No, it's not a new pitch seen at Fenway Park, nor a variation on the Navy euphemism for a greasy hamburger. Rather it’s a dumb move on the highway that's nearly killed me twice in recent weeks.
One time it happened near Boston on Route 128, the second time I had to drive off the road from the high-speed lane on I-295 near the Mass/Rhode Island line to avoid a crash. The maneuver I'm talking about is when some bozo in the right lane on a three or more lane road decides to pass a car in front of them or change lanes—but not just transition into the adjacent lane but do a full highway sweep into the left lane—without looking!!
It was only my extremely good (think Larry Bird) peripheral vision that allowed me to see the first guy in a Mercedes, and, as I recall, likely on the phone, to brake in time to save my right front fender. The second, a twenty-something female in a non-descript Japanese compact also didn't think to check the large blind spot in cutting a swath across three lanes—and this time I had to go off the road at highway speed to prevent both of us from being really messed up or killed. And neither driver even offered an apologetic gesture or look after I honked the horn during my avoidance maneuver—continuing the New England tradition of avoiding eye contact while driving to make you think that they don't see you.
All of which proves my long term contention that, rather than "The Spirit of America" or "Ocean State," license plates in our area should carry the slogan, "I'm an idiot."
But at least Massachusetts has just passed a law making it illegal to text while driving—although it should have been enacted immediately rather than in 90 days, so the rest of the summer could be safer on the roads. An added benefit of the law is that it is a primary offense—meaning you don't have to be stopped for some other infraction in order to be cited.
Just remember, don't be so self-important to think anything you can be texting is that critical so as to do it while driving.
So idiots beware, some of us will be watching you—and drop a dime on you.
(Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rickdemeis and TechBites.com/automotive.)
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