Gettin' my TV Trope on has made me think about tropes in other parts of life. I'll let TV Tropes explain the subtle difference between a "trope" and a "cliché" in their own words...
Tropes are devices and conventions that a writer can reasonably rely on as being present in the audience members' minds and expectations. On the whole, tropes are not clichés. The word clichéd means "stereotyped and trite." In other words, dull and uninteresting. We are not looking for dull and uninteresting entries. We are here to recognize tropes and play with them, not to make fun of them.
I don't know if I totally agree with that because a lot of the entries I've read have been on things that are very "stereotyped and trite" -- again, Revive Kills Zombie -- but I think the focus is more squarely on how these things are used to guide our expectations. What's important is not that we're tired of the tropes -- that's inconsequential. What I think this is getting at is that these things are conventions, or even strictures, of genres or types of media, and we've learned to identify them and use them to guide our expectations of how to experience that specific work.
Anyway, that got a little cerebral. I've been trying to think of other "tropes" in life outside of works of fiction -- things that aren't just clichéd, but when identified, give you a new understanding and expectation of what's going on around you. The first thing that came to mind was driving. I consider myself a pretty good driver. Over the years, I've taken many a long, solo road trip, and I commute a good half hour every day. I don't mean to say that I'm some authority on driving, but I think I am a reasonably educated, smart and safe driver. And when you're an educated, smart, and safe driver, people who aren't just tend to stick out*.
* - This picture really isn't funny... I mean, OK, it sort of is, but it's seriously pretty scary how awful many our companions on the road are.
So, I humbly present a few Driving Tropes -- when you see one of these schmohawks perform any one or more of these actions, or come across the object in question, you pretty much know what to expect from there. (Items with Seemingly Random Capitalization are things that could, and maybe should, be tropes in their own right.)
KING OF THE ROAD
"Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?" --George Carlin
Most people have their own preferred cruising speed for highway driving. (This troper usually won't push it more than about 10% over the limit, because of police but also because it's hard to get his car over 75.) Whenever you are traveling on the highway and you see somebody in the left lane for more than the length of time it takes to pass slower traffic on the right, this driver will be very stubborn about his speed and refuse to yield to traffic moving faster than he. There is no shame or loss of manhood in moving into the right lane for somebody moving faster than you -- you and this person just have different ideas about safe speeds on the highway, or how fast you can push the limit before getting a ticket. Usually, to get by the King of the Road, you have to pass him on the right -- frowned upon, and actually a crime in Germany -- or wait until he finally decides to grant you passage. A true King of the Road may also act somewhat aggressively, doing things such as slamming the brakes to scare would-be tailgaters, or cutting off those attempting to pass on the right. He is usually a younger middle-aged person, often with a family, who's young enough to not be totally incompetent but old enough to drive somewhat slowly and resent those going faster.
A driver may not be King of the Road if he's in the left lane, as long as 1) he's in the process of passing someone slower than he is (Wait Your Turn); 2) he's following a truck or other large vehicle in exceptionally snowy conditions (Where'd The Road Go?); 3) he's just blissfully unaware of the "Rules of the Road", either by ignorance (Head in the Sand) or distraction (Elvis Textley).
THAT ONE TRAFFIC LIGHT
Every town has one: the intersection the locals just know to avoid. It seems that the light, no matter the angle of approach, is always red when you pull up. It may have excessively long cycles, multiple arrows (sometimes with illogical red lights accompanying them), mandatory timed pedestrian crossings, or the dreaded Arbitrary No Turn on Red. Usually, there are no traffic sensors, or they are broken or only function certain times of day. That One Traffic Light is often at a critical junction between major roads, adding to its daily hassle to drivers by all but forcing them to pass though it or take a lenghty detour.
Note that That One Traffic Light isn't necessarily just a busy intersection. It can be and often is busy, but what makes it That One Traffic Light isn't the volume of traffic but rather the inefficient or downright frustrating way in which the intersection was designed or the lights cycle. This troper often seriously wonders what fraction of his life -- as both a passenger and a driver -- has been wasted either sitting at or actively avoiding the "clusterfrick" linked to above.
