One thing that I especially deplore in my existence, is that due to my being in South Florida, travel on I-95 is a necessity. 95 is not like the quaint highways and turnpikes back home, but is rather a ramble of thousands of people who all want to get to where they want to get to, at the pace they want to get to, other drivers be damned.
That Massachusetts drivers are called “Massholes” and the drivers in South Florida get off scot-free is baffling. Yes, the Big Dig threw I-93 into chaos for many a year, but that was an external circumstance. Only here have i ever seen (routinely) so much of the following:
* Cars in the HOV lane realizing that they need to exit right NOW, resulting in a swerve across 5 lanes of heavy traffic, sans blinkers.
* Single lane shifts without a blinker are so routine as to be normal. But try wrapping your head around the many drivers who turn on their blinker and then proceed to move to the opposite lane! Again, a common occurrence that I guarantee has happened 8 times in the time it took you to read this.
* There are also, of course, the motorcyclists with death wishes. Not realizing that the drivers of the automobiles they’re sharing the road with can not be made instantly aware of their presence, so many bikers zip by at speeds that must be in excess of 100 MPH. You’re just driving about to switch lanes and blammo! I bike goes flying past. You’re driving there thinking “fuck! I almost just killed someone”. Bikers need to realize that we aren’t out to get them, but they need to make their presense known… that means staying in view of our mirrors, not approaching at double the speed limit while hugging the edge of the lane…
* And on bikers. So many of them do this while wearing shorts, a t-shirt and no helmet. I guess it’s okay – going that speed, if you wipe out there’s no way you’re surviving anyways. Not wearing a helmet just precludes an open casket at the funeral.
* But the real douches among bikers are the guys who recognize that they’re embarking on a dangerous journey (you know, helmet on, sunglasses beneath, leather jacket, jeans, boots, etc) yet forget to take into account the fact, if they crash, they MIGHT just survive (discounting the supposition above), but that the cute girl hanging onto them wearing flip-flops, cutoffs, and a sweater, with long flowing blonde hair flapping unconstrained by something as unsexy as a helmet. To those guys, I can only say: “WTF?!? Reaaally?!?”.
That’s all. I’ve just been on I-95 a few too many times in the last few days and had to vent.
I try to avoid the road at all costs.