You'd think with the inspiration of Oprah and the constant media attention to "Texting and Driving," that people would get a clue. Even with there being laws in place that forbids being on your cell phone and driving, people still openly use them. If you don't know the laws yet, read on and learn, but it's obvious each time I drive that people are getting dumber and I often wonder if I was selfish for bringing children into this world of stupid.
http://www.ghsa.org/html/stateinfo/laws/cellphone_laws.html
It's not only unsafe, distracting and unnecessary, it's annoying! It's far too often that I'm following a driver doing 10mph under the speed limit and seems lost, only to pass them at the next opportunity and see that they are starting down at their phone and NOT the road.... I know how long it takes me to get from A. to B. I like to give myself a few extra minutes so that there's no need to stress, speed, or get angry, but when I leave early and arrive late because someone couldn't figure it out I want to punch them in the throat.
These drivers tend wonder why someone is flipping them off, honking their horn or staring at them like their the world's biggest idiot? We'd be better off without clueless people that are so self absorbed with their day and what they are trying to do that they can't stop and pay attention to the person waiting for them to get out of the fast lane, can't do the speed limit, can't use their blinker and probably need to get off the road all together.
I'm sure that this could be classified as a case of road rage on my part and I can guarantee you that at an earlier point in my life I was definitely aggressive, selfish and less aware. I don't think that there was one particular event that altered my views, but the death of a friend, an ex with several accidents and DUI's and constant stress and aggravation from others on the road had brought me to the point of wishing I could move to a teeny tiny town where driving is totally unnecessary.
I'm intrigued by the fact that I recently took a survey that determined I would best be suited to live in Los Angeles, CA. Seriously!?? (http://www.buzzfeed.com/ashleyperez/what-city-should-you-actually-live-in) That couldn't be more wrong in my opinion, but maybe a smaller version? So I researched the best small towns to move to and they still aren't small enough for me. What makes it harder is that if I ever wanted to get out of here it has to be near a large body of water and although the East Coast is beautiful, my mother would die if I moved more than 10min away with her grandchildren. http://www.fodors.com/news/best-small-towns-in-usa-6591.html
These are more like it.
http://www.pictorymag.com/showcases/best-small-town-america/
Obviously I'm being dramatic about what I need to do to solve my hatred for driving. Perhaps I should begin with removing traveling the USA in and RV from my bucket list?
None the less, each Tuesday, Thursday and any other day I decide to embark myself into public beyond a walk to the park I find several degrees of stupid surrounding me in all kinds of cars and I can't help but imagine how far far far away I'd rather be. Then I usually go home and tune into a pre-recorded episode of House Hunters International and imagine myself in the vineyards of Italy.
Grateful I am for the laws regarding new drivers and the limited times and passengers, because I know these factors contributed to my teenage years. I'd have my 4dr Geo Metro hatchback filled with friends running around the Couve' looking for anything that was going on. Once upon a time I was trying to get the attention of one of our buddies about 2 cars in front of us, we were driving up hill and struggling to get ole "blue balls" to accelerate and catch his Thunderbird. We were on the shoulder of the road passing cars, honking my horn and screaming like crazy, a cop on the other side of the road catches the show and has no trouble catching up to us and pulling us over. Oh! And it was in the Hollywood Video parking lot where our friends were headed anyway... so they got to catch the show too.
Five cute blondes in a tiny clown car doing everything they shouldn't be including smoking cigarettes and he asks if we're okay? He thought that we were trying to intentionally get his attention because we were being harassed by the other drivers... Being 15yrs ago and almost as clueless as I was back then I can't tell you how I explained that one or how we got out of it without a ticket for any of my stupidity.
Point being that we were dumb back then and we're not seeming to get much better now. People think merging onto the freeway doing 40mph is somehow safe, they can't tell the difference between a "Yeild' sign and "Merge Lane," drive the school zone even when there's no school, drive in the passing lane when they're barely doing the speed limit and are on their phone while driving!
For God sakes people, you're making me wish I was a mermaid, I always loved The Little Mermaid. I think when angry and in doubt, always watch a Disney movie, so I think I will. My shoulders are tense and my mind is all over the place just thinking about the subject, hence this entire post. I wouldn't be surprised if this subject made a regular appearance, but I'm going to try not to let the suck ass drivers of America eat away my positive energy.
Namaste.
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