so there’s this weird habit of some drivers up here.
let’s say i’m wanting to turn left at a stop. here comes somebody to the right, so i wait for them to pass. they CLEARLY have the right of way, but they stop to wave me out in front of them. and i’m supposed to pull out.
allow me to illustrate:
why???
they have the right-of-way. why?????
it takes an extra 3 seconds for them to come to a complete stop before i’ll even think about pulling out. THEN they still have to wave me out, because i’m not gonna pull into on-coming traffic when THEY CLEARLY HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY.
it gives me the most guilt-ridden case of road-rage!
am i the only one with nice-people-road-rage?
47 responses so far ↓
Kristiapplesauce // June 19, 2008 at 7:18 am
Don’t do drugs Mandy.
Heather // June 19, 2008 at 7:25 am
You have great artistic ability! Could you draw me something for my nursery?
mandythompson // June 19, 2008 at 7:33 am
Kristi: yes ma’am. i did once. but not ever again.
Heather: certainly! but i charge $100/sketch!
@ngie // June 19, 2008 at 7:44 am
Your picture reminds me of those police forms you have to fill out when there is an accident. Nice.
Kristiapplesauce // June 19, 2008 at 7:56 am
Speaking of…how many accidents have you been in?
Rick // June 19, 2008 at 8:01 am
Happens here all the time. Not only will that sweet nice no-turning-with-the-right-of-way driver think he’s doing you a favor so hurry up and turn in front of him dangit!! - but he’s also blocking traffic behind him for miles waiting for you to make his life complete.
And then he’ll go home and blog about how much of an idiot this guy was who wouldn’t turn when he let him.
mandythompson // June 19, 2008 at 8:11 am
@: not nice!
K: um. 2? no. 3. no 2. yes. 2
Rick: i KNOW… good to know you’re not the really nice yankee trying to make all our lives more difficult!
Kristiapplesauce // June 19, 2008 at 8:55 am
I am happy to say that I haven’t got into any here yet. Yay me.
Cindy Beall // June 19, 2008 at 8:57 am
I sometimes have nice people road rage. But, I smile in a nice Christian way and drive on by.
Ugh.
Sarah // June 19, 2008 at 9:17 am
I was wondering where you were going with that title.
I appreciate the gesture when there’s more cars behind them, because there are some roads that it is almost impossible to turn left onto due to the traffic. But when they’re the only car in sight…then I’m just confused.
mandythompson // June 19, 2008 at 9:18 am
so. i’ve only out loud yelled (even though they couldn’t hear me) at another driver up here one time, but once i passed by them i realized the driver was an older lady with respirator tubes in her nose. then i felt guilty. but i don’t anymore. she dang-near killed me.
jon mckanna // June 19, 2008 at 9:38 am
i am finding that having a daughter is helping with road rage!!! i have to watch what gets said, so it doesn’t get repeated…my wife is “encouraging” me in that area…
so NO you’re not the only one with nice-people-road-rage
rachelpage // June 19, 2008 at 9:44 am
mandy, the problem is that it is totally indicative of drivers up here. they let you go when they have the right of way, but then they also go when they do not have the right of way. just the other day i was passing by an off ramp from the highway, which had a very clearly marked stopsign. not only did the person not stop, they didn’t even slow down! they just kept on going and turned on to our road. it was a good thing the driver in my car was paying attention and slammed on the brakes or it would not have been pretty. there is really no logic to their driving at all. they stop when they should go, and they go when they should stop. why do they think they should make up their own rules? ugh. i feel better now that i’ve gotten that out. well, at least until it happens the next time.
Natalie Witcher // June 19, 2008 at 10:21 am
I like waving people on. Makes me feel better about myself as a driver. Once again, the world revolves around me even though I desguise it as a do-gooder
lovewillbringustogether // June 19, 2008 at 10:32 am
WHY in the name of all that is Holy are BOTH of you driving on the WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD!???
Please stay off Australian roads if you ever visit - people like you cause accidents! :-O
In the above situation you described… who is required to shoot who first?
Sadly, you are not the only one i know with that particular affliction.
P.S. i missed you horribly once you left Tamand B’s Live Chat - i did not see you say G’nite y’all??
<B
josh // June 19, 2008 at 11:11 am
just click your wrists together at them and drive away…
TheNorEaster // June 19, 2008 at 11:52 am
Let me get this straight.
YOU, Amanda Thompson, are from Georgia, land of peaches, moderation, AND Southern Hospitality.
But when someone is nice to you UP HERE, in The Northeast, by GIVING UP THEIR OWN RIGHT OUT OF HUMILITY and AS A COURTESY TO YOU then YOU GET UPSET?!?!
The logic escapes me.
Maybe you should move to Alabama-In-The-Middle-Pennsylvania.
I hear they even have grits.
HW // June 19, 2008 at 11:54 am
I think they are trying to be nice if there is traffic behind them, thinking they are letting you out. But then the idiot drivers behind them will pass them on the right going off the road to get around them, and if you go you’ll die… if you don’t go, you are being rude.
