Quarterly Traffic Report

Well, here in Central New Jersey, the already crowded traffic conditions are being even further exacerbated by what seems to be a new infusion of really bad drivers. These road hazards come in every age, sex, nationality and ethnic category. In other words, poor driving cuts across almost every demographic known or extant.

Of course, I have a bias when I talk about poor driving. To me, good driving involves getting from point A to point B in the least amount of time safely practical. That means, if there is an empty road in front of you, you crowd the speed limit by five mph or so. It does not mean that you drive like a TransAm driver, it means that you go as fast as you can safely pilot your vehicle. (Note: “Safely” means avoiding both collisions with other objects and avoiding encounters with the police. Safe driving also means avoiding traffic tickets.)

I’ll admit that I tend to drive a little too fast. I’ve been lucky in that I have not actually gotten a speeding ticket in the past 30 years because there have been times when I’ve been caught pushing the envelope some. There have been a couple warnings and one instance where I was given a non-driving ticket (obscured license plate) in lieu of a speeding ticket…but I still have lucked out with 0 points against my license for over 30 years. However, for the most part, I drive well, if a little fast. I try to flatten corners and I try very hard to drive in the future. By that I mean that I am always thinking about what is coming up…what will I have to do or react to five seconds from now…or a minute from now.

Yesterday, I was driving on a multilane highway, when a car in the far left lane suddenly swerved across three lanes of traffic in order to make an exit that was well signed for the previous mile or so. The traffic circle that is between my home and my place of employment has at least a couple accidents a week because somebody does something stupid. I treat Yield signs with the utmost suspicion because most New Jersey drivers pay either little or no heed to them or far too much heed. Too often I see drivers sail through Yield signs with their eyes firmly fixed on the road in front of them, paying no attention to what is coming into the intersection. Either that scenario or the opposite where drivers treat Yield signs as a form of Stop sign. In either case, those drivers are asking to be involved in a collision. 

*sigh*

Driving used to be fun. It isn’t so much anymore….