People these days can’t drive.
When I first moved down to DFW, one of the things I first noticed is that people knew how to drive. Or at least new better than the denizens of the DC area from which I came. I learned very quickly that if I dawdled in the left hand lane, I’d soon have a truck of some sort – usually a Ford Expedition or Excursion up my ass, driven, usually, by a soccer mom drinking coffee and touching up her makeup.
So I learned to keep my meager 2.0L Camry out of that lane. They flat out didn’t just simply poke along at the speed limit in the left lane.
Not so much any more. Driving slow in the left lane appears to be the rule now, rather than the exception. Just. Like. Home.
I think this is all those foreigners – blue state/city migrants that brought their errant ways with them.
Back when I commuted, I’d see someone doing something stupid once a month or so. Now, it’s two or three times a day, and I work from home. And I mean seriously stupid and irritating stuff.
They do three things:
- Failure to yield right of way (ROW).
- Expect you to give up yours (ROW)
- Don’t pay attention
I went down to Dallas for a meeting the other day, and twice I’m tooling down the right hand lane, at a reasonable and prudent 50 MPH, (10 over the limit) and someone who was stopped at a side street looked at me, and pulled right out. I live within site of an intersection of two secondary roads. I can’t tell how many times I’m in the garage doing something and I hear “SreeeeeechPOP!”. Look up, well there it is. Green turn arrow lit, people started their turns and got popped my a fool that didn’t realize that the yellow meant prepare to stop and red means stop.
I see that all the time. So much so, I have a dashcam now. Because unless a witness comes forward, the person that hits you will flat out lie. I’ve had it happen twice. One time I had a witness, the other not.
It’s funny that when there’s traffic, other drivers feel that they are entitled to your lane. You should let them in. I was driving a bus on a mission trip, and watched as some old timer in a Buick entered the merge lane on the highway and proceeded to pace me. It wasn’t until he ran out of lane that he looked over, surprised, and found a big yellow bus in his way. Screw him. It took 20 minutes to get up to 65 mph in that thing. I’m not bleeding any speed off for some halfwit that doesn’t understand that merging is his job, not mine.
I had a dude do this to me on my trip back from Dallas. I pulled up to take a right hand turn (not even in traffic, I may add). As the light turns green, I take off and a dude in a pickup yells at me “NICE MOVE ASSHOLE!”
Who? Me? I noticed his truck as I pulled up, because he was doing something else midwits do these days down here and had a car length space between him and the car ahead. No turn signal. Didn’t move into the clear right lane when he had a chance. Whatever. Somehow, his life’s my fault. Dude was probably on his mobile and realized he needed to turn right when the light turned.
You see? Don’t pay attention, then expect others to open the doors for you. Each secondary road around here is six lanes. I’ve lost tack of how many times I’ve seen a doofus turn right from the far left lane, across traffic. Sometimes the do it quickly, if there’s traffic they’ll just moosh over, expecting that others will clear their way.
These have to be transplants. DFW is a gridline, with the streets nearly exactly running north-south, and east west, every mile. And you can bet you’ll be able to make that right turn a half mile up or so. You aren’t going to drop off the earth if you don’t make the turn.
And it’s not that I’m getting older and crabby. The roads are infested with those that should never have been given a license. I have no remedies. Get a dash cam. Better yet, get one that does front and back.
Inspected By Pat 