Hudson's Back To School Driving Tips
One of the standby stories we see when school starts involves driver’s safety, and this week was no exception. Once again, we learned that school zones have 15 mph speed limits, and that pedestrians have the right of way on cross walks. Oh yeah, and seat belts are good, and we should be on the lookout for bicycles. Thanks, local news shows, I really needed those reminders.
I guess it’s only fitting, though, that I also have my version of driving safety tips. It’s safe to say, however, that mine will not be like what you see on TV.
I am constantly amazed by the stupidity I see on our local streets. There’s rarely a day that I don’t see some serious messed-up antics. Here’s a few that I’ve seen in the past few days:
1. Driving east on 11th street a few days ago, traffic suddenly came to a standstill just past the Main Street corner next to the Pavilion. I couldn’t figure out what was going on, and just assumed that somebody was making a delivery to Minerva’s down the street. If only that was the case. Instead, some moron in a giant truck was driving the wrong way in the center lane!
Even worse, he was talking on his cell phone as he was making his way down the street. Since he was right at the corner when I caught up with him, I assumed that he would do the right thing and just turn onto Main to correct himself. No, not this moron. I watched in my rear-view mirror as he continued to drive the wrong way the final two blocks to Minnesota Avenue. What was he thinking?
2. Yesterday afternoon, I was in the turn lane on 2nd Avenue by the statue of David waiting for the light so I could turn onto 10th Street. Suddenly, this minivan pulls up to the left of me, completely in the way of ongoing traffic. I tried to be the nice guy and nicely alert him of his error (really, I did!), but he didn’t acknowledge his mistake. Lucky for him, those waiting to cross the street waited for this clown to turn left.
3. Later yesterday, while coming home from New Release Tuesday at Ernie’s and Best Buy, I started to come off the Cliff Avenue exit from I-229. Suddenly, I had to slam on the brakes as a handful of cars were forced to suddenly stop. A car had suddenly stopped halfway up the exit, and he just sat there talking on his phone as we all tentatively made our way around him. Once again, this idiot was on his phone.
Yeah, he may have had an excuse such as car problems. If that was the case, though, this exit is an incline, and there’s no reason he couldn’t have coasted to the side. He’s lucky somebody didn’t slam into him going over 50 or so.
Those are just a few of the idiotic maneuvers I’ve recently seen, and doesn’t touch on the half-wits who think they can suddenly make a left hand turn from the center lane, or almost cause accidents by waving people through on the busiest multi-lane streets in the state. Or those that don’t understand the concept of yield signs. Hell, some don’t even get what a stop sign means.
The majority of all incidents such as these come down to simple courtesy. You don’t own the road, and we all have the same desire to get somewhere just as you do. At the very least, learn how to multi-task before babbling on your phone while driving. I’ve got a few years left on my Jeep. I’d rather not have to replace it because of your awful driving.
I guess it’s only fitting, though, that I also have my version of driving safety tips. It’s safe to say, however, that mine will not be like what you see on TV.
I am constantly amazed by the stupidity I see on our local streets. There’s rarely a day that I don’t see some serious messed-up antics. Here’s a few that I’ve seen in the past few days:
1. Driving east on 11th street a few days ago, traffic suddenly came to a standstill just past the Main Street corner next to the Pavilion. I couldn’t figure out what was going on, and just assumed that somebody was making a delivery to Minerva’s down the street. If only that was the case. Instead, some moron in a giant truck was driving the wrong way in the center lane!
Even worse, he was talking on his cell phone as he was making his way down the street. Since he was right at the corner when I caught up with him, I assumed that he would do the right thing and just turn onto Main to correct himself. No, not this moron. I watched in my rear-view mirror as he continued to drive the wrong way the final two blocks to Minnesota Avenue. What was he thinking?
2. Yesterday afternoon, I was in the turn lane on 2nd Avenue by the statue of David waiting for the light so I could turn onto 10th Street. Suddenly, this minivan pulls up to the left of me, completely in the way of ongoing traffic. I tried to be the nice guy and nicely alert him of his error (really, I did!), but he didn’t acknowledge his mistake. Lucky for him, those waiting to cross the street waited for this clown to turn left.
3. Later yesterday, while coming home from New Release Tuesday at Ernie’s and Best Buy, I started to come off the Cliff Avenue exit from I-229. Suddenly, I had to slam on the brakes as a handful of cars were forced to suddenly stop. A car had suddenly stopped halfway up the exit, and he just sat there talking on his phone as we all tentatively made our way around him. Once again, this idiot was on his phone.
Yeah, he may have had an excuse such as car problems. If that was the case, though, this exit is an incline, and there’s no reason he couldn’t have coasted to the side. He’s lucky somebody didn’t slam into him going over 50 or so.
Those are just a few of the idiotic maneuvers I’ve recently seen, and doesn’t touch on the half-wits who think they can suddenly make a left hand turn from the center lane, or almost cause accidents by waving people through on the busiest multi-lane streets in the state. Or those that don’t understand the concept of yield signs. Hell, some don’t even get what a stop sign means.
The majority of all incidents such as these come down to simple courtesy. You don’t own the road, and we all have the same desire to get somewhere just as you do. At the very least, learn how to multi-task before babbling on your phone while driving. I’ve got a few years left on my Jeep. I’d rather not have to replace it because of your awful driving.
Comments
Love your writing, keep it coming :)