July 22nd observation

I encountered this vehicle while driving on Hwy 51 this morning. The driver was wearing an anniversary band that probably cost more than my trip to Aruba. There was a young child in the back. The vehicle, a nearly brand new Yukon, was traveling ~ 60 mph in a 45 mph zone. The driver was changing lanes without using a signal, darting back and forth as if she were driving a sports car. Notice the McCain sticker on the left and the private school sticker on the right.
Despite all of her efforts to win the race taking place inside her head, I ended up behind her at a stop light some 3.5 miles from where she first blew by me. It is a great illustration of the parable of the tortise and the hare, and further evidence that there are too many people that just don't get it.

Driving courtesies #1

This is simple, people. If you are turning onto a road, trying to merge into a lane, or any other scenario which requires another vehicle to let you in front of it, you MUST acknowledge their kindness! A wave, a nod, a smile. It is your duty. Being too busy because you have a phone to your ear is not an excuse. That actually pisses the samaritan off. Wake up and learn to be polite.

Bad Drivers #1

In what I hope becomes a recurring post, I am going to tell the story of a bad driver I observed this morning.
While driving on highway 161 from York to Rock Hill, a car came up very close behind me. The driver apparently didn't appreciate that I was travelling 50 mph in a 45 mph zone. It didn't matter that there was a line of cars in front of me or that we were in a construction zone. When the road widened back to 4 lanes, I pulled into the right lane so our impatient friend could get by me. It turns out that the car (A brown, metallic flake Toyota Camry SC plate798VFS) didn't think the car that had been in front of me was going fast enough so it pulled in behind me, without using a signal to change lanes, and resumed tailgating me. A few hundred yards later the car was able to get by us both. Almost. There was the small matter of a red light. The driver, now seen to be a young woman in her 20's pulled along side of me. Thankfully she wasn't talking on a cell phone. I was about to forget the matter altogether when I noticed something in the back seat. There was a young child laying down in the back seat- no belt, car seat or any other form of restraint. This woman was speeding and tailgating at 6:15 in the morning with an unprotected child in the vehicle! The more I become immersed in fatherhood, the more things like this piss me off.