why don't youngsters listen?

[poppa smurf]

grabbing a bit of fuel this morning when a "doof doof" buzzbox pulled up at the next bowser.

I noticed as it was stopping that the drivers side brake light was out.

as i was filling up I glanced at the vehicle and noticed the rear tyres were also bald and the exhaust was dropping off at the rear......none of my business, right..yep! my thoughts.

a young girl got out of the vehicle and she said "hello".......I responded and a bit of conversation evolved as we were both filling, anyway I mentioned the rear light and tyres as well as exhaust.

she went a bit cold and said.....in a smart *** tone,.... "yeah! I'll get it fixed straightaway!".....went and paid for her fuel and on the way back laughed, got into her car and took off in cloud of oil smoke and music, I just shrugged and went back to my fuelling.

no skin off my nose.

paid up, drove out, turned left at the roundabout and down a bit, Hmmm! flashing lights, check speed, no I'm right.

oh! oh! it's "doof doof" girl.......mr policeman is writing furiously.......I give a nod as I continue on.

please if any one sees my tail light out or something amiss......TELL ME!!!

[Kable72]

Some people are just *** holes, mate.

[ratter]

at least you tried

[DJR-351]

The eternal question for which there is no answer.....

[pajoda]

Poppa, we are just too old to be relevant anymore.

[T4ME]

Its not just young people.

[Kable72]

Originally Posted by T4ME

Its not just young people.

I'm with you here, I get more people in their 30s and 40s fob me off when I let em know something is wrong with their car than I do people my own age.

[Yellow_Festiva]

Not just youngsters! All ages, all walks of life. It takes all types to make the world go round...

Adults still smoke, kids still jig school, businesses still cook the books, drivers still speed, back packers still travel without insurance, guys running late still run red lights, girls still drink to excess and make mistakes, people still marry or go out with the wrong people, most drivers still drive while talking / texting
etc etc etc...

All the above would have been told and shown how wrong it is. It is just human nature to think we know best and that any issues / consequences that we know may happen certainly won't happen to us.. Been there, done that myself.. several times!

And when it does... what is the response...

"I TOLD ya so".

Like you said, no skin off your nose. Perhaps they will learn for next time, perhaps they won't.

Last time I told someone they were driving on a flat I got an earful of the most filthy, un ladylike abuse because I should have 'minded my own business'....

So, when the (very butch looking) girl at the air pump in front of me did all 4 tyres of her Korean Barina at 55psi I didn't say a word... 'No skin off my nose'....

[Iggle Piggle]

Its no good Poppa - years of experience and education will never see any one know as much as a teenager does.

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

...girls still drink to excess and make mistakes...

I spent a lot of my early 20's being that mistake - good times!

[DBourne]

Pretty funny that there was a copper right there and then! Great timing

[MDS69]

Originally Posted by SgtBourne

Pretty funny that there was a copper right there and then! Great timing

a little story relating to good timing

My wife use to drive the M2 in Sydney every morning and afternoon to and from work. One morning she was cut off by a tool who was lane changing several times every hundred metres in the peak hour crawl. When she was cut off she sounded the horn because it was that close and lo and behold the next car who got cut off was an unmarked car of NSW's finest who promptly pulled him over.

[hawkgirl]

that there is Karma at its best. Made my morning

[ford71V8]

Ha, great story.
Perfect time for a cop to be close by.

You must be unaware though....
There are a number of 17 year old doctors, lawyers, engineers, financial advisers, managers, and directors. Some people are not content to simply focus on just one specialization.
I take my hat off to all those who have worked hard to squeeze in this vast amount of education while still managing to accumulate a wealth of knowledge through life experience, and all within the short time they have been around. Makes me wonder how any of them find themselves in a bind.

[Kable72]

Originally Posted by ford71V8

Ha, great story.
Perfect time for a cop to be close by.

You must be unaware though....
There are a number of 17 year old doctors, lawyers, engineers, financial advisers, managers, and directors. Some people are not content to simply focus on just one specialization.
I take my hat off to all those who have worked hard to squeeze in this vast amount of education while still managing to accumulate a wealth of knowledge through life experience, and all within the short time they have been around. Makes me wonder how any of them find themselves in a bind.

I'm flat out trying to keep myself in the right frame of mind let alone getting an education lol.

[Ducati888]

The hardest thing in the world to give away is good advice.

When I was I kid I knew it all too. Couldn't be told a damned thing. Always knew more than, and was way cooler than, my parents. I never woke up until I was in my 20's (half a lifetime ago - sigh!). Were any of you any different?

[prydey]

Originally Posted by Ducati888

The hardest thing in the world to give away is good advice.

