I always wonder why people do the things that they do. Most of the time, I wonder this while driving. I am very observant when driving and tend to notice a lot of things my wife does not. So help me try to understand some of these things.
1 - why is it that when you come up to a stop light, there are 10 cars in the left hand lane and only 1 in the right hand lane. I always tell my wife that this is the “SHEEP SYNDROME” I think that people are content to just follow the person in front with little thought. Is the person in the right hand lane a leader and not a follower or is he the only one with common sense?
2 - why would someone drive in the fast lane (left lane) while doing 1 mph under the speed limit and not move over when someone is coming up behind them. Then when you pass them in the right hand lane, they flash you with their lights and finger you. Is it not stated in the drivers manual that you should drive in the right hand lane at all time unless you are passing. I know in a lot of European countries this is the law and you will be ticketed if you do not follow this practice.
3 - While I was driving to work on Thursday, I pulled up beside a driver that was wearing an I-Pod, trying to put on make up at each stop light and while driving was eating a bowl of cereal. I shit you not. I could not believe this. Do you think this person thinks because they can do this and they have not been in an accident that it is alright to do so?
4 - Why would someone wait for a parking spot that is 4 spots away from the front of the store while someone backs out when there are spots 8-10 away from the front of the store.
5 - Why is it that the person that cuts you off or cuts in front of you is the person doing the fingering and then slams on their brakes to get you to back off.
Just some random thoughts late at night since I can not sleep.
Enlighten me on your thoughts. I always wonder what is going through the minds of these people. I just do not get it.
You care too much its just driving , I have observed similar things in a positive light for the sheep syndrome types . When I feel I want to lead by swinging into the open lane I end up at barricade in-front of a open hole with my signal no to get into the sheep lane . The smarter than the rest drivers on the highway that do 80 lane changes in one mile ,end up there about the same time as I do.
I just got back from a trip in Europe / southern Germany , as you wrote Trucks / slow traffic to the right . The left is 90% open and you can stay over there a while if your speed is high enough " and all the drivers know the rules " .Its not the super speedway you think say 85 -90 mph average with highs of 115 -130 mph .
Forget talking about Cell users / make up / coffee & donut eaters , I almost T-boned 3 high end cars where the driver just rolled through an intersection with his blinder cell blocking his view — I take a breath count to 10 - leave the guns and ball bats at home.
As for the cutting you off lane change it depends on the driver I let the old folks and moms with kids slide . In my younger years Any wise ass looking bastard I would hold or close the distance till he sees his mistake or I am 6" off his bumper at 80 mph they generally wont make eye contact at the next light.
Its best to let it go , like the news , getting mad on your couch wont change a thing.
“why would someone drive in the fast lane (left lane) while doing 1 mph under the speed limit and not move over when someone is coming up behind them…”
Here’s one to add to your list:
“Why would someone get really upset because the driver in front of him (or her) was going 1 mph slower than he was?”
My question, of course, assumes that the “someone” in question is a law-abiding citizen.
“1 - why is it that when you come up to a stop light, there are 10 cars in the left hand lane and only 1 in the right hand lane. I always tell my wife that this is the “SHEEP SYNDROME” I think that people are content to just follow the person in front with little thought. Is the person in the right hand lane a leader and not a follower or is he the only one with common sense?”
I can think of several reasons. The first is a common courtesy, whereby you stay in the left lane at the intersection so that people who are planning to make a right turn on red can get there and get through. If you decide you need to be in that right lane, then you block anyone from executing the right turn on red.
because alot of people are self obsessed in this consumeristic, self involved, instant gratification, society that we live in. and you see the manifestation of these types in their driving.
as for the girl putting on make-up, i would chalk that up to immaturity. one day she’ll get slammed into and then decide to put on her make up and eat her cereal at home.
the drivers that infuriate me most are those that shift wrecklessly in and out of lanes–to the danger of everyone else–because they’re so selfish they can only think about their own schedule and desires. they ZOOM in front of any car as long as they have an inch of space to do so; they endanger everyone around them.
it is entirely fair to assume that only a drunk person would drive in such a way. therefore, i call and report these drivers to the police. (i can’t help but feel this is a responsibility of mine. if someone had called the police on the drunk driver that killed my father in law, he would probably still be alive today).
while i’m not one to harp on laws, it is my belief that the driving age should be 18. too many kids cause fatal accidents and are too immature to drive. but i digress…
as for the girl putting on make-up, i would chalk that up to immaturity. one day she’ll get slammed into and then decide to put on her make up and eat her cereal at home.
or she’ll slam into someone.
sounds a lot like the driver who hit Psycholist, or the woman who killed a cyclist when she was downloading a ring tone.
i’ll take the slow driver in the left lane over the person not paying attention any day.
I always try to asses the situation coming up to the light i.e. which lane has the least cars in it. If I can get into that lane without cutting someone off I take.
