Hi,
Fishing has been quiet in the lagoon. The water got cold and the snook left- so did the Jack. I've caught some nice bluefish, mostly big; 3-4 pound range and a lot of ladyfish. There are still a few trout and redfish around but they are hard to find and scattered. The trout and reds are shallow on the inside of the sandbar for the most part. My main concerns are the lack of grass at Walton which died out in August during super-high tides and rains and draining water out of Okeechobee into the canal and into the lagoon (which started again recently). The water is warming so maybe the fishing will improve.
Here are My Top Ten Biggest Driving Peeves and although they are mistakes and lead to accidents; most of them wouldn't get the bad driver a ticket. These bad drivers are mainly guilty on one thing- being completely oblivious to every driver on the road-- but them!!!
My Top Ten Biggest Driving Peeves (in no particular order although they all piss me off):
1) Stopping in the middle of the road to make a right hand turn. This has happened to everyone and it makes my blood boil. The driver in front of you is turning right- there are no cars in the turn area and instead of turning- the driver stops in the middle of the road for a second or two and then turns!!! What??!! I'm driving right behind them and I've already slowed down now-- I have to stop; and everyone behind me has to stop!!! Rule of the Road: Unless the lane that you are turning right in is blocked or backed up-- do not stop to make a right turn.
The same thing is true for a left turn if there are no oncoming cars- do not stop in the middle of the road if it's safe to turn. Just turn without stopping and speed up slightly into the turn (only if it's safe) to avoid making the vehicles behind you stop. Be considerate!!!
You can also cut across the intersection to keep traffic going (you get out of your lane sooner) but - be careful- you can't do this if other cars are in the intersection.
2) Driving 10mph under the speed limit in good driving conditions. What??!!! You just don't feel like driving the speed limit-- you have no place to go and aren't in a hurry-- SO WHAT!!! Aren't you aware that other people may need to get somewhere and they don't want to spend an extra 20 minutes driving behind you. The other part of this is: Speeding excessively and weaving in and out of traffic. It's OK to drive over the speed limit- in fact- I recommend driving 5-9mph over the speed limit to keep traffic flowing. On the other hand there are drivers who are maniacs who drive 20-30 mph over the limit and pass vehicles right and left. This is extremely dangerous and either you'll get a ticket or get in an accident. You can't speed excessively and avoid mistakes by other drivers- and-- they will make mistakes. In my opinion people that drive way under the speed limit or way over should -- get off the road-- both are very inconsiderate and dangerous.
3) Not paying attention to driving-- while: talking on the phone (doing anything on or with a cell phone); eating; drinking; talking or arguing with passengers; looking at a map (GPS, written directions; reading anything); listening to excessively loud music; doing make-up (grooming); changing clothes -- the list goes on and on. Texting is an obvious --don't text while driving period-- but if you're doing any of these other distracting things- pay attention to the road first. Texting has proven to be very dangerous- it's as bad as being intoxicated and driving but-- so are the many other distractions.
How many times have you seen someone talking on the phone who-- has no awareness of any vehicle on the road-- it's just them and their conversation- the driving is automatic- until something goes wrong. This talker can't be considerate of you or anyone else driving- because they aren't paying attention. Rule of the road: Pull off the road if you want to write down directions or have a deep conversation-- driving comes first.
4) Turn right on red- If there's a red light and you are turning right-- do not sit there until the light changes- turn right on red. Obviously you have to look and see if it's clear. Good drivers already know whether it's clear to turn right when they pull up and stop at the light. They don't sit there for 10 seconds to figure it out. There's nothing that makes me crazy faster than someone who either doesn't know the right on red law or doesn't care.
5) Not knowing how to merge into traffic. I'm pulling onto an interstate - I start to accelerate so I'm doing 55 by the end of the ramp so I can merge into traffic going 55. The driver in front of me stops!!!! What??!! I slam on my brakes and the cars behind me also stop. The stopped driver in front of me waits-- for every vehicle to be out of the way before accelerating on the ramp and getting on the interstate. If you don't know how to put on your left signal, accelerate and merge into traffic-- you shouldn't be driving. That's not to say you can't stop but only if the merge ramp has ended should you stop in most situations.
6) Improper spacing and not keeping flow with traffic. These are three different situations but they follow the same principle. Situation 1: You pull up to a stop light and there are ten vehicles in front of you but one car leaves a gap of 3 car lengths between their vehicle and the one in front of them- for no reason. Then everyone else behind them is 2 1/2 car lengths further away from the light- and-- someone that may have made the light won't make it because of this driver; a driver who didn't pull up to the car in front of them at the light. They may think- "What difference does it make?" but they obviously don't care about anyone driving behind them. The first driving principle is: be considerate!!!
