The HOV is relatively new to Utah, and it was long overdue when it finally came in the recent widening of I-15, our major and practically only option running north and south through the major cities of this state.  First it was added in Salt Lake City, and eventually it was extended down through the Utah Valley to the south.

A couple of years after it’s addition, the state decided to implement the limitation of where you can enter or exit the lane.  The idea, at least as I understand it, is to limit the merging in and out of the lane for both safety and travel efficiency of the lane.  Rather than have people treat it as the ultra fast lane, the designated entry/exit points are to keep traffic flowing past some of the lesser used exits with the limitations.  It has taken a little getting used to remembering where you have to get in and out, but after awhile it works.

After all that build up, this is what cracks me up.  People in Utah speed.  In fact if you are not traveling at least 10 miles over the speed limit, you had better be in the right lane because traffic is moving at a fairly decent clip over to the left.  So people are not afraid to speed, but when it comes to entering the the HOV lane, they will wait patiently, or impatiently as the case may be, for a designated entry point to get into that left-most lane.  Why are they ok with breaking one law of traveling 80 mph in a 65 zone, but will wait until that opening to merge their way over into that lane? Are there some unbreakable laws even for the habitual speeders?

Even more hilarious to me is the fact that while in the HOV lane moving along at such a breakneck clip will these drivers hug the tailpipe for miles of someone not as NASCAR inspired as they are.  Rather than drift over these ultimate double white line barriers to make the pass and keep moving along, Speedy Gonzales will instead dangerously tailgate for miles waiting for the opening to make the pass and once again gain pole position in their personal race.

Who was able to convince these people that the line is unbreakable when so many other rules go so lightly unobserved?  Don’t get me wrong, I make it a point to observe the designated entry/exit points, but I am sufficiently impressed that the state has somehow convinced or scared these people into sticking to the plan.  Whatever mojo they are working on that ought to be used on some other laws as well to keep a little more order on the freeways; that’s all I am asking.

So keep at it drivers, obey that law.  While you are at it, pick a few others that you may be skipping and try out observing them as well.  It can’t hurt, right?

Now that wouldn’t seem like a big deal normally, and it isn’t; but, when driving this can be a hazard when the sneeze comes at the most inopportune time.  Of course, is there ever really an opportune time for a sneeze?  Your eyes close for that split second right when that moron starts to cut you off and you have even less time to react.  How about when the brake lights fire up in front of you with a sudden stop and that sneeze takes away your timing so you are forced to slam on your brakes to avoid an all to sudden meeting with the bumper in front of you.

Yep, sneezing when driving is definitely something that’s gotta go.

Vehicles in general are ruining our air, so I will not argue that point.  Cars with combustible engines are a great convenience and a necessary evil in our current way of life, so I am not saying we should all ditch them and walk.  We should minimize our driving as much as possible.  What I am ranting about today is the car so far out of tune or burning oil that the noxious fumes are stepped up to a level that is obvious to everyone around.

You’ve all seen it, right?  Looking up ahead you see a cloud of smoke that is so think you think a car must be on fire up ahead.  Inevitably you catch up to this vehicle as it’s top speed hovers around 35 mph in the current state of disrepair, only to see that smoke is billowing out of the exhaust and perhaps even under the car.  Not a car on fire, but one that should be.

I am sensitive to those that may be at financial wits end, so car repairs are not exactly up on the priority list.  But, when a car gets to this state, it is a hazard to the point that you either need to do something about it or park it.

The worst seem to be when the diesel trucks get out of tune.  When those bad boys stomp on the gas at an intersection you’d think you had teleported to a monster truck rally with the smoke and noise coming out of that thing.

I am grateful my state requires annual safety and emmission inspections.  It may be a pain to get done, but at least I know that the majority of cars on the road have had to pass at least a minimum level of safety and output level to be on the road.  Those cars that are so obnoxiously overpolluting (if that is a word) will either be forced off the road or to be fixed, unless they drive without a license.  In any case, it will catch up with them soon.

Today, manhole covers.  I view these as necessary to our modern sewage convenience, yet those city planners and road workers have a way of making them far more involved in my daily drive than need be.  We all abhor potholes and the bumpy ride they can give us, but what about those fixtures that were intentionally installed as part of the street?  How is it a little extra planning and a little care in the workmanship to make sure these don’t add to the shock treatment our cars get from the daily commute.

