What in the NOT-HEAVEN is wrong with people these days??? I know. Such a broad topic. We'll have to limit responses to the sub-topic of driving on convenience store parking lots.
As you know, Mrs. HM has excessive experience in convenience store parking lots. I am on at least two of them per day. It's only been the last couple of years that I've had to deal with this problem.
PEOPLE ARE BAT-EXCREMENT CRAZY!
It happened to me TWICE on Monday, at the Sis-Town Casey's. I was parked on the right side of the handicap stripes leading to the sidewalk ramp. You know, just in a row of spaces that line the front of the store. Not in the handicap space, which was on the other side of the striped walkway. I had nothing parked directly to my left. I could see down the row of parked cars. I could see the driving lane behind them. I could see the pumps.
Nothing was coming either way. I started backing up to leave my space. T-Hoe was halfway out of that parking space when a car pulled onto the lot, down at the far left end. I continued backing. That car kept coming! And whizzed around T-Hoe's back bumper! I guess it was just cutting through the lot to avoid the light.
Of course I had to jam on my brakes to avoid a collision with the car that did not stop. Once it was past, I again looked both ways, and began moving again to get out of my parking space. SWEET GUMMI MARY! A car pulled in from the other side of the lot, from whence the other car had exited. AND KEPT COMING! Even though I was in motion, that new car just kept driving at me, and I once again had to put on the brakes, while this car swerved out and around T-Hoe.
Is it just me? I seem to remember when a moving vehicle had the right-of-way. If you came tooling along and there was a car backing out, you'd stop! So you wouldn't hit them! Such a novel idea!
It's like drivers these days WANT to have a collision!
Because if you keep going and run into a moving car, that is like a pre-meditated RAMMING! You saw them moving, and chose to continue, which would result in you hitting them unless they jam on their brakes.
I might need to put seatbelts and airbags in the product produced at my proposed handbasket factory!
I do realize that most parking lots do not have posted speed limits, but common sense would dictate that you should drive slowly in an area where people are getting in and out of their vehicles. Nothing should be important enough to race through a parking lot! I may have yelled "SLOW DOWN" a time or two in my life!
ReplyDeleteI am so thankful I don't drive. I catch a bus to my nearest Cheap-as-Chips store and walk across their parking lot which also services the shopping centre next door, the parking lot being between the two.
ReplyDeleteKathy,
ReplyDeleteSometimes they're not even speeding, but just refuse to stop when they can clearly see me already moving when they approach. Same with people walking! They walk right into my path while I'm already backing up. If only it wasn't illegal to thin the herd so the stupidity gene dies out...
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River,
BEWARE! You might be in danger while walking across that parking lot!