Acceleration Lane

Some people apparently missed the class where they tell you the purpose of entrances onto the highway.  It is not just an entrance, as some people would believe. It is actually known as an acceleration lane, meaning you are supposed to accelerate in that lane *before* merging onto the highway.  You match your speed with the oncoming traffic and then merge in.  You don't piddle down the entrance at 35 mph, merge into oncoming traffic, and *then* get up to speed.  That is a good way to get yourself run over.  If you don't know how to properly drive on the highway, keep to the back roads.  The rest of us will be safer for it.

Law Enforcement Foibles

I come into work via I-95.  At the end of the exit is a light, which today was completely out, and which controls the two exits on and off I-95 and the five lanes of the cross street.  Additionally, the light at the next intersection was out as well, also a busy one during the morning and evening commutes.  There were two cop cars sitting there, one on the exit ramp and one in a parking lot near the other light.  However, instead of the cops standing out and directing traffic in lieu of working stoplights, they were both just sitting in their cars and the people driving treated the lights out as a free for all.  I am shocked there wasn't a major wreck as people were going all directions at once and there were several close calls that I saw.  Seriously officers?!?  Were you just sitting there for the entertainment factor?

Either Wait or Move It

When driving in BFE one of my biggest pet peeves it to be going down the highway doing 60 or 65 mph only to have some one (usually an older someone) not pay any attention and pull out right in front of you only to go about 25 mph, while you have to nail your brakes and hope like hell you stay on the road.  Then they continue on at that slow ass speed, while you hope for a chance to pass them (which rarely comes when needed.)  Seriously! Just wait for me to pass you since I'm right there anyway and then pull out behind me.  We'll both be far happier with the outcome.

Vacation Travel

You might have noticed the blog was a big empty this past week.  I had a lovely and much needed vacation up to Boston.  I did make some notes, however, on some craziness I saw while traveling to and fro.  

First of all was the drive up through NC to the airport in Raleigh.  Headed up I-95, which I do quite frequently, I was inundated with my least favorite driving foible - those asshats that ride your ass in the left hand lane, only to zip around you and then nail their breaks because there is no where to go.  See that car in front of me?  That's why I wasn't going faster moron.  It's called a "following distance."  Sadly, I think this is only rarely taught anymore.  People seem to think that if there is any space between you and the car in front of you, then you are not going fast enough.  No, I'm speeding.  I just want to have room in case I need to stop suddenly, so that I don't total my car.  You might want to review that lesson. 

Secondly, I abhor flying.  I absolutely am frightened by it.  I don't like taking off, being up in the air, and landing is hell.  The worst landing I've ever had was at Boston's Logan airport. Nothing against Boston, and we didn't all die in a burning, floating mess, but the landing strip is short and surrounded by water.  We had to break so hard.  I was sure we were going to land in the water and then that we were going to die in a fiery ball at the end of the runway.  However, we made it.  Yay!  I'm still alive.  Otherwise the flights were uneventful, though full of stress for me.  I couldn't sleep before either flight, so of course felt horrible on both. Was glad to be back on the ground.

Though ground travel is not always the best either.  The third point of note I made while traveling was the insanity of traveling around Boston by cab.  Boston is not the easiest city to navigate, but damn the cabbies don't help much.  I give them much props for driving through that craziness, but can they do it without attempting to kill me and others on the way?  And what is with the use of the horn in Boston?  I swear people drive with one hand on the horn there, and boy do they lay on it.  And often for no good reason.  Example - standing outside of Cheers I see a lady go by on a bicycle.  She had lights and was biking according to the rules and all, but this asshat in an SUV pulls up behind her and lays into the horn.  I echo the lady on the bike.  "Seriously?"  What was the point in that, when he could have just pulled around?

Now I am back home, back to the local asshat drivers. 

