Horrible Drivers

Three cases today while driving back from LAX to SD southbound, two of which provided three chances of injuring or killing me and my passengers.

1) On the 405 just east of Long Beach, near the bend between 605 and 22. I’ve been burned by the sharp turn here before, so I usually watch out, so I should’ve been more careful, but still. I’m driving 80 in the carpool lane, and I’m attempting to lane change into the fast lane. Just at that moment, pickup driving ~70 in lane 2 (adjacent to the fast lane) attempts to merge into the fast lane as well – WITHOUT SIGNALING. I swerve back into my carpool lane to avoid an accident, but just then, the cars ahead of me suddenly brake. My car has anti-lock on the brakes, so I know I won’t brake in time. Thankfully, the pickup moved back into the 2nd lane, so I swerve back into the fast lane just in time, and head off on my way.

As it turns out (according to my dad; I was still too much in shock), there was an accident right in front of me in the carpool lane, just around the bend.

Of course, I should’ve been more careful in that area of the 405, but pickup really should’ve signaled before lane changing – I know I did. Had I been able to change lanes, none of the subsequent drama would’ve happened. Had the pickup signaled or changed first, I probably would’ve reacted to the braking ahead much sooner. All in all, two chances of ugliness, and I’m thankful to have escaped both.

2) 405 again, at the interchange with 55 north. There’s a carpool left exit there. Again it’s a pickup in front in the carpool lane, sedan behind it, I’m outside and safe. As usual there’s a lane that opens up before the left exit, and the pickup appears to go into it, but opts out halfway through the lane change. At the last minute, the pickup swerves back into the exit, just before the fork. Another close call – had the Sedan sped up, it wouldn’t have been pretty.

3) In SD County now, on the 5. A car enters the freeway from (I don’t remember what interchange), subsequently skips across 3 LANES OF TRAFFIC. I’m on the 2nd lane, and I see him zoom towards me. Instinctively, I go left and merge onto the left lane, and right as I do that, he cuts inches right in front of where I was in the 2nd lane. Another close call for me.

…

So yeah, really guys? Aside from that, I experienced morons driving 70 in the fast lane, my dad alerting me to police cars I never saw, heavy fog on the trip to LAX… just all sorts of craziness. Needless to say, I’m glad made it back alive.