Motodisiac

Today is the day of the Californian “national disaster” - rain. Knowing that it would rain I decided not to ride today. For those who are unaware whenever it rains in Southern California the traffic situation becomes much worse. For some odd reason people drive super slow.

Armed with this knowledge I decided to leave my house much earlier this morning. At 8am I was already on the road. When I ride my motorcycle my morning commute usually takes 20-25 minutes, when I drive my car - 25 - 35 minutes of approximately 15 miles on the 405 freeway. Today the same commute took me … 56 minutes. I took picture of my trip computer to show the details of this tedious trip (below) - 15 miles in 56 minutes with the average speed of 16 mph. Wow, that is lightning fast.

Now here is my big question - is rain such a disaster that wreaks havoc all over the Los Angeles freeway system? Have we indeed become the generation of sissies? Slowing down to 16mph on a freeway while it rains might as well be the indication of that … May be driving tests should be more difficult and involve some basic car handling exercises so people feel more confident while driving under “severe” weather conditions like today … This is highly unlikely as car sales will plummet in Southern California. And no one wants that, right?

On a slightly different note I was appalled by the number of drivers who had their lights off while riding in the rain. How oblivious and ignorant should you be? It rains, the traffic is going very slow, the visibility is not at 100% - is that enough clues to turn the lights on? Instead of going after someone who drives 5mph over the speed limit may be highway patrol officers should go after these guys? I firmly believe they are more dangerous on the road than someone who’s a little over the speed limit. Look at the pictures below and judge for yourself. Have a safe weekend.