Um, that's not a parking lot....

[Kogarashi]

For some reason, this has been happening a lot around here recently.

I'll be driving down the road somewhere, only to see someone in the oncoming traffic lane just stopped, usually (apparently) waiting for a friend/relative who's in one of the tiny local shops here. Worse, I've had these people just stop in the middle of the lane in front of me to drop off someone or pick someone up, completely ignoring the line of traffic behind them or the open street parking spaces next to them.

And no, putting your hazards on does not suddenly make it "okay."

[dragon_wings]

What makes them worse here is when a bus has to get by. Parts of the main road in this area are 4 lanes but the outside 2 lanes are street parking. So the bus is either forced to stop and wait or go around (if traffic's clear in the other direction).

[Redbeard]

I used to work front lot at a haunted house, so my main job was split between traffic control and greeting customers. The most common incident type I would have to handle would be parents blocking traffic on the road by letting their little screaming angels out in FRONT of the entrance or exit, thus cutting a 2 lane road to a 1 lane road. There were a few I had to actually threaten with police before they would leave or go park (Apparently in their twisted mindscapes, sitting in front of a busy parking lot and blocking traffic for an hour is MUCH preferable to running an errand or going into the parking lot to wait)

[Shalom]

I've had these people just stop in the middle of the lane in front of me to drop off someone or pick someone up, completely ignoring the line of traffic behind them or the open street parking spaces next to them.

And no, putting your hazards on does not suddenly make it "okay."

It's because such people think only of themselves. They give no thought to the consequences to other people of their actions, because other people either do not exist, or are there only to serve them or annoy them. I'll just stop my car right here, plunk. Everyone else can go around, they don't matter. I've driven recently on Ocean Avenue in Brooklyn; on one block there was exactly one car parked, leaving the entire rest of the block empty, and where do you think the driver of the delivery truck had to double-park? Just think, if that car hadn't been there, he wouldn't have been able to stop his truck on that block at all, and might even have had to go as far as the next block to find somewhere to doublepark!

Grr. I hate inconsiderate people, and I hate driving in Brooklyn.

[Kogarashi]

Ugh, seriously. It's bad enough when you get a delivery truck or maintenance vehicle that actually has to block a lane of traffic because there's no street parking there. But when they're blocking the driving lane because they can't be bothered to pull four feet to the side?

[LillFilly]

Yeah, that bothers me too! I've heard people rationalize that it's ok as long as their 4-ways are on. Uh, no.

[Parrothead]

I have fantasies about people like that. They involve a loud horn, a dramatic crunch, and a new car for me.

I like fantasies.