Why does this surprise not one bit?

According to my roommate, who grew up here, the bad design and execution displayed led to a Boston Globe editorial about why nobody ever complains about competent nepotism.

Bumper sticker: "Using your turn signal is not giving information to the enemy"

I so want this. You know, if I owned a car.

You could put it on your butt.

It's funny, 'cause I seem to go 75 all the time. It's the limit out here. And everyone seems to drive it, with a few exceptions. Then as I head east, the limit drops to 70, but everyone takes 5. Then it drops to 65, but everyone takes 10. It's odd.

"Using your turn signal is not giving information to the enemy"

Bwah! I used to feel this way in Indianapolis. Not about the turn signal, just about the general attitude. There was my current location, and there was my destination, and there was me in my car. Anything or anyone else between me and my destination was merely an obstacle to be overcome. My friends used to laugh at me. "We were waving at you, but you were so serious on the highway." Ah, but you were merely a speck on the lens of my destination.

You could put it on your butt.

Just what are you implying missy?!?

One thing I like about Chicagoland drivers is that it's ingrained in them to pull over to the right lane/shoulder and stop as soon as you hear a siren. When I was out at my sister's in Las Vegas last week, I was shocked that nobody pulled over until the last possible minute for an ambulance.

OMG, that makes me INSANE here. Don't people know that they can use it to their advantage? I.e., slide through a red light to make room for the ambulance? Man, I hope I never need emergent care in midtown Manhattan.

Well, the body really does need a place for bumper stickers. Lapel pins just aren't big enough.

When I was out at my sister's in Las Vegas last week, I was shocked that nobody pulled over until the last possible minute for an ambulance

I believe there's some sort of Western belief that pulling over too soon is cowardly and lets other people take advantage of the space. I want to see a firetruck shove some idiot in an SUV out of the way.

you don't want to give them the valuable intel that you're about to move into their lane.

Wrod. It's unAmerican to give your opponent warning.

In re: firetrucks, when Hubby was in the Forest Service, he and a buddy took out a couple of the heavy-duty brush engines and went cruising the firelanes of the city, especially some alleys behind businesses. They put the engines in low gear and went.

One alley was behind a Cadillac dealer, who stored overstock in the alley and ignored warnings to keep the firelane clear. Hubby often talks about the joy of ramming brand new Cadillacs and hearing them crunch before a fire engine designed to bull its way through wilderness scrub oak as they get shoved down an alley and out the other end.

Not surprisingly, the dealer raised holy hell. Not surprisingly, no one could be found who admitted to having been at the wheel of the brush trucks. And the trucks were so dinged up from regular duty that it was hard to tell what was new damage. The judge confirmed that the wrecked Caddys had indeed been blocking a firelane, smirked, and handed out fines for each smashed car.

I noticed when I used to drive between Chico, CA and the Bay Area a lot that I could go the same speed for a couple of hours on I-80 and sometimes everyone was passing me and sometimes I was passing everyone else. Never did figure out why.

-t, I experience the same thing on I-5, though there you have to be in the 80+ range to keep from being mowed over. I try very hard to keep with the flow of traffic, going up and down as necessary - but all the speeds seemed to be above the speed limit.