Monday, July 27, 2015

on where are you in the passing lane?

Driving a car is an adventure I participate in every day. I don't enjoy it as much as I used to, but I've gotten to be pretty good at it. These days I spend around an hour a day riding the interstate up and down between home and work, and I've begun to notice patterns in the drivers around me.
It must be understood that I am a GOOD driver, while anyone of whose driving I disapprove is understood to be a BAD driver.
Given these boundaries, see if you've noticed the same sort of things I have.
Today, I'm going to discuss the way people pass other cars.
Stay right: Pass left
Everyone knows that you're supposed to ride in the right lane unless you need to pass another vehicle. Then, not approaching the vehicle in front of you too closely (you want them to be able to see you in their side mirrors -- NOT up their tailpipe through their rear view mirror) you signal, make sure you've been seen, check your mirrors, turn to see if anyone is in your blind spots left and right, and then smoothly slide over into the left lane, where you ride long enough to swiftly, but not surpassing legal speed, pass the vehicle in the right lane (known as the slow poke), before signaling right and returning, a safe, clear distance past that slow poke, into the right lane to continue on your way.
You may have noticed that not every driver follows these guidelines. Those who do are henceforth to be known as Polite Passers.
I've categorized a number of people I consider to be unsafe, impolite or otherwise unkempt in the passing lane.
Upset Driver
First is the Divide and Conquer Passer. This person zooms up on your back bumper before swooping around you, as if he's drawing a semi-circle around your car, and cutting back into your lane with maybe a car's length's distance between you and zooming up the road to do the same to the next guy in the right lane.  It's like watching someone play hopscotch. These drivers skip up the highway, dashing in and out of lanes, giving people heart attacks as they run up their tailpipes and then spew road dust into their windshields getting back into the right lane.
Maybe worse than the Divide and Conquer Passers are the Blitzkrieg Passers. (Although the technique is not wrong in itself, it's the speed at which it's done to which I object.) These folks attack a line of cars like it's their job, once again zooming up on the rearmost car, but then, maybe signaling and maybe not, zipping into the left lane for a long, fast run past all other cars in the right lane until there are no more. This is even more nerve-wracking on a two-lane highway, as these nuts cut it to the last second, making oncoming cars consider diving for the right side ditch to avoid a head-on collision. The Blitzkrieg Passer is going to defeat the enemy decisively, all at once, in one attack. This driver usually cruises along at around 20 mph above the speed limit. The best thing that can be said for him is he'll soon be gone.
Perhaps worse than the Blitzkrieg Passer is the FAIL Passer. This fellow just has to pass. If you're in the left lane attempting to do a bit of Blitzkrieg passing (at legal speeds, of course, because you're a responsible driver and everyone else is inexplicably moving at snail speed) he'll come up on your butt and let you know he wants you to MOVE -- NOW!
Advice Mallard says, "Get over and let them pass!"
You do, and he passes you without a glance, gets up next to that semi you were going to take on on the next uphill straight, and -- nothing. He loses his nerve, or his momentum, or whatever, and just rides along next to that semi, making it impossible for anyone to pass, until he has a long line of irritated drives piled up behind him. You're observing patiently from a safe distance behind the semi, of course. Finally, he'll lose his nerve completely and dive back over into the right lane, probably cutting you off dangerously close, while all those pissed-off motorists sail by, glaring or making rude gestures.
Better pass him, too, or he'll do it all again.
The final category of passer I've noticed is the Sudden Surpriser. This guy is going along innocently in the right lane, and somebody decides to pass him, when -- SURPRISE! He darts out in front of them with inches to spare, causing a long line of red brake lights to appear as he soars into the left lane and down the road, blithely ignoring the angry honks and gestures in his wake. These passers are the worst. You don't see them coming. They could be literally anybody -- the cop in front of you; the semi truck tooling up the hill; the little old lady you saw last week in church.
You must suspect everyone in the right lane of being a potential Sudden Surprise Passer.
It's enough to make us Polite Passers stay home.
Pass this on to your friends. The life you save could be mine.

The Life You Save Could Be Mine!


No comments:

Post a Comment