Some Drivers Seem to Have a Death Wish

I'm just wondering… Is there a reason why some drivers can't wait for you to make your turn into a driveway or intersection? I can't be the only one this happens to – am I? Does this happen to you, too? You're driving along, either at or a little above the speed limit and it's dark, and there is someone behind you – well, actually, they are almost in your backseat! Behind that car, is a long highway of empty. There is no one behind them, no one. But, they don't want to be behind you!


You see your turn coming up, your turn signal is flashing, you slow down and begin to apply the brakes. Wait! The car behind doesn't slow down and appears oblivious to your upcoming turn. As you enter the narrow driveway, the vehicle whooshes by, simultaneously, which means they didn't slow down, at all.


What is wrong with these people? Do they think I am perfect? What if I didn't slow down enough? They could have hit me. Did they care?


I find it just as difficult to understand people who insist on turning into my lane of traffic within 10 feet of my reaching their intersection. Bear in mind, there is no one behind me, for miles, – probably, all the way to Key West – but that doesn't seem to matter one whit. They wait for me to get closer, then zip out as if there was no other alternative -- like, waiting until I pass. There is no one behind me! Why can't they wait until I've passed and it's safer for everyone?


I used to think this type of driving only happened in the country, but that line is being crossed closer and closer to the urban environment. What are they gaining? Eight seconds? A clear view line? Grrrrr.


While I'm on a roll, let's talk about the lines being crossed - the double-yellow lines. Does anyone read the manual, anymore? I've lived, at one time or another, in several different states and I have never seen in their driving manuals that it is okay to cross the double-yellow lines. And, yet, it happens over and over again here in NC. It isn't that I am going too slow – oh, no, I'm doing the speed limit - and, probably, just a little bit more – and it is still not fast enough for them. Are they crazy? Isn't crossing the double-yellow line universally illegal in this country? What did I miss? Do they have a death wish? Well, let me go on record to say it scares the beejeebies out of me and I want it to stop.


It happened at least three times to me, last week, but, I can tell you that, as sure as I'm writing this and the sun rises every morning, if I had crossed that double-yellow line, the car I'd be passing would be carrying an undercover trooper. Not that I would do that, but, I'm just sayin'... there oughta be a law!