When I was I kid I knew it all too. Couldn't be told a damned thing. Always knew more than, and was way cooler than, my parents. I never woke up until I was in my 20's (half a lifetime ago - sigh!). Were any of you any different?

this!

all the 'tut tutting' of the youngsters. it has been that way since adam was a boy.

thankfully most of us grow up. karma is when we have teenage kids of our own. then we find out how it felt for our parents.

[peteypete]

A bit off topic, but I'm a youngster on my P's, I drive an XR6 and all my lights work, all my tyres have at least 90% tread, and I'm happy listening to my stock premium sound stereo on about 9-10
Just to clarify that not all youngsters are reckless menaces on the road...

[poppa smurf]

Originally Posted by peteypete

A bit off topic, but I'm a youngster on my P's, I drive an XR6 and all my lights work, all my tyres have at least 90% tread, and I'm happy listening to my stock premium sound stereo on about 9-10
Just to clarify that not all youngsters are reckless menaces on the road...

mate I know this, we raised two kids into fine adults ourselves and now have grandkids.

99% of youngsters are fantastic people to be around....I enjoy their company immensely and have helped many over the years personally and through the business with sporting associations, donations and time.

every now and then you come across one that makes you go HMmmmm!

[XB GS 351 Coupe]

Nice story, good result IMO.

Had a somewhat similar experience recently, was driving my daily driver right on the speed limit in a 100 zone, being tail gated by a P plater (not picking on P platers just stating a fact), first chance he gets he does a risky overtaking manouver, all I hear is a screaming 4 banger with a big fart cannon hanging out the back, nearly having a head on wih a semi who blasts his horn at him, as he pulls back in front of me, he over corrects and runs his passenger side tires onto the gravel on the side ofthe road spraying up rocks causing me to slow down to avoid damage to my car.

Then to show off, he takes off like a bat out of hell, insert further farting sounds coming from the milo tin attached to the exhaust

About 2 minutes later I come around a bend and see him pulled over by a highway patrol car, as I cruise past still sitting on the speed limit.

Love it when things workout.

[Kable72]

Originally Posted by XB GS 351 Coupe

Nice story, good result IMO.

Had a somewhat similar experience recently, was driving my daily driver right on the speed limit in a 100 zone, being tail gated by a P plater (not picking on P platers just stating a fact), first chance he gets he does a risky overtaking manouver, all I hear is a screaming 4 banger with a big fart cannon hanging out the back, nearly having a head on wih a semi who blasts his horn at him, as he pulls back in front of me, he over corrects and runs his passenger side tires onto the gravel on the side ofthe road spraying up rocks causing me to slow down to avoid damage to my car.

Then to show off, he takes off like a bat out of hell, insert further farting sounds coming from the milo tin attached to the exhaust

About 2 minutes later I come around a bend and see him pulled over by a highway patrol car, as I cruise past still sitting on the speed limit.

Love it when things workout.

Gotta love them milo tin exhausts on 4 bangers

[poppa smurf]

I seem to live in the land of the young folks, my family is pretty young now, getting to the age where I'm the "old fart" but get on with most, I thought this young lady and I were getting along amicably and that was the only reason i opened my mouth.

I offered to replace the brake light for her, the service station had spare bulbs, five minute job, but she declined which is her right to do, after all I'm just a dopey old stranger/weirdo.

I have enormous respect for youngsters nowadays and will go out of my way to help, it is far harder growing up now than it was in my day.

theres been coppers everywhere lately, bit of a blitz going on I think, I still reckon if I could have replaced the globe for her she would have been okay.

but there is a niggling "feeling" in the back of my mind that if so many things wrong with the vehicle, should it be on the road at all? and just maybe that copper may have just saved her, or someone else's life.

but anyway, thats just conjecture but that's what happened to me this morning......if you see a mercury silver 05 fairmont driving around with a blown globe, come and tell me.....theres a beer in it for you!

[BENT_8]

Had a similar thing happen many moons ago.
Being in a small country town (Maitland SA for those playing at home) everyone basically knew each other and would look out for one another.
One evening, whilst sitting on the bench out the front of our take away shop I noticed a young lad had a blown headlight as he pulled into the car park out front.
I wasn't going to say anything, as, like most of the young folk, they rarely listened, but upon his exit from the shop I mentioned the globe being out.
His reply wasn't rude, he just smiled and said it had been blown for a few days.
Not quite the response I had envisaged...

So off he goes, on his way.

