What are your city's unwritten "laws"?

[mrnyc]

Originally Posted by pj3000

It all comes back to PIZZA

haha -- yeah as god intended !!!

[pj3000]

I know what's for dinner tonight.

[SIGSEGV]

Originally Posted by pj3000

I know what's for dinner tonight.

fuck it I was gonna get Arepas but maybe pizza is the right call.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by SIGSEGV

fuck it I was gonna get Arepas but maybe pizza is the right call.

Pizza is always the right call

[Illithid Dude]

Very commonly accepted for two to three cars to make a left turn immediately after the light has turned red in Los Angeles.

[muppet]

London:

1. Heavy snow = unofficial national holiday, once in a generation.

2. Don't stare at anyone, ever. You're creepy if you do.

3. Don't talk to strangers for conversation, or talk loudly in general (especially on the phone), unless you're dangerous, or crass. Or North American (they will love you if you do).

4. Take turns when buying rounds. Not doing so will be silently noted by everyone, forever.

5. When eating, mix n mash, dib n dab new combos rather than savouring each thing separately. It's designed that way.

6. Never honk your horn, even when you're screaming at each other and giving the finger, or about to die. They are purely decorative.

7. Don't walk side by side, it's as bad as standing on the wrong side of the escalator. Don't walk slow, don't stop, fool.

8. When talking to the working classes, put on your best Cockney accent. You may have to keep this up for the rest of your life.

9. If you have any other regional British accent (read: every 25 miles in any direction across the country) put it in a box and bury it. You may have to keep this up for the rest of your life. Unless you're Cockernee.

10. Be as passive aggressive as humanly possible. Weaponise the word 'sorry'. Unless you're a Northern twat.

11. Don't talk about Brexit at dinner parties, it's been done to death.

12. Never talk to/ befriend your neighbours, that's just plain rude.

13. Don't say sir or madam, that's just plain rude.

14. Never, ever do anything outside of work, weddings or funerals in a suit.

15. Never serve/ order pizza thick.

16. There's no correct side to walking on a pavement, at the last minute both sides will swerve.

Caveat ^ all of the above need not apply when getting drunk, which is every day with a 'd' in it. Let it all hang out, you deserve it.

[DetroitSky]

In Detroit, U-turns can be done at any time on any street, even in front of cops, despite them being illegal in Michigan.

[craigs]

It is technically illegal to drink alcoholic beverages in San Francisco parks, but the police will leave your group alone as long as the bottle/can/mixing cup is discretely tucked away from open view when not in use (e.g. don't advertise it), and as long as nobody gets shitfaced enough to bother other parkgoers. What bothers other parkgoers depends, of course, on just how shitfaced everyone in the park happens to be at the time.

[Don't Be That Guy]

Originally Posted by pj3000

Pittsburgh
- The Pittsburgh Left is when you turn left at a traffic light as soon as it turns green, not yielding to oncoming traffic, or you allowing opposing traffic to turn left in front of you at an intersection when the light turns green before you proceed through. I don't like it either way.

The Pittsburgh Left is the only thing that keeps traffic moving on many streets too narrow for turn lanes. The trick is to start your movement just before the light turns green so that opposing traffic knows what you're doing. That is unless they have already flashed their lights to give you the okay.

I'm not a native and I love the Pittsburgh Left.

- When two cars are on a steep and narrow hilly street, the ascending car is given the right of way.

Most of the streets where people do this are wide enough to fit both cars, but for some reason, Pittsburgh drives in the middle of any street without lines. Oh well, giving the ascending car the right of way works so I just go with it.

Another unwritten traffic-related rule:

- There are no enforced speed limits on both Bigelow Blvd and Rt 28 from Downtown to just past the Blawnox exit where a Harmer Twp cop sits daily. These are the Pittsburgh Autonbahns, enjoy

[Don't Be That Guy]

Originally Posted by craigs

It is technically illegal to drink alcoholic beverages in San Francisco parks, but the police will leave your group alone as long as the bottle/can/mixing cup is discretely tucked away from open view when not in use (e.g. don't advertise it), and as long as nobody gets shitfaced enough to bother other parkgoers. What bothers other parkgoers depends, of course, on just how shitfaced everyone in the park happens to be at the time.

I've spent a lot of time in Deloris park with the post-brunch crowd. Everyone is drunk and continues their drinking openly. I'd hardly call any of it discrete.