I let this get the better of me once. Someone in the left lane doing 5-10 mph below the posted limit and cars neck and neck in the next two lanes. After I managed get around them I got in the left set my cruise control and hit the decelerator so my brake lights wouldnt come on. After I was going about 5-10 mph below what the other guy was going he got in the right lane and I sped off. In hindsight not very bright on my part, but at the time…
I admit I look for the close spot but not search for it. I make one close pass if it isn’t there I take first spot I see regardless of where it is.
That is the one that gets me the most.
One I’d like to add and I am pretty sure this is probably just my own brand of crazy is the following situation. When there are 2 turn left lanes and you are on the inside lane with a driver next to you who is also going to turn left turns to sharp and use half of my lane to make their turn. I know very minor in the grand scheme. just relax good air in bad air out…
the drivers that infuriate me most are those that shift wrecklessly in and out of lanes
I admire those who drive wrecklessly, as that’s the way to go. It’s the ones who drive recklessly who endanger us.
1 - why is it that when you come up to a stop light, there are 10 cars in the left hand lane and only 1 in the right hand lane. I always tell my wife that this is the “SHEEP SYNDROME” I think that people are content to just follow the person in front with little thought. Is the person in the right hand lane a leader and not a follower or is he the only one with common sense? It’s like a supermarket line, you pick the one you think will be fastest and go to the opposite one.
2 - why would someone drive in the fast lane (left lane) while doing 1 mph under the speed limit and not move over when someone is coming up behind them. Then when you pass them in the right hand lane, they flash you with their lights and finger you. Is it not stated in the drivers manual that you should drive in the right hand lane at all time unless you are passing. I know in a lot of European countries this is the law and you will be ticketed if you do not follow this practice. For some folks this is their one little chance to be in control of something in their lives.
3 - While I was driving to work on Thursday, I pulled up beside a driver that was wearing an I-Pod, trying to put on make up at each stop light and while driving was eating a bowl of cereal. I shit you not. I could not believe this. Do you think this person thinks because they can do this and they have not been in an accident that it is alright to do so? As Forest says “stupid is as stupid does”
4 - Why would someone wait for a parking spot that is 4 spots away from the front of the store while someone backs out when there are spots 8-10 away from the front of the store. See above
5 - Why is it that the person that cuts you off or cuts in front of you is the person doing the fingering and then slams on their brakes to get you to back off. There is no shortage of agitated, angry people out there wandering around.
While I did post these, they do not make me mad or upset. I try to look at each situation and try to understand what everyone is thinking. I just go about my business and keep an open eye on what everyone else is doing so they do not hit me and I can be careful. I do tend to see a lot of what is going on and think this makes me a better driver.
Like I said, I always wonder what people are thinking when these do things. Like the example of the SHEEP. Near my house there is an intersection that has two lanes that turn left, two that go straight and one that turns right. Every single time I get to this intersection, I just can not believe that there are 6-15 (depending on the time of day) cars in the left lane and 1-2 in the right lane. I always think to myself that if everyone was distributed evenly in both lanes that traffic might flow better. I see the people that are 12 cars and more back not getting through the light. So I think to myself, that if there was 12 cars in each lane that you would now get 24 cars through the intersection but with the SHEEP way, you only get 14 cars through the intersection. Would flow of traffic not be better through the intersection if everyone tried to even out both lanes?
So my thoughts go back to what are these people thinking? They just line up one after each other and to me, are not thinking about what they are doing. Maybe some are but I would venture a guess that most do not think when they line up at the intersection. I always get in the right lane when there is more than say 4-6 cars in the left lane as there is normally none in the right.
So like I mentioned, it does not bother me or upset me but I am so very curious why people do what they do when they are on the road.
I personally try to balance lanes at intersections to maximize the amount of traffic going through the light, I always drive in the right hand lane until I need to pass or turn left, I find the first parking spot I can and do not wait for people to pull out unless there is no parking at all.
The waiting for parking stalls really makes me laugh when I go to the gym. The whole point of going to the gym is to work out but people will wait for a parking spot when there are a ton at the back of the parking area. Maybe you could use the longer walk for a warm up? Just makes me laugh inside.
My thinking is that there is a deep-seated evolutionary desire to not stand out: blend in with the crowd and you’ll survive longer. Drivers coming to your intersection (does your house really sit at an intersection with five lanes in one direction?) who are not familiar with it might just get in line with everyone else. When I waited tables in college, I found that when newly-arrived customers were faced with the choice of being the first people to sit in a newly-opened (due to the other areas filling up) section of the restaurant or sitting at a table covered with dirty dishes, they would overwhelmingly choose the latter.
Two other things: not everyone is in such a rush as to devote any thought to the optimal driving choices for themselves, and people think of driving as a right, not a privilege to be earned.
“2 - why would someone drive in the fast lane (left lane) while doing 1 mph under the speed limit and not move over when someone is coming up behind them. Then when you pass them in the right hand lane, they flash you with their lights and finger you. Is it not stated in the drivers manual that you should drive in the right hand lane at all time unless you are passing. I know in a lot of European countries this is the law and you will be ticketed if you do not follow this practice.”
Hahaha, i don’t mind getting flashed, but fingering while in traffic is just not acceptable.
