15 items or...as many as you want, apparently.

I was at the grocery store today to pick up some snacks for a little shindig I'm attending later.  Since I only had 4 items, I made my way to the express lane.  I love my grocery store because the express lanes there are grammatically correct in that the signs say "15 items or fewer" rather than the incorrect "15 items or less."  

My excitement over proper grammar ended, though, when I realized that people can't follow the rules.  The lady in front of me had about 20 items.  "Fine," I thought.  "That's not so bad."  And then I saw the cart.  The largest cart model at the store was entering the lane behind me, and it was packed to the brim.  I caught the lady looking directly AT the "15 items or fewer" sign, and it appeared as though she was leaving.  She ran into the magazine rack, and instead of leaving, re-aligned her 50-item cart into the lane.  

Why can't people follow the rules?  It's one thing to come through with a few more items than the sign limits, but seriously?  A full cart?  

Other rules Americans can't be bothered to follow

•   Traffic laws.  Sure, we all go above the speed limit once in a while, but I always seem to either get behind the person driving 30mph in a 55mph zone, or stuck in front of the person who wants to drive 80mph in a 30mph zone.  I can't be alone in my sick happiness when someone goes flying by you in the next lane going double the speed limit, only to catch up to him down the road, pulled over by a cop.  I am happy to say that this has happened to me about 5 times since I have been on the road.  And I can't mention idiot drivers without calling out the people who feel they deserve to get ahead in a traffic jam by driving on the side of the road past everyone else.  Clearly where you're going is much more important than where I'm going!
  
• Grammar.  I won't get into the whole "your" vs "you're" issue, or the fact that people have decided that every word should be abbreviated (or, worse, that evvverryy worddd shoulddd havvee exxtrraaa letterrrssss addedd onnn!), but I die a little inside when I see those people whole-heartedly screaming "You're in America, speak English!" while simultaneously demonstrating their complete inability to correctly use the English language. PS big guy, South America is "America," too. 
  
• Any sign posted anywhere in a store/doctor's office/amusement park, what have you.  No feeding the animals?  Here's some bread for ya, ducks!  I'm not supposed to use my cell phone while people are transferring confidential information in a bank or pharmacy?  How dare they cut my conversation about last night's episode of Grey's Anatomy short!  Why should I have to alert you prior to eating that I have an allergy when I can just get mad and sue you after I go into anaphylactic shock?  Gawd! 

Now that I've gotten that off my chest, I'm off to my shindig, 5 items in hand.  

-R