Pet Peeve Rant

Yesterday I got to experience my pet peeve twice in one day.

I call the phenomenon "lane zooming." You know - it's when a two-lane road narrows down to one lane because of construction, and there are those people who think that waiting in line like normal polite people is beneath them and they zoom up the lane that's closing and then try to cut in front of everyone.

I hate that. With a passion. It's the one thing (besides my kids) that causes me to yell. I get so mad when I see those people in my rear view mirror just zooming up the lane beside me. Then they put their blinker on and expect those of us who have been waiting in line to just let them in. NO. It doesn't happen. I become belligerent. I don't let in zoomers. Ever.

Have you ever experienced this phenomenon on the interstate? I love it because truckers will drive in the closing lane, but they won't go faster than the speed of the other lane. Basically they are keeping zoomers at bay. You can zoom up to the semi, but you ain't going past it. I love those truckers!

So yesterday during the second lane zooming episode, I decided to try the "trucker move." At first I was only over the stripe a little bit, but after about 15 cars just went around me I decided that I had had enough and just pulled out into the other lane. I stayed at the same pace as the "slow lane" and the person behind me kept my spot open for me. I think he appreciated me pulling the trucker move because he had tried driving on the stripe, too, to no avail.

I got really irritated during the first episode because I was 2 vehicles back from a bus. When it stopped (for 10 seconds) to let someone off, 10 cars zipped in front of it. I was livid. Because those stupid 10 people made the rest of us wait longer.

I always think, "These people wouldn't cut in front of me at the grocery store, so why do they think it's ok to cut in front of me here?"

I will admit that sometimes I get caught off guard when a lane is closing. I will discover that I'm halfway up the closing lane before I realize that I should have gotten over 6 cars earlier. At that point, I stop and try to get in where I am. I don't zoom up to the front and expect special treatment. And I always wave to the people who let me in. When I'm guilty of minor lane zooming, I don't expect that the first person beside me will let me in. If I have to wait, so be it. I don't try to muscle my way in, which would be easy to do in my big honkin' SUV.