Like the lady that almost ran me over in the crosswalk on the way to McDonald's today.  I pressed the cross button and patiently waited to cross.  I never jaywalk there, as cars have a tendency to just breeze right through that intersection.  Once the light said it was ok to cross, I began to cross noting that the traffic light was red.  That didn't matter to the lady in the van though that just breezed right through that red light.  I swear it must be the light that is ignored the most in our county.  That crossing remains dangerous as long as people think that the light is a suggestion only.  

What a welcome home.  

The Robesonian - Two die when car wrecks on I 95

The Robesonian - Two die when car wrecks on I 95:

"A 31-year-old Baltimore man and his 18-year-old passenger were killed late Monday when their car wrecked while traveling at an estimated speed of 120 mph on Interstate 95, according to the state Highway Patrol."


This stretch of highway is 65 mph.  Now I won't say I don't ever go a bit faster than that, but 120 mph? Seriously?  I travel I-95 every day and some people think it is the autobahn.  This is sadly a tragically preventable loss.  


'via Blog this'

Awesome Driving Memes

Cloudy With a Chance of Bad Driving

I can always tell when it's about to rain - the preponderance of bad drivers seems exponentially higher.  In just the short ride home from work yesterday, I encountered several - and these were just a small selection.

Bad Driver 1 - It is not customary to horizontally block an entire lane of traffic to merge with traffic going the opposite direction.  You are supposed to wait for it to clear, then pull into the road.

Bad Driver 2 - You also don't seem to understand about not blocking lanes of traffic.  If you can't make it through the intersection, you're supposed to wait on the other side.  You are not supposed to pull ahead anyway and sit your ass in the middle of the intersection blocking the cross street.

Bad Driver 3 - When turning left across two lanes of oncoming traffic to the interstate on-ramp, it's probably going to be better for you in the long run to wait until cars aren't coming at you at 45 mph or more.  Pulling out right in front of them was pretty stupid, and you are lucky that they narrowly missed you.  Keep driving like that though, and evolution will kick in as nature has only so much tolerance for stupidity.

Your Other Left

Dear man in truck leaving the Sun-do on Carthage - you may want to review the use of your turn signals.  Generally, if one has on the right turn signal one would turn right.  Alternately, if one has on the left turn signal one would turn left.  One does not usually turn on the right turn signal to turn left.  You might want to work on that.

Lane Ending Sign

Because it's a contest so you need to beat the rest of us.  

Trip to the DMV

Today, though I am sure there is someone out there driving like they've never been behind the wheel before, my focus is on my trip to the DMV.  It was time to renew my license.  North Carolina operates separate offices for licensing and for car tags, registration and plates.  You go to one office for your car and another for yourself as a driver.  This is one thing I miss about the VA DMV, though I can't believe I miss anything about that place.  One stop shopping.  Luckily, all I had to do today was the license renewal, so I only had to go to the one office.  This was nice as it only took up half my day instead of my whole day.  Another thing I found myself missing about the VA DMV, is that they have reached the 21st century and will take debit cards.  Seriously?  So after waiting in line and getting all the way to the desk, I find I have to leave and get cash from the ATM.  Back to the DMV I go, and I finally get all the paperwork done.  Do I walk out with my newly renewed license?  No.  In NC, they mail them to you.  After two weeks if you haven't received it, you can give them a call.  That is a lot of lead time on getting a renewed license.  I thought I was doing well to go in two weeks before my license expired, but now I find myself just hoping I get my new one in the mail in time to fly out for vacation in a couple of weeks.  They do give you a nice little print out for you to hold until you get your new license - I'm sure the TSA will take that as an acceptable form of identification.

Not Even Close

Today I came into work late to work the second shift, and saw further proof that it's not just what goes for rush hour around here that brings out the people that seem never to have had a day of driving lessons in their lives.  The driver in the red truck I saw today didn't even come close to following what passed as driving rules.  I'm driving behind this person, when all of a sudden they break from the road to the turn off into a parking lot, then proceeding to drive through the grass to the next turn off, and then back onto the main road.  All for no apparent reason.  Seriously? Wtf?