A town growing up

[indigo_rose99]

I have lived or worked or played in many of the larger cities in Texas.  I have found that there is a strong correlation between population density and driver rudeness. The largest cities in Texas (Dallas and Houston being my particular examples) are crowded and have mind-blowingly rude drivers.  You are taking your life in your own hands to drive there.  New drivers to the cities take a bit to become accustomed to the aggressive you-can-be-first-right-after-me attitude.  It is typical to have new drivers slowly realize that using their turn signals to change lanes is not a polite notification to other drivers, but rather a request to be cut off and actively prevented from moving to another lane.  Cars (illegally, I believe) use exit ramps and turn-only lanes as acceleration lanes to pass other cars.  Instead of tailgating being the exception, is the rule. Road rage seems to be a daily event for every driver.

Small towns in central and west Texas are different.  The smaller the town, the more polite the drivers.  Drivers in the open spaces of west Texas will often actively pull off the road to allow faster cars to pass.  Drivers will stop to ask a side-of-the-road-parked driver if they are all right or need a lift.  Tailgating is highly unusual and a sign of extreme anger.  Typically cars follow at something like 4 or 5 car spaces between them.

Driving in Limerick for the past four years has been like driving in one of those little west Texas towns.  In traffic jams, I often see cars allow others to get in front of them or turn across traffic even during total traffic jams.  This is the rule, not the exception.  Tailgating is unheard of.  Though I sometimes notice people not following traffic rules, it seems more a matter of laziness than anger or road rage.

Until... now.  Driving in Limerick this week has been a bit of a shock.  I have been illegally cut off at least twice a day.  People pull in front of me in roundabouts when I have right of way.  I have actually been tailgated for my entire trip from hotel to work (about 20 minutes).  

On one hand, I think this means that Limerick is expanding, growing up, becoming more prosperous.  But it makes me sad.  I liked the polite small-town feel of driving here. It was refreshing.

Comments

[pamwheatfree.livejournal.com]

I don't know if Limerick is a university town but it makes a difference. The rudeness you saw this week may just be a sign that all the students are back home or out on the road. The driving gets easier here when the students are away so summer is better than fall. Winter is a special case because everyone wants to help you if you get stuck in a snow bank. Also, the snow makes people drive slower and think seriously about skidding whenever they brake.