The "That Really Grinds My Gears" Thread

by **Pal Joey** Mon 23 Apr - 10:18

First topic message reminder :

by Big Daddy Bee on Sat Jan 29 2011, 05:39
So then people what really annoys you.

No matter how big or trivial it is, this is the thread to vent your anger and annoyance.

Last thread: https://www.606v2.com/t199p950-the-that-really-grinds-my-gears-thread

by **Galted** Thu 25 Apr - 8:48

Doubt it's got anything to do with them not being white Luckless, more to do with the fact that collapsed buildings in Asia aren't exactly a rarity.

by **Enforcer** Thu 25 Apr - 8:53

People moaning about what is covered on the news. It was the same after the Boston bombings, with people asking why Syria wasn't getting coverage. The reason is the same as above, bombings in Syria are sadly no longer news. It isn't based solely on the number of lives, but rather if it is a 'new' or unexpected incident.

by Luckless Pedestrian Thu 25 Apr - 8:58

I'd say there's also a belief in the media that anything that happens in the States must be headline news, as if it had happened here. The importance given to the explosion in Texas was ridiculous; it was the only thing they talked about for the first half an hour on BBC Breakfast that morning.

by **Galted** Thu 25 Apr - 9:19

Luckless Pedestrian wrote:I'd say there's also a belief in the media that anything that happens in the States must be headline news, as if it had happened here. The importance given to the explosion in Texas was ridiculous; it was the only thing they talked about for the first half an hour on BBC Breakfast that morning.

Sort of agree with that but it's more to do with the preponderence of American news agencies & news channels whose output would naturally be US-centric. I was living in SA during the OJ Simpson trial & the amount of coverage there was ridiculous when before the trial only a handful of people may have recognised him as having a small role in Naked Gun, he was completely unknown as a sports personality - it should never have been news but was just drummed into people's heads.

by dummy_half Thu 25 Apr - 9:21

Luckless

Do you remember the TV programme 'Drop the Dead Donkey'? The originally proposed title was 'Dead Belgians Don't Count' - reference to the news significance of casualties in the Iraq war 1.

There is clearly an editorial priority in news reporting - dead Britons are the most significant, followed by US, Aus and NZ, then Europe, with the rest of the world being some way behind.

I think the Texas explosion got excessive coverage because of it coming so soon after the Boston bombing, which also had more coverage than it merited from a significance perspective, in part because there was so much footage available both of the explosions and of the police operations. I think a lot of people on first seeing the Texas explosion would have though 'another bomb', although the actual reason was much more mundane.

by Luckless Pedestrian Thu 25 Apr - 9:25

You're right about the footage thing. They were showing the footage of the explosion taken from the car every five minutes. It seemed they were more concerned with the theatre of it than the people it had affected.

by dummy_half Thu 25 Apr - 9:47

Luckless Pedestrian wrote:You're right about the footage thing. They were showing the footage of the explosion taken from the car every five minutes. It seemed they were more concerned with the theatre of it than the people it had affected.

Agree with that - it's hardly a surprise though as TV in particular is a visual medium, so having good footage of a dramatic news story will definitely push it up the running order. The OJ car chase would be another example of this - had there not been the film from the helicopter, the whole case would have been a minor story other than in the US (after all, a retired NFL player and minor Hollywood actor is not really a major name in the UK).

by Lumbering_Jack Thu 25 Apr - 10:55

On the cycle home last night car driver gave me 1 ft of room hen overtaking.

When I hand gestured to give me more space he swerved in my direction forcing me to the curb.

This big man then drove off like a shot, ignoring my requests for a chat by the road side.

Scum.

by dummy_half Thu 25 Apr - 11:04

LJ

Some drivers are just tosspots. You can't really do much about it other than try to keep yourself safe. Unfortunately as a cyclist you are more vulnerable to this type of git than are other road users.

by Luckless Pedestrian Thu 25 Apr - 11:23

I see examples of bad driving every day, and I only have a 10 - 15-minute commute. I hate how people think they can flout the rules of the road just because they've passed their test (it really got my goat when I was having lessons). I wish there were more traffic police / cameras around to catch these idiots - and tougher penalties for them, too.

