Stupid Driver Stories

Panning down the right side mirror helps a lot with that ;) I made it a habit, ever since the cars became more and more blind at the C-pillar.
 
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New VW Beetle's are notoriously hard to park, because they're so freaking wide.
Also, because you have 3 feet of dashboard infront of you, followed by a sloping front end (same goes for the rear), you have no idea where the car stops
 
I hate parking my car, I cannot tell where it stops because you sit very low in it and front slopes a lot and the back bumper is just invisible. I can park my sister's Starlet fine, even though it has a simlar problem with the shape because you sit up high in it. I also have a tendency to kerb the car a fair bit and if I don't, I am less than 10 cm away from the kerb. It's a cool skill, given that streets around here are narrow.

But yeah, my car= parking hell too. And our Subaru, because it's like parking an oceanic liner compared to my supermini. Tragically failed at a parallel park in it on my learner's permit. In front of all my friends. I am yet to live it down. :(
 
I took me ages to get used to how short the front of my car is, and I find I would pull into a parking space thinking I was in as far as I could, go only to discover I had like a metre of room still in front. This was probably because I spent a lot of my learner period in a much longer and squarer Saab 9000. Thankfully the car being so short I wasn't sticking out at the back, however. Thankfully you do sit high up in it, so once I got used to where the edges of it are, I found it very easy to park. Rear visibility kind sucks, however. For a hatchback that rear window is damn small.

Oh, and seeing this is the 'Stupid Driver Thread' after all. To stay on topic, I'd better mention that my journey home on Thursday afternoon consisted of me being stuck behind one of the those 'hit the brakes hard for no real reason' people. The first time he (an older gentleman BTW - not surprised) did it, I didn't expect it and I nearly rear-ended his Getz. So annoying!
 
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I took me ages to get used to how short the front of my car is, and I find I would pull into a parking space thinking I was in as far as I could, go only to discover I had like a metre of room still in front.

Here's a top tip for you and everyone else with that problem: Switch on the headlights, then you can tell from the reflection on the other car, how far you are away from it.
 
Here's a top tip for you and everyone else with that problem: Switch on the headlights, then you can tell from the reflection on the other car, how far you are away from it.

I used to do that all the time on my old Civic but for some reason it was never as helpful with the Passat. I guess the lights are just aimed differently. I knew I was pulled into the parking deck correctly when the spots from the headlights just separated. Anyway, it is a really cool idea. Definitely worth a try.
 
Here's a top tip for you and everyone else with that problem: Switch on the headlights, then you can tell from the reflection on the other car, how far you are away from it.

The New Beetle has daytime running lights, they are on all the time. It doesn't help much (especially at the back).
 
You can't use DRLs for parking, especially in daytime. They aren't bright enough. You have to turn on the real headlights. If it's your car and you drive it often, knowing where the front end is, is usually enough to tell you where the rear is unless you're doing some really complicated reversing.
 
Oh, and seeing this is the 'Stupid Driver Thread' after all. To stay on topic, I'd better mention that my journey home on Thursday afternoon consisted of me being stuck behind one of the those 'hit the brakes hard for no real reason' people. The first time he (an older gentleman BTW - not surprised) did it, I didn't expect it and I nearly rear-ended his Getz. So annoying!

Every other honda and toyota sedan will do this around here and it makes me reaaaally hate both companies.

Here's a top tip for you and everyone else with that problem: Switch on the headlights, then you can tell from the reflection on the other car, how far you are away from it.

I have actually tried this before, It helped somewhat but because the stupid thing is round and has the stupid license plate thing on the middle of the bumper is like a foot in front of where the headlights are <_<
It's hard to park in every direction actually, because the slope of the doors and and angle make hide the rockers so it's about 4" further out then it looks from the inside. That is why you will see many bugs with dented in rockers. I have by now at least learned where the sides are though.
What I'll actually have to do is tape a pillow to the front of the ford and practice by crashing into it.
 
Well, there is a reason why I sat in a New Beetle at a dealer once and didn't feel the need to drive it ;)

I really like the original Beetle, though. Bad road behavior and won't go in a straight line but very funny to drive and not only because the pedals are mounted on the floor :)
 
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Oh, and seeing this is the 'Stupid Driver Thread' after all. To stay on topic, I'd better mention that my journey home on Thursday afternoon consisted of me being stuck behind one of the those 'hit the brakes hard for no real reason' people. The first time he (an older gentleman BTW - not surprised) did it, I didn't expect it and I nearly rear-ended his Getz. So annoying!

There's some convoluted construction near where I live, and EVERY TIME there's a minivan stopped in the middle of the road trying to figure out what that big sign with the arrow is saying. Then they drive at 10kmph, braking at every pylon.

I've just started going a different route.
 
My achilles heel when parallel parking is that I end up too far from the kerb, so not to scratch the alloys.

I usually have the opposite problem, but I blame it on my Ford. With my earlier Honda's I used to be pretty much perfect at parallel parking, but with the Ford I seem to go too far into the parking space -> my right side wheels usually end up on the sidewalk.

This kinda leaves me with two problems: either I'm too deep in the parking space or then I'm too cautious about this problem and try to prevent it -> car ends up 2/3 in the parking space and 1/3 is still on the street. Irritating.
 
I might get some flack for this but I'm getting sick of people speeding up when I go to pass them on the free way. Which is illegal by the way. Never mine they are in the passing lane not passing anyone. Today someone tried this so I cut her off. I'm sick of it and I'm not going to facilitate that kind of behavior anymore.
 
