h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

*sigh* ... Who says man has evolved? *sigh*

It is an argument that *cannot* be won. Every single person thinks that they will be different as a parent. But when they are, they are exactly the same as all the others....

Your car just isn't fitted with the transceiver for telepathic indicators, is all.

Now what *really* winds me up is people who put their indicators on, then do whatever they want, believing that indicating in some way wards off evil spirits, oncoming drivers, the Highway Code and so on.

Once I was driving down a busy dual carriageway and some nutter pulled out right in front of me. I hooted as he started o move, in the hope that he would realise the absurdity of pulling out in front of a moving vehicle. Not a bit of it: he continued, forcing me to brake sharply.

At the roundabout a few hundred yards later he stopped, got out and strode back to my car, waving his fist. I opened my window and he shouted "I was indicating! You have to give way!"

Now, if he seriously believes this, he is (a) 100% wrong and (b) very likely to cause a serious accident in the near future. I got out of my car, towered over him a bit (it's great being six foot one!) and advised him to consult his highway code. I drove on, leaving him and his tiny mind behind me.

Some months later I was driving a different car and the *same* arsehole indicated left and drove straight into the side of me. I came *that* close to decking the idiot. His response? "Well, didn't you see me indicate?" Gaaaaaah! A walking advertisement for periodic driving tests. It just reminds me why I almost always drive Volvos.

Simple: after six hours sleep in 48 hours, and that interrupted by screaming infants, the average parent is simply too knackered to be able to avoid people who step into their path.

Seriosly, most of the drivers are curtious to other road users here in the UK cause we are allways giving way to somebody. We have too cause of the way our roads are built. If we weren't we would never get to our destination.

The only exception to this is during the rush hour, when all hell breaks loose. I rarely drive during the rush hour if I can avoid it.
It's like pushing a buggy around a busy shopping centre on a saturday morning. Don't do it. Get a baby sitter.

Heh.. Reminds me of something my father (for years a professional truck driver, so he's seen his share of accidents) used to say...

"Have you ever -listened- to an accident happen? What do you hear? I'll tell you, because I have listened. What you hear is 'hoooooonk, skreeeeetch, *crunch*' ... Now what's wrong with this picture?"

I have often threatened to take the sign off my car that -surely- must be there, prominently stating, "Please do wait until I'm there so you can pull out in front of me!"

Well, that picture being wrong assumes that the initial braking was hard enough to cause a screech, which on a motorway it normally wouldn't be - generally what happens is that you brake and hoot, and dick-face still pulls in, but is now so confused he hits the brake, with disastrous consequences.....

There is nothing wrong with the picture, it is the sounds that are wrong. In the event of you or any one else haveing an accident you will more than likely hear "Oh! SHIIIIT!!! skreeeeetch, crunch or bonk of maybe smash tinkle tinkle" the tinkle is the sound of broken glass landing on the road.

This is too confusing - replies appearing in the middle of forums.

??

Well, there's evolution by genetics (the development and passage of genes), and evolution by memetics (the development and passage of ideas). Parents have a monopoly on the former. But it can be argued that the societies of the baby-free have an advantage on the latter, as it is demonstrable that close proximity to babies erodes adult brains.

Unfortunately, with two *kinds* of evolution operating without interference with each other, rude collisions are inevitable.

Guy & Paul: Uhm.. bzzt! That's what it -should- be. The whole point is that people who see someone pull out almost invariably reach for the horn.. "BEEEEEEEEEEEEEP! Get the h*ll out of my way you muth--" *thinks* "Ack, they're not stopping!" then hit the brakes.... Then you hear the crunch of the accident. (Paul: The "Oh sh*t part may be heard with-in- the vehicle, but not normally by observers. )

The point is, if people would spend as much time -avoiding- the accident as they do on the horn (no, I don't mean the phone, but cellulars are another story ), there'd be less crunches.

Duh, I know dat!

The point I was making is that some ofthe more dextrous among us are capable of operating horn and brake *simultaneously* - and only a loony would fail to brake when dick-face starts his ridiculous manoeuvres.

*nods* ... Yes, which is why some of us actually do avoid the accident.

Unfortunately listening carefully to many accidents shows that for most people, the brakes are an after-thought.

I think that's because the brain is an optional extra for which most parents don't bother to fork out the extra

Sad but true.
What do you do?

Was that a rhetorical "but what can one do?", or a request for information regarding my profession?

Likely rhetorical.

(Guy breathes sigh of relief that his sad profesison remains decently hidden for a little longer).

Not me...
I always think like a driver. Part of the job, though, driving a 75' vehicle gets a bit ingrained to your brain.
Being a parent as well, I've tried to be as courteous as possible pushing the stroller about, but sometimes that defensive instinct kicks in, to protect the precious cargo inside.

Parent Defensively, as it were.