Things people do that baffle you 2

It can also be cheaper to have your shopping delivered

Drives me nuts when people (and I see it all the time whilst sitting working from home) wander down the length of the road instead of walking on the path. It seems that as the road links foot and cycle paths, they use it as a continuation of this and it’s mental. The amount of people with dogs, toddlers, prams constantly walking the length of the road is insane but what’s even more annoying is if you want to drive on the road they look at you like they can’t believe the audacity of it 😂 genuinely though I do worry that a child or a dog is going to get run over before long 😢

'Normal' spelling as in english spelling? Bit parochial

A few months ago I came across a dual carriageway with 1/4 mile of cars in the left lane while the right lane was empty until it was coned off. I drove past them down the right lane and indicated to merge at the end. To my amazement, someone (correctly) let me in straight away!

I think the next step is to conquer the fear of moving over into the closing lane, to fill it up until merging at the end.

I remember this happened on the A23 when there were loads of roadworks going on. A police traffic vehicle went down the free lane with a sign in flashing lights saying "follow me. Use both lanes" so if that's not conclusive I don't know what is.

I'm sure my friend from last night is apoplectic with amusement now 😄

I've had this with fish & chips, goodness knows why.

People who move over as soon as they see a sign for a lane closing nearly a mile away, then get angry at people who understand that they WANT you to use all lanes right up until the cones then merge in turn, because it keeps the tailback shorter in length freeing up junctions further back.

If they wanted you to merge at the first sign they would put the cones there! No one is pushing in, it's literally how you are supposed to drive 🤦

People side eyes old friend who post a check in at hospital then after 20 odd "You ok hun? PM me" comments update to say it was a routine appointment.

I’m just puzzled why you would NOT use both lanes if they’re available. Why leave the other lane free for 800 yards?

My driving one is people who don’t know where the middle of the road is when waiting to turn right. It baffles me because it’s not exactly difficult. But no, they’d rather sit on the middle of their side of the carriageway, instead of positioning themselves correctly, so other cars can continue their journey.

And much as it pains my feminist soul to admit it, it’s usually women.

This is bonkers behaviour - especially if it's a creamy/sticky cake. Added strips of paper napkin rarely enhance the taste.

Can’t let go of their shopping trolly to look for something on a shelf which then blocks 6 foot of shelving. No one is going to pinch your trolly, because they would need to pay for it before running off down the car park with it !

Sorry if this has been mentioned already, but I cannot fathom why in cafes etc they sometimes put a paper napkin UNDER your cake, sandwich, sausage roll etc.

It means you can't use the napkin and you have to remove it before eating your cake, really.

Just why?

It IS okay not to uphold standards when you're in a casual environment. My everyday speech is very far from how I speak in a professional capacity too: I pride myself in being able to converse with anyone anywhere, & I've made sure my DC do too, despite being raised in an area with a very strong dialect.

Of course you may borrow it! Language is for everyone. I particularly love a colloquialism. 🙏

Live in a first floor flat and think it's a good idea to get a dog. And it's not a small dog

You appear to suggest that it's ok not to uphold standards, even if in an unprofessional context, but many thanks for taking the time to amend and respond.

'rips ma knittin''

Oh, I like it, yes. I may borrow it if that's ok.🙏

One thing I haven't tried is moving over to the closing lane. Having seen the warning, sometimes long in advance, if the 'open' lane is fuller than the 'closing' lane the latter space is wasted. It would make sense for some to move over and even up the congestion, then zipper as usual at the merge point.

This could mean that as the incorrect drivers move over to the 'open' lane, it would be correct for the knowledgeable ones there to move over to the 'closing' lane until the merge point. However, imagine the apoplexy from the incorrect brigade on watching this unfold around them!

No need to be baffled, it was a simple case of typing quickly. MN isn't a professional context.

I've fixed it to ease your bafflement:
", when you’ve driven at an excessive speed past many cars that were waiting.”

Just so you're not worrying that I'm not aware of tense, or relative pronouns.

I do use colloquialisms, I'm very fond of them. Indeed I like to go further & very much like to pepper my English with my other language, which is Scots.

A favourite colloquialism is rips ma knittin'. For example, I may say that unnecessary pedantry rips ma knittin'.

Now, you also have a happy weekend, obvs.

Here (France) in this situation, 99% of drivers don't slow down, don't wait for you to pull over or pull into a passing space - they just aim for the gap without slowing down. Certainly keeps things interesting!

People who go through having a whole baby and naming them something so bleh and boring.

Merge-in-turn (which I admit took me a while to get my head round as it wasn't always a thing) applies to planned lane closures in all multi-lane settings. On a motorway/dual carriageway it's most unlikely to come upon you quickly. There is often a mile or more of warning. And how does 'everyone' know about local roadworks? What about drivers from out-of-area?

One report (Auto Express, 2019) found 70% of drivers don't know how to merge-in-turn, while the moving over early method "... has been proven to significantly increase congestion."

People driving towards you on a narrow country lane and bashing on past a passing place when they can see you coming ... you then both have to engage in complicated manoeuvres to get by each other. Drives me nuts.
Sorry to say it is always men who do this.

Abso-bloody-exactly. The lane closure point will have been put where it was in the hope/expectation that people would use both lanes up to that point and then merge in turn. This is the most efficient way in terms of both traffic throughput and use of road space (and minimises the chance of the traffic reaching back to prior junctions and causing knock-on problems). People using the empty lane are doing it right. The 'see-a-queue-mindlessly-join-it' people fuming about 'queue jumpers' have decided to make up their own rules and to get radgy about other people not following them. Well that's up to them, no reason for others to play their game though.