Special Snowflake Stories

[sevenday]

Re: the mountain pass speeder - the OP was looking for a safe space to merge right and allow the speeder to pass; it just so happened that no such space opened up before the truck caught up to them.  I don't think the OP was wrong, nor irresponsible, either.  If you are speeding, you do not get to insist that "slower" traffic (i.e. those going the speed limit) MUST make room for you.  Is it safer to move over and allow a speeder to pass you? Certainly, especially on known dangerous roads, but my sympathy for the speeder's desire to get around you is zero. 

[artk2002]

A bit of background: Tejon Pass on I-5 can be quite dicey.  The southbound assent is rather steep (reported 6% grade over 5 miles, total vertical assent 2613 feet over 11.6 miles).  There are 4 travel lanes.  The two an the right are generally reserved for semis, RV's and vehicles that are towing something.  The third lane is generally for slower moving passenger vehicles and the 4th for faster moving passengers vehicles. As you begin the southbound assent, drivers are warned to turn off their a/c's in order to avoid overheating and there are water stations every quarter to half mile, along with a number of highway personel to assist if required.  I'm no longer an inexperienced mountain driver.  While I haven't been driving in these sorts of conditions for a long time, I am otherwise a skilled driver and gained quite a bit of experience travelling across the US earlier this year when I drove through the northern Rockies (Montana, Idaho) and the Cascades (Washington State, Oregon), and, of course, all the mountain passes in OR and CA on this drive going south. By now, I've got a general idea of how my car handles under these conditions.  Tejon Pass is by far the steepest grade over the longest distance of all the passes I've navigated thus far.  There are, of course, passes that are worse, but those are part of the reason why I'm not taking the shortest route from point A to point B.  I drive a 1999 Honda Civic with a manual transmission.  /end background.

This is why I take I-5 when going north, but US 101 going south. 101 is much prettier and there are nicer places to stop. It doesn't take that much longer over the distance I'm traveling (San Jose or Berkeley to Los Angeles) and I think the extra time is worth it. I've driven I-5 through the Tejon pass many times and avoid it like the plague.

I suppose though, that Karma won in the end.  Not too long after he got around me, the cops had him pulled over.

The fact that someone is driving at the posted speed limit does not relieve them of the requirement to keep right if there is faster traffic, and the mere fact that he was speeding doesn't make him a SS.

We could endlessly debate whether that left-hand lane is for the fastest traffic, in which case mswm was somewhat in the wrong, or for "traffic going faster than the next lane over" in which case she was clearly in the right. Personally, as long as she was actively passing people in the #2 lane, she was within the rules, making Mr. Impatient the SS.

[Mental Magpie]

I think people are misunderstanding MrTango.  He was separating what actually made the driver a SS from what was not SS behavior.  I don't think he disagrees that the driver was a SS, just which behavior (the way he expressed his disappointment for lack of better words) is that which moved into the SS territory.

[mmswm]

I think people are misunderstanding MrTango.  He was separating what actually made the driver a SS from what was not SS behavior.  I don't think he disagrees that the driver was a SS, just which behavior (the way he expressed his disappointment for lack of better words) is that which moved into the SS territory.

I do believe you're correct.  Also, I was not clear in my original post as to the identification of what made the driver SS.  It was the gestures, weaving, honking and flashing lights that made him SS.

I have certainly been in the position before where I've been in the far left travel lane behind somebody slower than me, but that somebody was faster than the traffic to his/her right.  While not my favorite set of circumstances, that person in front of me really should be able to pass others without being bullied by me, so I slow down and wait for them to finish passing the cars to their right, then speed back up.  This driver yesterday didn't seem to understand that part of travelling on a busy highway.

FWIW, I drive a LOT.  I love road trips.  I've done the Miami to Detroit haul a couple times, Miami to Atlanta (at least 20 times or so) Miami to Fargo, ND, Fargo to Minneapolis, Fargo to Brandon, MB, Canada, Minneapolis, MN to Seattle, and now Seattle to Miami, with a side trip through San Diego .  I'm pretty good about taking the entire situation into account when deciding how I'm going to maneuver in order to drive at the pace I would like to drive while at the same time attempting not to be an irritation to other drivers.  I also tend to make "friends" with truckers on extremely long hauls.  It's amazing how they remember the polite driver that's been behind them for 300 miles when there's heavy traffic or construction that requires jockeying for position, etc.  and they'll position themselves to help you get where you need to be.  I've also had a few truckers approach me in truck stops or rest stops to let me know of potential hazards ahead.  A good long haul truck driver can be a fabulous resource on cross-country road trips. 

