Driving I-5

I headed south to LA this weekend to visit friends of mine, including an old highschool friend I had not seen in many years. As I cruised down I-5, a seemingly never ending highway filled with 18-wheelers and surrounded by a dismal and uninspiring landscape, I was reminded of two of my pet peeves: slower drivers not staying to the right and failure to use turn signals.

I'm sure I'm not the only one to be irritated by these two notorious angst-causing driving behaviors. I try not to be bothered, but despite my efforts I am still aggravated. Don't people know to stay to the right unless they are actually passing traffic at that moment? Germans don't seem to have a problem understanding this concept and they drive much faster then we do (and I confess I am a fast driver). They might be going 180 kilometers per hour (about 110 miles/hr) but they stay to the right unless they are passing traffice. A shameless friend of mine once said to me in response to my ranting on this topic, "I'm going faster then the traffic in the right lanes, why should I have to move over just because there is no one there? Eventually I'm going to pass someone."

Uh, hello, knock knock anyone there? How about because I'm going faster then you?

Okay, and what about turn signals? Am I mind-reader that you don't need to use your turn signal?

I can't write anymore on this. I'm getting irritated just thinking about it and I need to stay calm as I will be heading north on I-5 in just an hour or so. I must meditate and achieve my inner peace so my 5 hour drive back to SF won't be filled with rage.