I already stated my hate for people with blue (as in, not the nice lights that come on new BMWs nowadays, but frickin' blue) ugly aftermarket BLUE headlights (among other things) in the Off-Topic "Things That Annoy You" thread...so here's another chapter in the esteemed volumes of ninjacoco's "you're an idiot who can't modify your headlights in a tasteful manner, much less drive the stupid pile of crap you call a car" adventures in Wacoland.

So, when I was out tonight, I got stuck behind some moron in a suburban (with hideous blue headlamps!) at a stoplight. The light turned green, and I waited...and waited...and keep in mind, said suburban was going erratically all over the road before it stopped for the light like its owner was plastered. So, I honked after a good minute of waiting there as a polite wake-up call to get the heck off the road before he passes out.

The truck moves, and then I passed it as I got onto the access road. After another light, I merged onto the freeway to go home, thinking all is well.

NO. The inebriated Blue Light Special decides to catch up with me and then tailgate me with its brights on. I mean, who cares? "Congrats! You're tailgating a boring stock beige 4-banger Altima with a slushbox that hates accelerating past ~45 mph." It's like winning an argument with a slow kid: not too much of an accomplishment.

I have already concluded that people who put blue lights on their vehicles are too stupid to realize they don't give out the same amount of light as proper high-intensity lights (or whatever they're called). Tonight, I've realized that they're too stupid to even exist.

Another poster on another thread wished all the chavs to the middle of Africa. That's too nice, as I think Africa could be fun. Stick the blue light special-ed types into the vacuum of space, please. And don't--under any circumstances--let them follow the people who wake them up after they're passed out at a red light. Sheesh. Creepy!
 
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I already stated my hate for people with blue (as in, not the nice lights that come on new BMWs nowadays, but frickin' blue) ugly aftermarket BLUE headlights (among other things) in the Off-Topic "Things That Annoy You" thread...so here's another chapter in the esteemed volumes of ninjacoco's "you're an idiot who can't modify your headlights in a tasteful manner, much less drive the stupid pile of crap you call a car" adventures in Wacoland.

So, when I was out tonight, I got stuck behind some moron in a suburban (with hideous blue headlamps!) at a stoplight. The light turned green, and I waited...and waited...and keep in mind, said suburban was going erratically all over the road before it stopped for the light like its owner was plastered. So, I honked after a good minute of waiting there as a polite wake-up call to get the heck off the road before he passes out.

The truck moves, and then I passed it as I got onto the access road. After another light, I merged onto the freeway to go home, thinking all is well.

NO. The inebriated Blue Light Special decides to catch up with me and then tailgate me with its brights on. I mean, who cares? "Congrats! You're tailgating a boring stock beige 4-banger Altima with a slushbox that hates accelerating past ~45 mph." It's like winning an argument with a slow kid: not too much of an accomplishment.

I have already concluded that people who put blue lights on their vehicles are too stupid to realize they don't give out the same amount of light as proper high-intensity lights (or whatever they're called). Tonight, I've realized that they're too stupid to even exist.

Another poster on another thread wished all the chavs to the middle of Africa. That's too nice, as I think Africa could be fun. Stick the blue light special-ed types into the vacuum of space, please. And don't--under any circumstances--let them follow the people who wake them up after they're passed out at a red light. Sheesh. Creepy!
Hey!! I got blue lights too :( Though they are not HID/Xenons so they are not really bright enough to bother people, not that I need any lights driving around the city you can turn the lights off and not notice it.

Then again I'm a cock since I drive an Audi :D
 
Hey!! I got blue lights too :( Though they are not HID/Xenons so they are not really bright enough to bother people, not that I need any lights driving around the city you can turn the lights off and not notice it.

Then again I'm a cock since I drive an Audi :D

I love the look of Audi's blue lights, though.

There's a few around here that look...darker blue. Actually blue. As in, "holy crap, is there a cop behind me?" blue. I don't get it, I don't like it, but then again, they seem to get installed on a lot of random trucks in the 'hood.
 
The yellow ones have a purpose, they're better in the rain/snow and they're actually the brightest of the range. 4300-500k HIDs are in the OEM range, not yellow, but a crisp warm white and still very bright, I've got 6000k on my Grand Prix, they have a slight hint of blue once warmed up, but still very white and nice. Once you get into that deep blue or even purple, you've basically only got lights for show, they'll be very useless at night for driving because they're quite dim.
 
I love the look of Audi's blue lights, though.

There's a few around here that look...darker blue. Actually blue. As in, "holy crap, is there a cop behind me?" blue. I don't get it, I don't like it, but then again, they seem to get installed on a lot of random trucks in the 'hood.

I didn't believe this kind of thing existed until I saw a car with them. She's not talking about blue-tinged light. She's talking about blue-as-in-this, and bright enough to easily be confused for the MD State Police's trademark "YOU DON'T HAVE MIRRORS IF YOU CAN IGNORE FLASHING LIGHTS THIS BRIGHT" lights.

On a related note, though it's not really bad drivers so much as bad policy, I HATE when the MD State Cops get involved in an oversized/overweight truck escort. This is because they will trundle along at 45MPH on the bloody Interstate, with their lights on. At night. The intensity of their lights means you can see them 4 miles back, and when you finally catch up, they burn themselves into your retina as you pass and actually make it night impossible to see the road in front of you. Your vision actually becomes nothing but a blur of red and blue strobes. To make matters worse, the guy in front of me always gets INCREDIBLY nervous about passing a cop and blocks the left lane at 45mph for about a minute while they decide they can do it, thus increasing my exposure to the godawful light.

And yes, I have called to complain and received the official response: "The Maryland State Police do not engage in truck escort activities. This is the sole responsibility of private contractors." Bullshit. I see it at least once a month.
 
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