Pet Peeves About Other Drivers

Here's the way it works, people: If you're driving down the road, and something is blocking your lane, you have to check to see if there is any oncoming traffic before you just veer into the other lane to go around. You see, the driver who is driving toward you is in her own lane. She has the right to drive in that lane. And yes, you can go around the obstacle, but you have to wait until the other lane is clear. You can't just veer into the path of an oncoming car because there's something in your lane.

I'm sure all of my readers understand this principle, but there seem to be a large number of people driving around out there who don't. That's all I'm saying.

Another thing: if you're pulling a trailer, there are some places you just can't try to park. A small convenience store parking lot is one of them, especially if it's a busy holiday weekend and most of the parking spots in the lot are already full. And if you make a mistake and pull into a small parking lot with your trailer, don't sit there wondering what to do next and block traffic while you decide.

I live in a small, relatively rural town that is on the way to a lake that is popular in the summer. Several organizations take advantage of the extra summer traffic and use it as a way to raise funds for their activities.

Now when I say small town, I mean small. Village, actually. One traffic light. Speed limit 35 mph. One of those blink-or-you'll-miss-it towns. During the fund raisers, they have between 1 and 3 people standing in the middle of the road, on all 4 side of the intersection. Today, one of these was a pregnant lady. Often they have teens doing this, too. Apparently they trust that no one will hit them. It makes me crazy, and I never give to them because I don't want to encourage this behavior. They should send a letter around in May, saying "How much will you give it we promise not to stand in the road and block traffic?" I bet they'd make more money that way.