I didn't take time to look into my archives here at my blog but I'd guess that I have ranted about this exact situation previously; perhaps even exactly one year ago, but I digress...
So we drove 'home' to Kentucky for Thanksgiving. Traffic all the way through Chattanooga was a trainwreck. It was backed up from about 10 miles from the GA-TN border all the way into/through the city! Horror show! While that was annoying, I have to vent about what ticks me off for holiday drivers--I call them the "Over the river and through the woods" drivers. Kind of like the people who only go to church on Easter, Mother's Day and Christmas (you know the types!) these drivers only drive on the interstate for 'special' occasions (like Thanksgiving and Christmas) and don't really know how to handle themselves on the open road.
I have driven thousands of miles over my 44 years, and have driven from ATL to OWB (Owensboro, KY, my home town) many times from when I turned 16 to the present time. The directions are easy: From Owensboro, you go south. When you get to Nashville turn left. When you get to Chattanooga go right. That's pretty much it! Well, these "holiday" drivers may know how to get from point A to point B but they don't realize why there is a left lane. People, the left lane is for PASSING. It's like this--there are times when the road is 'full' (i.e. there is nowhere to go, pure volume). But there are also times when you're driving down the road and there's a lone idiot sitting in the left lane. No clue, no reason to be there, so you just blow on by in the right lane.
Other times? In a word, "clumps". Sure, you're moving with the pack, rolling by at or barely above the speed limit. But there will be a clump of 5 cars parked in the left lane at the same speed, and the right lane is wide open. SO, you risk a ticket and get in the right lane for an 80mph (or more) sprint (as they will inevitably speed up once they see that they can block you--usually the GA drivers, of course). Once you pass all five cars, odds are they will all remain in the left lane, but you remain in the proper (right) lane until you reach the next clump of lemmings.
Another fun left-lane bandit is the type that plays 'pace car' and holds up an entire lane of traffic by jumping in the left lane to slowwwwlly pass the truck or other obstruction in the right lane. Once they finally move back to the right the entire clump gets to resume 'normal' speeds (cross reference 'clumps' above).
A final favorite (again, esp. among GA drivers, usually the "educator" license plates) is the 'race car' driver. You've been sitting behind one idiot (solo) pace car (as noted) and they finally pull into the right lane. What's this? They've been driving 72 mph for the past several miles (where you couldn't pass them). Now that the lane is free, suddenly they are pacing you or going a bit faster than you (just enough that you can't pass them without speeding up)! Once again, hit the go-pedal and suddenly you're doing 82! Why? It's the only way to actually pass them! Once they are passed they (surprise!) go back to their previous speed (as noted by their minuscule presence in your rear-view mirror), never to be seen again unless you make a pit-stop.
SO: which driver are you? If you were on I-24 or I-75 during the holidays and got passed by a gold SUV w/GA "horse" (that's equestrian to you and me) tags, YOU might be referenced in this blog post! : ) I hate to say it, but I won't be apologizing to you--I'll look forward to YOUR apology for blocking the way home for all of us! Be safe out there and watch out for idiots!
DISCLAIMER: I do not recommend being an overly aggressive driver. I do not like people who weave in and out of traffic driving unsafely, this is not condoned as well. While what I reference above does admittedly talk about exceeding the speed limit at times, I do so with a well-maintained vehicle on fresh tires, an alert driver (no cell talking/texting, eating/sleeping) and (as my family is aboard) I don't take great risks in order to save a minute or two (especially as my 'barometer' (Susie :) is sitting next to me, ensuring that I don't get out of hand!). As for motorcyclists who like to weave in and out of traffic at high speeds--your nickname (stolen from doctor friends) of "organ donors" is applicable-think about it.... Have a great (and safe) drive home today!
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