[greencat]

Re: The driver thing - I think that expecting someone to either break the law or risk the lives of themselves and others so you can continue breaking the law is inherently Special Snowflakiness.  The aggressive behaviors were evidence of him being an SS, not what made him one.

Special snowflake hotel guests:  Breakfast is that meal traditionally eaten first thing in the morning.  When you stumble down, either hungover or still drunk, at almost noon, don't complain that we're no longer serving breakfast.  At half-past eleven, it's time for lunch.  You can either order some lunch here, or I can recommend one of several within-walking-distance establishments that serve breakfast foods all day, but I can no longer serve you breakfast.

[mmswm]

Re: The driver thing - I think that expecting someone to either break the law or risk the lives of themselves and others so you can continue breaking the law is inherently Special Snowflakiness.  The aggressive behaviors were evidence of him being an SS, not what made him one.

Special snowflake hotel guests:  Breakfast is that meal traditionally eaten first thing in the morning.  When you stumble down, either hungover or still drunk, at almost noon, don't complain that we're no longer serving breakfast.  At half-past eleven, it's time for lunch.  You can either order some lunch here, or I can recommend one of several within-walking-distance establishments that serve breakfast foods all day, but I can no longer serve you breakfast.

Or do what I did this morning: stumble down during the posted breakfast hours, get food then stumble back upstairs to sleep for another hour.  Of course, I wasn't hung over, but tired after hanging out with a friend until fairly late.

[MrTango]

I think people are misunderstanding MrTango.  He was separating what actually made the driver a SS from what was not SS behavior.  I don't think he disagrees that the driver was a SS, just which behavior (the way he expressed his disappointment for lack of better words) is that which moved into the SS territory.

This.  Thank you.

[AfleetAlex]

  I also tend to make "friends" with truckers on extremely long hauls.  It's amazing how they remember the polite driver that's been behind them for 300 miles when there's heavy traffic or construction that requires jockeying for position, etc.  and they'll position themselves to help you get where you need to be.  I've also had a few truckers approach me in truck stops or rest stops to let me know of potential hazards ahead.  A good long haul truck driver can be a fabulous resource on cross-country road trips.

POD this. There are a few Special Snowflake truck drivers out there, but most are the anti-snowflake.

[RebeccainGA]

I had one this morning - SS I-drive-a-fast-looking-car-us

I was driving down GA400 this morning, as usual. This is a very heavy traffic road, four lanes in each direction, and a full lane width shoulder on each side - buses can 'skip the line' and drive down these shoulders to avoid traffic legally. Hence, it's neither legal nor a bright idea to drive on the shoulder for any distance at all unless you have a true emergency.

When traffic stopped dead about 3/4 of a mile from my exit, as it typically does, I noticed that a little mini Cooper with racing stripes and a hood scoop intake was behind me, driven by a well dressed woman in her 60s, in a business suit (at least from what I could see) and giant Barbara Bush pearls. Not the sort of person we expect to be an aggressive driver. She was easing into the shoulder, but not all the way, just enough to see around traffic perhaps. She stayed there for the entire distance to the next exit, except when we passed an accident on the shoulder with a police car present, and then roared past me and sped down the exit ramp. I got off, and was right behind her, as she laid on the horn for (I watched the clock) almost 2 full minutes as the guy ahead of her waited for a gap in traffic to make a right on red. She was gesturing wildly the entire time, one finger salute, shaking a fist, just acting insane. She jumped out right behind him in traffic when he turned (nearly cutting off a car) and drove off, well over the speed limit, still honking and gesturing. I last saw her half a block ahead of me, still honking, still shaking her fist, paralleling the guy that had made her wait. I was never so glad to turn off into my office!

[Hillia]

This happened a few years ago.

It was during morning rush hour. I had just dropped DS off at school and was headed to work.  I was going north on a major street (3 lanes each direction plus a left turn lane).  I approached a traffic light, which was solid green for both north and southbound traffic - so you could make a left turn if there was a sufficient gap in traffic to do so.  As I approached, intending to continue north through the intersection, I noticed a woman in the southbound left turn lane.  She was waiting for her gap in traffic, but was slowly creeping forward - not just inching forward to be ready if a gap appeard, but slowly moving into traffic.  I honestly thought she was planning to pull in front of me, so I slowed down while watching her.  This infuriated her, and there was a lot of arm waving etc on her part as I continued on.

Here's the best part: I watched in my rearview mirror as she made a highly illegal (and dangerous) U turn in the middle of hte busy intersection.  She then wove in and out of traffic to follow me.  When I was stopped by a red light, she got out of my car and came up to mine, banging on my driver's side window and screaming.  I just kept the door locked and windows up, and tried to read the company name on her ID badge (wasn't able to, unfortunately).  Eventually the light turned green, other drivers began honking and yelling at me, and I took off.

