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 
Plus they’re going to start to close streets for the parade starting at around 4. You’re going to want to try to leave work before then, I expect.
I’ve never before lived in a city where they closed schools because the weather MIGHT be bad. The concept is absurd. Local news this morning reported one school that will be closing five hours early today. WTF?
Nashville drivers are terrible. If only they could learn the differences between both the through lane and the passing lane as well as a stop sign and a yield sign. Oh … and slow does not always equal safe.
Leave early to avoid the madness. Or just stay home.
Diatribes,
I believe closing schools because the weather MIGHT do xyz is a precaution because many parents jumped all over MNPS a few years ago when kids were stranded for hours. The weather changed so quickly that day and school officials weren’t prepared.
Why have there been SO MANY incidents at that exact spot in the last two months? Other than the fact that so many drivers are stupid?
I know in more rural communities, closing schools is an option because the precaution has to be made because buses travel county roads, which are far more dangerous than city roads. But I don’t get why that would in Nashville.
Nashville drivers in rain suck. But I have to tell you, the drivers that scare the everloving sh*t out of me are in Tupelo, MS. Everyone is on a cell phone – and forget merging. If they are coming onto the road you are on, watch out… “Yield” isn’t even considered a suggestion; the concept is completely ignored.
txmere, I’m not sure. it is a slight hill, but we have hills all over town and no one gets hit on them–at least not this regularly. And there are plenty of lights, so people shouldn’t be able to build up that much speed to where they don’t have time to stop and yet…