AFTER YOU, SIR
Acceptable instances of breaking normal right-of-way rules do exist -- for instance, stopping short of the car ahead to let somebody turn left into a driveway you would be blocking when traffic is stopped, anyway; or, allowing a Pittsburgh left in an appropriate situation. Some, however, completely ignore conventional right-of-way rules and "wave on" other drivers in unwarranted situations. Although they mean well, they are unintentionally shaking other drivers' faith in well-established right-of-way rules and potentially setting up dangerous situations. Usually a middle-aged or older woman or a skittish teenager, this driver will often stop at inappropriate times to "let people go" when they should be concentrated on following the Rules of the Road and driving safely rather than concerning themselves with niceties with pissed-off and hurried strangers.
The worst instance of this is when Driver A and Driver B oppose each other at a green light, Driver A turning left and Driver B going straight. Driver B, thinking himself a noble soul, gives Driver A a wave and lets him turn before he and the other oncoming traffic go straight. This is a problem if there is room for a (rightfully) impatient car to pass Driver B on the right and proceed straight as right-of-way would suggest. Driver A is confused but accepts the gesture and the passing car slams into him. Some fault may lie with That One Impatient Guy who did the passing, but for all he knows, After You Sir may just have his Head in the Sand and be turning left without signaling.
THAT ONE IMPATIENT GUY
Sometimes, even good drivers might get distracted waiting at a red light and will need a toot on the horn to notify them that the light has, in fact, turned green. Other times, however, a driver will LAY on the horn when the light has been green for less than a second. Whenever somebody -- even you -- is late for a commitment, they will become irrationally and visibly annoyed by any minor inconvenience that would normally be ignored or shrugged off as part of everyday driving. Murphy's Law does come into play here, as That One Impatient Guy will think the stars are aligning against him and will take out his frustration though his car. He is typically a young professional and he will probably grow up to be King of the Road someday.
Examples of That One Impatient Guy's behavior include: Speeding up to a merge point in the lane that is obviously closed (Merge This!), excessively revving or accelerating when passing slower traffic, the aforementioned beeping at traffic lights, becoming the anti-After You Sir and taking dangerous left-hand turns ahead of oncoming traffic, gunning through yellow lights (or throwing up his hands in disgust when you don't).
LEAP-FROGGING REDS
When on a straight street in a city or town with a signal every block, the signals will usually be coordinated to 1) all be green at the same time, allowing for a steady flow of traffic, or 2) "leap-frog" each other with reds, with one signal turning yellow just moments after the one previous turned green. The supposed benefit of the Leap-Frogging Reds is obvious: prevent speeding by ensuring that a driver will have to stop at every intersection rather than blaze right through. Unless the lights are extremely well-synchronized, however, the tendency is for the opposite to happen. A savvy driver, especially That One Impatient Guy, will gun it off the green light to attempt to beat the oncoming red at the next intersection, in so doing driving more dangerously than he likely would have if there were no Leap-Frogging Reds to begin with. This becomes especially clear when one of the intersections in question is known to contain That One Traffic Light, in which case even normally sound and patient Defensive Drivers (especially those using the Smith System) will get antsy and speed to avoid getting trapped.
HEAD IN THE SAND
Different tropes can be difficult to pinpoint at first, but the most erratic and most difficult to accurately identify is somebody who is driving with absolutely no awareness for what is going on around them. They will randomly show instances of many other characteristics, sometimes alternating between excessive speeding and going 10 under (60 to 80 to 60 in Sixty Seconds), letting people turn (or not) at strange times (After You, Sir), waiting for a long time at green lights, and never ever signaling. Almost invariably an old person, you can't have your Head in the Sand in the strictest sense if you are distracted or a beginning driver. The Head in the Sand driver will infuriate others, especially That One Impatient Guy, by hanging in the left lane (King of the Road) or lackadaisically make turns at slower-than-necessary speeds.
There are a TON MORE but I've been sitting here writing for almost two hours so I'm going to call it quits. Any more driving tropes? And if you have a minute, by all means, check out TV Tropes. You'll be sorry you did -- quite possibly the most addicting site since Sporcle.
