I have noticed the sever up tick in traffic since the lock down has been lifted and most people are back to work. It was gob smacking to see and drive on Los Angeles freeways during the stay at home orders. They were wide open, like a vision from some other planet.
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But, the traffic jams are back and everyone is trying to get somewhere very quickly but not all that safely.
The few people on the roads during 2020 decided that since there was no one else and the roads looked like ribbons stretching out into space, they were all going to drive as fast as possible. It was strange to be out and have people driving 80 miles an hour on an entry ramp, blasting out into the lanes, zooming off. The slow lane was faster than the fast lane had been.
Most of those folks are still driving that way, more or less, as far as I can tell when traffic permits. I was having a hard time deciding what to do to stay on the freeways but not drive at 90 miles an hour. I hit on a plan that has worked like magic.
I get behind a pokey truck. Any truck will do unless it is spewing refuse of some kind but I like the big trucks coming from or going to the harbor. They usually clip along pretty well but stay in the right lanes. I settle in behind one, being sure I can see his mirrors and he sees me, and travel all the way I need to go or he turns off. I don’t have to be rushed or tail gated by someone who wants to go faster because what can I do, pokey truck. It gives me time to actually see around me a little and the truck runs interference for me ahead. It takes him a lot longer to stop than it does me so if I pay attention, I am pretty safe. I do have to watch for cars that move into a space, any space, between vehicles regardless of the laws of physics saying two objects can not occupy the same space at the same time.
That’s what I have for you tonight. If you need to drive a little slower than some on the road, pick out a truck to follow. Just remember where you are going and not follow him into some other state.
Be safe and be well.