did I say how much I hate this…
this is one reason…
I used to love driving, really I did, but that has changed now. Now there are too many cars on the road and too many people driving them that maybe shouldn’t be driving. Before you say anything, yes, my age may have something to do with my hatred of driving but I know a lot of people way younger than me that hate it too. Maybe I need a driver to go along with the pool boy I always wanted. By the way, I don’t have a pool but I’m sure I can think of some things to keep him busy. Back to the reason for this post…reasons I hate driving.
Here are my top ten…and believe me, I do have more than 10.
- Rude drivers – people who act like they are the only car on the road and everyone needs to just get out of their way. You see them coming and just move over so they can go by totally oblivious to anyone else being on the road. Because if you don’t get out of their way they will just run into you. I don’t think there’s a day that goes by lately that when I pull in my drive way after going somewhere, that I don’t just sit in my car for a few minutes and give thanks for making it home alive.
- Drivers who are texting or on their phones – here in my state as well as many others it is against the law to be on their phone but that sure doesn’t stop the ones I see every day texting or talking away. I actually saw a guy watching a movie on his iPad one day.
- Tailgaters – this one is high on my “hate list”. I especially hate when I am on a road that has more than one lane and the driver tailgating me can pass me, but doesn’t. It is like they are in the zone and don’t even know they are doing it until I slam on my brakes and wake them up. Yeah, I may or may not do that sometimes.
- Traffic – Is there anywhere you can go these days where there is no traffic? This is kind of a rhetorical question, because no.. it seems like there is traffic everywhere. Even the quaint little towns I used to love driving through because they didn’t have any, now do. Maybe this is due to the fact some huge builder is building homes there now because it is such a “quaint little town.”
- Maniacs – Well I’m not sure if they really are maniacs or not but they act like it. They weave back and forth in traffic thinking they are special and can pass everyone in the long line of traffic that is backed up the whole way for miles, only to end up a the same light or right beside you in the traffic line. I always look over and smile at them. It kinda helps pass the time.
- Dogs, Deer and Kids – Not especially in that order and I don’t hate them. I worry that they are going to run out in the street in front of my car when I see them alongside the road. I really worry about this. My reflexes aren’t what they used to be and I worry iI won’t be able to stop in time. And it’s not just the ones I mentioned. I don’t even want to hit a squirrel or skunk for that matter. Once there was this huge gathering of birds on the highway, traffic was in from of me, in back of me and beside me and I had no where to go but right through them. I felt there little bodies hitting under the car and it made me sick to my stomach. I didn’t even look in the rear view mirror.
- Driving at night – My night vision isn’t what it once was either, but really I never liked driving at night before when my vision was perfect. Come to think of it I really don’t like the dark. I like sunny days and daylight. Maybe it goes back to my childhood, who knows.
- Speed Limits – I am not complaining that we have them, I am saying no one bothers to follow them. I try, but it is difficult to drive the speed limit when everyone else is going 25 miles over it. Remember when we lowered the speed limit for safety and to conserve gas? I think that was why…but now they are constantly increasing it to 70 and even 80 in some areas. Do we really need to go that fast? Just leave in plenty of time and you will get there…and alive. And really it doesn’t matter what the speed limits are because no one goes the speed limit!! It is also hard to get off the ramp and onto these roads because you can’t really get up to 70 or 80 right off the bat and no one will let you in front of them because they are all speeding by at 90 miles an hour. So much for that safety thing.
- Getting to where I need to go – I don’t have a fancy car that has the map thingy that tells you where to go and when to turn. I used a friends “talking map thingy” once and it told me to turn where there wasn’t even a road. And I read all of the stories of people driving into ponds or oceans because it told them to do that. Not that I would do that by the way, but if it was dark I might not know the pond was there. Anyway, I don’t use one. I print out the map instructions and sometimes still get lost. And who is like me here, in that I turn the radio down when I am looking for the address or where to turn?? And what does that do? I still can’t find it.
- And last but certainly not least is Parallel Parking – I absolutely hate to do this and thank goodness we don’t have to very often these days. However should the occasion arise where I am in one of the ‘quaint little towns”, that is really the only way you can park. I will drive around for hours(well maybe 15 minutes) to find a place where I can just pull in. And in all other instances, I will use the parking decks. I will gladly pay rather than parallel park and hold up traffic with my back and forth trying to get in the space where there are SUV’s parked in front and back of me. What? They couldn’t make those spaces just a smidgen bigger??