Nobody drives with manners around here…. I’m grateful.
Jenni Catron // June 19, 2008 at 12:17 pm
Mandy, I’m with you. I actually got hit by another car when someone waved me through once. And then the person who waved me through didn’t even stop to help! I never go when someone waves me through anymore.
mandythompson // June 19, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Jon: accountability comes in many forms!!!
rachel: i think you’re right. it’s madness, i tell ya! madness! and i didn’t even WANNA get into those who will pull out in the middle of the road to stop oncoming traffic so they can get out. oh my gosh no don’t get me started!
Natalie: you’re one of THEM?!?!
Love: the scary part is that if they wanted to play an AWFUL trick and ram me with their car, I’D be the one at fault for pulling into oncoming traffic when they had the right of way. and, yes, i was sad that i didn’t get to chat longer…. there’s an aussie girl on campus. i can hardly understand what she says. i don’t think she has a lisp. but maybe she does.
Josh: HA!!!!!!!
TheNor: it’s because i’ve tried my dangest to conform to the culture up here. city driving is NOT like this. but then there’s country driving (like this post). it all confuses me. let’s just keep things simple by obeying the LAW. THAT’S a novel concept!!!
Heidi: i KNOW i KNOW i KNOW. its bad no matter how you slice it! help, please!!!
lori // June 19, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Mandy, Mandy, Mandy! Clearly you have a lot to learn about New England drivers. Girl, when someone GIVES you an inch TAKE IT. Nor, back me up on this, will ya?
“Up here” the rule of thumb is, if you can go, you do. Period. It shouldn’t matter what the other cars are doing, because that’s their problem. Now, mind you, I don’t condone this driving style!! I’m don’t!! But it is what it is. If you are given the right of way by some idiot, thank him/her politely and get the blazes outta there! And go quickly least you take your bumper life in your hands due to the cars behind the one who gave it up, as HW pointed out, who will also take the inch given up by the one who stopped!!
Just go with it Mandy, it will do your sanity good!!
mandythompson // June 19, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Jenni: thank you. thank you. thank you. (and i’m sorry for your accident - but THAT is a case in point!)
mandythompson // June 19, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Lori: yes. i agree. go with it. and i DO go with it. i just don’t get it. that’s all. note my mention (comment #20 - to rachel) of the drivers who DEMAND an inch by pulling out into traffic. oh my heavenlies. see. i’m telling ya. its maddening.
lori // June 19, 2008 at 12:23 pm
HA! That’s how they are taught!!! Believe it or not, they actually teach that. I can remember my GRANDMOTHER telling me to do that!! I was floored!
mandythompson // June 19, 2008 at 12:23 pm
tam // June 19, 2008 at 12:24 pm
i could just see you now all frustrated. hehehe. little mighty mouse mandy speaking a nice ole Georgian word to other drivers. i would LOVE to see this go down! makes me smile just thinking about it
Love - that IS the right side of the road ya know? geeze!
rachelpage // June 19, 2008 at 12:26 pm
i don’t understand why we all can’t just follow the rules of the road. if not, why did i have to take driver’s ed? yes, i am a rule-follower. and mandy, don’t you dare say, “i knew it!”
mandythompson // June 19, 2008 at 12:28 pm
Tam: come see me & i’ll let you drive us home from the airport! 15 minutes and you’ll pull over & throw up on the side of the road. i actually REFUSED to drive when we moved up here. it really is crazy where we live. now, i zip all over the place - i’m as much of a traffic hazard as the next guy - but they scared the bejezzees outta me when we moved.
mandythompson // June 19, 2008 at 12:32 pm
Rachel: i completely agree with you! on all points. including the “i knew it!”
lori // June 19, 2008 at 12:33 pm
it really is a scary place to drive. I won’t drive in or near Boston. Rhode Island isn’t much better. When we need to go in or near the city, we either take the train, or ride with someone else who knows the city better. There is no sense to the way the city was planned out, and with construction changing things…ugh…horrible…just horrible!!
mandythompson // June 19, 2008 at 12:48 pm
thank you, lori. i feel much more understood now.
Fred McKinnon // June 19, 2008 at 1:17 pm
Mandy,
I feel you on that one … I’m the same way. I can’t stand it. It’s not just nice yankees, it’s nice southern folks, too.
It causes plenty of accidents. I had someone in an intersection trying to be “nice” waving me to turn left in front of them, so I obliged and rammed right into a car that was coming AROUND the other car in the right turn lane.
So often, they wave you on … without thinking of other traffic around them.
Drives me nuts.
Lei // June 19, 2008 at 1:42 pm
I agree with Fred - causes a lot of accidents! When my hubby was a kid he actually got hit because of one of these “nice people” Don’t know if he was a Yankee though. . .
My skater-boy hubby was waiting to cross a busy street, “nice” driver stopped - stopped!- in the middle of the street to wave him through. Too bad the guy in the next lane didn’t see and literally plowed right into hubby full-speed.
Very, very bad. But head trauma, coma, reconstructed knee and 20+ years later and he is all good now.
