I hate traffic. Bold
statement, I know, but I really hate it.
Being slowed down by others when I am trying
to get somewhere brings out
the worst in me. But I don’t think I
hate it for the same reasons as other people.
I understand, and I can deal with, delays because of construction or
accidents. Don’t get me wrong, I still
hate them, but at least there is a reason that there is a delay. What drives me absolutely insane is driving
behind people who act like they either have no were to go, or they have no idea
how to operate their vehicles. I
regularly get behind people who are driving at least 10 miles per hour under
the speed limit. It happens to me at
least a couple of times a week and usually more. I’m not just talking about out on the freeway
either. I am constantly behind people
who are going 25 in 35 or 45 mph zones.
Why is this? The worst case
scenario is when people drive like this in moderate to heavy traffic. I have had my usual 30 minute commute
extended to 45 minutes just because of one or two people who decided that they
don’t care about the world around them. I
know, 15 minutes extra is pretty minor but it still sucks. I’m all for safety, being cautious and
driving according to conditions, but that’s not what’s going on here. One
major issue is obviously texting. Just
stop doing it people. It’s so damn
common and it’s way more (yes more) dangerous than drunk driving. I have no idea why states are so hesitant to
make it a primary offense. I really
believe that another issue is people’s fear of driving. More and more young people don’t care about
driving and see it as an inconvenience.
I see 20-something year old men driving like they are terrified. It’s better than having them drive 100 mph
but come on man! Lastly, and most blood
boiling-ly, is those who are just
meandering and paying no attention to the
world around them. I recently was at a
stop light with two left turn lanes, me in the left one behind another care and
the right one open. I needed to make
another left shortly after the intersection so that’s the lane I picked instead
of having to cross traffic again if I had chosen the right lane. The light turned green and the guy in front
of me sat there for a second and then slowly began to idle into the
intersection. As he slowly started
rolling, the light turned yellow. So,
because I didn’t wan to block the intersection waiting for this idiot to go, I
went into the right, left turn lane, and passed him and was able to get back
into the left, left turn lane, before getting all of the way through the intersection. Please people, drive your cars! You should never be able to pass someone
during a turn before you clear the intersection. I know, bitching about stupid
people will never do anything good for anyone.
But my other huge problem can be solved with a little innovation and
investment and it would be great for everyone.
The stoplights we are using are horribly outdated and cause way more
traffic issues than they help. Watch
what happens while you wait at stop lights.
How often are no cars moving in any direction? How often is there a green light ahead, while
there is no traffic flowing through it with cars waiting at a red light on the
other side? There is a particularly busy
street that I frequently drive on that has some serious traffic management
issues that are mainly caused by stop lights.
I will see traffic flow towards a green light with no cars going through
it, only for that light to turn red just as the traffic flow is reaching
it. Traffic gets backed up for blocks
and there is open road ahead. Why does
this still have to happen? We have the
technology, we can make it better. Think
about the success that companies like Google are having with self driving
cars. Those cars use a variety of
sensors to determine what is happening around them, and what actions are
required. We need to equip our
stoplights with some of this technology.
Traffic signals could pick up traffic flows allowing cars to pass freely
when appropriate. We could do away with
the light cycles that last a specific amount of time and have lights that
change as needed. Signals could
communicate with each other so flows can be predicted before they
approach. I don’t know who makes
stoplights but I wish Google would get into the game. Please someone, make our lives better! As for idiots who don’t drive their cars, I
came up with my own solution. Take
mostly back roads that have very minimal traffic. The route is longer, but there are fewer cars
on the road and fewer stoplights. Guess
what, it takes me about the same amount of time to get home and I’m in a much
better mood when I get there. But don't even get me started about the lack of turn signals being used...
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