The bottom line, as that Honda advert said, is that we're all just trying to get somewhere.

by **Galted** Thu 25 Apr - 11:38

Was driving home last night and gave a cyclist at least a foot of room when overtaking.

When he had gestured at me I swerved in his direction & forced him into the kerb.

Then I saw another cyclist up ahead so I was off like a shot to swerve at him.

Idiots.

by MIG Thu 25 Apr - 12:24

A cyclist pulled out in front of me from at a crossroads even though I was travelling along at 40 miles per hour (the speed limit) and I was only 20odd feet away. Somehow, because I dared give him a 'why the hell did you do that you lunatic' look he then stuck his middle finger up at me as if it was my fault.

So its not just drivers that are idiots, cyclists are as well.

by Luckless Pedestrian Thu 25 Apr - 12:26

No one's saying all cyclists are angels. I passed a cyclist on the way to work this morning, he had no hi-vis on whatsoever. Why wouldn't you wear hi-vis?! It's your duty to make yourself as visible as possible - and it's for your own self-preservation!

by dummy_half Thu 25 Apr - 12:46

MIG

See the last page - I've done plenty of cycling over the years, both for commuting and recreation, and bad road manners by cyclists is something that really gets to me (sentiments echoed by LJ and others).

To further Luckless's comment, while I wouldn't necessarily wear anything hi-vis in daylight (would depend on the type of riding I was doing - might do for commuting but not for riding on country lanes), there is absolutely no excuse for not having the best lights and high vis stuff on at night. It's a simple matter of self preservation...

by **Galted** Thu 25 Apr - 12:51

At least when they're not wearing hi-vis at night you don't know when you've hit them so you don't feel obliged to stop.

by Luckless Pedestrian Thu 25 Apr - 12:52

When I cycled to work, I always wore a hi-vis jacket (or coat in winter). I wanted to make myself as visible as possible to motorists. Even so, I almost got reversed over at a red light once!

by dummy_half Thu 25 Apr - 15:06

Luckless

Sometimes it doesn't matter how visible you are - people only see when they look...

Galted

Surely you stop to check for damage when you feel the thud? Wink

by Guest Thu 25 Apr - 16:50

Passed a cyclist at 9pm about a fortnight ago. No, reats, no reflectors (not even on his pedals), wearing black from head to toe, ho helmet and when I passed him I could see he had what appeared to be a small maglight duct taped to his handlebars. Was the torch switch on? What do you reckon?

Anyway, as he drew up to the traffic lights alongside, I lowered my window and tried to convey my level of disappointment in him as succinctly as possible...I believe the "C" word was used.

Anyway I drove off an kept looking back to see if he'd switched his light on...he hadn't.

What else grinds my gears? Adverts telling motorists to be aware of motorbikes. I'm yet to see one that says, "Motorbikes riders, stop weaving in and out of traffic like you're Barry Sheen/Carl Fogerty and have a bit of thought for everyone else on the road, you selfish ****!"

by **Galted** Thu 25 Apr - 17:01

DAVE667 wrote:Passed a cyclist at 9pm about a fortnight ago. No, reats, no reflectors (not even on his pedals), wearing black from head to toe, ho helmet and when I passed him I could see he had what appeared to be a small maglight duct taped to his handlebars. Was the torch switch on? What do you reckon?

Anyway, as he drew up to the traffic lights alongside, I lowered my window and tried to convey my level of disappointment in him as succinctly as possible...I believe the "C" word was used.

Anyway I drove off an kept looking back to see if he'd switched his light on...he hadn't.

Maybe he was a ninja off to kill someone. You don't want to be calling ninjas "c***s" mate.

by Guest Thu 25 Apr - 17:13

There were no reports of beheadings in the area that week so I feel confident that he wasn't a Ninja and was, as I suspected, a ****!

by **Galted** Thu 25 Apr - 17:18

You're probably ok then. We had a houseful of ninjas living up the road a while ago and a family of c***s living a couple of doors down - it's not that hard to tell them apart when you know what you're looking for but it can be disastrous for the uninitiated.

by Lumbering_Jack Thu 25 Apr - 17:27

Sadly some people view any kind of conversation you try to start as aggressive. I've said to a number of drivers could you give me more room next time please, only to be met with a 'f@&k off you c**t, do you want a fight?". Madness. Some people are incapable of adult conversation.

