Well, it was almost written in stone that the first post would be about driving. I hate everything about everybody else when i'm in a car. People who drive slowly, dawdle along in a daydream, take time turning, stop without warning, drive in my tailgate, fog lights in good weather, no signals, lights on full beam, sitting in the middle lane. need I continue?
Oh yeah, and anything to do with banks.

I'm thinking about getting one of these:

http://www.globalgadgetuk.com/P51100205.JPG

Cell Phone Jammer

Try being a pedestrian around cars. All drivers, all of them, including each one of you reading this right now, think that pedestrians have no right to cross the street. Ever. Even in a cross walk with a walk signal in their favor. You will, of course, protest that you yield to pedestrians when you are supposed to. But you don't. You just don't realize it. You do it subconciously.

My car is manufactured so that I have no choice. If my engine is running and the emergency brake is off, my fog lights are on. So nyah.

Ahh see, this is where you're wrong. As for me, if they're crossing on the their green or WALK sign, then they can cross as much as they please but they'd better out of the way when it's my turn to move. They can cross the street as much as they like as long as they don't step out in front of my car. However, those who cross in the middle of the block are fair game.:D

I would respectfully disagree. You do it subconsiously and don't realize you do it. You only stop for a pedestrian if the only alternative is to run them over. If they are trying to cross the street, and are in the crosswalk, but are not directly in front of you, you don't stop for them. Also, if you have a green light, but are turning, and a pedestrian is in the crosswalk with a walk signal, you don't stop for them unless you are about to run over them.

You will disagree. But you are wrong. ALL drivers do this, including you.

Car drivers always force pedestrians into a game of chicken, when the pedestrian will only be yeilded to if a failure to yield to the pedestrian will cause the death of the pedestrian and imprisonment of the driver.

The only exception is when there is a red light for the car. But then the car is stopping for the red light, not for the pedestrian.

You think what you will. Only I know what's going on in my head. :)

Regarding Pedestrian v. Car ...

My sister lives in Rhode Island. Seems that they have a very stern law there about yielding to pedestrians.

No exceptions, harsh penalties.

People will lock up their brakes and get rear ended rather than risk not yielding to a pedestrian.

I was even patiently waiting to cross a street (in the middle, rather than at a crosswalk. I learned to cross streets in Phila, and that's just how it's done) and knew that there was a nice break in traffic coming within about 30-40 seconds. Drivers on BOTH SIDES of the street stopped their cars and waved me across.

I was flabbergasted.

How do they deal with natural selection in that state? Slow stupid walkers survive to breed in that environment ...

Oh, yeah, and the other thing that blew me away ... if you're entering the highway, the people in the right hand land move over or slow down to let you on safely. What is that about? Merging is like a game of chicken, isn't it?

Not if 1) you have a vehicle that will adequately accelerate and 2) you know how to merge.

Unfortunately, there's a lot of people (around here at least) simply don't know how, and figure merging onto highway traffic that's going highway speed or faster involves slowing down in the acceleration lane, which does nothing but force the people behind you who are speeding up to slam on their brakes and possibly swerve into the highway traffic at inadequate speed. Obvious exception is when there's gridlock and no one is moving very fast.

As for me, I am at or above posted highway speed and on the highway itself long before the acceleration lane ends. It's not difficult. Really it's not.

You haven't driven much in PA, have you ... driving is entirely different here.

Oh, and we often don't have accelleration lanes. RAMP-HIGHWAY. No glide in. Some of the entries are sufficiently dangerous that you have to come to a complete stop before entering the highway. Talk about a challenge. 0-65 in 2 seconds, or you're dead.

Bondo on the doors is a sign of courage.

Ha! Acceleration lanes are for pussies.

Unfortunately, there's a lot of people (around here at least) simply don't know how, and figure merging onto highway traffic that's going highway speed or faster involves slowing down in the acceleration lane, which does nothing but force the people behind you who are speeding up to slam on their brakes and possibly swerve into the highway traffic at inadequate speed. Obvious exception is when there's gridlock and no one is moving very fast.

I always just come to a complete stop at the bottom of the entrance ramp if I think I'm behind a person of this driving caliber. That way I have all the room I want to accelerate properly, once his ass finally gets onto the highway.

No I haven't. To be honest, I only drive in PA for the first time this past summer, once going to Philly and again a couple of weeks later on the way to CT. I didn't have any trouble driving in PA. Hartford-area, CT on the other hand...

Try the surprise of an out-of-towner trying to negotiate a Jersey jughandle for the first time.

An old girlfriend of mine, who is from the St. Louis area, nearly crashed my car and killed us when she just had no clue how to enter or drive through a jughandle. I had to laugh at her lack of adaptability. How are they teaching ppl to drive out there?

Oh, on that note, I dislike people who:
- Do not follow the 'wipers on, lights on' guideline that is now law in a handful of states
- Suggest going (or tag along) to bars and restuarants that are out of their price range and either sit there and not order anything, or skimp on tax/tip and force others to cover in order to save face

I have more. Must think of them when I am not working.

Jughandles, no problem. It's the traffic circles you have to watch out for.

And driving through PA, staying on the turnpike or some other interstate, just really doesn't give you the full flavor ...

You have to get on and off some of the state roads, or one of the roads that's only referred to by name, but only officially identified by number on the signs ...