Some of you may be raising and eyebrow and wondering what the heck I am talking about.  I realize this isn’t a problem in all areas.  More rural areas could care less because they likely operate on a septic system and haven’t seen a manhole cover and could care less to.  In a major city those covers may be the least of your concerns as the roads are so beat up that running over a cover may be the smoothest part of the block.  Where I live, though, the roads are actually in decent enough condition overall that I take note when something is going to cause me to come out of my seat.

My first complaint, where they are placed.  Why is it our fabulous city planners can’t put these things either in the middle of the road, or at least in the middle of the lane so you can naturally avoid it with your tires?  In the middle of the lane it would exist where (at least most of us) tend to avoid, along with the incoming traffic.  In the middle of the lane, those traveling where they should be wouldn’t sail on over without a thought.  But no, those things are thrown in like a vehicular slalom course going back and forth between sides.  Being in a small car like I am, hitting one of these is not a small thing.  Whether raised or beneath the level of the street, I worry I am going to bottom out a strut if I am not paying attention.

And of course this course doesn’t follow a back and forth pattern either.  The planners thought it would be a great game to put them so you get into a groove swaying back and forth, only to break the pattern and put two in a row on the same side, then back to the opposing side.  I have found that I unconsciously know my route to work and when I need to cut a corner or take it wide to straddle a cover rather than hit it with a tire.

My other gripe is getting these things somewhat level the road.  I am sure it takes a bit longer and perhaps some extra expense, but you’d think they could get these things somewhat level with the road.  Slope that asphalt, or as I have seen on some streets, use concrete in a 1-2 foot circle around the thing.  It makes for a smoother ride, and a happier set of drivers.  Much like my rant about after construction poor street patch jobs, when the city tears up the street to do some repairs to the sewage system, I can’t understand why they can’t get the street back to something resembling its previous state.  No, the street ends up like a rippling stream of bumpy asphalt, with the cover either inset for a dip or sticking out like a speed bump.

I’ll admit, in the big picture of life this doesn’t seem like much, but it is an annoyance that could be avoided.  We can’t do much about their placement any longer, but we can make them a little more integrated to the road.  So, city workers on the roads, I’ve seen you out there.  The three of your holding up the shovels while the one guy is working, put those shovels to work and make those repairs a bit better for the rest of us.

Aside from the kids needing something to do, school being out does mean no more having to time my commute to avoid the crossing guards and lights at the school on my common route to work.  At least this is what I thought; so far whoever is in charge of turning off the crossing lights for the season hasn’t done their job.  They are timed based on the school schedule, but obviously not for the year.  I would imagine that someone is in charge of turning off the system during the summer and back on for the school year.

As a result, there is a mixture of people that are slowing down to the required 20 mph because the lights are on, and others that are tooling right on through at full speed because they know school is out.  Legally, if those lights are on, you have to slow down.  Some opportunistic cop could have a field day writing tickets right now, though they would have some big arguments on their hands I am sure.  Me, I’m paranoid of getting a ticket, so I am one of those slowing down.  I’d like to say it is because I respect the sanctity of those lights, but I try to stay honest on this site.  It is the fear factor, I admit it.
The real problem I have with the lights still being on, other than the annoyance, is that people lost respect for the lights.  It is like a visual crying wolf that many people are tuning out.  So what happens to someone not paying attention that the school year has started back up and zips on through the school zone at their typical 5 mph over the speed limit?  Of course they would be in the wrong, but my fear is for the safety of those kids that really don’t pay as much attention as they should and believe the lights and crosswalk are really going to protect them.

So for my sanity, annoyance factor, and in reality for the future safety of kids this fall, whoever is in charge of those things please shut them off!

What numskull passed the law allowing gas stations to use this marketing practice? We all look at the price and see 3.29 and think it is 3.29; but no, it is really 3.299, which is always rounded up unless you happen upon exactly 10 gallons of gas.

