Why Can't We Drive in the Rain?

I can blog all day about driving because we in L.A. spend more time negotiating the freeways than we do on any other activity. That's probably why people here spend obscene amounts of money on cars since it's like a second home. But instead of luxuriating in leather and steel, most of us only find frustration behind the wheel. The reason is simple; people suck. It's bad enough that drivers have more important things to attend to other than driving; I think they actually make the effort to drive inconsiderately. With no further adieu, here are the top 5 most annoying things you can inflict on others whilst on the freeways and byways of Los Angeles:

1. Leapfrog. Where does this get you? Absolutely nowhere. And what do we do? We speed up so they don't get in front of us. Not a safe habit since their resolve might be higher than their liability limits. Which leads us to...

2. Crappy insurance. That's if they have any insurance at all. I've been rear ended three times and all three lacked any insurance. One even lacked a drivers license. It's not just me, I know several people with the same sad tale. This is all about societal decency folks. Give AAA a call.

3. Lane cutters. Getting onto the 5 freeway from the 110 means waiting in a row of cars because there is only one lane to make the interchange. Some people don't want to wait so they cut in at the last minute. Can't we move some of the red light intersection cameras to stop these offenders? This would be safer than us trying to keep inches behind the car in front of us.

4. People that take way too long to back out of their parking spaces. I swear if they see you waiting for their space, they will take longer to leave. I guess this gives them some empowerment. What I like to do is pull up behind them and pretend to wait for another car. How you like me now?

5. You ever have someone pull to the right of you when you're in the rightmost lane? They're supposed to make a right, right? No, they wanna blast past you when the light turns green. This is wrong on two levels: first, they wrong everyone waiting behind you like god meant them to, and second, they hold up all the people that really need to make that right turn. Well, them folks are in for a surprise because I'm quick with the clutch and not afraid to redline.

Now you know my bad habits. But they are all reactionary so it's fully preventable if drivers stop their's. If we all drive like our mothers are sharing the lane next to us, then we can all focus on more important matters, like clearing space on our Tivos.