Driving Etiquette (Part 2 of 2)

In general, people in Boston aren't the friendliest folks on the planet.  (Boston friends, I'm obviously not talking about you!)  You might as well be invisible when you pass folks on the street.  And they can be a bit condescending and rude at times.  We were treated like complete imbeciles by many a store clerk who seemed 'put out' when we had a question or needed to pay for something.  So, it's a pleasant surprise when you discover that Boston drivers are usually fairly courteous (refer to Part 1).

In general, people in Nashville are amazingly friendly.  They wave at you when you drive down the street.  They smile at you and say 'hi' when you pass by.  I even had one homeless guy say 'hi' rather than ask for something.  Now that made an impression!  Store employees are very attentive and actually ask if they can help you - and they smile while they say it.  They seem genuinely interested in helping you and making you happy.

So, it's quite a shock when you discover that folks from Nashville are not so courteous or friendly when they get into the driver's seat.  They tend to speed up if they see that you want to change lanes - I've missed a few turns because someone sped up and wouldn't let me over.  I've also noticed that they can be pretty stubborn when it's time to pull over for emergency vehicles.

And then there's the tailgating - not the 'party in the parking lot' kind.  (Although, there's a lot of that too!)  I'm talking about the 'objects in mirror are closer than they appear' kind.  It doesn't matter if you're on the freeway or in a 25 mph zone - they'll sneak up on you wherever you might be.  And they get close.  

Think Nascar.  You're going 70 mph on the freeway (cuz that's the speed limit...okay, so you're really going 75) and he appears out of nowhere and he's right on your tail.  If he's feeling generous, he leaves a car length of distance between your cars.  This wannabe Nascar driver wants desperately to get around you.  You can see that he's antsy as he maneuvers from side to side looking for even the tiniest opening.  He can't stand the thought of staying behind you for one more second.  He finally sees an opening and in a flash he's in front of you, speeding off to harass the next guy in his way.  You breath a sigh of relief... until you look in the rear view mirror and realize that you've got another tailgaiter...and this time he's driving a semi!