Coming To A Grinding Halt...

[happyrobert]

So yesterday I am driving my car, with a Thai friend riding shotgun. I pulled up to and stopped at a red light at a notoriously busy intersection, and even though I am the first car in line in the left-turn only lane and have my left-turn signal on, I stop. There is no approaching traffic from the right and there are many more cars lining up behind me.

To my right, in the next lane, an older Thai woman on a motorbike looks over at me and almost instantly begins jerking her left arm at me and to the corner, spasmodically indicating that I can/should turn left without further ado. Apparently she instantly assumes I know nothing of Thai driving "law," or perhaps driving in general, and feels utterly compelled to assist me through my ignorance. (Just the night before I had a 19 year old Thai girl - daughter of a friend - abruptly yank away the matches in my hand as I was about to light the charcoal in my carefully prepared barbecue,then rearrange the charcoal, and show me "how" it should be done.( I thought to myself, Robert, what a waste of time all the summers as a young boy camping in the Rockies and Cascades were. You know, the times you and some buddies took only rifles, a knife or two,basic fishing equipment and a few pots and a sleeping bag and somehow managed to somehow survive for four to six weeksat 8000 feet, in the wilderness, without a single Thai female in sight. What was I thinking? - but that's a different post).

I smiled at the woman on the motorbike and used my right palm in a sweeping motion to show her the 90 something lady, who was bent over at the waist like a blade of grass in a typhoon, her eyes facing the asphalt, slowly shuffling across the intersection - in the crosswalk... on a green light... with a walker. She had made it about half way past the front of my car at this point and the woman on the motorbike briefly followed my hand movement, saw the old crone, and then turned back to me and flipped up her visor to allow me, I suppose, to see just how serious she was as she lit into her tirade.

In Thai she said, "you can turn left, turn left, go now, why you stop, blah, blah, blah....."

I shrugged, smiled, and again motioned to the old woman who was now about even with my driver's side fender.

Now the wording became stronger. The "F" word punctuated her tirade every three or four seconds, both her arms gesticulated wildly, her eyes were on fire. "Go - go - go, you stupid F@r@ng!" (I am using symbols because I believe this word was used, in this context, as a curse word, and I do not wish to be suspended from the forum.)

Her verbal attack continued even after the ancient arthritic pedestrian - walking in the crosswalk, on a green light, with a walker - cleared the path of my vehicle, and I made my turn - albeit slowly. We could hear her verbal assault going on behind us long after we turned.

So, this is not the first time in the last four years that something of this nature has occurred. In hindsight perhaps I have been wrong. Perhaps, in the interest of international relations, I should have made my turn, run over the great-great-grandmother, crushed her crummy walker, and continued on my way, and therefore avoided responsibility for any delay in the trafiic movement.

My question is: what does one do if the person one runs over gets caught up in the undercarriage and is being dragged along? Does one stop to extricate the corpse, and thereby further delay traffic? Or is the responsible thing to do entail simply continuing on and grinding down the unwanted passenger until they break loose on their own? Is this where the term, "coming to a grinding halt," originated? I need to know.....

Advice, please.

[metisdead]

Moved to General Topics.

[lovelomsak]

I believe the proper procedure is to avoid old women with walkers by making a sharp right turn and accelerate quickly motorcycles are more likely to get pushed to the side eliminating any worries about things geting caught in the undercarriage.

I believe the term grinding halt comes from taking these corrective actions and bringing the verbal abuse you were getting to a grinding halt.

But then again this is coming from a man like yourself spent much time in the Rockies and lenghty times on sailboats on the ocean so I may have it wrong.

[jimbeam1]

You were doing the driving. So it's your decision. The one finger salute and close window?

jb1

[dumball]

With tongue in cheek , you should have opened your door , gave her a slam and gotten rid of the dastardly pest , then give her the finger and close your door with the window wound up .

Actions speak far louder than words .

[manarak]

The finest is making a fast approach and using your car to conceal the old woman from view of the cars behind as long as possible, and then make a last second manoeuver to avoid her before turning left sharply, so that another motorist runs her over.

There is no harm in a grinding halt if it happens just after you sped through, right?

[ballpoint]

Put on a shirt of either yellow or red colour and you can block the traffic as long as you like.

[happyrobert]

With tongue in cheek , you should have opened your door , gave her a slam and gotten rid of the dastardly pest , then give her the finger and close your door with the window wound up .

Actions speak far louder than words .

Um, are you referring to the woman on the scooter or the old lady?

[StreetCowboy]

She can't have been much of a motorcyclist if she was stopped beside you at a red light

SC

[dumball]

'happyrobert' timestamp='1299597835' post='4267886']dumball' timestamp='1299589805' post='4267589']

With tongue in cheek , you should have opened your door , gave her a slam and gotten rid of the dastardly pest , then give her the finger and close your door with the window wound up .

Actions speak far louder than words .

Um, are you referring to the woman on the scooter or the old lady?

Reading what you wrote , the old lady was passing the FRONT of your vehicle , the 'Grunt' on the scooter was adjacent to your door .

Please repeat your question .

[happyrobert]

Um, are you referring to the woman on the scooter or the old lady?

Reading what you wrote , the old lady was passing the FRONT of your vehicle , the 'Grunt' on the scooter was adjacent to your door .

Please repeat your question .

Well, I coulda swerved and accomplished your strategy...they were both kinda pesty...

If I'm wrong, please repeat your confusion.

[StreetCowboy]

Are you quite sure you understood correctly, and that the lady on the motorcycle was not indicating a local short time hotel to which you could both repair?

To be honest, I am baffled by why you would notice a motorcyclist, in any case. You should have been concentrating on your driving.

SC

[happyrobert]

Are you quite sure you understood correctly, and that the lady on the motorcycle was not indicating a local short time hotel to which you could both repair?

To be honest, I am baffled by why you would notice a motorcyclist, in any case. You should have been concentrating on your driving.

SC

Well, I wasn't driving, was I, if I was stopped at a red light. Besides, the "F" word usually gets my attention.

[dumball]

'happyrobert' timestamp='1299599793' post='4267942']

Um, are you referring to the woman on the scooter or the old lady?

Reading what you wrote , the old lady was passing the FRONT of your vehicle , the 'Grunt' on the scooter was adjacent to your door .

Please repeat your question .

Well, I coulda swerved and accomplished your strategy...they were both kinda pesty...

If I'm wrong, please repeat your confusion.

Well reading once again what you had written , you were at a stop at a red light before the female scooterist opened her thighs to show what a grunt she could be , how could you possibly swerve anywhere ?

You wrote your story , not I , I cannot see the point you are trying to make said the blind man , nor I said the monkey on his back .

[StreetCowboy]

Are you quite sure you understood correctly, and that the lady on the motorcycle was not indicating a local short time hotel to which you could both repair?

To be honest, I am baffled by why you would notice a motorcyclist, in any case. You should have been concentrating on your driving.

SC

Well, I wasn't driving, was I, if I was stopped at a red light. Besides, the "F" word usually gets my attention.

You'll find that stationary at traffic lights is still driving, in the eyes of the law - and more convenient for the collection of 100 baht, should you choose to use your phone...

You should not listen to language like that - it will only have a bad and corrupting influence on you.

My recommendation - to other people only - in such a situation is to get out and ask the person to clearly explain, at length, what they really want...

Do as I say, not as I do, and give us all a laugh!

SC

[happyrobert]

Dumball-

Well, yes, I wrote the story - once - and understand the point I was making. You say you read it four times and still do not see the point I was trying to make.

That's okay. Apparently you are in good company.

Thanks for trying.