Driven to Distraction

Bad drivers. Who doesn't hate bad drivers? I wonder if any of them actually know they are bad drivers? I've heard people accused of being bad drivers but I've rarely heard a person declare themselves a bad driver. Maybe it's one of those things that people have to tell you over and over before you believe it.

Here is my latest bad driver story. I was cruising up Route 17 last Friday night in some heavy traffic. The speed limit on that part of 17 is 65 mph and things were moving well. The right lane was going about 60-65 and the left lane 65-70. I'm usually a right lane driver because I don't need to be in a hurry but that night I was in the left.

Keep in mind that there is a line of cars in front of me stretching out as far as I can see and a wall off cars to the right of me. I'm moving at the speed of traffic. Then this big old SUV pull up right behind me. I'm wishing I could pull right to get this ass off my ass but I can't. After about a minute of tailgating this SUV starts flashing it's brights at me. "Jerk" I think and look to see if I can pull right. There is a car immediately beside me. I mean door to door. What exactly did this SUV want me to do? Idiot driver.

So the SUV swooped into the right lane and then back into the left lane in front of me. And he stayed there. Like I said there was a line of cars in front of me stretching to the horizon. In both lanes. There was no place for this jerk to go. He stayed one car ahead of me for miles. Why was it so important for him to get ahead of me? I don't get it.

Now repeat that same story two more times (minus the flashing headlights only the first jerk did that). Once with a big ol' pickup truck and once with a big ol' white van. It's always a white van isn't it? Then I finally made my way over to the right lane. It was a little slower but no tailgating.

There was one small measure of satisfaction. After passing me the pick up made it's way into the right lane to disappear off an exit leaving the white van to tailgate the original SUV so badly that the SUV pulled into the right lane. At least he got a taste of his own medicine. Everyone's got a bad driver story. I'm lucky this was a mild one.

And since I am posting this post Super Bowl my friend John insists I point out that his SB prediction of a Colts winning 27-17 was off by only two points. What an Edgar Cayce he is. If only John would point us in the direction of Atlantis.