Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Driver's Education - HELP!!

Ok so this post is a little bit of a detour from my normal blogging.  I am not writing about business, marketing, etsy, or jewelry today.  In the last month I have started driving 45 miles in the morning and 45 miles in the evening for a new job.  I used to LOVE driving.  I would drive from Connecticut to Norfolk, Virginia for 8 hours and just love it.  It was time to relax, to have solice, to listen to my favorite music... ahhhhhh
Now... not so much.  Now everyday I think I am lucky to still be alive and not in an accident!
I just can't get over the total lack of regard for someone else's life and safety and the amount of ignorance and selfishness out there.  I truly dread my drive every single day.

So here is my vent.... my list of pet peeves that are going to kill, injure or drive me insane over time.



The "Fast Lane"- I will try not to make sweeping generalizations but it seems the majority of the people I encounter just have no clue what this term means.  The fast lane actually has nothing to do with speed, it has to do with the flow of traffic.  If someone wants a leisure drive and to go on the slow side, they can go about their business in peace in the right lane.  The "fast lane" or left lane is supposed to be the PASSING lane.  You are not supposed to travel in this lane endlessly.  If you want to go faster than someone else on the road you should be able to go in the left lane, zoom around the car on the right... THEN move over to the right yourself to continue traveling at whatever pace you choose.  It seems that many people think that they are somehow the one to set a reasonable speed by pacing the rest of the pack of cars on the road.  I know people who as soon as they are merging on the highway they go straight from the merge lane, to the right lane, over to the LEFT lane and just sit there no matter what!  To me it is incredibly selfish to just do whatever you want while there is a line of 20 cars behind you.  If you aren't comfortable riding in the right lane because there is too much merging of traffic then maybe you should consider that you aren't capable of driving!  If you think you should be the one to control the speed of others on the road then maybe you should become a police officer and do it the right way, the safe way!  And the most frustrating point is that much of the rush hour jam up is because of one or two selfish people traveling in the passing lane.  These laws were made to help keep traffic flowing so get the Hell out of the way and let people go!



The next pet peeve is merging.  Look I understand wanting to be nice and slowing down gradually to let someone in.  I mean why not if you are in traffic anyways, what is one single car length?  Let them in.  What I don't understand is why a person going 60 or 70mph on a highway with only 2 other cars on the road decides to jam on the breaks to let someone merge.  It is downright dangerous to just slam on your breaks like that and completely unncessary.  And if you are the car merging then that means you YIELD to the rest of the traffic.  You don't have the right away to just force your way in, I shouldn't have to dart over to the left lane to let you in or slam on my breaks.  Again if you can't figure out how to blend with traffic then you should consider that you aren't capable of driving.

Which brings me to the next point.  BLINKERS!!!  A blinker flashing doesn't mean you now have the right to come over.  Using a blinker doesn't mean you can now ram the car next to you because you called that space! 

I am seriously just amazed that if someone is coming over and there isn't room for them, I hit the horn and they come over anyways.  The horn is a warning that there is a problem and you shouldn't proceed.

It is just terrible how people drive.  OH, and this is really quite minor but I really wonder why do cars have to go WAY out to the side before making a turn?  I mean really it isn't some 16 wheeler, tractor trailer that needs the clearance for the long backend it has!!  And for goodness sake if a car is turning GO AROUND!  Why do we have to stop dead for a car to turn??

I guess I should bring this back to some sort of business point... And that is with the cost of gas skyrocketing, and the terrible driver's education we apparently have you should strive to work from home!
Make Etsy work for you... anything BUT having to drive out in public.  LOL

The stress relief of not driving and the money you will save from not using all of that gas is such a HUGE benefit of working from home.  So re-focus and get those shops selling!

Have a great week everyone.
Janet
http://www.galla15.etsy.com/
http://www.trinketsnwhatnots.com/

34 comments:

  1. lol I love the part about working from home and not driving in public.

    And I know exactly what you mean about all this traffic nonsense. I usually plan my days to not go out at certain times so i dont have to deal with crazy people out there.

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  2. I love your post. If it wasn't so horribly true, it would be funny as all get-out!

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  3. OMG, Now I know we are somehow related or we live closer than I think.....

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  4. So true Galla....people are always in so much of a rush these days...they do not care how they get there. Hope you have a safe trip tomorrow and everyday...I also commute 1 hour each way!

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  5. I don't drive but I know what you mean. Seems like this is quite a universal problem, even though we're living on different continents. My sis, who was pregnant then, was involved in a minor accident some time back when the car in front of her suddenly slam its brakes to let another car cut in. Unable to stop in time, she bumped into the car infront and was later even sued by that idiot, seeking thousands of compensations from her by making car insurance claims on the little bumper damage and even claiming that he suffers from "pain" because of it. Plus, all these happened after he reassured my sis directly after the accident that him and his car are fine. Luckily, my sis and her baby were not injured in the event and she had the foresight to take photos of the bumped car and the driver before she left her card with the idiot. So her insurance company settled the matter on her behalf. We even joked with her then to make a counterclaim on that driver for dangerous driving.

    thank goodness the public transport here is good enough for me~

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  6. It's so true, unfortunately. I pray and put my car and me in G-d's care when I'm out with the nuts.

