Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Valley of death

Right, as long as I’m whining about drivers in the Valley They Call Silicon, let me just quickly express gratitude that I’ve survived another day of them. Because I gotta say that sometimes I feel like I’m back in Seoul.

In particular, the other day I was coming off Lawrence Expressway to make a left onto Stevens Creek Boulevard. That exit ramp ends with your vision to the left blocked by the embankment holding up the expressway, so when the light changed to green, I kind of poked my way out to make sure no one was coming at me, taking perhaps ten or twelve seconds to get going.

Which meant that I was not in the middle of Stevens Creek when some yahoo in an Accord too focused on taking a slug from his metal insulated travel coffee mug to bother with anyone else on the road just blew through the intersection from the right at probably 35 to 40 MPH (even though he was about to make the left on the other side of the highway to take the ramp up to Lawrence—meaning, he was rushing to hit the brakes).

Guy never looked to either side of him—and, apparently, never looked at the light, either. Just everyone get out of his way.

If the Valley They Call Silicon had a motto, that would pretty much be it.


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