How many of you have driven the roads recently?  I don't know about where YOU drive, but I can tell you things are pretty much going to hell in a handbasket on the roads here in South Florida.  I'm sure this isnt the only place, as well.

To me, it seems like a majority of the people on the roads todays either learned what they had to do to earn thier driver's license, then immediately forgot it.  Either that, or they lucked into passing it, but never really understood what the ideas really meant.

For example, has anyone ever heard of the concept of RIGHT OF WAY?!  Doesnt seem like 90% of the people I see on the road have EVER heard of that concept.

So how's this for a scenario.  This morning, on my way to work, I need to make a left on a busy 8-lane road.  Its a split road, 4 lanes each way, with a large median in the middle.  As Im waiting, the southbound traffic clears up completely (I want to go north), so I pull across it, intending on taking advantage of a gap that I see in the north bound lane.  As I reach the middle of the road, 2 cars move into the lane I was intending and now Im trapped in the middle, waiting for an opening.  It happens, so no big deal.  Here I wait.

Now, having sit here for almost a minute, the guy behind me in a big-ass Tunda pickup truck, with large oversized wheels, decides he wants to cross half-way too.  So he crosses the south-bound lanes and puts his truck right beside mine.  Now, the one thing he didnt realize (or was too dumb to understand) was that his truck sits so high, I no longer had a view of the northbound lanes.  I mean, I could see right in front of me, but I had ZERO idea of what traffic was doing.

At this point the guy rolls down his window and starts yelling, and beeping his horn.  So I put my car in park, and get out.  Hes yelling at me "are you blind?, why didnt you go".  I looked back at him and said "What part of the front of your truck to you expect me to see through?  You either need to go at the next break in traffic, or back up far enough for me to see the lanes, but either way you need to move your truck the hell out of my way before I can move out into traffic".

The guy rolled up his window and zoomed directly out into an available spot, which I STILL had no idea was there.  Even standing outside my car, I couldnt see past his truck.

Now, the funny part.  I KNOW that him coming out and parking next to me had to be illegal.  I mean, I wouldnt have done it myself, except I was kinda robbed of my lane at the last second.  But when the big truck finally moved, there were THREE more cars lined up after them, who made a STINK when I tried to pull out before them.  So there were a total of five cars lined up halfway across the road.

So, was the guy in the truck inconsiderate?  Or just an idiot?  I vote both, myself.  But prolly more idiot than inconsiderate.  He totally blocked my view, and then was yelling at me because I didnt move.  No, I do not pull out blindly into traffic on a road with a speed limit of 50 mph.

Thing is, this isnt a lone incident.  I dont think there's a day that goes by that I dont see something so obviously inconsiderate, if not stupid, by the drivers I share the road with.  I almost think that joke about finding their drivers licence in a box of cracker jacks is real!

How about the drivers on the highway who are driving a steady speed, but speed up when you try to pass them?  What's that about?  Noone is allowed to pass them?  Or the guys on the road who close the gap in front of them so noone can pull out of a driveway, even when traffic is barely moving?  I mean, you're all going 4 mph, whats it going to hurt to let someone out of McDonalds?

I cant even tell you how many times Ive been a victim of, or been witness to, horrible driving practices on the road.  I actually consider myself a safe driver, and can honestly say that if I wasnt always watching out for the other guy, I'd have been involved in a good number of auto accidents at the hands of someone elses stupidity.

So, how do we fix this?  Is it even fixable?  Sadly, I dont think it is.

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