Major Psychotic Fucking Hatreds: Roadkill Edition

[mathnerd]

This is one of my pet peeves, too. There's a woman in my condo complex who seems to have a really hard time with this concept, although she's usually not angled like the car in your picture; she's usually parallel with the lines but not in one spot. (I was quite shocked today though when I saw her perfectly centered in her spot.) People who park like that are part of the reason I'm willing to park a little further back in parking lots so that I don't have to worry about people parking too close next to my driver's side. (I also do it to lessen the chances of having some huge SUV parked next to me so that I can't see if anything's coming when I go to back out and also because I figure that since I have two good legs, I should use them.)

One of my kids uses a wheelchair, so when he's with me I park in handicapped spots. When he's not with me, I do the same as you, for pretty much the same reason. I figure if I'm way in the back of the lot, I have a better chance of not being hit or pinned in by some moron who can't park.

[ozcatbug]

One that is seriously pissing me off is the idiots that drive around with their headlights on in the middle of the day. This is south-east Queensland. Even in the middle of winter it almost never gets dark enough during the day to be driving around with your lights on. If you can't see and need your lights on, first TAKE OFF YOUR SUNGLASSES! If you still can't see, maybe you need your eyes checked.

I have spoken to drivers before about this, and they usually say its a safety thing. Really!?!? As far as I can tell it is more a hazard.

A bit of background. I have photophobia. This isn't a fear of photos, but the fact my eyes have an extreme sensitivity to light. Other than that little problem my vision is better than perfect, I just have to wear sunglasses most of the time. I have outside sunglasses, inside sunglasses (flouro lights are bad for people with photophobia), and driving sunglasses. I also have a number of different tinted sunglasses for different occasions, including a blue tinted pair that I tend to wear for night driving where I am likely to encounter a lot of head on traffic. Most of these glasses are cheap and nasty (it's not like I need to pay through the nose for a prescription) but I do choose them carefully for the environment I will be using them in. The inside glasses and driving glasses I have spent the most time on as they are the hardest to find, and as such are the only glasses that I am willing to spend a lot of money on. That being said my most expensive glasses are for driving as I feel my safety is at risk if they can't do the job properly to protect my eyes from excessive light. End probably excessive background.

I know others around me have no idea of my problems, but when they drive around on a very bright and sunny day with not only their parkers on, but also their headlights, foglights, and sometimes their high beams, that is when they become a danger on the road. If I am driving into the sun and they are coming up behind me, they blind me, but I imagine it can't be good for anyone else. I have frequently had to flip my rear view mirror to the ceiling so I'm not being blasted in the eyes by the bloody idiot behind me, then try to pull over safely with flash spots in my eyes.

And a bonus, who the hell taught these people to put their highbeams on when driving behind someone. I was driving to work one night through winding roads and this arsehole behind me had his high beam on most of the way, except when another car was approaching. Then he would dip his lights, and after they passed, he would turn up the lights again. The idiot was right behind me so when he put his lights up I could actually read the magazine that was sitting in my passenger seat. Did I mention the the winding roads were really foggy so that when he put his high beams on he basically lit up a white wall so visibilty was non existent. Has no one been taught that high beams and fog is a complete no-no. Obviously not.

People need to learn when to use their lights so that they don't become a hazard to other road users.

[Rock Lobster]

In Pennsylvania it's state law to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks. One day I was coming out of the post office and stood at the beginning of the crosswalk watching for idiots because they will run you over. One moron went flying past me but what he didn't know is that the local cop was sitting at the red light and watched the whole thing. Next think I saw was flashing lights and one idiot having a conversation with the nice policeman! Talk about instant Karma!

[Rock Lobster]

I've also seen the "cop ahead, look out" flash from oncoming lanes, too. Always appreciate it, and reciprocate where I can.[/QUOTE]

Please note though that this is illegal in some states and if a cop sees you then you can get pulled over for it.

[KatherineB]

One that is seriously pissing me off is the idiots that drive around with their headlights on in the middle of the day.... I have spoken to drivers before about this, and they usually say its a safety thing. Really!?!? As far as I can tell it is more a hazard.

I drive with my headlights on at all times. This was because, in the space of two weeks, my red Subaru Forester had people trying to merge into it or cut across it FIVE times. Since I left my headlights on - hasn't happened once.

So yes, it's a lot safer.

[Jay 2K Winger]

I drive with my headlights on at all times. This was because, in the space of two weeks, my red Subaru Forester had people trying to merge into it or cut across it FIVE times. Since I left my headlights on - hasn't happened once.

So yes, it's a lot safer.

This. Apologies to any drivers with photo-sensitive eyes, but it is surprising how much more visible it makes you even in broad daylight. It makes it a lot easier to spot other cars.

[kpzra]

There are many sections of highway around here where you are required by law to have your headlights on at all times.

