Silly things that make you irrationately/unproportionately annoyed or upset

[slashvanyoung]

DW, are you sure being able to drive with a manual transmission IS mandatory in Italy? Because here in Germany it isn't. But the percentage who made their license on an automatic is soooo small that it doesn't really matter. Almost everyone who drives an automatic (who aren't many to begin with) made their license on a manual trans. anyway.

 

[EricT]

OH DEAR GOD THAT DUDE IS DRIVING AUTOMATIC!

KILL THE SINNER!

Go take your manual transmission car around downtown new york for a bit and find out why automatic exists.

 

[Dead Winter]

I've given this exact scenario to people in real life conversations who also think it's unnecessary to know how, and they say shit like "Well yeah but the chances of that happening are so slim. And I would try if I had to..." every damn time.

:Smug:

Haha me too! Again, it's pretty melodramatic the way I put it but still...it could happen.

Also, I never understood when they say, "Oh like that's ever going to happen!", when automobile accidents are so high in modern society. It's not exactly in the same realm as being eaten by a shark or dying in a plane crash...there really is a big risk.

 

[Chromatose]

I would call 911. And then one of many rescue personnel would arrive in their automatic rescue vehicles.

 

[WhiteBeastofWotan]

I'd bring them to the hospital on the subway because I don't have a car.

 

[Dead Winter]

DW, are you sure being able to drive with a manual transmission IS mandatory in Italy? Because here in Germany it isn't. But the percentage who made their license on an automatic is soooo small that it doesn't really matter. Almost everyone who drives an automatic (who aren't many to begin with) made their license on a manual trans. anyway.

I think it's like Germany...it's not "YOU HAVE TO DRIVE ONLY A STANDARD BLEAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!", but I think very similar to your setup. Most people use a standard because you're covered forever with that license.

Seriously, try finding a used car with an automatic here...it's impossible unless you're close to a military base for all the Americans who can't drive standards.

 

[El Stormo]

I've given this exact scenario to people in real life conversations who also think it's unnecessary to know how, and they say shit like "Well yeah but the chances of that happening are so slim. And I would try if I had to..." every damn time.

:Smug:

I often get the same response from people when I ask them how it's possible that they can't perform CPR. Only a situation where CPR is needed is more likely to happen, but still people shrug and say, "well chances of me ever needing to use CPR..."

Incredible.

Okay. Here you're only allowed to drive automatics if you made your license on an automatic. You are allowed to drive automatic if you made it on manual, though. Makes sense...

Yep, same here. If you drove an auto on your driving exam, you can only drive autos, if you got your licence with a manual, you can drive both. Plus, driving exams are a lot more difficult in Europe - from what I've heard, a driving exam in the US is, "OK, start the car, drive down the street, park the car, OK, you're done."

Mind, this is what I've been told by Americans, it might not be accurate, or it might not be that
way all across the US...

Something that also annoys me are people without drivers' licences telling others how to drive and how not to drive. You often get that when you're giving someone a ride and they start commenting. If you know how to drive better than I do, how come I'm the one who has to give you a ride?

And on that note, people sitting in my passenger seat signaling for a pedestrian that it's okay to cross. I'm driving, not you, so I'll let people know they can cross. Who knows, I might be stopping for another reason, without having seen the pedestrian, and when you, dear 'helpful' passenger, let them know it's safe to cross, and I put my car back in motion, well... The pedestrian will be dead, I'll be paying for the rest of my life, while the person who caused the accident, i.e. you, won't even get a slap on the wrist.

 

[Dead Winter]

OH DEAR GOD THAT DUDE IS DRIVING AUTOMATIC!

KILL THE SINNER!

Go take your manual transmission car around downtown new york for a bit and find out why automatic exists.

I'm sure downtown NYC would be a pain to drive a manual, but it's not like NYC is the only big city in the entire world. What about Paris, Madrid, Rome, Barcelona, Berlin, Athens, Naples, etc.? Do you have any idea the utter chaos those cities have, especially Paris and Rome? Naples is like a destruction derby. And yet, most people use a standard.

 

[Tide In Mind Out]

I never understood why it was never made mandatory, though. What happens if you're with a friend in his/her vehicle who becomes incapacitated and needs to get to the hospital ASAP? Are you gonna dump the clutch every two feet on your way there, or call an ambulance and wait for them to come while he/she is dying because you couldn't drive a standard? It's pretty dramatic, I know, but that's precisely why it's the law here to be able to drive a standard transmission.

That's a lot of guilt to be carrying around with you all your life if someone gets seriously hurt and dies because you couldn't get them to safety because you can't use a clutch.

/melodrama

Well, depending on the situation and the person's condition, it may be safer for them and for you if you wait for the ambulance. You could worsen their condition trying to haul them to the hospital yourself, let alone increase your chance of having a wreck (whether you can drive the car or not). Most cars don't come with a siren and light on top to let everyone know "OMG emergency let us through!"

 

[Dead Winter]

I often get the same response from people when I ask them how it's possible that they can't perform CPR. Only a situation where CPR is needed is more likely to happen, but still people shrug and say, "well chances of me ever needing to use CPR..."

