Cross Country Again: or why California drivers are selfish

Last month I had the opportunity to drive cross country once again, for the third time in three years. I drove from New York to San Francisco in three days straight across the I-80. It was mostly a non-eventful trip in a good way, meaning no speeding tickets, accidents, breakdowns, or traffic jams until I hit day three. But I’m getting ahead of myself. The first two days of my trip were remarkably smooth. I made better time than I hoped. Everything seemed to follow a natural flow and rhythm which gave me the time and mindset to think about why this trip seemed so much easier than previous ones.

First a minor but interesting observation. Bugs. Since it was late November there were no bugs splattering themselves against the windshield and coating the front of the car with bio-matter. I didn’t have to shift my head around to find a gap between splats on the windshield to view the road ahead. I didn’t spend an extra five minutes per pit stop scraping off bug guts. This was the first time i had made the trip in cold weather. Every other time had been during the summer when swarms of insects lie waiting to coat the windows of unsuspecting drivers, especially in the Midwest.

Construction. It seems like most of the states along I-80 hold off road work during the cold season.

By far the most important factor and the most interesting observation was that almost everyone driving on the I-80 seemed to follow the passing lane rule (a.k.a the fast lane rule). If a car was in the left lane, it was there only to pass someone, and once it did, the driver moved over to the right lane. that’s the only way traffic can flow so well along a two lane highway especially with all the trucks that use that route. It was a beautiful thing to see so many drivers following a principally unwritten rule of the road, no matter the state or the vehicle being driven. It made it easy to understand the intent of other drivers, almost elevating driving behavior to non-verbal communication. Often there were long stretches for miles where the left lane was completely empty and dozens of cars driving in single file on the right side of the road. It was a rare instance of seeing things the way they should be matching the way they were. It made me feel proud to participate in such an ensemble that recognized that a little effort and conscientiousness from everyone can lead to substantial benefits for all. That’s community spirit.

Unfortunately that all ended when i hit Nevada, but it wasn’t Nevada drivers that showed disregard to the passing lane rule. The first driver i encountered that clearly ignored the rule, whether out of ignorance or selfishness or apathy, had California license plates. Even outside of their state, they were disrupting the flow of traffic. This driver was in a sedan in the left lane on I-80 about half a car length behind a big rig cruising in the right lane. Both vehicles were going at the same speed, neither gaining nor losing ground on each other. I pulled up somewhat quickly behind the sedan to communicate my intention to pass through. In every other instance of this same exact situation i had encountered up to this point, the car in the left lane would either have pulled over to the right lane behind the truck or sped up to pass the truck and then pull over after reaching a safe distance ahead of the truck. In this case, the car just kept driving as if the circumstances had not changed at all with my introduction. After about 10 minutes of this the gap between the sedan and the truck increased to a little over a car length and i made my move.

Perhaps the driver didn’t see me? Was the rear view mirror broken? Nope. Was it dark and cloudy? No, just the opposite–bright and sunny. This driver just didn’t care, and he wasn’t the only one. From that point on the system broke down as more California license plates appeared on the tail end of cars. The closer i got to California, the worse it became.

So, why do California drivers not follow the passing lane rule? Could it be that it’s unknown in California? In other states, i saw road signs that promoted the rule. These signs had wording such as, “slow cars move to the right.” Thing is, I’ve seen those signs in California as well (along I-80 between the Nevada border and Sacramento). No, I don’t think it’s a matter of ignorance. What makes California and it’s drivers different from the rest of the country?

In terms of climate and road conditions California is not that different from its neighbors to the east (Nevada, Arizona, etc.). In terms of traffic conditions, the metropolitan areas are similar to New York City. As far as highway speed limits go, California my not have the highest speed limits in the country, but they’re higher than most of the states east of the Mississippi. And yet the drivers of all those other states seem to follow the passing lane rule.

