Keep To Your Own Side of the Road, Please!

[BrenDAnn]

Just a quick story from my drive to work the other day. I was on my normal route, on a north-south two lane state highway, heading south, minding my own business. Traffic was light, and I was making good time. Then, this red car in the northbound lane swerved toward me for whatever reason, and ended up halfway in my lane before they moved back over. I had tapped the brakes to take the car off cruise control, and was ready to take the shoulder, to avoid a head-on collision, if that gives you an idea how close it was. All I have to say is, thank you very much, jackass in the red car, for making me tremble the rest of the way to work! Next time, try staying on your own side of the road! (Sidenote: I don't think the driver was drunk, just distracted, which I suppose can be just as bad.)

[LillFilly]

I feel your anger. I had some guy pass me, but he was sure to pass while half in my lane, just to make a point I suppose.

[blas]

The last time I nearly sharted my panties was when this old guy cut out in front of me, halfway into my lane, without even looking....and proceeded to periodicially keep changing lanes without even looking the rest of the trip until I turned off onto my street.

[Jay 2K Winger]

I had something worse than that one morning on my way to my cruddy 5am shift at the wholesale club one Sunday morning.

I'm driving down the parkway, which has four lanes, separated by a fairly decent median in the middle. I'm in the southbound right lane when a car comes driving by, going northbound in the SOUTHBOUND left lane!

Shocked the hell out of me, and left me shaken until I got to work. I chalked it up to drugs and/or booze.

[Shalom]

I'm driving down the parkway, which has four lanes, separated by a fairly decent median in the middle. I'm in the southbound right lane when a car comes driving by, going northbound in the SOUTHBOUND left lane!

Shocked the hell out of me, and left me shaken until I got to work. I chalked it up to drugs and/or booze.

If that was the recent incident on the Taconic, toxicology showed that it was both. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,...6:b26952976:z0 Of course her family denied this vehemently, but it came out later that this sort of consumption wasn't all that unusual for her. Shame she had to take other people (including her kids) with her.

(Edit: Never mind, it's a different case. This one was going south in the northbound lanes, not vice versa, also it wasn't at 5 in the morning. I'd hate to think there was more than one of her, though...)

I was once driving on the I-81 northbound from Scranton, late at night, when I came up behind a guy, apparently drunk, stoned or both, who was weaving back and forth across both lanes. I mean he was starting on the right shoulder and then wandering left until he was nearly into the center median, and then drifting back. I wasn't gonna try and pass this guy, not knowing where he was going to be at any given moment, so I slowed down and stayed behind him. Fortunately I had the CB on in the car, so I described this "Harvey Wallbanger" to give the truckers a heads up to avoid him, also giving his plate number in case there was a cop around who wanted to bag him. He finally drifted so far right that he wound up on an exit ramp that happened to be there at the time; dunno if that was his intent or not, given that he rolled up the ramp at speed, but at least he was off the highway and not going to cause a collision (with me, at any rate), and I so reported it on the radio. At least he didn't wander all the way across into opposing traffic.

[BrenDAnn]

Ugh...We had a case of "wrong way on the four-lane" down near Des Moines last summer, too. It amazes me that some people have a driver's license!

[Green_Fairy]

i was going home for a lunch break on halloween and i was going down the street and i suppose the other driver thought it would be a fantastic idea to turn left right in front of me into the walmart parking lot. there was no one for a while in front of me and no one behind me. but nooo...they decided that it would be awesome to cause me to slam on my brakes and swerve into oncoming traffic to avoid hitting them. luckily there wasn't anyone oncoming...

[bhskittykatt]

Just yesterday, I was heading downtown. A truck in front of me suddenly tried to move over to the right. He got halfway into the next lane before he realized that he'd just pushed a little red car over into the far-right lane. Thank God no one was in that far-right lane, or we would've had a wreck in front of us!

[EricKei]

It amazes me that some people have a driver's license!

If our roads here are any indication, many people seem to consider little things like licenses, insurance, traffic lights, brakes, turn signals, and the knowledge of how to properly operate a motor vehicle to be entirely optional.

[Jay 2K Winger]

If that was the recent incident on the Taconic, toxicology showed that it was both.
(Edit: Never mind, it's a different case. This one was going south in the northbound lanes, not vice versa, also it wasn't at 5 in the morning. I'd hate to think there was more than one of her, though...)

Yeah, definitely not my case. I live in Northern Virginia, and this was MONTHS ago, if not closer to a year by this point.

[Bramble]

I feel your pain. I was coming home on Friday after dark. Came over this blind hill and came grill to grill with some asshole on the WRONG side of the road who decided that a blind hill was a great place to illegally pass someone he thought was going too slow. If I ever get hurt cuz of one of these idiots, I swear I will rip their arm off and beat them to death with it

[wolfie]

I feel your pain. I was coming home on Friday after dark. Came over this blind hill and came grill to grill with some asshole on the WRONG side of the road who decided that a blind hill was a great place to illegally pass someone he thought was going too slow. If I ever get hurt cuz of one of these idiots, I swear I will rip their arm off and beat them to death with it

That "illegal pass on a blind hill" asshole is asking to be introduced to the Peterbilt of Natural Selection.

[mattm04]

I feel your pain. I was coming home on Friday after dark. Came over this blind hill and came grill to grill with some asshole on the WRONG side of the road who decided that a blind hill was a great place to illegally pass someone he thought was going too slow. If I ever get hurt cuz of one of these idiots, I swear I will rip their arm off and beat them to death with it

A family member missed a head-on by inches once in a similar situation. They swerved and hit a ditch, nearly rolling their car. The jerk who did it was arrested a day later at the time for DUI, no license, and leaving the scene of a different accident. They were later charged with the prev. day accident.

[Pagan]

I had something worse than that one morning on my way to my cruddy 5am shift at the wholesale club one Sunday morning.

I'm driving down the parkway, which has four lanes, separated by a fairly decent median in the middle. I'm in the southbound right lane when a car comes driving by, going northbound in the SOUTHBOUND left lane!

Shocked the hell out of me, and left me shaken until I got to work. I chalked it up to drugs and/or booze.

Unfortunately, drunk and driving on the wrong side of the interstate is a far too common occurrence in New Mexico. I swear it's almost to the point of at least one a month.

Let me introduce you to Gordon House (killed a woman, 3 daughters, permanently disabled the father on Christmas Eve 1992), Lloyd Larson (killed 4 people), Dana Papst (killed 6 people including himself and left one survivor).

[blas]

Another big pet peeve of mine is people who are in a big hurry to pass you, but aren't even concerned about getting all the way in front of you before drifting back into your lane.

Ugh it pisses me off so much. If you want to pass me, please by all means DO, but make sure you look and make sure you aren't going to take the entire front end of my car with you!