Driving in the GTA

Good Evening Peeps,

I hope you are all well. This won't take too long; I am about to go out for dinner with my friend (her birthday dinner) to a new Mexican place that is, by all accounts, fabulous (no, it's not Taco Bell)!

Anyhoo, I just had to drive through rush hour traffic to get to the suburbs of our nation's largest metropolis and I've come to the decision that people in the Greater Toronto Area are not just bad drivers. They're not just rude or inconsiderate either (although there are abundant examples of all of the above here). I think that the biggest problem with driving in the GTA is that many drivers simply do not know the rules of the road.

Well that's just silly, you might say! They must know the rules if they're driving and have passed a test in order to obtain a license. However, after being here for about 17 years (maybe 18 I can't really remember), this is the conclusion to which I've come. I've seen other drivers in many different places in the world. I've seen aggressive drivers in China where if you're not aggressive, you really don't get anywhere; Literally. I've seen Italian drivers in Italy, who zip all over narrow windy roads and never seem to get in any accidents (it's almost like a crazy chaotic sort of ballet, but you can't quite put your finger on where the choreographer set it all in motion). I've driven in other parts of Europe (both on the left and the right), and I know how roundabouts work and have become quite adept at navigating through them. I've driven through many US states and most of the provinces. The point of this paragraph is that I have some experience of driving in different places in the world, so my opinion is neither North American-centric, nor Canadian-centric. (Obviously, there is no perfectly objective view, but I have viewed this issue from more than one viewpoint at least.

One of the first things I noticed about the drivers when I moved here from Beautiful Vancouver was that people did not stop for emergency vehicles. Some didn't even pull over. Many changed lanes into the right hand lane, but didn't necessarily slow down, and I was invariably the only driver on the road who stopped to let an emergency vehicle pass. This used to infuriate me!!!! I was younger then and more apt to allow others' behaviour to affect my emotions. This no longer surprises me, because people just don't seem to get it. For the most part, they don't seem to want to get in the way of the emergency vehicles, but they just don't know how to respond and thus make it difficult for anyone to do anything correctly.

Another example of how people here seem to be simply ignorant can be found at almost any four-way stop in my 'hood: Scarborough. I'm certain you can find it elsewhere too (I've experienced it elsewhere), but this is where I experience it most. People do not know how to behave at four-way stops. There are drivers who think that as long as they've come to a complete stop, they're allowed to go; regardless of whomever or whatever else might be at the same intersection and who actually has the right of way. There are drivers who are too timid to go, probably because of the people who just go whenever the mood strikes, and there are people who start, then stop, then start, then stop... !!!! Aaacckkk! Again, for the most part, I don't think most of these people are trying to cause accidents or get in anyone's way, they really don't seem to know what they're doing and they're hoping that they can just survive.

Another of my peeves when driving in Southern Ontario is that people here do not 'keep right except to pass' on highways and freeways. Do they not know that the passing lane is called the passing lane for a reason? Yes, there are lots of bad (i.e. thoughtless, self-absorbed, rude, discourteous) drivers on the roads, but these people seem to simply not understand the basic rules of the road.

As I was driving here through rush hour traffic (the reason fot this rant), northbound on the Don Valley Parkway (often affectionately referred to as the Don Valley Parking lot) which is a freeway in the middle of the city that runs from the lake (the bottom) all the way north through the suburbs (it really is the quickest way through as long as traffic is moving at a decent pace), I heard some sirens in the distance. I was in the right lane, eased up on the gas (just a touch),checked my mirrors, then saw that the sirens were coming from the opposite direction on a divided highway. There were three EMS vehicles and one police car. People on my side of the highway had slowed right down! We were on a divided highway. We are not required to stop or pull over for emergency vehicles when they're on the other side of large cement barriers. In fact, that behaviour sometimes causes accidents. I seriously think people just don't know. They weren't slowing down to look at a car wreck because there wasn't one there; these vehicles were speeding somewhere else. The drivers just didn't know what to do.

So, my driving lesson for today is: when you are on a divided highway and emergency vehicles are approching from the opposite direction on the other side of the divide, you are not required to slow down and pull over to the right hand side of the road and stop and wait for the emergency vehicle(s) to pass.

That's it for today!

Drive safe peeps,