I think everyone on the roads are MAD!
By ElicBxn
@ElicBxn (64169)
United States
December 15, 2012 9:40pm CST
I had to go by my client's because her weekend helper never showed up.
From there I left to go meet my sister, she leaves tomorrow morning.
I get on the upper deck and the traffic is just crawling.
I look in my rear view mirror and see flashing lights coming up on the shoulder. I pull as far to the left as I can and a small EMT truck zooms by and out of sight. I look again as we creep forward and there's more lights coming. Again I pull to the left and a full sized ambulance passes. Another 100 yards or so and two police cars zoom past, lights flashing.
OBVIOUSLY ahead is an accident.
"Great," I think, "just what I didn't need."
Then I hear the fire engine's horn, kind of a blat with a siren aspect to it. Now, the fire engine is wider than the ambulances, and I start listing left again, this time the people in the left lane are going into their shoulder a bit, but I can see people behind me haven't figured out they need to pull over more and are getting "blatted" at.
The fire engine pulls past and I drift back into the right lane, but I'm figuring that I'm going to end up in the left one soon. Sure enough, I put on my signal and then the cars in front are over and I can see the fire engine in the right lane ahead.
I start over, the guy behind me in the left lane is letting me in... BUT, the JERK behind me seems to want to "cut" in line by driving up ahead and then pulling in, so I keep drifting back to the right to cut him off. 
FINALLY we get past the accident and, since I will need to be in this lane anyway, I just stay there, but jerk from behind me pulls around and goes speeding past me on the right.
FINE, I don't care now that the accident is behind us, he can just speed on to the next one, that he will probably be in anyway!
Still, that was quite bad enough.
However, on the way home - HOURS later, I look at the highway and decide to take the access road pass downtown. Even with LIGHTS I'm making good time, even with the police officer pulling a car off the freeway to give them a ticket in front of me, I'm making good time. I finally get to the entrance that leads to the upper deck going north and traffic, while still bad, is actually MOVING, so I get on.
I see one accident (flashing lights) below me as I'm almost off the upper deck, looks like they are on the access road. I see another accident, this time I could see the police cars, ambulance and fire engine, just before I exit for my home...
Then, I turn to go in my neighborhood and there's MORE flashing lights!
I have to turn around (actually I pulled into a business' parking lot and got back to the main road that way) and go home the other way. There was barriers and a sign that said "Utilities Work" that stopped me.
It's SATURDAY NIGHT people!
I, for one, was glad to get safely home!
I think the lunatic asylum was let out and everyone got car keys!
I am reminded why I never go south anymore!
And how was your day?
FINALLY we get past the accident and, since I will need to be in this lane anyway, I just stay there, but jerk from behind me pulls around and goes speeding past me on the right.
FINE, I don't care now that the accident is behind us, he can just speed on to the next one, that he will probably be in anyway!
Still, that was quite bad enough.
However, on the way home - HOURS later, I look at the highway and decide to take the access road pass downtown. Even with LIGHTS I'm making good time, even with the police officer pulling a car off the freeway to give them a ticket in front of me, I'm making good time. I finally get to the entrance that leads to the upper deck going north and traffic, while still bad, is actually MOVING, so I get on.
I see one accident (flashing lights) below me as I'm almost off the upper deck, looks like they are on the access road. I see another accident, this time I could see the police cars, ambulance and fire engine, just before I exit for my home...
Then, I turn to go in my neighborhood and there's MORE flashing lights!
I have to turn around (actually I pulled into a business' parking lot and got back to the main road that way) and go home the other way. There was barriers and a sign that said "Utilities Work" that stopped me.
It's SATURDAY NIGHT people!
I, for one, was glad to get safely home!
I think the lunatic asylum was let out and everyone got car keys!
I am reminded why I never go south anymore!
And how was your day?6 people like this
16 responses
@lilybug (21107)
• United States
16 Dec 12
That sounds like way too much mess for one person to deal with in traffic in one day! It would seem like a whole bunch of crazies were out driving around. I mean I understand that accidents happen, but you should not see that many accidents in one day. Glad you made it home in one piece and did not have to participate in any of those accidents.
