Because it’s a crowded parking lot. People are getting pissy and frustrated because they can’t find a spot to do this stupid shopping…they didn’t even want to come now, but that stupid BBQ is later, so they have to come when it’s super busy. And that freakin guy went the wrong way and got that spot they were trying to get…
A little moment of kindness and acknowledgement is sometimes enough to reset the spiral of negativity and anger.
Or I’ve really got to poop, as previously mentioned.
Letting the oil circulate before putting load on the engine. Only needs an extra 10-15 seconds, or the time it takes me to scrape during the winter months. No time needed if it was recently running.
Waiting for Bluetooth to connect, putting on seatbelt, fixing Bluetooth, putting drinks in drink holders, waiting for Bluetooth, turning on lights, fixing Bluetooth.
Like that ever stops anyone. Georgia is a hands-free state (not really because people eat, do makeup, and whatever else), but I always see people on their phones while they drive.
Perhaps it’s more of a “hey, parking is hard to come by in this neighborhood.. I’ve been circling for a while and noticed that you got into your car and now I’m sitting here with my blinker on, blocking traffic, waiting for the spot to free up so I can park and get on with my day… what’s going on in there?”
You're the asshole in that situation. Don't expect that any parking place is yours until it's empty, especially when you have no idea when the people actually parked in the space are leaving. You should never be blocking traffic waiting to park in an occupied space because you assume they're leaving.
I understand this. At work parking is hella bad, so I routinely get to work over an hour early just for parking, and then most days I bring lunch or don't eat because I don't want to lose my parking during the day.
That being said, because I know parking sucks there, I'm extra quick when I do have to leave because I know the feeling of driving around looking for parking, becoming hopeless, and resigning to the quarter mile walk from the next closest available parking.
I've never understood the people who purposefully just sit there and stare at the person needing a parking spot in their rear view mirror waiting for them to leave. My dad does this, and I'm always just like "Aren't you taking more time away from yourself now too just to stick it to someone else?"
They need the spot. They need it. RIGHT NOW! CAN'T YOU SEE THEIR BLINKER ON AS THEY BLOCK THE ISLE?! BEEP..... BEEP BEEP BEEP THEY NEED IT NOOOOOOOWWWWWWWE WHY AREN'T YOU MOVIIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGG BEEEEEEEEP
Well I get in, plug in my phone and put on my belt. That’s maybe 15 seconds. Then I turn the key and wait for the glow* plugs to warm up, so that’s another 5-10 seconds.
More like seatbelt is muscle memory they don't actively think about. Nobody is mentioning closing the door or aligning their foot to the pedals either.
My car is old and has a display for Android auto that is powered by the cigarette lighter. I'm waiting for it to turn on, then I'm picking some music on Spotify to play during my drive.
Letting the oil circulate for a bit, adjusting fan-settings, A/C, selecting music etc. If it’s wintertime I let the car warm up for a while while I scrape the windows.
Leave your brother alone and do up your seatbelt please.
You need to do up your seatbelt now.
Do up your seatbelt now, please.
DO UP YOUR SEATBELT
DON'T MAKE ME TURN THIS CAR AROUND I SWEAR WE WILL NOT GET GROCERIES AND YOU WILL HAVE PEANUT BUTTER ON LETTUCE WITH RELISH FOR DINNER AGAIN THAT'S IT GET IN THE HOUSE I'M ORDERING A PIZZA GODDAMN IT NOT AGAIN
Adjust seat from when my husband used it.
Adjust mirror from when my short husband moved it
Put laptop bag down into the passenger footwell
Fish can of drink out of my bag and put it in the holder
Put phone into holder, turn on Bluetooth
Turn of Bluetooth speaker
Connect car Bluetooth if it hasn't happened automatically
Choose podcast or music
Seatbelt on
Set wipers if needed
Pull away! Takes a minute, roughly
Putting away the windshield shade, plugging my phone in to charge, choosing what to listen to on my drive, setting the heat/AC/defrost, making sure no one is walking in front of me, and letting the oil circulate in the engine before I get going.
Seatbelt too, but I can't think of where that fits in the lineup. It's so automatic, I don't notice that I have the seatbelt on until I park and take unclick it.
Waiting for the engine to warm up a bit? Centering myself and dealing with distractions before I drive. Mapping out my egress routes and bailout locations after eliminating the parties specified in the verbal contract? All normal things you are supposed to do before you drive.
Checking my mirrors, checking tire pressure, waiting for the on-screen button to become responsive so I can ok the dumb EULA on screen so I can use the infotainment unit, reconnecting bluetooth a few times because the phone and infotainment unit randomly choose to connect.
well, I usually roll a few cigarettes for the road, put directions on Google maps, and adjust my seating/coffee/whatever else I need to be comfortable. In total it takes a minute or two.
Starting car
Putting on seatbelt
Backing out of carport without hitting house hopefully
Backing out of driveway without hitting a neighbor dogwslking or biking
Looking at the the neighbor’s house wondering what is going on over there
Pushing gas to move to next exit trying to remember where I am going.
Transmission is slow on startup (especially when cold) so the first shift always takes a while to engage, and I have to watch the lights to see if I still have enough coolant (fun leak)
Leaning in, starting the car, hitting the garage door button, putting stuff in, grabbing ice scraper, begrudgingly pondering why I had to get another car that's currently in the garage, parked where if my running one was it would not need scraping.
Checking pbone, eating food, looking for cord, checking pockets, enjoying the view, making sure mirrors are adjusted properly, adjusting chair, adjusting steering wheel. Could be any number of things.
Depends. I drive a hybrid and live on top of a hill so my routine is set up to try and keep the engine off until I hit flat land and go above 30 mph. Typically that means plug in and set up my phone, buckle in, turn car in, and slowly cruise out of there with no delay. I don't really want the engine warming up until it actually needs to run.
uConnect sucks. It will literally take 10 to 15 seconds to finalize the connection in my wife's van. Sometimes I wait for it and sometimes I just have Bluetooth off and listen to my phone through its own speakers.