I have heard that millennials don’t like driving either. They like living in the city so they can walk to work or take public transportation. I get it. I like living in my quaint little town, I can walk to the bank, post office and to get a cup of coffee in a few minutes time. I don’t like driving. I really like being a passenger. I like looking out the window and really seeing the landscape instead of staring straight ahead watching the maniac in front of me. Honestly, I just don’t like to drive anymore. It isn’t fun and in fact it is downright stressful. And who needs stress? I really do think I just need to get a driver. He can be best friends with the pool boy.
I leave you as always with a question and a quote. How do you feel about driving? I’d love to hear your comments.
“Baseball is a lot like driving, it’s the one who gets home safely that counts.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
I hate it too. I think it’s my age and my night vision is not fabulous. xoxoxoxo
Yep me too!
I hear YA! I hate, Hate, HATE driving. I just wrote an article about how to reduce stress while driving on my blog. Did I mention that I hate driving?!!! One of the main reasons I work from home is because I detest having to battle with traffic ( and sometimes with cows where I live) to get to work every single day. But I STILL have to go out some times…after all, I will need groceries, I do need to meet with clients every now and then, and I do need to run arrands! And…as much as I HATE driving, I dislike the idea of my aging mom having to put up with the “demons” on the road even more, so I pick her up and take her grocery shopping too, and I dedicate one day each month to run all her errands as well. Saving her the frustration of driving is worth my agony…:-)
Yep Darlene…it gets worse all the time…and I worry about my grandchildren learning how to drive and being on the roads…scares me to death…
Hell is other people. Period.
After your first three, I started seeing red and had to stop. YES! Wouldn’t the world be perfect if other people didn’t suck so much?
Perfect and people don’t even belong in the same sentence.
You must live in Florida! You described the driving situation there perfectly except you left out the Super mom’s in their SUV’S full of kids, making a turn while taking on their cell phone which is illegal!
Trudy, nope I live in the metro area of DC and Baltimore! It is terrible here…rated one of the worst traffic areas in the US. Cell phone should automatically have some kind of shut off thing as soon as the car starts…
Love this and couldn’t agree with you more. I live in Seattle and traffic is a nightmare, pretty much all the time. I would love to live somewhere where I could ditch my car and just walk. I need to move somewhere warmer so I can get a pool boy :)!
Oh my Lana, I am sure its bad there. I live near DC and Baltimore so it is here as well. But in my little town of Thurmont it isn’t too bad…yet! And we all need a pool boy!
Your thoughts echo mine! My pool boy is my chauffeur so in that respect I’m very lucky! When I do drive to Hershey, I prefer to go early but now it’s dark so there is no good driving time. I tend to stay to the right and let the idiots pass me and I’m usually going 5 over the speed limit! I take back roads whenever possible. I’ve pulled off the road many times for those ‘bumpersuckers’ !! Can’t stand them!! Usually they are young punks with crazy loud ass beat up cars!!
My biggest peeve is no lights on in rain, dawn or dusk AND driving a dark colored car! Notice my cars are always white!! I want to be seen! Thanks for letting me vent !! I do feel better!! Good topic and very timely!
You are so right Joanie! I pull over all the time. And sometimes it isn’t the young punks…I have had very old men and women stuck to my butt…LOL…And you are lucky you have a very nice looking gentleman as both your pool boy and chauffeur. I have Shelly!
It’s not my favorite thing, but I love a good road trip and am way too nervous about self-driving cars to think that is a solution.
I love a road trip too, but like someone else to be driving these days…and the Jetsons had them why can’t we? Thanks Carol!
Well I have a heavy foot so I use cruse control on highways, you have to have the brake foot ready. Yikes slow people in the fast-passing lane move over. Then the people that do or do not use their turn signal on and even if there is no room just bring their ass oops car over,. Make up, holding cell phone and giving kids he’ll put over. Now the best thing on the phone which you can place on vents on your dash, it is Waze which tells you of traffic, pot holes, accidents and oh those hidden nasty police, I love this app free.
