NJ Drivers

I always thought there was something not quite right with NJ drivers. The NY Times has now confirmed my suspicions

You know, the latest thing that I have observed here in NJ are people who are so impatient to make left turns that they will actually go around you to make a left turn. This is especially true of SUV drivers. Never mind that people usually do not look to see if the person BEHIND them is making the left turn at the same time they are so that's a huge accident waiting to happen. There ought to be huge huge fines for that kind of behavior.

“There was a lot of traffic, and I couldn’t figure out when it was my turn to go into the other lane,” she said. “I guess I wasn’t doing it quickly enough for my husband because he started yelling: ‘Merge! Merge!’ I just pulled the car over, got out, and handed him the keys..."

Turn? It's your turn to get into the other lane when there's enough space between oncoming vehicles for your car to fit and accelerate to the speed of traffic.Please someone revoke this woman's license. Seriously nervous drivers are the worst. They hit their brakes for no other reason than that they are scared.

“I had to drive on Route 46 to take my New Jersey driver’s test,” said Ms. McClenahan, who is in her early 40s. “That was really traumatic — all the cars were whizzing by. I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown. After that experience I said, I am never going on Route 46 again.”

And please, do stay off 46. Personally I think she ought to have failed the test. Perhaps it's just me, but while I was anxious about my driving test, It was not traumatic. And I took my test in Michigan. I did most of my practicing on highways. Personally I think there ought to be a confidence score. If a person is really shook, they ought not be licensed.

Oh and this..this is classic:

“I’m afraid of simultaneously keeping my eye on the speedometer, merging, and looking at signs to see where I’m going,” said Ms. Schneider, 40, who got her license at age 34 after she and her family moved to the suburbs...She said she has driven on highways about five times so far, mostly using a GPS device in her minivan, but doesn’t plan to hit Route 3 again anytime soon."

Hey stupid. When merging you don't look at your speed. there's no need. You can't be merging AND looking for signs at the same time. Looking for signs means you're trying to get off. If you're trying to get off, then you ought to be in the rightmost lane ANYWAY (for right sided exits). And although she's confused by the array of things she has to look at she's got the GPS in the car. I'l lay odds that this one also has a phone. I will put money on it.

Then there's this:

Ms. Kelly has also sworn off highways for good. “I’m not going to be a highway driver; that won’t be happening,” she said. “I have no clue how people merge at high speeds. I can’t even imagine it. I mean, are you people nuts?”

No seriously, did she really ask HOW people merge at high speeds? FIrst and foremost there's this thing called relativity. If Were both moving in the same direction and I'm going 80 and you're going 70, I'm moving faster than you are by 10 MPH. really It's not that hard to merge with a 10 MPH gap. What you do is press that thing called an accelerator as much as you need to to get up to speed. If you have to press hard enough you'll trip what is called the "kick down" response in the computer and the car will down shift for more acceleration. You should try it. It's what you're expected to do. If my 20 year old car can make it, your relatively new one can

I do have to agree with one thing on though, there are plenty of people in NJ who seem not to understand that when there is a merge up ahead and there are cars looking to enter, one ought to change lanes to give them space if you can. It would be even more polite to give a flash to let them know that you see them and are letting them in.