- Messages
- 538
Use this thread to tell stories about anything funny/interesting that has happened (past or present) whilst you were operating or riding in a motor vehicle. So fill up your Canyonero with petroleum distillate and re-vulcanize your tires post haste (unexplained fires are a matter for the courts)!
While driving home from work today, I had a funny conversation. Not on the phone, but with another driver.
There is a stretch of road right by work that has multiple roundabouts. These particular ones aren't very big. Once you enter one, you almost immediately come to the next exit/entrance. They are single-laned. Those entering from any point have a yield sign.
I slow down as I arrive at the roundabout entrance, I see that no car is heading my direction from within the roundabout, and I enter. I will be exiting at the third exit from where I started (the equivalent of a left turn at a 4-way intersection). At the entrance immediately following mine, a car is approaching the roundabout (I am in the roundabout at this point), and I notice they are not adequately slowing down enough to properly yield and appear to be about to enter the roundabout without yielding. I firmly brake to avoid a potential collision. They double pump their brakes and then stop to let me go, and I go. I am greeted by an angry honk. Not a brief, "Excuse me, kind sir" kind of honk, but a prolonged, "Hey, what's the big idea, wise guy?! I'm drivin' he-ah!" kind of honk.
I continue on my merry way and they are now behind me. We come to a red light at a T intersection. There are two lanes, one to turn left and one to turn right. Each lane has two vehicles stopped at it. I am planning to turn left and sure enough, the car behind me comes to a stop right next to me, planning to turn right. Because of course. I don't look over, but I notice out of the corner of my eye that their window is down (mine is too). "Welp, here it comes," I think. And as likely as the sun is to rise tomorrow, the voice of a roughly 50-something guy booms from the vehicle, "Hey! Do you know what a roundabout is?" Any genuine inquisitiveness present in his tone is undetectable beneath the dripping sarcasm. In situations where someone is clearly angry and raises their voice, my instinct is to be as calm as possible, so that's the route I take here.
Now, the light is going to turn green soon. We lack time for formal discourse. I suppose the most efficient response to this question would have been, "Yes," but for better or worse I choose to jump ahead to a brief explanation of why I did nothing wrong and simply say that I was already in the roundabout when he got there and that I had the right of way. He responds with, "You didn't fucking yield." (reminder that there was no one in the roundabout for me to yield to before I entered, and when I was in the roundabout, he failed to yield to me before attempting to enter) He adds, "At a roundabout, EVERYBODY YIELDS." I feel this sentence needs additional context to be coherent let alone correct, but he says it with such conviction and finality, who am I to argue? I simply state again that while I was in the roundabout, I had the right of way and add a "sir" to the end of my sentence, not sarcastically, but politely. I'm not really sure where it comes from, but I suppose it is a subconscious counter to him bringing coarse language into a gentlemen's (dis)agreement.
The light has now turned green, and the cars in front of us are moving. Time is of the essence. His response has to be quick. He must be concise. He says, nay, proclaims, "FUUUUUCK YOUUU!" and drives off into the proverbial sunset (I say proverbial because he was actually going east, but I digress).
Touche, sir. Touche.
While driving home from work today, I had a funny conversation. Not on the phone, but with another driver.
There is a stretch of road right by work that has multiple roundabouts. These particular ones aren't very big. Once you enter one, you almost immediately come to the next exit/entrance. They are single-laned. Those entering from any point have a yield sign.
I slow down as I arrive at the roundabout entrance, I see that no car is heading my direction from within the roundabout, and I enter. I will be exiting at the third exit from where I started (the equivalent of a left turn at a 4-way intersection). At the entrance immediately following mine, a car is approaching the roundabout (I am in the roundabout at this point), and I notice they are not adequately slowing down enough to properly yield and appear to be about to enter the roundabout without yielding. I firmly brake to avoid a potential collision. They double pump their brakes and then stop to let me go, and I go. I am greeted by an angry honk. Not a brief, "Excuse me, kind sir" kind of honk, but a prolonged, "Hey, what's the big idea, wise guy?! I'm drivin' he-ah!" kind of honk.
I continue on my merry way and they are now behind me. We come to a red light at a T intersection. There are two lanes, one to turn left and one to turn right. Each lane has two vehicles stopped at it. I am planning to turn left and sure enough, the car behind me comes to a stop right next to me, planning to turn right. Because of course. I don't look over, but I notice out of the corner of my eye that their window is down (mine is too). "Welp, here it comes," I think. And as likely as the sun is to rise tomorrow, the voice of a roughly 50-something guy booms from the vehicle, "Hey! Do you know what a roundabout is?" Any genuine inquisitiveness present in his tone is undetectable beneath the dripping sarcasm. In situations where someone is clearly angry and raises their voice, my instinct is to be as calm as possible, so that's the route I take here.
Now, the light is going to turn green soon. We lack time for formal discourse. I suppose the most efficient response to this question would have been, "Yes," but for better or worse I choose to jump ahead to a brief explanation of why I did nothing wrong and simply say that I was already in the roundabout when he got there and that I had the right of way. He responds with, "You didn't fucking yield." (reminder that there was no one in the roundabout for me to yield to before I entered, and when I was in the roundabout, he failed to yield to me before attempting to enter) He adds, "At a roundabout, EVERYBODY YIELDS." I feel this sentence needs additional context to be coherent let alone correct, but he says it with such conviction and finality, who am I to argue? I simply state again that while I was in the roundabout, I had the right of way and add a "sir" to the end of my sentence, not sarcastically, but politely. I'm not really sure where it comes from, but I suppose it is a subconscious counter to him bringing coarse language into a gentlemen's (dis)agreement.
The light has now turned green, and the cars in front of us are moving. Time is of the essence. His response has to be quick. He must be concise. He says, nay, proclaims, "FUUUUUCK YOUUU!" and drives off into the proverbial sunset (I say proverbial because he was actually going east, but I digress).
Touche, sir. Touche.
Last edited: