So two things became very clear to me today:
1) The rain obviously contains some sort of chemical that when breathed into 99% of people's lungs causes their brains to turn off while driving a car, truck, minivan, bus, SUV, Hybrid, or any other motorized vehicle allowed on the road. Luckily, or possibly unluckily, I belong to the other 1% that seem to be immune to the effect of the rain, and in turn have to suffer at the hands of these people. I am sorry, but just because there is a little bit of water dropping from the sky, does that mean you can not go the speed limit and need to constantly hit your breaks for miles on end???
2) It doesn't really matter what type of car you drive, it means nothing towards the type of person or driver you are. You could be an old man in a convertible sports car, you still drive like an old man. You could be a rich middle-aged woman in a BMW you are still parked in the left lane going 5 miles under the speed limit talking on your cell phone. And you may be a 20-something guy driving a Mustang/Lexus/Camaro/Civic, you are still a meat head who will try and race off the line at a red light only to have to wear out your brakes to stop at the red light at the next intersection.
So yes, even though it was a rather uneventful day, I was still able to observe and learn a few things...
Showing posts with label Driving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Driving. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Move to the Right!
So this afternoon on my way into work, I am running late because of traffic of course. It doesn't help that it seems as though every main road and highway in the state of New Jersey is under construction. So even though I have a handful of different routes I can take, none of them are really a safe bet. So I am on the NJ Turnpike and there are 3 lanes of traffic struggling to even go the speed limit. As it turns out, I end up behind a car in the left lane who is doing 65 on the dot with not a care in the world. I flash my high beams just once and the car pulls to the middle lane, and I see what appears to be a middle-aged woman lean her hand down the outside of her door and flip me the bird. She then proceeds to move over to the far right lane (yes, where she should have been in the first place).
Now the reason I was dumbfounded that this woman flipped me the bird, is because she was so obviously in the wrong place doing the wrong speed. What possesses people to park in the far left lane of of of the most highly trafficked roads in the country going exactly the speed limit, and then to actually get pissed of when someone suggests that she move over where she should be to begin with? Did no one ever teach this person the rules of the road, never the less driving etiquette? Are people so petty and full of self-worth these days that the mean idea of being told you need to get over brings out such a reaction? Now I speak from first hand experience when it comes to road rage, because trust me I have a serious case of it. But what angers me when driving is stupidity. I am not one who is always in a hurry and has to be at the front of the line all the time. I do not feel the need for speed, and I do not weave in and out of traffic at high speeds. I simply want to get where I am going at a reasonable pace, without having to deal with idiots who do not know how to get along with others. But that seems to be what this world is becoming more and more full of.
Somewhere along the way people have either forgot or not been taught the rule of the road. the whole idea of "keep right except to pass" is not just a suggestion, but A LAW. Yet it is almost never enforced, and way too many people just don't care to follow it. That someone would feel it is their God given right to park in the left lane and damn everyone else is absurd, ad for that same person to get belligerent when flashed to move over is even more so. This is the kind of person whop ends up causing miles and miles of backups, all because they do not want to be stuck behind a tractor trailer (even though they are going the same speed). These people are also a main cause of accidents. When someone drives slowly in the passing lane it causes others to pass on the right, which is a dicey and dangerous situation, especially when there are 3 lanes and you may have two people trying to use the same middle lane to pass at the same time.
It is time that people start respecting each other on the roadways. There would be little to no road rage if we all started driving with respect (AKA move to the right and get the hell out of the way of those who actually have somewhere to be). And please, if you are not in a hurry and if you are scared of other vehicles and you can't stand the mere suggestion that you need to move over, then please just stay home until a person with a higher driving IQ can come and pick you up...
Now the reason I was dumbfounded that this woman flipped me the bird, is because she was so obviously in the wrong place doing the wrong speed. What possesses people to park in the far left lane of of of the most highly trafficked roads in the country going exactly the speed limit, and then to actually get pissed of when someone suggests that she move over where she should be to begin with? Did no one ever teach this person the rules of the road, never the less driving etiquette? Are people so petty and full of self-worth these days that the mean idea of being told you need to get over brings out such a reaction? Now I speak from first hand experience when it comes to road rage, because trust me I have a serious case of it. But what angers me when driving is stupidity. I am not one who is always in a hurry and has to be at the front of the line all the time. I do not feel the need for speed, and I do not weave in and out of traffic at high speeds. I simply want to get where I am going at a reasonable pace, without having to deal with idiots who do not know how to get along with others. But that seems to be what this world is becoming more and more full of.
