I've had the rare pleasure of commuting to work in LA, Chicago, Detroit and New Jersey/NYC, so I feel obliged to correct Scott's disparaging remarks regarding New Jersey drivers. While I'm on the subject, I might as well rank the drivers that populate the expressways of these fair and not-so-fair metropolitan areas.
My Jersey to New York commute took me down 40 miles of the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway. Of the four above-named commutes, New Jersey was by far the best. For one, New Jersey drivers know what the left lane is for, a bit of knowledge that is completely foreign to drivers in many other cities.. The left lane on the turnpike moves at a steady 80 mph, and those who don't want to go that fast have sense enough to get out of the way. What's more, they know where they're going. You don't see a lot of four-lane crossovers in a last desperate attempt to get to an exit ramp. Detroit is second best. Primarily good drivers here, and not too many slowpokes. But there's the occasional wreck being driven by a brain-dead wretch, so Jersey is better. What's more, the roads here are the worst in the nation, so drivers sometimes have to swerve to avoid being swallowed up by a canyon-sized pothole. That kind of maneuver can spoil a nice driving style. LA is pretty bad. A lot of people drive well there and use common sense, but you can run into lane monitors on the LA freeways. They drive Volvos and camp out in the left lane at 55 mph, sneering all the while. They feel it's there civic duty to impose some kind of bizarre go-slow moral code on those of us who hustle along. Combined with just way too much traffic on the 10 and 405 in particular, the strange behavior of Angelenos makes driving there a nightmare. But nothing is as bad as Chicago. Chicago drivers don't have a clue regarding the purpose of the left lane. And they change lanes constantly. Plus, there are so many wrecks on the road in Chi-Town, the expressways look like junkyards come to life. No one knows where they're going, and no one cares. If there's an expressway in hell, it probably includes the Edens/Kennedy junction. And that's all I have to say about that. Paul ----- "Scott Loveless" <[email protected]> wrote: > On Wed, May 6, 2009 at 9:38 AM, Bob Sullivan <[email protected]> > wrote: > > And we all give them a wide berth and expect strange things... Bob > S. > > I have a few I'd like to see implemented here in the States. > > Anyone who owns a mini-van should be required to display a "V" > sticker > on all their other vehicles. > > Vehicles licensed in New Jersey should be required to display a > taxi-like marquis on the roof with a flashing "NJ" that must be > illuminated whenever the vehicle leaves New Jersey. Just so the rest > of us get fair warning. (License plates are too hard to see 1/4 mile > away.) > > Those people who commute to work alone in a Hummer, bitch about gas > prices and then refuse to get a minivan to haul their 6 kids around > should have "DH" permanently tattooed on their foreheads. And they > should have to get the flashing NJ sign even if they're not from NJ. > > -- > Scott Loveless > Cigarette-free since December 14th, 2008 > http://www.twosixteen.com/fivetoedsloth/ > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and > follow the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
