Intersectional Incidents

I am not an angry driver. I’m not prone to rage on the highways but I do shake my head and roll my eyes occasionally. I might even talk to other motorists in a relatively calm voice lending driving tips when it seems they could use a few.

When we moved from Iowa to Chicago I learned you need to drive at least 10 miles an hour over the speed limit or you get run over. Now in Minnesota it’s a complete driving cultural change. In Minnesota if you are driving the speed limit you feel like you might get pulled over for impersonating a rocketship.

It’s not uncommon to get blocked in by a convoy of slow pokes driving three abreast all well under the posted limit. In fact, chances are the one in the left lane is going the slowest. I was once waiting patiently in a super slow right hand lane needing to exit and found out the driver going 50 in a 70 was…a taxi. That’s not going to happen in Chicago! I feel at times I should engage in Buddhist meditation (eyes open of course) or listen to some soothing Kenny G while I travel so the urge to go crazy and drive at the posted speeds does not well up inside of me and power out through my accelerator foot.

My need to vent comes from yesterday’s observation. It certainly was not the first time it happened and it’s not unique to Minnesota. It is happening across the country but I suddenly felt the need to quantify it. In a highly scientific study I determined that one in four people at a four-way stop cannot properly determine when it is their turn to go. There’s always one. That over anxious soul (or the one who can’t count to four) has to mess up the system and wreak havoc on the intersection. Their life and time is obviously much more important than the rest of us and they are hoping you don’t notice they snuck through a spot or three ahead of schedule. Wednesday it happened twice at the same four-way stop in 15 minutes and invariably it’s the offender who throws their hands up in disgust. They have to know they are the problem right?

Upon counseling me through my frustration someone reminded me of the overfriendly motorist who likes to sit in their spot and wave everyone else along in the improper order. We won’t go there today.