[quote=Navydoc][quote=eavesdropper] Really crummy self-involved driving is practically a professional sport in these parts. Driving under the influence is an employee benefit if you’re a senator or congressman.[/quote]
Boy aint that the truth. By far the rudest, shittiest, unfriendly drivers I have EVER encountered, and as a military person I’ve driven and ridden all over the world. I could perhaps forgive them if they were GOOD drivers, like the ones in Japan, but they aren’t. Plowing around in 3000lb Gucci purses. To make matters worse, I get called an effin asshole about once a week for daring to exist on their blessed roads.
I’m about to leave for a little stint in the middle east, but when I get back we have one more year here. After that I have orders to Okinawa, which is just fine with me. We’ll be looking to return to SD around 2014-15. Maybe Carmel Valley will be affordable by then :)[/quote]
The attitude on the part of “drivers” here just slays me. I, too, have lived all over, and never encountered the level of road bullshit that I do here. Some of the places have had crazy-ass drivers, but you learn their idiosyncrasies and acclimate yourself to the conditions. It’s completely different here. Almost every driver is completely self-focused, “It’s all about me” being the prevailing attitude. Virtually no one uses turn signals anymore, no matter the situation. They drift in and out of their lanes, not once or twice, but constantly. I get the same attitude from drivers when I’m on my motorcycle that they dish out to you on your bike, along with a generous dollop of misogynistic bullying from some.
The purchase or lease of a car here is the way in which the locals choose to express what they perceive as their personalities. The use of the vehicle is not considered transportation, it’s a way to show off. I’ve never seen such a disproportionate number of luxury vehicles; prior to the crash, it was ridiculous, but even now you see a ton of Lexuses, Mercedes, Escalades, Navigators, and Infinitis. The danger inherent in actually operating of 3-ton 400 horsepower machine does not even enter into the minds of many of these people. It’s all about the message that they think it sends to those around them. For some, that’s not even enough: they have to push the outside of the envelope. These are the folks who honestly believe that it’s okay to bully with their car.
I’m not necessarily speaking only of the well-to-do. This area is stuffed with people who do not see the incongruity of spending $60K on a fully-loaded Harley-Davidson Ford F-150 pickup (plus $50K for another overweight, overpowered, oversized truck/SUV for the wife) when they are supporting a family of five on an income of $70,000 or $80,000 per year. You see these highly-polished behemoths with their pristine truck beds parked in front of tumble-down mid-century suburban capes because there is no garage, or even driveway, in which to keep them. Unfortunately, it’s no longer enough for a lot of these owners simply to pretend that they’re tough and badass because they drive a huge pickup; some of them have to act out on the highway. Not a lot of fun to deal with when you’re the other driver, but even scarier when you’re an unprotected vulnerable motorcyclist. Just as dangerous are the distracted and/or frightened drivers who have always been a hazard, but are much more so now that they have the keys to 4 or 5 tons of idiot-propelled steel.
There you have the DC-area driving arena: 80% of the people who don’t understand what owning a car has to do with driving, courtesy, skill, and following rules and laws. Unfortunately, we’re probably stuck here for the next 5 to 10 years, depending on developments in the economy. However, whenever possible, I escape to rural Virginia (rural, NOT suburban or exurban). Great biking roads without the DC pathology.