About 5 minutes later my lad rang and asked to be picked up to come get his dinner from the shop, so I jumped in the car and headed in his direction.
At the far end of the main Street I could see the local with the young fella in tow giving his VR the once over.
Being a local I knew the cop a bit so I pulled up and said g'day.
he was in the process of writing him up for the light and anything else which caught his eye.
I had a quick word, explained that I had just told him about the blown light and had offered to change it with one I had at the house if he gave me 5 minutes.
In them days you couldn't buy anything but takeaway after 12pm Saturday arvo so he had no options.
So the good man put his pen away and after a few more minutes of general banter we were all on our way.
I led the young fella down to our place and as promised, gave him a globe from my set of spare headlights and sent him on his way.

A month or so later I ran into him in the front bar, was a cheap night for me from what I remember...

[Trump]

Originally Posted by BENT_8

Had a similar thing happen many moons ago.
Being in a small country town (Maitland SA for those playing at home) everyone basically knew each other and would look out for one another.
One evening, whilst sitting on the bench out the front of our take away shop I noticed a young lad had a blown headlight as he pulled into the car park out front.
I wasn't going to say anything, as, like most of the young folk, they rarely listened, but upon his exit from the shop I mentioned the globe being out.
His reply wasn't rude, he just smiled and said it had been blown for a few days.
Not quite the response I had envisaged...

So off he goes, on his way.

About 5 minutes later my lad rang and asked to be picked up to come get his dinner from the shop, so I jumped in the car and headed in his direction.
At the far end of the main Street I could see the local with the young fella in tow giving his VR the once over.
Being a local I knew the cop a bit so I pulled up and said g'day.
he was in the process of writing him up for the light and anything else which caught his eye.
I had a quick word, explained that I had just told him about the blown light and had offered to change it with one I had at the house if he gave me 5 minutes.
In them days you couldn't buy anything but takeaway after 12pm Saturday arvo so he had no options.
So the good man put his pen away and after a few more minutes of general banter we were all on our way.
I led the young fella down to our place and as promised, gave him a globe from my set of spare headlights and sent him on his way.

A month or so later I ran into him in the front bar, was a cheap night for me from what I remember...

This is why I have been considering moving to a small country town away from the big smoke.

[svo supporter]

Had a local copper pull me over a couple of weekends ago, because I had no brake lights.....He was polite informing me about it...So whilst on the side of the road with him doing the licence check, I checked and found the fuse blown....Being the old glass ones, and being a smoker, a bit of alfoil from the ciggy packet and voila fixed....Had the copper check it was fixed too, so a win win situation....

On the subject of what the thread....Problem is common courtesy doesn't exist that much anymore....Still doesn't stop me being polite to other motorists about lights being out...They either flip me the bird or thank me....either way, it's still common courtesy....

[XB GS 351 Coupe]

Originally Posted by svo supporter

...Being the old glass ones, and being a smoker, a bit of alfoil from the ciggy packet and voila fixed....

Haha too funny, and next thing the car is in fire as the wiring has gone up in smoke as the fuse that possibly blew for a reason is now no longer functional, and unable to stop the wiring loom from melting and starting a vehicle fire.

[Ford_The_Win]

As a consequence of my line of work (psychologist), I try not to invest anything in strangers nor do I take on their many, many problems. If I have no stake or interest, I usually leave them to their own devices.

[svo supporter]

Originally Posted by XB GS 351 Coupe

Haha too funny, and next thing the car is in fire as the wiring has gone up in smoke as the fuse that possibly blew for a reason is now no longer functional, and unable to stop the wiring loom from melting and starting a vehicle fire.

It's called a quick fix on the side of the road, until I got home....Generally keeps the coppers happy knowing you have made an attempt to rectify the problem then and there.....And yeah, I was a whole 5 kays from home too...

Why it blew....The car in question was made in 1971...So I'd better go back to the manufacturer and complain my 42 year old fuse blew, so I want it replaced under warranty....

Finally I had the spare wheel, trolley jack, wheel brace, replacement radiator hoses, heater hoses, coolant, oil and light globes....I over looked the stupid fuses.... So time to take me out the back and give me a good talking down too..

[99AUXR]

Originally Posted by XB GS 351 Coupe

Haha too funny, and next thing the car is in fire as the wiring has gone up in smoke as the fuse that possibly blew for a reason is now no longer functional, and unable to stop the wiring loom from melting and starting a vehicle fire.

Had that happen with one of our rental vehicles..... Not so funny lol.

[peteypete]

I agree poppa, there are definitely some youths who seem to have stopped maturing at the age 15. It's a scary thing when they start to get into real world things like driving a car.

[XRGhia]

I know what you mean poppa smurf, and I own an E-series :P


Being serious for a moment, I know quite a few people around my local who have easily defectable cars (blue/red parkers or blown headlights/bald tires/exhaust too loud), yet they whinge when they get defected for having a defect-able car. 80% of them are P-Platers too...


It's a pity, because it's the minority that ruins it for the majority.