Sharon agree…but I don’t like anything talking to me that isn’t human while I’m driving.LOL!
Ugh. All of the above. I would add one more. Construction. Here in Edmonton, we have two seasons. Winter. And construction. If you can find a route–any route–that doesn’t include someone shuffling traffic into an impossibly narrow corridor at the cost of time and speed and claustrophobia, please let me know. I haven’t discovered it yet.
Diane, you are so right and I do hate the constant and ongoing construction everywhere I go…someone is getting rich on making those orange cones….Thank you for commenting!
I couldn’t agree more Renee – I don’t think you emphasized the idiot factor enough though – there are so many of them out there now and I can’t deal with idiots anymore. We live in a large country town and every time we go up to the city to see our adult kids, I wonder how people can live with all the traffic jams and congestion. And don’t get me started on night driving and parallel parking – I avoid both like the plague now days (my sister-in-law says she hasn’t parallel parked since she did it in her driving test 40 years ago!) Loved this post 🙂
Leanne thank you so much! Yes I guess I could write a whole post on the idiot factor alone..And I love that your SIL hasn’t parallel parked since her driving test!
Totally on the same page with you here. I have actually developed a phobia about driving. I’m limited to certain places, and that’s it.
We just need a cute driver Marcia!
I like what you said about taking yourself places on foot, the experience of being out and around is different when you’re in touch with the ground you’re on. My driving has been more “challenging” since I started writing; I am completely lost in thought almost all of the time and combined withhold Boston driving habits, I sometimes wonder if I should alert other drivers to my many flaws. “Don’t bother tailgaiting. Driver is lost in thought and won’t notice.”
Susan, I am lost in thought a lot as well and sometimes wonder how I got to the place I am going…I think maybe others are too…guess we all need drivers or cars that drive themselves(that really work) Thank you for your comments.
Very funny! I would love to have a driver too! Think of all the reading you could get done while someone brings you from place to place. Heaven.
YES! exactly Shari!
LOL!! I could hardly get past the first paragraph – cracked me up! Don’t we WISH we had a pool boy & a ‘Driving Miss Daisy’ chauffeur? Yesterday I was on White St. & the TWO, not one, but TWO cars directly in front of me turned left from the RIGHT lane instead of getting into the middle, TURNING lane to turn left into Weis parking lot!! And people who swing left to turn right & swing right to turn left making it look like they’re actually going to turn the direction in which they ‘swang’ (I know that isn’t a word-that was meant to be silly!)! Then there are those people who can’t ‘find’ the accelerator as they go 20 in a 40 MPH zone!! Drives me crazy! I know my Dad always said I have a heavy foot but I’m a very careful driver! I know what you mean about driving at night. Not my favorite time to drive either but I do! I don’t mind driving Rt. 30 but I do try to avoid those busy hours – although it seems there aren’t any non-busy hours lately. During the Holidays, I avoid those busy roads & the crazy shoppers & those weeks are coming up fast. 🙁 My granddaughter & I were coming in the Spring Grove Rd. to York from Hanover two weekends ago, close to Spring Grove high school & three deer crossed the road right in front of us. Thank Heaven she was with me cause I had just talked to her about when she starts to drive, the deer are out & you really have to be alert & she was the one who saw them. There was still another young deer to cross but he turned around. I sure hope he made it across safely! And lastly, I get what you’re saying about those GPS things! I have one & have no clue how to use it. Borrowed my brother’s one time & was about to throw the darn thing out of the window!! Soooo annoying. Thanks for another great blog subject! PS – Let’s get a pool boy! HAHA!!
Thanks Dinah and glad you enjoyed it..but it seems like pool boys are hard to come by these days…
OMG I LOVE THIS…you are just like me, hahaha. I HATE driving since I retired. Guess cause commuting on 83 each day for 32 yrs just got the best of me. Nowadays,if I go anywhere, its thru YORK CITY and you know how bad that can be, lmao, but Iwon’t get on 30 or 83 during busy hours. I just hate it for all the reasons you listed. I know age does have something to do with it though,but I LOVE THIS…great post.
Thanks Susie Q, I think its the same for me. I had to do it for years and just don’t want to anymore. Glad you enjoyed it!