I can’t knock them for the well-used marketing practice of pricing a penny under an exact increment of 10 to trick your mind into thinking things are cheaper, but one-tenth of a penny is just ridiculous. Unless you have some way of paying me back the 4/10 of a penny I didn’t spend, you shouldn’t be able to price things in any less of an increment of a penny.

Do you think we are that stupid to not realize what you are doing? The problem is we are that stupid. We get so used to it that we all skip over the .009 we are being charged and just read the big numbers.

I’ll repeat myself: We don’t have currency to pay in fractions of a penny, so you shouldn’t be able to charge in that amount. Either eat the 9/10 of a penny and advertise on the “˜9 like you are trying act like you are, or suck it up and tell us it’s on the dime like it really is. I hate being fooled.

So….he came home, got all the receipts for the parts, but since he did the work himself, was that acceptable to them….the answer was NO.  So, we happen to have a legitimate business that sells Jeep parts and does repair work.  So, he got on the computer, made up an invoice with the business name on it, listed all the parts, charged HIMSELF labor, and printed it out.  They accepted it!!!!  This whole time I’m shaking my head thinking what is up with this place? 

 We live in a state that borders Mexico and since there are so many people without insurance, we have to have proof of auto insurance regularly.  They don’t have a grace period either.  They want their paperwork NOW.  Hubby was there for hours trying to get the issue resolved.  It took most of the day, but it worked, and now the Jeep is drivable, legal, and no longer collecting cobwebs.

Setting the stage from an experience just this morning – backed up in line at a traffic light half a block away, I am slowing as I see the brake lights in front of it.  I can see that I am going to land directly in a mid-block intersection with a cross street.  There is a car stopped in the oncoming lane with it’s blinker flashing to turn left on that street, waiting for an opportunity to cross.  I can tell by the exasperated look on the drivers face that she has been waiting for some time.  I come to a stop leaving a 2 car gap in front of me so she can make the turn.  Simple, right?

This simple act is one that perhaps most of us do out of habit because we try to share the road as good drivers; yet, in this situation it almost took a turn for the worse.  She happily waved and started to make the turn, only to have to slam on the brakes as someone passed me on the right (on the shoulder, not in another lane) to zoom ahead that half a block and make a right turn at the next intersection.  While I can appreciate this other driver’s desire to cut off some precious seconds and bypass the line of traffic, not only was the skirting act on the shoulder illegal, but it very nearly resulted in an accident.  Fortunately the turning driver was alert and reacted in time, causing only a minor pause again before she completed her turn.

Another one that burns me is when I see a similar situation, but where I have a lot of room ahead of me before needing to stop, so it is not practical for me to be the one to leave the gap.  Then, after pulling forward, I note that behind me the cars stack bumper to bumper, leaving no room for the oncoming vehicle (or cross traffic) to make it through.  I am confident that people don’t do this purposefully, it really does not impact them negatively to let someone across.  I really think this happens most often because people are just not paying enough attention to be aware of what is happening around them.  It is this lax, self-centric approach to driving that really scares me!

We all have done it at some point, so no major finger pointing here.  Perhaps just a call for a little more awareness next time you are driving.  If you are zoned out, taking that phone call, or simply have rowdy kids in the car and find yourself not being aware enough for a simple courtesy act, shake your head and wake up a little to your surroundings.  You may find yourself noticing an opportunity to make someone’s day by being the “nice guy,” and perhaps even avoid an accident as well.

During non-summer months, though, I hate cleaning my car or truck just to have it rain the next day.  There seems to be some correlation between me cleaning my car and unexpected shifts in weather patterns.  I wash it rains, I don’t wash and it just stays dirty and the sun shins on.  What gives?  So as a result, I often have a dirty vehicles much more than I would like during these times of the year.

I guess it wouldn’t be such a big deal, but having a dirty vehicle really does bother me.  I know, you may be thinking that having it rain on a clean car can’t be that bad.  Well, it is.  With the amount of pollution going up in the air these days, when it does rain, it’s like someone threw a bucket of dirty water onto my car with all the residue that gets left behind.  I could go through the $6 car washes around here or pay $4 with a gas fill up, but I hate doing that too.  Money wasted and all.

So what do I do?  I whine about it and just wait for sunny weather!  There, I feel much better now.

