BIG WHEELS ROLLIN', MOVIN' ON:

BIG WHEELS ROLLIN’, MOVIN’ ON: Cold Fury has some News, Views, and Random Cursing on what it’s like to drive an 18-wheeler, and deal with crazed automobile drivers everyday. The whole post is excellent, but I particularly love this one:

7) This one is so obvious, I still can’t believe the number of people who simply refuse to do it. So I’ll put it in caps and throw in some profanity for emphasis, to make sure you remember: USE YOUR F**KING TURN SIGNALS, YOU G****MNED DOPE. It’s truly difficult for me to comprehend why, but nobody does this anymore. What in the name of all that’s holy is so difficult about this? Are you arthritic and find it hard to move your hand the 3 or 4 inches required to activate the little lever? Is the signal lever in your car hooked up to a half-ton of bricks in the trunk, therefore requiring the strength of an unshorn Samson to move the few millimeters required to activate those pretty blinking lights? Perhaps you belong to a heretofore-unknown sect of militant Islam that advocates bringing on the Jihad by fomenting Terror On The Highways? Whatever, just use the damn things. Make it a habit – it’s not a hard thing, I promise. I can’t react to whatever boneheaded move you’re planning and maintain a safe distance between 80,000-pound me and 4,000-pound thee if you don’t at least give me some hint of where you’re going.

I don’t know if it’s a Silicon Valley thing, or if American driving schools in general have gone to pot, but since moving to California five years ago, I can’t believe many drivers never use their turn signals. It’s just astonishing.