11/26/98...

I can't believe I completely forgot to mention the 2 things that have been bothering me most about driving today... the first is that it seems that nobody uses their turn signals anymore... it's probably due to just overall laziness or lack of caring... I don't know how many times I've had to wait around at an intersection to see what the other driver was going to do... there could very easily be an accident if somebody assumes that the person is not turning when they're not using their turn signal... so you have to be extra cautious about that now... the 2nd and the thing that has most frustrated me these past few months involves the construction areas where two lanes merge into one... signs are placed 1000's of feet preceding the merging point to alert drivers to begin forming one line... so I always get right into the correct lane so I don't have to shove my way in... now this is what gets me... other drivers purposely stay in the other lane and fly by everybody waiting in line to get to the front and force their way in in front of some hapless driver up front... I've witnessed dozens upon dozens of cars "cutting in line" in front of me because of their lack of patience and empathy... they don't seem to understand that we want to get to our destinations just as badly as they want to and it's just as if they're giving us a big middle finger as they whiz on by... it also ends up holding up the line since they have to force themselves in somewhere... I've never seen such a lack of respect... on the brighter side, I've also seen drivers, mostly truck drivers, pull along-side the vehicle they were in line with in order to block other drivers from doing the above... a big thumbs up to them... it's funny watching the impatient ones behind them honking their horns and swerving to try and get around them... and justice is finally served... unfortunately, this doesn't happen as much as it should... and driving becomes a living hell to the traffic-law abiding drivers... just a little understanding would do... so please, the next time you're out driving, think of the other person's situation a bit - move over to let a car yield onto the highway, use your turn signal, merge into the correct lane earlier, try to be as patient as possible... it'd make driving so much less stressful with more empathetic drivers on the road...