Slow down people. What’s your hurry?
I have a confession. I’m a pretty slow driver. I log a lot of miles each year, and it’s interesting to watch the driving styles of motorists.
I will admit that when I’m driving in town, I go slow. I like to take in my surroundings. If the speed limit is 25 mph, I don’t think there’s any reason to go 30. There’s stuff going on on sidewalks. My wife has numerous times asked me if I could just please go the speed limit.
I really open things up on the highway. I’ve been known to go a solid couple mph over the posted limit. There’s that sweet spot when you don’t have to slam on the brakes when you see the highway patrol hidden in a corn field.
I’ve noticed that other drivers have changed in the last few years. People are quite aggressive behind the wheel. If I have my cruise control set at, say 74, and I’m passing a couple semis that are going 70, there are always these halogen light fellows that will get an inch on your bumper. Then, if there’s at least a foot to spare between semi one and semi two, they’ll floor it, hit the right lane and cut you off to squeeze back into the left lane. I see that maneuver numerous times a day, and I think that used to be reserved for the New Jersey Turnpike.
Driving down busy streets with multiple stoplights, where do people think they’re going to go when they honk their horn and waggle that middle finger when they go past? They may want to go 50 in that 35 zone, but we’re still going to meet at the next stoplight. It’s just unnecessary aggression.
I was driving home from work about a month ago, and there was a truck right on my bumper. He floored it, whipped past me and pulled into his driveway a half of a block later. Idiot.
And depending where you live, we now have these all-terrain vehicles and golf carts vying for space on the road. All day Saturday and Sunday when we were able to officially open our windows for the season, we were treated to one drag racing back and forth, up and down the street. Hit the trails buddy.
Sure, I can be a speed demon when I need to be. If I’m a touch late for an engagement and an out of state car passes me going 80, I might stay on its tail for a bit. I was coming out of a grocery store Up North one Friday evening. There was an SUV with Illinois plates on my back end when I was pulling out of the parking lot. It stayed there, flashing its lights at me to try to get me to speed up. That particular day I was in the mood to not speed up just because they flashed their lights at me. On the edge of town, the road expanded to four lanes, two in each direction. The SUV floored it. There was a lot of pent-up aggression, so they really put the pedal to the metal. They went past me in a blur. A mile or so ahead, I made sure to slow down to wave at them on the side of the highway where their vehicle was awaiting the patrolman to ask for their license and registration.
What’s the hurry?