Pittsburgh Friendliness: Hoax! (York, Washington, Highland Park: vehicle, deal, park)

[groar]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

All this going on, and I am to be upset that two people are showing kindness at a stop sign? I think not.

there is a reason that there are rules about who goes in what order when they come to a 4 way stop. they are about safety. saying "hey, let's do this out of order to be nice" without being able to properly communicate with each other is unsafe, for the reasons i already gave. just follow the rules of the road at a 4 way stop and everything is faster and SAFER for everyone, and therefore NICER.

is it the hugest problem in the world? of course not. that doesn't mean it's a good thing.

[gg]

Originally Posted by TechieTransplant

...there's lots of other people all over the world that have the same problem.

This we can agree on. There are a ton of people with the self important problem and that leads to everyone driving around as if they are the only ones that matter. Therefore, you have a ton of people driving aggressively and everyone is frowning while driving. Believe it or not, there used to be a time when driving was fun and people really appreciated it. Now it is more about speeding as fast as you can without regard for anyone to get to where you must go. All this while texting and/or talking on the phone or dialing the phone or whatever. It is what it is and yes, you are becoming the norm. This new feel on the road is only going to get worse, so yeah, I am sunk. You are in the end the winner, if that makes you happy. The kind people are going to die off and you will have what you want.

[groar]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

Yeah! A voice of reason. It really isn't that tough, but some self centered people can't be bothered. They are all that matters regardless of the lives of others. Have a look at how many people die on the roads in our region. Many because self centered people are in a hurry because the feeling of being self important.

he's saying obey the rules.

the rules of a 4 way stop are that the first person to stop goes first. if 2 cars stop at the same time, the one to the right goes.

waving people through a 4 way stop is not obeying the rules.

i do agree that people should follow speed limits or at least come close to it, and not act aggressive to people who are driving the limit or close to it (it is a LIMIT and contrary to popular belief it's not a minimum speed), although people should also stay in the right lane whenever possible if they're going slower than the people behind them.

[sealie]

My gripe has always been the "nice" people holding the elevator for other people. Or worse yet, opening the door for people who just missed the elevator, letting them in, and then opening the door for the next group of people the elevator just shut on. The "niceness" just inconvenienced over a dozen people if it's 5:00 at a downtown job, in order to save one stranger from having to wait for the next elevator. I have no idea why this is a social norm.

[sealie]

And, I see our trend of taking a thread about "friendliness" and calling someone else a selfish jerk for disagreeing with the way we do things is on course. Maybe y'all need to do more of that blissed-out yoga with the folks in the east end. Embrace your inner sunburst or whatever.

[TechieTransplant]

Originally Posted by sealie

My gripe has always been the "nice" people holding the elevator for other people. Or worse yet, opening the door for people who just missed the elevator, letting them in, and then opening the door for the next group of people the elevator just shut on. The "niceness" just inconvenienced over a dozen people if it's 5:00 at a downtown job, in order to save one stranger from having to wait for the next elevator. I have no idea why this is a social norm.

Natives to this region would get swallowed up in NYC/NJ and Boston

[gg]

Originally Posted by groar

there is a reason that there are rules about who goes in what order when they come to a 4 way stop. they are about safety. saying "hey, let's do this out of order to be nice" without being able to properly communicate with each other is unsafe, for the reasons i already gave. just follow the rules of the road at a 4 way stop and everything is faster and SAFER for everyone, and therefore NICER.

is it the hugest problem in the world? of course not. that doesn't mean it's a good thing.

Safety? Are people going to jackrabbit start from the stop sign so fast, we need to worry about safety at a 4 way stop sign? Get over this. Enjoy the tiny bit of kindness that is left. Soon there won't be any left. I am amazing how fast things on the road are changing and people are getting more and more aggressive. I am not sure why, but I still think it has to do with the negative media and the media that presents a huge divide in people politically with extreme news that we are bombarded with every minute. It is sad so many drive huge SUVs and aggressive vehicles showing their lack of kindness towards others, but that is the norm now and it is getting worse by the day, not year.

For the record, I drive a little over the speed limit most of the time. Not fast enough for most people, but I don't care. One of my favorite things to do is drive across the Highland Park Bridge from Aspwinwall and start slowing down at the last 1/4 of the Bridge in anticipation of the very sharp bends that are in front of me as I head to Washington Blvd. 90% of time someone will fly up behind me and tailgate me in their primitive car/suv. I coast to the bend and don't use my brakes at all because I am going the correct speed that my car can handle, but the people behind me have to slam their brakes because they can't negotiate the bend. Then they speed up frantically to catch me as I am going in to the second bend that is 180 degrees and again they cannot negotiate that one, so I am a long way ahead of them coming out of the bend. It is very gratifying for me to watch them make fools of themselves. This happens 9 out of 10 times I drive across that bridge and it shows you how poor people's driving skills are as well as how pathetic the vehicle choice they have made is. Great fun! Another note that I always find amazing. I frequently will be riding my bike up through the zoo and watch cars pass me. I would say 8 out of 10 vehicles have to use their brake going up hill to negotiate that first bend. Doesn't anyone know how to drive? It is so funny to me people can't anticipate the road ahead and of course vehicle choice plays a part.

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by TechieTransplant

Natives to this region would get swallowed up in NYC/NJ and Boston

Because Pittsburgh is a really friendly city.

[gg]

Originally Posted by groar

waving people through a 4 way stop is not obeying the rules.

Depends who is waving who through the stop sign, it is is "obeying" or not. Did someone see the exact moment who arrived first, so we have to be that critical in life? Also, there can be other factors at play here. Maybe the person waving someone through has a visitor behind them and wants the visitor to follow. There can be countless reasons for people to kindly wave another through a stop sign. At the end of the day, slow down and leave earlier. It isn't that important and no one follows the letter of the law. How many people come to a complete stop at a stop sign for example. If no one is there I would say 90% of people roll through. Is that following the law? A Pittsburgh left? Is that following the law? There are some left turns that you would never get through if you didn't do the Pittsburgh left.

It isn't that important when we are dealing with very low speeds. People are stopped and it isn't some huge danger if someone waves another through. Stop whining about you being inconvenienced for a second or two. Meaningless. Embrace the tiny bit of kindness left. It is soon to disappear anyway.

[gg]

Originally Posted by Moby Hick

Because Pittsburgh is a really friendly city.

Yeah, not only that a statement like "Pittsburgh would get swallowed up, blah, blah." I have driven all over NJ and Manhattan and more. I just change my driving style to suit that region. Doesn't mean I am going to bring that crap style back here. They can keep it.