Rules are rules. Or are they?

Also MamaCaz in some countries flashing your lights at someone means 'get out of the way I'm coming through'

i do love that leering Christmas grin emoticon

I have just as big a problem with people 'changing' the rules out of (what I think is) a misplaced sense of consideration.
By that, I mean people flashing you to join / leave / cross a road when they quite clearly have priority.
I'm not talking about when there's slow or queuing traffic, because that's a different matter, but of when there are normal road conditions. It's just an accident waiting to happen.
It happened to me again this morning as I was waiting in the designated lane to turn right off a main road. A driver approaching in the opposite direction flashed me to cross in front of her as she neared me. The danger is that the wrong person reacts to the flashed headlights, causing an accident. It's well meant but potentially dangerous!
There are far too many of these overly considerate drivers in our area!

Some people don't warrant raising your blood pressure. When we are all in a hurry its difficult to ignore rude people who are thoughtless or ignorant or just in a hurry too. Try and be a bit more laid back, its better for your health in the long run.

I'm afraid that like hundreds of others when they changed the "flow" as you entered our local Asda car park I went on using the more sensible "old" route. After a few months I see they have recently re-drawn the arrows back to how they used to be! Hooray!

On the other hand, I am INCENSED about the disabled bays at our Sainsbury's local ALWAYS being taken by selfish able-bodied people's cars whilst the driver just "pops in" for a moment. I'm not disabled but who knows, it could be me in the future, or a loved one, or frankly anyone. I think using disabled bays when not needing them is MEAN MEAN MEAN. We should be happy to park a few feet away in celebration of the fact that we still can! I have spoken to staff at the store and they say they can't do anything about it. I am reluctant to say anything directly to the drivers as when I did this once before I met with a tirade of abuse.
Sigh.

Super car parks are governed by the same rules as public roads ie the Highway code and road signs must be obeyed. Drivers who ignore such signs can be procecuted.

My bugbear about car parks in the UK is the blasted right-angles! Acutely/obtusely angled car parking spaces are so much more sensible.

Marmight In a hospital car park yesterday I had to try two small car parks.
My morning appointment was changed to 2:15 pm visiting time. I had driven around twice then spotted someone getting into their car. I still had to wait quite a while two other people struggled to get out of their spaces. The bays were very narrow. One was an enormous van. I was very lucky and as I moved back and forward to get into my space the person in front left and I drove through letting someone in behind me.

It is a nightmare place. But if they wished I am sure they could buy another field behind the current site and make more parking. It is on the edge of countryside and not a place where many town based commuters would want to go.

Our local council car park next to ASDA has quite big bays. At very busy times I usually sit and wait in my car in one bay and stake my claim to the next space rather than drive around looking for vacancies.
I suspect that if you sit tight you will get one soon and can see who is about to move but if you drive around you might miss more chances .

I have to confess that yesterday in a hospital car park, a fellow parkee told me that someone in the next row was just about to leave, so I shot round the wrong way, and got the space - they are like gold dust, so I didn't feel too guilty.....

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.

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

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...!

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.

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.

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.

Anya and J52 - words fail!

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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!

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

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.