Driving in the Big City

Jeff Higgins · 02-05-2008, 10:58 AM

I can't believe what just happened to me this morning. As some of you know, I don't make it into the big city much, and have a real aversion to driving in one. This morning's experience just served to reafirm my distaste for big city traffic.

So here I was, in a strange town, not knowing my way around whatsoever. Trying to get downtown to drop off my brother-in-law at some meeting (he normally works from home and never commutes) so I could use his van for the day. He doesn't know his way around downtown all that well either.

So it starts the minute we try to get on the freeway. I don't know what it is with mid-westerners, but at least here in Seattle, they let you merge. Every time my blinker came on some ass hat stomped on his gas and closed the gap. I wound up driving down the shoulder for at least a block until I found some one with slow enough reactions to where I could poke in in front of them. Wow; every man for himself.

Turns out our exit is one of those inside (left) lane exits. So the adventure begins again; we have to merge accross several lanes of unfriendly traffic that is hell-bent on holding their lane position. We finally get into the second to last lane, and that is when it happened.

I put my blinker on and some ass hat behind us in a Grand Caravan floors it, and actually swerves onto the shoulder in his effort to get in front, and stay in front of me. There was simply no room for him, and the ***** head wound up taking the driver's side mirror right off of my brother -in-law's Astro conversion van. I couldn't believe it. I backed way, way off, assuming he was insane. Maybe even ready to shoot me. My brother-in-law took it better than I did, and just laughed it off like it happens every day. "Welcome to Milwaukee" was all he had to say.

gprsh924 · 02-05-2008, 11:02 AM

I guess I can see it from this side (but not really). Usually the people in your situation make their moves literally without looking. If I see someone waiting with a blinker on in front of me trying to merge, I let them. Typically though, as SLO-Bob said, they put the blinker on as they are merging, forcing someone to slam on the brakes in order to not have their front quarter panel taken out.

frogger · 02-05-2008, 11:03 AM

Milwaukee? Big city?

Noah930 · Noah930's Garage

Jeff, I don't have a lot of Seattle driving experience, but I lived in Portland for a year. And I found (my to my pleasant surprise) that people actually were fairly polite in traffic. You put your signal on, people will let you in. Maybe not everyone, but certainly more often than not. Granted, I also found Portland drivers to be pretty slow (people actually drive the speed limit or less on the highways). But that was a tradeoff my leadfoot was willing to tolerate, for the lowering of stress that came from driving in a more polite environment.

edit: heh heh. I get it, now.

URY914 · 02-05-2008, 11:23 AM

Don't use your blinker, just GO!

legion · 02-05-2008, 11:23 AM

Rofl!!!

kstar · 02-05-2008, 11:23 AM

Morning Commute Foolishness-contact made!

TechnoViking · TechnoViking's Garage

I hate it when people put on their turn signal and expect someone (everyone) to slow down so they can have a huge opening. Pick your spot and go. What do you want a written invitation?

The turn signal is a warning that I'm coming over...not a request to open a spot for me.

Yea, welcome to the big city.

gassy · 02-05-2008, 11:25 AM

legion · 02-05-2008, 11:26 AM

I won't drive in Chicago anymore. Too many suicidal a**holes.

kstar · 02-05-2008, 11:27 AM

Nice job, Jeff, on the "rest of the story".

Best,

Kurt

71T Targa · 02-05-2008, 11:30 AM

That is too funny. Took me a second to make the connection, but too funny...

Gogar · 02-05-2008, 11:31 AM

Oh, man that was awesome. Thanks, Jeff

frogger · 02-05-2008, 11:40 AM

Milwaukee? Big city?

cgarr · cgarr's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by legion

I won't drive in Chicago anymore. Too many suicidal a**holes.

So your not going to the "GruppeB winter sucks party" want me to pick you up?

silverc4s · silverc4s's Garage

Just spend a few days on the LA / Orange County freeways. Any other spot in America will be idyllic by comparison...

SLO-BOB · 02-05-2008, 12:27 PM

Oh give me a break! It's really hard to eat, talk on the phone, reload, and drive in heavy traffic. Your just lucky all the bullets fell on the floor when I swerved to avoid your sorry a$$.

Jeff Higgins · 02-05-2008, 12:42 PM

You're damn lucky I was typing on the lap top and hadn't finished my Egg McMuffin. Those slippery slacks I was wearing didn't give my knee enough traction on the wheel to really swerve and slam that POS of yours into the guardrail.

911Rob · 911Rob's Garage

I agree,

I love to put my blinker on just to get a reaction!

I'm parked at a light and guy comes pounding on my window.
I roll it down and he starts yelling about how I cut in.
I get out and he runs.
Story of my life, what'ya gonna do?

SLO-BOB · 02-05-2008, 03:48 PM

Y'know Jeff, under normal circumstances I would just shrug this off but, on top of making an ars of yourself and endangering fellow travelers, I ended up with some serious toofus rash down under and now my wife's jaw clicks. She wasn't happy about having to wash the coffee out of her hair either.