I generally try to avoid driving between 4:30pm and 6:00pm. I'm never fond of traffic, and would rather not create more of it at a time when roads are busy. Today, however, I came up Route 13 from Ithaca around 5:00pm, and got to see two of the strangest impatient drivers I've ever encountered.
The first was at the merge between Warren Road and Brown Road, where a green minivan raced down the right lane to try to merge as far ahead as it possibly could, even though it wound up pretty much on the shoulder as it did that. I've seen that before, but the strange part was the bumper stickers: "I ONLY DRIVE THIS WAY TO PISS YOU OFF" and "AN ARMY OF ONE". They were driving like an army of one car, and apparently enjoyed advertising that they were a jerk. I hope they didn't think the combination was flattering to the Army.
A little further east, at Hanshaw Road, I was stopped a fair ways from the light, still behind the rude minvan, when I heard a whoomph! noise. A red pickup truck shot right by me in the left turn lane, and then proceeded to go straight down 13, cutting ahead of the other cars at the light. I'm not sure how they figured out the timing, as I don't think the light was green when I heard them shoot by. I've never seen anyone do that to go around more than one car there.
I'm hoping that it's merely the heat driving people crazy, and maybe I'll just stay home for a while.
Posted by simon at July 9, 2007 6:35 PM in roads, traffic, and transit