When I first moved to Nashville, one of the things I found scariest about driving was that there was no universally agreed upon set of rules. Like, in Chicago, you know that everyone is going to be driving really fast, but they’ll slow down to let people on the interstate. In LA, the traffic is unceasing, but, if you signal, people will let you do what you need to do. In St. Louis, no one stops at stop signs, you just roll through them. Etc. Etc.
When I first moved to Nashville, you didn’t know what you were going to get. Some folks stopped at the end of entrance ramps, like the traffic was ever going to clear enough for them to get going from 0 to interstate speeds if they just waited. Sometimes, when three people came to a four-way stop at the same time, the two cars facing each other would go first, even if one was turning, before the car with no one facing it. Sometimes, the person to the farthest right went first and so on.
I’m not saying we’ve completely developed a driving culture in that time. But there’s at least a more uniform feeling of “I know what to expect from you” I think.
And, sadly, one of the shittiest things is that, in any weather event, people drive like they’ve lost their damn fool minds.
So, we’re expecting ice this evening and it’s raining now. I already know some asshole has hit a bunch of pedestrians right by where I work. So, now the question is, on a twenty minute drive, at best, how long is it going to take me to get to and from work today? Can I leave early to avoid the madness or is leaving early just going to put me in the heart of it?
And can I convince the Butcher to go to the grocery store or is that too cliched?
Tiny Cat Pants 