“Rain is coming,” the weather reports cried, and rain did come. A week full of consistent downpour created a new environment for the drivers of Southern California. While some took extra caution to stay “safe” on the road driving 30 miles an hour, others disregarded the torrential downpour and continued to weave through traffic, throwing safety out the proverbial window.
My commute to work typically takes 15 minutes with a good flow of traffic. In the rain, an extra 45 minutes was added to my commute. While I expect a delay while it rains, I don’t expect to fear for my life because there isn’t a balance of drivers on the freeway.
It seems that at least 75 percent of drivers are overly cautious, driving 30 miles an hour or less, causing hazards. Others attempt to cope with the slowed traffic and drive at a moderate speed. You hear it all the time — people forget how to drive in the rain. If it is drizzling, please don’t drive 30 miles under the speed limit. If the rain is coming down so much that you’re unable to see 10 feet in front of you, please don’t drive 30 miles over the speed limit.
Both tendencies create hazards to the driver as well as drivers around them. I personally am not a fan of waiting in slow traffic, but is anybody? I’m especially not a fan of fearing for my life while over-confident drivers are under the influence of their weather-induced road rage. Both types of drivers create hazards on the road, but there is never an excuse to drive recklessly.
I don’t need to fear for my life on the road because of someone’s driving; I’m already fearing for my life because the excessive rain is creating an obstruction. Traffic is the worst, hands down. Everyone knows that.
We live in Riverside, California, the worst city for traffic trailing right behind Los Angeles, California. If everyone drove at a single consistent speed, there might not be any traffic. No traffic is truly the thing of which dreams are made.