Situation 2: Improper spacing is also frequent by bad drivers while driving. They just aren't in a hurry and instead of driving 3 or 4 car lengths behind the car in front of them in a 30mph speed limit-- they drive 10 or 12 car length behind or more- for no reason. Then the light turns yellow, they stop-- they missed another light- wasted another 2 minutes but what worse- you're driving behind them!!! Rule of the road: Keep pace with traffic.
Situation 3: A maniac driver who is either in a hurry, or drives like maniac all the time, is behind you. You're going 47mph in 40 speed limit. The maniac is right on your tail- only 1/2 car length back. If you had to stop suddenly they would run into you. The other problem is: you can't watch the road properly when someone is on your bumper and you have to watch them. What do you do? You can slow down and let them pass you or pull over and let them pass you. Otherwise you have to put up with it until you turn or they turn or they pass you. Rule of the road: Do not tailgate, use proper spacing- a car length for every 10mph. You have to be able to stop if the car in front of you stops.
7) Failing to use turn signals. How many times has this happened: You're driving down a two-lane road and slow to make a left-hand turn. There's an oncoming car- far away but coming quickly so you stop and wait for them to go by before you turn. Then the oncoming car, now only a few car lengths away, puts on their right-turn sign and turns right. You could have turned 20 seconds ago if you knew they were going to turn!! Use your turn signals to let other drivers know what you are going to do- not only does it save them time- but it can prevent an accident.
8) Not Driving in their lane. This seems simple but how many times have I seen bad drivers swerving out of their lane; almost running of the road; or, moving over the lane line when you're driving next to them- so you have to switch lanes for fear of being hit. Are these drivers intoxicated? Distracted? Maybe, but in most cases they aren't paying attention to their driving. I drive in the middle of my lane- almost all the time-- I don't have any trouble. There are drivers who can't seem to do it- they go over to the left riding on the line , then the right. What??!! Rule of the road: If you can't drive in your lane - get off the road- you shouldn't be driving. You'll either drive in a ditch or hit someone.
If you're driving on a four lane highway and you have two lanes to drive in - drive in one lane or the other- not both. If there is no one on the road it really doesn't matter-- if anyone is around - drive in one lane.
9) Not using common sense. Things happen that are outside of the normal driving experience, not all the time but enough so that the driver must make a decision. A storm comes through and the light was hit by lightning. It doesn't work. What do you do? You don't just stop and wait for the light to come back on!!!! Or for the police to come!!! Let's be practical. You stop, signal if you need to, and carefully go your way being prepared to stop if necessary. The intersection is now like a four-way stop-- no big deal.
A car has stalled out in the middle of your lane, in two-way traffic; it's in a no passing zone. You can stop and wait for a tow-truck to come, or, pass the car in the other lane when it's clear. What do you do? You pass the car when it's clear, breaking the law by passing in a no pass zone. Use common sense.
There are many instances where things happen-- a garbage truck is making stops; a postman has a delivery; a UPS truck pulls over but is still partially in your lane. Use common sense, be careful but keep traffic flowing.
10) Not being considerate; or; being over-considerate. There are many times you can let someone pull in front of you or turn in front of you - that won't really slow you down and helps them. If you can help someone - do it. Then there are times where letting someone pull in front of you- slows traffic and is the wrong time to let someone pull out. Letting someone pull in front of you when you are going close to the speed limit and cars are behind you is wrong. You have to stop- and the cars behind you have to stop- one of these cars may not be prepared to stop or see you letting the car pull in front of you- an accident could happen. It's not the right time.
Here's another example of being over-considerate: A driver is leaving a sporting event and driving slowly on a two lane road. A line of cars is waiting to get on- there are 30 cars, many of them just pulling up, while this driver has been going slow for 15 minutes in stop-and-go traffic. The driver lets one car in, then just sits there while all 30 cars pull in front. Over-considerate? Yes. And-- all the people behind the driver had to wait 30 cars and 5 more minutes when the driver decided let them in.
What should have happened? The driver should have let one or two cars go and driven ahead-- preventing other cars from pulling in front.
Always be considerate, whether it's moving over slightly to let a car into the right turn lane, calling 911 for a stranded motorist, or stopping to move a turtle out of the road. We're all in this together, let's help- but not too much, because you need to take care of what you need to do as well.
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