Washington State is a very rainy place. I know, because that’s where I’m from. And much like Maine drivers are good at driving in the snow, those of us from Washington are good at handling the rain.
New York drivers are not. I’ve seen people hydroplane, skid, spin out, and do any number of stupid things because of a little water coming from the sky.
Isn’t it a law that you have to have your lights on when your wipers are on? Personally, I’d chalk that up to common sense. In the rain, I want to see other people and I want everyone else to be able to see me.
But I guess common sense isn’t all that common. After almost getting rear-ended by an Impala (without her lights on), another car came at me out of nowhere. My passenger noted that they had running lights on, but didn’t turn their headlights on. I know that the car designers wanted running lights because they’re “safer”, but it doesn’t do me a lick of good since their rear lights don’t come on.
While I’m on the topic of headlights, I must say that it would probably be safer for me if my lights were brighter. But while I’m in my ’86 Sentra, if the people around me have the safer “ultra-bright” lights, I’m essentially blind.
My other beefs with drivers around Troy are four-way stops and merging. Something about waiting for your turn doesn’t seem all that complicated to me. Didn’t everyone learn how to take turns in Kindergarten? Apparently not. As far as merging goes, don’t you people know how zippers work?
Basically, there’s a proper way to drive, and I’ll tell you the secret: drive like my dad and don’t do anything you wouldn’t do in a grocery store with your shopping cart.
