Driving. For some of us a necessity, for others a pleasure. Most of us who drive to work during the rush hour have to get there on time. Enter the casual driver. The one who has no specific time to arrive at his or her destination but wants to get an early start so that they can drive without the hassle and stress of rushing to wherever they’re going. I’m sure that we can all recall people who make us SCREAM inside our cars as we attempt to make that string of green lights or that patch of clear road but for that one single car making it impossible. That one car that, although there is NO ONE in front of them, decides to drive (usually in the left lane) at that leisurely pace not at all interested in making that light because really, "What’s the rush?". That one driver who not only drives so slow and leisurely, but blocks traffic causing those "unexplainable" bottlenecks of traffic on the main thoroughfares. You know what I am talking about. Haven’t you, even just this morning, encountered that same driver?
It amazes me that people have no sense of the world around them. Drivers that have no idea that they are driving in RUSH hour traffic, not STROLL hour traffic. And it is those same "drivers" that are afraid to pass the buses and trucks that occupy the right lane. They keep just behind them and on the left so no one can pass and no one can get by. We all just have to hang back behind them until the bus pulls over to the stop to pick someone up and then we frustratingly and annoyingly zoom past that G-ddam pain in the rear, while he/she just toodles along (breaking to slow down if they’re getting over 20mph), as we try to make up for the lost time we spent toodling along behind them. **SIGH** If I wanted to go as slow as the bus I’d have TAKEN the bus!
What about that driver in front of you that decides they are going to make a left hand turn and decides that the time to signal to let those behind them know is WHILE they are making that turn. Meanwhile, you've stopped behind them at the stoplight, never realizing their intentions, until that light turns green and they move not an inch! All of a sudden that friggin’ signal comes on and there you are trapped behind them waiting for them to make that friggin’ turn. I don’t know about you, but I learned in driver's ed to signal approximately ½ block ahead of when you intend to turn. This gives those driving behind you a chance to change lanes and avoid you. That would be the considerate thing to do. It avoids accidents. It shows the world that you realize it exists.
And don’t even get me started about the parkways (expressways, freeways, et.al). Have you ever entered the on-ramp of the parkway and while attempting to accelerate and merge left, found that the driver in front of you was either coming to a full stop or using you to merge, waiting for YOU to merge first and then just easing in front of you? Drives me nuts!! And what about the driver that zooms past you, merges in front of you and then decelerates and doesn’t keep up with the flow of traffic. What is that?
I know I can just go on and on. I’m sure many of you reading this post can as well. These are just a few of those peeves that are on the top of my list. What’s on your list? What’s got you banging your head against the steering wheel? What makes to talk to yourself while traversing rush hour traffic? What’s got your goat?
