road rage
Growing up in Oregon it was almost scientifically proven that 99% of the time you were cut off on the freeway, nearly side-swiped by a car going 65 in a 35 MPH zone, or tailgated for miles while driving the speed limit, the other party would have California plates, and under your breath you’d utter, “Stupid Californians.”
When I first moved to San Diego, I remember a friend asking, “People in the Northwest don’t really like Californians, do they?” and sheepishly I answered for the most part there were definitely prejudices against those from the Sunshine State. I’m not sure if it started with the “bad” driving generalizations, but even as I now possess an authentic Californian driver’s license and pay my taxes to Mr. Schwarzenegger and have even really come to adore my home in San Diego, I still hold fast to my view that in general, [Southern] Californians are bad drivers. And this is why:
EVERY day I see at least one person cut across three lanes of traffic to barely miss the barrels of water and median dividers to exit.
EVERY time I make the commute to and from work, I am tailgated by someone while driving 80 (not really mom and dad) in the fast lane with no room to go faster because of the line of cars ahead of me. This subsequently leads to the person changing lanes to pass me from the right, speeding up, and then cutting me off to get one car length ahead of me in the left lane.
EVERY time it rains, no one seems to understand this is cause to not drive 80 or even 65 MPH. I NEVER saw nor heard of single-car accidents lining the freeway when it rained in the Northwest. One morning in San Diego when I used to work at 5:30 a.m., 15 accidents were reported along the freeways in San Diego alone. That’s downright ridiculous.
EVERY day I encounter multiple people not using their blinkers on the freeway or while driving directly in front of me off the freeway, therefore cutting me off and causing me to slam on my brakes.
I’ll admit, I have my issues (it was pointed out to me just recently as I was yelling at someone for not using their blinker to change lanes that I was simultaneously not using my blinker to turn right at a stoplight), and I’m not claiming to be perfect, but this insidious need by so many to drive like some sort of blind senior citizens on crack is speeding along the grey hair process and causing my white knuckles to maintain their form permanently. To all of you Southern Californians with perfect driving records who believe you are being falsely accused for actions happening outside your control, I apologize. And, I will attempt to abhor only those committing the aforementioned acts of endangerment from now on. I'll agree with Wendy here; this is why I don't have a Jesus fish on my car, lest the judger have to take the plank out of her own eye.
When I first moved to San Diego, I remember a friend asking, “People in the Northwest don’t really like Californians, do they?” and sheepishly I answered for the most part there were definitely prejudices against those from the Sunshine State. I’m not sure if it started with the “bad” driving generalizations, but even as I now possess an authentic Californian driver’s license and pay my taxes to Mr. Schwarzenegger and have even really come to adore my home in San Diego, I still hold fast to my view that in general, [Southern] Californians are bad drivers. And this is why:
EVERY day I see at least one person cut across three lanes of traffic to barely miss the barrels of water and median dividers to exit.
EVERY time I make the commute to and from work, I am tailgated by someone while driving 80 (not really mom and dad) in the fast lane with no room to go faster because of the line of cars ahead of me. This subsequently leads to the person changing lanes to pass me from the right, speeding up, and then cutting me off to get one car length ahead of me in the left lane.
EVERY time it rains, no one seems to understand this is cause to not drive 80 or even 65 MPH. I NEVER saw nor heard of single-car accidents lining the freeway when it rained in the Northwest. One morning in San Diego when I used to work at 5:30 a.m., 15 accidents were reported along the freeways in San Diego alone. That’s downright ridiculous.
EVERY day I encounter multiple people not using their blinkers on the freeway or while driving directly in front of me off the freeway, therefore cutting me off and causing me to slam on my brakes.
I’ll admit, I have my issues (it was pointed out to me just recently as I was yelling at someone for not using their blinker to change lanes that I was simultaneously not using my blinker to turn right at a stoplight), and I’m not claiming to be perfect, but this insidious need by so many to drive like some sort of blind senior citizens on crack is speeding along the grey hair process and causing my white knuckles to maintain their form permanently. To all of you Southern Californians with perfect driving records who believe you are being falsely accused for actions happening outside your control, I apologize. And, I will attempt to abhor only those committing the aforementioned acts of endangerment from now on. I'll agree with Wendy here; this is why I don't have a Jesus fish on my car, lest the judger have to take the plank out of her own eye.
posted by Katester at 7:43 PM
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