Parking lots are hard to navigate. I get it, you can’t read numbers, or maybe you just forget what a one-way sign looks like. Driving a car is hard and it’s not like the MVA makes you take a test that includes road signs or anything. 

     Those big white arrows in parking lots don’t make it any easier, I mean, who even sees those anyway? Against black pavement, they’re virtually invisible. It would take the eyesight of a genius to see where they are.

     Driving is hard too, it’s not just parking. How could you know that that person in a turn lane with their blinker on- and the right of way- could be turning? It’s not your fault you cut them off, how could you have known? It’s not your fault you were turning left into oncoming traffic while they’re turning right. 

     Besides- how dare those people going ten over the speed limit be going so slow- the absolute audacity. How dare they waste your time, because you’re so important the speed limits don’t apply to you. 

     Red lights are hard to understand sometimes. Between the top one being lit up and the bottom one being lit up, it’s impossible to tell which one means speed up and which one means to speed up more. Red lights are myths, like the tooth fairy, leprechauns, and unicorns.

     Ridiculous, right? 

     Unfortunately, people really do this stuff- jeopardizing their safety and the safety of everyone else on the road purely because of their impatience and rudeness.

     It’s genuinely dangerous. A class C license allows for the operation of vehicles of under 13 US tons. 26,000 pounds, according to the MVA. Yet people willingly risk their lives and the lives of others just to get somewhere a few minutes faster.

     I like feeling the car gain speed quickly as much as the next person, I enjoy a good winding road where it’s just me and my car- but I understand that speed limits exist for a reason. Roads with low speed limits are given those speed limits for good reason. “The primary purpose of speed limits is to enhance safety by reducing risks imposed by drivers’ speed choices,” according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.

     Speeding is a big reason people are pulled over and with 25.8% of speeding tickets issued in Maryland in 2011 being for speeds 1-9 miles per hour over the speed limit, (District Court of Maryland) it’s easy to see why being impatient and jeopardizing the safety of others may also jeopardize your wallet.

     Next time you get angry at the car in front of you going the speed limit, consider pausing and taking a deep breath. Turn up the radio and enjoy the ride- that’s what driving is all about, after all, the journey.