Before anyone goes all Fine Young Cannibals on me, listen to my story. I'm going to provide some observations and reason...with some evidence that there really, truly are very...very few good drivers anywhere. Oh...and everyplace you go has a different problem.
We all know that I'm stuck in Ohio right now after living in Atlanta for 10 years. Most probably know that I was raised in beautiful central Florida and since 1988, have lived in no less than 5 different towns.
That alone, should qualify me as the random observer of peculiar driving habits.
It's simple. Really. It is. Here is your breakdown:
Florida (mostly Orlando)- Tough place to drive because its mostly a mix of the elderly and tourists. Neither have their wits about them any more. Yes, the people who are actually from there have an idea of what they are doing...but they are in the minority. By a large margin. You really have to pay attention driving in Florida because you never know what the person in front of you is going to do.
Lynchburg, Virginia - I lived there in 1988-89 while working at a TV station there. Two BIG issues. One...no acceleration lanes for the highway. None. You stop...you get on the highway. That is tough if you've lived anywhere else with major highways. Think about it.
But there is more from Lynchburg. The biggest problem in my time there was the green light stopping. Yes, you read that correctly. People would just randomly stop at intersections when the light was green. No rhyme or reason. They'd just stop. Again, a scary thought if you aren't locked in. I can only imagine the amount of wrecks in this eating food, texting society today.
Jacksonville, Florida - Not horrible drivers, but it is tough on the highways (see above). A few who thought they were on NASCAR tracks, but not too many. Really, I didn't see any major issues there.
Nashville, Tennessee - Them folks in Tennessee ain't right. You can call them the Tennessee Divebombers. What do I mean by that you ask? Well...imagine you are in the right lane getting to exit off of the highway and all of a sudden a car from 4 lanes over, against the wall wants to get off at the same exit. No, there usually isn't that much traffic. The only thing I can figure is either they didn't know they wanted to exit or they just weren't paying attention.
Atlanta, Georgia - Some of the worst traffic in the world. But really, I don't think that people there don't know how to drive. They do. They just don't care. They are crazy. They all think that they are Bill Elliot or Dale Jr. Either that or they are so late due to the traffic and living so far away from work that they just say "Fuck it".
If you've ever sat through rush hour in Atlanta, think about what I'm saying. It makes sense...doesn't it?
Cincinnati, Ohio - Really, here the drivers are just stupid. They have no sense or idea about what they are doing. By the way, you have to lump Northern Kentucky in here too, because if it is possible...Northern Kentucky drivers are stupider. It's like they've come off the side of a mountain to drive or have never left the farm. They don't get simple traffic laws, lane changing or speed limits.
Back to Ohio...the biggest problem I've run into....nobody will change lanes. Ever! They lock into whatever lane they are in and won't move. If they are doing 80 in the right lane, they'll slow down to 55 behind the car in front of them...even if they are the only 2 cars on the road. And they won't pass. They do this in every lane on every road. You could be going 20 in the passing lane and they'll get right behind you and won't go around. EVER!
I don't get this.
Quite honestly, this is just something that has been on my mind for awhile. I'm not sure what made me think about it, though I have a suspicion. I'm really not an angry driver, an aggressive driver or a heavy speeder. I'm not, ask my wife. It is just random observation, stream of thought....and yeah...a slight bit of underlying annoyance.
We'll go with the obvious music choice here...enjoy your Cannibals (Thanks You Tube):
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