Agree with some of the sentiments above. Cyclists are not above the law, obey the rules of the road.

As for the high vis argument, I don't tend to agree. If its dark then yes (I'm like a Christmas tree during the winter) but in the spring/summer drivers should be seeing you anyway, a high vis won't make any difference.

I personally think cyclists should have insurance and have to sit some sort of basic competency to ride on them.

by **Kenny** Thu 25 Apr - 19:02

People who go to put something in a bin and miss but then just leave it on the floor

by Luckless Pedestrian Fri 26 Apr - 9:26

More annoying than that is people who don't even try to put their rubbish in a bin. I remember driving to McDonald's once and there was a girl sitting in her car with the window down; she finished her drink, dropped the cup out of the window and drove off; there was rubbish all round her car. There were at least two bins in that car park but she couldn't be arsed to use them.

by dummy_half Fri 26 Apr - 12:34

What really grinds my gears today?

David Cameron.

Surely he has better things to be thinking about than the length of Suarez's ban. And then to claim that he was not speaking as a politician but as a 'concerned parent'.

by **Derbyblue** Fri 26 Apr - 12:41

Luckless Pedestrian wrote:More annoying than that is people who don't even try to put their rubbish in a bin. I remember driving to McDonald's once and there was a girl sitting in her car with the window down; she finished her drink, dropped the cup out of the window and drove off; there was rubbish all round her car. There were at least two bins in that car park but she couldn't be arsed to use them.

Not that it's right but that was a person who was too lazy to walk into McDonalds for their food I think you were expecting a lot of them to use a bin.

by Luckless Pedestrian Fri 26 Apr - 12:47

Fair enough, Derbyblue. Maybe they should have an extra window at the drive-thru for you to put your rubbish on your way out.

by Guest Fri 26 Apr - 13:17

dummy_half wrote:What really grinds my gears today?

David Cameron.

Surely he has better things to be thinking about than the length of Suarez's ban. And then to claim that he was not speaking as a politician but as a 'concerned parent'.

Perhaps Suarez should come out and say he hopes Mr Cameron's recent actions don't encourage other parents to leave their children in pub beer gardens.

by Lumbering_Jack Fri 26 Apr - 13:30

All the Liverpool apologists coming out saying Suarez needs help...

He's a grown man for crying out loud. I managed to train my dog not to bite so is it too much to ask that he doesn't either.

by dummy_half Fri 26 Apr - 13:34

Dave

I thought she was actually in the pub. Certainly was by the time the security guy went back for her (was apparently helping at the bar)

LJ

Agree absolutely - trying to portray Suarez as some sort of victim in all this does rather fall down when you consider what he did. As you say, dogs learn not to bite, although we still need to work on my daughter (she's 13 months and only got half a dozen teeth, but b*gger me it hurts when she bites). Oh, and there's the fact that he's done it before. The guy obviously has issues.

by Guest Fri 26 Apr - 13:42

I managed to train my dog not to bite so is it too much to ask that he doesn't either.

Well, parents teach their children to behave from an early age and our prisons are filled with people who rob, cheat, steal and hurt others. Did they forget it was wrong to do this as they got older or did they think the rules don't apply to them. There's a whole system set up to help these people. It isn't just those from low income/education families either. There are white collar criminals who've broken the law as well.

Should we just expect these convicted criminals to sort themselves out or do we try an ensure that those who need (and more importantly WANT) help, get it?

As lovely as it would be, not everyone has the ability to keep themselves in check. Irrespective of how poor, rich, useless or talented a person is, we can't take for granted that people are going to behave in a manner that goes against what is deemed acceptable.

by Guest Fri 26 Apr - 13:44

I thought she was actually in the pub. Certainly was by the time the security guy went back for her (was apparently helping at the bar)

I gather Cameron managed to spin it to suggest that his daughter has shown great determination to better herself by seeking gainful employment and should be an example to young people everywhere.

by dummy_half Fri 26 Apr - 13:52

DAVE667 wrote:
I thought she was actually in the pub. Certainly was by the time the security guy went back for her (was apparently helping at the bar)
I gather Cameron managed to spin it to suggest that his daughter has shown great determination to better herself by seeking gainful employment and should be an example to young people everywhere.