San Fransico is funny how even the act of waiting at a restaurant is part of the dining experience. People just get shitfaced standing in the street or on the sidewalk while waiting over an hour of a table at brunch time and the restaurants make bank selling mimosas and bloody marys to the crowd. It's like no one in that city thinks something is worth the while unless you have to queue up for it. The drinking just makes sit even more of an event.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by Don't Be That Guy

The Pittsburgh Left is the only thing that keeps traffic moving on many streets too narrow for turn lanes. The trick is to start your movement just before the light turns green so that opposing traffic knows what you're doing. That is unless they have already flashed their lights to give you the okay.

I'm not a native and I love the Pittsburgh Left.


Most of the streets where people do this are wide enough to fit both cars, but for some reason, Pittsburgh drives in the middle of any street without lines. Oh well, giving the ascending car the right of way works so I just go with it.

Another unwritten traffic-related rule:

- There are no enforced speed limits on both Bigelow Blvd and Rt 28 from Downtown to just past the Blawnox exit where a Harmer Twp cop sits daily. These are the Pittsburgh Autonbahns, enjoy

The problem with the Pittsburgh Left is when people allow like 5 people to go in front of them... thinking they’re being so considerate, right? No, they’re being terribly inconsiderate to all the people behind them who now won’t get through the light. Or when people stop in traffic (not at an intersection) to allow a left turner to turn in front of them for no fucking reason whatsoever, nearly causing cars behind them to ram into their back.

Hear you on 28... it can be total slot car racing through the twists and turns. Speed limit is 45

[JManc]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

I wouldn't recommend nabbing someone else's "dibs" spot in chicago.

Your car might end up getting keyed, or a tire slashed, or worse. After all, this is chicago we're talking about. Idiots in this town shoot guns at each other over petty-ass shit like this.

Yeah this doesn't strike me as something that would jive in a major city like Chicago, NY or Philly. Small towns are more tolerant and laid back about this sort of thing. I used to leave my car running while I ran into a store when it was 20 below in Upstate. It would be gone in a bigger city.

[Six Corners]

St. Louis:

St. Louis established independence from St. Louis County many, many years ago. Currently it is not in any county. All places located within St. Louis County shall be referred to as being "in the county" rather than in a specific city. To be more specific, you may refer to things as being in "North County," "South County," or "West County." (What's particularly interesting is that many St. Louisians don't seem know this is unique to St. Louis and refer to suburbia in other cities as being "in the county.")

This one is a pet peeve of mine so pardon the rant... apparently, under no circumstances, should a driver turning left from a traffic light pull out into the intersection to prepare for a break in traffic. If the light turns yellow and traffic has not cleared, you wait for the next light cycle. Worse, if there is not a left-turn lane and you are behind someone who is trying to turn left, you must not try to go around them regardless of how much space there is to the right of the left-turning car to do so. You, also, will be waiting for the next light cycle. In the three previous metro areas I have lived - Chicago, Ames, IA, and Omaha - each of a wildly different size than the others, it is accepted that however many cars turning left that can fit into the intersection before or at the moment a traffic light turns red are allowed to turn left without any hassle from other drivers.

If you move away for college, you must eventually move back with a spouse or significant other.

Only natives enjoy provel cheese.


Chicago:

The Sears Tower shall never be referred to by any other name, regardless of what any current owner names it. I believe this holds for Comiskey Park and the John Hancock Center as well... or maybe it was just me.

With some exceptions, Wrigleyville is not an appropriate area for going out on weekends for anyone past their mid-twenties.

When parallel parking, it is polite to park as close as possible to the car ahead or behind you so as to allow as many cars to park as possible. Lightly tapping someone's bumper when trying to fit into a particularly tight space does not warrant any compensation to the owner of the other car.


Omaha:

The street system is a grid. North-south streets are numbered and east-west streets are words or letters. As such, when telling someone the location of a place, you do so by listing the closest arterial cross streets in the order of numbered street first, then word/letter street (ie, "Yeah, I grew up near 156th and Maple").

There shall be no city rivalry between Omaha and Lincoln for Lincoln is home to University of Nebraska Husker football and is thus Mecca. Des Moines however..

The demarcation between urban and suburban is 72nd Street.

Spaghetti Works has only one acceptable location.

[Will O' Wisp]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

Very commonly accepted for two to three cars to make a left turn immediately after the light has turned red in Los Angeles.

Plus, no waiting for some pedestrian to cross the street. If they're not physically blocking the lane you're trying to get into, you drive around them.

