TirithRR wrote:
I do occasionally pull straight through double straight lots, so that I don't have to drive in reverse to get out of the parking lot. They say most accidents happen when you are driving in reverse.
Oddly, I quoted this, but didn't actually respond to it. I do the same thing with double straight lots as well. If I can pull straight through (and there isn't one of those blocks in the way), I'll do it. Best of both worlds IMO.
Interestingly, there are actually more accidents (and injuries) in parking lots while traveling forwards than while traveling in reverse. Of course, you spend a heck of a lot more time driving forwards than backwards regardless of how you park, but in terms of "what's more likely to result in a crash while I'm on a trip to the store", your greater risk is when driving
through the lot and not pulling in or out of a space. Almost certainly because most people are traveling the slowest and paying the most attention while parking.
As to pet peeves (and not car related), how about "people who talk on the cell phone while in a public restroom". Yeah. I don't get it either.
And on the subject of public restrooms, there's "people who don't wash their hands". Seriously? Who does this who's like older than 10? What's really silly are the people who quite obviously do this only when they think they can "get away with it" (ie: don't realize there's someone sitting in a stall nearby). So if there's someone in the sink area that can see them (and presumably identify them or something?), they'll wash their hands, but if there isn't, they'll just scoot out the door. Um... You don't wash your hands because your mommy makes you. You do it because it's disgusting and unsanitary if you don't.
Oh. And on the cell phone front, people who call you on your cell phone, knowing darn well you have a relatively modern smart phone, yet insist on leaving a voice mail that says nothing more than that they tried to call me and asking me to call them back. Um... I got that much information in the "missed call" message that I saw when I picked up my phone. You know. The one that's in the same area as the one that tells me I have a voice mail message? Heck. You obviously have my number, and you have a smart phone too, so even if you have some actual information you might be even thinking about leaving in a voice mail, how about skipping that entirely and just sending me a text?
The only excuse I can think of for that (assuming the caller has a smart phone), is if you're driving using hands free calling. Then, I can understand leaving a voice mail rather than sending a text. But the whole "Hi. Just calling because I have something to talk to you about. Call me back when you have a chance" message is utterly pointless. Yet, I have certain friends who do this all the time. I've asked them about this (while ribbing them a bit about it), and they're usually pretty sheepish and admit that it's silly, but then they do it the next time anyway. I can only guess it's a holdout from the days before cell phones, when we all left messages like that on machines because that was the only way people would know who had called. Which I kinda get, but I'm just as old as they are, and I've managed to drop that habit.
I'm also quite amused when they leave a message that is timed in such a way that it seems like they still think that I can hear the voice mail message in real time and might just be running to the phone to pick it up before they hang up or something. I'll get a message that's like "Hey. Are you there? I need to talk to you.... Well... Looks like you're not there, so I guess I'll just try to call you again later. Or.... You can call me when you get this message. Ok. I'll... talk... to... you... later... ... Bye!". Not a peeve at all, just funny as heck. I just get this image of hooking an old style cassette tape message machine to my cell phone and walking around with it all day. Hmmm... Maybe I should do that! Would totally freak them out if I *did* pick up while in the middle of the message.