driving school

i hate to generalize, but northern californians have some strange driving habits. my experience this past weekend led me to conclude that there are a few rules to driving in the bay area (and generally north of the central valley). first, if you are on a freeway and in the fast lane, you need to drive at least 3-5 mph below the speed limit, and preferably at the exact same speed as the driver in the lane to your right. bonus points if you can line up enough drivers across the lanes to clog up the entire freeway. secondly, if an opportunity presents itself to cut someone off, by all means, have at it. bonus points if you succeed in reducing their speed by 10 mph or more. added bonus if you then realize you don't want to be in that lane, and slam on the brakes before cutting someone else off and veering across multiple lanes.

all these events took place on repeated occasions during my recent trip to san francisco (with the girlfriend for her mfa auditions). but the kicker was on the return trip, after a long day, with a six-hour drive stretching out before us. as we headed onto the 152 through pacheco pass, trying to jog from the 101 to the 5, i had an opportunity to pass a minivan before the road narrowed to one lane in either direction (with no passing allowed). but everything seemed kosher as we cruised through the last vestiges of fast food joints and gas stations. the driver was hitting the speed limit and displayed no signs of insanity. that theory crumbled as quickly as the road narrowed, leaving me trapped behind as the driver periodically slowed to 30 mph, apparently fearful that vehicles heading toward us might leap across the double yellow, given his propensity to slam on the brakes whenever a semi approached. despite signs clearly marking the speed limit at 55 mph, with the occasional curve dropping that limit to 50, the driver continued to plod his way along the gently curving stretch, gradually building an impressive collection of pissed off motorists in his wake. my blood wasn't quite boiling by the time we reached the passing lane as the highway heads into the pass, but it quickly became apparent that said boiling point had been reached and breached by many of those lined up in tailgating rage, as they began screaming by at unholy speeds. glad to be free of the lunacy on both ends, i settled into a reasonable pace and finished off the trek with hardly any trouble.