Know What
I'm Sayin'??
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Turn around, and come back.
Atlanta is a city of pedestrians. This is a city of drivers. We may not have quite as much traffic as some of the heavy hitters like L.A. and D.C., but we're up there.

On top of standard everyday congestion due to pure volume, I'd say the biggest contributor to traffic woes is selfishness. Selfishness, and the resulting refusal to wait.

People here don't like to wait. They think that they are the most important person around, and so the world must revolve around them. Everyone else's comings and goings (and leavings and stayings) must come second in line to their own.

Let me get to the point. My plea to the drivers of Atlanta: Turn around, and come back.'re in the far right lane, and want to make a left? Don't stop in the middle of traffic, and force your way over. Turn around, and come back.

Oh. You saw that the left turning lane was virtually empty, and the lanes going straight were full and thick. You jumped in that turning lane, and rode all the way to the front. Don't try to jump back over to the right lane. I'm here, and I've sat in this lane and waited my turn. That's just plain rude. Make the left, and turn around, and come back.

You're cruising up I-85 in the left lane, at like 70 MPH. Oops. Here's your exit - way over there on the right. DON'T CROSS 4 LANES OF TRAFFIC, IDIOT! GET OFF ON THE NEXT EXIT, TURN AROUND, AND COME BACK. There have been signs for 2 miles telling you the exit was coming, so why didn't you take your time and get over? Never mind why. I don't care. What I do care about is that instead of just turning around and coming back, what do you do? You just stop in the middle of traffic, in the middle of morning rush hour, and...put your blinker on. Fat lot of good that's gonna do now. You can't move laterally across the highway. That's a quick way to cause ME to have a fit of road rage. And what that happens, to quote a famous man..."I will attack, and you don't want that."

For the life of me, I don't understand why I'm the only one that sees this. People are so self-absorbed that they don't care about everyone else. They refuse to "lose" the 3 minutes it would take them to just turn around, and come back. Nobody wants to LOSE. Nobody wants to WAIT. It's only a few minutes.

People...I'm begging here. Get over yourself. Plan a little further ahead in life than 2 feet. Read street signs. If you don't know where you're going, don't slow to 20 MPH while you figure it out. Pull to the side, and get yourself together. Use blinkers. Use mirrors. Adjust your seat so that you can see over the wheel. Better late, than never. You'll get there. Take the time to turn around and come back this time, and I guarantee that next time you'll know that exit or that turn is coming.

Take a breath. Don't waste my time. Turn around, and come back. It's okay.

Know What I'm Sayin'?? No? Then you're the one I'm talking about. It's you. Yup. You.
Blogger The Armchair QB said...
Amen brother. I've been thinking and saying the same for some time.

Blogger BrownBerry said...
Mmm mmm mmm - preach!