How would you react?

seadoug

seadoug

Well-known Member
Location
Texas
So, I was sitting at a light at a major intersection yesterday and there was a homeless man on the median, and the guy in the car in front of me gave him money. Then they started conversing. The light turned green and the guy in the car just sat there talking to the guy until the light turned red. I was okay with it because I assumed he was doing something good.

Then the light turned green again and he was still talking to the homeless man and not moving. I honked my horn because I wasn't going to sit through another light. The homeless man moved away and the guy in the car went on. Was I wrong? Isn't there a necessity for people to go when the light turns green?
 

seadoug said:
So, I was sitting at a light at a major intersection yesterday and there was a homeless man on the median, and the guy in the car in front of me gave him money. Then they started conversing. The light turned green and the guy in the car just sat there talking to the guy until the light turned red. I was okay with it because I assumed he was doing something good.

Then the light turned green again and he was still talking to the homeless man and not moving. I honked my horn because I wasn't going to sit through another light. The homeless man moved away and the guy in the car went on. Was I wrong? Isn't there a necessity for people to go when the light turns green?
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You were way more patient then most people would have been, Seadoug. That driver was being rude and probably illegal as well. Somebody could have backended him and caused injuries. I wonder if the homeless man was someone the driver knew and regularly gave him money and the reason he continued talking to him.
 
Seems like the homeless man made the first move. If so, he was more considerate than the guy in the car.

Many homeless people have come to terms with being homeless. They want a handout, not a home. I'd rather have money to buy food or a drink to appease my hunger than, to have expectations pour on me to not be homeless.
 

seadoug said:
So, I was sitting at a light at a major intersection yesterday and there was a homeless man on the median, and the guy in the car in front of me gave him money. Then they started conversing. The light turned green and the guy in the car just sat there talking to the guy until the light turned red. I was okay with it because I assumed he was doing something good.

Then the light turned green again and he was still talking to the homeless man and not moving. I honked my horn because I wasn't going to sit through another light. The homeless man moved away and the guy in the car went on. Was I wrong? Isn't there a necessity for people to go when the light turns green?
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You are a lot more patient than I am, @seadoug. I likely would have honked when the first light turned yellow. (I need to work on my patience.) And yes, there is a necessity for people to move when the light is green. I would assume not doing so would constitute a moving violation. (Or would that be a "non-moving violation"? ;)
 
The fact that the man standing on the median was homeless is pretty much irrelevant. I think it's probably illegal for anybody to hold up traffic so they can have a chat. They easily could have caused an accident.

And how would any of us feel if, for instance, we had a sick or injured passenger in our car, maybe a child or a scrreaming baby, and we were rushing to the doctor or hospital, but were held up by somebody having a chat? I don't like automatic horn-honking every time someone is briefly held up, and too many people do that, especially around big cities. But what you are describing, Seadoug, sounds dangerous and grossly inconsiderate of you and all the other drivers stuck in that line. I suspect that if a cop was around, a ticket would have been issued, and maybe a fine for the guy standing on the median (or arrest, if he's a repeat offender).
 
No you were not wrong. If that person really wanted to interact with the homeless person, they could have parked and walked over to them. I assume there was a cross walk? Sometimes there isn't.

I don't know if I would have honked because I worry about retaliation behavior. Sometimes I have found people parked in my carport section at the apartment. It may be a rude visitor, the maintenance or the painters working on an empty apartment. I don't say anything. I park in guest parking and move when they leave.

Once my former next door neighbor went nuts on her horn when someone was parked in her spot.
 
Murrmurr said:
I'd have done the same. It's really no different than the time I sat through a green light because the dude in front of me was on his phone. He was still on it when we got a second green, and I tapped the horn. He waved his hand out his window like, Oops, my bad. 😒
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I've done that many times... people seem to be on autopilot...red light = phone.... and then they have to be prompted to move when the light is green
 
seadoug said:
So, I was sitting at a light at a major intersection yesterday and there was a homeless man on the median, and the guy in the car in front of me gave him money. Then they started conversing. The light turned green and the guy in the car just sat there talking to the guy until the light turned red. I was okay with it because I assumed he was doing something good.

Then the light turned green again and he was still talking to the homeless man and not moving. I honked my horn because I wasn't going to sit through another light. The homeless man moved away and the guy in the car went on. Was I wrong? Isn't there a necessity for people to go when the light turns green?
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I'd of gotten horny. That's what it's for - the horn. To be used in appropriate situations.
 
Depends on what kind of honk you gave him as to what reaction he might have. Was it a light, friendly beep, beep or a prolonged blast on your horn? The reaction to either of those can be very different depending on who you're honking at.

This point was demonstrated in the movie Unhinged with Russell Crow.
 
seadoug said:
So, I was sitting at a light at a major intersection yesterday and there was a homeless man on the median, and the guy in the car in front of me gave him money. Then they started conversing. The light turned green and the guy in the car just sat there talking to the guy until the light turned red. I was okay with it because I assumed he was doing something good.

Then the light turned green again and he was still talking to the homeless man and not moving. I honked my horn because I wasn't going to sit through another light. The homeless man moved away and the guy in the car went on. Was I wrong? Isn't there a necessity for people to go when the light turns green?
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You very patient to sit through the first green light.
I'd of honked and I'm not a habitual honker! 😊
 
Lawrence00 said:
Your choices were appropriate. None of us need to be in such a hurry to get places. A simple honk after a full set of lights was polite.

You could say it was a Zen moment.
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Why should the world slow down to the speed at which you are comfortable? Perhaps some of us have a need to proceed as expeditiously as possible to meet our commitments like jobs, child care, and others.

On a related note my sister says to my father as he's spacing out at a green light....."are you waiting for a particular shade of green?" (She was a favored child, otoh I would have caught a beating!)
 
againstthegrain said:
Why should the world slow down to the speed at which you are comfortable? Perhaps some of us have a need to proceed as expeditiously as possible to meet our commitments like jobs, child care, and others.

On a related note my sister says to my father as he's spacing out at a green light....."are you waiting for a particular shade of green?" (She was a favored child, otoh I would have caught a beating!)
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The major 2 football teams in Scotland are Rangers ( Blue )... and Celtic (green)... my eldest brother used to play for Celtic back in the 60's.. and he became a bus driver later in his 30's and 40's.. and whenever anyone sat dawdling at a green light.. he would say under his breath.. ''get a move on the green lights are not just for Celtic supporters''
 
Update: I see the maintenance guy leave so I go down to the end of the building to get my car and he's already driving back in the golf cart. So I ask him to please not park in my spot, that I had been waiting for him to leave so I could move my car. His response was complaining back to me that someone else was parked in the spot that belongs to the townhouse.

Not my problem. Didn't even say sorry. But enough was enough. I wasn't going to wait all damn afternoon to move my car again.

But this is why I don't like to say things. The jerk didn't even take responsibility and I put up with enough living here to not have the parking space that comes with this place.
 

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