I recently went to a gas station to fill up my car. I followed another car into the station from the main street entrance. The driver in front of me pulled up to the set of pumps and stopped her car at the first pump instead of pulling forward to the second set of pumps in the lane. Since I was right behind her, I honked my horn a couple of times to let her know that I was there so that she would pull forward to let me into the lane. There was no response from the driver, so I honked again. I had assumed that she did not hear the first honk. She then pulled forward to allow me into the lane. Once I got out of my car, I was about to thank her, when she yelled at me that I should have gone around her car to the second set of pumps. I told her that I was about to thank her for pulling forward, however, her attitude was such that I was a nuisance for making her move her car 20 feet. A few more words were exchanged and then we went about our business.

While I could have gone around, it seemed that she could have done the courteous thing in the first place and pulled forward to allow another car in behind her. In order for me to use the second pump, I would have had to pull around her and then back up into the lane. Since I drive a minivan, this maneuver is not as easy as it sounds. Also, the second spot in the lane allows the driver to exit the gas station quickly since there is no one in front of the driver in the lane. So in fact, taking the second spot in a lane of pumps is the better spot, so I was quite surprised at her reaction.

Please keep any comments polite. Thank you.
Stuart.