California drivers

[Peter A. McGraw]

That's amazing!  Last time I was in LA (admittedly it's been a few years),
I was sure there must be careful instructions somewhere in the California
drivers' manual about how to exit from an eight-lane freeway: "When
approaching a right exit, be sure you are in the far left lane.  When you
are about 200 feet from the exit, swiftly cross all three other lanes,
allowing at least two feet between your rear bumper and the front bumpers
of the cars traveling in the other three lanes.  Once you have cleared the
freeway, you are permited to slow down if there is a stop sign at the end
of the off-ramp."  I've seen this maneuver in Oregon in recent years, but
still not frequently.  I've tried to think of an appropriate ironym for the
maneuver (the LA dodger?), but so far the muse has eluded me.

(Sorry--off-topic, I know.)

Peter Mc.

--On Monday, January 6, 2003 1:35 PM -0500 AAllan at AOL.COM wrote:

> That's interesting, because as one who lived in Southern California a
> while ago, and who spent four days there two weeks ago, I have always been
> impressed at the politeness of California drivers. The freeways in the
> L.A. area are packed, but most drivers don't tailgate, few drivers weave
> in and out of lanes, they enter and exit easily, and drivers seem calm
> about slowdowns. The few exceptions were noticeable.



****************************************************************************
                               Peter A. McGraw
                   Linfield College   *   McMinnville, OR
                            pmcgraw at linfield.edu