We're always talking about "distracted driving" being a growing problem, and it IS. But I think people are just getting dumber. The other day, I saw the dumbest yet.
I was using a local elevated flyover to exit from one freeway and take onother. Its a one-lane flyover, one-way, but built with enough width for a breakdown lane (and presumably another traffic lane as demand rises in the future. The SOLID WHITE stripe (is fairly close to the outside Jersey barrier, the traffic lane is thus close to the outside of the curve, and the SOLID YELLOW stripe is to the right of the wide breakdown lane. Where the ramp merges into the next freeway, there's a construction zone... not relevant to the stupidity, but relevant to the outcome.
As I exit, there are two cars in front of me. Both enter the one and only lane correctly. But then the middle car (directly in front of me) signals and moves left of the SOLID YELLOW LINE and into the breakdown lane. Breaking down? Should I stop? Well, no, the guy keeps on driving about 60 mph. After about 10 seconds, I realize that this guy thinks its a traffic lane... with a SOLID YELLOW LINE to his RIGHT! I mean, who DOES that??!? I drop back, blink my lights, and do everything I can to let him know something is up. Totally ignores me.
So now the part about the construction zone... where the ramp ends, there are a bunch of the sand-filled inverted barrels. Guess where the breakdown lane ends... yep, in a whole field of barrels, and the guy flies right in among them, locking his brakes all the way. Somehow he missed hitting a barrel, but wound up stopped sideways in among them.
I tell it now and it STILL seems unbelievable. You NEVER drive to the left of a solid yellow line! Never, never, never EVER!
I was using a local elevated flyover to exit from one freeway and take onother. Its a one-lane flyover, one-way, but built with enough width for a breakdown lane (and presumably another traffic lane as demand rises in the future. The SOLID WHITE stripe (is fairly close to the outside Jersey barrier, the traffic lane is thus close to the outside of the curve, and the SOLID YELLOW stripe is to the right of the wide breakdown lane. Where the ramp merges into the next freeway, there's a construction zone... not relevant to the stupidity, but relevant to the outcome.
As I exit, there are two cars in front of me. Both enter the one and only lane correctly. But then the middle car (directly in front of me) signals and moves left of the SOLID YELLOW LINE and into the breakdown lane. Breaking down? Should I stop? Well, no, the guy keeps on driving about 60 mph. After about 10 seconds, I realize that this guy thinks its a traffic lane... with a SOLID YELLOW LINE to his RIGHT! I mean, who DOES that??!? I drop back, blink my lights, and do everything I can to let him know something is up. Totally ignores me.
So now the part about the construction zone... where the ramp ends, there are a bunch of the sand-filled inverted barrels. Guess where the breakdown lane ends... yep, in a whole field of barrels, and the guy flies right in among them, locking his brakes all the way. Somehow he missed hitting a barrel, but wound up stopped sideways in among them.
I tell it now and it STILL seems unbelievable. You NEVER drive to the left of a solid yellow line! Never, never, never EVER!