This morning on my first of such turns as I was waiting one of the oncoming cars had his turn signal on about half a block ahead of where he was going to turn directly on the road I was leaving. His turn signal well in advance allowed me time to survey traffic coming the other direction and make my cross safely. So why do I bring this up? The reason I take such special note of this guys turn signal is that it was so unusual to have him provide me with advance notice!

Why is it that so many people have such a hard time remembering to use a turn signal?! Granted there are many people that do remember to use a turn signal, but typically they turn it on at the last minute, practically hitting that stick as they’re turning the wheel to make the turn. At the moment I’m just talking about making actual turns. If we talk about lane changes the percentage of people using their turn signal goes way down. Not only is it law to use your turn signal, it’s just common courtesy.

The other day I heard a bit of a morning radio show where they were complaining about this very topic. One of the funniest quotes I heard them say was that “It’s not a sign of weakness to use your turn signal folks!” Isn’t that the truth? Do we think were bolder drivers and for not giving away our intentions and just aggressively taking that lane or making that turn? No, not bolder, just a bit more stupid.

I have a very short commute to work, on a bad day it’s all of 10 minutes. Even a short distance I travel I see on average probably one accident a week. 90% of those accidents I see are due to one car hitting another that was making a turn. Now I can’t categorically say that a turn signal is to blame in these situations, but I would guess it being a factor more often than not.

Several years ago I remember receiving a funny e-mail that listed out “rules of driving in Utah.” Now I knew this list had been modified to include Utah as a state name, because most of the rules would be funny with whatever state name included. I try to do a quick search online and came up with only a version for New Jersey, so I thought I would post a list here with the state name replaced with an “insert here” statement to show how it applies to anyone. Note that the very first jokingly included rule has to do with the turn signal. I rest my case.

1. Turn signals will give away your next move. A real {Your State} driver never uses them.
2. Under no circumstances should you leave a safe distance between you and the car in front of you, or the space will be filled in by somebody else putting you in an even more dangerous situation.
3. Crossing two or more lanes in a single lane-change is considered going with the flow.
4. The faster you drive through a red light, the smaller the chance you have of getting hit.
5. Never, ever come to a complete stop at a stop sign. No one expects it and it will inevitably result in you being rear-ended. If you want your insurance company to pay for a new rear bumper, come to a complete stop at all stop signs.
6. A right lane construction closure is just a game to see how many people can cut in line by passing you on the right as you sit in the left lane waiting for the same jerks to squeeze their way back in before hitting the orange construction barrels.
7. Never get in the way of an older car that needs extensive bodywork. {Your State} is a no-fault insurance state and the other guy doesn’t have anything to lose.
8. Braking is to be done as hard and late as possible to ensure that your ABS kicks in, giving a nice, relaxing foot massage as the brake pedal pulsates. For those of you without ABS, it’s a chance to stretch your legs.
9. Never pass on the left when you can pass on the right. It’s a good way to scare people entering the highway.
10. Speed limits are arbitrary figures, given only as suggestions and are apparently not enforceable in {Your State} during rush hour.
11. Just because you’re in the left lane and have no room to speed up or move over doesn’t mean that a {Your State} driver flashing his high beams behind you doesn’t think he can go faster in your spot.
12. Please remember that there is no such thing as a shortcut during rush-hour traffic in {Your State}.
13. Always slow down and rubberneck when you see an accident or even someone changing a tire.
14. Learn to swerve abruptly. {Your State} is the home of high-speed slalom driving thanks to the State Highway Department, which puts potholes in key locations to test drivers’ reflexes and keep them on their toes.
15. It is traditional in {Your State} to honk your horn at cars that don’t move the instant the light changes.
16. Never take a green light at face value. Always look right and left before proceeding.
17. Remember that the goal of every {Your State} driver is to get there first, by whatever means necessary.
18. Real {Your State} women drivers can put on panty hose and apply eye makeup at seventy-five miles per hour in bumper-to-bumper traffic.
19. Real {Your State} men drivers can remove their girlfriend’s panties and bra at seventy-five miles per hour or in bumper-to-bumper traffic.
20. In the {Your State} area ‘flipping someone the bird’ is considered a polite {Your State} salute. This gesture should always be returned.