August 11, 2022 at 12:33 p.m.
The Interstate Darting Weavers
We typically leave early in the morning and drive straight through while making several stops. My wife is an excellent driver and takes over when I can't continue without some sleep. (By that time, she has slept for hours!)
Bud Herron, my good friend and mentor, recently wrote an excellent article for “The Republic” about his interstate driving experiences. His article inspired me to write this one which I have been tossing around in my mind for several years.
First and foremost, I am not suggesting I am a perfect driver and have yet to meet one. I certainly have made my share of driving mistakes over the years and hesitate to blow my horn when another driver makes one.
Even though there are several types of drivers who I might express some rather strong thoughts about during the trip, there is one that concerns me the most. I refer to them as the darting weavers. Dr. Seuss might have referred to them as the zinging zigger zaggers. Once arriving at our Florida home in Nokomis, they contribute to me hitting the bed in total exhaustion.
They tend to switch from one lane to the next while driving 15 miles or above the speed limit, even in construction zones with a sign flashing their speed. (I typically drive 5 miles over the posted speed signs in the middle lane which somewhat keeps me in the flow of traffic.) The darting weavers, several together at times as if in some type of racing competition, seemingly prefer mostly staying out of the fast lane but will often weave in and out of all lanes when impeded by a slower driver, which would be most drivers. In doing so, other drivers must unexpectedly hit their brakes.
Their vehicles vary. It may be a sports car which I have had my share of over the years, the first being a 1974 Saab Sonett; it may be a motorcycle which I have never owned even though the Hope Thunder On The Square event made me think otherwise with all the unique bikes; it may be an older car with a roaring engine, none as unique as my 1989 Cad; it may be a truck which always brings back memories of my Ford-150 Harley-Davidson and the 59 Chevy which Avery Tallent, Hope's young music star, and I wrote a song about; it may be ...
Admittedly, there is a part of me that wants to be a darting weaver to show off my driving skills, but I will stick to video games which I and others survive without a blemish when crashing! (When driving home on July 4th, several darting weavers were pulled over by road patrols, which briefly slowed down all traffic. Soon though, another darting weaver moved from the right lane in front of our van in the middle lane and then temporarily moved to the left lane to pass the semi in front of us only to quickly return to the right lane.) Undoubtedly, there will always be zinging zigger zaggers pushing the boundaries of rules unless all vehicles are controlled by some computerized system which would indeed be a sad day!
