Road Rage

I always forget about road rage. The good old divided highway, two lanes one way, two lanes the other way, green forest in between. When you move across the provinces this is not the case everywhere.

In Ontario, on average near the city there are twelve lanes. Six for each direction. there are three for express travelling distance. Then another three called collector lanes for getting on and off the highway. If you need to get off at the next exit, you need to plan.

In New Brunswick, we have the fast lane and slow lane. You are suppose to drive in the slow lane, going into the fast lane to pass. Our speed limit is 110km/hr, there 100km/hr with loss of points, hefty fines and cameras taking offenders pictures. Their highway moves half a million people per day.

It is the Indy 500 there! If you have on your cruise control and go to pass, you better accelerate. They will be in your backseat and flashing their lights, horn blaring. If the construction sign says lane closed, people not just stay in the lane till the last second, I seen someone go onto the shoulder to pass the guy waiting till the last second to cut in front of them. Cutting someone off is standard, they get on the highway and if you can’t let them in, they come in anyways. I watched two cars at accerlerated speeds chase each other to continually cut each other off. Cars get into the spot behind the car in front of them where there is no draft and sling shot past just like the races! I prefer to watch the races in my livingroom. There is alway the car, the one that is a pretty colour and a really loud engine, that sneaks in and out from between cars to get two spots further then they just were.

When there is a car on the shoulder you are to get over into the left lane when passing, they are very serious about that there. I watched a OPP officer step onto the highway pointing at cars and thumbing them to get over. Pretty scary to step into the lane and command with your finger! People know the rules they just don’t follow them. I watched a poor ambulance going through the city and eighty percent get out of the way. Sure hope the other twenty percent wasn’t related to the poor soul they were trying to get to , to save!

Traffic can be bumper to bumper for miles, be sure to fill up your tank, and pee before you leave. I had forgotten about all that. I get irratated when the light takes too long to change. When you need to get over here, people let you and you wave to them like you are related. They don’t make eye contact there, lucky if you get a signal light, your wave is the middle finger! When I lived there, I took the subway, and now I remember why!