lexus RX going maybe 40-45 mph, stereotypically slow driver (I won't go into details, don't want to be branded a bigot :shades: ) had a death grip on the wheel. Later in the day I was merging on to the same highway, got behind a Volvo XC90 with local plates but a NH dealer sticker that hit 90 at about 41mph - the highway was wide open with traffic flying by at 60-65. That scares me. Another stereotypically slow driver too, this one appeared to have tunnel vision - head fixed straight ahead, no movement. Maybe it was a robot.

Then on to a 4 lane 40mph suburban road, being clogged by a little old lady in an Accord going 30 - in the right lane anyway, and a CRV that pulled alongside her and was going maybe .25 mph faster. There were a good 10 cars being held up. Time to buy that rocket launcher and clean out the motorist gene pool.