Manners, Miss Manners, Cell phone use, Noise, Rudeness and Civil Behavior in so-called civilized America.

To add a bit of wit and humor to your message of "Do not block driveway," have your signs translated into several foreign languages. At the very least, it will give the rude driveway-blockers a little something new to think about. Do not block driveway

Check out the no noise organization's web site and their "The Quiet Zone" newsletter: No Noise Organization

Cell phone use and abuse in restaurants, in libraries and while driving cars, trucks and SUVs. Please check out the "cell manners" web site of Ms. Carol Page, at Miss Cell Phone Manners Unfortunately, as is usually the case, those that need this information the most are the least likely to want to read it.

Several great stories about cell phone users' stupidity from the News - Tales from the Cell Wars subpage of the Miss Cell Phone Manners web site:Several great stories about cell phone users' stupidity

Some of the train commuters on the Connecticut North Metro rail line have spoken out in favor of "quiet cars" where they won't be forced to listen to the weak-ego shouting showoffs on their cell phones. Cell phone abuse on the railroad

Newly discovered Species of American Drivers Observed on Freeways and Local Streets. Or, What ever happened to the lost art of turn-signalling? New Species of Drivers 1 November 1998

If you have the gall to actually try to drive an automobile in Berkeley or the Rockridge district of Oakland, California, you will be subject to unending rudeness and abusive behavior by bicyclists and pedestrians. Bicyclists here routinely ride through stop signs and red lights. I guess that their self-righteousness about actually pedaling a two-wheeled machine has granted them the life-long license to be rude.

I understand that many folks are in a big hurry to get to where they are going, but at some point one should realize that there are other people on the planet that also need to get to where they are going.

Thank heavens for Judith Martin's brilliant column, Miss Manners, which is now syndicated in newspapers across our country. Perhaps her columns and books could be the basis for a junior high school or high school class on manners and civil behavior. Miss Manners at the Washington Post (this link may be a little sluggish).

On the other side of this coin, we have the serious problem of reckless, speeding car drivers. May be it is the endless flashing glitzy car ads on television, which invariably feature drivers speeding on amazingly open roads. I would like to see the U. S. Congress enact legislation that would require 75% of automobile television ads to show drivers slowing down and coming to a complete stop at stop signs and smilingly waving pedestrians to safely cross the street.

Also, it would probably be useful to require that driver education classes be taught in all American high schools and that passing a driver education class be one of the requirements for high school graduation. Please check the essay, "Teenagers behind the wheel" by Dr. Moshe Ipp Teenagers behind the wheel and the essay, "An Ongoing Epidemic in Arizona" by Robert H. Brown and Jay M. Smith An Ongoing Epidemic in Arizona.

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This web page was recently created by James Sayre.

Contact author James K. Sayre at sayresayre@yahoo.com. Author's Email: sayresayre@yahoo.com

Copyright 2004 by Bottlebrush Press. All Rights Reserved.

Web page last updated on 28 September 2004.