Those of you who have ever driven with me know that I like to go fast. Not too fast, but typically faster than the speed limit. However, I do not drive aggressively nor dangerously. I follow traffic signals and signs, merge when it is my turn, change lanes when there are dotted lines, make appropriate turns (not too wide and not too sharp), use my turn signals and of course turn on my lights when my windshield wipers are on.
This week the weather has been a bit rainy (downpours at times). Drivers have been absolutely RIDICULOUS! First, the number of people who are driving in the rain WITHOUT lights on is incredible. How am I supposed to know there is a car coming and I'm trying to make a turn??? I thought Maryland instituted a law that if a driver was using the windshield wipers in the rain, the headlights needed to be on. Am I just making up my own laws????
Secondly, one of the big safety promotions of the Spring & probably Summer here in MD is motorcycle safety, for those of us who are not motorcycle enthusiasts. I am always aware of motorcycles. Most of the time it is because they are the ones acting in a DANGEROUS manner. Just in the past 6 days, I have been witness to two very dangerous incidents involving motorcycles. The first, Jason and I were coming home Sunday evening from Mom's. We were merging onto 695 and a guy on a Honda or Suzuki bike was riding in our blind spot. Then passed us at a high speed and changed lanes rapidly, cutting others off. The second was on my way home from work Tuesday. I was on Winters Lane and out of the blue, a guy on a Harley is right on my bumper. He began swerving to see if he could pass me OVER THE DOUBLE YELLOW LINES. I was coming up to my turn (a left), put on my blinker and he passed me! I could not believe it. I think the MVA and the State of Maryland need to remind the motorcyclists of how to ride properly. [FYI, I'm all for those who enjoy riding motorcycles to be able to do so, but I wish they would do so SAFELY!]
Lastly, Jason and I were out shopping and were coming home to our little hamlet of Catonsville. We were approaching the light (green!) at Fredrick and Bloomsbury (on Bloomsbury) and a white car turns from Fredrick Road at full speed, never stopping at the red light and almost hit us head on. WHOA! Sometimes I wonder why I go out of the house when people have no concerns about their own safety or anyone else's.
Just needed to rant and get this off my chest.
2 comments:
people here cannot drive, it's awful. my least favorite are the people who flip their blinker on (although i guess at least they bother with that much!) and then proceed to switch lanes WITHOUT LOOKING! the blinker is not magic, people, you still need to make sure there's space for your car before you switch lanes! if i'm next to you, you've got to speed up or slow down, my car isn't going to magically *poof* out of your way!
no surprise MD ranks 40th on the National Drivers Test.
http://www.nationaldriverstest.com/national-drivers-test/state-ranking.php
sigh.
as someone who drives for a living believe whaen i say, people don't know how to drive ANYWHERE!
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