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Tis the season--for bad drivers!
I was driving on West Moring Street going towards Highway 1 last Monday on my way to cover the city council meeting. It was about 5:45 p.m., and dusk had already settled on our town. As I approached the convenience store on my left, a car coming from the opposite direction swung into my lane to turn into the post office. Get that? Swung. Into. My. Lane. Since when did West Moring Street become a turn lane? Oh, but it gets even more surreal. The idiot behind the moron did the same thing! Used MY lane as a turn lane. So I was almost killed twice, head on, in 10 seconds. Like lemmings to the sea, some drivers will copy anyone in front of them, even if it's doing something stupid like using an oncoming lane as a turn lane. Where did these people learn to drive? And, true to form, they are invariably the ones driving the big, fancy, gasguzzling SUVs ready to flatten anyone in a smaller, more sensible car. I guess these drivers believe that just because they drive a $60,000 vehicle, they own the road. I must be easily rattled, because none of my coworkers were surprised when I told them the next day about my Near Death Encounter(s). Robin said she's seen this happen many times, in broad daylight. Adrian said she's seen it as well, and she's only been in Swainsboro for two years. Is this normal? Because if this is the normal way to drive in Swainsboro, then I've been doing it all wrong. I must be some kind of nutjob to actually obey the rules of the road. Speaking of road rules, in August my husband was hit by a driver who ran the red light at Highway 80 West and Kite Road. If Alan hadn't sped up when he saw this guy barreling down at him, he would've been hit squarely on the driver's side and severely injured. As it is, the impact narrowly missed his gas tank and it spun his car around 360 degrees. It's a good thing we always wear our seat belts. This is Alan's third accident in 10 years, none of which have been his fault. He's been hit while trying to turn left on Lambs Bridge Road and someone once pulled out in front of him on, yep, West Moring Street. Four-way stops are another level of hell. Some people just plain panic at these signs. Some race ahead and don't look back. Others wait patiently for everyone to go before they venture forth. A pimply-faced teenage boy in a pickup truck flipped me the bird once because I honked him for running a four-way stop sign. (Kids are so sweet at that age, aren't they?) According to the Registry of Motor Vehicles drivers' manual, "At a four-way stop, vehicles must proceed in the order they stopped. The first to stop is the next to go. If in doubt, give the right of way to the driver on your right." The million-dollar question then, is what if four drivers all arrive at once? Here's the clincher: There is no rule for that situation. The general non-rule is that courtesy should prevail and after the first person is allowed to proceed, the others must yield to the person on the right. Yeah, in a perfect world with jellybeans! A friend once told me he would much rather drive in Atlanta than Swainsboro, because people in Atlanta actually know how to drive. He has a point, although the stress from traffic congestion, air pollution, and lack of water in Atlanta will probably kill you first. At least in Swainsboro, I do have that tiny margin of response time to swerve out of the way of people trying to kill me. Here's hoping I have good reflexes!--Jacquie Brasher is senior staff writer for The Forest-Blade and may be reached at jacquie@forest blade.com
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