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/