So needless to say we get “nice people road rage” too. Should we start a support group or something???
Damon // June 19, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Mandy, (a side note)
Can you use the “Y___kee” so openly? Isn’t it an offensive term? I know when I said the phrase “I swear on my grave I will kill every last one of you Y__kee’s”, people where upset. I guess since “they” are your friends now, you feel it’s okay, or maybe even cool, to use that type of language. Consider yourself rebuked!!
traciejane // June 19, 2008 at 2:13 pm
See, If you flew everytime you farted then you could in your car and fly over these yankees while driving. I’m just sayin’…
Steph // June 19, 2008 at 2:16 pm
You aren’t the only one. And the worst of it is that it would be your fault if there was an accident, not the waver.
TheNorEaster // June 19, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Mandy:
One of these days, I’m going to have to take you to the place where I get my treat in the morning after working all night. The traffic starts picking up at about 4:30a.m. and by 7a.m., in the downtown of my town, you’re lucky to make it around the block before the new century.
And, seriously, we can meet at The Shepherd Clock in Providence, RI. Halfway for you. Halfway for me. And I’ll take you to my coffee shop, where I get my treat. And you’ll find out real fast, in the downtown of my town, just how wonderful that New England road rule is…because if nobody followed it, if everybody just drove on with their “right of way,” you would never, ever get out of the parking lot.
And you know why we do things like this? I’ll tell ya.
Oklahoma has about 3,000,000 people.
Connecticut has about 3,000,000 people.
BUT…there is a lot more room in OK than there in CT.
And with that many people that cramped in such a small geological space, somebody has to be nice and say to the other driver, “Oh, hey, go ahead there, buddy! I know you’ve been waiting there for ten minutes during morning rush hour and you’ve probably got to take a leak and everything so, you know, go on. I went before I left the house!”
As for accidents…I am SO not gonna go there. Last time I was involved in an accident, someone from Florida, with a certain sticker on the bumper, BACKED INTO MY PARKED CAR THAT I HAD JUST GOT INTO.
I mean, Dahr.
(Aw. Heck. She already has a new post up already. Probably won’t even read this one. But…I tried.
)
Brandy // June 19, 2008 at 4:19 pm
I don’t think it’s “nice people road rage” I think it’s “ignorant people road rage” b/c they OBVIOUSLY don’t understand the rules of the road. Usually, they “let” you go b/c they unsure whether or not they have the right to go. They are annoying.
Them and people who stop like 10 feet BEFORE the stop sign just so they can “say” they stopped first so they have the right of way, when CLEARLY they just paused first. Not that I’m bitter. Or have road rage. At all.
mandythompson // June 19, 2008 at 4:45 pm
Fred & Lei: its awful! gosh… really…
Damon: i thought you were serious, but re-read the “i swear on my grave i will kill….” HAHAHA!!!
Tracie:
Steph: yesthankyouverymuch
TheNor: i’m scared of driving in connecticut!
Bwan: FOR REAL!
TheNorEaster // June 19, 2008 at 6:21 pm
If you think CT is bad, aw yaw ought to see RI in the summertime. They get invaded because of those all those beaches. And if you think RI is bad, aw yaw ought to see Jersey. There is reason we call it “Armpit!”
mandythompson // June 19, 2008 at 6:38 pm
i’m staying far away from the armpit!!!
i answered your rss reader question in the post back there.
lovewillbringustogether // June 19, 2008 at 9:14 pm
An Aussie girl with a lisp????
AAAAhhhh!! No no no see… AUS-tria is that little bit of mountain stuck in between Germany and italy . All the girls their either talk with a lithp or walk with a limp (from walking the sides of steep hills all day) - also when stressed they YODEL a lot.. Try yelling at the top of your voice …”LIDDLE OLD LAY-DEE’S MAYYY!” and see if you get the answering mating call of the Authtrianth.
AUS-tray-leeya is the large, warm, island continent far enough away from everywhere else to be truly independent and free, where all the men are Gods and the women eternally grateful.you probably have difficulty understanding her because she can speak The Queen’s English correctly and also knows how to spell words like colour and tyre and night without missing our letters or replacing them with a single incorrect one - y’all.
Tam? it IS the ‘right’ side of the wroad - yes.. but that is the WRONG side upon which one should drive - all educated people (including the Queen), know one always drives upon the left and gives way to one’s right. Only arrogant people believe they have the right to drive on the right side. Oh and criminals (and their decendents).
<B
TheNorEaster // June 19, 2008 at 9:29 pm
Um…Thanks, Mandy.
To return the favor, I sent you an Official New England Driver’s Manual.
In e-mail.
Through an RSS feed.
I think.
mandythompson // June 19, 2008 at 9:58 pm
oh man. i got it! minus the rss feed, of course!
love: she might be speaking proper queen’s english with me, but i’m sure, to the VAST majority of the modernized english speaking world, she sounds kinda funny. i’m just sayin
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alece // July 2, 2008 at 10:23 am
you should quit your day job and be an artist full-time.
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