The thing that distinguishes California drivers from others is attitude. But wait, you say. Other states have drivers with lots of attitude. New York City drivers are some of the most aggressive drivers in the country. Yes, that’s true. But the difference is the attitude of drivers from all the other states (with some possible exceptions, given that i haven’t driven through every state yet) involve some aspect of “consideration” of other drivers. Now hold on, you say. NYC drivers are some of the least considerate drivers in the world. Yes, that’s true under the common usage of the word, considerate. What i mean by “consideration” is that NYC drivers are aware of the presence and position of other cars, because they have to be. When everyone is in competition to get to their destination as fast as possible every drive in NY becomes a race. There’s not a lot of room for error, let alone carelessness or neglect. This type of aggressive and competitive driving requires a tremendous amount of concentration and awareness. It requires drivers to take into consideration the speed, position, and intent of other drivers. This is what i mean by “consideration.”

In states and areas with less congestion, consideration is a result of different motivations. Most of the country outside of metropolitan areas follows the passing lane rule because most highways are two lanes and if there is no designated passing lane, then many cars and trucks will get stuck behind a pair of slow moving vehicles driving side by side. Big rig truck drivers universally follow this rule. I’ve never heard of a driver getting ticketed for not moving over into the right lane when a car behind wanted to pass. But they still move over, because at one point or another, they’ve been the one that wanted to pass. They understand that even if they don’t benefit from the rule in a particular drive, they will benefit from it overall.

California drivers however don’t care about the overall benefits that the passing lane rule yields in other states. While other states take a community approach to driving, California takes an entitlement approach. For Californians, it doesn’t matter if practicing the passing lane rule would result in an overall increase in driving efficiency (getting the largest number of drivers to their destination in the shortest period of time). For them, it only matters that they get to drive wherever and however they want within the limits of the law. If they want to drive 60mph in the left lane of a highway with a 65mph speed limit, than that’s their right and no one can take it away from them. But wait, you say. Californians are some of the nicest and most considerate people in the country (well, at least in northern california). These are the people who are promoting environmental issues, clean energy, slow food, etc. My response is, they aren’t inconsiderate in a traditional sense. When these people get in their cars, they’re not trying to block the flow of traffic intentionally. It’s just that their own individual sense of comfort and propriety is prioritized on a completely different level than those of others. To be specific, California drivers don’t like to be taken out of their comfort zone. This is the flip side or by product of the chill laid back ethos that they are known for. Since driving, especially in traffic congested areas like Los Angeles and San Francisco, is inherently a stressful activity, California drivers face a dilemma every time they get behind the wheel. How do they stay in their stress free zone while engaging in an activity that requires a high level of concentration, quick decision-making, and diligent multi-tasking? The answer is they do everything they can to minimize all these stress-inducing factors even if it means inconveniencing others.

California drivers ignore things that might lead to stress, like taking other drivers concerns into consideration. Good driving requires the driver to think about many different factors, but California drivers want to reduce the amount of thinking they do while driving. Thinking about other drivers detracts from stress-free bubble that Californians prefer to live in. Taking other drivers into consideration detracts from the mystique of the laid back surfer dude hipster hippie persona who is never in rush. Thinking is the activity of people overly concerned with work and responsibility and that’s antithetical to a mentality that wants to shed stress, pressure, and anxiety. If a driver wants to pass it just means they should chillax. Californians would rather be relaxing at the beach, or in wine country, or in the mountains, or in the forests, than on the road and yet isn’t it ironic that that desire for a more relaxed attitude can lead to more traffic congestion, longer car rides, and less consideration?

Another permutation of this sense of entitlement (to be relaxed at the wheel at the cost of others) is when California drivers spread out into all lanes of a highway no matter how many lanes there are or how fast (or slow) they’re going. It’s uncanny how evenly they spread themselves out, slowing down traffic in all lanes. This is because close proximity to other cars increases stress and that is not a cost they’re willing to bear for the benefit of overall efficiency. In terms of speed they’re probably going no faster in five lanes than if they were in three, but it feels more comfortable to have more space around the car so they fan out.

In conclusion, I declare Californians the most selfish self-centered drivers in America. Congratulations.

No license plate, no problem

missing something?

Notice anything missing on this vehicle? If you’re from California, you probably don’t. But, if you’re from a state other than California, then hopefully you noticed that there is no license plate on this car. I wish I could say this was a rare sight, but if you drive around the S.F. Bay Area for about 30 minutes there’s a good chance that you will see a car without a license plate.

