i have been guilty of complaining about the quality of drivers in the PHX area during the winter months. often i have wondered how it could possibly get any worse. AND from time to time I have been known to use the phrase while driving “come on grandma” with a tone of impatience and irritation - – - of course i wasn’t talking about MY grandma, but merely generalizing the poor driving by using an age descriptive term. as a side note, the boys have at times looked into the car that was the recipient of my comment in hopes of seeing one of their grandmas.
well, as it turns out, it can get worse. specifically it can get worse by coming to Kentucky. I have been with my friend Jon Wren for about 24 hours here. 12 of those hours (or more) have not been in the car. However, with the time that we have been in the car, we have been nearly killed or maimed 5x by cars pulling right out in front of us, at varying speeds, with no regard for the fact that we owned the right of way. Jon’s description of the state of driving here is perfect – “it is like they have only had cars here for 2 years and everyone is still learning”.
Jon’s tips for driving in KY:
- assume everyone is color blind (lights don’t mean what you think ought to)
- the bigger the truck the bigger the gun
- pretend you are in iraq and every car is a potential enemy combatant
- allow for the fact that compared to the tractor they just got off of, the thing they are driving now feels like a race car
- remind yourself regularly that the other driver isn’t watching the road but rather scouting the fields for their next deer kill (or a kill shot opportunity of any kind)
- passing is permitted at any possible moment, be ready. (as is merging, cutting across lanes, stopping and taking smoke breaks)
- it is OK to violate any traffic law as long you have a bumper sticker in support of our troops or call for God to bless America.
- you are much more likely to have troubles with other drivers if you are still sporting an OBAMA sticker (not my take, just the reality of KY)
~Jen