I do a lot of driving around town. I drive my daughter to and from school. And seven days a week, I’m driving her to and from the extra curricular activities of dance, gymnastics and swimming. Those stretch from near campus to North Knoxville to Northeast Knoxville and to Farragut. That includes a lot of time on I-40, I-75, I-275, I-640, Callahan Drive, Washington Pike, Lovell Road and Kingston Pike. In fact, I do about 450 miles a week.

So here’s a question I have: Why do some turn on their turn signal when they’ve already moved into the lane they’re wanting in? I have at least an answer for some on that question. They’re doing that to “justify” in their minds cutting off some other driver. Rather than merging into traffic, people are barging into traffic. Rather than defensive driving people have turned to offensive driving. And if you try to practice defensive driving, especially on I-40 in West Knoxville, you risk getting run over.

I find this behavior a bit odd because even after living here for more than 31 years I’m still amazed at how polite, friendly and helpful a vast majority of people are. And I encounter a lot of people in a variety of capacities being out seven days a week.

I guess some people, like the Klingons in Star Trek, feel like when they get in a vehicle they can cloak their identity. As a result, they can anonymously race past vehicles in line to exit from I-40 west onto Lovell Road in order to squeeze in and cut off someone.

One sees this often with those little low-riding windup toys with the large, loud mufflers that some young guys drive. Oh, well, perhaps they’re happy gaining 10 or 20 seconds on arriving at their destination.