Friday, August 28, 2015

What's The Rush?


People are in such a hurry sometimes. I am more of a laid back type. You can be first if you want to.

I do not like being late. But what I do is leave a little early. That way I know I will be on time.

Then there are the people who are driving and want to be the front car. Okay. Do it. I do not mind if someone passes me. I often drive slightly over the speed limit so I am not holding up traffic. A person can go around me and drive much faster than the speed limit. I just do not care.

I really hate when someone drives up behind me and drives too close to the back of my car trying to make me go faster. I will not do it. As a matter of fact I might go slower.  It depends on my mood.

And forget about honking your horn at me. It only irritates me and makes me more stubborn. Even if you are in a hurry I am not. Wait your turn and go around.

When I was working the midnight shift I went home at the same time that morning rush hour traffic was in full swing. My drive was about 20 miles with all those other cars.

In Detroit the major highways are called expressways rather than freeways. No matter what they are called during rush hour they are packed with cars. Sometimes the cars move along at a steady pace. Sometimes there are problems somewhere and traffic slows. And sometimes there are bigger problems and traffic stops making the expressway a giant parking lot.

One morning I left work and was more than ready to go home. I entered the ramp to the expressway. Suddenly around me zoomed another car! The ramp is only one lane. I was in that one lane. This guy just went around me anyway.

I merged into the traffic. And there was the guy who whished past me right in front of me.

I watched in amusement as he switched lanes right in front of another car. He waited for an opening no matter how slight and jumped into another lane.

I watched him change lanes that way for my whole drive home. He kept jockeying for a new position in front of yet another car. I saw him as a danger to all other drivers on the road because of his recklessness.

Finally I reached the place I needed to exit the expressway. I entered the off-ramp. No one whooshed past me.

As I got to the top of the ramp I saw the red traffic light and prepared to stop.

Guess who was stopped at the same light directly in front of me. You already know it was the guy in such a rush to be first.

And he was... first I mean. He was the first one to stop at the red light. I was second. All that "skillful" maneuvering put him exactly one car ahead... of the car he so carelessly passed on the on-ramp in the first place.

And the lesson is?

21 comments:

  1. I am a considerate driver but when someone tailgates I get snarky. I hate that. Traffic flows much more smoothly when people leave a little space for merging and move at a good clip.
    I have a good friend who lives in Detroit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Considerate driving makes those exasperating drives a lot easier. The overly aggressive drivers are a danger to everyone on the road.

      Delete
  2. Patience is the way to go, no need risking one's life and others around too. Greetings!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Greetings to you. Patience is necessary. As well as being a safe driver.

      Delete
  3. I am so much like you, more laid back. I hate being rushed, because I can avid that by going early, and I usually am early. Even going to work, I usually am one of the very few at school, I just feel calmer when I have the luxury of time in my hand. It's great for you to not give in to those drivers who pushes you to drive faster, sometimes, there are drivers who are just so impatient, they are blowing horns at you for doing the right thing, like the traffic sign clearly says "NO TURN ON RED", it is red, and you are waiting for the light to go green to make your right turn, the car behind you start honking like crazy because you are following the traffic sign. I sometimes wonder what happens to the temper of people sometimes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have to admit that the tailgaters used to make me angry. With age comes at least a little bit of wisdom. They have the option to go around. But ever since an accident where I was rear-ended and ended up in the hospital I am concerned for my safety when a driver follows too closely.

      Delete
  4. My experience is, tailgaters will follow too closely no matter how much you speed up. I do slow up a little to get more distance between me and the car ahead. That way, if I must make an emergency stop, there's less chance of being rammed from behind --especially when all I see out the rearview mirror is somebody's radiator-grill.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is true. If they can make you go faster then they want you to go even faster still. Those are people who need to find another outlet for their aggression.

      Delete
  5. One of my favorite games to, to watch the fool arrive exactly one car ahead of me. Or, better yet, be pulled over by police several miles down the road.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Another driving tip I learned long ago is to keep a dangerous driver of any sort (drunk, high, careless, irresponsible) in front of me. I can stay a safe enough distance behind them to be able to stop and keep myself from being hurt.

      Delete
  6. I got my driver's licence in 2008 and haven't driven since... So scared. And I think that cared driver would be the worst one so I just ride my bike around. :D

    Have a wonderful weekend!
    With love,
    Suzy ♥

    THE KAWAII PLANET

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I enjoy driving. I just do not always enjoy the other people that drive at the same time.

      Delete
  7. In Germany they drive far too fast - they call it 'freedom', but often it is harakiri. If you let a safe distance between your car and the one in front of you, you can be sure that someone will jump in between. And the "Tailgaters" (new word for me) are awful. Your observation that some of the hurried sprinters are not quicker on the long run, I can confim.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There is a certain sense of freedom when you feel the wind blowing through your hair. And if you are the only person who is affected and you choose to drive unsafely it is your choice. But when you choose to endanger other people and things you are in the wrong. I am not sure whether it is good to know this is a problem all over the world or not. I wish it were not a problem anywhere.

      Delete
    2. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    3. I also hate tailgaters and drivers in such a hurry that they almost cause accidents. At a "yield" sign some drivers speed up to get in front of me. It's as if yield means to speed up. I don't trust them so I let them go ahead.

      Delete
    4. You are a wise man. I say let them go first. And I watch for them when I approach an intersection that has a yield sign for the street crossing the one I am on.

      Delete
  8. You put in this post exactly HOW I feel about being on the road, Emma, and not being forced to drive faster than the speed limit because of other drivers. I especially dislike those who will tailgate and ride my bumper or flash their high beams to try to make me drive faster. They DO scare me because I worry about a collision that would not be caused my myself. Lately, we have been doing a lot of road trips between various states to see family or to do work at my late mother's NJ home or our own VA home and there are so many people in a hurry that it is frightening at times. We increased insurance coverage at my brother's suggestion as we would not want to be sued and loss everything from someone else's carelessness

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You stated a very good case here. Thank you. No one needs to be in that much of a hurry. Besides their dangerous driving they are causing others to drive unsafely because they are worried about what you might do. Courtesy would be nice.

      Delete
  9. Here, there are many drivers like that. I actually have this question "what are they rushing for?" always in mind. I still do not have an answer. I've heard that in 90s, there was a popular slogan people live by: "live fast, die fast" and you know...they did. I've seen their graves. At such young ages-they are already there. :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It does often have such a sad outcome. Those drivers are a danger to themselves, any passengers they have, and any other drivers on the road. There is no reason to take those kinds of chances.

      Delete