Once a PR man, always a PR man Wink

by Breadvan Fri 26 Apr - 16:40

Static shocks..

by Cari Fri 26 Apr - 20:11

My moan for today is people who wear massive backpacks onto the bus and don't remove them to walk down the aisle and they just turn around hitting seated people in the face as they pass. They don't make any apologies whatsoever and can't understand why you'd be cross when you've just been smacked in the face with a rucksack. FFS take it off and carry it in front of you, surely you'll be taking it off to sit down anyway!

Also on the bus, people who sprawl or sit spreadeagled on their seat so when you have to sit next to them, you're trying to balance your arrse on the 10cm of seat left. It takes years for olympic gymnasts to learn that sort of skill never mind me getting on the bus in the morning! Sit up properly...there's two seats there!

by Breadvan Wed 1 May - 18:11

Baby on board signs in the back of cars. Why? It doesn't make the car impervious to accidents and it won't stop crap motorists driving up yer arse. No need!

by JPX Wed 1 May - 18:25

DAVE667 wrote:What else grinds my gears? Adverts telling motorists to be aware of motorbikes. I'm yet to see one that says, "Motorbikes riders, stop weaving in and out of traffic like you're Barry Sheen/Carl Fogerty and have a bit of thought for everyone else on the road, you selfish ****!"

So true. There was a guy on a motorbike on the M40 yesterday weaving in and out of cars undertaking and overtaking, I reckon doing about 90 - 95, in between gaps that he had no right to move into, and has the cheek to gesture at a car and shake his head for I assume not seeing him and giving him room to go by.

by **Kenny** Wed 1 May - 20:47

Quiz masters who get the answers wrong , and when you pull them up on it they get all shirty !!

Plus quiz machines in pubs , so many have the wrong answers yet how do you complain when you lose and its the machines fault ?

by Guest Thu 2 May - 14:04

Anything Jeremy Vine says on Radio 2. The man is a **** of the highest order and I'd happily take time out of my busy day posting stuff on here to tell him just how much I'd love to hit him.

My gripe for this morning...people who stand two feet away from you when you're trying to repaint your garden fence. The instruction on the tub says "Load up brush and apply liberally" which I take to mean, "Whack it on and to hell with the splashes."

I was going great guns until my neighbour stopped by for a chat and all of a sudden I've got to start painting as if I'm restoring a Da Vinci masterpiece cos I don't want to ruin her shoes. Now some of you would says that it's her lookout but she's a lovely lady and collects my ebay stuff that too big to fit through the letterbox. No sense getting on the wrong side of her.

by **Galted** Thu 2 May - 14:27

DAVE667 wrote:
I was going great guns until my neighbour stopped by for a chat and all of a sudden I've got to start painting as if I'm restoring a Da Vinci masterpiece cos I don't want to ruin her shoes. Now some of you would says that it's her lookout but she's a lovely lady and collects my ebay stuff that too big to fit through the letterbox. No sense getting on the wrong side of her.

Just talk to the paintbrush and answer in a squeaky voice when you're painting, will keep her at bay without offending her. Alternatively wear underpants & wellingtons for any garden work.

by **Kenny** Thu 2 May - 18:30

my Sky planner !! why does it start recording a few minutes before a programme starts causing clashes

by **Pal Joey** Fri 3 May - 1:34

These stupid birds on the roads here (indian mynahs) They will be directly in your path.... then run to the side when you approach.... then run back directly into your path again (or fly very low - at bonnet height) just as you are about to run them over.

by dummy_half Fri 3 May - 9:46

Breadvan wrote:Baby on board signs in the back of cars. Why? It doesn't make the car impervious to accidents and it won't stop crap motorists driving up yer arse. No need!