Incredible.


Yep, same here. If you drove an auto on your driving exam, you can only drive autos, if you got your licence with a manual, you can drive both. Plus, driving exams are a lot more difficult in Europe - from what I've heard, a driving exam in the US is, "OK, start the car, drive down the street, park the car, OK, you're done."

Mind, this is what I've been told by Americans, it might not be accurate, or it might not be that way all across the US...

No, you're right. They make sure you come to complete stops, yield the right-of-way, park in normal parking spaces, and sometimes will make you parallel park. That's about it. Also, there are very, very few roundabouts in the US...

 

[Dead Winter]

Well, depending on the situation and the person's condition, it may be safer for them and for you if you wait for the ambulance. You could worsen their condition trying to haul them to the hospital yourself, let alone increase your chance of having a wreck (whether you can drive the car or not). Most cars don't come with a siren and light on top to let everyone know "OMG emergency let us through!"

True, which is why it's not for every situation. But say your driver breaks his foot...painful, yes, but usually not life-threatening...just enough to keep them from driving. If you're in a city then it would be faster to call an ambulance, but what about a rural community?

 

[El Stormo]

Well, depending on the situation and the person's condition, it may be safer for them and for you if you wait for the ambulance. You could worsen their condition trying to haul them to the hospital yourself, let alone increase your chance of having a wreck (whether you can drive the car or not). Most cars don't come with a siren and light on top to let everyone know "OMG emergency let us through!"

What you say is true, of course, but that doesn't nullify the validity of the argument. Imagine you're in a wreck - your car's totaled, but you're fine otherwise. The other car still runs, only it's a manual, and its driver has gone into labor from the shock.

Do you have any idea the utter chaos those cities have, especially Paris and Rome?

When I was on a school trip in Rome, my teacher said he'd give a bottle of wine to the first person who spotted a car without any dents.


The bottle didn't get won until the fourth day.

 

[slashvanyoung]

Well, depending on the situation and the person's condition, it may be safer for them and for you if you wait for the ambulance. You could worsen their condition trying to haul them to the hospital yourself, let alone increase your chance of having a wreck (whether you can drive the car or not). Most cars don't come with a siren and light on top to let everyone know "OMG emergency let us through!"

Truth.

But anyway, I think I'd rather be coming out of the closet than admitting to not being able to drive with a manual trans. Because you'd be catching much more shit for the latter.

And honestly, it's fully deserved.

 

[Dead Winter]

It's so true. Even the retarded 18 year old girls here who can barely walk and chew bubble gum are able to drive standards.

Granted, they usually red line the friggin' motor before easing off the clutch and hold the clutch in while going around curves, but they can at least get from point A to point B without too much trouble.

 

[Dead Winter]

I'd bring them to the hospital on the subway because I don't have a car.

I missed this. This, in the end, is probably the best answer.

 

[Swabs]

It always made me laugh that in the Fast & Furious movies the camera would change to the gear stick every time they changed gear and there would be loads of sound effects as if to emphasize the fact that "OMG THEY'RE USING MANUALHOLYSHIT" 17 year olds can drive manual.

 

[Dead Winter]

Well, racing transmissions tend to make a big *CLUNK* when they're shifted at high rpms, which is completely normal. But I know what you're talking about....I'm sorry you had to see those films.

A friend of mine years ago had a 1996 Mazda RX-7, the one with the rotary engine, and he would red line the shit out of it in first and then slam it down into second and it would make a big clunking noise every time he did it...I thought the damn thing was gonna fall out from underneath the car. But cars that are meant to be driven fast and hard and are built that way typically have very few problems by driving aggressively like that.

However, there's a difference between a relatively low CLUNK and a really big CLANK, . If you hear a CLANK, you better have your car checked, hehe.

 

[Dead_Lioness]

without reading all of it, lemme just say, my entire family drives Alfa Romeos (Chris is very familiar with that car I am sure.. ) and completely into "Stick driving"
but I hate it myself. Do I know how to drive a stick- of course, who doesn't... do I ever want to own a stick car ?
NO THANK YOU.

 

[Dead Winter]

without reading all of it, lemme just say, my entire family drives Alfa Romeos (Chris is very familiar with that car I am sure.. ) and completely into "Stick driving"
but I hate it myself. Do I know how to drive a stick- of course, who doesn't... do I ever want to own a stick car ?
NO THANK YOU.

As long as they don't drive Fiats, I'm cool.

Alfas are fucking fast...even the piece of shit Alfas. They totally look like, "Eh, just another European car", until you get behind the wheel of one.

One of my friends here had one...a big, fat, ugly, old, rusted out Alfa with no shocks whatoever and a leaky radiator. We made it from here to Milan (a trip of about 4 hours) in 3 hours. I think we averaged 215 km/h on the autostrada. Every time we'd pull up to the toll, we'd pay and have to pull over at the rest area to put more water in the radiator and let it cool off, then we'd be off again. That fucker never gave up.

 

[ShadowsWithin]

lol i cant drive a stick, never tried...