My day was only semi crazy. My daughter was sick yesterday and woke up this morning covered in dry vomit. She had vomited in her sleep and not realized it till this morning. I ended up going to work for a few hours only to come home and have my son tell me that the Christmas tree that I had finally decided to put up had been knocked over by the kitten. Then my son ended up getting sick as well. He keeps getting up and running to the bathroom too. I hope I do not get the stomach flu as well. I can't afford to get sick.
3 people like this
@BarBaraPrz (51819)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
16 Dec 12
Your daughter was very lucky that she didn't aspirate the vomit...
2 people like this
@wilsongoddard (7291)
• United States
16 Dec 12
For some reason, people get crazy close to Christmastime. My boyfriend complains of people (yuppie bimbo-types) trying to flatten him both in stores and on the roads. It's like they have decided that "deck the halls" means "deck anyone in or near the halls."
I am trying to avoid stores for the most part from now until after that particular holiday is over. I am not much for crowded stores, and I'm definitely not interested in playing bumper carts with people who are under the influence of too much eggnog and "Jingle Bells."
3 people like this
@ElicBxn (64169)
• United States
16 Dec 12
We haven't had too much trouble at the stores, but then again, we aren't in the areas of Walmart that has too much lunacy.
Still, we are basically done with our shopping.
Heck, because my sister was here, my family has already done Christmas!
Even so, I mostly make my presents, so my only shopping is at the bead shop!
3 people like this
@wilsongoddard (7291)
• United States
16 Dec 12
We don't celebrate Christmas, but I sometimes forget that most of the people in this area do. So, I then make the mistake of thinking it is safe to venture forth to some shop, and... Well, suddenly there is some crazed yuppie bimbo with a shopping cart in one hand and a cell phone in the other headed full speed ahead without the slightest care of who happens to be in her path.
We don't have anything to do with Walmart, but I can say that the stores that draw the yuppie types are potentially hazardous to one's well-being. There are plenty of people around here that fully demonstrate that having money does not equal having fully-functioning brain cells. Our landlords chief amongst them... 
3 people like this
@danishcanadian (28954)
• Canada
16 Dec 12
Wow, what a scary adventure. WOW! Glad you're home safely too. I'm so glad that I do not drive. i would n't want to be a part of that madness.
3 people like this
@dodo19 (48159)
• Beaconsfield, Quebec
16 Dec 12
It was certainly a good thing that you did arrive home safely. I'm just glad that I don't drive. However, it really does seem as though people just go mad around this time of year, whether it's on the roads, or in the malls, or whatever. I really don't understand why, but it's just something that I've noticed.
2 people like this
@changjiangzhibin89 (17239)
• China
16 Dec 12
It seems that the main road and upper deck (I am not sure if it is the viaduct and the like.) there is always very congested.How much time do you spend on the way every day? What a bother!if you frequently inch your way forward like that.No matter what happens,holding the road is the most important.
2 people like this
@ElicBxn (64169)
• United States
16 Dec 12
The U.S. has an interstate system, and the highway I was on is IH 35 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_35
Clipping from the wiki article is this "Throughout Austin, elevated express lanes were constructed on either side of the original freeway." In Austin we call this the upper deck.
Normally on a Saturday afternoon when there is no in town football game, the traffic isn't this terrible, nor is it normally that bad on a Saturday evening.
I don't like rush hour traffic and try to avoid it when I can, so this was pretty unexpected...
1 person likes this
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
20 Dec 12
Again, my decision to live in this remote area is reinforced. I can travel for long times with no other traffic in sight. The roads are pretty much straight and long.
Even the traffic in towns is manageable out here but get onto the free-way to go to Sydney and it's a different story and Sydney is like being on a different planet traffic wise for me.