This was really stupid on her part for a number of reasons, not least of which was that this happened in Phoenix, in a high crime neighborhood, where road rage shootings happen with some frequency.  She's lucky she picked on me and not someone who was a) carrying a weapon and b) unstable enough to use it.

[BarensMom]

I've white-knuckled the Tejon Pass.  It's a scary bit of road, and was made even more so by a SS. 

My own SS driving story took place on CA-4 outside Pittsburg.  At certain times of the day, that stretch is very congested, and the constant road work taking place doesn't help.  I was in the #2 lane, cruising along at 60-65 mph in moderately heavy traffic .  This Lexus comes up behind me, flashes his lights, then pulls around me in the #1 lane (HOV). He speeds past me and the car immediately in front, just in time for the CHP that everyone knows lurks at the onramp to see him and pull him over.  Just to get ahead of two cars, the man earns a speeding ticket and a HOV violation ($400+).

[Adelaide]

I was at Wegman's late at night the other day and I parked on the edges of the parking lot. There was one car directly across from me and one beside me, and several open spaces all around. After shopping, I got in and started my car, immediately turning on the defrost and rear defrost because it was so cold. The car that was parked facing me turned its lights on and I glanced up to see two older women in it. The driver started the car, and I didn't think anything else about it.

I knew it would be awhile before my car was warm and the glass was clear so I pulled out my phone and sent a couple of texts. I then looked up to see the ladies were staring my way. I didn't think anything of it. I started plugging in the coordinates to get home in my GPS. The ladies are now staring and gesturing toward me while talking among themselves. I start to feel a little weirded out, but it wasn't like I was doing anything odd or wrong. I put on my seat belt and turn on my lights. The old women are now sitting stock still in their car and glaring daggers at me. This has all happened in the space of about three or four minutes. By now my car is defrosted enough for me to see, and so I back out of the space and drive off.

Turns out the old ladies were mad because I didn't back out quickly enough for them. They sat there that whole time just so they could pull forward instead of having to back out of a parking space in an almost-empty parking lot. Even if they had been forced to back out, there wasn't a single car behind them. And yes, they tailed me all the way out of the parking lot.

[PastryGoddess]

I was at Wegman's late at night the other day and I parked on the edges of the parking lot. There was one car directly across from me and one beside me, and several open spaces all around. After shopping, I got in and started my car, immediately turning on the defrost and rear defrost because it was so cold. The car that was parked facing me turned its lights on and I glanced up to see two older women in it. The driver started the car, and I didn't think anything else about it.

I knew it would be awhile before my car was warm and the glass was clear so I pulled out my phone and sent a couple of texts. I then looked up to see the ladies were staring my way. I didn't think anything of it. I started plugging in the coordinates to get home in my GPS. The ladies are now staring and gesturing toward me while talking among themselves. I start to feel a little weirded out, but it wasn't like I was doing anything odd or wrong. I put on my seat belt and turn on my lights. The old women are now sitting stock still in their car and glaring daggers at me. This has all happened in the space of about three or four minutes. By now my car is defrosted enough for me to see, and so I back out of the space and drive off.

Turns out the old ladies were mad because I didn't back out quickly enough for them. They sat there that whole time just so they could pull forward instead of having to back out of a parking space in an almost-empty parking lot. Even if they had been forced to back out, there wasn't a single car behind them. And yes, they tailed me all the way out of the parking lot.

So it sounds like there was only 1 car to the side of you, which meant they could have pulled back a little and pulled forward out of the spot on the other side of you and been on their merry way. 

[Adelaide]

<snip>

So it sounds like there was only 1 car to the side of you, which meant they could have pulled back a little and pulled forward out of the spot on the other side of you and been on their merry way. 

Right....but that would have required backing out somewhat. The horror of having to actually put their car in reverse was obviously far too much to comprehend.

[Elfmama]

<snip>

So it sounds like there was only 1 car to the side of you, which meant they could have pulled back a little and pulled forward out of the spot on the other side of you and been on their merry way. 

Right....but that would have required backing out somewhat. The horror of having to actually put their car in reverse was obviously far too much to comprehend.

And their opposite was the lady we observed in the mall parking lot, trying to back into a space.  And pulling out, and trying again, and pulling out, and trying again...  she probably spent ten times as long trying to back into that spot than it would have taken her to back out of it if she'd pulled in head-forwards.

My mother had a car problem that required her to always pull through (or take a pair of teens with her wherever she went) -- the rattletrap car that Dad had bought in Hawaii to use until our station wagon got there had no reverse gear.  And Dad was too tight-fisted to fix a problem that would be immaterial in a few weeks.