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wrote:
wrote:
Japan has low rates of left handed people, but almost all cars are right-hand-drive. No actual data points on generic Japanese parking ability, but I'm sure its relevant. Probably.
One of the highest rates of fender benders in my area (confirmed by the local cops AND neighboring cops who know about it) is at an Asian mega supermarket parking lot. Literally accidents daily. Not sure if it's a racial thing, a cultural thing, or a badly designed parking lot, but I've been nearly plowed down walking back to the car more than once.
A few years ago I actually put my steel toed boot into the driver's door as it zoomed by at 40 MPH and dented it majorly and the person got out and cussed me out until some neighboring witnesses sided with me and said they'd tell the cops, so the driver faked an inability to speak English out of nowhere and zoomed off, nearly taking out 2 more pedestrians.
It's a death trap over there, but sushi fresh from Japan is WORTH it. I'd risk my life once a month for that. And do.
holy moly! hahahaha! abcd that cracks me up i never would have pictured you doing that!
wrote:holy moly! hahahaha! abcd that cracks me up i never would have pictured you doing that!
I dated a hipster (millennial) who rode her bike everywhere and while she weighed all of 90 pounds in the rain, her boots must have weighed half that. She had a history of booting cars that cut her off and would dent them regularly. So even though our cultures didn't meet for long, I did learn a very nifty trick. And I wear some ridiculously heavy shoes in the rainy spring when the grounds turn to mud deathtraps, too.
Never realized how thin stamped sheet metal is on luxury cars until that moment.
wrote:
wrote:
Japan has low rates of left handed people, but almost all cars are right-hand-drive. No actual data points on generic Japanese parking ability, but I'm sure its relevant. Probably.
One of the highest rates of fender benders in my area (confirmed by the local cops AND neighboring cops who know about it) is at an Asian mega supermarket parking lot. Literally accidents daily. Not sure if it's a racial thing, a cultural thing, or a badly designed parking lot, but I've been nearly plowed down walking back to the car more than once.
A few years ago I actually put my steel toed boot into the driver's door as it zoomed by at 40 MPH and dented it majorly and the person got out and cussed me out until some neighboring witnesses sided with me and said they'd tell the cops, so the driver faked an inability to speak English out of nowhere and zoomed off, nearly taking out 2 more pedestrians.
It's a death trap over there, but sushi fresh from Japan is WORTH it. I'd risk my life once a month for that. And do.
Japan has nothing over Korea, DW is from there and I saw things in Seoul that would make you sware off of driving for good. LOL in the US, those parking lots are a battle zone where any direction and fair play go out the window. One big giant game of chicken.
To be fair though most large cities have their fair share of bad drivers.
One of my favorite activities during lunch is people watching. Specifically, I grab a window seat and watch people try to parallel park. I've seen some who end up giving up and pulling away to park in a garage somewhere.
The stronger correlation I've noticed is bad parking skills and luxury SUV drivers. As soon as I see a Lexus, Acura, BMW, or Mercedes SUV throw on their reverse lights to back into an open spot, I know it's going to be a funny show. I always imagined those models had park assist, but it's obviously doing those drivers a lot of good. Sometimes these drivers go into the bonus round and just drive into the parallel spot at an angle, then spend the next 15 minutes trying to rock their SUV evenly into the space before giving up and leaving.
wrote:
wrote:holy moly! hahahaha! abcd that cracks me up i never would have pictured you doing that!
I dated a hipster (millennial) who rode her bike everywhere and while she weighed all of 90 pounds in the rain, her boots must have weighed half that. She had a history of booting cars that cut her off and would dent them regularly. So even though our cultures didn't meet for long, I did learn a very nifty trick. And I wear some ridiculously heavy shoes in the rainy spring when the grounds turn to mud deathtraps, too.
Never realized how thin stamped sheet metal is on luxury cars until that moment.
Around here, if you blow through a crosswalk and someone's in it, we will throw whatever is in our hand at your car and/or hit your car. If you make a right turn and a pedestrian is crossing the street, expect the same treatment. You're welcome to pull over and escalate, because if you do, it will.
I approve of using steel-toed boots to damage cars that can't yield in a crosswalk. It's not a bad idea, and may save me from tossing a beverage on someone's car sometime.
The worst driving I've ever seen is in Beijing. I kid you not when I say I have been in multiple taxis there that have veered into the oncoming traffic lanes (with oncoming traffic in them) just to get where they are going. Driving on the shoulder is also common.
wrote:My wife, Mom, at least 2 of my sisters, and one of my best lady friends cannot park a car. They take multiple spots, never park the same way twice, and exit a parking spot at the most difficult angle possible. LOL I think they need to offer defensive parking classes.
I'm a pretty good parallel parker. I grew up in a major city with older one-way streets, so I know how to parallel park on both sides of the street. I also have pretty good spatial awareness, so I know where my car fits and where it doesn't, and can line it up in the center of a parking spot pretty well. My car has radar sensors and a backup camera, but I never rely on those - too many years spent without them.
My partner is a terrible parker. He will get into the center of the spot, then keep going with the wheel turned, so he ends up crooked. Always makes for an interesting time backing out of a spot because he never turns the wheel back to it's zero position, so he'll start backing out of a spot while being dangerously close to side-swiping the car next to him.
In case you haven't figured it out, I usally drive. ![]()
wrote:
wrote:holy moly! hahahaha! abcd that cracks me up i never would have pictured you doing that!
I dated a hipster (millennial) who rode her bike everywhere and while she weighed all of 90 pounds in the rain, her boots must have weighed half that. She had a history of booting cars that cut her off and would dent them regularly. So even though our cultures didn't meet for long, I did learn a very nifty trick. And I wear some ridiculously heavy shoes in the rainy spring when the grounds turn to mud deathtraps, too.
Never realized how thin stamped sheet metal is on luxury cars until that moment.
Around here, the bicycle riders are generally the biggest road hazard out there. Most of them feel they don't need to stop at stop signs or signal their intentions to switch lanes. Or they like to cruise down the middle of a two lane rural highway and refuse to move to the right to let motorized vehicles pass safely.
Oddly enough, its usually the "serious" bikers that are the worst offenders. Whenever I see the skin-tight bike shorts and water bottle strapped to the frame, I'm immediately on my guard for some idiotic maneuver.
But pack to parking... My DW has a hard time parallel parking. She'll often end up 18" away from the curb. I have learned over the years to not say anything, or even glance at the wheels when we get out, for fear of her wraith. ![]()
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I'm convinced there is indeed a parking gene -- I don't think I've ever met a woman who could park easily... Even my ex, who owned and drove an exotic car and was a general car fanatic, was laughably bad at parking. Not just backing into spaces or parallel parking, but any parking at all.
The exotic car bit gave her an excuse to park far away from the other cars, and in two spaces... But lord, some of the parking attempts she made in her other car. ![]()
Also, wow, long-time lurker, first-time poster.