ODOT- you're amazing.

Being that Lancaster doesn't seem to have any jobs that pay much, I found a job in Westerville, about 6 months ago. I don't hate it, and the pay is alright, so I'm pretty happy. One thing I could live without? The drive. I have the privilege of sharing the roads with some of the best drivers on earth some 2+ hours everyday. Here is a list (in no particular order) of things I love to run into daily. Enjoy!

·Drivers who ride on your bumper. Who doesn't love this? I mean, I already go 5+ mph over the posted speed limit, and you'd think that'd satisfy most everyone, but there's always one or two people who just have to go faster than a Stealth fighter. Of course, they always decide to let me know that I'm not going fast enough by driving 2 inches from my rear bumper. I then have to deal with the guy next to me who has suddenly decided going as fast as I am is a great idea, so I can't get over unless I pass him by hitting Mach 3. I wonder where these people are going in such a hurry?

·The complete opposite of the person above- the guy who drives 5mph under the speed limit. Granted, being tailgated is annoying (obviously); even more so when you're speeding, but if I can't hit the posted speed limit due to somebody who not only wants to take their sweet old time, but wants to enjoy all the natural beauty that surounds 270, then I get a little frustrated. I remember making a sticker for a lady a couple years ago that said something to the effect of "I drive 10mph under the speed limit at all times. Deal with it.". I wanted to wring her neck! You will get rear ended one day, so deal with it.

·Rain. I could just stop there, as rain while driving is pretty bad, but in Ohio, it seems to be the first sign of the apocalypse, or that's how people seem to translate it when they get in their car. Ohioans seem to want to think that rain is nothing to worry about, and they can simply drive as crazy as they normally do, which usually ends up with multiple accidents all around Columbus, or multiple vehicles off the road. You'd think after living in the same city, which has a fairly predictable weather pattern (most of the time), for 20+ years, and driving on the same roads for all that time, that you'd start to understand what it takes to drive when the roads are wet. Apparently not.

I did notice something driving to work this morning- there is an amazing lack of any kind of reflectors on both 33 and 270. While the road is dry, it's no big deal, but when it's wet, the lines all seem to disappear. I have pretty good eyesight (20/10 when I was younger!) and I have a hard time seeing the lines when the roads are wet. Reflectors can't be so expensive (especially compared to the cost of taking care of multiple accidents on any rainy day) that they have to be rationed... can they? Driving in Pennsylvania at night, it's like staring at a Christmas tree... reflectors EVERYWHERE. If you can't see the road there, you have to be blind. Literally blind. I would accept something other that what we have now- a reflector in the middle of the road every 2-3 lines. Nothing on the side of the roads, unless there's an overpass or guardrail. That's insane.

·People who blatantly ignore yield signs. We've all done it, so this was never an issue, until I noticed that people coming onto a freeway, who have a nice big yield sign, which, last time I checked means you yield to oncoming traffic, decide to not only ignore the sign, but muscle their way in front of me, when I'm still going full speed. If everyone exercised some seflessness and patience, there would be far fewer traffic jams and much less road rage. Good luck with that.

· Traffic light timers. Really? We're using technology from who-knows-when, and we're expecting it to work forever? I have been thinking of inventing some type of technology that will sense where the cars are at, and turn the light green at whatever time it deems necessary, thereby allowing traffic to flow as it needs to, not based on someone's antiquated timer. I get real tired of sitting at a red light when there is literally no traffic crossing in front of me. Of course, with the timer, it's inevitable that as soon as I get a green light, someone in the intersection is pulling up to a red, even though the whole time I sat there it was green. I swear, I think someone at the traffic office is watching and laughing on a daily basis.

I'm sure there are other things I can add to my list, but my blood pressure is rising as I type this, so I need to step away...lol. What are some things YOU take issue with?