As someone with a 1 year old, all I can say is I agree with you almost entirely. The only time I remember driving noticeably differently was when we were coming back from the hospital after her birth - don't think I went above about 20mph all the way home Smile

. After a while you realise that you can just get on with things in a normal way and drive like a sensible human being again (i.e. not like a boy racer and not like an 80 year old), so the BoB sign is irrelevant - it's not going to prevent some other numpty driving into me.

by dummy_half Fri 3 May - 9:47

Linebreaker wrote:These stupid birds on the roads here (indian mynahs) They will be directly in your path.... then run to the side when you approach.... then run back directly into your path again (or fly very low - at bonnet height) just as you are about to run them over.

We have something similar - called pheasants.

They also have the ridiculous habit of taking off just before you stand on them, making an absolute racket in the process.

by TopHat24/7 Fri 3 May - 9:53

dummy_half wrote:
Breadvan wrote:Baby on board signs in the back of cars. Why? It doesn't make the car impervious to accidents and it won't stop crap motorists driving up yer arse. No need!

As someone with a 1 year old, all I can say is I agree with you almost entirely. The only time I remember driving noticeably differently was when we were coming back from the hospital after her birth - don't think I went above about 20mph all the way home . After a while you realise that you can just get on with things in a normal way and drive like a sensible human being again (i.e. not like a boy racer and not like an 80 year old), so the BoB sign is irrelevant - it's not going to prevent some other numpty driving into me.

I think their original purpose was actually as a notification in case of crashes, so attending emergency services would know there was a baby/small child inside if the adult occupants were incapacitated and unable to say. So a great idea. In theory. In reality they've turned into exactly what you say and some people seem to think it gives them licence to drive like absolute idiots as if people will be extra courteous to their naughty naughty boy-ishness.

Worse tho is the fat ugly birds with pink ones saying "princess on board". <shudders>

by liverbnz Fri 3 May - 10:46

Seen a white Seat Leon Cupra with pink alloys and the rear sticker saying 'not sponsered by mummy and daddy'. Why bother?

by Luckless Pedestrian Fri 3 May - 10:51

Someone who works near me has an oldish boy-racer car, not a particularly good one, with tinted windows, noisy-as-hell exhaust, and a sticker in the back window: 'ALL EYES ON ME'. Yes, but they're not admiring glances!

by dummy_half Fri 3 May - 10:59

TopHat

I think the presence of a car seat with a baby strapped into it might be enough of a hint to the emergency services, rather than some srappy piece of cardboard.

Agree entirely about the 'Princess on board' and similar stickers.

Luckless

Very funny - wonder if he notices the hand gestures that accompany the stares Very Happy

by Guest Fri 3 May - 13:44

dummy_half wrote:TopHat

I think the presence of a car seat with a baby strapped into it might be enough of a hint to the emergency services, rather than some srappy piece of cardboard.
Agree entirely about the 'Princess on board' and similar stickers.

Luckless

Very funny - wonder if he notices the hand gestures that accompany the stares

I've got a car seat in the baclk of my car however my little 'un is at Nursery, the presence of a car seat doesn't always mean there's a child on board. The issue around hving the signs is that the force of a crash can, in some instances, throw a baby from it's seat (amazingly, some parents have been know to simply sit the kids in without fastening the harness). A few of the traffic officers where I work have said that or more than once instance, the body of a child has been wedged under a seat hidden from view and it's only when the car's been dismantled that the body's been discovered.

by **Pal Joey** Fri 3 May - 14:20

Coming out of ANZ Stadium this evening. You know when there are thousands of people pouring out - Dads, Mums, hyperactive kids waving flags, kicking balls, etc? No problem with that; I think it's great. However, there are acres of space between the exits and the train station and generally people are like bees - they will anticipate and adjust their course so everyone flows pretty smoothly. It's quite an achievement really!

What gets me though is that there is always somebody or a small group of people which suddenly stops or even worse... someone stopped and oblivious to the hundreds of others walking right towards them - and they have their bloody backs turned to the bulk of the traffic. How selfish! Everybody is trying to move in the same direction in this particular situation.

If it were me (stopped to look for a lost family member or whomever) I would automatically move off to the side or stand next to a wall or a bloody rubbish bin or a light or a tree or something. The majority always has the right of way. It just sort of mildly irritates me (not to mention; breaks my rhythm!) that there are some people who are always oblivious to the mass stampede and don't seem to understand the 'rules' of large mass movements of people. Either that or they simply lack basic common courtesy.

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