@CraftyCorner (5600)
• United States
16 Dec 12
It sounds like you went 'south' in more ways than one. You have my sympathy. Ick, I can't stand car travel. I avoid it like the plague.
Fine, I stayed home. 
@GreenMoo (11833)
•
16 Dec 12
Sometimes I think people lose any sense of community when they get inside a car. That little bubble seems to make them think they are separate and normal social rules don't apply to them.
Thankfully we don't get allot of traffic around here, and police flashers are pretty unusual.
1 person likes this
@bellis716 (4799)
• United States
17 Dec 12
I had a good day. Actually a good weekend. Didn't have to go anywhere to do anything, except fir church on Sunday. We had drizzle both mornings. Overheard someone say that it was pouring in Austin, then she made it more specific - between Kyle and Austin.
1 person likes this
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
17 Dec 12
Oh..Saturday night plus Christmas around the corner...goodness gracious that is a bad mixture to be out in. There are people out and about that haven't been all year..lol. I have been avoiding areas with a Walmart. That is where it gets really wild here.
1 person likes this
@MandaLee (3804)
• United States
1 Jan 13
Hi Elic,
You are not alone. Heavy traffic stresses me out too. I have lived in the DC Metro area for over thirty years. It is just crazy the way some people drive and behave once they get behind the wheel and on the road. I will never understand why they do the crazy things that they do.
Happy New Year!
1 person likes this
@blue65packer (11826)
• United States
17 Dec 12
No matter where we drive there are people on the roads that are crazy! I know there are some who shouldn't be driving in the first place but are let to drive!
I hear to many stories of drunk drivers,drivers with no drivers licenses,people on their cell phones talking or texting! As I get older I hate more and more driving long distances in the dark! I swear my eyes are not what they used to be driving at night! So I am not as comfortable driving home at night as I used to be. When I go to either my brother's homes I have to take the interstate and the busy highways. If the roads are busy,like they were on friday,it makes me uncomfortable,too! It sucks! My next long drive will be on the 29th. My older brother who lives in Green Bay is having our family christmas. I am not looking forword to that drive! For over a year they have been doing road construction,building a newer highway,in that area! Ugh!
The past two days I have only driven around town to run a few errands. This week and next week after Christmas day I am working at 7am! My whole schedule will be screwed up for awhile and will be spending a lot of time cleaning at work! Like the dishroom and kitchen! I hate this time of year! Ugh!
I hear to many stories of drunk drivers,drivers with no drivers licenses,people on their cell phones talking or texting! As I get older I hate more and more driving long distances in the dark! I swear my eyes are not what they used to be driving at night! So I am not as comfortable driving home at night as I used to be. When I go to either my brother's homes I have to take the interstate and the busy highways. If the roads are busy,like they were on friday,it makes me uncomfortable,too! It sucks! My next long drive will be on the 29th. My older brother who lives in Green Bay is having our family christmas. I am not looking forword to that drive! For over a year they have been doing road construction,building a newer highway,in that area! Ugh!
The past two days I have only driven around town to run a few errands. This week and next week after Christmas day I am working at 7am! My whole schedule will be screwed up for awhile and will be spending a lot of time cleaning at work! Like the dishroom and kitchen! I hate this time of year! Ugh!1 person likes this
@BarBaraPrz (51819)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
16 Dec 12
My day was uneventful: I stayed home.
Glad you got home in one piece.
1 person likes this
@NailTech (6874)
• United States
16 Dec 12
It was actually a harrowing time for a few minutes on one of the roads my dad was driving us on too. I'm not too sure who exactly was at fault but we were trying to merge in the highway zone from the side and someone behind us, a young guy kept honking hi horn and we thought my dad might have tried to cut in too assertively as he is a very assertive driver. The guy ended up being next to us then soon after on the road and was looking at the driver from the right side and pointing at his forehead as to say where is your head or something? I was just glad to get out of that without anything like road rage, etc. or even worse an accident. It is just the reason why I disliked to drive myself. I'm glad you ended up safe and sound.
1 person likes this
