We'll get there!

Winter is releasing its grip on us and good riddance. However, one thing I will say in the season’s favor is I much prefer driving in the winter than in the spring.

This is because if the timing of the snowfall is just right, overnight or early in the morning, the roads are deserted since people are staying home, and I can sail into work with no problem. There are exceptions when a storm hits before rush hour and it’s gridlock, but sometimes I am alone on the road in the snow and it’s easier to drive. Weather conditions don’t faze me; I just hate sitting in traffic. (Of course, snow is one situation in which people urge competent drivers to be less competent. “Four to six inches? Everybody stay inside!” Like it’s volcanic ash.)

In contrast, the end of April is always a nightmare to drive in. It gets better as the season goes on but the roads are always a parking lot during the first few nice days of spring. Does anyone else encounter this? The only reason I can think of for this is that people who have been hiding under the bed for the last few months due to the threat of (say it in a spooky haunted house voice) BLACK ICE decide to venture out and you have under-skilled drivers who are easily foiled by sun glare and slow down to look at the budding trees.

I see these people on the road, puttering at 10 mph under the speed limit for no reason in the left lane, and I imagine one dimly-lit thought going through their heads: “We’ll get there!” It doesn’t actually matter when they get there, of course, because basically they have nowhere to go and all day to do it. There’s a quarter-mile buffer between them and the car in front of them. Meanwhile, they are too oblivious and/or inconsiderate to see traffic stacking up behind them, people for whom it actually does matter that they “get there” quickly. These commuters are people who understand that to make the car go, you need to press down on the gas pedal with your foot, rather than waiting for the gentle spring breeze to press it down.

I realize I complain about traffic a lot, but I have a lengthy commute and I resent having to suffer any fools on the road.