Somewhere along the way people have either forgot or not been taught the rule of the road. the whole idea of "keep right except to pass" is not just a suggestion, but A LAW. Yet it is almost never enforced, and way too many people just don't care to follow it. That someone would feel it is their God given right to park in the left lane and damn everyone else is absurd, ad for that same person to get belligerent when flashed to move over is even more so. This is the kind of person whop ends up causing miles and miles of backups, all because they do not want to be stuck behind a tractor trailer (even though they are going the same speed). These people are also a main cause of accidents. When someone drives slowly in the passing lane it causes others to pass on the right, which is a dicey and dangerous situation, especially when there are 3 lanes and you may have two people trying to use the same middle lane to pass at the same time.
It is time that people start respecting each other on the roadways. There would be little to no road rage if we all started driving with respect (AKA move to the right and get the hell out of the way of those who actually have somewhere to be). And please, if you are not in a hurry and if you are scared of other vehicles and you can't stand the mere suggestion that you need to move over, then please just stay home until a person with a higher driving IQ can come and pick you up...
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
What Road Rage?
So, I have been told on many occasions that I have Road Rage. My answer is always that I don't have Road Rage, I just have very little tolerance for stupidity. I very rarely am in a hurry to go anywhere, I just feel like we all took a test on how to drive and are supposed to understand the basic rules of the road. In addition there is such a thing as driving etiquette, which seems to have been lost some time ago.
Take, for instance, the simple act of staying to the right except to pass. This not only is something you are taught in driving school, something you sometimes see posted on highways, but it is also a law in most if not all states. Yet you do not see this ever being enforced. I can not tell you how many times I have been driving on the New Jersey Turnpike and hit a log-jam across three lanes of traffic, only to find out in time that it was someone parked in the far left lane doing 60 when the speed limit is 65. And chances are it is either someone who is driving totally scared to death or someone on their cellphone having the conversation of their life. This is not my problem, this is not Road Rage, this is just people being plain stupid and not respecting those around them.
Another thing that drives me nuts is people who are going along at a certain pace, then when you go to pass them they decide at that time they are going to speed up. I don't know if this is some macho game, some sense of pride that "I can not allow you to pass me", but whatever the reason it is plain stupidity. So yes, I want to (and most of the time do) curse at you when I finally get to pass. Call it Road Rage if you want, but to me I am not the one with the problem, it is the pinhead in the other car with the issues.
Driving should be a pleasant experience, a scenic ride from one place to another, in the comfort of a climate controlled vehicle. Instead, it is becoming more and more of a headache. Cops should start writing tickets for "Stupid Behavior While Driving a Vehicle"...just imagine how much money this could bring in and possibly help our economy!
So please, when you are out there on the roads think of me next time you encounter someone parked in the left lane, talking on their cell phone at a green light instead of moving, speeding up when you try to pass them, put on their hazard lights and slow down to 30 mph when it starts to sprinkle, and things of the sort...and tell me that I am wrong for having Road Rage.
Take, for instance, the simple act of staying to the right except to pass. This not only is something you are taught in driving school, something you sometimes see posted on highways, but it is also a law in most if not all states. Yet you do not see this ever being enforced. I can not tell you how many times I have been driving on the New Jersey Turnpike and hit a log-jam across three lanes of traffic, only to find out in time that it was someone parked in the far left lane doing 60 when the speed limit is 65. And chances are it is either someone who is driving totally scared to death or someone on their cellphone having the conversation of their life. This is not my problem, this is not Road Rage, this is just people being plain stupid and not respecting those around them.
Another thing that drives me nuts is people who are going along at a certain pace, then when you go to pass them they decide at that time they are going to speed up. I don't know if this is some macho game, some sense of pride that "I can not allow you to pass me", but whatever the reason it is plain stupidity. So yes, I want to (and most of the time do) curse at you when I finally get to pass. Call it Road Rage if you want, but to me I am not the one with the problem, it is the pinhead in the other car with the issues.
Driving should be a pleasant experience, a scenic ride from one place to another, in the comfort of a climate controlled vehicle. Instead, it is becoming more and more of a headache. Cops should start writing tickets for "Stupid Behavior While Driving a Vehicle"...just imagine how much money this could bring in and possibly help our economy!
So please, when you are out there on the roads think of me next time you encounter someone parked in the left lane, talking on their cell phone at a green light instead of moving, speeding up when you try to pass them, put on their hazard lights and slow down to 30 mph when it starts to sprinkle, and things of the sort...and tell me that I am wrong for having Road Rage.
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