Right Lane Ends, Merge Left
Okay. I know that Seattle doesn’t top the list for the worst drivers in the country, but on some mornings it sure feels like they’ve all moved here and decided to take the same route to work that I do.
I have to know something, and I’m sure the question has been asked before, but why can’t people make the connection between slow traffic and their own behaviour? Since I-405 is usually a parking lot once you get within 2-3 miles north or south of Bellevue I tend to take the back roads in from Bothell. Most mornings are just fine. Its a nice easy commute only a couple of spots where there are any real slowdowns and those are usually from all of the road construction that happens during the period between April and September.
But I digress. Construction Season (that season that falls between Winter in the Seattle area) is a whole different rant.
My question is this: Why can’t people make the connection that when the right lane ends, and they try to zoom past the considerate people in the left lane to get that extra car length ahead, and then everyone has to slow down or stop to let them in that they are the ones causing the slowdown? Once you get past the point where the two lanes turn into one, things start moving again. Where there are two lanes, its touch and go for a mile. *sigh* If these people would just get into the left lane a mile, or even a half-mile before the right lane ends, traffic would go smoothly and not stop.
Of course, being in stop and go traffic like that does have its high-points. I’ve learned to keep myself entertained during these commutes. You can, for example, watch people gesture with their hands while talking on their cell phone. You can watch those very talented individuals put on eyeliner while sitting an inch away from the rear view mirror and trying to go around a turn at 10-15MPH. You can watch people bee-bopping to their favorite songs and feeling the beat of the tire driving over the bumps separating the lanes. And though I’ve heard it in a joke before, I actually have seen someone shaving, talking on the phone, and drinking coffee all at once.
Oh, my favorite part is that these people — the ones causing the slowdowns — are the ones who have a tendancy to get most upset about the slowdowns.
I’ve changed my mind. If I were to understand why these people do what they do, I’d probably end up with a brain aneurism.
