HOW did you get your drivers license!

After the past few days I'm convinced that passive and scared drivers cause accidents NOT aggressive drivers.

My job requires me to drive a station vehicle around town several hours a week, so as you can imagine I view some of the worst drivers in town. In just the past two days I've exclaimed "OMG ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?" or "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?".

I'm sure you've seen the person that decides to SLOW DOWN, sometimes to a complete stop, while merging with freeway traffic. If you are that person, hit the gas damnit! What happened to the common knowledge that you are supposed to accelerate to the speed of traffic when merging. And since we are talking merging, how about the very distinct difference between merge and yield.  I'm going to dumb this down in hopes of reducing road rage for those of us who are stuck behind the driver that "doesn't get it".

I present to you, the common "Yield" sign:

This one is simple, when you see it you must wait until there are no cars, or enough room for you to enter traffic. It DOES NOT mean drivers must let you enter.

Now lets move to "Merge" sign: (this may get a little confusing, there are a few different signs)

Any of the above signs can be seen around town and they all mean the same thing. It doesn't get any easier than when the sign spells it out for you. This sign requires you to accelerate (or slow down) to reach the speed of traffic you are about to enter. It is considered polite to allow people to merge in front of you. Even better, you should move into the other lane (if possible) so that it makes merging easier for the driver. DO NOT stop in your merge lane! It will only make it more difficult.

I'm not only harping on those drivers attempting to merge with traffic but also those drivers who are making it much more difficult for others to enter. I drive between Pacific Way and Columbia exits on Hwy 5 every day, several times a day, and cant count the number of times people stay in the far right lane and don't leave any room for drivers to enter traffic. At the same time, there are equal amount of drivers who get so scared about moving into traffic that they stop in the merge lane.

If you are too afraid to drive your vehicle, DON'T DRIVE! You are endangering other people with your lack of commitment to driving. When you slam on your brakes, drive well below the speed limit, constantly tap your brakes, slow down in the middles of flowing traffic in hopes of changing lanes (should I go on?)... I think you get the idea, you are driving capable drivers CRAZY and thus increasing their road rage. An aggressive driver now becomes enraged and will drive with less care than they usually would.

Now that I've ranted and spoken as though I'm the best driver in Kamloops I should probably mention I'll be taking a road test on Friday. I'll be sure to post the results.