Top 3 Pet Peeves About Long-Distance Road Trips

Summer is finally over, and the season of road trips has passed for most people. I, on the other hand, decided to wait until this particular time of year to take a little road excursion to south Georgia. Typically, I enjoy taking to the open road, having nothing but my own thoughts and a few traffic rules to contend with. But as I got onto Interstate 75, leaving Atlanta, I suddenly remembered why the number of road trips I've taken thus far can probably be counted on two hands. Driving across country, or simply out of state can be heavenly. But there are some things that make road tripping downright irritating.

Express Lane Abuse

If there is anything that will make my blood boil while on road trips, it's the abuse of the express lane. This typically occurs during trips wherein the highway is reduced to four lanes (across). Driving down Interstate 75-South where the road narrows in this manner, invariably there will be other drivers who decide that the speed limit is simply too fast. Ironically, these drivers are inexplicably drawn to the express lane---the lane reserved for those who are attempting to pass slower drivers.

On more than a dozen separate occasions during this recent road trip, I can recall trailing a set of cars who clogged the express lane for a solid five miles or so. On other occasions, one lone driver held up traffic for miles as he ambled along at the speed of his choice. It's as if these people are completely oblivious to the fact that other cars are behind them, also attempting to make it to their destinations. In some instances, flashing my lights did no good. Other times, the driver ahead had the decency to pull to the right upon seeing my urgent expression in the rear view mirror. By no means am I a belligerent driver. But I personally take minor abuses of road courtesy to heart.

Road Kill