SOT: 08 Outback Totaled - stupid hassle, I hate lying stupid bad drivers Options

[rhodyguy]

this circumstance is exactly why i love red light runner cameras. every intersection needs them. remember, oh so long ago, when people actually started slowing down when the green went to amber?

k

[DNHunt]

Times are different. You stop for a caution and the guy behind you gets pissed. I stopped for one yesterday and got a rearview mirror full of a black Yukon. The person stopped darn close to my bumper and it looked gigantic from my teener. I can hear it now, provided I would have been in any condition to hear, "I didn't know you were going to stop". WTF caution means stop.

[rhodyguy]

if they get testy you just sit thru the green and proceed on the yellow. too bad for them.

[DNHunt]

I'll remember that Kevin. This time I just wanted outa there.

[zymurgist]

if they get testy you just sit thru the green and proceed on the yellow. too bad for them.

I can't say that I would recommend this strategy, having once had a handgun pointed at me by another driver on the Capital Beltway.

[rhodyguy]

dave's car is faster than a speeding bullet. the superman of 4 cyl 914s. with a big enough ramp, it could leap tall buildings.

k

[DNHunt]

Darn I just can't stop myself. I've tried to resist.

I'm SO pissed off with the dad in this situation. Kids get a bad rap today but look at this and tell me who is the bad guy. It's the dad! He's a spineless, dishonest, asshole running from responsibility and teaching his daughter to do the same. I wish he could be forced to sit in front of TV playing his daughter's life story so he could see what he's creating.

Now, here's the hard part. I'm pissed off at all of us. We as a society are at least a little bit responsible. This doesn't apply to all families and kids but, we've allowed institutions like schools and sports leagues, the military and churches to assume the responsibility for guiding our kids into adulthood and look what we get. In essence, kids have to find their own way because parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles and neighbors have abdicated their duty. We are too busy chasing our tails trying to make a buck. The extended family barely exist and community is practically gone. Kids go through adolescence like they are on a tightrope with no one under them to provide a safety net. This dad had a chance to catch his daughter and he let her fall. Likely she'll pay a price for her mistake in the end. Will the dad? Will he look inside himself?

This isn't just about being a dad and doing the right thing, although probably all of us that read this say we wouldn't do this to our kids. There should be a little part of this that touches all of us and we should feel compelled to befriend a kid, learn his or her name, show some interest and be ready to support them. We all should be called to mentor a kid or 2. While this father didn't have the backbone to do what was right, the daughter could have already learned that from some other adult that cared about her and helped her be responsible.

I dislike the messenger but, I love the message "It takes a village to raise a kid". I hope all of us leave this thread with a feeling that we can help, because we all can. If you don't actively go looking for kids to get to know at least, the next time a kid comes over and asks about your car, take the time to talk to them. Just taking the time to answer their questions gives them a sense of self worth and if you never see them again you've still left a small positive mark in their lives. Beyond that you will feel good too.

Sorry for the rant

Dave

[keske968]

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[byndbad914]

Dumb chick in front of me is in and out of the lane and damn near takes a car out (forces them over a lane).

If I saw weaving and clueless maneuvering like that, I would dial 911 and report her as a drunk driver.

funny... I have lost faith in that. I saw a clearly plastered driver on the 405 one night when I still lived in SoCal, called 911 for the hwy patrol and reported them. I followed them (now I'll be damned if I get in front of that) almost all the way from OC to LA and did a hwy patrol ever hit the hwy and try to find them? Hell no. Waste of their time... they would rather just meander up to the accident and their leasure apparently. It took me almost an hour to get home that night staying behind that guy and also stayed on the phone telling the operator where I was at the whole time. Absolute BS to believe that will work. Fortunately it was really early AM and only a few cars on the road (as light as traffic can be on the 405 Freeway at least).

There is a level of respect everyone should have for each other and the lack thereof is breeding faster than those with it and there is no real enforcement of respect. That is where society has failed IMO - bad manners run rampant. I am soooo amazed at how many people can't even give a fuckin' thank you for holding the door for them anymore!!!

Oh yeah, and if someone rides your bumper up to the light and then try to sit thru the next, I agree you are playing with fire there. If you did the right thing by stopping, do the right thing by proceeding when it is green. Respect comes into play here again IMO - not for the guy on your bumper but the line of traffic behind him. Don't F up everyone's day because an a-hole is behind you. If he is in enough hurry, you can speed up as normal and so forth and they will find a way around you anyway. When is the last time you were in a hurry and wished the guy in front had slipped thru the stale yellow?? Think about it, there is probably at least one time...

[effutuo101]

Dave, you said:
dislike the messenger but, I love the message "It takes a village to raise a kid". I hope all of us leave this thread with a feeling that we can help, because we all can. If you don't actively go looking for kids to get to know at least, the next time a kid comes over and asks about your car, take the time to talk to them. Just taking the time to answer their questions gives them a sense of self worth and if you never see them again you've still left a small positive mark in their lives. Beyond that you will feel good too.


I agree with everything you said in your post. I think that the message that it takes a village has been bastardized by today's society. In the past, the whole village watched out for and kept each other on the straight and narrow. Like you said, it does take a village, but, today there is no village. This saying has become an easy out for a parent to transfer the responsibility of raising the child to government run institutions rather than spend time with them. The unfortunate truth is that parents teach their children that the government owes them a living and to vote for the people that will give them a pay raise or additional benifits. To further this tragedy, teachers in our school systems press their belief system onto our children (from elementary through college).It takes an exceptional parent to teach their children to search for all of the facts and make an informed decision. We live in an ipod culture that takes the path of least resistance and wants somebody else to make the hard decisions about their lives. Yes, it does piss me off and I do everything I can to help show my son that he is responsible and accountable for his actions.