So having woken up this morning to the grey coloured skies and the drizzle of what is the first really wet day of this years autumn in Los Angeles, it reminded me that in this city where everyone drives, when it rains no-one knows how to. For some reason, the sight of some damp splotches on the windscreen sends the residents of Los Angeles into driving meltdown. Is it the use of the windscreen wipers simultaneously with the blinkers?
Not a chance as in order to survive on these roads you have to know the SoCal highway code and that does not include the use of the indicator. It seems to me that indicating on roads is like a rag to a bull and rather than allow someone to make the manoeuvre indicated the drivers here will do everything in their power to prevent it. Unbelievable but maybe understandable as Los Angeles roads are renowned for being bad - the daily bumper to bumper gridlock on the city's freeways in rush hour is something this English Girl couldn't believe until she saw it. The road systems here are obviously going to make people more aggravated - especially if they spent the best part of an hour on the parking lot which is the I-405 trying to get to work or home depending on the time of day. Seriously the evening rush hour in this town begins at 2.30 pm and don't get me started on the potholes!
Residents of Los Angeles talk about traffic and freeway numbers like the English talk about the weather. But when the weather turns on the drivers of this city it seems that everyone forgets how to mechanically drive their cars. At least in England we are always prepared for the rain so maybe its the utter surprise that rain too falls in the Golden State that causes this phenomenon as there seems to this English Girl to be a direct correlation between the amount of rainfall and driving ability in this city.
Now where did I leave my car keys?
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