Saturday, March 12, 2011

We Don't Know How to Drive in This Country

After reading this posting, maybe before even finishing reading this posting, you will classify this posting as a rant.  You will probably be right.  This posting is a rant.  So be it.

I have been wanting to write this post for a couple of weeks, but I just haven't been able to carve out some time to do so.  I do a fair amount of driving around the county in my teaching GED classes and tutoring people in math.  There are two things that really bug me during my driving.  Everyone that drives around here has seen these two things.  There is nothing new about it.  I just have to get this off my chest.

There are a lot of cars out there that have non-functioning turn signals on the rear ends of cars.  I really do not see another reason why so many people make lane changes and turns with no turn signals blinking like mad.  I can't believe that these drivers think it is not necessary to let a person in another lane know that they are going to make a change into their lane, or let a person know that they are going to make a turn in front of another car that is behind them.  I can't believe that they do not think accidents can happen if notices of a lane change or a turn are not given.  I can't believe that they don't care that they may have just cut someone off or they may have just missed being hit in the rear of their car by another car because the car behind did not have enough time to slow down before the turn was made.  Non-functioning turn signals must be the cause.

When waiting at a traffic light, why do some drivers stop a car length or so behind the car in front of them?  They must not be thinking of what is going on behind them, or they would not leave so much space in front of them.  If a right or left turn lane is next to them, they must not realize that other cars behind them could be blocking access to the turn lane because of the space they are leaving in front of them.  If they knew they were responsible for someone not being able to make a turn onto another street, they might be embarrassed if they knew that they might be making someone late for a very important appointment.  Surely what they are thinking about while sitting at a traffic light would not interfere with being aware of all of their surroundings.  Surely they would not want to hinder anyone getting to their destination on time, or make someone waste precious gas while waiting to get in the turn lane.

I don't know why I let these things that drivers do bother me, but I seem to be irritated about it more and more.  Maybe I am getting too old for my own good.  Maybe I should not worry about it since there is really nothing I can do about it.  Maybe there are things I do while driving that irritates other drivers.  I do try to turn my turn signal on when I make a lane change or a turn onto another street.  I even turn the turn signal on well before I start slowing down to make my turn onto another street.  I certainly don't want to be the cause of an accident.  I know I am not a perfect driver.  No one is.  I just wish other drivers were more aware of what their driving actions are doing or not doing to other drivers around them.  Just because no accident occurs does not mean what they did is okay.  Not being a courteous driver by keeping a driver from getting into a turn lane is not okay.  By delaying someone for a even a few seconds may make a big difference to someone.  Maybe this is a rant.  So be it.

No comments: