After reading Heather’s post about driving like a-holes in Southie which I agree with 100%, it inspired me to elaborate on a few more ways that people drive like jerks in our neighborhood.
Causing gridlock:
Nothing gets me more pissed off in the morning than people causing gridlock. L Street is the cut through for everyone from the South Shore avoiding the nightmare that is 93 North in the morning, but honestly, would it kill people to let you cross over L Street? On any given morning, you may notice gridlock along L Street caused by the people who are afraid that they won’t make the light. They pull right up behind the car in front of them blocking the intersection when they can clearly see that someone is waiting to drive from a cross street like East Sixth across L. It’s the equivalent of giving you the middle finger. They may try to avoid eye contact by staring straight ahead and pretending like they don’t see us, but we know they do. We hope they feel shame and guilt because these causers of gridlock are complete jerks.
More on stopping on the crosswalk:
You think you’ve stopped at the Stop sign but not really, you’ve really stopped in the middle of the crosswalk. You’re suppose to stop BEFORE the crosswalk not on it. I’m not talking about the people who do the rolling stop you know, just coasting slowly through the intersection never hitting the break. I’m talking about people who stop directly on the crosswalk. I’ve seen people do it while people are waiting to cross the street. Now the pedestrian has to walk out basically into the middle of traffic around you. At this point, just go through the intersection. You are more of a hindrance on the crosswalk.
Texting and driving:
Sure, we are all guilty of glancing down at our phone while driving. It’s human nature to permanently have your iPhone attached to your hand. Who’s tweeting? Did I get that email? I have to answer that text. No, you don’t. Have you ever been behind someone and thought to yourself, “Is this person having a stroke?” They veer over the double lines slowly then quickly pull back into traffic. You finally pass them and there they are, looking directly down in their lap at their phone. This public safety issue transcends all ages, race and class. You could be 22 or 72 and you’ve done it. Smarten up! You’re driving!
