Thursday, September 22, 2011

Utah and its Infamous Drivers

           It only takes twenty minutes of driving along Utahs stretch of I-15 to experience what I like to call, “Utarded driving.” What is it about Utah that makes drivers so terrible? Do people here think they are more deserving than others? Do they somehow not realize that by following five feet behind a car is illegal and extremely dangerous? Utah drivers are terrible, and although there may be other contributing factors to their stupidity on the road, I think that it stems from a selfish mindset. People in Utah need to understand that they are not the exception to the rules and laws of the road that everyone is responsible to keeping. Now it should be made known that all Utah drivers are not like this, like everywhere else, there are both bad and good drivers on the road.
            Although every licensed Utah driver has seemingly learned the laws of the road, somehow in the depths of their selfish minds, they always seem to think that either they or whatever they are doing is most important. By doing so, they risk not only the lives of themselves, but more importantly, the lives of others on the road. This dangerous mindset can be exemplified in the following example: Think back to when you were in math class, and were about to receive instructions on how to take a test. The teacher had just asked everyone to remain silent and said he would not be repeating the instructions. Do you remember that one fellow classmate who just HAD to tell his neighbor what kind of lunch he was going to buy or something just as unimportant? By doing so he made it impossible for you to hear the instructions and caused you to fail your test. Flash forward 5 years, and that young adolescent is now a driver, and feels that instead of allowing a safe distance between you and him, he offers you five feet of distance before dastardly exiting his lane and entering the lane to his side without signaling. By doing so, he puts you and others on the road at risk. Only this time, its not a math test anymore, it’s your life, and it will not be repeated. This sort of selfish behavior that first manifested itself in math class, has followed him through the years.
Here is a picture of the described intersection.
            Flash forward fifteen years. While traveling southbound on State Street in Orem, you approach 800 North St. where you need to make a left turn. You wait, like any other responsible driver, until the shared emergency lane gives way to the left turn lane where you promptly signal a left turn. After proceeding into the left turn lane you are immediately struck by a car speeding in the suicide lane to beat you to the red light. While stopped to exchange information and wait for the police officer to arrive, you asked him where he was off to in such a hurry (his reply will forever astound you). He said he was going to meet his wife at a yogurt shop. A yogurt shop mind you, where according to his driving, all the yogurt was going to turn into nuclear waste if he didn’t get there in time. When he said that you wanted to ask him, “Was that so important that you had to enter the shared emergency lane, speed up to beat me to the red light?” Out of politeness, you do not ask him, but can’t help but laugh about it later.
            This may seem like an extreme example of “Utarded” driving, but actually happened to me while I was on delivery for my employer. This thoughtless action forced my employer to terminate me and I was left looking for another job. I can only imagine what this other driver must have been thinking at that decisive moment where he thought he should speed ahead of me. Did he consider that by taking such an irresponsible action he would put me at risk? Did he realize that he cost me my job, and a year of delivery experience was wasted? No, all he was worried about was himself and his melting yogurt. Like the first example in math class, he also considered himself an exception to the rule.
            Don’t just take my word for it; lets take a look into the brain of a Utah driver himself. While watching this video, try to disregard his ridiculous and stupid comments and just look at how selfish this driver actually is. CLICK HERE! Maybe some of you look at this driver and think its just the way its always been here in Utah, it’s the way he learned and now it is just a part of the way things are done here. If that video didn’t perfectly frame a Utah driver, read the following bits of advice on how to drive in Utah. CLICK HERE! These helpful hints may seem funny at first, but depict exactly how “Utarded” driving is correctly done.
Knowingly, my examples are a little stereotypical, and do not apply to all Utah drivers. There are good and bad drivers here and everywhere else. Bad driving is just a much more regular occurrence here than any of the other three states I have had experience driving in. Do these bad drivers really want to make breaking the law, and selfish behaviors part of what Utah is known for? I don’t think so. They need to realize that their actions not only affect them, but as well as those of us who choose to be a responsible driver. Please, anyone who fits in this category, next time you drive, maybe stop and think the next time you are tailgating me, “is this what Jesus would do?” 

3 comments:

  1. I totally agree! they need to have better drivers ed or something!

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  2. Utah definitely needs to reform their driver's ed. I'm pretty sure that the vast majority of Utahans don't know that it is illegal to stay in the fast lane if you are slowing down traffic and not passing anyone in the lane next to you. Oh, yeah, and most drivers I have seen from Idaho are even worse. Also, how difficult is it really to use a round-about? Finally, I think it's funny that Utahan's call rolling through a stop sign a "California Stop"; I've seen that happen so much more often driving in Utah than I have while driving in California.

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  3. I really enjoyed your conclusion. Understanding not all Utah drivers are selfish. In which I do agree. Most drivers are idiotic here. It can be very frustrating

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