Driving Peeves

Ever since my parents moved, driving has been a lot more frustrating for me. Our building is on a divided road, and we are on the side that runs away from everywhere I ever go on a regular basis. I have to go in the opposite direction to turn around and get where I'm going. Travel times now have an additional 15 or so minutes, and I just feel farther away. Part of that travel time is simply because there are a bajillion traffic lights that constantly stop me and/or a kajillion parked cars that I have to drive around. To top it all off, schools have started up again, so now I have to worry about school zones, school buses, extra pedestrian traffic, and extra car traffic from parents picking up their students.

I'm kind of a stickler for the rules of the road; I mean, I actually read the book before taking my test and I know a lot more of the laws for trivia purposes. Right of way is the big one that I yell about while I'm driving, but my favorite trivia type law regards seat belts. In my state, if the driver is over eighteen years of age, the passengers in the backseat have the option not to wear their seat belts.

So, here's a list of my top five pet peeves about driving:

1. Incorrect right of way. The driving laws dictate whose turn it is, and driving is all about taking turns. That's what makes things go smoothly. If I'm turning right or going straight and you're turning left, it's my turn. If you've been waiting at the stop sign but the person in front of you just went and I'm also at the front of the line, it's my turn. If I'm on the road and you're coming out of a driveway, it's my turn. Wait your turn!

2. Unnecessary honking. This was more in China than in the US since EVERYONE honks in China just to let you know they're there, but if I'm waiting at a red light where I'm allowed to turn on red, but I see cars coming that you can't see, don't honk at me! It makes me angry and less likely to go until it's green just to be spiteful.

3. Heavy traffic. Heavy traffic makes people extra stupid because they just want to get where they're going. It bothers me when people drive like they're the only ones who have a destination because it makes things less safe for the rest of us, and I don't want to crash because you couldn't be on time for whatever it is you're rushing to.

4. Unexpected construction/road closures. I was driving yesterday, and I got to a point in the road where there was a police car blocking my lane. He directed me to turn right into a neighborhood, where the rest of the traffic from the major road had also be redirected, and I had to snake around through this unfamiliar residential area and wait in the longest stop sign line of my life. Then I couldn't make my usual left turn. Then I had to go to the perpendicular main road that I hate driving on because of the traffic. I was frustrated and frazzled by the time I got where I was going, and I would have taken a different route altogether if there had been some indication of what was going on.

5. Traffic lights. In the US, we have a lot of traffic lights that are placed very close together. If I can figure out a route that avoids traffic and traffic lights, I take it because I hate traffic lights. I think that much of my drive time is spent sitting at red lights, and it feels ridiculous, especially when a stop sign could be just as effective. I understand that traffic lights are safer, but if they're not based on sensors and timers, then I just end up sitting for a long time at a red light while nobody is coming from any other direction. And they're always all red when I actually have a destination.

I know there are rebuttals to any and all of these points, but this is what frustrates me most. I just really want a vortex manipulator (they're more precise than a TARDIS, though I'd love one of those) or the ability to apparate or teleport. Any of the above. All of the above.

Today is awesome because I updated my computer.