[LesserSouthernFroglet]

Many motorcycles on the Australian market have hard-wired headlights that can't be turned off, despite the mandatory 'lights on' rule for bikes being repealed years ago.

So cars driving with their lights on actually reduces the ability to spot a bike in traffic, and in some cases makes them near invisible. Or, worse, twin headlights on bikes are 'assumed' to be car lights on, significantly further away.

Headlights on for cars out of town I don't have a problem with, it really does make a difference when on long trips, but in town it's just dangerous. And it should never be high beam or foglights.

A couple of other pet peeves here, for the lemmings - oops, pedestrians.

Look where you're going when you go to cross the road, not just for vehicles coming, but for those already stopped in your path (yes, when you're jaywalking). Nearly got knocked off my bike once by some blimmin fool that was looking for traffic moving, but not what was right in front of him.

Parents - please don't do the penguin thing with your babies in prams. You know, that thing penguins do when they all huddle together on the edge of the iceberg until one of them falls in the water, then they wait and see if it gets eaten by something? Yes, you're safe on the kerb, but pushing Baby, in his pram, out into the intersection is not the wisest or safest thing you could do.

And for the rest of the lemmings, please don't dash across the road just because somebody else did. Traffic can change suddenly.

[Bandit]

For all cars made after 1986, it's been mandatory to have headlights on through the day in Canada. It's either low beams or 1/2-strength high beams.

Used to be fun back in the '90s when I would rent a big Crown Vic for a run through the US.

B

[blas]

Mine are automatic.....well, I can mess with the settings, but I won't.

I have a much bigger problem in general with people who just don't look. They just see someone in their way, and figure they'll move right on over to the left lane without looking.

And guess who is always there when that happens?
Me.

[EricKei]

I can only speak for the US, but many cars have mandatory "Daytime Running Lights" -- meaning, they cannot be turned off while the car is running. However, they're neither bright lights nor foglamps >_< I cannot comprehend why anyone would use those in broad daylight!

Also, in many (but not all?) states, brights are actually illegal to use within city limits unless you are on a major highway, and you need to siwtch back to normal ones if there is oncoming traffic or if you're right behind someone. Never heard of it being enforced, however. On the flip side, it's also mandatory in many states to always have lights on when it's raining -- again, seldom enforced.

One time when I was on the interstate highway during a torrential downpour (so bad that the wipers did little good), I spotted an oncoming car ...once he was less then 20 feet from me x.x No lights, silver-grey car that matched the shade of the overcast sky almost perfectly. I'm glad I didn't need to pass anyone, or I might have ended up as street pizza.

[Flying Grype]

In Ontario, but not in my new home of New York State, daytime running lights or headlights are mandatory at all times. It's not for making it easier for the driver to see, but rather for other drivers/pedestrians/etc. to see the car coming at them. High-beams? Ugh. I can't think of any reason to ever turn them on in city driving. The only time I ever use them is on deserted stretches of highway or country road, especially the latter where an animal may be on the road up ahead. I do see people using them when they shouldn't be, like when they're shining them into the eyes of an oncoming driver.

As for sunglasses, I use them even on cloudy days. I get eyestrain from a bright white sky even if there isn't direct sunlight, and I'll use the sunnies to dim everything down a bit.

[EricKei]

I-10 Eastbound in Louisiana; the chunk that's pretty much all elevated over the bayous. The speed limit is low and this was during night time hours. The moron who tailgated me for at least 50 miles with his high beams on. I was going the speed limit, and he could have passed me, but he chose to do that instead.

If you mean the area just West of the lake, the busiest I've EVER seen that section of road is "3 cars on the road at a time in each direction" -- TOTAL. It's normally all but abandoned. I thought you meant the Bonne Carre' Spillway at first, but it's 60mph and traversible in maybe ten minutes, tho it is busier. None of this changes the fact that that guy was a dick

[mathnerd]

Eric, I'm not exactly sure as I was tired and it was late at night. He probably continued to tailgate me after we got through the raised section. And yes, there was very little traffic. It was me, the jerk and a couple of trucks.

[Chromatix]

Daytime running lights - or, if not fitted, dipped beams - are also mandatory at all times (winter or summer, day or night, rain or snow or fog or shine) in all of the Nordic countries. That is why Saabs and Volvos have DRLs built in. It's a "be seen" rather than "to see" thing, as mentioned above.

High beams are another matter. They are not the default setting of headlights on any even vaguely modern car, for the simple reason that they tend to dazzle other drivers. Sure, they let *you* see better, but that doesn't help the poor sap coming the other way, who now can't figure out where the gap between your car and the opposite verge is. The rule of thumb is to change back to dipped beams when you see another car's headlights, or if you are running behind another car.

As for parking - my dad had a prime parking spot at his office all to himself, simply because he was the only one who could be bothered to squeeze a car into it. It was mostly hidden behind a gate that was fused into place and hadn't been moved in many years. Looking at Google Maps today, however, I suspect that the gate has been removed.