dem people nuts

I am beginning to hate driving a car 

I would feel much safer in some other type of vehicle, or some other type of culture.

I was on my way to DeKalb today.  Had a dentist follow up.

    There is construction on Ill. 38.  There are 2 lanes each direction just east of I 39, but the two lanes merge into one when heading east.

    Some of the construction was right where it merged to one lane, so the road was only one lane, with crews directing traffic.

    Well.....I don't know if you have heard of the zipper approach to road construction.

    Some traffic experts say it is safer and more efficient to fill both lanes when one lane is closed ahead.  At the one lane section, cars would alternate to move ahead, like a zipper.  That's the best way I can explain it.  Google it.

    I was waiting in the right lane.  The left lane was open.  A car started coming up the left lane and. the person behind me pulled half way out to block them.  When the car tried to get around the blocking car, that car moved another 2 feet and the driver got out and yelled at the other driver.

    I was waiting for the gunfire to start, or the fists to fly, but luckily nothing happened.

    This is where the culture clash enters.

    If you are a driver educated about using the zipper, the move was perfectly logical.  But if you are a driver not exposed to the zipper, it appears to be someone trying to get ahead.

    On my way home I was rolling through Malta when I noticed a semi passing another car in Malta!  Now, Malta has a reputation of being strict enforcers of a 40 mph speed limit and this semi was doing a lot more than 40.

    I know, because it caught up to me at the stoplight and I was doing 55 at that point.  The light was clearly red, I was stopping and that semi just got bigger and bigger in my mirror.  I braced, but luckily was not hit.

    The light changed and I hit the gas, wanting to make a good distance between the semi and me.  

    I did a little over 60 but it caught up to me just outside Creston.

    Again, there was construction, so I took Woodlawn Road and used backroads to get home.  I had fears of the truck plowing into a line of stopped cars, starting with me.

    And in DeKalb, some guy got on my tail on Heuber Road and stayed there.  I could not see the grill, they were that close.  Once the road turned into 2 lanes, he switched lanes and tailgated that person.

    And at 6:30, if you are riding a bike on the road maybe you should wear light colored clothing and have lights on your bike.  You scared the bejeebees out of me.

    Maybe I am just cranky today.  But man, the traffic just seemed pretty weird all over.

    Hope all the folks in Florida are safe and secure tonight.  Hold on!

Peace and Love