Rules are rules. Or are they?

It seems to me good manners to observe the rules. Maybe I'm a sheep too!

I am also a sheep. If some clown is driving the wrong way down a road at Waitrose I will sit there until he backs down. I drive round and round looking for a car park space and I have never knowingly flouted the rules.

I wonder if that is the same Waitrose carpark where I was shouted at as I stood my ground nose to nose with someone going the wrong way, as in "Learn to drive you f...old..c...!"?
As an ex-teacher I am familiar with the f and the c words, but OLD??????
Shortly after this incident I tweeted a comment to Waitrose and the "no entry", "no left turn" signs appeared the next week along with unconvincing info that CCTV cameras were in operation.
Does Oakgrove sound familiar?

I too would keep to the rules , those who break them are either arrogant, ill mannered or very selfish

Oh yes, Alea ... lol!

I'm glad it's not just me then (although sometimes I'd like to break the odd rule myself, you know, just to be daring!!) Generally I glare like mad at anyone arrogane, ill mannered or selfish enough to go against the flow in this situation but one day I'll make some withering comment although I expect I'll get a horrible mouthful back - it's the norm these days, isn't it! Grrrrr

Anniebach these idiots are all three!

Alea my Waitrose is in NW London. I doubt if area matters, there are selfish louts everywhere. i agree, what is the meaning of that world "old"? That really is derogatory. The other two words, especially the former, are every day language to many of today's youngsters, with or without an education.

Who backed down first mollie? You or the wrong 'un?

I witnessed a small prang in Waitrose car park a couple of weeks back. Both drivers ladies of a certain age (like us!). I wasn't close enough to see how it was dealt with, but I'm sure it was all perfectly polite.

Ooh! After reading Alea's post, I'm not so sure!

Actually, he did by swinging into a parking space! We were both arriving but only one of us was going in the right direction!!! Lol!

Not Waitrose, but had a similar experience to Alea (but not quite so rude)
When we lived in Southend I was walking along the pavement and some little boys on bikes overtook me nearly making me lose my balance.
I shouted "you should have a bell to warn people!" and all I got back was "silly old bat!"
I wasn't so old at the time either

Bicycle bells are another local bugbear TriciaF. Bikes aren't sold with bells these days, are they! And whatever happened to 'sorry missus'?

Our Asda has such a stupid one way system that I can almost forgive those going the wrong way especially if they're not local. Arrows painted on the tarmac but no other signage.

Me,I don't even walk in the cycle lane.Its all down to upbringing.

Sometimes people go the wrong way by mistake. Then they need an Oops! sign to appear on their windscreen.

As for rules, my view is that if it is safe and if what you do also doesn't inconvenience anyone else, then it's okay to break a relatively trivial rule such as a one way system in a supermarket car park. So, if such a car park is relatively empty, I don't think it's a big deal to deliberately go the 'wrong' way. If you do get in someone's way and you're the rule breaker then you should get out of their way PDQ. And in an apologetic manner

Driving back from Kennilworth tonight I spotted a driver signalling to turn right onto the A46....which would have taken her onto a dual carriageway the wrong way head on into incoming rush hour traffic .

I tooted, flashed lights, tooted even longer and louder as she actually started to turn onto the slip road. She stopped and wound down her window and yelled abuse at me. Just then two sets of headlights appeared as two cars exiting via the slip road came at her head on.....horrified i could only watch but both stopped thank goodness. As I started to drive on over the bridge which would take me to the correct on road I caught raised voices as two amazed drivers gave vent to their shock.

I had to

Travelling on the M6, on Sunday, I saw something I had never seen before.
Traffic was light, a driver in the middle lane did a left turn ( the only way to describe it!) across the path of the inside lane driver, to go into a service station!

Beggars belief!

x

Anya and J52 - words fail!

DH used to drive a lorry for Waitrose. His main complaint was people who parked right outside the stores, obstructing the entrance to the delivery bay. They had no understanding of how much room an artic takes to manouvre and of course, working for Waitrose,he was duty bound not to damage their cars.

Some carparks are so badly organised that they invite people to ignore the signs.

One of our local car parks has one entry lane going to the further point of the carpark, all the lanes afterwards go back towards the entrance so if there is no space in the first row of cars you have to loop round right back to the entrance, go down the entry lane, past the first lane along to the second, if that is full, loop back to the entrance, start again and do this about four times to cover the whole park.

It is not surprising that people ignore the signs and go up the first lane, down the second up the third and so on.

Who said rules are made to be broken? This is rural area so car parks, etc. are smaller and it is easier to follow the "rules". You get the odd idiot who thinks HE knows best. Bad parking, i.e. right up to the line on one side, gets a ticket here. I won't give way if I am in the right, but smile and shrug shoulders. Usually works. I often think a sign which means "sorry" would be a good idea.

J52 You're very lucky if you haven't seen that particular bit of motorway driving before... I use the M40 regularly, and the number of drivers who suddenly cut from the 'fast' lane across 2 lanes of speedy traffic - just because they've suddenly realised that this is the junction they need - is frightening. I presume that they've been preoccupied with a phone conversation, as most of them seem to be holding phones to their ears...!
Me, I now automatically ease off the accelerator slightly and allow a gap to open up between me and the car in front as I approach junctions - just to give the idiots a clear run...!

Someone left a note under my wipers saying 'You are a rubbish parker!'

My husband sometimes designs car parks, road layouts, crossings etc. and gets very frustrated when the people he designs for alter his plans. For instance he once designed a road crossing that the client altered as it was 'too wide' - and then the client was red-faced when my husband explained the width was to allow pushchairs/wheelchairs/cyclists to wait safely; the client had only envisaged one or two single pedestrians waiting to cross.
As for following the rules - yes I do. I find it very hard to deliberately break a rule and it's only in recent years that I've been (very rarely still) able to do so. When it comes to driving I have an ear-worm in the form of my instructor's voice that I cannot ignore. It's a family joke that I still drive as though I'm having lessons and one of my workplaces gave me a mock-up certificate as the world's safest driver as a leaving gift. My colleagues would go on visits with me and estimate it would always take considerably longer if I drove because I refused to go even one mile faster than the speed limits.
Rules are usually there for a reason I think.