This is really just a rant, but nothing grinds my gears more than impatient people. It happens everywhere - on the road, in the grocery store, at the cinema, at a takeaway, laundry... wherever. People just can't wait their turn. Everyone's in a hurry with absolutely no respect for anybody else around them.
In this country, traffic congestion has become a way of life - it doesn't matter whether you're in the city or on a 5 lane highway or what time of the day it is. It takes me an hour and a half to get to work (13 miles) in the morning and I generally wait a good hour after work so I'm not stuck in traffic for this very reason. It's still packed, but at least traffic is moving, even if it's at a very slow rate.
People are impatient. Whenever traffic comes to a crawling halt, they break the law and use the hard shoulder. And they don't drive slow either...imagine a great big SUV blasting right past you at 80 MPH whilst you're stationary. These lanes have speed cushions designed to give your suspension a severe workout. Worse bit is, these speed cushions are literally 3 strips of "cavities" in the asphalt, which are always covered in pebbles and sand inside. As a vehicle drives past, it's very common for vehicles in lane to be sand blasted, or even worse, sprayed with small pebbles.
Warning signs are all over the place telling people not to use the hard shoulder, because it's reserved for the use of emergency vehicles only. People are stupid, there's an average of 80 accidents per day in a country with a population of 3 million residents. Some of these accidents are fatal, and lives are sometimes lost because imbeciles keep using these lanes, blocking access to patrol cars, ambulances and firetrucks when there is a fatal accident up ahead.
The cops fine people who use them, without a care in the world what their reasons are. But it's gotten to an extent where they just started to drive past patrol vehicles and the cops are under powered because they cannot stop each and every vehicle.
It also happens at the lights. You could be in lane, waiting for it to turn green, until a vehicle comes into your right, sneaking its bumper in between yours and the vehicle right in front of you. Or if you're at a designated U-turn lane intended for a single vehicle - it's not uncommon to see two or three lanes! It's no wonder accidents happen so regularly!
Anyhow, on my way home this evening, this is what happened when some idiot in a VW Golf drove right past me on the hard shoulder:
Traffic was flowing, but this idiot deemed it fit to overtake a series of vehicles on the hard shoulder at 120+ MPH!
If it was an emergency vehicle that caused this, I wouldn't be so angry or the least bit concerned. I'd still be sad that my vehicle was damaged, but I'd know that lane was used to save a life, stop a fire or catch somebody breaking the law. But when some [censored] uses it, my blood starts to boil.
I believe in karma, and I'm definitely not one for wishing bad things happen to people. But I sure hope that dipstick never reached his destination because of his own stupidity, without taking innocent lives with him.
My car got hit while stationary a couple of days back, resulting in a $250 charge to respray my front bumper. Now I have to shell out another $300 for a new windshield. The repair didn't turn out as expected, and I can and will get fined for a damaged windshield. That's $550 wasted because of someone else's stupidity that resulted in damage to my property. By law, I cannot get comprehensive cover for a vehicle over five years of age either, and none of the insurance policies cover windshields. Not having a good night to say the least.
In this country, traffic congestion has become a way of life - it doesn't matter whether you're in the city or on a 5 lane highway or what time of the day it is. It takes me an hour and a half to get to work (13 miles) in the morning and I generally wait a good hour after work so I'm not stuck in traffic for this very reason. It's still packed, but at least traffic is moving, even if it's at a very slow rate.
People are impatient. Whenever traffic comes to a crawling halt, they break the law and use the hard shoulder. And they don't drive slow either...imagine a great big SUV blasting right past you at 80 MPH whilst you're stationary. These lanes have speed cushions designed to give your suspension a severe workout. Worse bit is, these speed cushions are literally 3 strips of "cavities" in the asphalt, which are always covered in pebbles and sand inside. As a vehicle drives past, it's very common for vehicles in lane to be sand blasted, or even worse, sprayed with small pebbles.
Warning signs are all over the place telling people not to use the hard shoulder, because it's reserved for the use of emergency vehicles only. People are stupid, there's an average of 80 accidents per day in a country with a population of 3 million residents. Some of these accidents are fatal, and lives are sometimes lost because imbeciles keep using these lanes, blocking access to patrol cars, ambulances and firetrucks when there is a fatal accident up ahead.
The cops fine people who use them, without a care in the world what their reasons are. But it's gotten to an extent where they just started to drive past patrol vehicles and the cops are under powered because they cannot stop each and every vehicle.
It also happens at the lights. You could be in lane, waiting for it to turn green, until a vehicle comes into your right, sneaking its bumper in between yours and the vehicle right in front of you. Or if you're at a designated U-turn lane intended for a single vehicle - it's not uncommon to see two or three lanes! It's no wonder accidents happen so regularly!
Anyhow, on my way home this evening, this is what happened when some idiot in a VW Golf drove right past me on the hard shoulder:
Traffic was flowing, but this idiot deemed it fit to overtake a series of vehicles on the hard shoulder at 120+ MPH!
If it was an emergency vehicle that caused this, I wouldn't be so angry or the least bit concerned. I'd still be sad that my vehicle was damaged, but I'd know that lane was used to save a life, stop a fire or catch somebody breaking the law. But when some [censored] uses it, my blood starts to boil.
I believe in karma, and I'm definitely not one for wishing bad things happen to people. But I sure hope that dipstick never reached his destination because of his own stupidity, without taking innocent lives with him.
My car got hit while stationary a couple of days back, resulting in a $250 charge to respray my front bumper. Now I have to shell out another $300 for a new windshield. The repair didn't turn out as expected, and I can and will get fined for a damaged windshield. That's $550 wasted because of someone else's stupidity that resulted in damage to my property. By law, I cannot get comprehensive cover for a vehicle over five years of age either, and none of the insurance policies cover windshields. Not having a good night to say the least.