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  7. I'm really getting spoiled because I work in the same community where I live -- 5 minutes from my house but as I get older I find it more difficult to drive on unfamiliar roads at night.

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  8. Very different post but so true. I am lucky that I do not have to spend much time commuting but I drive for my work for 8-10 hours a day one or twice a week and I do not like it anymore; it bothers me a lot with crazy drivers on the road. Many of them do not know the meaning of "yield", refuse to use blinkers, they just switch lanes, etc. I wish drivers would start speaking that "driver's" language and be polite and considered of others.

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  9. These are pet peeves for me too. But wait! There's more!

    NOW we have to deal with IDIOTS who are texting, sexting, and surfing the internet on their so-called smart phones!

    Omigod, we are all dooooooommmeeedddd!!!!

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  10. I hate drive and I have worked lot of times at one hour driving for home, so I really understand all your feelings (not all english words)... Patience!!!

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  11. TOO funny and yet, sadly, so TRUE! Deep breaths on your way to and from work today....;)

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  12. I live way out in the sticks in a wee tiny little town and when I do go to the city... once in a blue moon... I pretty much freak out. I used to have to drive 20 minutes to work. It could have been 15 but I would take back roads to avoid the "traffic". I think you would laugh at my idea of "traffic"!

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  13. I'm sorry your commute is so long- that sounds awful! I hope it gets better soon!

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  14. Amen! LOL. I get annoyed on my 35 minute commute each way everyday with the same types of driving behavior. Then I try to breathe and remember I am not going to be the next case of road rage! :) Thanks for the post!

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  15. Great post! And Glitter -- you are so right. L.A. freeways are filled with people who are unbelieveably a) clueless, b) selfish and c) not watching the road. I spent the past year making the -- no joke -- 90 minute commute each way from my family's house to my job in downtown. It finally broke me last month, and I moved to a new place that's only 12 minutes away from work. Sure, I'm way more poor that I was 45 days ago. And sure, the landlord is kind of crazy. But not having that commute is changing my life.

    You have my sympathies, Galla. For whatever it's worth, I'd look into either books of CD/iPod, or use the time to catch up on phone calls with friends and family. And avoid the fast lane. :(

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  16. Galla - I LOVE that you have deviated from your "business" self and store promotional things. Reading this blog post made me feel like I got to know you just a little bit better. I think we all feel like you do at times. I love the "reality" and "realism" of your post. THANK YOU!

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  17. Makes me glad to live in a slightly larger than one traffic light town. Our traffic is nowhere near what you are dealing with, but are are dealing well :)

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  18. I feel your pain and these metro cities are getting worse and worse.

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  19. Try driving in Texas when it's raining. LOL

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  20. That's horrible. I meen I don't have a drivers license but I STILL know that you can't do the things you just wrote about. Are people totaly stupid or what? *gets a bit angry* I really hope that you will survive and that the others will get caught buy the police.

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  21. That was wonderful. I hope to do just that with the help of your articles.

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  22. I thought only our area didn't know what blinkers were. LOL

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  23. Very funny, but also very true.

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  24. People are out and out nuts when they're behind the wheel. Of course, some people are out and out nuts, period.

    The roads are scary anymore.

    Marianne

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  25. Having driven in the Miami area, the Philly area, the LA area, and the NY area, I empathize--there are a LOT of morons on the road! Now, fortunately I do work from home and don't have to deal with that anymore, least for a little while--til the next move... (Galeaz Glass)

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  26. I feel your pain.
    Great post!

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  27. Oh, I've been there! It was a very long time ago but I used to commute for 1.5 hours one way to work (to a different state from where I lived). Once, I went through 3 states just to get home after a meeting! UGH! Yes, people are terrible, self-serving drivers! Just be careful! I hope you can find a job closer to home, too!
    Carol from Carol's Jewelry Orchard

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  28. Seattle's traffic is awful too, even worse when it rains, which is most of the year. I don't know where these people learn to drive.
    Great post!

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  29. I used to love driving too, but after needing to drive all the time, I hated it! Now that I live in NY and don't have a car, I love driving again :) There are always crazy drivers out there. I guess you notice them more when you deal with them everyday.

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  30. Makes me happy to have such a good transit system to sit back and enjoy the ride!

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  31. HAHA That's why we work at home! (or at least strive to!)

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  32. Great post! Thanks for making me smile!

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