Failure to Stop

I did something unusual yesterday (not something unusual for me, but unusual for someone living in Greenville). I was driving along when an ambulance came up behind me with lights flashing and sirens blaring, and I pulled over to the side of the road to let him go by! That may not seem unusual, but I was on a busy, two-lane road, and not one other car ahead of me or coming towards me did the same! The cars on the other side of the road kept driving at normal speeds, and the cars ahead of me simply sped up!

I didn't learn to drive here, but when I did learn, I was taught that the only time you don't have to pull over for flashing lights is on a divided highway when you are on the opposite side from the emergency vehicle. Maybe the law is actually different in South Carolina! At least most people seem to think so. A few years back, I watched a hook-and-ladder truck run a car up onto the sidewalk because the driver of the car wouldn't get out of it's way!

It seems like Greenville has more than it's share of crazy drivers. It's very common to be driving along at 45 or 50 miles per hour and have someone slowly pull out from a side street right in front of you, causing you to have to slam on your brakes to avoid an accident. My husband actually had a coworker claim that he liked to do that on purpose because "People drive too fast, and they need to be made to slow down!"

Another thing: I've never seen people run so many red lights! And it's blatant, too. It's not just that people push it when the light is yellow. I'm talking about when the light has turned green on my side, and people are still going through the other way!

Driving in Greenville has taught me to be a much more defensive driver! The roads are dangerous everywhere, but it seems they are more so here! Be safe everyone!