I have to share with you something completely unrelated to photography. I was driving home after taking my daughter to basketball camp. I was on the highway, H1 east to be precise, and I did something which apparently brings out the beast in other drivers. No, I wasn’t driving five miles below the speed limit and I wasn’t rubber necking. And, unlike one driver I saw today, I was not illegally speaking on my cell phone. Nay, it was far worse. I turned on my blinker hoping to gain access into the holy grail that is the clear lane. I had to have been a half mile up the road with no one in sight, and the minute I turned on that signal light, out of nowhere appeared a frustrated Indy 500 driver in his beaten up red truck. He went out of his/her way to make sure I didn’t cut in front of them. (I’ve seen this everywhere I have lived, so it’s not just a Hawaii thing.) What gives people ?!? Will allowing a helpless woman in a minivan into your lane totally devastate and scar you for life? The only thing I can think of as to why people speed up when they see a car signaling to change lanes is that they got burned/traumatized at some point in their lives by someone who “cut” in front of them then slowed down to a crawl.
Seriously, are you trying to mark your territory or prove that you’re tough behind the wheel? Or are you just plain childish? I’m just not sure why keeping me from going into your lane is going to make your day any better. Is it the type of car I drive? Perhaps being behind a minivan is the ultimate insult? I have to be honest, I had never been a fan of them before, but after having had my third child this year, I finally get it. I get the lure of the minivan even though it has to be one of the most hideous cars ever made. You can fit everything and everyone in those glorified station wagons.
All joking aside, if you are one of those people whose adrenaline starts pumping at the slightest threat of someone crossing over in front of you on the road, please take a deep breath. We just want to get home in one piece, and oh, we want you to arrive safely wherever it is you are going. Show some aloha to each other out there.