This absolutely blows me away, given that California is all about car culture, despite the efforts of environmentalists. Let’s face it, until there is a real public transportation system (look at NYC for an example), people will stick to driving their cars. In the state that probably has the most cars on the road (in absolute numbers) and most cars per capita, there are hundreds if not thousands of cars roaming the streets without a license plate. How is this legal?

Now, I know what you’re thinking. These cars have a temporary registration tag in the window. Wrong! Look carefully at the rear window of this SUV. There is no red paper tag taped to the inside. In most other states, even new cars don’t leave the lot with at least a cardboard temporary dealer plate on the back bumper. But not California.

What’s the story here?

Left-lane Passing Laws

Jalopnik recently posted an article showing a state-by-state map of the left-lane passing laws in the US. I half-expected to find California without any rules governing use of the left-lane (and there are a few), but alas, California actually does have a fast-lane rule. Jalopnik’s article suggests that California falls under the Uniform Vehicle Code, “which says a car driving below the ‘normal speed of traffic’ should be driven in the right-hand lane. Because it indicates ‘normal speed’ instead of saying ‘speed limit’ a driver going above the speed limit but slower than most traffic is still in the wrong.”

So once again, I address those Nor Cal drivers out there who are getting passed while in the left-lane–what’s the deal? Why not move over one lane and go whatever speed you want? Don’t you realize you’re creating a bottleneck? Do you care?

Left-Lane Passing Laws (Jalopnik)

Debris, part deux

last week, my car got hit again by flying debris. This time a hubcap came flying in from another lane after getting hit by another car and scratched my front end and hood. Why California, why?

Also, last week, I was driving home from San Francisco to the peninsula when traffic slowed down on the 101 south for some unseen reason. After a few minutes of stop and go traffic I spotted the cause of the delay. A small pick up truck with a sleeper cab attachment, was hauling two full-size jukeboxes on the rear bumper and one of the them had fallen off. Two men were using all their available strength to try to lift it back onto its small perch. Apparently they underestimated gravity’s influence on the two machines, which combined probably weighed more than the truck’s engine.

I’m beginning to wonder if all the debris on nor cal highways is somehow related to intelligence or the lack thereof.

Concrete v. Asphalt

Good article about Concrete v. Asphalt Roads

Thanks, Dave!

How a differential gear works [video]

This is an awesome video on youtube showing how a differential gear works in your car (the thing that allows the car’s drive wheels to spin at different speeds around turns).

Driving in the Rain

OK, it’s been a while since my last post, because I’ve been working on a short story. I finally finished that damn thing.

Anyway, I’ve been wanting to write about some observations I made during the week of heavy rain we experienced recently in the SF Bay Area.

(1) the 280 sucks in the rain: Although it didn’t quite flood, the 280 was totally saturated with water. My car consumed more than double the normal amount of fuel during my commute because it was essentially pushing water the entire way. some theories about why the 280 is like that: (a) the 280 is mostly solid concrete unlike the 101 which is mostly asphalt concrete, which is made up of small rocks glued together, (b) I noticed few if any drains on the sides of the 280 unlike the 101,(c) in general, I’ve noticed that the highways in California are mostly flat, whereas the highways on the east coast have some road camber so that water naturally flows to the sides of the road.

side note regarding solid concrete highways: My theory is that these highways are intentionally grooved (like corduroy) to mitigate oversaturation. I’m also guessing that these roads are cheaper to build than asphalt concrete which appear to have better water absorbing properties. Think about this the next time you drive on the 280 and hear that annoying road noise coming from the grooves in the concrete.

(2) Californians don’t turn on their headlights, even in heavy rain. Just anecdotally, I decided to count the number of cars I passed on the way to work in the morning of one the heaviest days of rain. As you probably recall, visibility was very low during those mornings. Driving from San Mateo to Emeryville from approximately 8-9am, I passed 37 cars without any lights on (not even their parking lights). WTH. In many states, including NY, it’s a violation to drive in the rain without your headlights on. It’s a safety precaution that is well established. that’s why you get an insurance discount if your car has daytime running lights.

some food for thought.