You're allowed to make a U-turn anywhere without a median if you spot a parking spot on the other side of the street. Likewise you can make an immediate U-turn after pulling out of your spot if your destination is in the other direction.

If someone tries to get around traffic using the left turn lane, you're obliged to make it unpleasant for them to merge in. If they use the shoulder, you don't let them in at all.

"Avoiding traffic" is an acceptable excuse for not wanting to go somewhere between 7-10am and 4-7pm. Anyone who works a shift that doesn't start/end at these times is to be congratulated for not dealing with traffic, even if that shift is 10pm-6am.

Don't make eye contact with panhandlers/flower sellers in the median unless you plan on giving them change.

On the freeway, the speed limit in the right hand lane is ~70. Everywhere else it's ~80-85. You always drive the speed limit if able unless someone spots a cop. You will know when someone spots a cop because all the traffic suddenly slows down to 65.

[muertecaza]

Arizona, the one that comes to mind is the "requirement" that restaurants and other public accommodations provide free drinking water if requested. This one is prevalent enough that it's become sort of an urban legend that it's actually a codified law, and you see it on "strange laws" compilations, even though it's not actually a law. I imagine most places all over the country are not charging for water, but it's deeply ingrained here, and you don't really see even the occasional place only providing bottled water for sale, or having a surcharge for tap water, like I've seen in other places.

[benp]

- No own "owns" a public parking space on your street, even in front of your house. Attempting to reserve a shoveled spot by blocking it will be a failure. The chairs and objects in the photo would be scattered or crushed if anyone tried that here.
- In winter stop signs are slow-down signs, as stopping puts you at risk of getting stuck on ice, or rear-ended by the guy behind you. Divers learn to alternately weave through. (some people continue this habit all year...)
- You must make your own lanes on city streets, as weaving around stopped and turning cars is expected, and what may seem like a 2-lane street may functionally operate like a 3 or 4 lane street. In winter its a necessity, in summer the city helps out by not re-painting the stripes as often as needed.
- Two conflicting local laws are waiting at least 5 seconds after a light turns green for the yellow-light runners to pass and immediately leaning on the horn if the guy in front of you isn't off his brakes as soon as a light turns green.
- And along with the above, speeding up at a yellow light is a necessity, as the driver behind you is not looking at your car but at the light ahead of you and will rear end you if you slow down or stop.
- Speed limits on expressways are not to be exceeded, and speed limits on city streets are to be ignored. Unless you are a Canadian, and then the opposite applies.
- A fondness for ranch dressing on wings is considered at best a character flaw or at worst a disgusting adulteration of the the local preference for blue cheese. It is best to avoid ranch when visiting. (look up Joey Diaz rant on Joe Rogan show for context).

[Acajack]

In Canada's capital city of Ottawa, when skating on the Rideau Canal (the world's largest skating rink), it's perfectly cool and safe to leave your boots under a bench or in one of the shelters unguarded when you're out skating.

No one in a million years would expect your boots to get stolen.

[benp]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

I wouldn't recommend nabbing someone else's "dibs" spot in chicago.

Your car might end up getting keyed, or a tire slashed, or worse. After all, this is chicago we're talking about. Idiots in this town shoot guns at each other over petty-ass shit like this.

Here the person who tried to claim "dibs" would be the one with their car being vandalized.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by craigs

It is technically illegal to drink alcoholic beverages in San Francisco parks, but the police will leave your group alone as long as the bottle/can/mixing cup is discretely tucked away from open view when not in use (e.g. don't advertise it), and as long as nobody gets shitfaced enough to bother other parkgoers. What bothers other parkgoers depends, of course, on just how shitfaced everyone in the park happens to be at the time.

I live in a metro on the border between Ontario and Quebec. Both sides have their own city and provincial police, but for some things the RCMP (the Mounties) do patrol on either side - this is especially true of parks, and we have many large ones here.

Anyway a few years ago a media report revealed what many people had long suspected: in spite of the fact that the law is exactly the same on both sides of the river, the RCMP (often the same officers, I'd suspect) is much more lenient when it comes to alcohol in public on the Quebec side of the river than in Ontario.

Relative to the number of "interventions" they did, the number of tickets issued in Ontario was exponentially higher. In fact, they issued almost no tickets for drinking in public on the Quebec side.

[kool maudit]

Oh my lord...Stockholm...if written out, they would fill volumes.