What's Up With Drivers?

Driving in any city these days is crazy! People are always in a hurry so thoughts of others, thoughts of courtesy, and thoughts of safety go out of the proverbial window. And it gets worse every year!
Now, I have to admit that, on the whole, drivers here in the United States, are still better then drivers in some other countries! They basically still follow the important rules of the road, like staying on your side of the road, stopping at red lights (mostly) and not driving on the center embankment! Don't laugh! Having driven, or been driven in different countries  in Africa and Europe, this is no small thing!

Having said that, drivers here are getting pretty bad! As I live in Southern California, not far from Los Angeles, and we have some of the busiest and congested roads in the world, I will focus on traffic here.

There are many things that irritate me intensely while driving, but here are my top 5!

5.  While I applaud  the driver who is driving carefully and slowly - very slowly,  I do think it would be better if they could, perhaps, keep to the right! Then those of us who are going at the speed limit don't have to now change lanes, often taking their lives in their hands, to get past them. So much stress and backed up traffic could be avoided if the slower drivers among us would stay in the right lane, as long as possible!

4. This is the exact opposite of my first peeve! The driver who believes they are actually Grand Prix drivers! These are the people who come up behind you when you are traveling at or slightly above the speed limit, (because, let's be honest, most of us travel at about 10 mph over the limit, but that's legal right,)  look as if they are going to run into you! Then they stay right on your tail until they get a chance to pass, then blow past you so fast!! I just love it when, in the end, I catch up or pass them because, hey, you are going to hit more traffic!

3. This peeve goes hand in hand with number 2 because it is those drivers that usually do this, though they don't hold sole claim. That is cutting you off!! The 'Grand Prix' driver is very guilty of this. They blow past you at super speed, but then have to cut right in front of you because, Hello!, there is traffic! But they are not the only ones who do this! Many times you are driving along, minding your own business and suddenly a driver in the lane next to you decides they want to be in your lane and simply move, causing you to have to slam on brakes, making all your 'stuff' on the seat next to you go crashing to the floor! Very annoying! Or worst case scenario, they actually hit you! Way more than just annoying!!

2. Orange lights!!! (Or yellow or amber) This means you should try to stop, but if that is not possible, then you can keep going! But, oh no, they don't mean that anymore! No! Now they mean that you can keep going until the light turns red, then you can try to stop! Now I admit that I am guilty of going through the odd orange light, but for the most part, it's right as it turned orange, or if I really couldn't stop easily. It drives me crazy when I am stopped at a red light, see the other light turn orange and then watch how many cars go through on it and even on the red! So crazy!

1. Which brings me to my number 1 peeve! This is the selfish driver! The one who doesn't think they should wait in line and they have the right to push in the line near the front!! This drives me crazy!!! Right now, near where I work, they are working on the road (a whole other story!) so there is only one lane leading on to the freeway ramp. This causes a long backup at certain times of the day. Most of us dutifully sit in the line patiently waiting, but every single day there are those people who don't! Oh no! They pass all of us then at the last moment, edge their way into the line near the front! When this occurs, I totally understand Road Rage!!!!

Well, that's it! My Top 5 irritants when driving! Of course, I am the perfect driver and never do any of these things!!
Feel free to add any other peeves that you might have in the comments below!
Thanks for allowing me to vent! They say it helps, so, as I get ready to face the freeway again, I hope it's tue!

I have been threatening everyone with this blog for a long time now, so here it is! Instead of muttering to myself about things that drive me nuts, I have decided to put them down on paper, or on a screen!! Not sure if anyone will read it, but I guess it's cathartic. Well, at least that's what I have been told!

My first musings are about the drought here in Southern California, which, for me at least, is a HUGE issue. It does not seem to be such a huge issue to most other Californians, including the Governor, the mayors or the media. The fact that we have only a years worth of water, and had barely any rain or snow this season, seems to have gone without much comment! In most cities, there is hardly any rationing and what little there is, is not enforced!! It's crazy! Los Angeles issues two, count them, two citations so far!!! It boggles the mind! Their latest statement - Don't run your sprinklers when it is raining!!! Are you kidding! We are at the point now when sprinklers should only be used once or twice a week, and even that is extravagant!

There are people who are trying. They have taken out their grass in their gardens and replaced the garden with drought resistant plant. Kudos to them, but most people seem to go on regardless and hope that the drought will magically go away!! Wake up! Everyone has to take steps to conserve water in every way they can. We cannot rely on the 'powers that be' to solve this problem.
At the same time, the 'powers that be' need to step it up. It is an unfortunate fact of life that most people only start trying if it is going to hit them in the pocket. So there needs to be consequences for not following the restrictions, however lame they may be, and the fines should be heavy after the third offense. And, there needs to be a whole lot tougher restrictions!

Having come from Southern Africa, I know all about droughts and how we got through them! I remember and extreme drought where we had to resort to having no showers only baths and the bath water could be no more than 4 inches deep. That water was saved in buckets and used to flush the toilet and water plants. The lawn outside was left to fend for itself. People who had pools covered their pools in black plastic to stop evaporation.

These measures may be harsh, but then only a year's worth of water left for a city the size of Los Angeles is pretty desperate!