One of the biggest negatives for me about living in San Diego is the way people drive. It's kind of a double-edged sword, since the drive-60-in-the-passing-lane drivers in Seattle were the opposite problem, but the drivers here consistently show little patience. It's almost as if they drive around with their hand half an inch from the horn, prepared to honk as soon as anyone slows them down or offends them in any way. I hear it each and every day from my desk at the intersection near my workplace, and if I ever act remotely courteous to a pedestrian or bicyclist in a cross-walk, I am guaranteed to get the horn myself.
This evening, I decided to tempt fate on my way home from work. Getting one the entrance ramp to the freeway, there is a crosswalk where a bicyclist was waiting to cross. The five cars in front of my zoomed past as though he wasn't even there. I chose to stop and let him cross, causing an immediate backup of five cars behind me, one of which thought it necessary to lay on his horn. Naturally, as soon as we all entered the freeway, he felt it his civic duty to race up to me and pass me, flashing the inevitable hand gesture at me on his way by. Why? I wish just once I was able to ask such people why they are in such a hurry, or why what I did was wrong (even though it is technically following the law). Of course, I'll never know, but it makes for uneasy driving experiences everywhere I go. It's a dog-eat-dog world out there, but there's absolutely no need for driving to be covered by this rule.
People from the East Coast just think this is par for the course. But having just spent five years in The City That Was Afraid To Beep, I've learned to appreciate the lack of noise pollution that is such a constant here.
2 comments:
Maybe I've spent too much time driving in boston, or not enough time here yet, but I honestly find driving here to be so UNaggressive that i actually hate it. People drive the same speed in every lane. Nobody weaves, (except that asshole in HB in the little black BMW). I can't even tell you the last horn I've heard...And i let people in all the time.
Remember when you were explaining your theory on "social footprints" -- when the actions of one person in public have effects on innocent bystanders in the public? Horns are a perfect example of that. You can't really honk at one person, because potentially hundreds of people get to hear it. It's a nuisance. And there is a big difference between tapping quickly on your horn when the light turns green and laying on it for a second or more. Needless to say, I hear way too much of the latter.
Admittedly, I work right across the street from a post office, complete with horribly designed parking lot, but even so...it's incredibly annoying hearing all the horns. The worst offenders? Those who honk multiple times with a few seconds in between, each time holding on to it a bit longer. You're familiar with this type. It's bullying, it's stupid, and it's a public disturbance. Get a life.
Post a Comment