Let’s talk about driving. California drivers are crazy and scary all at once. They are aggressive and rude and unsympathetic. Everyone is always in a hurry and their destination is the most important. There are no leisurely Sunday drives here. If you’re on the road, any road, you need to know where you’re going or get the hell out of the way. Period. Otherwise you have a very good chance of being offered the one-fingered driving salute, or being on the receiving end or a shrieking horn.
When you move to California, you are required to update your license within twenty days. I think they do this to force non-California drivers to read the driver’s handbook. There are plenty of helpful tips that I don’t recall seeing in Kansas, or even Washington. They actually tell drivers not to drive next to someone when approaching an exit on the freeway because drivers will often realize they’re in the wrong lane at the last minute and need to get over. This is something that has always made perfect sense to me, but not others it seems.
As I was saying, driving here is not for the weak of heart. Drivers are impatient. At an intersection, if you’re in the right lane and not turning, then you better be as far to the left as possible to allow hurried drivers to make right turns from the extra space. When you’re driving, you must focus. I’ve heard so many people get honked at the second a light turns green. Seriously. Somehow I’ve manage to avoid the blast of another’s horn because I do my best to pay attention. There are so many road rage incidents these days and the last thing I want is to end up on the receiving end of someone’s rage.
The freeways are the worst. I am amazed at the number of people who don’t know how to drive on a freeway. I did learn to drive in Kansas where traffic was light, but then honed my freeway skills while living in Seattle. There are a few things that I constantly see drivers doing wrong. If people re-learned just a few skills, it would cut down on accidents and general driving frustration.
First, freeways have entrance and exit ramps for a reason. For the most part, you are able to accelerate up to speed in the length of the entrance ramp. This allows you to easily and safely merge into freeway traffic at freeway speed. Exit ramps serve the opposite purpose. For the most part, you should remain at speed until you’ve entered the exit lane. At that point you are safe to slow and stop if needed. There are exceptions. We can all name at least one interchange where extra caution is required. In general, these lanes serve a basic purpose, and people are always getting it wrong.
That brings me to my second point. Some drivers are terrible at letting other cars over. I see this all the time. A car is trying to merge onto the freeway, and there is a car in the right lane that either won’t get over or won’t adjust their speed to let the car merge. This is plain rude. There’s no reason, when traffic is light, that the driver can’t be courteous and let the other driver over. I’ve had this happen to me, more than once, and it’s frustrating beyond belief.
There’s something even worse though. Close your eyes and picture yourself cruising along on the freeway, music blaring, wind in your hair. You’re in the left lane, because you generally drive faster than others. You come up on a car that’s driving quite a bit slower, and you have to brake. That’s right, it’s the slow driver in the fast lane. These drivers have no idea of the anger and frustration they cause each day. They are oblivious to everything around them. They get cussed out and flipped off more than anyone else. Why? It’s simple. They’re driving in the wrong lane. There are even signs on the freeway that tell slower traffic to keep right. They don’t pay attention. They’re doing it wrong.
Even though driving here can be an absolute headache, it’s what we do to get from place to place. There will always be terrible drivers anywhere you go. Why does it seem that California has an unfair share of them?
Take the 52 west 