The Drive

Californians are known for their car culture. They like nice cars and they drive them all over creation.

This morning I left my house at 6:05AM knowing full well that I would have atleast a ninety minute to two hour commute to my new job, located at Countrywide Bank/ReconTrust (their name-du jour they decide to use) located all the way in the beautiful Ventura County city of Simi Valley. While trying to occupy my mind in the car with assorted radio shows, one can only listen to NPR for so long and then it begins to become repetative... I often think that it's kind of pointless to be driving all these different kinds of assorted cars/trucks/vans/buses along the freeway. I myself drive a moderately priced small SUV which gets about 20 or so mpg. I found myself today following a Mercedes Benz C320 Kompressor this morning for a long stretch of my trip and noticed that his or her left rear brake light was out. It's a part that at most costs $5.00 but on this vehicle traveling immediately before me, there it was... a fix-it ticket waiting to happen with no patrol officers in sight - thankfully. Because any time they show up the traffic slows down to the legal speed limit and then I have no hope of getting to work any sooner than 8:00AM. I get my oil changed every other month like clockwork and they are nice enough to always check my brake lights, so I've personally never had to deal with this issue. A lot of times, it's just a bad connection that needs to be tightened up, but still - how long is this person in thier +$50k car going to be driving around town before this is fixed?

I remember seeing on a science show how they are developing computer controled linked up cars so that people don't have to be wholy responsible for the speed at which they travel nor the distance from the car infront of them and behind them. I think this is an excellent idea for the AM traveler to prevent all those horrid accidents.