I had an LA driving revelation this morning.
It always irks me how LA drivers speed up as soon as they
see someone in the next lane put their signal on to move into their lane. I
always thought it was just being mean-spirited and a form of bullying.
I realized today, however, that my fellow Los Angelenos,
with their heightened sensitivity, feel like people moving into their lane are
cutting in line.
Please be assured, most drivers who are trying to change
lanes are not trying to cut the line. It's not a race to a finish line. They're
not even going where you're going.
Granted, there are those who do cheat – they ride in a fast-moving,
non-merge lane and then cut traffic off to merge at the last minute. Those
people are rude, selfish, entitled and clueless. However, you can still let
them over because 1) why bother to have an accident or get stressed out because
someone is a jerk? And 2) sometimes cops are lying in the cut just ahead
waiting for them. (I’ve seen it happen and cheered loudly!)
In general, however, drivers who need to change lanes aren’t
trying to be jerks. They're just trying to drive and get wherever they need to be. Think about when YOU need to change lanes. Yeah, it's like that...only for them.
Keep in mind, driving lanes are not like check-out, movie or
amusement park lines where you need to stay or stand (or drive) in the order
you arrived. It's much more like walking through an airport. Everyone has a
destination but you just flow through the traffic to get to yours. Can you
imagine if we walked through an airport like LA drivers drive? Every time
someone tried to cross our path to get to their gate, we cut them off. (smh)
So, let’s try a little more road courtesy. Try leaving
enough room in front of you for other drivers to flow through traffic - and,
yes, that means other cars will sometimes get in front of you. It’s okay! Take
a deep breath. Change your mindset. That's actually how they (and you) are
supposed to drive.
Constantly Thinking...(and driving...)
