Rantings on driving

All right. As you may have guessed, this rant's about all the silly things which happen on the road to make commuting difficult for you and me.

Silly drivers in the city
Ok, here's a scenario we've all seen (in the city, anyway. Suburban dwellers and urban dwellers probably don't see this quite as often): You're sitting at an intersection. The light's about to turn green for you. Meanwhile, the road to your right is full of traffic. Meanwhile, some bozo on the road to your left, decides that he/she absolutely cannot wait the two or three minutes for the light to change, charges across the intersection, and manages to block off your lane of travel while she/he waits until the traffic to clear enough so that he/she can get the #$@% out of the intersection.

What sort of logic is this?

This is totally absurd. They, in effect are saying "Hey! I can't wait the two or three minutes until the light turns green for me again. I must get through now! So, since my time is so important, everybody in the cross lane of traffic should have to wait four or five minutes." What's wrong with this picture? I understand if it happens by accident, but I've definitely seen people look at the situation, and make a conscious decision to block traffic. Makes me wanna yell "You %&#@!!!" out the window. But hey, I'm a sophisticated city dweller, right? Nothing says I can't think nasty thoughts, though.

Ok, next scenario. Again, this is something that most likely, only city dwellers will see a lot. Let's say for a moment, that you want to make a left onto a small side street, or into a parking lot. How many times have you seen a stopped column of traffic completely block off a driveway or side street, just because the drivers were unaware of the entrance? Now really, two simple concepts, put into use would alleviate this situation. 1) People should be a bit more aware of their surroundings, and 2) be courteous enough to leave a gap so that people can get in and out of the lot/side street.

Now, let's take another look at these two things: awareness and courtesy. More of these two things would make driving around a much more enjoyable experience.

Ok, one more hypothetical situation which I see a lot of, in the city. Let's say, for instance, that I'm driving along on a crowded city street, coming to a stop near an an intersection, filled with a column of cars who'd like to join me in the traffic jam. Since I'm at a stop, I'll usually let a person in. This does not mean that the rest of the traffic on that street needs to come charging in front of me (following the first car dangerously close) just because I let a single car in! I can't count the number of times this has happened. Does this encourage me to do the courteous thing and occasionally give up the 'right of way' to allow cars into traffic in front of me? No. I still do anyway, because I refuse to let rude people influence the way I behave, but it still tends to make me unhappy.

Silly drivers on the highway
How many times have you been caught behind someone driving slowly in the left lane? How many times have you seen construction on the highway, yet people zooming along a lane which will shortly be disappearing, trying to get as far down the line as possible before merging? Both of these instances (and more), are (in my opinion) violations of 'lane etiquette.'

Really, how difficult is it to use the left lane as a passing lane? To look into the rear-view mirror every once in a while to see if there's anybody behind you who wants to pass? Checking the rear view mirror is probably a good idea from time to time in any circumstance, as it's helpful to know who or what's behind you (police officer? Emergency vehicle?).

Now, the worst thing that is encountered on the freeway is definitely the 'jam.' This really bugs me. It seems to me that there are four major things which cause major tie-ups on the freeway. Here they are: People not knowing how to merge, gaper delay, accidents and construction.

Obviously, two of these are pretty much inevitable. Two of these are avoidable, though, and these are the two things which drive me bonkers.

How many times have you been stuck in a traffic jam for a while, inching forward at less than 10 mph, only to pass something (such as an exit, or an accident cleared off to the side of the road) whereby suddenly, the traffic opens up? Absurd!

What about a nice, orderly merge? It seems fair that two lanes of traffic could become one lane of traffic in a fairly orderly way if people would again, keep those two magic points in mind: awareness and courtesy.

This site (http://www.engr.csufresno.edu/~douglas/driving.html) has some really good pointers on driving etiquette. It's really sort of a shame that more people don't adhere to the rules listed there, as they are pretty well thought out and would really make driving more enjoyable for everyone. (Some of the sections refer to California laws, so they may or may not apply to you).

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