My morning commute...RANT
 

Hi Everyone!

I just don't get it...or more correctly, the "other drivers" don't get it.

On my AM commute I use Rt.8 off of BPT Ave. There is a left turn only lane for the entrance and a lane on the right for going straight. The green arrow went from yellow to red as I approached (on a very busy street) so I naturally slowed down then stopped...just to be passed on the left. (car driving on the wrong side of the road going head on into traffic) Once I waited the 8 seconds for the traffic to clear, I got on the highway and about 5 cars up is the Ahole. Whatever...just shows that his impatience got him nowhere. Continue on my merry way.

Still on the highway in the left lane going about 65 ish when a saab from the slow lane jumps in front of me going about 40 ish. No biggie, I press the brake, slow in plenty of time...BUT decided to get a little close in hopes of filling his mirror with a view of "you are not the only car on the road." He moves over, as I pass he darts at me a little bit, I look over to see a rage filled man, flipping me off and mouthing *uck you *uck you."
Aiight, this commute is getting a little annoying.

Lastly, as I am about 3 blocks away from my office, I approach an intersection with broken/blinking lights. The cops decided to put out 4 stop signs. I stop, waited for the people ahead of me to go, then I go...then I almost get T boned by a woman who apparently doesn't know the definition of stop! Luckily the barrage of horns got her attention and she stopped a few feet from the door in my "hard to see AO painted car." lol

I am not some snob who would claim I have never made a mistake on the road...it happens from time to time. My rant above, unfortunately, is not something that happens every so often...it seems more the norm.
People are too busy and in too much of a rush to stay on their side of the road and obey the traffic light. Or too unaware and not concerned about others safety, or too unable to read and react to posted signage.

Sorry for the rant, but I get frustrated with my fellow drivers here in CT...and I would rather rant online then go fishtail one of these *sshats into the barrier....well, sort of :)

Thanks for listening...and on a positive note I did get a ton of waves from my Vette brothers this past weekend. :cheers:

Hey Ed... How was your day after that... it's not only where you are...
People seem to be getting " so " impatient and really don't pay attention...The other day on the news they were interviewing people who text and drive ... asked if they would get caught would they do it again - all said yes... Really !!! Next law we will pass I could see it coming... If you get caught texting and cops can prove it... throw them in jail and lose license for a year or more...Anyhow I feel where you were coming from ... Glad all is ok with you ... Cheers ... :thumbs:

Some drivers can be extremely annoying. Looks like you found one of them.

I have to agree with the above threads. I was heading home on the Interstate today and went to move over left one lane. I looked, used my blinker and then came within inches of a smashed driver's side quarter panel. I either pulled over on the guy or he came speeding into that lane. I snapped back over in my original lane (looking like a total Azz) he continued on by without looking over. Without him looking over or giving me a 'curtiousy' jesture I suspect 'he' is one who came over on me. Don't know - at least we did hit.

All very good points, but probably very hard to prove it on the side of the road. And just how much trouble are the cops gonna go through just to try and prove someone was texting, unless of course there is a serious accident. Heard the other day that more people are injured/killed by cell phone use in cars than there are injured/killed by drunks. Doesn't surprise me. Seems like we should have outlawed all cellphone use in moving cars years ago. But my theory is that most of the people that would be responsible for making those laws don't want to give up their cellphone use in the car either. And then of course theres that old and favorite excuse.....but I have kids that I must stay in contact with no matter what....really.

After all that frustration I hope you had a good day at the office.

In this day and age when behind the wheel it's better to envision yourself in a video game where all...and I mean all...drivers around you are trying to kill you.:D

folks can't even navigate in a supermarket without hitting each others carts, why do you think they are going to act any differently on the road with 200 hp on tap ? folks ask me why I only drive my car on Fridays, well .................

be glad you made it through the day. :willy:

sometimes you just need to take a deep breath and let them go by.

It's being made into law all over the place that's it's illegal to text and drive, or talk on a hand held device while driving.
That law (distracted driving) passed some years ago in all provinces of Canada after fatalities of people texting and driving.
It's normally a fine and 3 demerit points from the drivers licence.
Also included in that distracted driving law is inputting data into a GPS device while the motor vehicle is moving.
It's easy to prove, just look at the time on their cells when the text was received or sent.

Some of the best advice I received was during my motorcycle safety training - the instructor said to make believe you are invisible to other drivers and continually scope out the traffic around you. This helped me to really chill out and expect the unexpected - much less aggravation once you realize how clueless many drivers are nowadays. When I come across obviously poor/incompetent drivers I get around them ASAP and continue on my way.

Believe me,you don't hold the market on A-HOLES there in CT.
Here in Wichita they drive like they have SH*T for brains,sometimes I'm amazed at some of the stunts I see and wonder why we don't have hundreds killed every morning.
Just yesterday we had 3 killed in a car wreck(guy going wrong way on the highway) and 2 killed on a motorcycle and 2 critical from motorcycle wreck( car pulled in front of them)..it has gotten waaaayyy out of hand.

:iagree::thumbs:

I just started working on the local army base again. What a blessing! Traffic is much lighter the way I travel and the laws are enforced very strictly. At least you don't see people acting crazy all the time like you do during rush hour in the city. And the gate to get on base is in the back of my neighborhood.

Good points in all... they were showing on the news clip I talked about people texting and you saw it blatantly !!! they were not trying to hide it at all... Yes I also heard the stats that more people killed with texting and driving now... It is what it is I guess... It's today's fast paced and insane technology world we live in...

I've always been driving like that... Defensive driving is a understatement...

I work full time, my wife doesn't. Therefore, she doesn't have to deal with daily commutes. Last week, I had to pull a defensive move to keep a FEDEX truck from hitting me. She goes, "is your heart pounding like mine". I go, "Nope, I deal with that crap every day".

OP; Have you ever heard the expression, "**** happens in three's"?

There's dements everywhere. Be vigilant..............

All of these stories, and these issues here too in Mass. is the reason I do not take the vette to work more than a couple times a month. Most of our usage is either after work starting off from home or the weekends. It's just not worth it to risk that beautiful car on a work commute thats nuts most of the time. Guess I am lucky to have a couple other decent cars laying around.

There was a time when looking forward to retirement simply meant not working, and having time to enjoy one's hobbies.

Today it's more than that. I enjoy going to Wal-Mart at 6am when I'm in and out without waiting on line at the register.

I enjoy leaving the house around 9:30 or 10:00am after all the rush hour traffic has cleared.

Going out to a restaurant Sunday through Thursday, when there is little or no wait, and reservations are not required.

Taking road trips during the slowest tourist times, when traffic is light, and hotels are all competing with their lowest rates.

Oh, by the way, I want to thank all you younger folks for paying those F.I.C.A. taxes.

That keeps my Social Security checks coming. :thumbs:

Thanks for all the comments. I am somewhat glad and somewhat saddened that I am not the only one that is noticing the degrading driver skill/awareness of the average driver.

Yup, all to aware of things happening in 3's...and Murphies LAW...it's my Mothers maiden name.

My vette is my DD unless it is snowing. I am a former stockcar driver/autocrosser/moto rider/all around motor sports enthusiast. My past experience is a blessing as I have had to use those skills a few times.

Staying calm and realizing that every moron out there cutting you off, 1 finger saluting, going 100mph in the slow lane that ends in 300 feet...these are not signs people are trying to piss you off. Those people tend to not be aware enough to know their actions can have consequences and can cause harm. My advice to everyone, try to take a deep breath, stay calm, be aware...and know that if you are a skilled driver who is aware of his surroundings and cares about the safety of everyone on the road...you may be a rare gem, but you aren't alone out there! :)