Get off my A$$!!!

You know what bugs me?

Tailgaters.

Seriously. 

Makes me have some serious road rage.

For the past two weeks, on our way home from dance class, in the DARK, there has been a vehicle riding my rear.

I am not impressed.

When the interior of my vehicle is as bright as daytime - IN THE DARK - with my very darkly tinted van windows, you are too close.  Get off my a$$.

Both times I suppressed my rage, and instead of slamming on my brakes (but officer, there was a dog/cat/coon on the road!) I just let off the gas.  And, eventually *both times* by the time the van slowed down to 20km, the stupids finally passed me.

If you want to drive faster than me, go for it.  Pass me, and speed on.

If you want to drive slower than me, get ready for me to pass you.

If you want to drive the same speed as me... BACK THE HELL OFF MY A$$!!

Seatbelt Laws and Fines - And My Right to Be Stupid

I've been thinking about this one for a while, and I hope to hash it out in a way that is understandable.

Seat belt laws bug me. Let me explain.

In Ontario, as of December 1, 2006, there was a new law:

"every person travelling in a motor vehicle must wear a seat belt or use a child safety seat."

Now, in and of itself this law would be fine, I guess. According to statistics, wearing a seat belt increases your chances of surviving a car accident. Another website states that 63% of people killed in car accidents were not wearing seat belts. So, it just seems logical to put your seat belt on when you're on the road - if you've noticed all of our posts under the "road rage" tag, you'll notice that we believe people on the highways are generally idiots. I don't have a website for the statistical average of idiots on the road, but I'm pretty sure it would be above 50%. Just saying. Knowing the high percentage of idiocy on the highways leads me to be more careful.

So, I agree that it's smart to wear a seatbelt.

But here's the part that bugs me. The MTO website goes on to state:

"The penalty for seat belt infractions is a fine between $60 and $500. Convicted offenders will receive two demerit points."

I don't believe it's right for the government to be able to fine me and give me demerit points for my own decision to put my life at risk. If I want to be an idiot and go without wearing my seat belt, who are they to fine me for it?

Warn me? Sure. Frown upon me? Okay! But fine me?

Let's just look at this for a second. I'm going to use another example of personal choices.

I could go buy 200 Twinkies and gorge myself on them. I could do this daily, and there would be no fine. Why? Because it would be my choice - although the world will tell you that obesity is a risk all on its own.

23.1% of Canadians are obese.

"In 2000, poor diet including obesity and physical inactivity caused 400,000 U.S. deaths..."

Just pause for a second and look at that number. 400,000 deaths were caused by obesity and physical inactivity. Now look at these statistics, from the same year (2000):

"41,821 people were killed in auto accidents in 2000 based on data collected by the Federal Highway Administration."

So that's just a little over a tenth, and don't forget that only 63% of those deaths relating to car accidents were because the people were not wearing seat belts. Someone else can do the math for that.

What this boils down to is an infringement on my rights. If I have a right to be obese if I want to, and to be physically inactive if I want to, I should have a right to go without a seat belt if I want to.

The government has every right to fine me if I'm speeding, or driving erratically. This sort of thing puts other people in danger. But to fine me for a personal choice, a choice which leaves only me and me alone in any sort of danger, is ridiculous.

Now, don't forget to buckle up. ;p

Parking

Maybe it's the fact that it's winter now, which seems to make most Canadians apply the "stupid-head" side of their brain while behind the wheel. (Another post entirely.)

Maybe it's the fact that most people are generally narcissistic and ego-centric.

Maybe it was entirely innocent. (As in my case, which follows.) Maybe they had a valid reason.

Whatever the reason, someone in town today parked in two parking places. The back end of his car was in one space, and the front end was in another.

This drives me crazy for many reasons.

!) There are white lines to designate where your vehicle should park. White lines. They TELL YOU. These lines were not covered with snow; you can see them quite clearly.

@) A lot of people actually park properly, which means there are EXAMPLES right in front of your face. "See? This is how you should park."

#) I'm pretty sure most driving instructors tell you the obvious. "Yea, park between the lines."

$) SOME vehicles cannot fit within the white lines marking a single space. That's okay. It's not their fault they're big. They were made that way. Don't make fun of them!

But MOST vehicles can fit just fine.

But the biggest reason it bugs me:

^) When I park behind these badly-parked people, I'm in two spaces too. And then guess what happens?

The original guy drives away.

And THEN guess what happens?

I look like the idiot.

Road Rage Part Duh.

I'm waiting for it to happen. The first snowfall of the year is usually when it occurs. It's coming; I know it.

Some idiot will drive along at 4o kms. and hour, with their HAZARD LIGHTS ON!!

Am I the only one who remembers from the drivers training manual that hazard lights are for stopped vehicles? Why drive with them on?!?

'Cause it's so easy to be the car behind, trying to focus on the road, with these obnoxious red lights blinking in your eyes, so that your pupils have no time to adjust. Lovely.

On another note, to the Ford van earlier today: Go ahead, don't signal. Keep me in suspense. It's okay, I like waiting, and guessing which way you're going to go. It's like a game!! Left, no right! No wait, it's STRAIGHT!! 2 points!

Point #3 If you want to drive the speed limit, that's okay. I respect that. Obeying the law, and such. But, to those that drive 5 or 7, or 3 under, you incite my rage. I can't help it. I shake my fist at you as I go flying past. And think nasty thoughts.

Who gave you people a license? MTO needs to clean house.

It's Not Even Safe. For Multiple Reasons.

Speaking of driving issues:

One of the biggest pet peeves of mine is when people follow too closely behind me.

I always start to wonder why, when there are miles and miles of road, some person has to edge right up to my bumper and stay there? Whether I speed up or slow down is beside the point. They're not there to pass; it makes me think maybe they believe that the closer you are to the car in front of you, the less gas you'll use up. They certainly seem to be grasping that idea with white-knuckled, talon-like fingers.

Here's the thing: if you think I'm driving too slow (which, I don't), pass me. Don't just stick there behind me. I'm saying this for my safety and your own.

It's dangerous! Think about what could happen if a little kitten were to crawl mewling onto the road, and I, being the softhearted person I am, slammed on my brakes? What would happen to us - you, me, the kitten - ? We'd all be hurt in one way or another. The kitten at the least would have painful memories that it was all his fault.

Do you really want to put that kind of mental stress on a kitten? What kind of monster are you?

Dumb Drivers

I can't stand it when I'm cruising along a great big stretch of country road, minding my own business, and someone pulls out in front of me and cuts me off.

More than 90% of the time, I am the ONLY car on the road. They didn't have to cut me off in order to make their turn within a decent time period, they just couldn't wait the two and a half seconds it would have taken for me to get by them.

Why do stupid people have this seemingly irresistible compulsion to cut the other car off just so they can be first in line? It's not like they're going to get a prize! As if some race car fairy will *POOF* out of the sky, and give them a shiny gold metal because they beat that other car into town by .0001 seconds! Yay!

Gotta be Firsters aren't as bad as the GBF's who Then Turn Off. You know, the drivers that cut you off, drive about 200 metres, then slow down to a crawl and turn either right or left.
They HAD to turn in front of you, causing you to slam on your brakes and pee a little, just to turn again twenty seconds later.

I don't flip the bird often, because it's rude and my Mommy told me not to, but if I ever do it, it's because of THOSE GUYS!!!! I hate them! Seriously, hatred. It's black and tastes kinda coppery in my mouth.

I have lots more to share about dumb drivers, but I think this will suffice for now.