To sit at the petrol pump for half an hour?!

[honeybeeridiculous]

Right, just been to put some petrol in my car. Pulled up at a pump, started to put petrol in, only £20 so it didn't take long.
Meanwhile white van man pulled up behind me, the pump was closed so he was waiting to use my pump, fair enough
Anyway, I went into shop to pay, 2 people infront of me, all straightforward and quick.
I go back to my car after paying and white van man was revving his engine and getting closer and closer to my car, this is before I got in the car
I get in the car and he continues to rev the engine and then beeped his horn.
I was about to pull away, but the rage got me so I just sat there, got my sunglasses out and put them on, zipped my bag up etc as he was being so rude! After 2 mins I pulled away as I thought he might get out and thump me!
But honestly, how rude!
Just wondered WWYD? WIBU?

I'm frequently in a hurry. I travel for work and I don't want to spend ages in a petrol station. I get annoyed at people who seem to fanny about for ages.
However I would never behave aggressively. If they were more than 30 seconds a couple of minutes once they'd got back in their car, I'd go ask them how long they are likely to be as I'm in a hurry

the wiki definition of White Van Man suggests in fact he's more likely to be middle class entrepreneurial than working class employee - he's running his own business hence not driving a third party liveried Eddie Stobart lorry etc.
But only MN can analyse the class aspects of a common turn of phrase so endlessly....

Google "idiot BMW drivers". I doubt there's a car out there that doesn't have a negative stereotype attached to it. BMWs definitely do, my brother has one and I frequently take the piss as he frequently lives up the stereotype.

And you don't need to be middle class or work in an office to afford one either. You can pick up a battered older one for less than you'd need for a reliable van.

For those unsure about the definition of White Van Man (WVM), the example demonstrated in the OP described it perfectly. I think it might have been started by The Sun about 20 yrs ago.

I have driven White Vans but I don't get all pushy, road hoggy when I do but if I did then I too would be a WVM, even tough I'm a woman.

Hmm - not sure what I would have done as it have depended how I was feeling at the time, may have included something like - "if you keep doing that mate, I might get in my car really sl-ow-ly." or "Having a bad day are we?" or just a calm down hand signal. or nothing.

Bristol what a crock.

I always thought white van man drove so badly and aggressively because it was a work van and he didn't own it, so he didn't care if it got damaged.

It's all about the bad driving not social class

"....The term White Van Man has been used as part of road safety campaigns by the Freight Transport Association..."

from WikiP who also referred to The Guardian article below:

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2006/jul/07/leobenedictus.features11

You should have gone back into the shop and bought a paper... then sat in the car to read it.

Doesn't make it ok Float

All kinds of derogatory classist terms and titles have been used on television, in newspapers and other media for years. And recently.

Look Winni I really do understand - like the Loadsamoney character - it can be used to describe the vulgarity of the WC with some money. But WVM generally isn't - it's to describe an aggressive style of driving-behaviour and in a 'comedic' way (not derogatory) it was noticed that white vans played a big part in this style of driving. The WC found it as funny as anyone else because it was/is feckin true.

And there was also huge jokes about 'Volvo Drivers' too. Can't remember exactly what everyone took the piss out of them for but it would seem to match with quite a few on MN.

I don't agree with you at all MrsWinni

And exactly AnnoyingOrange

The working class found it funny Really Float?

Is the WC one big generic lump of a person with one mind then?

Omg I have opened a can of worms! I will repeat that the wvm was being an aggressive tosser before I had even paid for my petrol.I only sat in the car for an extra 2 mins as he was so rude.
And I have heard of the chelsea tractor and I live dan saff
Thanks to all you who agree I did the right thing.i certainly didnt expect so many responses.

I would probably have done the same. Similarly, if the car behind was up my arse when I'm driving at a reasonable speed, I would take my time until they backed the fuck off. And I wouldn't let go of the biscuit I'm handing to DS until he acknowledged my existence and said thank you.

I'm Passive Aggressive Hates Bad Manners and Being Intimidated Person.

I always assumed that white van man was shorthand for aggressive driving. I never associated it with class in the same way that I never associated the bad reputation that sales reps had in the 70s.
It was a group of drivers who were endlessly on the road, rushing to the next job, with a sense of entitlement and a 'fuck off out of my way' attitude.

So my assumption would never be that it was about class.

Volvo drivers were deemed dull.
Mondeo man was middle class professionals wasn't he.
Golf cabriolet owners were upper class hoorays in my day.

The phrase "white van man" has been around for a long time. (For all we know, there was a phrase to describe tradesmen who recklessly drove their horse and cart, "road hog" perhaps?)

It typically refers to drivers of unmarked vans (rather than those with a company name), which tend to be white, just as non-white toilets are rare these days. The drivers are often self-employed tradesmen, or delivery drivers who are paid according to how many miles they do. (Drivers of marked vans are often more sensible, because they have their employer's reputation to uphold.)

So for them, time is money, and yes, they frequently drive as aggressively as think they can get away with. Their enemy is anyone who holds them up, usually a careful driver. To them, their way of driving is "running their business efficiently".

YY white van man refers to the idiotic driving, rather than the man himself...

DH uses the term ...

and he's WC
and a tradesman
and had a white van for years...

didn't drive it like a twat tho as far as I know

The chap that moved our bed for us was trading as 'White Van Man'. I've also seen a guy advertising his 'Man with a Van' services.

Some people really do get their knickers in a twist over the littlest things.

Why does the thread title say half an hour? Sorry if I've missed the explanation.

He sounds like a rude tosser and I'd have done the same as you. I quite often get people in vans (men in vans, to be precise) trying to intimidate me on the road as my not-very-fast car stops them doing 45mph in a 40 zone

Yesterday evening was funny. We've had our road closed for repairs. An audi driver decided that the 'road closed' sign didn't apply to him. He pulled up to the sign, flashed his lights, beeped and generally acted in a twatty way. Then he pulled around the sign, at which point one of the people fixing the road came along and made him turn around and go back the way he'd came.

Its drives me nuts when people do this. When I go to a petrol station when I fill up I move my car up so the next car can pull in. ALWAYS! Its just courteous.

At our petrol station jessica there isn't anywhere to 'pull in'.

Also until the previous petrol has been paid for, you just can't start filling up (can you?)

When I go to a petrol station when I fill up I move my car up so the next car can pull in. ALWAYS! Its just courteous.

Absolutely. Surely the only reason you don't is because you are penned in.

Yes Bowlers you can take more than one customer's sale on any given pump.

Bowlersarm
"FGS, we aren't going to able to use any normal terms on MN at this rate."

There are a lot of terms that were once "normal" and acceptable.