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When is the speed limit not really the speed limit?
I ask this because as I was heading north on Interstate 275 last week, I passed a motorist in the far left lane clearly doing exactly 55 mph. Not a mile over. The passenger car was being aggressively tailgated by an SUV with an irate driver at the helm, honking and gesturing angrily. I wondered why the SUV driver didn't just go around, but more importantly, why the driver of the slow car in the fast lane was resolutely and blithely ignoring the vehicle behind him. What's the point? Yes, you are observing the posted speed limit, but to what end? Is the point being made worth the risk of igniting a road rage incident?
But what irritates one driver may not bother the next one.
For instance, one of my annoyed readers sent an e-mail about last week's column, which discussed the issue of sitting on the bumper of the car in front of you at a red light. Annoyed Reader thinks some drivers take the safe distance idea a little too far by leaving one or more car lengths between them and the vehicle in front of them at lights. He said it's another setup for road rage, since motorists attempting to access the left turn lane often have to sit through two traffic signal cycles to get through the intersection, especially when drivers leave long distances between cars.
His three suggestions: "Stop leaving those two- and three- car-length gaps between you and the car in front. A 6- to 10-foot gap is enough. Stop driving in the left lane unless you have a reason for it, such as preparing to make a left turn or passing other traffic. Change the left turn arrows to come on after the green light is finished, rather than before. This clears out all the people who didn't follow Suggestions 1 and 2 above and allows the left turners to line up and wait for their arrow."
Good points. Thanks for writing.
And while we're on the topic of reader complaints, I have created a list of some of the most frequently cited motoring faux pas that bewilder, irritate, annoy, aggravate, frustrate, bedevil and otherwise conspire to drive readers so nuts that they feel compelled to write to me and spew about it. If your peeve isn't listed, please write me and weigh in. There's always room for more.
Here we go:
Motorists who tool around in the driving rain with their headlights off.
Motorists who do not seem to have gotten the memo about turn signals. Hello? You have them, could you use them? Please?
Motorists who do not acknowledge that you let them in or out of traffic when all the other drivers ignored them. A wave of acknowledgment is nice, folks.
Motorists who drive around with dogs sitting on their laps. Also, dogs' heads hanging out of vehicle windows. How safe can this possibly be? Can you really react quickly in the event of something unexpected with a dog in your lap? Really?
People and dogs riding in open truck beds. Not smart and not safe.
Sexually explicit bumper stickers. Come on, folks. Is this necessary? Besides my dog, who rides only in the back seat and, as far as I know, cannot read, my daughter is my most frequent co-pilot, and she can read. I would like to at least pretend that she can have some shred of an innocent childhood experience like riding home from school chattering about her day. But no, she has your preference of erotic positions in her face at a stoplight because you think having it plastered to your bumper makes you look hot.
Men who leer and make suggestive gestures at women occupying the vehicles next to them at stoplights. Offenders often have the naked lady silhouettes on their mud flaps. But some of them have child safety seats in their cars and cutesy bumper stickers that say things like "Married and Loving it." Message to the smirking over-testosteroned from every female who ever got behind the wheel of a car: We don't like it. Stop it.
Bullet-hole decals. These are not cool. They are pointless and stupid.
One final thought: The events unfolding in the gulf states ought to serve to remind us how easily all that we have and fail to appreciate fully can be taken away and how petty and insignificant most of the things that annoy us really, truly are.
Until next week, happy and safe motoring!
Please share your traffic concerns, comments and questions with Dr. Delay via e-mail at docdelay@yahoo.com