Back from Orlando, and got to see the Romanian sons and the women who love them. They got along better than I have ever seen. Chris and Maria landed in Miami on Jan 6, but SAS (Scandinavian Airline Systems) still hasn't got either sets of luggage to the US.
I continue to be embarrassed by how bad NH drivers are compared to other states I encounter. Florida has some jerks, just like everyone, but fewer. They do have slow reaction times when the light turns green, which I can't think of a reason for.
One time when I returned home from abroad to visit my parents, I was on a big commuter road with 3 straight lanes and turn lanes in each direction and happened to be first in one lane at a red light in heavy traffic. The light turned green, I started up, and then I thought to myself "Where did all the traffic go, there were like a dozen cars around and behind me."
ReplyDeleteLooking in the mirror, they were all still behind me --- quite a ways. I'd acclimated to traffic in a city where if – you didn't jackrabbit start – you'd hear horns right away from all behind you.
In current life, there are some intersections where I always delay, as the likelihood of a latecomer stretching the yellow to blast through the intersection has been pretty high in previous experience. I find different cities have different distributions of people on the "yellow means you should probably stop" to "yellow means speed up to get through" spectrum.
In Florida right now (Deerfield beach), a lot of VERY aggressive drivers
ReplyDeleteThe slow reaction times at green lights is because Southerners do not blow their horns at each other. Lots of non-Southerners have moved to Florida, as Atlanta, which is beginning to change the culture. However, in most of the South you can tell if someone is not a Southerner if they use their horn.
ReplyDeleteIsrael has an extremely aggressive driving culture. Their red lights turn yellow then green, as well as green-yellow-red, giving a drag-strip feel to the enterprise of driving there. As soon as the light is green, everybody is on their horn to impel the forward drivers into movement.
An Israeli IDF friend of mine visiting Atlanta some years ago was riding in a car with a local Jewish friend who was taking him around to give talks at various synagogues. One time, in the left turn lane, the friend let the arrow turn green and didn't go forward. My Israeli friend looked at him in panic, only to find his friend grinning back at him. "I can sit here the whole light through," he says. "Nobody will blow their horn. It'd be rude."
Astonishing culture shock! He told the story while I was in Jerusalem to the absolute amazement of all listeners.
https://startsat60.com/media/lifestyle/jokes/daily-joke-chaos-in-the-car
ReplyDeleteLouisville has some loooong red lights and no red-light cameras (yet) so it's often wise to delay a moment to make sure someone is not attempting to get through before the light turns fully red.
ReplyDeleteI'm in NH. I'm slow when the light turns green because so many drivers on the crossing road will drive through a red light. E.g. the exit 7 intersection, where often more than one driver coming off the south-going side of the highway will blow through a red light.
ReplyDelete