Driving in downtown

As I was leaving work yesterday, I pull out of the parking garage at work onto Calvert Street. Calvert Street is one way going North, 4 lanes, with the left most as the left turn lane. Many days. The right most lane is blocked by delivery trucks and such, so this really only leaves me the option of getting into the two middle lanes if I want to go north on Calvert.

By the graciousness of another driver, I’m allowed to pull out on to Calvert into the left of the two middle lanes. I wave my thanks and just as I start to accelerate, an oversized behemoth of a truck that is supposedly classed as merely an SUV, a GMC Yack-on, decides that it’s a good idea to try and turn left from the right hand of the middle lanes. That means this Yack-on was going to turn left into me and into the car to the left of me in the legitimate left turn lane.

So I ask, when, is it EVER acceptable, much less safe, to pull a maneuver like that? I can only think of one situation: a demolition derby. And even then, I believe the courses are figure 8s to encourage the demolition…

At no point was I going fast enough to not be able to avoid this situation; I wasn’t in any immediate danger. But I was amazed by the sheer stupidity that humanity manages to display daily when placed behind the wheel of a motorized vehicle.

To my immense amusement, there was a traffic officer at the intersection who saw this unfold. As the Yack-on tried to complete its turn, the traffic officer stepped in front of the cars in the left turn lane and almost in front of my lane to force the Yack-on to go straight. After a sharp whistle and way too many exaggerated hand gestures from the traffic officer, the Yack-on finally got the message and went straight. This meant that it was now directly in front of me in my lane.

Ok, so maybe it poses less danger to me in this situation, I think. And theoretically, it does. Until we get to the next intersection one block away. This time, the Yack-on DOES, in fact, turn left not from the left-most lane, but from one lane to the right of the left lane.

I quickly look to my left to see if anyone is going straight there (as this is a possibility on this part of the road) and to my immense relief, there is no one. The Yack-on didn’t learn its lesson the first time, and clearly not the second time either. That person’s license needs to be revoked.